Exciting times in Nashville!

We have heard from Savannah's doctors and the little spots on her liver are tumors. They were supposed to let us know yesterday (friday) what protocol she will be eligible for but we still haven't heard from them. My guess is that they are still researching options. Please continue with the prayers!!!!

Well, as most of y'all know, we can't do anything without a little drama.....

It all started a few years ago when Shelby started guitar lessons with Francis Harderson. She learned quickly and became quite a good little picker. That grew into her pursuit of the mandolin, then, the auto harp, the piano, the fiddle, the harmonica and she is now asking for a stand up bass, a banjo, a Dobro, a steel guitar etc.......(sigh!)......Anyway, I digress. Since she started lessons her favorite music to play has been bluegrass. Of course she LOVES country music too and has a dream to play the Grand Ole Opry some day. We had been promising her a trip to Nashville for a long time but money and life got in the way of our plans. Finally, I just ordered the tickets. I knew if we had them we would have to go. So...Monday morning, after MUCH anticipation, Susie (my friend), Savannah, Shelby, Bo and myself were headed for the country music capitol of the world!!!! Bo slept the whole way since he had worked into the night the day before and swears that he could still see the last restroom stop out the back window as we were pulling in for another stop.........I don't think so but.......whatever! He's a guy AND his bladder is much younger than Susie's and mine. :(
We arrived in Nashville and dropped Bo at his friends house. We didn't see him the rest of the trip!
We found a hotel downtown and checked in. Savannah and Shelby decided to do a little late night sight seeing. Next thing we knew Savannah was on the phone telling us they'd stumbled on a filming of a Rascal Flats video. Shelby had gotten out of the car and ran up as close as she could to see. She got pretty close and got some good pics on her phone. EXCITING STUFF!!!!(for her anyway :) A while later we received another phone call. Shelby was very calmly telling me they had a (little) wreck in Susie's car!!! Savannah was driving and they had hit a police car! No, not a "regular" car but a POLICE CAR!!!!! Good news is that it didn't do extreme damage to Susie's car. It scratched up the fender & grill but was still drivable. The police car however, was NOT! It was Savannah's fault but she shed enough crocodile tears and I guess the cop felt sorry for her so she ended up not even getting a ticket! Oh to be young and able to cry or flirt your way out of trouble again!.....
I think that put a bit of a damper on Savannah's week :( Susie was very gracious and just thankful the car was still drivable.
That night, Bo text'd us to say they were giving out armbands to fill seats at the CMT awards at a local cafe downtown. All we had to do was go to the cafe, go to the back and ask for the armband.......yah right! An hour or so later after standing in line with hundreds of other people we got 'em!
Next, we hit the Country Music Hall of Fame. It was really interesting. We all enjoyed it. Our favorite part was seeing Jared Neiman (sp?) in the gift shop. He was there promoting his cd and signing them. Very talented and VERY cute!!!!
We left there to check in at the Grand Ole Opry Hotel. (If you have never visited this place....it's a must see!) I've been there a few times but Susie and Shelby had never seen it. I think I can say....they were impressed! Our Opry tickets were for the 9:30 pm show so we hung out outside the Opry at a little festival they were having until our show started. We got to hear Patrick Davis play while waiting and we liked him a lot. (You should look him up....very talented song writer and singer.)
The Opry was packed with stars due to the CMT awards and the CMA festival beginning on Thursday. (I didn't know that when I booked the tickets but it worked in our favor). The line up included Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Oak Ridge Boys, Darius Rucker, Jared Neiman, Bill Anderson and maybe some I forgot! ? It was awesome....very good show!
The next day we took advantage of the hotel and all the beautiful scenery, shops etc...and just had a lazy day.....preparing for the CMT awards.
We ended up having to stand in line for an hour and a half or so in the hot Nashville sun just to get inside to be a seat filler but as Shelby says...."It was TOTALLY WORTH IT! We were to the side and back of where the stars were sitting so we got our eyes full of the celebs as they walked back and forth, getting photo shots when they won etc... I think Shelby's favorite was when Rascal Flats and Justin Bieber stood down - right in front of us for a photo after winning their award.
All in all it was a great time considering I've never been in to country music that much until the last few years.....I guess Shelby's love for it kind of changed my mind. ? And now, she wants to attend school in Nashville even more than she ever did........sigh!.......it's SO far away.......I don't want to be a dream crusher but maybe she'll have a change of heart during her senior year. :) OH......and did I mention Bo is wanting to move back there also? If I have 2 babies in Nashville, I might have to become rich, buy a condo there and live there part of the time! I know they would enjoy that! :]

Made it home by the grace of God. I'm very thankful for that among many other things!

Mom and Daddy are starting home from Virginia today. They are bringing Rose and Lilly with them. We can't wait to spend some time with them. We just don't get to see them often enough. They will only be here this week. They'll be returning next Saturday. VBS starts the next Monday and goes through Friday...(20th - 24th). After that maybe I can "get myself together" and start my Spring cleaning.! Just a few months late! :[ another big sigh!!!!!!!
Love to ALL! Thank you for the prayers!

June 1st NIH visit

Savannah flew out to Bethesda yesterday morning for her monthly checkup at NIH.
Since Mom and Daddy are out there, visiting Jeff and Donna, they decided to drive over and stay with her during her visit. I'm glad they were there for her because the news was a little less than satisfactory.
The tumor on her adrenal gland has NOT continued to shrink. It hasn't grown either....it's pretty much stayed the same which makes us happy but the doctors were not as impressed. The scans revealed some tiny spots on her liver. They are so tiny, in fact, that they're not even sure what they are.
They scheduled an MRI for this afternoon so they could get a better look. Her team of doctors will evaluate everything at their Monday Meeting and then let us know how they are going to proceed.
There are a few options but right now we don't really know what they are. They did mention starting back at square one. We don't know what that means either but I don't particularly like the sound of it. :(
We know God has a plan for us so we're just riding it out knowing that everything that happens is for our good and will ultimately be His will. I keep saying to myself...."This is a test.....this is only a test!'
In the meantime, we'll still cherish any prayers you will offer up for us!
LOVE to ALL! Thanks!