Shana Bearden

5-30-08–Shana and I went out on our anniversary to a french restaurant on 360 and had a great dinner and a romantic night out. She felt pretty good and I think she injoyed it. I know I did. Afterwards, we went to Fort Worth to see Brad’s new apartment at the Firestone and were much impressed. The kid is living a much more tolerable life than I led at his age. He is near downtown bars and restaurants and can walk to and from. He is in a upscale apartment complex, the Firestone, that has a lot of pretty ladies living there and he is pretty conscious of that fact. His roomate is Ryan Moeller and they are putting together a good apartment/party place so watch your daughters.
On Thursday, Shana wanted to go swimming so she and Chrissy went accross the street to the Segreti Pool and were able to wade around in the pool for a while. The pool was pretty cold and getting in and out is a problem for her but she enjoyed the feeling of wieghtlessness in the water.
We are planning on living alone now that Brad is moving out and it is different. It is quite in the house and for some reason both Shana and I are knocked out every night. Last night I fell asleep about 7:00 P.M. and did not wake up until almost 8:30 am this morning. The Doctor says it is stress related and we both seem to have it, so we will just have to deal with it. Yesterday was April’s birthday which she is celebrating at their home on South Padre Island with some friends. Her inlaws own a 5000 sq. ft. Condo on South Padre that is three floors and a back door boat dock. It is very nice and during the summer they go out there almost every weekend. Sure makes our river house seem poor in comparison.
Have a good weekend and stay healthy. We begin chemo again on Tuesday and then every two weeks thereafter for quite a while. Shana is unlikely to be feeling good for a long time now so keep her in your prayers please.
I am studying to be confirmed sometime soon. I’ll let you know when just so you can come and see that the church won’t collapse when it happens. I have opened up my confession to the priest with the highest bid and they seem to want to hear those salacious stories but they are having trouble scheduling enough time to get it all in. Alternately, I may try to find a priest who doesn’t speak english and try to save my reputation that way. We will see what happens. God Bless You.
Jim

5-28-08–We were married 36 years ago today in a simple ceremony in Arlington, Texas at St. Matthew’s. We were married in the afternoon Memorial day weekend. Our honeymoon started with a night at the Hyatt in Dallas (it’s a jail now) then on to Houston to see my brother graduate from high school. Next stop was Miami Beach before travelling to San Juan Puerto Rico. That was our first trip out of the country and we loved it. We went back on our 20th anniversary and stayed in the same room. Our last night was in New Orleans and we were really broke. We had enough money to split a plate of beans and weinies at a drug store lunch counter and take the street car for sight seeing. The night before we had met a honeymoon couple at Pat O’Brians (where most of the last of our money went) and they promised to pick us up the next day and take us to the airport for our trip home. Sure enough they remembered. Otherwise I don’t know how we would have gotten there. We arrived at Love Field with a total of 15 cents to our name, no credit card. Of course we hadn’t made advance arrangements to have someone pick us up so we had a long debate on who to call. We called my stepfather at work and someone was dispatched immediately to pick us up. Whew! Definately inexperienced travelers.

We’ve been very blessed and had many wonderful years together. We hope all of our children are equally blessed. It is always fun to look back over the years and remember all of those special times we had together. Hopefully there will be lots more. I could not have asked for a better mate - in sickness and in health.

Chemo side effects have been mostly fatigue and some quesiness. Food just doesn’t sound good. I think I slept all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I am still really tired and apoligize for not returning phone calls. Tuesday was a doctor visit day and he and Jim think that my belly had gotten smaller. It still feels really tight inside though. Next chemo will be June 3 with the replacement drug.

I love you all and ask for continued prayers. I pray for all of you too!

Shana