God's love

I have been meaning to update! I think about the blog daily and the people that are wondering what is going on here at the Vander Galien house! I'm so sorry, it's hard to get time to think to write in here, hopefully no one will wake up for awhile so I get a little quiet to think here.

First I want to post a song that we sang yesterday at church. It's not a new song, It's been my ring tone on my phone for about 6 months, but yesterday the song made me tear up at church because it became more real to me.

Here's the link. Really listen and read the words, it's an amazing song. But it's also an amazing truth. God loves us. He loves you. Right where you are, in whatever is going on in your life, however you are living, he loves you. He is jealous for you. He wants you to be in relationship with him.

When I was singing that song yesterday, I was capturing his love, in how he took care of me and my family during this super hard time we went through the past three months or so. I thought about how I prayed and begged for an answer on the radiation, and he kept my pastor up at night and spoke to him to send me an email. That is love. He loves me, cares about me and my little life enough that he had my pastor send me an email. He loves me enough to make it clear to me, just like I asked him to. He loves me and my family so much that he put it in my sweet friend Mary's heart to swoop me up under her wings as soon as I got that cancer diagnosis and minister to me, spiritually, everyday she was there to lift me up, and organized all the help, and gave of her own time to cook and help our family. He loved me and my family to send all these wonderful people to help me with my kids, and cleaning my house, and taking care of my family. He loves us. When you get to know him, and rely on him, and read his word, you get to know his love. Yesterday our sermon touched a lot on how Jesus suffered for us, so we can have eternal life. Brutal suffering, for us. For YOU. Yesterday that song had a lot of meaning to me, more then it ever did. He's as close as the air you breathe, and he loves you. Wow. God is amazing.

As for me, things are sloooowly getting better! I am still drinking lots of protein shakes, but I am also beginning to be able to eat real food too! Praise God!

It takes me a long time, because the tongue is just not quite functioning well yet, but I can break things in smaller pieces and eat it. Swallow food isn't hard at all, it's just getting it chewed up to swallow it that is the problem, but everyday I have been eating some type of real food, which is very encouraging!! Yesterday I even ate  a few french fries! I also finally tried to drink coffee at church, which I have been missing for 3 months, and it went down pretty well. Tasted so good! My taste buds are slowly coming back also. I dont' get the full effect of the taste yet, but it's coming back. I am hoping that it comes back all the way, eating just isn't as fun when you can't taste how yummy the food is! But one step at a time I guess!

Speaking of  food, I have been reading this book called Beating Cancer with Nutrition. Wow is it good. I wish I would have read this book years ago!! I got it from my doc's office. Everyone should seriously read this book!  We are going to be making some changes in our eating habits in this house, that is for sure!

I now have my subscription to "Clean eating" magazine! lol.  The book talks alot about how what we eat effects our body and our immune system and how that can effect diseases we get or don't get! I want to stay healthy, and want my husband and kids to be healthy! So I need to learn a new way of cooking and eating to keep us all healthy! I also see a doc in Illinois, who is an MD, a cardiologist and a biochemist. I know he has more to his credentials but I can't remember them all, but I see him, now once a month for IV immuglobins and vitamins. Everything that he has told me in the past months I am now reading in this book. (and the book was not recommended by him!) I have never had good eating habits, and never really took many supplements or had any knowledge of what good they did until I got cancer, started seeing this doc, and now reading this book. So, that's new and exciting for our family, changes in eating and taking nutritional supplements to stay healthy! Oh, and I also read that sugar feeds cancer. I didn't know this! and sugar is one of my big big downfalls. I was a total addict before I got cancer. Now we will be much more cautious about how much sugar we put in our mouths in this house. Not saying we'll never have treats, I dont' want to go over board here, but we will be cutting way down on the sugar!  :)

Oh yeah, I had the wisdom tooth oral surgery on Friday. It went just fine! I had myself so worked up over that, I guess after the other three surgeries, I was just so sensitive to that stuff, I wasn't ready! But he gave me some Valium ahead of time, and used the gas and it was a piece of cake! I was ready to tell him to rip the other one out too but I refrained myself. He did a good job. Really only had one day of pain, the next day wasn't too bad, and now it's more of an ache. But my ear has been bothering me on that side and I pray it's because of the tooth!! Because, ear pain is one of the signs of head/neck cancer, and I did have a little of it before my surgeries.  But I did see my Ent in Waukesha last week, he scoped up my nose w/the camera and looked at everything and said everything looked good. Said I still have  a scab on my tongue! I was kinda surprised to hear that, but he didn't see  any signs of cancer. He felt my neck for lumps and bumps and didn't feel anything, so God willing the ear pain is from the tooth and it will go away soon!!! Please keep me in your prayers. That eating improves, taste improves and cancer stays away!!

love you all!!