We are Home!

We arrived home last evening! Rich is doing fine - no pain meds. Man, what a strong guy he is! It's really good to be home. Now there's lots of catching up to do!

Thanks again for your love and prayers!

"Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me."

Psalm 54:4

How true that is!

Surgery Report

It's nearly 10:30 pm and I've just returned to the hotel from the hospital. Rich's surgery went well. Surgery didn't begin until nearly 3 pm and he was in three hours. The right node was large but OK, the left, smaller one, was cancerous. His voice box and vocal cords look fine. We won't know until noonish tomorrow if he will be released then or not. Already he's noticed an improvement in swallowing, so that's really good. He's walked a tiny bit, trying to get his legs under him. Doc says he'll have a sore throat and stiff neck for about a week. We'll have to return for the radio-active iodine tablet to kill off any remaining cancer cells.

Again, we are reminded of his April 28 physical therapy appointment and what a blessing in disguise it was. The enlarged thyroid was discovered in a body scan done here at KU during that first hospitalization. It would have gone undetected all this time! Again we thank God for keeping His hand on Rich.

Thanks again for your loving, prayerful support!

Hugs,
Carolyn

Thyroid Surgery

We'll be leaving very early Tuesday to head back to KU Medical Center for another doctor appointment and surgery for Rich. On Wednesday he will have his thyroid removed. It is enlarged, contains many large nodules, and the biopsy was inconclusive. After several consultations, the recommendation is to remove it. We just pray it isn't cancer. If it is cancer, the after-surgery treatment will be a single radio-active iodine tablet that will go through his body, killing off cancer cells. He will be in the hospital overnight so we hope to be home Thursday evening.

We appreciate your prayers.

I'll post updates on this blog.

So Long Cole!

We took Cole to the airport today for his return back to LAX, but not before we had a little snowfall. He cleared some of the snow off our deck! At least he got a taste of the "white stuff."



It was a great week, watched lots of the Olympics (he shared the finer points of hockey and curling with me!), took him to Freddy's custard, Brett took him to a hockey game, went to a movie, made cookies, watched movies at home, played cards, had family dinners with Brett and Esther and girls, and just "hung out." He's such a great young man, very polite, has a great laugh and a tender heart!

We are looking forward to seeing him in April when we go to CA and June when they come here!

Love you Cole!

A Cosmospheric Day!

Our grandson, Cole, arrived on Saturday for a week's visit. It is so great to have him here!

Yesterday we spent a great day with him, Moira and Audrey at the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson. For non-Kansans the Cosmosphere is a great facility of space-related exhibits and shows.



This beautiful stained glass was created by a company in Wichita. One of our friends, Sue, worked on this and has a replica in her home. It took 18 months to complete. The banner says, "Ad Astra per Aspera...", which is Kansas' motto. It means "to the stars with difficulty". How appropriate for the Cosmosphere!

We took in two IMAX movies, one on the Vikings and one called "Extreme", which featured extreme sports such as snowboarding, skiing, surfing 30' waves in Hawaii, and rock climbing. We also saw an interesting show in the Justice Planetarium and one in Dr. Goddard's lab, which featured rocketry experiments. The museum is quite fascinating. It begins with an excellent historical perspective, beginning with World War II and Germany's V-2 rocket and the role it played in the pursuit of space exploration. The museum ends with wonderful exhibits on the Apollo missions. We didn't get to this part until near the end of the day and we were all pretty much pooped and at our museum saturation points. So it will be good to go back another day and take it in.

And of course, no excursion is complete without an afternoon snack in the Lunar Cafe! The clear plastic container in front of Audrey WAS filled with cotton candy. She enjoyed every bite of the confection! What are grandparents for but a little indulgence!?



Back at home, Rich, Cole and I enjoyed the spaghetti and meatballs I had already prepared! We were ready to crash and watch more of the Olympics! Loving hanging out with our dear Cole!

Happy Birthday Renee!

Today is our daughter-in-love, Renee's, birthday! Valentine's Day - what a sweetie she is!

I think it's safe to say the BEST birthday she had was in 2007. Can you guess why?

"THE PROPOSAL!"

Renee married our son Jeremy in November 2007 so she is the newest member of the Dewey family. I think we'd all agree that it feels like she's been "one of us" FOREVER! All of the Dewey nieces and the lone nephew love her. She has a great sense of style, loves changing the color of her hair!, laughs BIG and often, and is the perfect "helpmate" for Jeremy. Using their gifts of hospitality, they are working hard at creating a loving home that welcomes others. She's a hard worker at her job at Bank of America, putting in long hours. Best of all she loves our son - and Jesus. Who could ask for more!

We love you dear and are SO thankful that you and Jeremy were put together. May this be your best birthday yet.

All three of our daughters-in-love exemplify the Proverbs 31 Woman. Renee, here is the verse I have selected for you.

"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue."

Proverbs 31:25-26

What is LOVE?

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

...
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I Corinthians 13:1-8, 13.

Making These for Super Bowl!

Mac 'N Cheese Poppers - from Rachel Ray!


For a mac 'n cheese lover like me, these sound like a really yummy appetizer.

Here's the recipe...

Mac 'N Cheese Poppers

Ingredients:

16 jalapeño peppers
Salt
1/2 pounds ditalini pasta *
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup milk
1 1/4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
Pepper
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1/4 cup breadcrumbs or crushed saltine crackers

Yields: Serves 4 to 6 as a snack

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Working lengthwise, slice off the top quarter of each jalapeño. Using a small spoon, scrape the seeds and ribs out of each jalapeño. Finely chop the tops.

Place a large pot of water over high heat to boil. When the water reaches a bubble, salt it well and drop the pasta. Cook to al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, place a medium pot over medium heat with the butter. Add the chopped pepper tops to the butter and soften, 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the peppers and cook 1 minute more. Whisk the chicken stock and milk into the mixture and bring up to a bubble. Stir in the mustard, season the sauce with salt and pepper and simmer until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove the pot from the stove and stir in 1 cup of the cheese until melted. Add the pasta to the cheese sauce and stir to combine.

Mound up spoonfuls of the mac ‘n cheese in the peppers. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs, and bake until the tops are golden brown and peppers are tender, about 15 minutes.

* For my local readers, Dillon's North carries ditalini pasta in the Private Selection line. It's in a brownish bag, on top shelf. For those in large markets, Barilla carries it. Ditalini is a small, 1/4" tube pasta.

Can hardly wait to make these. It will be an experiment for our party with our Community Life group from church. They are "gamers". :)

Tonight's dinner

This was dinner tonight - Chicken with Long Beans and Walnuts.


It was very yummy and looked like the photo. Rich liked it! I found the recipe online this week. It came from Better Home and Gardens.

Here's the recipe.


Chicken with Long Beans and Walnuts (Better Homes and Gardens)

1 12-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
8 ounces fresh Chinese long beans*, cut into 4-inch lengths, or 8 ounces fresh whole green beans
1 tablespoon cooking oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
1/2 cup coarsely broken walnuts
2 cups hot cooked rice

Directions
1. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Set aside.
2. For sauce, in a small bowl stir together hoisin sauce, soy sauce, water, and sugar. Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan pre-cook long beans, covered, in small amount of boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes (cook whole green beans about 10 minutes) or until crisp-tender. Drain. Set aside.
4. Pour cooking oil into a wok or large skillet. (Add more oil as necessary during cooking.) Preheat over medium-high heat. Stir-fry garlic in hot oil for 15 seconds. Add onion; stir-fry about 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove onion mixture from the wok.
5. Add walnuts to the hot wok; stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden. Remove walnuts from the wok.
6. Add chicken to the hot wok; stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until no pink remains. Return onion mixture and walnuts to the wok. Add beans.
7. Stir sauce. Add sauce to the wok. Stir all ingredients together to coat with sauce. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes more or until heated through. Serve immediately over hot cooked rice. Makes 4 servings.

*Note: Yard-long beans, more commonly called Chinese long beans, can grow to a length of 18 inches, but they cook in much less time than regular green beans. Look for them in Asian markets and some supermarkets.

Make-Ahead Tip: Prepare vegetables; cover and chill up to 4 hours.
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 4 servings
Calories 363,
Total Fat (g) 16,
Saturated Fat (g) 2,
Cholesterol (mg) 45,
Sodium (mg) 817,
Carbohydrate (g) 34,
Protein (g) 23,
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

I cut the recipe in half and it was perfect for the two of us. I used regular fresh, green beans and a since I don't have a wok, used a nonstick skillet.

Give it a try!

Gittin' Aroun'