i do's at the red doored church

two years ago today i met ginny at the red doored church and said i do...she said i do too. 

people came from everywhere...erika and chris and the kids (jayme and dustin) from british columbia...the grandmother and aunt joce from manitoba...ginny's brothers dan and larry (virginia and baltimore)...ginny's old boyfriend dick and friends sarah and sue from california...

candied salmon grilled on cedar planks was the star of the "groom's" dinner...ginny was the "groom"...when we reserved the block of rooms for the event at the hotel...i was not prepared for the questions to be asked and when they asked the name of the bride i quickly responded lindbloom...then they asked for the last name of the groom...and without a beat, i said larsen...

on the day of, we worked to set up for the reception...had a beautiful luncheon with the women in our lives...went home for a massage and then ready for the big event at 7:00 pm...at 6:30 the skies opended up and the rain fell...and continued to fall throughout the evening...c'est la vie

when we arrived at the church, i realized, as i was getting into my wedding outfit, that i still had my turquoise  and hot pink undies on...that would not do, given the linen white pants to be worn...a last minute call to sarah and sue and white undies were on the way...

the ceremony was beautiful...the 140+ people filled the church...friend lisa sang as we entered...it was amazing...sarah and melissa stood with me and millie and jocelyn (friend joce not aunt joce) stood with gin...dear friend kris wee officiated...it was wonderful...

with a final kiss we were off to the reception....great fun...a wonderful day and evening...a little known fact is that after the reception at midnight, a group of us returned to the lindbloom-larsen residence and continued to celebrate until 2 am...what a great night...

the past two years been remarkable...trips to see friends and family...an amazing 17 day tour of france and italy...we have lived a full and fabulous life in our coupleness...

today we are celebrating quietly at ginny's cousin reunion...a mixed crowd (some a little more traditional than others)...all wonderful people...i have enjoyed them a great deal...

the hightlight of the day was a visit to ginny's aunt helen...she is 95...she welcomed me immediately...was tender and sweet...was quick to grab my hand...pat my knee...ask about how long we had been together and affirmed our "us-ness"...thank you aunt helen for letting me know that you were "glad to have me."  I am glad to be gotten :)

i am looking forward to this coming year and all that it will bring...although unknown and certainly of great challenges...we are committed to giving it all we've got...

happy anniversary sweet ginny...

love your kir

postscript...we will travel to mayo thursday morning for a chest x-ray and then an appointment with the good dr. peethambaram at 2:00...we will post again thursday evening...

"F" YOU

the results are in...there is some good news...the chemo has successfully shrunk the original tumors, one in her colon and the other her abdomen.  but this is cancer we are talking about and so today with the good came some bad...the not so good news is that the cancer has spun off on a mutant tangent, flipped the "F YOU" finger at the chemo and has landed in force in ginny's lungs.  there are several tumors.  the doctor smiled with kind eyes...and has decided to pass us back to dr. peethambaram at mayo in rochester.  we are waiting to hear about an appointment with her.  she is the doc that we started with and has been working with gin for years.

ginny has been exhibiting some symptoms in the past week or so that are explainable now...she has been quick to lose breath...and in the past days has developed a persistent cough...

we will be posting more regularly again, as this is a great way to keep you all in the loop...

sunday we will leave for iowa, for ginny's family reunion with her paternal cousins...hopefully we will get in to see dr. peethambaram mid to late week.

ginny wants me to make sure that i tell you that she feels fine (i would argue a little)...she has good energy...she is eating well...and she is in GOOD SPIRITS (no argument there).

we are loving each other with everything we've got these days and are so very thankful for the support of our family and friends....that's YOU!

cat Scans...dog Scans...PET Scans

okay...there are no cat or dog scans in ginny's future, but the date has been set for the PET scan.  on june 22nd we will go to mayo clinic in rochester for ginny's scan and then meet with dr. laurie on the 23rd to get the results.  i am feeling a whole lot better about this schedule...last week it looked like i would miss the test and results...the thought of not being with gin in all this was really distressing.  so good thoughts, vibes and prayers all welcome.

on a different note...la la la la...we have a big week ahead.  on friday night our relay for life team named "defy gravity" is hosting a fundraiser.  we are hosting a wine tasting and an evening of live music at the coffee house on main in austin (7-10 pm).  i will be performing/singing with my friend paul oelfke at 8 pm.  stop by...eat a little...drink a little...mingle a little....give a little...okay give a lot!

click here to visit the Defy Gravity donation page

starry eyed are we...

one of our favorite people on the planet, a long time friend for ginny, and one of my favorite "extra's" in marrying my gin, is our pal jocelyn.  jocelyn blogs weekly. we follow closely as she is a wonderful writer...pithy, charming and often very entertaining.  this week ginny and i star in her posting and wanted to share it with you.  joce's blog is worth following for sure. before you jump over to read joce's blog, ginny wants me to make a gentle correction, as you read, keep in mind that gin is "only" 73. 

http://omightycrisis.blogspot.com/

this is one of our favorite pics of joce and her girl.

chemo, jobs and summer

well we have had a roller coaster week...

ginny and chemo:
last friday ginny's counts were less than 500.  i was not feeling very confident that she would have strong enough counts for chemo on wednesday.  the woman is amazing, in 5 days her counts came up 1100 points.  with a count of 1600, ginny completed her 6th round of chemo.  WAY TO GO GINNY!

now that we are through the 6th round, we will wait a few weeks and then ginny will have a pet scan.  this will tell us what is going on and will determine the direction for further treatment.

on the job front:
i did not get the teaching position at Riverland.  they have offered me an adjunct position though.  I look forward to getting into the classroom.  at this point, it looks like I will stay at the high school...teach a little sociology and field those additional projects that come my way.

summer is here:
ginny is working like crazy in the garden.  she has had the help of brady, a great find (he has been helping with the yard and house and dog sitting for us this summer).  a couple of weeks ago, i gave in and purchased a new motorcycle.  i sold my last bike a couple of years ago and have been missing it terribly.  i am so glad that ginny likes to ride along...

yesterday a box arrived with some riding gear...i ordered myself a jacket and chaps and i ordered ginny a jacket...figured we would ease her in to the riding gear...the first thing out of her mouth once her jacket was on..."where are my chaps?"...i promptly went on line and ordered the biker babe a pair of leather chaps!

kirsten and ginny too :)