California and back to Texas

 I am sitting at the Ontario airport waiting to board my flight back to Texas...with a quick plane change in Las Vegas. The trip has been nice, hard, and relaxing all at the same time. Unfortunately, Marc has had some stresses at home. His car broke down and had to be towed Monday. $1,400 later it is working. Yesterday, my car died. It died forever. He spent $200 to tow it only to find out the engine seized up. So, I now need a new car. I am not sure how we are going to make it happen with zero financial options. Enough of that though. I will worry about that and my upcoming doctor appointments and chemo once I step foot back in Texas. 

If you have followed along on facebook, then you have seen a small fraction of the photos that I took. Hannah and I arrived Monday morning. We mostly chilled at Josh's house the whole afternoon, since he was working. Tuesday afternoon we set off on a hike. This one was tough. I already knew my body was still fatigued from the previous week's chemo. This hike was a constant elevation gain. I made it a mile before sitting down and deciding to go back to the creekbed. We (Hannah, Morganne, and I) would break, then pick out next sitting rocks ahead and go do it all over again. I probably could have gone farther, but I also had to make it back down. We hung out at the creek bed for a while. We were about to head back to the cars when the others came back down. My trip was 2.07 miles round trip. The healthy and in shape people did 3.7 miles round trip. My body was so sore that afternoon. 

Wednesday we went to California Baptist University to watch Morganne's graduation. She has her Masters now! After graduation we went to brunch with her family. Then we just chilled at the house that night. Josh had to work...worship rehearsal for Sunday. 

Thursday, they planned to do the waterfall hike. We did this one back in 2018. I remember it being a little tough and dangerous. Well, the trail we used previously had washed out. There were signs saying the upper area was closed. However, if you know my kids, you know they pay no attention to signs. So, we climbed up rocks, crossed the creek, and climbed up more rocks. We made it to the waterfall. I am glad, because I wanted Hannah's photo there.


This is me atop a rock and a little afraid to move in that moment. I made it! It was not easy for me. The water was so cold. I had the pins and needles feeling in my feet and legs. My feet even went numb at some point. One section of water that we had to walk through was knee deep. The climb down was a little scary and slippery. I wondered how on earth I managed to climb up while we were going down. I was pretty much toast for the rest of the day, but we went to the movies. I actually managed to stay awake, but did go to bed before 10 that night. 

Thankfully, Friday was very low key. My body was so fatigued that I could hardly do anything. Even sitting up seemed to drain me of my energy. Friday night, we headed to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate Josh's birthday. It was nice and the food was good. Then we headed back to the house to watch the Houston Rockets win. I went to bed shortly after. 

So here we are...it is Saturday, and I am sad to be leaving. I felt that way when we were here for Josh's wedding. Who would ever think that this Texas girl would be sad to leave California??? It is just so beautiful and peaceful here. While there is so much I dread about being back home- dealing with finding a new car with no money, my oncology appointment, and round 7 of chemo on Monday, I am really missing my dog! Josh's dog and Sam's dogs are no replacement for my big lug! 

Prayers requests for the upcoming days- Please pray for safe travels for me and no delays at the airport. Also pray for me to have energy to work tomorrow, since traveling is exhausting. Samantha, Caleb, and Hannah are going to go to a sports day at Josh's church this morning, then they will start their drive back at some point this afternoon. Despite my pleas to find a hotel on the way to rest, they plan to drive all the way back without stopping. Samantha will likely not let the others drive. Please pray for safe travels for them AND no car issues. We seem to be on a trend of bad luck with cars. Please pray for round 7 of chemo on Monday. I truly do dread it. Finally, please pray for God's grace in finding a car. Anthony (Sam's finance) was already looking and now I am looking too. I know I won't be able to get the car that I want, but I do need something safe, reliable, and really really cheap!

Before I go, here is a photo of Hannah in 2018 and 2025 at the exact same spot up the mountain and at the waterfall. 

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