I'm a week out from surgery which is transforming my body. It's amazing - utterly amazing what medicine can do. I am recovering well and should be back to normal in a few weeks or so. Thank you for your prayers.

Hi there. I hope you've been enjoying your summer like we have. It's been so great to feel so much better now than I did last summer. We've been on day trips to Little River Canyon to swim in the creek, hiking, visiting family in Georgia and North Carolina, and in general have just done what we felt like doing (within reason). :-) We even purchased a $10 baby pool to relax outdoors without passing out from the heat.

Most of June Tim kept coming up to me and hugging me and saying "I've missed you!" To which I would reply something like, "I've been with you all day." or "I was only at work for 5 hours." Until I finally realized what he meant - he missed ME. The "me" I was before cancer. And now that I'm "back", he just wanted me to know "I'd" been missed. Wow. 12-year-old words.

I wanted to update you. I am scheduled to have reconstruction surgery in a few days (August 12). This is the last step in this long journey. I've been walking around more than a bit lopsided for a year now (mastectomy was this time last year!). So we are ready to put this behind us and move on with our lives. I should be in the hospital for 3 days and then home recovering for up to 6 weeks.

Friends at church have set up a "take them a meal" schedule which just blows us away again. :-) And someone has also set up a visiting schedule for when I'm at home alone and the boys are at school and Matt's at work. Awesome and will be so helpful. Thank you in advance.

Thank you also to the fantastic friends at UAB who have donated their own sick days to me (because I've run out), so that this medical leave is with pay instead of without. Their generosity feels like a robust lifeboat for our family.

So, without further rambling, here are the links:

If you can help with meal, go to:
www.takethemameal.com
Search: Theus
Password: Lisa

If you can help with visits, please sign up for a day to visit on this Google Doc:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ju3q7gCJFu0CRj-zXVzEG9OPZSDn5nRjcM0E72a6wis/edit?usp=sharing
Her address is:

616 19th Court South Birmingham, AL 35205

Thank you so much! Here are a few pictures from this summer.

July 4th arrangement

July 4th weekend in North Carolina (it was refreshingly chilly!)

Little River Canyon, Alabama

Oak Mt. State Park, Birmingham

Town Lake, Notasulga, Alabama

Cute pink and white spider

Wildflower hunt

Little River Canyon

Figs from a neighbors tree

Birmingham photo safari

Tuco relaxing

View of Daniel and Tim from the top of Vulcan Statue in Birmingham

Our city on a bright summer day

Visiting with Rosie and her daughter Hannah from the UK!

Big family/friend reunion in Atlanta

Hiking Oak Mt. State Park

Daniel and Tim were in a play together this summer; Fantastic Mr. Fox

Daniel was Mr. Fox and Tim was Mr. Weasel, a villager, and Rat

Our brand new pool ;-)