40th anniversary

June 23 '14       40 Years plus one day.   Yes yesterday was our 40th wedding anniversary which we celebrated the day before. Chemo had been postponed for a week for that reason. Started planning around a month ago with a list of what we would need and invitations were printed and sent out.
From our perspective the day was great. The Sall's and the Heene's came the night before. Don't know how he did it, but Justin got 18 holes in before 10 am. Monic and  Christine with help of their spouses Justin and Kevin did a ton of work. Getting food prepared and things set up outside.
Jane's sister Henrietta came up early and help out where she could. The weather was outstanding ,
sun and a light breeze. Kelly came up with Lucas, her mom and her grandma.
Benjamin is still dealing with US immigration and cannot cross the border like the rest of us do.
(Your prayers for that situation are much appreciated). Marcel and Shelly both had operations recently and were unable to come. So we missed their girls too.
Think all in all we were with close to 100 in attendance. Quite a few watched the World Cup  games of that day in the great room. There were lots of cold ones on hand to complement the snacks and later the burgers and sausages.
Jane and I had such a good time, seeing family and so many good friends from both Mnt Brydges and Owen Sound. You bring true joy in our lives.
We know ourselves so blessed with having all of you as part of our lives both near and far.
Around Jane's last chemo date she got a light skin reaction on her face. We suspect that it is from the pre and post chemo meds, as she just got it again tonight. She says it does not  bother her only that it feels a little warm. Ada Haasnoot went with Jane today for her blood work,  pamidranant and Dr interview. Dr was pleased with results of the CT scan taken 2 weeks ago. So chemo tomorrow. That will probably mean that next  saterday/Sunday could be more uncomfortable for her.
That has been the pattern so far. Starting next week Saturday we hope to go to Solfstra's cottage for a couple of weeks but that could be interrupted as Kelly is expecting for mid July. That will be our 12th grandchild. Wow, that too blows Jane and me away. Praying that all goes well with Kelly and the baby. Lord willing next blog more.
Wishing you a great summer. Be safe, live wisely and remember , forget about changing yesterday (you can't), tomorrow is no certainty for anyone.   so that leaves us with to day,                                      
               LIVE IT TO THE FULL!       Marinus & Jane .

P.s .   live each day as if it is your last, someday you will be right.  (Quote from Steve Jobs)

Summer here soon.

Do not know how it is for all you folks, but it seems the older we get, the faster time goes.
Our time since the March blog has been marked by the regular 3 week appointments with the oncologist, followed by chemo the next day. Around 4-5 days after the treatment Jane has been feeling lousy for at least a couple of days. Those days  for Jane usually come with more pain and discomfort. When you ask how she is doing her answer is "I'll be okay". On March 30 I (Marinus) turned 66. That number seems to also increase at an ever faster pace. But who is counting right? At the end of April the last of the doelings were picked up, which completed the sale deal and left us with just some breeding bucks, 2 breeding bulls, cows, veal, calves and 3 light horses. At the beginning of May we were able to make the round to see all our children and grand children, who are all experiencing good health for the most part and all are busy with family, church, work and play.
At that time we celebrated 2 belated birthdays and one on the day, plus Gideon (Kevin & Christine's second son) did profession of his faith in Jesus. All highlights we were blessed to be part of.
May brought us in Grey county a nice mix of sun and rain with temperatures finally reaching seasonal levels. All our land is now in hay and it is growing well. Some in our area are already cutting for silage. Yesterday we were able to again travel states side, as there are, between the Sall and Marcel Noordermeer families, 3 birthdays in 3 days. Kelly (Benjamin) is entering the last 6 -7 weeks of her pregnancy and doctor said this morning that all appears well. PTL.
Marcel had an operation on his shoulder  yesterday and is recovering and looking at 6 weeks with an immobilized shoulder. Hoping to see the crew there tomorrow.
This last weekend was also marked by the passing of Kevin's cousin Lisa (from Hamilton Michigan) Struggled with cancer for almost 8 years. It has fallen on her husband Rob, to raise their 3 young daughters alone. .This hit Jane hard as Lisa had been an encouragement for her and we had met her as recent as last Christmas at a family dinner from the Sall's.
We are thankful for each and every day. All your continued interest in what is happening in our lives is most encouraging. The support of our church family in Owen Sound is amazing.
We continue to press in for a complete healing for Jane, but above all that Jesus may be honoured in and thru our lives.

Dear family and friends,
Well here we are and it is almost spring officially. It has been more then 3 months since our last update. Jane has done okay for most of this time even though it has been a very cold winter with a lot of extreme cold, which kept us inside for most of it. Chemo was scheduled for December 24 after which we left for the USA right away.
Kevin s family invited us to a Christmas lunch at the Trestle Stop in Hamilton Mi. (his uncle and aunt s restaurant) where we met up with Lisa, their daughter who has been in a very long struggle with cancer, but she is such a trooper. She and her husband are certainly an inspiration for Jane and myself. We were able to go see Marcel and Shelly and their girls while staying at the Hampton Inn in Merrillville In. Then we travelled back on the 28th to Mount Brydges Ontario for the Bloemendal get together. Not all of them could make it, but we are thankful for the time we had with them that could make it.That evening the Sall family and ourselves drove up to the farm.
The work load there was drastically reduced since all the milking goats were picked up on several trailer loads between December 20 and 23. So it was the morning of the 23rd that we milked goats for the last time. What was left on the goat side of things was the dry does and yearling does that were to be picked up at two later dates as part of the deal. This meant a lot less work for the Amish couple, who decided to move out of the farm house at the end of January to live back in their community up the road. That was their choice, as they could have lived there yet for some time.
It was also in January that Jane underwent another CT scan. The week we waited for the results was hard for Jane. The radiologist noted again no progression of the disease. A great relief again.
The oncologist, Dr Aboo, is certainly pleased with Jane s condition.
There is always the daily routine of taking regular medications and then the break thru meds.
Were able to travel for an extended weekend from January 23-28 and make the rounds to all
of our kids families. Levy looked after things just before they were moving out.
When in February, Jane was having unexpected crying spells, the home care nurse and Aboo
recommended an anti depressed medication to be tried for a least 6-8 weeks.
The crying spells soon stopped, so for time being it is going to be part of the daily medicine cocktail.
The second part of the herd was picked up on February 28, so there are about 130 doelings left to be picked up  no later then April 30.
Jane had chemo on March 4 and when Monic was going to drop Christian off at Kevin & Christine for spring break from his school, she jumped on the opportunity to get a ride with them.
It did not take much arm twisting to get Jane to not go back with Monic and just stay till I would be going states-side myself. With Dan (the Amish man with which we still have close contact and who lives a couple miles from the farm) driving his buggy to the farm once a day to  take care off the chores, I was able to join Jane on March 13 at Benjamin s place.
The next day we went to Indiana. The pool and hottub in the hotel was much appreciated by all especially the girls from Marcel and Shelly.
We were there for a birthday party for Brynne and an early party for Maren. It was good to see all Shelly s family again too.
On Monday we drove back to Michigan as Benjamin called to tell us  that our and Monic s old dog, Suki (who spent the last 18 months at Benjamin s place) was on her end. She was put to sleep that afternoon. She had been a great dog to us all. Her legacy includes the litter of thirteen pups including the one still born. It was amazing to see how calmly she cared for them all with only ten nipples.
She raised all twelve till they could be weaned off.
It is great to spend time with all our kids families and I was wandering how Jane felt about going back home on Friday. When I asked her, she said that it would be okay with her to go back Friday. Home is still at the farm.
I am so thankful for every day Jane and I get to spend together. Cannot tell how much I love that girl. The prayers of so many of you are being heard and we cannot thank you enough.
I like winter, but after what we had the last 3 months I am ready for spring. But giving what usually happens around here, we will probably have to wait another 5-6 weeks.
As you probably have picked up on, the relationships with our family and friends are so precious to us. The support from our church family is just awesome too. Many thanks to you all. God is good!!!!
When you read this letter send us a brief note some times at nrdrmr@xplornet.com so we can know who reads our blog.
Greetings from both of us.   Marinus and Jane. 

Well here we are and the months have gone by. Busy with work, doctors, chemo and bone enhancers and now we are in December. Thanking the Lord for every day that He has given us and that we are able to share with each other and our family and friends. Had tests back a ways and at that time they said that the cancer had shrunk a bit, for which we are truly thankful. Dr. Aboo said that late in the year we would do some more testing, but in the meantime we would just keep on with the same treatments as before. Having some pain in my back on the left side at the 8th rib it was suggested that maybe I should have radiation and try and see if that would get rid of the pain, This we did and it seemed to help for a little while but came back. Dr. Palma said that if it would not go away then we could try again and hopefully that would take care of it. Sure enough it was needed and this all took place in London. Dr. Palma realized that we lived close to Owen Sound so both times they did it all in one day which was a blessing to us. It seems to have taken most of that pain away.
Jane just gave me the laptop to finish the blog. Well, in the month of November Jane turned 60. So when Monic & Christine asked me if I felt we should do something special, I told them I was all in if we would make it a surprise event for her. I think it was in the beginning of October, so we had about 5 weeks to pull it off. Christine took care of getting the word out, as Monic lined up a place and a caterer. Response was fast and furious, even from as far away as Grand Rapids & The Netherlands.
It also worked out well that I could invite friends from around Dornoch & Owen Sound on the day of her birthday for an afternoon tea time. It all worked well and when we left for London last Friday to get together with our children for early Christmas gift giving ( or call it Sinterklaas) the next day, Jane had absolutely no idea what was about to happen the next day. It was a total surprise for her. What a blessing to see so many of you there.
A special thank you to Melissa Swinkels (and Tim) for the awesome cake and cupcakes and Heidi Heene for taking pictures. (Having pics taken with the grandchildren was a big part of our "scheme".)
Thank you Kevin & Christine, Justin & Monic, Marcel & Shelly and Benjamin & Kelly for making it happen. We are so blessed with  family and friends. Also thank you to all of you who hold us up in prayer. Without a doubt it is what sustains us day by day.
P.S. Will try to post some pictures later.           With love to all of you,  Jane & Marinus.

A Note to all we love and care about

Hello everyone!

 Yes it has been awhile since our last blog but thought it was about time to give a little bit of an update as to how we are doing. Enjoyed the few weeks off from chemo and doctors appointments but have just had my second one since we came back from holidays. The doctor wanted to do an xray and a CT scan before I came to see him this past Tuesday so we could talk about the results. Well I had them done last week Thursday and by Saturday through this Tuesday when I came in the office I was having a bit of a rough time. The enemy was using the mind to have me go over and over that maybe the cancer was worse and therefore causing pain. Marinus said we were not having any of this and went into intercession as well as called our children and some prayer warriors to help me get through this period. Kevin cousin Lisa also send me a text that was very comforting to know that she being also a cancer warrior knew what I was going through. She told me too that God knows also our tomorrows so we can trust in Him. My nurse told me that we are not to forget that we are human and God understands our struggles. But like I said that does not always make it easier.Iit does and did help to know that people were praying as at times I could feel the peace of God. On Tuesday when we were at Dr. Aboo's I think I was being tried there too as our appointment was at 12:15 and by 2:30 we still had not seen him so I talked to the nurse pratitioner who then took us in the office and relayed the messages from the two tests down. The CT scan showed that the cancer had shrunk a bit and with this tears came running and that the xray on the ribs showed that the 8th rib on the left side had a lesion which was something we knew in the beginning. The doctor at the last visit had already said that if this was causing the pain we could probably have radiation done once or twice on that specific rib and it would take away the pain and we would not need so much medicaation.Sso with this confirmed we told them to go ahead and make an appointment to have this done. When these reports were read it seemed like a huge pressure was lifted off and Marinus said that we knew who was trying to rob from us. We immediately thanked the Lord for our news and spread it to our family and some prayer warriors and now to you all who have been there for us in prayer and support. We can not thank you all enough for what you have done and continue to do as honestly it does make a difference in ones life, so keep up God's kingdom work. Well with knowing this I have made it my task also to have a prayer list to pray for those who are also sick, lonely and for the spouses and support people for each one of them. In the meantime we are still praying for someone to come and buy the farm or the goats and equipment so that will take the pressure off especially Marinus, but the both of us so we can spend time with our family and friends making memories and doing kingdom work here in our home. Again thank you and sending you our love in Christ and till the next time.If you would like to talk to us you can always give us a call as we'd love to hear your voice and what you have been up too as well.

Jane and Marinus

Hello family and friends,

 

It was our goal to do a monthly update but it did not happen in June. We apologize.

Here we are already in the middle of July and in the middle of our stay at Slofstra’s cottage near Orillia Ontario. Since the last Blog Jane was able to go to Crown Point In. to  celebrate Kaimbria’s b’day, then back to Moline for Noah’s and his dad Kevin’s b’days and Noah Sall’s grade 8 graduation from Moline Christian. Myself I was able to drive down for the graduation ceremony and drove back up to the farm, next morning with Gideon (Noah’s brother). Knowing from past years, that finishing our entire first cut of dry hay by cottage time might be tough, we I started cutting early. With Gideon being able to use the ATV on the farm (wearing his helmet faithfully) it made things so much easier for both Levi Yoder and myself. Jane came back June 12 with Tehya (Kevin & Christine’s daughter, therefore Gideon’s 4 year old sister) accompanied by a lady from our church who needed a ride back  from Grand Rapids. It was really difficult to find 4-5 days of good dry weather in June so it was not till last week that we finished our entire first cut of dry hay. Thank you Lord.

It was chemo day on June 19 for Jane which was also the day Monic and Christine came up to clean up the office and storage room in the upstairs milk house, which had among farm stuff also still that which had come from Delaware Ontario basement.  

They did awesome and many thanks.

In the next while I will find out about some of the stuff I thought I still had. Ha Ha.

When the ladies left I also lost Gideon`s help. Sure he did not miss getting up at 4am.

A big thank you Gideon, from Opa & Oma.

On June 22 we remembered that it was 39 years ago that we started our married journey together. Wow ,where did those years go? We have oh so much to give thanks for.

Dr Aboo had decided that he wanted to skip at least one chemo treatment this summer so next treatment is not planned till early August.

Marcel and his girls (Shelly was working the weekend) came up, after picking up Monic and Christian in London on Friday June 28 so Mom could spend time with 5 of her 11 grand children and Monic and Marcel could “de-winterize” and clean the boats.

Glastron in running great, thanks to you two.

When July 6 came around we found our selves in the middle of baling hay.

That day alone I baled around 140 4x4 hard core round bales. But ran out of time for the rest. Then it was not till close to midnight that we got settled in at the cottage with brother in law Henry Swinkel’s help. His cottage is 4 docks down on the same island.

Last week we had Ada and Greg Haasnoot over for a couple of days. It is great to see Greg, who has been without sight from birth, drive the boat. He loves the feel of that powerful V8 responding to him putting the throttle down. Shh do not tell the OPP.

Last weekend Jane’s oldest brother Bert and his wife Debbie came up with his boat for the weekend to the Swinkel’s cottage. It was good to spend some time with them too.

The time at the cottage has been good. Most days Jane has been feeling quite good. Taking her medication and extra pain and / or nausea medication as needed.

With temperatures in the thirties Celsius and water temperature around 85 Fahrenheit you can find us often in the water.

Salls may be coming up today Wednesday, July 17 with Benj ,Kelly and Lucas expected early Friday morning, the Heenes will pick up the Doral and Friday and then head for Orillia and Marcel and his complete “crew” are expected Sunday.

I have been typing this off line and hope to post it next time we are in WiFi area.

Just remember, this guy is old school and does not know how to make his cell phone a WiFi hot spot. We know that when Justin gets here, he can do it.

The reason why these updates are so important to us is that we know many of you hold us up in your prayers and we can assure you that that makes a huge difference in our lives.

If it was not for our heavenly Father and the support of his people we honestly would not know how we could go forward with hope and courage. May He bless you abundantly for your love and support for us and our family.

 In His service   Marinus & Jane.