Clay -

Glad to hear that Deana was starting to feel a bit better yesterday. Motion sickness ... boy, we can both commisserate with her on that one ... that type of nauseau is the absolute worst, because there isn't a reprieve when you do throw up. AND the dizziness is terrible. Will this rare reaction (the poor lady can't seem to catch a break) happen with every chemo treatment that she has in the future? Let's pray not!

Spoke with Mom on the phone for a bit of time yesterday and I got to chat with Bailey. She said that she was playing with some new toys and that she had some new sneakers (purple ones). I couldn't believe how vocal that she was ... I still remember her as that little tyke piggy tails that snuggled up the morning that you left. When Grandma and I were talking, Bailey comes up and says, "Grandma, Tell Brandon that I am too a princess!" I thought that I was going to split a gut. That one is a corker, isn't she! Wonder where she gets that from?

On the phone, I mentioned to Mom that you should look into your car loans and mortgage to see whether or not you have disability associated with them. There is a possibility (perhaps remote but worth looking into) that Deana's illness will allow you to draw on it. When I had my ectopic pregnancy a few years ago (OK, OK more like thirteen years ago) and had been disabled for more than thirty days, the insurance kicked in and made payments on my car loan until I could work full time. If the bank says that Deana wasn't working, you could probably get proof that she had just been hired by the airlines. Hey, it may be a long shot, but ya' never know.

I'm thinking of both of you often and praying for you both constantly. I wanted to share a quick little story with you. A few years ago, I was having a really difficult time with a child ( a colleague's son) ... he had lotsa learning disabilities and was struggling to keep up in my classroom. His mother decided to pull him from my room and put him in an inclusion room. It wasn't meant as a slap in the face, but it really hurt. I have a bit of an ego (wonder where I get that from) and I knew that I, if just given the chance, could have had a positive impact on him. To make matters worse, a fellow colleague (whose a royal pain in the ass, but shall remain unnamed) needled me about it. Poked at me about how it's never happened to her ... blah, blah, blah. Anyways, that evening I had to attend a conference in Watertown that was being held in the basement of a church. I cried nearly all the way to Watertown and was feeling pretty sorry for myself (I know that this seems petty in light of what you and D. are going thru, but hang on ... there is a point) I wiped my tears and entered the basement, as I walked in, there was a HUGE poster of a sunrise. On the poster were the words "Be Still and Know That I AM GOD" Needless to say, I got the message. Even funnier, I have been back to that same church's basement, but the poster wasn't there anymore. Coincendence ... I think not. That same verse has helped me thru other difficult times, and it had been reverberating in my mind since your nightmare has started.

Well, I am going to give Grandma Ruby a jingle this morning and maybe go for a visit. Talk to everyone later.

Love ya - Sonya