One Year Later...

Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;

As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Roma

Incredible.

At the Vatican, from inside St Peter's Basilica:

View from high up inside the Roman Colosseum:

We'll finish up tomorrow, home on Thursday. 

Over 500 pictures so far...

Florence

Traveled by train Friday from Naples to Florence.  Enjoyed sitting across the aisle from a Dallas, Texas couple celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary.  Nice to hear southern accents!

Pictured below is the view from San Miniato Church.  See the large dome in the distance?  Our hotel in Florence is about a block from the dome.  Saturday we walked with our guide from our hotel, toured much of Florence north of the Arno River, then headed across the bridges, and up (WAY UP) to San Miniato Church and Piazzale Michelangelo.  Yes, I'll admit, there was some whining (are we there yet?) on my part.  But wow, the view was worth the effort!

 On our own in Florence today, then off to Rome tomorrow.

Whew.

Italia, days two and three

Great day in Capri and Anacapri yesterday.  Our guide was a ton of fun, showed us much of the island.  We toured in a 1960 Fiat convertible.  Gorgeous views.  Beautiful weather.  Communicating isn't too difficult, since most Italians we've come in contact with speak English well.  Absolutely crazy drivers here on the southeastern coast, winding up and down the hills along the coast, with barely enough room for two cars to pass.

Our ride on Capri:

Today we toured Ravello, saw more breathtaking views and walked for miles.  Highlights- ceramics, jeweler specializing in cameo carving out of shell, and our tour of Villa Cimbrone.

Terrace of  Infinity at Villa Cimbrone and a plaque on a church built in 1212 by St. Francis of Assisi:

Tomorrow, off to Florence!

Positano, Italia

Highly recommend for six-month post-surgery recovery.  My breakfast view below.  Off to Capri.  (Discovered that you don't pronounce it like the cropped pants.  Accent on the first syllable.)

Ciao! (pronounce: chow)

Happy Spring!

An update...six months after!  Wow, time really does fly.

Since the first of the year, we've been less and less distracted by doctors and tests.  Though we continue under the watchful eye of the breast specialist, plastic surgeon and oncologist, our appointments are much less frequent. Thankful.

About every three to four months, our follow-up appointments with our oncologist will include lab tests, looking for "tumor markers".  We've had our first round of tests, and all were clean.   Thankful.

The breast specialist is also on the lookout for recurrence.  Follow-up with him is scheduled at three to four month intervals.  Our first follow-up went well.  Thankful.

Because we opted for breast reconstruction, we'll continue to be under the care of our plastic surgeon.  You may remember that we chose the "direct to implant" (one-step) reconstruction, completed on the surgery date in November.  There have been additional procedures available (let's call them....detailing) for which we've simply chosen to "opt out".  We have had no complications and have a new appreciation for the skill of plastic surgeons.  Thankful.

We're living a new "normal",  and can most certainly attest to God's faithfulness in providing everything we need to move forward in faith.  So very Thankful.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be Glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."  Ephesians 3:20-21

Gratitude

My Day

a poem by Alan Casey

Each morning I wake up

looking for those golden rays from the skies,

Hoping that I will not see the color of gray

closing off the view from my eyes.

So, then I am thankful for a sky of blue

with funny shaped clouds floating along,

Brightening up my day, making me smile,

giving me the feeling that nothing can go wrong.

Then each night before I go to sleep

my heart fills with that certain feeling

I find myself thanking the Lord

for giving me something to believe in.

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.  Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect."  I Peter 3:15