Updates from The Final Full Week of Treatments NEW PHOTO!

Here are some updates from Heidi on their week so far in Iowa City.    

Tuesday May 25, 2010– Kerry and Kory came to visit Kellee and I at Hope Lodge today.  They arrived around noon, we showed them around and then went out to lunch.  It was good to be able to show them what our life is like here.  We ate at HuHot – one of their favorites.  Then like all moms and sons do, we went shopping!  Everyone needed something – shorts, shirts – we found most of what we wanted at Target and then hit the mall.   Kory is starting to prepare for his Austria trip in the Fall so we found some great walking shoes at Scheel’s.   We stopped at a Starbuck’s since we had a gift card, but since it was in a Barnes & Noble and not a free-standing Starbucks they don’t take the Starbucks Gift Cards – who knew!  Well we all do now. Kellee didn’t even bother to wear a hat to cover up his head! (PHOTO NOW ADDED.)  Kerry and Kory headed back home early evening.  For dinner Kellee and I had cheese/crackers/grapes (Kellee wasn’t terribly hungry since we had eaten bigger at lunch) and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream that I sneaked down to the TV room we were able to snatch up just in time for American Idol and Glee.    

Kory, Kerry & Kellee @ HuHot in IA City

Wednesday May 26, 2010 (Also Kent’s sister Sue’s Birthday, Happy Birthday Sue!) - After treatment Kellee began watching the Lost series on Netflix in the room and I worked at a table in the kitchen until lunch.  We shared one of Gloria V’s frozen meals, had grapes and some donated bread with it. (Just so ya’ll know, every Tuesday at the Hope Lodge there are quite a number of baked goods brought in by volunteers, some homemade, other store-bought, usually a good variety.)  In the afternoon I worked a little more and Kellee continued his Lost marathon – don’t tell Kellee the ending!  We had smoothies later in the afternoon.  We found a Yoplait smoothie in a bag at the HyVee here in Iowa City.  It had frozen fruit and yogurt chunks – you add milk and blend!  Kent makes great smoothies, but these weren’t bad.  I talked with another caregiver here while I was up in the kitchen getting set up to work.  Her husband is the patient and has a tumor in his mouth so is receiving radiation and chemo for 7 weeks then in the process of testing found an early detection of colon cancer, so he will have surgery once the treatments are done.  He also had to have all his teeth pulled to minimize infection due to periodontal disease.  Sometimes you don’t realize how good you have it until you hear someone else’s story.  Yes, this is difficult for us being away from home – dealing with brain cancer and radiation, but our journey has been minimal compared to so many others.  Tonight we went to Beth & Mike’s for Lasagna and Lee DeWyze (American Idol).  We had a great meal, conversation, and watched the American Idol Finale in HD on a big projection TV!    

Last week while at the Hope Lodge, Kellee ordered a violin bow…to use with is guitar. It arrived this week while Kellee was in Iowa City. The package seemed to have a bit of damage. So when Kellee found out about it, he contacted the company from which he ordered it and was told he would need to send a photo of the damage.    

Damaged Violin Bow

Why is it items most susceptible to shipping damage are often shipped in the most vulnerable of packages? I guess it is a Murphy’s Law thing.    

Thursday, May 27, 2010 – Kerry mowed the yard this afternoon. We figured since there are two able-bodied young men at home now, (I would have said three, but Kellee is in Iowa City at the moment. I just realized I might have slammed myself by not including me in the able-bodied count), we don’t need to rely on our neighbor Tammy to mow our lawn. Thank-you Tammy for helping out the times you did mow, it was GREATLY Appreciated!  Tonight in Pella , Kerry, Kory & I were blessed by someone who works in Heidi’s area at Pella Corp (Todd B.) who brought us supper! Homemade chicken burritos, chips salsa and banana bread. Yummy! What a blessing!   

God has been and continues to be good to us through-out this whole experience!

Catch Phrases or He’s Been This Way All Week!

What is a Catch Phrase? After much searching on the web, I came across this definition I think fits it best and is easy to understand. A Catch Phrase is a signature phrase of a particular person or group. Some examples of catch phrases are, “Did I do that?” made popular by Steve Urkel, “One of these days…”  by Jackie Gleason or “Make it so”  by Captain Picard.

One of the things that happens when you spend a lot of time together is certain phrases and sayings either develop or get used a lot as a natural part of the way the time is spent. Over the last few weeks we have seen some catch phrases either develop or be used frequently. One of the catch phrases repeated quite often during the time spent in Iowa City has been, “He’s been this way all week!” Typically it is said more often by Kellee and Kent than Heidi, but she joins in at times as well. What it refers to is when someone says or does something that “may” be interpreted as a bit silly, odd or just an action the other person doesn’t necessarily like it - is greeted with, “he’s been this way all week!” Here is how it started, back during the first week we were staying in Iowa City, splitting  our time between a home generously opened to us and the Holiday Inn, Kellee also had a bit of a cold. He was a bit stuffed up and one night he was snoring enough that it woke me up and I couldn’t get back to sleep. In the morning I ribbed him about it a bit and of course he denied he snored.  Then at some point during that day when I talked to Heidi back in Pella, and told her about how Kellee had snored, Kellee heard me talk about his snoring and he then said loud enough so Heidi could hear, “That’s not true, I didn’t snore, dad is spreading rumors, he’s been this way all week!”  It then sort of took off from there. When ever one of us would say or do something (usually Kellee, ( ah the beauty of writing the blog!)) which was interpreted as silly, etc, the other person would say, ‘he’s been this way all week,”  and kind of shake their head in mock disgust. This phrase has been repeated quite often and is used over the weekends at home as well.

The next catch phrase was actually  started by Kellee (for real) and used exclusively by him. During the second week of treatment when Heidi was in Iowa City with Kellee, he would jokingly say to Heidi, “mom carry me to the bathroom.” When Heidi would say “no way!” Kellee would follow-up with, “dad always carried me.”  (That’s not true, dad did not!) Or it would be, “carry me to the chair, dad always did.” When they go home that weekend, Kellee told me, “Mom wouldn’t carry me, around and I told her, dad always did. Heidi said as she shook her head, “He’s been this way all week!” Of course the following week when I was in Iowa City with Kellee, it was “carry me dad, mom always did…” Heidi and I agreed she carried him enough when he was a baby, she didn’t need to be doing anymore carrying!

The next phrase started as just a phrase and now recently Kellee put a hand motion to it. Occasionally when Kellee would respond to us by saying, “you’re not going to make the cancer patient do that are you?” Or he might say something like, “I have cancer, you need to carry me.” When ever he used that statement it would obviously be in jest. Gradually a whimsical response to this from others developed into something like “You’re not going to play the brain cancer card again are you?”  Now lately, Kellee has added the hand motion of acting like he is laying a card on a table when he plays the cancer card. Kellee doing this and joking about it is a sure sign he is feeling so much better these days!

The last catch phrase to share is, “Alright, that’s it!” I am not really sure if I can adequately explain the origin of this catch phrase. This is one I would say to Kellee, just before I would act like I was doing to go over to him and “fake” fight with him or try to tickle him. (He seems to think I used to do that to him when he was younger.) I said it a few times the last week when Kellee & I were in Iowa City together and then Kellee would tease me for saying it. It kind of snowballed from there. Then I would say it even more. Now Kellee uses it and he said he is going to overuse this catch phrase because he wants to wear it out and make it so the phrase won’t be used anymore. Today both Kellee and Heidi sent me a text using this catch phrase. All I have to say to that is, “Alright, that’s it, they both been this way all week!”

Only 7 Treatments left!

Monday, May 24, 2010 – Today Heidi and Kellee left for Iowa City just before 12:30 to begin the last full week of radiation treatments. They arrived to Radiation Therapy right on time and there was no one in the waiting room, which was the first time that has happened. Kellee was called right in and before they knew it the were back at the Lodge getting settled in. They went and got some groceries and then ate ham balls for supper. Grandma had sent them along as they are one of Kellee’s favorites. He ate 4 ham balls and cheese potatoes. It is so good he has his appetite back!  Hopefully Kellee will start gaining some weight again soon. Heidi forgot her tooth-brush, but Kory and Kerry will take it her Tuesday when they go to Iowa City for a visit. Only forgetting a tooth-brush is no big deal. Last week I forgot my pillow, my jacket and some of the food and drinks I had planned to take along. I think I will finally have everything all figured out for what to take along by the time the treatments are completed!

Just a couple of other updates from the weekend: Saturday was an open house for Pella Corporation’s 85th anniversary. Heidi had to work in here are from noon to 2:00 and I went along. We signed up for the door prizes and Heidi’s name was drawn for gift certificate worth $85.00 from Hy-Vee! What a nice surprise prize!  God continues to bless us in unexpected ways. We we got home after the open house and we had another surprise in the mail, a Casey’s gas gift card! People’s generosity and willingness to share with us as we travel along this journey has just been amazing, thank you so much to all who lend their support; from mowing our yard, fixing and/or bringing us food, sending us cards and lifting us up in prayer. So many are being the hands and feet of Jesus to us and it is wonderful!

What are you doing the next 10 years? Plus an Amercian Airlines update.

Friday, May 21, 2010  – This morning,  I timed how long it took from when they called Kellee to go back for treatment until he came back out, eleven minutes!  Kellee’s shower takes longer than that on most days! The treatments on this last phase are quick! Then it was DOCTOR DAY. First they weighed Kellee, no  more weight loss which is a good thing and with him eating more lately, he should start putting some weight back on. The meeting with the doctor did not take long, we did not have many questions this time. We asked if there would be another MRI before the last treatment. He told us no, the next MRI would be one month after the final treatment.The doctor then gave us an idea what follow-up will most likely look like in the years to come for Kellee. Dr. S. said there will be an MRI approximately every 4 months for the first 2-3 years and then they will switch to an MRI every 6 months until years 6 or 7 after the last treatment and then one every year until year 10. At that point there would probably be an MRI every other year and beyond that will be determined at that time. Kellee was doing some figuring in his head for how long he will need to be budgeting for MRI’s due to his insurance deductible. Dr. S. asked Kellee if he had started taking less of the Zofran and Kellee said no, he just didn’t want to risk it. After that we went to the pharmacy to pick up the last set of Zofran pills and we drove to Pella. Later on Friday we had a Batman marathon, The Dark Knight and Batman Begins. Yes we did watch them out-of-order but is there really a rule about the order to watch movies in movie marathons? I don’t think so, just ask George Lucas with his Star Wars movies.

Gordon/Flanders

Ever notice how the Commissioner Gordon character in the latest Batman movies looks like Ned Flanders on The Simpsons? Is it just me?

Does anyone know of any other look a-likes?

Send any ideas via the comments.

Here is an update on Kellee’s battle with American Airlines to get a refund for his ticket he had purchased for a trip scheduled for the earlier in May he could not take because of his radiation treatments. The last I shared was the airline requested a letter from the doctor’s office stating the facts about Kellee’s medical condition. We requested such a letter in April and nurse Kelly fired one off for us. We have been in wait mode ever since. One night this week Kellee was online checking his credit card balance, because he knew it was paid off and should have been $0.00. He mentioned to me, “I must have paid too much, because now it lists I owe a negative amount.” A little bit later he realized the negative amount matched exactly the amount of the airline ticket! Yeah, it appears American Airlines had granted the refund! So persistence does pay off, especially when you have the facts on your side. Thank-you to American for bending the no refund rule for a very valid reason!

Fish Tacos?

Thursday, May 20, 2010 – Shorter post for today. The tumor focused treatment seems to being well. Not much to report about the morning or afternoon. At about 4:00 I asked Kellee if there was anything in tarpicular he wanted to do for Supper. I told him I planned to either have leftover ribs or chicken and then Kellee suggested we go out to eat. (I thought, good he feels like going out.) When I asked him where he wanted to go, he suggested fish tacos, if we could figure out where to go to get them. We had heard there was a place in Iowa City that served a great fish taco, all we had to do was find the place. I went up and asked the staff at Hope Lodge and they where not sure. So, I sent a text to Beth (whose house we had stayed at early on in this saga) because she is the one who took my sister-in-law Tami there when she was up in Iowa City visiting Kellee back during the biopsy stay. Found out the place is called “The Saloon” aka “Mondo’s Saloon”, having two different names it is known by was sure confusing! When we got there we ordered right away, beverages, chips & salsa and of course, fish tacos. Kellee was a bit apprehensive about the chips and salsa, he was not sure how his throat and stomach would handle it along with the tacos. But he decided to dig in! The plate had three fish tacos and we both cleaned our plates! We agreed they were the best fish tacos we ever had the opportunity to eat. (Granted, it was the first time for either of us to eat fish tacos!) But still, if you ever get to Iowa City and you have a hankering for fish tacos, The Saloon is the place! As we were walking back to the van I said to Kellee, “It really seems you have turned a corner…” He said he had, he wasn’t sure about eating all the food and he was full, but he felt pretty good. He said the change in the focus of the treatment to a smaller area (George the tumor) makes each day much easier and he is feeling better. (Yes, fist pump!)

Friday is doctor day and we head back to Pella for the weekend. Beginning on Monday there will be only eight (8) scheduled treatments left!

Prayer requests: )1 Thanksgiving for the results so far! 2) Continued shrinkage of the tumor, 3) Kellee would continue to feel well, eat more and get stronger, 4) Wisdom for the doctors as we approach the end of the radiation treatment phase for whatever is next(?) 5) For us to be able to be able to organize all the insurance EOB’s, medical bills, etc so Kellee (& us) don’t get overwhelmed by them.

Phase 3 Begins (& A Two Day Review)

Monday, May 17, 2010 & Tuesday, May 18, 2010 -

Monday morning I worked until noon because Kellee’s last treatment focusing on the ventricles was not until 2:30 in the afternoon. I was taking photos in the Model Shop @ Pella Corp. and as I was moving around the product I was photographing, the camera strap got caught on vise handle on the side of the table and I did not notice it. Next thing I knew the camera was on the floor.  Ouch! The flip out LED screen broke and now the screen does not work. The camera is 5 years old, but still worked well until it had this run in with the floor.  Now I need to decide if it is worth getting fixed or just get a new one?

We got to Radiation Therapy just on time and even still had to wait a bit before they called Kellee in. After the treatment Kellee’s spirits were high because another phase of treatment is now complete and he is moving on to the final phase focusing on George the tumor!  However, he did say physically he felt a bit “off” again.  Back at the Hope Lodge, we settled in. Kellee found a TV room and since there was a table with chairs in it as well, I set up a little work area. Turns out Heidi set up shop last week in the same place, great minds think alike! After the evening meal, Kellee claimed a TV room so we could watch House later on and I went to Hy-Vee to see if I could find some meats on sale so we could BBQ this week. When I got back I made a couple of fruit smoothies and we watched TV, basically waiting for 11:00 to come around so Kellee could take his zofran.

When 11:00 rolled around, we went back to our room, I got ready for bed, Kellee took the pill. Then when he was in the bath room, getting ready for bed he got sick and he had tried to shut the door and be quiet so I wouldn’t hear it, but I noticed. Then I couldn’t sleep for a while worrying about him!

Tuesday – I decided not to get up and exercise because I wanted to sleep in. After we both got up and ready, we had breakfast, egg cheese sandwiches on a bagel. On the way to Radiation Therapy Kellee was a bit anxious because he had gotten sick and what would the next treatment phase bring? When we got to the radiation therapy area we remembered to ask if there would still be a treatment on Memorial Day. They said no, the department would be closed. We were told it is one of the few holidays they get! Kellee said he did not get the metallic taste in his mouth during this treatment. He was pleased, he thinks this means it will not be as hard on him. He did say they took a couple x-rays and he did taste metal during them. He was still feeling a bit “off”.  Back at Hope Lodge, I put the country-style ribs in the crock pot to get them going for the evening meal. I made up a spice rub with some of the spices on hand here, knowing I would be able to top the ribs off later with some BBQ sauce.   For the rest of the morning I worked while Kellee was on his computer. He is still trying not to nap during the day so he can sleep at night. We decided to go for Pizza Hut Buffet @ 12:30 for lunch. This was good news for a couple of reasons. 1) Kellee actually felt up to going out and going to eat!  2) Pizza Hut- which done right can be very good pizza (and it would not be the Pizza Hut from our home town, which struggles to put all the right ingredients on a pizza in a timely manner, but once again that is a whole other blog post).

Target was our next stop, Kellee wanted a couple of shirts. On the way there Kellee mentioned he had “accidentally”  left his wallet back at our room, how convenient! A few shirts were acquired as well as some Gatorade. Then it was back to the Lodge to work. At night I took the ribs out to the grill to finish them off and we ate very well! Ribs, sweet potatoes and broccoli. No dessert since we did happen to stop by Cold Stone Creamery on our way back from Target. Tonight we kind of just hung out, watched a bit of TV and then back to our room to wait again for the 11:00 pill. Ever since noon, Kellee seems to have felt pretty well. So far today there have been no other incidents of sickness and Kellee’s appetite has been good. (THIS JUST IN – looks like I will have to wake Kellee up for the 11:00 pill!)

Keep praying for strength, good rest and tumor shrinkage and/or disappearage (I may have just invented a word?).

Great News, 80% Tumor Shrinkage!

Friday, May 14, 2010 -

Heidi’s Update From Iowa City:

Another week down, #4, and some very good news!  The tumor which was the size of a golf ball (the Dr’s description today which differed form the peanut size we were previously told) on March 11 is now the size of a pea (as of Thursday’s MRI)! That is shrinkage of 80%! The focused radiation treatments are much easier on Kellee.  He is not nearly as tired.  With these more focused smaller bursts of radiation he doesn’t get quite as much metallic taste either.  His weight was down a little more today, but the Dr. is not worried.  He has an appetite but it is just not as big as it used to be maybe because his taste buds are a little off.  We just have 3 weeks left!  Kent will be in Iowa City next week with Kellee.  The Hope Lodge is a great place, but sometimes it’s hard to see/hear the detrimental effects cancer, radiation and chemo has on the human body.  There are so many families dealing with difficult cancer circumstances.  We feel very fortunate to be on the mild side of the harmful effects and to have such a large caring community around us.   Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, well wishes, notes of encouragement – they mean more than you’ll ever know.

Now to answer a couple of questions we have been asked:

Will the tumor be completely gone after the last radiation treatment? That is the goal, but the final MRI could still show something in the brain but it will not necessarily be a tumor. Kellee said the doctor explained there some possibilities as to what the MRI could show. 1) It could be scar tissue. 2) There could possibly be some tumor left, but the radiation will most likely have so damaged the tumor that its ability to grow will have been destroyed. So, if there is anything left, it will be monitored over time to see what it does. But that is down the road yet and not anything to be concerned about at this time.

Another question we have already been asked a couple of times since we learned of the tumor shrinkage is; What about the double vision, has Kellee’s vision already improved or will his vision improve? The answer to that is no, and we don’t know. The doctor told us there is no way of knowing – his vision could improve over time but then again it might not. If there was any damage caused by the tumor in the brain to the area which impacted Kellee’s vision, there is no way of knowing if the damage will heal over time or not. The brain takes longer to heal than other organs in the body, as Kellee explained it, the brain is not like some other organs in the body which can bounce back fairly quickly.  So time will tell on the vision thing. But in the mean time, we are rejoicing and praising God for the amount of shrinkage so far!

Wednesday Update

Wednesday, May 12, 2010 – After Wednesday’s radiation treatment Kellee & I (Heidi) met with nurse Kelly to answer questions prior to another MRI – the questions are the same questions we’ve answered before each MRI – “Has any metal been inserted into your body lately”  “Did you get a tattoo or body piercings during Tulip Time”  Ok they didn’t really ask the questions like that, but that’s what I was thinking!  So after the questioning, which took all of 5 minutes, we left for home.  The rain/wind/lightening/detours were challenging but we made it home by 10:45.  Kellee had lunch with a friend and I worked from home all afternoon.  Kellee left around 4pm to practice and play for the last “Mix” – TRC’s Middle School  program that meets on Wednesday nights – thus the reason we came home.  We picked up Subway for dinner.  When Kellee returned from The Mix, he, Kory, and Kent watched Sherlock Holmes, while I read Anna Karenina – well not all of it – just a few pages!

It’s Thursday morning and Kellee and I will leave shortly for Iowa City.  We have a big day today.

10:30 – MRI (1 hour long)

11:45 – Radiation Treatment

1:30 – Neuro Surgery 6 week check up

Fun Fun!  I cooked up some pasta this morning, added sauce and we will have baked pasta tonight at Hope Lodge.

Phase 2, starts on a good note!

Monday, May 10, 2010 – Here is information from Heidi about the day: Kellee was pretty anxious going in for this first boost to the ventricles - but felt much better when he came out after the treatment. He said it wasn’t so bad – not as much metallic taste and it went fairly quick compared to the spine stuff!  He also didn’t have the net impression left on his face, this new smaller mask is not on so tight. Kellee said he could breathe fine too with that thing (bite plate) in his mouth – so we were encouraged.  Yeah, answered prayer!  They found out the MRI on Friday is scheduled for 8:00 am.

When Heidi and Kellee got to Hope Lodge, Kellee told Heidi the treatment was much easier on him and he didn’t feel near as tired.  Kellee showed Heidi around and she was given no other orientation than Kellee’s. The Hope Lodge staff was going to make a name tag for Heidi later in the afternoon.  For lunch Kellee ate the leftover hamburger helper and Heidi had yogurt w/fruit and granola – then some carrots and dip and a cookie.  Kellee did some reading and then took a nap.  The food provided at night was a minestrone soup that was a bit too spicy for Kellee so later in the evening they did have tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Ironically it was the same meal Kory & I ate in Pella tonight. (Heidi had IM’ed me at work telling me they might do it and it sounded good on a cool night.)

Kory called me this afternoon at work and asked me if I would be interested in going to see the movie, Iron Man 2. Which is what we did do after our soup and sandwich meal. When we got home I did speak to Heidi and she said Kellee was watching the Jazz play and that he felt pretty good. They did plug in the air freshener in the room and had the fan going, so the smell of the room was not a problem. Only now the air freshener was a bit strong so they might unplug it. It just goes to show you, it’s always something!  She said tomorrow they were going to venture out and go to Target and possibly DQ.

 

Cinco De Mayo and then – What People do…plus what people say #2 (1st post on 5/5/10)

Wednesday, May 5, 2010 – First just a brief update on the day. Radiation therapy treatment #12 is in the books. Kellee is glad there are only two more to go on the spine! When we got back to Hope Lodge, Kellee napped again and slept until after 1:00! I worked while he slept. When Kellee woke up, I went down to the kitchen and made some Italian chicken, another recipe from the book, Eating Well Through Cancer. It was pretty good, but I already know how I would change it up a bit next time to make it even better! We went back to our room and both worked on our computers. We went to the kitchen @ 6:00 because there was another BBQ! This time a family of 4, provided the food. There was grilled pork burgers, sloppy joes, fried potatoes, a noodle salad and homemade chocolate cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream as an optional topping. (And we wondered if we would eat well here!)  In the evening Kellee was picked up by Robbie and they went to his apartment and ended up playing some music. Kellee played bass while Robbie played guitar as they played some of Robbie’s songs. Kellee said Robbie asked him if he felt like one of ‘”those cancer patients” they used to see as a kid and wonder what they were going through. Kellee replied, he really didn’t feel like a cancer patient.  Thus endeth the review of our Cinco de Mayo.

WHAT PEOPLE DO:

A previous post discussed what some people have said to us and/or how they react when they hear about Kellee and “George the tumor, formerly the tumor known as Dwight.” This post is going cover what some very gracious people have done for us during this journey. First and most importantly – prayer, when people stop and pray for any of us on the spot, that is awesome! When people tell us they are praying for us and will continue to do so is great as well!

One thing we are not always sure how to respond to is when people say, “If you need anything, let us know.” it is actually surprising how hard it is for us to actually come out and admit we could use some help.   Not long ago I talked to a guy in the grocery store about this subject and he said when he went through a situation with some parallels to ours, he was told by someone he respected, when people offer to help it is often their way of dealing with the situation. He was told to just let people do what they offer to do, even if it seems like something he could/should be doing.  Sometimes you just have to let yourself be served. So we are learning to do this. Our neighbor, Tammy B, offered to mow our yard for us. Since Heidi and I are now in the process of alternating weeks in Iowa City, having someone mow the yard, at least until the boys are back home from college, actually would be very helpful, so we accepted the offer and Tammy is going to keep an eye on the grass and mow it this week when it needs it.

Here are some of the other things we have been touched by when people have shared with us during this time. From the prayer quilt (mentioned in a previous post) sending cards, posting encouraging comments on this blog or notes on Facebook, praying for us, giving us gift cards, gas cards or money for expenses, bringing meals, offers to stay in homes in Iowa City, paying for lodging in Iowa City, even offers to help Kellee with medical bills and other thoughtful gifts. Not that long ago, one of Heidi’s co-workers stopped by and dropped off a ginormous gift basket! She said since we would be spending a lot of time in Iowa City she wanted to give us this basket loaded with all kinds of stuff. The basket contained quite a large variety of handy supplies that will be very useful!  We also recently received a gift bag with similar supplies and it was amazing how little of the contents in each of the two actually overlapped! The amount of  thought (& work) people have put into some of the gifts we have been given is overwhelming. All the gifts and gestures are just wonderful and we appreciate each of them very much. It is touching to know people are thinking of us and care enough to be the hands and feet of Jesus to help make this journey just a little bit more bearable.  Thank-you all so very much.

Kellee by the Gift Basket

Heidi with gift bag