The love floods in

Mom's "other daughter" and fellow teacher Mary Thornton.

Daddy spent Sunday night with Mom in her hospital room, holding her hand and watching "Downton Abbey" on PBS. Being in a hospital gives us free rein to indulge in guilty pleasures, like soapy British television, endless cups of chai tea latte from Starbucks, and cherry limeades and tater tots from Sonic. Best-case scenario at the end of this adventure, we'll be minus one brain tumor and plus ten pounds (each).

We're amazed and grateful for all the love flooding Mom's way, from family to friends and colleagues. We even have visitors to the blog from countries all over the world, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, Uruguay, Germany and Israel. Mom loves the comments and jokes. Keep them coming! They bring welcome smiles to all of us.

In person, Mom has seen several visitors over the weekend and today, and we started trying to take notes on who's visited and take a photo of each. Your prayers and kindness are much appreciated and lift her spirits up high.

What we know

The mass in Mom's brain is about an inch all the way around (1"x1"x1"). That's about the side of your pinky finger from the middle to top knuckle. It's on the left side and near the surface, which the doctor says is great news for the biopsy because it will be easier to reach.

The biopsy has yet to be scheduled because the OR is currently booked. (Someone needs to tell those other sick people to back off, so we can get this show on the road.)

In the meantime, the steroids are doing their job well, and Mom's motor abilities and language are much better than they were on Friday or Saturday. Today she had a little trouble verbalizing her SSN, but she could write it down clearly. She also signed her name, which she wasn't able to do on Friday. We cheer her on every time she shows improvement.

If there's no biopsy tomorrow, please feel free to stop by or call and visit. (Thanks for keeping visits fairly short so that she has some time to rest; it's remarkable how often nurses and doctors stop by for this test or that, and therefore Mom has had only short periods of sleep since Friday.) We'll let you know here and on Facebook once the biopsy is scheduled.

A thank-you to friends

We'll have a big job of writing thank-you notes after this adventure, because so many family and friends have sent their best wishes. Mom has a room full of beautiful flowers, bears and cards, and today she was entertained by a regular stream of visitors.

Anne Darr and Mom, wearing a prayer shawl handmade by Anne's mother-in-law.

There's a lot of paperwork in hospitals.

Cute little Eric visits his friend Judy.

Mom reads a letter from one of her students.

She was tickled by the card featuring a sketch of her brain.

Get-well cards from students in Mom's 8th-period class.

God sent us a beautiful Texas sunset.