QUIET TODAY...MORE SURGERY TOMORROW

Today is quiet at the Johnson house. Well, quiet from the standpoint of not much on the calendar other than haircuts for Parker, Faith and me this afternoon and baseball tonight. Not so quiet from the standpoint of actual noise. My kids are nine and four...there is no such thing as "quiet noise" at our house. They play, they bicker, they watch TV, they play on the computer, they bicker, they do art...did I mention that they bicker? Parker can get Faithy to scream in fun and he can get her to giggle like no one else can! That noise I don't mind. It's the arguing noise that drives me crazy! I never had a sibling to fuss with. My brothers were 13 and almost 16 when I was born. If I argued with them or got sassy or tried to tackle them...I lost...every time! Although they did take me out for ice cream to the Dairy Queen or Drive-In and I got to ride in a sporty red or yellow Corvette. Couldn't see over the dashboard and certainly was NOT allowed to drip or get crumbs on the seat, but by-golly, it was great when the "boys" took me out for some fun! Anyway, back to our quiet calendar. I'm enjoying not having much to do today other than laundry (which is almost done) and some light cleaning (which is not almost done). I even did my nails (toes, too) while the kids were doing some art work at the kitchen table. It's the calm before the storm.

Tomorrow Scott has surgery again. The area on his back that was skin cancer needs to have more skin removed to make sure it's gone. It will not just be laser treatment, as is the case with some skin cancers. He will have surgery again...will get put under anesthesia and the tissue will be sent to pathology while he is still under to make sure the area is clean of cancerous cells. He's healing up well from the surgery three weeks ago, but his physical strength is not quite back...mostly in his right arm. With one of the incisions being right below the right breast bone and the other between his shoulders on his back, he has a difficult time using his right arm at full-strength. His incision areas are a little tender, yet, too. He has to ice them periodically to ease the discomfort. He still shouldn't really lift much...so Faithy is mine to carry. Although she's four years old, she still wants "up" and as long as I have the strength to still do it, I'll take her when those little arms reach for me. Not sure what the post-surgery will be like this time for Scott. At least there won't be drain tubes like the last surgery when the tumors were removed. That's a plus for him. He hated those tubes. I guess we'll just have to wait and see once the surgery is over. Our weekend is very quiet with the only significant item on the calendar is the arrival of our new pastor on Sunday! Other than that, we're hoping to lay low. Scott's surgery is scheduled tomorrow for 4 PM with our arrival time of 2:30 PM. The doctor's office told us to plan to be at the hospital for five hours before heading home. If all goes as planned we should be on our way home by 7:30 PM. Thankfully we're only about 30 to 40 minutes from the hospital, depending on traffic.

Please add Scott to your prayers tomorrow, as well as his doctors, nurses, Parker and Faith (to ease any concerns they may have again). I know God has it all in control and that He will guide hands, minds and hearts to get Scott and our family through the day.

Peace.
Jeanine