Fall in Colorado

We seem to go from record setting high's to record setting low's for this time of year, and it doesn't appear we'll have what I think of as a typical "Fall". And on one hand, time seems to be passing more quickly than I can keep up with; yet on the other hand, I'm counting the days until Tyler, Shawna and Taylor will be here for Thanksgiving.

Christopher's shoulder is recovering nicely. He had the opportunity to attend the Broncos vs. Patriots game with Chad and Jennifer, which was quite a highlight for him. (Though he'd have been happier if the Pats had won!) Jason quit the chicken business and both boys are now human directional signs and directing home searchers to the D R Horton Homes at Tollgate Crossing. They've found that it's far harder than they'd thought to stand on a corner and flip and wave a big sign for six hours, and have been both sunburned and frozen at various times.

Jason and Ally went to Grandview's Homecoming a couple weeks ago, and looked quite nice, if I do say so myself. Doug was hunting that weekend, but both Ronette and I took lots of pictures.

I was on a committee at Church to put on a Women's Connection Brunch last weekend, and we had about 70 women in attendance. Everyone had a great time, and we have many more events in the works, including small groups, a craft day, cookie exchange, retreat and more.

Alan's doing very well. His cancer number is now at 5.9, just 9/10's away from being in remission. He's having a cat scan this Friday, and meeting with the surgeon next week to review the findings from the scan and latest pet scan to once again see about removing the primary tumor and reversing the colostomy. He's also scheduled to spend 10 days at an alternative healing facility in Loveland called Eden Valley Institute. They have a web site, so if you're interested in finding out more about it, just google it and take a look.

Robinson Updates

Hi friends and family,it's hard to believe it's time for the boys to go back to school. We found out last week that Christopher's shoulder needed surgery,and luckily, we were able to get it taken care of prior to the start of school. Football is definitely a no go for this season, and we had to change his schedule and give up the advanced weight training. He's found that he can't get comfy in his bed, so he's sleeping in the lazy boy in the family room.

Taylor has just turned six months old. Hard to believe she's half a year! She's getting her first tooth and starting to sit on her own. She reaches for her Daddy as soon as he walks through the door from work and loves to laugh and play. She has her check-up on Monday, and I'm anxious to see how much she's grown.

Alan will be having his second round of the new chemo this week. I hope it's doing its job, because it definitely has some painful side affects. He'll be having another pet scan on Sept. 1st.

Tomorrow the boys and I are going to the Colorado Rockies Faith Day, hopefully see the Rockies win another game and following the game Mercy Me will be in concert. I think there's about 90 of us going from Church - should be fun!

August News

Where has the summer gone? I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd updated our blog until a friend pointed it out to me. I can't blame it on not having anything to say, because we've had lots going on around here!

Jennifer and Chad are engaged to be married - yea for them! Chad has inherited quite a bit of land in Iowa, and they were there visiting family and out walking the property when he went down on bended knee and proposed. Once she realized he wasn't bending down to tie his shoe, she happily said yes. The wedding will be July 3, 2010 in Boulder.

Our friends, the Andres, were here visiting from Arizona and it was great to see them. We cooked out - Jennifer and Chad joined us and we drafted Chad to man the grill. The food was great, and the kids all went geocaching afterwards. The boys and I went to Elitch's with them the next day, and we had a great time riding roller coasters and playing in the water park.

The Andres went on to Estes Park from Elitch's, all except Kurt. We kept him with us, and then Christopher and I took Kurt to join the family the next day. We all stayed at the YMCA of the Rockies and had a great time. We drove up to an elevation of almost 12,000 ft., where Kelsey found that the pressure was so great it popped the lid off her lotion and her ipod was covered. We spent hours exploring the Rocky Mountain State Park and took lots of great pictures. Back at the Y, we stayed busy playing miniature golf, cards and frisbee golf.

Alan returned to work last week, working 4 hour days. He's feeling pretty good, having recovered from the surgery, and his energy level is up as it's been two months since chemo. That's about to change, however. We met with his oncologist yesterday and have scheduled chemo for next week. He'll have one of the drugs that he had in the first 10 sessions of chemo along with two new ones. One of the drugs evidently has a side affect of an acne-like rash, hopefully it won't be too bad. I'm also hopeful that none of the drugs will cause nausea. I guess we'll soon find out. Dr. Diab is also going to do another pet scan to see how things are looking.

Okay, that pretty much covers what we've been up to around here. I'll try and update more often!

Surgery Day

We were here at the hospital at 6 a.m. this morning for surgery, and started off with high hopes. We filled the waiting area - Me, Jason, Christopher, Alan's Dad, Rich and Dee Keller, Pastor Troy, Harvey Haynes, Ronette and Ally McLaughlin.
Unfortunately, Dr. Barnes came out much sooner than I had expected him, and let me know that it was not going to be possible to remove the tumor yet again. Although we'd been led to believe that it had shrunk considerably, and it had, just not as much as everyone expected. He estimates it's still 10 - 12 inches long, as wide as a fist, and connected to the pelvic wall, kidney and a few nerves and what-not. Trying to remove the tumor could mean killing the kidney and damage to his leg.
Dr. Barnes (surgeon) was in contact with Dr. Diab (oncologist) during the surgery, and they say we're going to have to hit this a little harder with the chemo. They are pleased that his cancer has responded to the chemo; just surprised that it hadn't responded as much as they thought. Time for a new game plan.

Vacation

The boys and I met up with Tyler, Shawna, Taylor and Shawna's little cousin Donte, at the Lake of the Ozarks in MO. We had chocolate chip sensation to celebrate Tyler's 23rd birthday the first day we were here.

This is the first time the boys have been able to see their niece, and Jason, especially, has really taken to her. She loves to play with him and give him her best smiles.

Shawna watches Donte while his Mom works, and he's been with Taylor so much he calls her his "sissy". He's so cute with her, and every bit as protective as a big brother. His age group is more compatible with Christopher, and they're big "buddies".

I have a feeling the week is going to go by way too fast and Taylor will have to get back in her car seat for the dreaded drive back to Kentucky. Hope she enjoys it more than she liked the drive here!