Simply Heidi

So I am still here with my mom in Tulsa. I had to stay longer than expected. The doctor ordered a petscan to recheck her liver…and we had that on Saturday. We get the results back tomorrow. She will start her Chemo soon. She has a cold right now, so we are having to wait until that goes away. We met with so many different people on Thursday and Friday. The doctor, nutritionist, homeopathic doctor, nurse team, councelor, etc…it was pretty overwhelming. Here in this center they offer massages for the care givers. Since I am the caregiver I get a free 1 hour massage everyday. I was thrilled about it, since most of the news here and seeing everyone so sick is depressing. They say they encourage the caregivers to get them in order to help deal with stress. I also will see a councelor while I am here. Another free service they offer for caregivers.

Where my mom is at …it is amazing. The people have been very helpful, informative, kind, compassionate, loving, gentle, and my list could go on. We really like her doctor. Actually we like her ALOT! We feel very confident in her care here. Right now she is looking at chemo every 2 weeks. So I will come here every 2 weeks for 3-4 days at a time. Then one of my other sisters will go home with my mom and take care of her there. It is hard at the moment trying to figure out how we are going to balance everything. Cancer effects the whole family. It is a beast! But I will do whatever I have to do to help!

It is funny how everything you thought was so important goes out the window when you are faced with cancer or death. All you want is for that family member to be better. All I want is for my mom to be better. To not be in any pain.

I do not know how people go through things and not have Jesus. He is my lifesaver. My hope. My confidence. My peace. My joy in this storm. If you are staddling the fence with Jesus, I would encourage you just to jump on over to his side, because YOU NEVER know when a storm like Cancer will hit your family. It is so much easier to be in a storm when you are at the center of it with Jesus, then in the wind. It can be anything really…it does not have to be cancer, it could be your finances, or a troubled relationship…but with Jesus on our side…it is easier. I am not saying you won’t have hard times or hard days, but Jesus wants to be our ROCK that we stand on!

So I leave in the am…at 4 AM…to be with my mom. She has colon cancer. She had surgery for it the beginning of this year, but now has to have further treatment. So I am driving up to be with her at the Cancer Center in Tulsa. I am a bit nervous. I don’t know what to expect. It is out of my control. I don’t want her to have to be in pain. Go through treatments. Be alone. So many things racing through my head. What do people do when they go through things and they don’t have Jesus? I don’t know about you, but I am so thankful that I know Jesus. That we have a relationship. That I can rely on him. That he is trustworthy. He is faithful. He is always with me. He bottles my tears. He sees my fears. He sees my hurts, my worries, my times of joy. I am thankful that he already sees the outcome of my mom’s future. That he truly holds her in the palm of HIS hands. I am thankful that because I have my trust in HIM, He will set my feet on solid ground. So if you read this, will you lift up a prayer for my mom!

Isaiah 40:28-31
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

I thought this video was pretty awesome. I watched it on Angie Smith’s site…do you read Audrey Caroline. If you don’t you should. She is such an encouragement to me & to so many others. I love her heart and her love for the Lord!

Anyways, Enjoy the video!

If you would like to consider sponsoring a child from Compassion, click on the link below!

Have you ever tried to make your own soap? I have wanted to for quite some time, but have not had the time to do so. So this morning I just did it! Anyways, Here is the recipe I used. I got it off the website Raising Olives. There are MANY recipes on the internet. But this one worked for us and it was really easy. The next time I try it though I am going to try and make the soap that the Duggar’s use. You can click on over to them and see what they use!

Laundry Soap Recipe

2 gal. hot water

1 bar of soap, grated

2 c. baking soda (not washing soda)

Start by grating 1 bar of soap. I used dial, but I think you can pretty much use what you want!

From 2010-02-20

Then put it in a pot, and fill the pot enough to cover your water. Cook this on low until it dissolves.

From 2010-02-20

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You Ask Why I Follow This Jesus?

Why I love Him the way I do?

When the world’s turned away from His teachings

And the people who serve Him are few.

It’s not the rewards I’m after

Or gifts that I hope to receive

It’s the Presence that calls for commitment

It’s the Spirit I trust and believe.

The Lord doesn’t shelter His faithful

Or spare them all suffering and pain,

Like everyone else I have burdens,

And walk through my share of rain.

Yet He gives me a plan and a purpose,

And that joy only Christians have known,

I never know what comes tomorrow,

But I do know I’m never alone.

It’s the love always there when you need it;

It’s the words that redeem and inspire,

It’s the longing to ever be with Him

That burns in my heart like a fire.

So you ask why I love my Lord Jesus?

Well, friend, that’s so easy to see,

But the one thing that fills me with wonder is

Why Jesus loves someone like me.

~ Author Unknown ~

So I really hope people will comment on this. I am looking for some new recipes. For the most part we eat Lean in 13. And if you are wondering what that is, email me and I will be happy to share that with you. But we have cheat days, and then days that we just want to eat what we want. So I need some kid friendly recipes. Remember I have 5 kids with different taste buds. So would you mind stepping out and either commenting with a recipe that your family loves, or emailing me a recipe, or you can even leave a link to a recipe that you have found online that you love! You can email me at heidi@simplyheidi.com

Okay, so I did not believe that people were actually posting such mean things about MckMama, and digging into her life. And posting it online. I mean seriously who has the time to do that? They complain she tweets too much or blogs too much, they complain about everything, but they have the time to dig up stuff. Kind of a double standard in my book. It is her blog and she can do what she wants with it. Actually it is her life with her family and she can post as much as she wants, and who are we to say it is too much.

So anyways, I visited some of the not so good sites, and was SAD that people could be so brutal. And decided that I would start a blog called:
I Love Mck Mama

And it will be a place for people to post nice things about her, and leave encouraging words. I know she gets that on her blog, but I wanted to do more. I have no clue if anyone will ever visit, but it is there! I do not think I will post there ever day either, but we will see what kind of traffic it picks up!