Warm them buns!

The best “bun warmer” on the planet…

and Forrest, that’s all I have to say about that!

Winter

It seems like forever since I’ve written anything here.  With our outreach trip to New Orleans, playing catch-up and the semester start-up at work, time has certainly been at a premium.  Something had to be put on a shelf and this little blog-o-mine here took the fall.  

Is a person every really caught up?  I guess it’s all in perspective as to what a person “thinks” is important and how they prioritize their life.  For the last few weeks, my time has been dictated either by others or responsibilities for commitments I made. 

Now, I believe, do I dare say it?  Things look to be slowing down some and just maybe I can relax, hole-up in the house, maybe read a little, maybe quilt a little, maybe sew a little, positively cook a little and of course, blog some.  Winter is good for a few other things than making me cold, right? 

As much as I don’t like to be cold or driving on crummy roads, I do have to admit that winter definitely has a beauty like no other. 

The past few mornings, we’ve had fog combined with freezing temperatures which brings on beautiful trees and scenery.  Yesterday as the sun was coming up, everything absolutely glistened from the frost and ice. 

 

 

The colors of a sunrise and sunset are so much brighter against a snowy white landscape.

Isn’t God amazing?  Only He can paint a landscape such as this!

Merry Christmas from the Millers!

Have a blessed day with your family and friends! 

By the time this posts, we should be well on the road driving to New Orleans for a two week construction outreach trip with our church.  Six of us are leaving today and the rest will follow tomorrow. 

I probably won't be keeping up this blog much over the next couple of weeks but if you would like to follow along with our outreach trip check out http://crossroadsconstruction.blogspot.com.  We will be updating it daily once we all "land" in New Orleans. 
What we did last year is also there for your perusal.  :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Eve

“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”- Luke 2:16-20

I'm not a mutant!

Well, at least some of my cells aren't!

I received the best early Christmas present this week. 

I don't have the BRCA1 cell mutation that causes hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.  (click here to read the original post)

I wasn't supposed to find out the results of the test I had done earlier this month until January, but the test came back quicker than expected and they had a cancellation so DH & I were able to meet with the genetic team Thursday afternoon.  We went prepared for the worst, but were given good news instead.  We were very suprised.  My family history is loaded so we fully expected that I carried this gene.

They did however, recommend I have one more test done which detects something called Lynch syndrome, the hereditary colon and uterine cancer gene.  My Mother died from colon and uterine cancer in 1983.    

For right now, though, I'm focusing on the good report at hand.

Can you say Merry Christmas to me?!? 

This is my church. 
Crossroads Community Church
I thought I would give you a glimpse of where we go to worship our Lord.  
I like what they did with the stage Christmas decorations this year.  The snowflakes and lighted branches at the sides of the stage are gorgeous and the lit creche I absolutely love. 

And no, this isn't what our typical attendance looks like :). 
I was at the church early last week doing a stint as service coordinator and caught the worship team mid-practice.

Sure does a mama's heart good

The weekend after Thanksgiving, my daughter-in-law, Heidi suggested we have a cookie baking day.  Of course, I said sure right away but then had a few second thoughts remembering how much work it was.  However, I wrote it on the calendar and we know if it's on the calendar, it's not negotiable, right?


When the boys were young, baking and decorating sugar cookies was a yearly tradition but as they got older, I ended up doing most of the rolling, cutting, baking, frosting and decorating myself as they had most definitely lost interest.  Work, cars and girls seemed to take priority over baking with Mom.  Go figure!


I finally gave it up as well because
a) it was a whole lotta work to do alone
c) DH doesn't like sugar cookies
b) because I couldn't stay out of them myself - there's not much better than a frosted sugar cookie, especially if they've been frozen
c) I gave up sweets few years back
and
d) again, all I could remember was the work!


A tad of  a "poor me" attitude, you say?  Yeah, pretty much!

As it turned out though....sometimes the things we "think" we don't want to do the most turn out to be the biggest blessing of them all, don't they? 

We had a wonderful day together!  I really did very little other than mix the cookie dough and frosting.  I got to watch and enjoy!

Heidi and the grandkids came, DIL Laurie helped until she & Luke had to leave late morning, Soon-to-be DIL Kristen helped and even Joe, Jon and their friend Steve got in on the act.  It was so much fun watching our grown boys, DIL's and the grandkids decorate cookies.  I did feel a little sorry for Steve.  I highly doubt that he thought he would be doing that when he stopped over to see the boys but he was a great sport and seemed to have fun with it anyway.

It was a day that sure gave this mama's heart a much needed boost. 
Thank you Heidi for suggesting it.  You're the best!

Storm aftermath

A few pictures from my workplace this morning.  It really is pretty to look at but brrr...baby, it's cold outside!   -2 with a even worse wind chill!

This is all from yesterday's snowstorm.  We had no snow on the ground before then.

This is the reason I always look up before I leave my building in the wintertime.

See that snow hanging over the eaves?  Yeah, I've watched that drop before.  I saw a guy one day standing under one of these smoking a cigarette when a huge chunk came down right behind him.  I'm pretty certain he had to go home and change his underwear.  Of course, me, being the sensitive soul that I am, laughed my butt off.  :) 

That one could poke an eye out!

and so Winter begins....

We had a skiff of snow on the ground yesterday morning with  much more forecasted last night and today.

The time has come where I have to warm up the car before I leave for work in the morning.

The view from the parking lot at work yesterday morning.

The college was closed due to the weather today so I got a SNOW DAY, bonus day!  Oh how I love a good old fashioned snow day!

This is what our deck looked like at 6 am this morning.

At 9am we had almost 11" on the deck and it snowed hard for a couple of hours after that yet, so I'm guessing we probably have had close to 13" by now.  Frankly, I didn't go back out and measure again.  I'm kind of preferring my nice warm house to the great outdoors today.

 Now the winds are kicking in. Oh yea! It sure looks like winter is here! :(

I hope your staying warm and dry whereever you are!

Sometimes genetics are just no fun :(

Disclaimer #1:
For the few of you men out there who read this…if you don’t like the mention of the words ovary or breast, you might want to skip this post. Sorry, but being up front right from the start.


Disclaimer #2:
This post is long but important to read if you have a family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer. Sorry, it’s not the most uplifting subject but it’s important nonetheless.



A year ago, a cousin of mine I’ll refer to as “F” had the BRCA analysis done. For those of you who have not heard of this, a BRCA analysis is a relatively simple, one vial, albeit expensive blood test, to see if a person carries a hereditary gene called BRCA1 or BRCA2. Hereditary cancers make up only 12-15% of breast and ovarian cancer, the other 85% is called sporadic(no heredity involved). However out of that 12-15%, if you carry one of the BRCA genes, your risk of getting breast cancer increases to 85% and ovarian cancer 45%.

The BRCA test along with a family history of early or young (50’s or younger) onset of this disease determines if a person is at high risk. Let’s just say my family medical history is loaded! My great grandmother was 41 when she died of breast and ovarian. My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer at 48, a cousin with breast in her early 40’s, another with ovarian cousin in her 50’s, yet another cousin in her 50’s with fallopian tube, an aunt with ovarian in her mid 40’s, an aunt with breast and my mother with uterine in their 50’s, etc. See the heritage? I’ve always had the belief of not “if” I get cancer, but a matter of “when” I get cancer and have accepted that as a reality. Three years ago I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer which is not related to breast or ovarian but the realization that my body can and will grow the crap was brought home to me.


My cousin, “F” and her son, “S” both tested positive for the BRCA 1 gene. A year ago, after their testing, “F” sent out a letter telling others of us in the family about their positive results. At the time I received the letter, I promptly and ignorantly filed it away, thinking what would I do with the results if I was tested anyway? (I guess I didn’t read it very close so didn’t realize it also tested for ovarian cancer and not just breast.) My thought was that I do everything I can already (regular exams and mammograms) to check for breast cancer so what good would that information do me. It more than likely would just be an added stress and worry, so why deal with that, right? File it away…outta sight…outta mind.


In October, a friend who is currently going through treatment for breast cancer invited me to a Breast Cancer Awareness seminar. The lead speaker talked about genetics and the BRCA testing. During this seminar I learned the BRCA test also includes ovarian cancer. I had a hysterectomy almost ten years ago but they left the ovaries since I was young and they didn’t want to throw me into menopause. This has always been a concern of mine as ovarian cancer is typically fairly symptomless and goes undetected until it’s in the advanced stages. My gyne has wanted to do an ovarian ultrasound in the past but insurance wouldn’t cover it as it wasn’t “medically necessary.”


After much thought and prayer, I talked with my gyne who recommended a doctor who specializes in genetics at a local hospital. I called and set up an appointment with his genetic counselor. She told me what steps I needed to take to see if my insurance would cover this test. She also said most insurance companies now cover the cost. Lo and behold, my company will! So since they will cover the cost what am I out, right? I made an appointment which was last week and spent nearly 3 hours with the counselor and an oncologist RN learning all about gene make-up and what this test could show.


If a person has one or more first degree relatives with the gene, a person has a 50/50 chance of carrying the gene as well. If I test positive which frankly, I’ll be surprised if I don’t, there is a 50/50 chance that it’s been passed on to my sons and they in turn have a 50/50 chance of passing it along to their children. Yes, males can also carry the gene. Obviously they won’t get ovarian cancer, but can get, albeit rare, breast cancer. This gene can also surface in males as prostrate or colon cancer.

I went ahead with the blood test which takes four weeks to get the results. I go back on January 21st and meet with the counselor, RN and doctor to get my results and develop a possible care plan.


A question you say? If I test positive, what good will this information be to me?


In my case, step one would more than likely lead to the removal of my ovaries, which I’m perfectly fine with. Menopause has already begun. Not using them anyway, so get rid of them I say.
This procedure is called an oopherectomy(sp). Now, doesn’t that sound like something out of “Who-ville”???


The nurse also said most insurance companies will cover this now too if I am BRCA 1 positive and with my family history. She said insurance companies have decided it’s much more cost effective to pay for a surgery or two than rounds of chemotherapy and radiation.


They will also monitor my breasts much more closely. Instead of doing a regular mammogram, it will more than likely be an MRI of the breasts instead. Some women have even went as radical as a double mastectomy with reconstruction. I’m not quite sure where I stand on that yet. I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

If I test positive for the BRCA1 gene and have my ovaries removed, it lessens the chance of me getting breast cancer by 45%! If I would go through with the double mastectomy (again, no decision on this one yet), it lessens the chance of breast cancer by 85 – 95%!

I’m looking at it this way…if I had a heart problem and had to change my diet or have a surgery to take the risk of a defect away, I would do it. There is not a diet I can change for breast or ovarian cancer but I can have this testing and maybe take more aggressive testing or preventative methods to monitor things.  I'm viewing as being proactive instead of reactive.

Also, this information could be helpful to my sons and their children in the future.


This is not something I will dwell on as that typically isn’t my style, but it’s a real threat for me so I feel I owe it to myself to find out the facts and go from there.

I like the way the Myriad Testing website says it….
“When it comes to breaking the cycle of inherited cancer, knowledge is power and hope.”

Lots to pray about and think about, huh?



If you want to learn more about the BRCA testing, click here.