Another Anniversary to Celebrate

It was one year ago today that I was recovering from my double mastectomy. Of all the treatments and decisions over the past year, this is one that I don't regret one bit. After all, not everyone can say they lost almost seven pounds in a day and a year later have kept it off, right?

Last year, the six weeks or so just after the surgery were easily the hardest, darkest period of this cancer journey. We were making hard choices with questionable information coming from many sources. We were facing the fact that I would likely not survive for very long at all. There was pain in all shapes, there was anxiety, so much uncertainty.

Now, today, we have embraced that uncertainty as just a way of life. It is after all a fact. None of us - no, not one - knows when we will breathe our last breath on this earth. We live in the immediacy of that fact and it is a gift to be able to do so.

This season I pray and hope and wish you that awareness of our short time here. Make every day, every hour, every moment count for something. Even it counts only for rest, for contentment, for ease and tranquility, take each precious instant and just be aware that we wont get it back. Even if it is not perfect, not wonderful, not amazing, at least make it not wrong, not awful, not bitter.

God bless each one of you this Christmas season. May He work in beautiful and mysterious ways in the lives of your families to remind you that He is the only certain Thing we have.

On the banks of the might Missouri

Happy One Year Anniversary.... very happy!

Well, it was exactly one year ago today (Sept 10) that I was diagnosed with stage 3 NCIS breast cancer. Just last Wednesday, Sept 4, I had my port-a-cath removed. This chapter in my/our life is over yet the lessons and gifts will remain.

Seems almost unreal that a whole year has passed, or that only a year has passed.

We have come so far.

We have learned to value our health.

We have learned to honor our bodies as the temples they are, seeking to serve God more completely with our vitality and strength and energy, those things that result from good nutrition.

We have made so many memories, done so many fun, cool things... things that at one point I never thought I'd get to do.

We've come face-to-face with death and embraced the concept, the reality, that each of us four will die away from this life and that one of us will be the last to go. We've talked about how sad or joyous or bewildering or upsetting that will be. No matter how great and deep our reliance on our Lord, even Jesus wept when Lazarus died. We too will weep.

We've prioritized. We are living so much more fully in the present that it is sometimes hard to get too irate about dirty socks on the floor or dishes not washed or dogs not walked.

We've regained focus and energy. We are motivated to do as much as we can without wasting a minute.

We've learned that family is precious and that friends are amazing, some of them so much like family that we treasure them as such.

We've learned that people want to help and we need to let them.

We're reminded that running is fun, exercise is essential, and good is contagious.

And finally, we've learned that broccoli isn't so bad. Really!

shrimp with BROCCOLI and other yummy veggies

SO good!

Apparently Annie's Cheddar Bunnies are also good

fresh-caught rockfish - yum

sunny iceberg

seastar and Amy

Can you see that little harbor seal sneaking up on the seagulls? He was just cruising by that iceberg looking for trouble.

These pictures are from our recent trip to a cabin several hours by boat away from us. It was an amazing, magical place.

Thanks for continuing to check in here. We've had incredible weather this summer so blogging has been at a minimum, but it's still a joy to be able to share.

Please feel free to share this blog, comment below, or ask questions.

Breaking News!!

(from KINYradio.com...)

Six year old girl is 11th in unofficial Derby standings
A six year kid is in 11th place unofficially in Juneau's Golden North Salmon Derby with a 20.6 pound King.

Amelia Lockwood, the daughter of Greg and Jenni Lockwood, said her fish pulled out a bunch of line before she was able to reel it in and her Dad netted it.

Along with her Dad, the 44 pound angler was fishing with her 9 year old sister Gwen, a cousin, and her grandma.

The total prize value for 11th place is $1,232 which includes $500 cash. There are also several prizes for the biggest fish caught by kids 13 and younger.

Amelia isn't sure what she's going to do with her winnings, but we could tell she was thinking about it.

Amelia will also get the Kid's Trophy.

She'll pick up the trophy and her other winnings at Award's Night beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday at Centennial Hall.

 

Jody Hass is the unofficial winner with a 29.2 pound King.

And We Did Tri Again

 

Greg and I completed our second sprint distance triathlon this weekend. Greg had some loftier goals than I, so I actually accomplished mine.

Goal #1: don't scratch... check
Goal #2: don't die... check
Goal #3: shave 10 minutes off last year's time... check

Three for three! Yippee!

_________________________________________________

So, here's a description of the race from the official race site: www.aukeman.weebly.com

"Race Distances: 750 meter swim in Auke Lake (wetsuit is mandatory), 19K bike, and a 5K run."

My Canadian readers will not have nearly the trouble with these distances as will my fellow Americans. The conversion for the swim equals about just over 820 yards or about .47 miles. The bike ride is almost 12 miles and the 5K equals about 3.1 miles.

Just about 15.5 miles total.

I completed (not "competed", mind you) in just over 2 hours. 2:07:58 in fact. Last year's time was 2:18:40. Not too shabby for a 43-year-old, couch potato-ey, stage 4 cancer patient! I bet losing that cantaloupe-sized tumor and the 40+ pounds in the twelve months between races clinched the staggering ten-minute difference.

Okay enough bragging, even though I am clearly very pleased with the results and my race.

What ingredient is thus far missing from my race summary post?

Anyone?

Yes! God's unfailing faithfulness and healing! His awesome might and power to protect, inspire, and receive my praise!

During our sermon at church Sunday, I had an entire blog post come into my head. It was a bit of a struggle to simultaneously listen to Pastor Matt as well the voices in my head, so I wrote as much of my internal musings down as I could and I'd love to share them with you now, er, tomorrow, er, SOON.

The official race results will be available on that weebly site also sometime soon, I hope.

For now, enjoy some photos of the race... 

I passed FOUR people during the swim! Woah - unheard of!

My official time out of the water was less than what this shows. Those huge clocks are SUCH a great help to gauge my progress. Someday I may get my own sports watch so I can figure this kind of stuff out myself. But for now, I just enjoy the ride and thank whomever puts these clocks out on the course.

I just about dumped my bike over in the transition area. I should have put my helmet on first but the giggle moment was well worth it. I've learned not to take myself too seriously during the Aukeman. And to chuckle at every opportunity!

Greg's epic finish!
The guy behind him is a 25-year-old co-worker who just couldn't combat Greg's unexpectedly swift final sprint.

The last few yards of the 5K were a little hard on my swelling fingers, so I was massaging the fluid out while I walked up these cruel, awful, demonic switchbacks. Our nephew Trevor snapped this one and the next as the kids were all waiting and wanting to run with me to the finish line.... that was the plan anyway.

Here's Gwen, happy that I'm almost done. I've just about crested the hill to the final stretch.

When I saw the clock, I instantly began sprinting like I've never sprinted. I wanted to make the line in under 2:08 since last year's time was 2:18:??... I wasn't sure what the seconds were, so I knew I HAD to get there in under 2:08. The poor kiddos were left in the dust, but I DID beat my own 2:08 buzzer!

 

Yay! 2:07:58! Next year I'm going to crack the 2-hour barrier.

Greg and the girls are so darn encouraging and cute!

 

Blood Test Results...

...are NORMAL! Not only that, they are more normal than they were three months ago when I was told if I hadn't already been diagnosed with cancer, I wouldn't be newly diagnosed based on those fantastic numbers.

So, yeah, these new numbers are lower than great.

AWESOME! We. Are. So. Blessed!

If you are someone who has ever prayed for us, thank you so very much. Both Greg and I feel very confidently that God led us to this solution and healing, that He is pleased we are healthier, eating mostly the manna He has provided. I don't know where we would be if we hadn't found this "crazy, irresponsible, alternative" method to cure this cancer. I imagine I'd have either died of the chemo and radiation by now or at least I'd be a very, very sick mom these days.

As it is, I'm enjoying the calm weeks before school starts as well as a little rest before the AukeMan Triathlon on Saturday. (Goal: Finish without hurting myself and with a faster time than last year when I still had the newly-discovered but yet undiagnosed tumor.)

Regardless, the prayers and intercessions you have made on our behalf have made a huge impact, a huge difference. God has answered our prayers! He had taken this sickness away and made something very good and very beautiful grow in its place.

May God's grace and healing come to you in whatever way you need it, right now, today.

God is so very good!

Blue Mussel Cabin

Well, I'm pretty certain that there are some fun excursions I'm forgetting to add, in between my last post about Sticky and this one. But these pictures are so great and we had so much fun that I am preempting order in favor of chaos and joy!

Okay, so to get to the Blue Mussel cabin we first drive out to Echo Cove which is at the very "end of the road" in Juneau. It's about 40 miles from our house. We took a 12-ft inflatable raft with a 5-horse outboard and loaded way more than we needed into it, plus ourselves and the dog.

Off we go!

The weather was sketchy as expected, but some sun was peeking through.

Home Sweet Home for two days and nights.

Saturday morning we took a hike to a meadow about a mile away from the cabin.

Lots of interesting trees, rocks and vegetation along the way. Giddyap!

Skunk cabbage and Amy.

Fairly fresh bear scat. Hmm.

Gwen named this 'Thunderstorm shelter rock" which was kind of odd since we live in Alaska where thunder is very rare.

In front of the meadow, there was a huge tidepool for a wealth of exploration.

Sea urchins on the march.

Amy's hermit crabs are fighting for dominance of the palm.

Since my lymph node removal surgery, this is how I hike.
I look like a Gomer Pyle-esque POW.

Might I also add that the exact pose I need to maintain to keep the fluid from pooling in my finger and wrists is the same one I use to praise God for this life I live and enjoy? I am often marching through the forest singing at the top of my lungs! :)

At the cabin, someone left me a bit of luxury to enhance my stay.

Beautiful views surrounded us. This is a mountain on the north side of Berners Bay called "Lion's Head".

Nope, that's not an eagle. It's a dragonfly! There were hundreds and hundreds of these guys flying all around, keeping the other biting bugs away. We never used a drop of spray to keep us from getting all' ate up'.

We could have, however, used some sunscreen. The dog is demonstrating how difficult it was to find some shade.
Good Keta.

Sunday morning, I woke up to Greg and Amy snuggling on the picnic table overlooking the water. Precious!

The girls had their own loft to sleep in. Here they are yelling, "Photobomb!"

So, there's a lot of emphasis in nature photography on waterfalls. What about the poor "landfalls" or "sodfalls"?

We could hear dirt trickling all night long.

Patootie!

Greg and the girls took a hike above the sodfall on Sunday morning. What a lovely way to honor the Sabbath day.

Greg engineered up a seasaw after Gwen found the wood and the rock and the idea.

Here's Gwen with her "cancer ribbon". She was excited to share this picture on the blog.

While we did not see any bears, we spooked one out of its bed after our Saturday hike. On Sunday, the dog was doing this brown bear imitation in the rocks.

We think Keta (rhymes with cheetah) was a little sick on this trip what with the vomit and other issues. She is better now that we're home but still lethargic. Maybe she's as wiped out as we are! It's a lot of work to go camping all the time!

All packed and loaded up, waiting for the tide to come in so we can launch. We must've looked like the marine version of the Beverly Hillbillies! :) Gwen's cringing from the sun - we're not used to it in our rainforest!

Two girls happy to be heading home, but also happy with yet another Alaska adventure!