Retired Coales

New Toy

2009-04-07T17:25:00.001-07:00

We are not sure where the time seems to go, but it definitely has not slowed down with retirement. Finally winter has passed, and we are looking forward to spring activities, at least temporarily? Spring break without skiing this year seemed strange, but the girls came for a short time which is always fast and furious. Dean's new toy, a side by side ATV, better known by the girls as the "fun mobile" provides fun for all. A trip to the shack for picnicking, fishing, and running all around releases lots of energy.

One of our favorite remarks recently from Peri regards the deer head in the shack. After pointing to the head and identifying the deer, she announced "he needs to go outside"! No prompting from Leslie.

Cate, the chef, loves to cook, and she has become pretty proficient. She measures accurately, and breakfast would not be complete without her making "panny cakes"from scratch. Then of course there were valentine cookies, baked, and decorated for grandparents, aunts, and uncles with a few left over for eating.

We have moved my medical care to OKC to save Leslie some running, and it doesn't hurt that we get to see them a little more often! As I go into a new treatment plan, we appreciate the notes, visits, warm thoughts and prayers. We are blessed that I continue to feel good, and have supportive family, friends, and faith. We plan to be around all summer so stop in Okemah, and you may be fortunate enough to have a trip to the "shack" complete with a ride in the fun mobile.

Christmas Present and Past

2009-01-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

The month of December was a whirlwind, and now back to winter in Oklahoma. After the relaxing time with kids in Mexico, we returned to Christmas activities with friends and family. Leslie, Sean, and girls arrived in time to take over. Chef Sean planned a delicious Christmas Eve dinner (as usual), and I left the kitchen. He even cooked the turkey, dressing, and herbed mashed potatoes for Christmas dinner. Love these young men! We are blessed to have Mom and Dad next door, and my brothers and family all arrived to celebrate. Mom was thrilled to have five (under age of 5)of her great grandchildren present. It was lively. Santa arrived at our house right on time, and the girls were a joy to watch. We have aspiring performers for sure.

Then Leslie and Sean surprised me with a girls trip to New York the day after Christmas...just Leslie, Cate, and me. What a trip. We attended "Little Mermaid", shopped Dylan's Candy Store, and American Girl among other shops. Cate skated at Rockefeller Center, and we met up with an old friend of Leslie's from Camp Egan days. The guys and Peri held down the fort in Okemah, and I think they enjoyed watching ballgames uninterrupted. They reported Peri was perfect? Of course if eveything goes your way, it may be easy to be perfect. They did a great job on the house. I think I may plan another get-a-way. We hope everyone had a joyous Holiday Season and wish you a Wonderful New Year.

Long Time, No Post

2008-12-08T12:31:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a while since we posted. We’ve given it some thought from time to time, but time seems to be flying by! There has been a lot of action around our place since Spring Break. We managed a trip to east Texas to catch the bluebonnets although it wasn’t a great year for the flowers. We saw some wonderful new scenery just east of I-35 and Austin. We have passed that way many times without making the trek. It is well worth another stop for the lakes, wineries, and quaint small western towns. The summer brought family and lots of time with the girls. They are so refreshing, entertaining, and of course perfect according to Ma and Pa. We celebrated our 44th anniversary at Beavers Bend and reminisce of Beaver Lake Arkansas.

Then fall arrived and we made a trip to Colorado to catch the aspen turning, another thing you can’t do while teaching! We finally made the side trip through the Black Mesa. We have thought about it the past 25 years on our way to Colorado. The aspen were colorful and we treated ourselves to a stay at The Springs in Pagosa with relaxing hot springs, a ride on the steam train from Antinio Colorado to Chama New Mexico, and visited one our favorite spots, Woods Lake, outside of Telluride.

Halloween arrived and we enjoyed trick and treating with the Annie and the Witch(Cate and Peri). It seemed like a scene out of a Norman Rockwell picture except the cars were a little modern. Peri turned two, and we had a perfect day at the farm and shack. Several of Leslie’s and Sean’s friends plus children arrived for a cookout,a hayride, and fishing in the pond (imagine about 12 small fishing lines in the pond at the same time). The adults enjoyed the shack and were busy planning an adult outing? Dean may have started something.
During this period I continued a hormonal treatment plan, however, unfortunately my fall check up showed the disease has progressed. Now it is on to a new treatment plan for 9 weeks followed by another trip to MD.

I feel blessed since I continue to feel good, and can do about anything I choose! The doctor cleared our planned trip to Mexico with the kids…since I’m healthy…I think that is an oxymoron? The weather is a balmy 85 degrees, the water turquoise, but the best is time with family. We have had pool time, sand castle building, outstanding food, shopping, and down time. Many warm memories to take into the winter months.

Living in Texas?

2008-05-29T08:51:00.000-07:00

Over the past two weeks, we have all be spending quite a bit of time in Texas. Some of you may know, but for those of you who don’t, I am seeking new treatment for the return of my cancer.

We arrived in Houston this week for an official consultation at M.D. Anderson. We are excited that I finally was granted a consultation with a great doctor. I am undergoing two days worth of testing and then hopefully, we will get some treatment options from the staff. We are hopeful. Our new doctor is not only brilliant, but also upbeat and funny. A breath of fresh air…

I will keep you all posted over the next few weeks. We will be making several trips down here and finalizing my next treatment step.

Don’t feel too sorry for me. I spent last week in Padre with the girls and we had a great time. It’s always nice to be at the beach with fresh air. The girls both really loved the beach this year and we spent many hours digging in the sand and running into the water.
Have a great start to your summer! More to come…

Heading Home

2008-03-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

It’s been an interesting week. We’ve battled record amounts of skiers and illness, but still managed to have some fun.

Our friend Allen spent two nights in a local hospital thanks to some nasty kidney stones. Luckily, he is doing well and will be traveling home tomorrow, also. Texas was on spring break with Oklahoma this year and needless to say, the slopes were packed!!! We didn’t get to ski as much as we wanted, but still had fun.

It will be nice to be home. We understand that there was some major rain while we were gone, so we’re wondering what our yard looks like! Hopefully, not a swamp!

Not So Quiet

2008-03-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

Wow, retirement sure isn’t as quiet as I thought it might be! Since I last wrote (which was too long ago…sorry!), I have kept the girls, finished radiation, visited south texas and now I’m in Colorado! I know, the life of a retiree!

I finished my radiation treatments and start another round of testing next week. I am hopeful for good news towards the end of April. My blood work looks good and I am feeling very good. My left arm has been very swollen due to lyphodema, which we thought would happen because the mastectomy and radiation. I am wearing a sleeve throughout the day and doing special physical therapy, but I am learning to deal.

I am staying busy with volunteer work, church activities and doing Grandma duties.
Sean and Leslie took a quick trip to Las Vegas and we kept the girls over the MLK weekend. We had a blast. Cate has become very helpful in the kitchen. She loves to make salad, cookies or fruit salad and “decorate the table.” In Cate-speak, this means setting the table for dinner! Peri is quite the pistol and totally lives up to the her nickname, “Pepper.” She is very vocal and much more aggressive than her older sister. We often say Cate looks like Sean and acts like Leslie, while Peri looks like Leslie and acts like Sean. They are opposites in every way.

Dean has been working on improving the ponds out at the farm and piddling around the shack. He has taken some time to teach some clinics and judge some contests, which has been a nice treat for him. I think he has really enjoyed getting out, but not having to deal with school everyday is nice!

We did travel to south Texas in January after we learned Dean’s Uncle Bob had died. We were so glad to be able to attend the memorial service and see family we hadn’t seen in years. While we wish the circumstances could have been happier, being with family is always a blessing.

That’s it for now. I am hoping to post some pictures of our ski trip when we get home. I hope all is well with all of you!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2008-01-11T11:16:00.001-08:00

No, I haven’t disappeared; I’ve just been really busy! We’ve been going non-stop and I haven’t been too good about updating my blog!!

Christmas was great. The kids came and stayed for several days and it was so quiet when they left! Cate has discovered the Wizard of Oz and watches it constantly. I took some time and made her a Dorothy dress and Santa brought her some “ruby slippers.” I just love this picture…our little Dorothy. She calls Peri, her little sister, Toto. Guess that sums up their relationship!

Dean and I have been running here and there. I have been in radiation therapy for the past six weeks and I go every weekday. Driving to Shawnee every morning has been a little tiring, but luckily, I only have two treatments left! I have tolerated the treatment pretty well, -just a nasty burn on part of my skin. I will be glad to coast for a while and hope my next round of testing is positive. I feel good.

On the brighter side, Dean and I just bought a new car and we’re so excited. We got a Lincoln MKX. Fancy, I know, but I figured I deserved a treat and a new car fit the bill!! We actually haven’t been driving it too much and park far away from people when we do. We’re so protective of that car. It’s like our new baby.

Dean has been busy at the shack and went to OKC to help Leslie and Sean clean up their yard after the ice storm. His next project is getting the pond ready for fishing with granddaughters!

I hope all is well with you and I’ll try to do a better job of updating my blog. Happy 2008!

The Shack

2007-11-20T09:39:00.000-08:00

I know many of you have heard us speak of the “shack.” Dean and his buddy, George, have been hard at work over the past few months building a new wing to the shack, as well as decorating with some new/ready for Goodwill furniture. They are pretty proud of their little domain and have been spending oodles of time out at the farm during deer season. BTW, much to Leslie’s displeasure, Dean has decreased Oklahoma’s deer population by a few deer.

While the boys have been playing, I have spent some time in OKC with Leslie and shuffled back and forth to a few doctor’s appointments. After some thought, I have decided to take a course of radiation therapy starting next week. I will go for about 6 weeks and we are hopeful this will provide a good dose of preventative medicine.

I have also gotten in the Christmas spirit early and put up both of my trees and various decorations. I am looking for to a family Christmas and some good food!! I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving and wonderful Holiday season!

New York and Beyond

2007-10-24T18:49:00.001-07:00

And they said it couldn’t be done…the Coales went to New York City!! We, along with our trusty friends George and Sandy, made our way through the northeast and beyond!

During our trip, we visited NYC, Boston, New Hampshire and various places in Vermont and Maine. Needless to say, it was a whirlwind trip, but we had such a good time.

Somewhat surprisingly, we really loved NYC. I knew we would have a good time, but I think we had some preconceived notions of what New York would be like. It exceeded everything we thought it would be. We saw the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, walked through the financial district and Chinatown and get this – we took the subway everywhere and didn’t get lost! We managed time to see the Broadway show, Spamalot, which was superb!

After NYC, we ventured to Boston where we got a great lesson in our country’s history, visited Harvard and ate some fantastic seafood.

For the rest of the vacation, we drove through the Northeast and saw mountains, rivers, covered bridges and did a little shopping along the way! Most of locals said we had missed the peak of the fall foliage, but it was still beautiful.

While our flight home was less than stellar, it didn’t dampen our memories. It’s always nice to be home, but this was a vacation I won’t soon forget!

Let's Fund a Cure!

2007-10-15T15:52:00.000-07:00

NYC and Boston have been terrific. I can’t wait to get home and post some pictures about our trip. We’re having a blast!!!

On another note, Leslie has been busy raising money for the Susan Komen Race for the Cure in OKC. Sadly, I won’t be able to participate because I’ll be gone, but if you would like to donate some money to her total, that would be fantastic!!!!

To make a tax-deductible donation to the Susan Komen Foundation, please click here. They are working hard to raise money to find a cure for breast cancer and I am hopeful they will find a cure in the next few years.

More soon!

Amazing!

2007-10-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long delay. I wanted to wait to post until I had all of my recent tests back and had some news to report. I actually have some GREAT news to report, but I’ll get to that shortly. I finished my 12 weeks of chemo and actually endured pretty well. My hair has started growing again! It’s pretty funny looking…very fuzzy.

I went through another round of testing recently and have met with both my breast specialist and oncologist over the past few days. The chemo drug worked amazingly well and I am pleased to report that my breast tumor has been reduced dramatically. I am scheduled for a mastectomy at the end of October. To my surprise, my back tumors have also reduced to the point that oncologist says we don’t even have to do radiation. I think the power of prayer is an amazing thing!

Of course, friends and family also get some credit for my improvement. Not a day has gone by since my diagnosis that I haven’t heard from at least one family member or friend. I want to thank all of you for your love, support and kind words.

I will remain on various medicines forever, but what a surprise that my body responded so well to this first round of drugs. I couldn’t have ask for a better week!

We are leaving next week for NYC and Boston with our good friends, George and Sandy. I think it’ll be a celebratory trip and I can’t wait to have some fun! I’ll post all about it when we get back, so until then, thanks for your continued prayers. I couldn’t have done it without all of you!

Good News

2007-08-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

It has been a great week! First, I celebrated my 43rd wedding anniversary this week. I can’t believe I’ve been married that many years, and I know many of you can’t believe that I’ve put up with Dean all these years! Ha! We celebrated by going out to dinner, which was a nice change of pace.

Best of all, I saw one of my doctors on Wednesday and things are looking great! A quick ultrasound exam showed that my breast tumors are breaking up and shrinking. It was really what I wanted to hear. We may extend my chemo since I am tolerating it well, which is fine by me. I was also cleared to go on vacation in October, which was fantastic news. All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better week.

Hot, Hot, Hot!

2007-08-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

I’ve been thinking about all of my friends who are headed back to school while I’m hanging out NOT preparing schedules, taking meetings and dealing with cranky parents. It’s all such a weird feeling. But, I have to say, retirement is still pretty great!

Despite being the heat of summer, we really have been busy. Cate stayed with us for a few days to go to vacation bible school. She was put into the “big” kids class (that’s 5 & 6 year-olds) and made lots of art projects. She especially enjoyed the pool party at the end of the camp. She can swim pretty well with floaties, but really wanted to swim to the deep end. Let’s just say she and Pa had some disagreements over swimming past the shallow rope. All that said, we loved having her. It was a nice distraction for us.

We recently attended a wedding hosted by our friends the Baxters. It was such a lovely event and we really enjoyed seeing all of our “old” friends and several former students. My friend Melinda came to visit over a weekend and Dean even took her to his shack. She really should feel privileged. Very few women have been invited to the shack (or frankly, even dared to visit)! Speaking of the shack, Dean and his buddy George have decided to expand the illustrious shack. After they get done, I think Southern Living is doing a feature on their beautiful creation! Ha! I will post a picture soon so you can appreciate their hard work.

I continue to feel good. I have five treatments left and we're upbeat about my progress. I hope to provide a more detailed update later next week. For now, I’m just ready for August to be over and the weather to cool down. Will this heat ever end?

Away We Went

2007-07-20T07:49:00.000-07:00

Did you think I started a blog and forgot to update it? Our retirement actually hasn’t been too relaxing! In addition to the usual weekly treatments (more on that shortly), we traveled with the girls down to South Padre Island for short vacation. Padre probably sounds like an unusual choice for those of you who know us, but we go at least once a year to visit our Aunt Rene and Uncle Bob. It’s a happy coincidence that it’s a great spot to relax, breathe the ocean air and eat some great seafood while visiting relatives!

Being on the beach with the girls was an interesting experience. Cate loved the beach this time, while in the past she has not been so keen about the sand and rushing waves. Peri was a little more reserved. She loved the water, but seemed confused about the sand. I walked the beach by myself every morning to watch the sunrise. It really was beautiful. Best of all, we got to spend time with our relatives including our cousin Lauren, who is 14. She and Cate hit it off immediately!

With ongoing treatments, it was nice to escape reality if only for a few days. I loved being with my family and I think we all needed to get away. While the car ride was long, the girls traveled well and I think everyone had a great time. So now, back to reality!

I have eight more chemo treatments and I am still feeling pretty good. I get tired a few days after treatment, but I have still been working on many projects around the house. It’s never-ending! Leslie recently went with me to buy a wig, that I think I’ll be starting to wear this week. My hair has finally started falling out, but the wig will allow me to have “good hair days” every day of the week! Look on the bright side, right?

Hope all is well with you!

Beginnings

2007-06-27T20:13:00.001-07:00

Hectic is the only word to describe these past few weeks. We’ve officially moved everything back from Arkansas and even after getting my first chemo treatment, I’ve unpacked most of the moving boxes!

Most importantly, after weeks of countless doctor appointments, I have officially started taking chemotherapy treatments. I will take one treatment every week for the next 12 weeks (well, 11 now). So far, the side effects have been few and I am thankful that I can continue my daily activities. We’ll see how the following weeks progress.

Throughout my diagnosis and beginning treatment, I have been blessed to have so much advice and support from friends and family. Thanks to everyone for your kinds words and concern. I especially want to thank Joyce and Wally for their endless time and boundless support. Your information and support has really made the past few weeks so much easier. Thank you!

On a brighter note, the kids have been spending lots of time here. Cate went fishing with Pa for the first time recently. She liked the fishing, but not the actual fish. We’ll have to work on that! We have started referring to the girls as “Princess One” and “Princess Two.” We are looking forward to a summer with the girls, who change every week. They rule the roost!

Hope all is well with all of you. More soon…

Greetings!

2007-06-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our blog!

Since we have a little extra time on our hands these days, we thought it would be great to start a blog keeping friends and family updated on our lives.

We hope you enjoy your visit. Come back again soon!