And now... a post from Skylar

Hey, everyone!

Miss Cindy rode ABC over to the house for Skylar to love on this week.  Best therapy ever.
 She can't wait to get back in the saddle again.... Baby steps.

It's Skylar and I'm hanging in there. Honestly my recovery has been incredible so far—and coming home made life way better. Without nurses giving me shots, checking my IV, feeding me disgusting pills crushed into applesauce, and poking and prodding me every two and a half seconds, it's significantly easier to heal. Mom and Hannah were so knowledgeable about my healing when we got home they took over as my nurses effortlessly. I get some pretty strong painkillers every few hours, and now I'm not in any pain at all, which is a huge blessing.

So right now I have a broken and mostly-blind left eye, I'm permanently deaf in my left ear, I have too many skull fractures to count, the entire left side of my face is paralyzed, my left arm is in a sling (so I remember not to use it while my collarbone heals), my jaw was reset and is healing slowly, my nose is healing after being broken, and my left shoulder has been messed up too. I'm kind of a wreck, but a lot of it will just take time to heal :) I also have a lot of bruises and stitches, and I'm getting used to walking and balancing again after spending so much time immobilized. Every day I feel stronger, though, and I'm slowly adapting to these challenges. I can still see and hear from the right side, and I'm insanely grateful for that.

Since we've been home, recovery has been slow but steady. I gained part of my appetite back, and now I can eat small snacks every day to supplement my energy drinks. Working with my physical therapist has helped me with balance, and now I can get around the house without a problem. I can do almost everything by myself—an occupational therapist came to visit yesterday and left early because there wasn't really anything I needed her help with :P I spend a lot of time napping, because A) sleep is great for healing, and B) napping has always been one of my favorite things to do anyway. I'll start doing schoolwork from home soon, but for now I'm still regaining my old energy (and who wants to do weeks of economics and literature homework when you can watch TV and drink milkshakes instead?).

I am so, so grateful for the crazy support we've been given in the past month. It's been painful and heartbreaking and frustrating and tragic, but the way that people have come around us has been astounding. The people who came to the hospital all the time just to sit in the waiting room and support me mean the world to me. And the prayers you all are praying have made an incredible difference. You all prayed for my eye pressure and brain fluids to stabilize radically after the accident, and they did. You've prayed for me to not remember the accident and the horrible early-hospital days, and I don't. You prayed for me to retain my regular memory, brain function, and personality, and I did. I feel so incredibly lucky for all of those things—and God's work in this mess is far from over. In that statement I'm confident.

I'm gaining vision back into my cripplingly broken left eye, which is a miracle and an answer to a ton of prayers. The retina reattached itself in all four corners without any surgery—an inexplicable and amazing thing. My eye doctor was so shocked last week when we went in for a checkup that he scheduled another appointment this week—he wants to do another evaluation with the surgeon who did the original surgery on the night of the accident, so that the first guy can explain what detachment he was seeing. My left eye vision is dark, blurry, and weirdly warped, but I can vaguely make out shapes, letters, and people from several feet away. As the swelling in my head goes down over time, it's possible that my vision could continue to improve on its own. We don't know if it will (or if it does, how much better it will get) but this is an incredible phenomenon and I am so thrilled.
My physical therapist is also encouraged by my progress in the past week- he thinks that I'll be able to get my mouth working normally again and get back to my original physical ability because I'm so motivated. I'm sick of my awkward half-smiles and I will do as many ridiculous facial exercises as I need to get better.

Please continue to pray for my recovery—I've come a long way, but I still have a crazy long way to go. I'm gaining strength, working with therapists, meeting with doctors, and slowly healing. This will take a lot of time. My mom, sister, brother and I don't understand why God let this happen or what the future will look like, but even though we're broken because of this tragedy, we have no choice but to trust in Him.

Specifically, if you could pray for the continued improvement in my left eye (and wisdom as we meet with the two eye specialists on Wednesday), the healing of my nose and jaw, progress with my therapists and specialists, and coping with our devastating loss, I would be super grateful. I also have a never-ending high-pitched ringing in my left ear that's a result of the deafening surgery, and there's no telling if or when it will ever stop. Your prayers have done so much, and if you could pray for it to go away, I give you my thanks.(Also, if you could pray that I heal quickly enough to get back to riding horses and ziplining as quickly as possible, that would be awesome. Those are two of my favorite things and I'm anxious to get back to my hobbies!)

Thank you all for the prayers, well-wishes, kind messages, food you've brought, hours spent in the hospital waiting room, loving cards, gifts, and everything else. You all have blessed our family and shown us such love in what has undoubtedly been the worst period in all of our lives. We appreciate you all so much!

We as a family are so grateful also to Grace for providing us this website to post updates, and Charlie for maintaining it so well. However, now that we're home and I'm stable, we'll be posting future updates on our family blog, Mason Adventures. So please check there after this.
Thank you all again—we appreciate you so much!

Skylar Mason

No catchy title... Just us....

To all our friends who are reading this... We've decided to move our blog back over to our family blog.  Charlie, Chris, and Pastor Dave have done an incredible job of recording Skylar and our family's progress. So many of you have expressed thanks that you can keep up with what is going on from far away.  When these three weren't at the hospital, they were taking my random emails and adding them to the church website. If you get a chance, please thank them.   So I guess we will link one to the other.

Skylar is also posting here so stay tuned for a post specifically from her.  She wanted to update you on her own physical progress from her own perspective.  

These are some of my own random thoughts that have not much to do with her physical progress... Just what's in my head as I spend nights giving meds, days making appointments and filling out paperwork. Meeting therapists.  Long hours at vital records and Social Security.  Juggling kids. House. Bills.  Making time to just be with my kids. And missing my husband.  This is the hard part as all four of us face all of this stuff differently....

We were facing different kinds of trials earlier this summer... Wow. Who knew?  I guess I'm glad I didn't know.  Would I have done things differently? Maybe.  Would I have lived with more fear?  Yes.  The thing is.... I don't have any huge regrets when it comes to my family.  To Karl. Every day we said what we needed to say.  We took trips together as a couple and together as a family.  A long time ago we saw our neighbors save every thing and every dime for retirement. Right after Glen retired he got sick and they couldn't do what they had waited their whole lives to do.  Early on in our marriage Karl and I decided we would find a healthy balance of "live for now like there is no tomorrow" and "prudently plan for the future".  

We did it well.  So well that my heart is broken. My best friend. My confidant. Lover. Biggest fan.  The voice on the other end of my helmet comm. My parenting partner.  The man I dreamed with.  My Uyab.

When we were in Mexico last month I had an epiphany.  I figured out why we clicked.  Stereotypes never mattered to either of us.  He was the first one I ever dated that found my idiosyncrasies endearing.  He didn't care that I was a bit loud and obnoxious.  He never complained that I prefer t shirts and jeans and Converse to heels and miniskirts.  I realized this as I ordered a lbeer and hushed Karl and the kids during the World Cup and he ordered the strawberry margarita and patiently waited until we could leave at half time.  I love motor sports and arena football.  He'd rather go to a concert or have a quiet evening at home.  And it was all ok with both of us.  Neither one of us was threatened.  He found me feminine and attractive no matter my weight or clothing. He never once asked why I didn't girly girl up.  Oh how I pray that same kind of unconditional-nonstereotypical-love for my kids. May they find that same kind of love when it's time.  I know they got a good look at what a love like that looks like.  I pray we showed them what true God given love looks like.  That it's worth waiting for.  

These days are getting harder... The realization of the permanence of life without him is starting to set in.  I'm trying to be thankful that we had more good days than some people have in a lifetime.  I'm just selfish enough to wish they'd gone on a little longer.  

We bit the bullet and went to Blender last night.  That's where we were headed to four weeks ago. It was hard but we also needed to be around our people who love Karl and us.  It was difficult to be in such a "normal routine" of our lives yet know that there was nothing normal about it. As Michelle and I washed dishes, we talked about Job.  About fear.  About bad things happening all around us to those we love.   It's scary. There are no guarantees.  Accidents happen. People get sick and don't get better.  Diagnoses come out crappy.  Michelle reminded me that we can't live in fear all the time.  Right now I do feel fearful. What if I fail my kids? What if I can't do the widow mom thing and they come out warped? What if something now happens to me?  Or one of them?  What if I don't know how to do life without my soulmate?  

What do I have to stand on?  Perfect love casts out fear.  How many times does God tell me not to be afraid.  The ones that I clung to  hard this summer were in Isaiah 41.  In both verse 10 and in verse 13.  One verse says He is holding me with his righteous right hand.  In the other verse he is holding my right hand. yeah...my broken right hand that can't grip anything on its own.   In order to do both, God has to be beside me and in front of me.  In true Mason form, when I hear verses, undoubtedly a VBS song will follow.  This time it's from Crocodile Dock in 2009.  "I will not be afraid. Though troubles out there, night and day. I will not be swamped with fear cuz God is always, always, always here."  Pray that each new dawn will show me that I can still breathe. That He is giving us what we need one moment at a time.  That I don't need to fear what is ahead.  That I can trust that in time I will see how the puzzle fits together in His glorious unfolding.  

The Accident and the Next Month.... a link to the Grace website

May 16th was a bad day.  That's the day the docs discovered colon cancer.  The day we cancelled our trip to India.  What a difference 2 months can make.  July 20.  I wish with every bone in my body we could go back and find that was what our future would be.  Some surgery.... some chemo....  I'd gladly sacrifice the trip and  pay one hundred times the amount of those flights.....  So maybe now I know why God gave me those three words back then.  Perspective.  Gratitude.  Trust.  Perspective to change how we view things.  Gratitude for each day and each person we love.  Trust... that's the hard one now.  Trust that our God sees the picture on the front of the puzzle box.  Sees how this all fits together somehow for His glorious unfolding.  Cuz frankly right now I don't see it.  I don't like it and I don't want it.  I'd like a different picture please.

I' thought I'd post a link to the church website here jfor the times we need to go back and see how some of the pieces fit together.  We could maybe take a glimpse at how we have been carried this last month.  It's been a haze.  Skylar and Kody will need a little help remembering.  I don't think Hannah and I will because we were smack dab in the middle of it.  Unfortunately we were conscious and present for most of it.  

Link to the Grace Website Updates

My New Job: The Life Alert Spokeslady

A week ago today Karl was sitting in the recliner getting chemo drugs.  He came home with a handy dandy little pump that continued to give him the drugs for another 48 hours.  Every few minutes it would give a little hmph sound and deliver the welcomed poison to his system. 2 ml an hour.  He decided the pump needed a name and settled on Hal. We did need to figure out how to silence Hal in the night.  We wrapped him in a big fat towel and put him on the headboard.  Hal also got his very own ziplock back and patio table right outside the shower.  We went back to the center on Thursday and Hal came off.  Karl got his mega buck booster and away we went.

Side effects were definitely present but manageable.  Nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite, headache.  Pills and extra sleep seemed to help.  Eugene sent a cool little electro shock watch band that seemed to help also.  All in all, things were ok.  Karl continues to handle all of this with calm patience.  Maybe it's his new look.  He's working on a full beard.  A distinguished beard.  We will see if it comes in fully or if he will always have that "almost a full beard" look.

Karl went back to work on Monday (yesterday) and managed a full day.  He was tired by about 3:00 and home by 4:30.  Not too bad.   Today he worked half a day and went back to the doc for some blood work.  His white cell count is out of this world.  That's good.  It means he can fight hard next week when we start this all again.

So here comes the part that I didn't want to write about.  Karl said I had to or he would revoke the privilege of sharing his medical issues with the world. I was lifting the lawn mower into the truck last week and did something to my back.  At the time, I didn't think much about it.  Just a quick little, "maybe I should not have done that" thought but not much else.  The next day I simply bent over to pick up an umbrella under the fort and wham... my back screamed and grabbed.  A few ibuprofen and I went on with my day.  Yardwork, dinner with friends, all was well.  Saturday morning I went to pick up the laundry and wham bam.... I'm on the floor.  Don't know what I pulled or what happened.  Since then, it has been a slow process of getting up and down out of  the chair, heating pads, icey hot pads, and really good pain relieving drugs.  Sleeping in the chair is better than the bed.  Karl had to help me up Saturday night and we were a sorry pair.  I was leaning in to him trying to stand and his tummy was doing the nausea tango.  We had to laugh.  But then again, that is how the Maynard family deals with pain.  We laugh.  The more it hurts, the more we giggle.  People don't know what to think.  

By Sunday night I was ok enough for Karl and Hannah to go to youth group.  Skylar left to go pick up Kody.  I used the rolling chair to help stand up to go to the bathroom.  Long story longer.... the chair slipped and tipped over and down I went.  I tried to prop myself up enough to stand up but it didn't work.  I had to stay down on the ground until Skylar got home.  She walked through the door and immediately asked........ "Are you exercising?"   Which made me laugh.  Which made me hurt. Which made me laugh more.  Needless to say there wasn't anything she could do except bring me a happy pill and wait with me on the floor for 20 minutes until I was in a state where she and Kody could lift me to my feet.  This was the one time in life I really could have used a life alert button.

Things are better now.  My injury sister Cindy happened to have a walker that Karl and Hannah brought home.  Yes, that helps me get up to use the facilities.  I'm able to take short walks around without out it now.  Hopefully a few more days of quality time with my Stargate Atlantis family will work wonders for my healing.  It stinks.  I've had to actually cancel meals out with friends and an epic 48 hour motorcycle adventure I had planned.

On yet one more note that I can't even believe..... The dogs needed kennel cough shots and rabies shots to renew their licenses.  Karl and Hannah took them in on Friday.  In a ROUTINE visit, Doc Baker checked Bandit's temp and found a large tumor on his tail near his backside.  He biopsied the tumor and we found out today it is cancer.  Fortunately it is the kind of cancer that doesn't spread easily.  Unfortunately, it will need to come off along with his tail.  We're sad.  We're mad at this dumb cancer.  Again.  Really?  He is scheduled for surgery in the next few weeks.  We pray he has clean margins.

This is really getting comical.  I'd like to say I have some more witty mixed metaphors but I really don't.  Yeah.  Bikes.  No cholla.  Hope.  Whoosh.  Help! I've fallen and I can't get up.  Daily grace.  More please.    We had no idea two months ago on May 15 where we would be now.  We thought we'd be in India.  We were supposed to come home on July 16th. That's tomorrow.   A lot has happened.  Or should I say A lot has not happened.  At least the way we thought it would.

We have spent more time together as a family than we ever would have if things had gone differently.  We laugh that our days are scheduled like old people.  We plan them around a doctor's visit. Add in a few errands, lunch, home for a nap and an early dinner.  Really?  And we spend so much time together we end up eating in silence because we've talked everything out already throughout the day.  We decided when all this is over we will maintain different hobbies so we really don't end up like the silent couple sitting in the Golden Corral.  We want to share and laugh and discuss.

I also know that we're not the only family dealing with really weird and really hard stuff.  Many friends are going through really weird medical  and life stuff.  This is where I'm finding perspective, gratitude and trust.  When I look around me....Heart issues in your 40's.  Strokes in your 30's.  Serious infections that have no explanation.  Parents with terminal illnesses.   Job issues.  Moving when you don't want to move.  Divorces.  Custody battles.  Life is hard.  I see that our crud could be a lot harder than it is now.

I don't have any pat answers.  I won't quote Romans 8:28.  You know.  The one about all things working together for good.  I hate to admit that sometimes I want to punch people in the throat when they quote that verse in a flippant manner and make what we're going through seem routine or trite.  I don't dislike the verse....just people using it to say everything will have a happy ending.  Sometimes we don't see the happy ending.  Sometimes circumstances stink. Period.  But that doesn't mean that God has dissed us.  Instead, I will repeat what I know to be true.  God loves me.  He has a plan for me.  I have no idea how all this will work out.   I do know that He is faithful and will provide all we need to get through this.  How do I know that?  Because He has always done so in the past, I can count on Him now.  I have found His Word to be true in every situation we've faced so I have no reason to doubt it now.  When all is said and done, I will know Him more and He will be lifted up.  In the midst of all of this, I will cry out, "Jesus Help!  I've fallen and I can't get up!"  He will respond.  

Kickin' Cancer Jedi Style

Karl starts chemo today.  He's sitting in the recliner getting quite the cocktail of drugs.  We're quickly learning a whole new vocabulary and new routines.  The kids and I are wearing our Team Mason shirts.  Karl has to wear a button down so they can access his port under his right clavicle.  Karl is wearing his Golden Lightsaber pin that Kody gave him.  Kody traded a LOT of hot pin sets at the OM World Finals to acquire this one pin for Karl.  It contains a Force we understand!  Hmmm.... I wonder if the nurses can add several thousand midichlorian to Karl's infusion?? It sure couldn't hurt.   Kicking Cancer Jedi Style!

 

So the kids can't come back to the infusion room because they're under 18.  They brought Sonic for lunch and were able to FaceTime Karl from the lobby.  He could show them around via his iPad.  Gotta love technology.  And Sonic delivery.

Karl will be here every other Tuesday for 5 hours or so.  He will wear a pump home that will deliver meds til Thursday.  They will take it off on Thursday and administer a mega immunity booster shot that is so special they want five digits for it.... Yes. Five digits.  We will hit our family yearly  insurance maximum in one shot! Who knew?  Thank You Lord for insurance.  Karl wants to name his computerized pump.  I told him he can't give it a girl's name.  He named it Hal.  I guess that works.  It is delivering poison bent on destroying cells.  In the end, the pump will come off and Karl will win.  The computer will lose.  

Our dear friends Ross and Amanda offered us the use of their family beach home in Rocky Point and we spent last week there.  A whole week of no wifi or phones.  We read books, played a hundred games of Settlers of Catan, watched two seasons of Stargate Atlantis, snorkeled in Cholla Bay, lounged in the water, ate fish tacos, and enjoyed a few cervezas.  It was a magical week where we unplugged from every concern from the past two months.  Long leisurely quiet times with a cup of tea, my Bible, my journal, and a rising sun over the Sea of Cortez.  

We've been so overwhelmed with all the acts of love we have received from all our loved ones.  Meals, cards, messages, visits, packages.  Our friend Eeke made us matching shirts after reading our last blog entry.  We proudly sport them to our doc visits.  Karl and I wore them when he got the port at TMC.  People stopped to read them but I'm sure they made no sense to anyone in the oncology center.  

Karl probably won't lose all his hair but it may thin a bit.  Eugene sent Karl a lovely camo visor with it's own shock of crazy hair.  Can't wait for him to wear that to treatment. He was a little self conscious to wear it today.  

My friend Lucy reminds me of the hope we have because of Christ.  She says true hope is a white hot expectation.. Not just wishful thinking.  Hope that all of this, no matter how yucky it feels like now, will result in drawing us to a more intimate relationship with our Creator.  Hope that we will have all we need to get through this.  Today that's what I thought of when I saw Karl's light saber.  It is white hot.  Take a look at it and see if you agree.  Can you hear the whir of Hope as Karl wields  it?   

To more complicate the mental metaphors we've created.....  We will continue to ride this trail with perspective, gratitude, and trust.  We will keep our eyes up and off the cholla.  And as we ride, we will also swing the light saber of Hope.  Now that is a mental picture that oughta frighten off any mean ole cancer cooties.  

At Least None of Us Are Getting Typhoid

It's been difficult to write this.  I'd love to say we're home from the hospital after a successful surgery and all is well as we wait for Karl's incisions to heal.  The truth is, we got the labs back on Friday just as we were waiting for him to be discharged.  We're disappointed.  The dumb cancer was found in five of the lymph nodes.  Stage 3B.  Not what we were expecting to hear at all.  I guess no one expects that.  The doc didn't see any overt signals of it spreading when she did the surgery and I clung to her words.  This surgery would be but a little speed bump as our life went on.  Now it's a much bigger speed bump.

We came home Friday a bit numb.  We told our pastors and a few others. The girls were at the Comicon til Saturday and we didn't feel it best to tell them until they were home.  It was good to have a day to wrap our heads around what we had heard.  Surreal.  This is the stuff of movies or other people.  Not my husband. Not our life.

We talked to Kody first.  He understood more than I expected.  Earlier this year he had read a book by Josh Sundquist called Just Don't Fall.  Josh lost his leg to cancer and is now a para Olympic skier, Youtuber, and motivational speaker.  Because of the book, Kody was familiar with cancer and treatments.  After we talked about Dad's cancer, Kody wanted to know if Karl would have to have anything amputated.  I told him the doctors had already amputated part of his colon and it was on the inside where no one could see. This seemed to satisfy him.  He next asked if Dad would be too sick to play with him during the chemo.  I told him there may be days when he's sick but also days when he feels fine.  That seemed to satisfy Kody.

The girls got home from Comicon and we told them the results of the labs.  They were disappointed but handled it as well as any of us.

Right now, Karl has to heal from the surgery.  Laparoscopic surgery is pretty cool.  The recovery time is fairly speedy compared to what it could be.  He has to eat low fiber for a few days and then back to normal.  He also has to get up and moving to heal faster.  It's been interesting to remind him his definition for "short walks" is different than the doctor's definition.  He can't lift more than 10 pounds for about 6 weeks.  He can't drive until he sees the doctor again.  Karl feels a bit sore and tired.  Other than that, I told him he looks too good.  The people who are gracious enough to bring us meals from church are going to think we're "meal mooching".  He needs to moan a bit more and lay there with a lap quilt.

Mark, Karl's brother, brought us a juicer.  Karl's not a fan of healthy things unless they are coated in chocolate, cheese, or root beer.  Mark and Melissa also brought up a fridge full of leafy greens and fruits to juice.  We tried a combination of kale, cucumber, carrot, apple, bananas, and yogurt that wasn't too bad.  He's adjusting to our new "jungle juice" regimen.  With a root beer float chaser.

He sees the surgeon again later this week and the oncologist again next week.  They will set up a plan to start chemo.  Don't know much more until then.

We have been in contact with a friend who teaches in the district who has gone through a very similar bout with colon cancer in the last two years.  She had the same stage, same surgeon, same oncologist.  Now she's doing great.  Her recovery has been encouraging.  It's amazing how her horrible experience is now such a gift of experience and hope to us.

As we drove home from the hospital we stopped at the end of the road and got our mail- a bill from the pediatrician's office for all the typhoid shots the kids had.  Whew.  We are so relieved that none of us have to face typhoid this year.  Such a relief.  Malaria either.  And we have a fridge full of other assorted prescriptions that might come in handy if dengue fever strikes Oro Valley.  Not everyone can say that!

Karl told me this morning that when he's on a mountain bike ride problems often come up... flat tires, chains breaking or coming off.  That doesn't stop the trip.  You fix the problem and get back on the trail.  That's what we have to do now.  Fix the problem so we can get back on the trail.  

Thanks for the words of encouragement and love.  Thanks for the meals and cards.  Thanks for giving us a little space to sort through this.  As you can imagine, the emotions are flying fast and furious.  Sometimes I'm numb, sad, mad, scared, and hopeful....all in the same hour.

Karl has also given me more mountain bike advice that seems appropriate.  Look where you want to go.  Don't look at the cholla.  Pick your line and watch the trail.  Your bike goes where your eyes are.  So that's what I want to do.  Keep my eyes up and look ahead -do not look at the cholla. I guess that's the Arizona equivalent of Peter getting out of the boat and looking at Jesus instead of looking at the waves around him.

Through it all, God loves us.  He has a plan for us that includes this broken chain.  We're going to pull off and fix the problem. Then He will get us back on the trail because we've got a lot of ground left to cover.....

Perspective.  Gratitude.  Trust.  Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.  Great is His faithfulness!

Meta

So far, so good!

Thanks so much for all the well wishes.  Karl came out of surgery yesterday about 4.  He was groggy but feeling pretty well.  He has a happy button that dispenses meds as needed.  We got him up and moving last night and will do more today.  He's still on an ice chip/liquid diet.  Hopefully solid food will come tomorrow.  The doc removed about a foot of colon.  She saw no immediate signs of cancer beyond the tumor, but we don't know definitively until the labs come back later this week.  The surgery was laparoscopic and he only has two little holes~ one of them is in the belly button.  Karl will still be able to wear bikinis!  Or not.  We're praying the lymph nodes are unaffected and chemo won't be necessary.  But also confident that God will equip us to face whatever lies ahead.  

Today Karl has to sit up and walk more to get the plumbing moving.  Hopefully food tomorrow.  I'm staying with him here in the room on the oh-so-lovely recliner chair.  I keep telling myself that this chair would be a reward item if I were on Survivor.  Perspective changed.  

So some answers to prayer on the trip cancellation.  Our travel agent suggested we reschedule our trip for the fall just to prolong the life of our ticket. We would still pay the $1600 change fees with British Airways.  She suggested a travel insurance company to insure the new trip against further changes.  If we did need to change, the insurance should cover that.  So I called the insurance company from Iowa and explained the whole situation.  The agent asked what day we had paid for our trip.  It turns out we  were still within the window to purchase insurance for the current trip.  If we bought the high end policy and the option for "cancel for any reason" we could get back 75% of the original purchase price.  The insurance cost and the 25% would mean were only out a few thousand rather than $10,000.  We're also not beholden to a specific airline in a specific timeframe.  The insurance with this option would cost roughly the same amount as the airline change fees.  So on the last possible day I purchased insurance and then canceled our trip for good.  The next day I filed a claim with the insurance. 

 I cried when the lady told me it was possible to insure the trip.  She probably thought I was a nut job.  Probably right.  The intensity of the trip planning and subsequent unplanning... Along with report cards, a few difficult class parents, end of year job concerns (my job is now presumed ok, just not sure what grade level I will be).. It was no wonder my nerves and emotions were on edge.  And oh yeah... Karl has a mongo malignant tumor that must come out now.  

We finished up our trip to Iowa.  Kody's team had a great time trading pins with kids from other states and countries.  We got to spend some time with cool parents and coaches.  We got to watch our team and many others demonstrate 9 months of creative genius.  The kids had a ball in the dorm, the activities for them, all you can eat cafeteria meals, and creative transportation in our rental SUV.  In the end, we competed against 54 other teams from around the world and placed 19th.  We are thrilled.  

Hannah spent the weekend with the youth group on a local mission project called Mark 520.  They helped residents at an assisted living facility in mid Tucson build a garden, do handy man jobs, paint walls, read to blind residents, and just live life together.  

Karl did some home jobs hanging out with the dogs while we were gone.  

Thanks friends and family for your love, prayer, and support.  Many of you have walked this road before ands we appreciate your words of advice and encouragement.  We are taking each day as it comes and not planning anything even though we're home. Except.....  The girls will now get to go to part ofPhoenix  Comicon thanks to my rock star dad who agreed to take them.  He wants to cosplay as Professor Xavier so he can roll through the convention center-except he doesn't want to shave his head.  I told him he can borrow the Darth Vadar or Yoda uniforms... We also have a wide selection of Star Trek uniforms.  Stay tuned.. I will post pics next week.  Feel free to message or email him with your suggestions.  

Now you're up to date as of now.... Keeping our eyes up with perspective, gratitude, and trust!

Our 2014 Epic Summer Adventure.... not quite what we were expecting.....

Last summer Karl spent a few weeks in Bangalore, India.  During that visit, he was invited to complete a "bubble assignment":  working on site for three months.  We discussed what it would be like for our family and decided to say yes.  Karl would work for three months over the summer and the kids and I would come when school was out for 2 months.

We filled out the paperwork and got the initial approvals.  Since we already had passports, we filed for Indian Visas.  The company agreed to pay for my travel and the housing for our family.  We'd cover the kids' travel.  It would be a big expense but we felt living overseas would be an educational experience.  By February and March, things were a go and we were excited.  We sent away for our visas expecting them back in a few weeks.  One delay led to another with paperwork from Karl's work.  We proceeded with the planning.

At the same time, Kody's Odyssey of the Mind team was doing well.  They won the regional competition in March and we headed to the State competition in April.  We delayed making our travel plans for India not knowing if the team would qualify for the World Competition in Iowa the end of May.  That would affect when we left for India.  When the team took 1st place and we decided we were going to World's, we adjusted out trip.  Karl would leave May 15th for Bangalore and the kids and I would leave May 27th for Iowa for a week.  We would then fly directly from Des Moines to London.  We'd spend 4 nights sightseeing in London and visiting our friends, the Bromfields.  We would then fly to Amsterdam where we would stay with one of my former students and her family just north of the city.  We'd also have time to see the Anne Frank House and visit sites from Fault in Our Stars.

On the 11 of June we would fly to Bangalore to join Karl.  This would put is in India simultaneously with Grace's VBS.  The mission emphasis is in India so we would be able to Skype in live from India wearing our Weird Animals shirt.  This would be a consolation prize for missing my first full VBS in 16 years.  Karl had planned to take a week off near the end of June so we could travel north to the  golden triangle of India and visit the Taj Mahal.  How cool would it be to see this on my birthday when 8 years ago we climbed the Eiffel Tower on my birthday?

We had planned to leave India and visit my cousins, Randy and Vickii, in Kunming, China on the way home.  We have been dreaming of visiting them and seeing their city, friends, and opportunities for so many years.  We'd arrive back in Tucson just in time for Hannah's band camp and Kody's church camp.  I'd have a few days to prepare for the new school year.

That was the plan.

In mid April we began to get worried that our visas hadn't come back yet.  Silly delays that made no sense.  If we didn't have our visas back, we couldn't send them away again to get the Chinese visas.  End of April came and we had to buy one way tickets to Des Moines to ensure we got into the city along with 800 other teams from around the world.  I planned our round the world flight to begin in Des Moines and end in Phoenix.  We began to get nervous that there wasn't time to get Chinese visas in time for our trip.  We planned contingencies.  A.  We could route our trip to Thailand where we would get our visas from the consulate in Bangkok and take a separate discount airline into Kunming.  or B.  As soon as landed in Bangalore we would send our passports back to our friend in the US who would send them in for visas.  When she got them back, she would overnight them back to us in India.  Both of these had their drawbacks.  We did not feel a peace about either option.  I didn't want to leave the kids in Bangkok to spend the day at the embassy hoping we could get visas and we didn't want to surrender passports in India which would keep us from traveling north the way we had planned to do with Karl.  So we prayerfully and sadly decided to not go to China.  When we took this off the table it immediately saved $6,500 in airfare and $1,000 in visa fees. I used an internet site that specializes in round the world travel to book our Des Moines/ London/Amsterdam/Bangalore/Phoenix trip..  They helped me get our trip simplified so we only used one airline and the cost down a little bit to just at $10,000 for the four of us.  They were extremely helpful, calling me several times at home and work with helpful suggestions to make our trip better.  I was impressed with their customer service for an online company.

As the days pushed on it became clear that Karl had to push back his date of departure.  Instead of the 15th, he would plan to leave the 21st.  We proceeded with our shots, pills, and pre-trip doctor visits. Karl had had a mark on the side of his head that had gotten a bit bigger this year that I had been nagging him to have checked.  The kids saw their pediatrician for check ups and shots.  We all started typhoid and malaria pills.  Karl's doc said the mark on his head was hereditary and nothing to worry about.  His dad has the same exact spot.  I was relieved.  Karl's doc also ordered a colonoscopy.   With his departure date pushed back to the next week and assurances our visas were indeed on their way, he made the appointment and told me on Tuesday, "I'm having a colonoscopy on Friday."  "Really?  Friday is not good for me.  I'm on a field trip and can't take off to take you.  Plus Thursday is jam packed and you'll be stuck close to home the whole entire day!!.  Kody has a back to back drum lesson right before his band concert.  We're carpooling with another family and my report cards are due the next day so I will have to stay at work til they are done.  Is there any way you can reschedule this until after our trip??"  His answer, "No, I just want to get it over with."  I asked him several times to reschedule because it was such a crazy week.

So we got through the crazy packed week.  I dressed up in my Ma Ingalls get up and took my class to the frontier schoolhouse in Tubac for the day.  My dad took Karl to the appointment.  On the bus ride on the way home from Tubac I got an email that said the procedure went well and he woke up fine.  However the doc found a few things that would affect our travel plans.  My gut hurt.  As soon as I got back to school another teacher took my class and I called home.  

He said what I had dreaded.  They found cancer. A 7 1/2 cm malignant tumor in his colon.   It's not life threatening but they have to get it out.

My head is reeling.  We tell the kids.  We tell my mom.  Dad had taped the entire conversation with the doctor knowing I wasn't there and Karl was still a bit groggy.  We listen to his words again.   An hour later we're hosting the Cub Scout end of year potluck and sleepover.  Karl sees no reason to cancel when the boys have been looking forward to it.

This was one week ago.  Honeywell cancelled the bubble.  They cancelled our apartment and Karl's flight.  However things didn't go as smoothly for our travel arrangements.  I had turned down the travel insurance for our trip.  The airline says the tickets are nonrefundable.  The good thing is they can be rerouted on different dates as long as we complete travel by next May AND we only use British Airways flights .AND we rebook them before June 1st AND we have a modest change fee of $1,600.  The apartment in London was only refundable if they can re-let it for the same nights.  We now need to buy one way tickets home from Iowa.

At work on Monday, I chatted with a former class parent who specializes in cancer research.  Her husband just so happens to be the CFO of Arizona Oncology.  One text and he made a phone call.  Karl now has an appointment with the top doc on Wednesday morning to go over CT results.  Karl had the CT on Tuesday and low and behold, our visas arrived on our doorstep on Tuesday afternoon.

So instead of flying out Wednesday morning, Karl and I visited the oncologist.  He showed us the results of the CT.  Preliminary views do not show the cancer in any other organs.  They won't know definitively if it has spread until the surgery.  We made an appointment to meet the surgeon for next Wednesday.  She will set the surgery date for the first week of June.  This will give me and Skylar a few days to go with Kody to Iowa for the OM World Finals.  Hannah will stay with Karl.

Several restless and sleepless nights.  Wednesday morning I woke up with a moment of total clarity.  God laid three words on my heart:  perspective, gratitude, and trust.  In January I had picked the word "being" for my Word For the Year.  I chose Psalms 46:10 for my verse.  "Be still and know that I am God."   This morning I totally understood that I need to focus on Christ.  Take my eyes off the waves crashing around me.  Trust Him to hold me...hold us.  This could be so much worse.  We caught it early.  God continues to show His care for us as we follow Him on this path.  Perspective.  Gratitude.  Trust.  3 more WFTYs.  Thank you Scot Gillan for saying it was ok to have more than one at a time.

We left the doc's office and decided to take advantage of the rest of the day off.  How often do we get a beautiful spring day to spend together?  We hopped on the bikes and rode up the twisty, cool, not-even-crowded road to Mt. Lemmon.  Lunch at the top.  As I listened to praise music in my helmet, I realized that I have a dozen friends who would pay way more than $10,000 and interrupted travel plans to go back in time and get an early diagnosis.

What we are experiencing is a gift.  A gift of early detection. We needed to plan the trip so he would finally get into the doctor for a check up.  He needed the opportunity to share symptoms that may or may not be anything but let's check and see. I'm embarrassed that I was so whiny about the inconvenience of the appointment.  I'm thankful Karl did not relent to my requests to postpone it.  God worked in spite of me and my agenda.  This time I'm thankful he was a little stubborn.

 We needed the delay in the visas to decide not to spend the money on the China tickets and Chinese visas.  Let's not even discuss what would have happened if we had routed though Thailand.  If we used the original itinerary I had planned on, we could have flown through any number of cities using at least 7 different airlines.  We would have been in Moscow, Kuala Lumpur. or Kathmandu. All of these airlines would have had policies that don't allow rerouting.

So now we're only dealing with one airline.  Yes, they are refusing to give us any extra time to reroute our trip.  We must book by June 1st.  The travel agency is bending over backwards to help us.  They've waved most of their fees so now we only owe the airline an additional $1,200.  We are now looking at rebooking this trip for the fall..... if we can get travel insurance for preexisting conditions.  

The hard part is not knowing what is going to happen after surgery.  It could be that they take out the section of Karl's colon and that will be all.  He will have 3 weeks off work and relatively simple recovery.  Honeywell has left open the offer to complete the bubble in the fall.  We could possibly join him for a few weeks surrounding our fall break.  It would be difficult to miss school, but we could make it happen.

If he does end up needing chemo, it could be up to 6 months of treatment.  We wouldn't do the bubble.  We would plan a "we kicked cancer's bondoonie tour" for spring break.  We had purchased a week at a timeshare in Hawaii that we need to use before next summer.  We were hoping to use frequent flier miles from this epic summer trip to take care of some of the Hawaii travel.  So here's the kicker.....  If we can't bubble in the fall and we use the travel insurance to move the tickets to the spring.... we can only use British Airways.  They don't travel to Hawaii from the US so we would have to go to Hawaii via London.  And back.  Not exactly the best use of our travel dollar, but it beats wasting it.

School ended on Thursday and we were given notice that 4 of the teachers are being RIFed.  Reduction in Force.  We are all filling out rating sheets to be ranked according to experience, degrees and certifications, performance evaluations, student test scores, and the number of sick days we've taken.  I have no idea where I fall.  I'm new to the district.  It's a mess.  Our school numbers have dropped with no thanks to the new charter school opening down the road.

So much we could stress out about.  Cancer sucks.  Airlines don't show compassion.  Nobody wants to be RIFed.  But through all of it, my God is faithful.  He always has been and will continue to be.  Even in the storm.  Especially in the storm.  We saw crud like this before when we didn't know if Kody would be ok.  The doc said he had 4 major heart defects that would be life altering. Within a day, they "mysteriously" turned into only one very fixable heart defect.  And through the first few months of his life, we saw God's hand of provision in the form of doctors, nurses, friends, and family.  People flooded us with anything we would need.  My brother took a fancy to Kody's nurse- then married her a year later.  Now they have three beautiful children.  God used that yucky heart defect to work miracles in our family.

In the next two weeks,  please keep Karl in your prayers as he faces surgery and the biopsy.   Were asking God that it all be contained and easily removed.  He seems to be taking it more on stride than I am.  The engineer side of him looks at it all methodically and asks what step is next.  I'm more of the raving madwoman.  

We have appreciated the encouragement and love we've seen from so many dear friends this week.  We love you and are thankful for you.  Continue to let Karl feel some love!  

God continues to make beautiful things out of dust.  Out of the crud this world throws at us.  Because I've seen it before, I have faith that He will do it again.  He's got a plan for Karl and our family.  We don't know exactly what it looks like from here.  Karl and I prayed tonight sitting on the rock in the backyard watching the sunset that God would find us faithful to Him in this journey. That we would be able to speak of His love and goodness to those who don't usually pay Him any mind.   May people take one step closer to Christ because of these trials.  For only in trusting Him have we found any semblance of peace.  We can't wait to watch Him show off.  Wait for it...Wait for it....

to be continued.....

Mason Christmas Letter and Pictures 2013

Greetings Family and Friends!

We write this year's Christmas letter from our new home.  Last January we looked at this home in our quest to find a home with a little bit more open space for our family.  God provided and we moved in last March.  We are snuggled next to the Tortolita Mountains on the edge of Oro Valley and Marana.  Indescribable sunset views to the west, city lights to the south, and mountain views of the Tortolitas and Catalinas to the north and east.  We have close to 6 acres of desert space.  We were blessed to find dependable renters for our home on Copper Queen the very day we closed on this home.

The courtyard leading to the front door

The front of our new home...pueblo style 

We had quite a few of these visitors this summer.

Skylar surprised this bobcat hanging out on our front wall



This is the view from our backyard every single night.... the colors are always changing.

Kody is in 4th grade at Painted Sky.  He is in Mrs. Bennett's room right next to Meta's classroom.  Recently Karl chaperoned the field trip to Kartchner Caverns and Meta was thrilled to ride the bus and tour the caves with both Karl and Kody.  Many of Kody's friends are in Meta's class.  Kody adopted Bandit this fall from Az Border Collie Rescue.  We adopted Duke from the same place just before Christmas last year.  Bandit and Kody are working together in the same 4H dog project with Hannah and Hope.  Kody and Karl are Weeblos in Cub Scouts.  They've enjoyed camping, archery, fire building, and other outdoor activities.

Kody blows his way to victory in the Raingutter Regatta

Kody and Bandit meet for the 1st time

Kody quadding in the mountains near home

thawing out together on a cold day

learning to canoe at Weeblos Woods Weekend

Hannah is a freshman at Ironwood Ridge.  She has a full load of pre AP classes and has also joined the marching band as a member of the color guard.  It was an extremely busy fall season with football games and competitions every weekend.  She made her Aunt Marcie very proud as she learned how to twirl the flag and run with jazz steps!

Ironwood Vanguard Color Guard

8th grade graduation from Coronado

Hannah and Hope at the Fair

As a junior this year, we're so thankful that Skylar can drive to school this year.  She is also taking a full load of AP classes.  She is co-editor of the Iron Quill, the school newspaper.  Last month she was able to join the newspaper and yearbook staffs at the National Journalism Conference in Boston.  She said it was just like the Comicon...without all the costumes!   Skylar is also in 4H photography project.   Almost every day Skylar rides the quad from our house to the barn where she has trained for many years to ride her leased horse, Jose.



Our Driveway

Skylar and Jose at the Pima County Fair

Skylar experienced autumn in Boston!

Karl is still working at Honeywell this year.  Last summer he was able to travel to India for 2 weeks and China for a week to meet with his colleagues.  Because we live a little farther away, he doesn't ride his bike to work.  He does, however, enjoy riding the trails in the Tortolita Mountains straight from the house.  We've been able to explore many of these trails and roads as we walk the dogs or ride the quads around. Karl is Kody's den leader for Weeblos. 


Karl, Kody, Earl, and Sandy at the Blue and Gold Banquet.



visiting Mysore near Bangalore, India

Meta is teaching 4th grade at Painted Sky.  She has recovered from the surgery to remove all the hardware in her hand from the accident last year - 9 plates and 30 pins.  She has regained most of the function but can tell when the weather is about to change.  Meta and Karl make time to ride motorcycles and quads together.  They enjoyed a long ride to Las Vegas over fall break.  The family still rides with Sky Island Riders either on the scooters or the big bikes.  Meta was able to fly to Spokane along with Suzie from Richmond to spend the weekend with Nancy and the Casadys.  It was a weekend full of Sisterchick chatting, eating, laughing, and loving. 

gearing up to ride to Vegas

quadding up the back side of Mt. Lemmon

Viva Las Vegas

Sisterchicks in Spokane

say goodbye to 9 plates and 30 pins

wandering Las Vegas and we end up at the Eiffel Tower

Karl and Meta are blessed to be small group leaders for middle school students at The Blender, Grace's Student Ministry.  We meet every Sunday night for fellowship, a meal, Bible study, and small group accountability.  Skylar and Hannah enjoy the high school small groups.  Karl is finishing his term as chairman of the Foundations Team, Grace's spiritual leadership team.

Painting the Blender Room is an all night event

We enjoyed the Phoenix Comicon on Memorial Day weekend.  The girls brought friends for the weekend.  Skylar sported a gray face and orange horns as Homestuck characters.  People were afraid to blink around Hannah who was a very convincing Weeping Angel from Doctor Who.


Don't Blink, It's Hannah!

Skylar sports the Homestuck Look

Star Fleet Rocks

After VBS in June, we flew to North Dakota to spend some time in Grand Forks and at the cabin on Maple Lake with Earl and Sandy.  We drove across North Dakota and spend a week with Kristi and Lee in Montana.  We got to see Aloha loving life in the pasture.  When Skylar called her name, Allie came over for a snuggle and some grain before running off with her new horse friends. 

celebrating a small town 4th of July parade in Scobey, MT



Masons at the new airport in Grand Forks

Maple Lake Memories

Skylar and Aloha



Maple Lake

We are so extremely blessed and want to thank our Lord for His provision and protection.  He demonstrates His unconditional love for us in so many ways.  As we celebrate this season, let's all take some time to praise the One who came to earth and put on human skin in the form of this tiny baby born in Bethlehem, lived life so we could see how it's supposed to be, and then redeemed us so we could have a relationship with God Almighty.  Our hearts are full.  Love to you ~ our family and friends.



Karl, Meta, Skylar, Hannah, and Kody



Mason Christmas Letter and Pictures 2011

       Moshi moshi! Meeson Sukaira desu.  (“Hello!   I’m Skylar Mason.” in Japanese.)

Now for the part of the show where Skylar summarizes a year in the Mason family through five paragraphs! 2011 has been particularly eventful.

            Meta got her “big girl bike”, a Kawasaki Vulcan, late last December. She named it T’Kahr (Vulcan for “teacher”), and enjoys riding it or Stella with Dad and the scooter club. They took their motorcycles on a road trip to Colorado and back, exploring new sights and making new friends, in June. We bought her a Volkswagen Beetle—a cute little blue car named Dory—for her birthday, and she enjoys the change to a stick shift. In October she started teaching full-time at Painted Sky, after a fourth-grade teacher left on maternity leave. Her class takes up most of her time, but she loves every second of it!

T'Kahr prepares to leave Albuquerque for the cold drive back to Tucson... Meta bundled up!

           



tackling the teeter totter at the scooter rally in May



            Karl couldn’t keep up with Meta and T’Kahr on his little Buddy scooter, so he bought a BMW motorcycle and named it Scotty (the ultimate Beamer. Get it?) in January. They had a wonderful time on their Colorado trip. When they returned, he got a promotion as a Chief Engineer at Honeywell. It’s a position that allows him to manage several programs, and he enjoys it a lot.

Karl and Scotty on our grand adventure up to Colorado.... no itinerary...just pack and go. 



Karl with his new Fat Tire cruiser he won in a contest.  He still bikes hard core mountain too....





Lil Anthony's before the Gaslight Theater with our small group



             I (Skylar) am 15 and now a freshman at Ironwood Ridge. My classes are hard but a lot of fun, and I’ve met some great new friends. I’m still riding my horse, Aloha, and blogging every day for fun. Recently I’ve taken up anime-style art and photography. At school, I’m learning Spanish and Japanese, which are both challenging but immensely rewarding. Next summer I’m getting my permit (fore! Everyone off the roads!), which should be an interesting experience. J I’m hoping to help Mom and Dad out with the carpooling once I get my license.






Skylar is thrilled she made it through the reading of her Confirmation Essay in church! 





Aloha comes back to Tucson after being evacuated from Hereford during the June fire. 



            Hannah’s 13 now and active in both school (7^th grade) and 4-H. She’s in the Coronado chorus, and enjoys singing at concerts and festivals. She also shows Hope, her King Charles Spaniel, at 4-H shows and the county fair. In her spare time, she loves to hang out with friends, watch anime, and cuddle with her puppy.



Hannah after Christmas concert



Hannah and Hope at the Pima County Fair



            Kody is 7 ¾ (don’t dare call him 7 ½!), and a second grader at Painted Sky. He loves video games, hanging out with his friends, and playing with Legos—in fact, he’s in the Lego Club at school. He also enjoys riding his bike with Dad, and every McDonalds run is a treat.   Kody started Taekwondo earlier this year and is already a green belt.  He also broke his arm rollerblading the week before we went to Disneyland and had Mickey and Buzz sign his cast. 



Kody earns yellow....then green.  Next stop, blue. 

  

            We’re thankful for so many things this year.  God has blessed us with a new cousin named Baylee, a new pastor at Grace, new ways to get around, new schools and new jobs.  We’ve enjoyed epic times with our family and friends.  We’re thankful for the peace, hope, and joy that comes from knowing Jesus Christ.   We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a safe, fun, Christ-centered holiday season! Know that you’re in our prayers and we look forward to another great year in 2012.  Merīkurisumasu to shin'nen akemashiteomedetōgozaimasu!  (Merry Christmas and a  Happy New Year J







Masons take on Disneyland over Spring Break





then the Grand Canyon over Thanksgiving Break....