A new prayer request (11-30-10)

Please pray for Mom.  She has been experiencing severe pain to the point where Dad can't help her.  So we had an ambulance transport her to the Emergency Room to get her pain levels managed.  She was admitted to the hospital and will be staying at least tonight.

On a positive note, we're so thankful that God orchestrated the premature visit of Sonny (Dad's older brother) and his wife, Margaret. They were not scheduled to arrive until Thursday night; but then, as they were traveling north, Margaret changed her mind (fearing the weather).  As a result, Margaret is volunteering to stay at the hospital tonight so that Dad can get much-needed sleep.  Praise God for His glimpses of mercy, and for getting Margaret's attention!!

Specific Prayer Requests

Here are two current (and specific) prayer requests:

1.  Linda's sleep has been very restless.  She is struggling with bad dreams again.  She also wakes up thinking that she is experiencing breathing problems...even though her breathing is actually fine.  Mom's lack of sleep also directly affects Dad's amount of sleep.  Please, pray for peaceful rest for both Linda and Don.

2.  Mom is also experiencing some stomach pain.  We currently aren't sure what the cause is.  Although, we do know that her stomach pain makes her appetite disappear.  Who would want to eat when their tummy feels icky?  

Please join us in praying for these specific requests!  Thank you so much!

Letters to Santa

Some of  Don and Linda's grandkids wrote letters to Santa.  I thought that I should share them with you.

Adam - 2 

Nora - 4

Gracie - 5

Carter - 7

I saved these two for last!  :)

Hannah - 8

Miriam - 12



Thanksgiving 2010

Our Thanksgiving was absolutely wonderful!  The whole family was together...all 22 of us.  We were so blessed by the generosity of those in Rochester and Eau Claire that our entire meal was donated by friends.  Simply amazing!!

We even had a tooth come out on Thanksgiving!  Congratulations, Sophie!

We also got to celebrate Deb's birthday together on Wednesday.  Happy birthday, Deb!  We are thankful for YOU!

Dad gave Mark a lesson on carving the Turkey.

The food was great and enjoyed by all.

It was also Cate's birthday this month!  Happy 2nd birthday, Beautiful Girl!

Everyone (even the kids) signed a total of 17 thank you notes to those that donated food for our Thanksgiving meal.  WOW!  That's a lot of generous people!! 

Thank you so much to all those that helped with our Thanksgiving meal.  It was so neat for all of our family (kids too) to see the love of God poured out on us.

Next...we will be looking forward to celebrating Don and Linda's 40th wedding anniversary on December 5th!!

The Quilt

Here are some photos of Lisa and Debbie putting the quilt together.  Great job, Girls!!

Happy 40th Anniversary!

On December 5th, Don and Linda McCutcheon will be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary!  We took advantage of being together (The whole family was together for Thanksgiving) and gave our gifts to Mom and Dad.

Each family made squares for a lap quilt for Mom.  Debbie sewed the top together (I have photos of that too) and Lisa will finish it. 

Can you tell what Dad got?

Happy Anniversary to a wonderful couple!  We love you both!!

Quilt

Thank you to all the Wood Lake Quilting Ladies that spent time sewing Linda's new quilt!  It's beautiful!  She can feel the love that was put into each and every stitch.

November 20th Update

Dr. Coleman has informed Mom and Dad that the current cancer is from Mom's previous kidney cancer in 2007.  So, they get a few weeks off to rest, relax and gain more strength.   If Mom can get stronger, they can do chemo treatments.  The doctors are saying that only 20% of people respond to the treatments with this type of cancer.  Hey, we'll take that 20%!!!  God doesn't care about the doctors statistics.  :)  He IS the great physician!! 

On December 6th, Mom will have a CAT scan, echo cardiogram and more blood tests.  On December 7th, Mom and Dad will meet with Dr. Coleman and discuss possible future treatments.  They will also be evaluating Mom's physical strength - to see what her ability is to handle chemo treatments.   Currently, Mom is using her walker.

On a different note...this week will be filled with great family!  Sonny and Margaret (Don's brother and wife from Arizona) are flying in on Sunday...and will be here for a few days.  We are also excited to see  Lisa, Halim, Miriam, and Adam (from California)who are also flying in on Sunday too.  Later on in the week, we get to see Alan's and Deb's wonderful families as Thanksgiving gets closer.  It will be so much fun to have the whole family together again for a few days!!   We are also very blessed to have such wonderful friends here in Rochester, MN and Eau Claire, WI!   We have so much food being given to us on Thanksgiving from many thoughtful people in those towns.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to ALL those ladies and families that are giving to the McCutcheon family this Thanksgiving Day!!!  The generosity has been amazing! 

New Stuff!

Mom is came home from the hospital last night!  :)  We are so happy to have her back with us. 

I also have an answer to prayer to share.  Dad and I have been trying to get some medical equipment  (hospital bed, walker, shower seat...)  in the house for Mom.  Well, I learned that it's not very easy to deal with insurance companies...when you are living in a different state!  :)  Alan suggested that we try the American Cancer Society and see if they can help us.  That was great advice, Alan!  They referred us to an organization called, "Rochester Medical Mission".  They are only opened one day a week (from 7am - 9:30am)...and that was TODAY!  The supplies were given out on a "first come - first serve" basis.  Dad and Mark left this morning to see what they could find.  Well, God was watching out for us.  For a $50 donation, they came home with a great electrical bed...walker...shower seat and other needed equipment!    Praise the Lord!!! 

I just had to take a photo of Mom's cute feet!  The blanket and socks are two of MANY gifts that their Arkansas family sent to them.   Thank you!

Monday Morning ER Trip

UPDATE (5:30PM):  They saw Mom's oncologist this afternoon.  Her office has finally received the slides from Duluth  (in regards to her kidney cancer...about three years ago).  That means - Dr. Coleman should know by Wednesday if Mom's cancer is treatable with chemotherapy.  Also, Mom's pain is currently better than it was this morning.  We are so thankful for that!   Lastly, Mom will be staying tonight at the hospital. 

At about 12AM this morning, Mom started experiencing some difficulty breathing.  Don and Linda also noticed that Linda was starting to retain too much fluid.  So, Dad took her to the ER.  The doctors found that Linda's potassium was low and that she had some fluid on her good lung.  That fluid was the reason for Mom's struggle to breathe properly.  The ER staff decided to admit her into the hospital.   The doctors in the hospital believe that the fluid build-up is from Linda's calcium "flush" procedure from last week.

They are most likely keeping Linda for another night.  She is on some medication to assist with eliminating the extra fluid in her body.  Mom also experienced some severe, lower back pain last night as well.  So, the doctors are going to raise her pain medication dosage...to help relive more of her pain. 

Be in prayer for both Don and Linda.  Don did not get much sleep last night (as he returned to the house at about 5:45AM) and went back to the hospital mid morning...to be with Linda. 

Thank you for praying and I'll give another update when I get new information.

Linda is home!

We just wanted to let everyone know that Mom came home from the hospital on Saturday afternoon.  They were able to flush enough calcium from her body to allow her to come home.  Praise the Lord!  We are so glad to have her home with us.

Also, we have a new prayer request to share with you.  Last night, Mom had some scary nightmares.  These nightmares caused both Mom and Dad to loose much needed rest.  Please, pray for Linda's sleep to be protected and peaceful.

Thank you for your continued prayers and faithful support!  As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, we are reminded of how thankful we are for ALL of you!

With love,
The McCutcheon Family

Special Visitors

These two, special friends drove all the way from Arkansas to visit with Mom and Dad.  Not only did Pastor Steve and Pastor Reece make the long drive...they brought many encouraging cards and beautiful, thoughtful gifts for Mom and Dad!!   Thank you to the MANY friends from First Baptist Church Siloam Springs who sent the cards and gifts!  Mom and Dad truly felt the love that was sent with Pastor Steve and Pastor Reece.    It was a wonderful visit!

We also got our first snow today!

I am not sure if the adults enjoyed the snow but the kids sure did!  :)