Hello, again! It's been too long...

Well, Guys, I promised way back in February that I'd write another post.  It's been on my mind that I'm way overdue on an update for you.  The fact is, we've been extremely busy!

I'll put it all down in bullet form for you:

• The most important thing is that we are together as a family again, and will be for the next 3 years!
• I counted up the months, and since the beginning of 2010, Phillip has been away from us for a total of 20 months, and home for a total of 9 months.
• He returned to Fort Wainwright, Alaska from Afghanistan in late February.
• I spent a week in Alaska visiting him while the kids stayed with his parents, and then we came home to Louisiana to be together as a family for about 2 weeks.
• Then Phil went on to Pennsylvania to LUH (Light Utility Helicopter; the UH-72) training, so that...
• We could accept a new non-deployable assignment at Fort Polk, Louisiana.
• We bought a house just north of Deridder, LA.
• I had a full-scope done by a gastroenterologist, sometime in March, to try to figure out why I have IBS-C (ummm...look it up); nothing was found but a small polyp.
• I learned in early April that I had Carcinoma Insitu of the Cervix (cancer).
• A HIDA scan of my gallbladder was also done in April, and it determined that the gallbladder is useless; it only "dumps" at 7%, which is way below the norm of about 35%.
• Phil and I decided that it was best to go forth with a partial (cervix and uterus, the ovaries stayed) hysterectomy on April 10. 
• My Dad had a scan done to see if the hemorrhage/stroke that he suffered in December had been absorbed; his doctor told him that there was no sign that it even happened!  Great news!!!
• Gabe earned his orange belt in karate.
• Sarah is growing more and more into a beautiful little girl.  She no longer has the body of a toddler.  She is lean, muscular (she LOVES ballet), and petite; and is a graceful little ballerina.
• Phillip finished LUH school in late May.
• The four of us took a 5 night cruise to Mexico, and got back yesterday.
• The movers will be here on Monday to pack up the apartment, and move us to the new house in Deridder.
• I will have my gallbladder removed on Wednesday of next week, to hopefully alleviate those major gastro-intestinal problems.
• I will try to upload some new pictures for you to view in the "Our Story in Pictures" album in the next few days.

I'm sure there is something that I'm forgetting to tell you.  As I go through the pictures, something might come up that I think should have been added to this list.

As for the cancer, it was caught early.  There will be no further treatments, and there is only a 10% chance of it coming back (my doctor said that it has only happened to one other patient of his).

Things are looking up!  I feel blessed.

I hope that you are doing well too.

J~