Surgery Has Been Scheduled

I am going to leave the details that Mom wants to share up to her. It is not that she doesn't want people to know what is going on, I am just trying to be respectful of her privacy. She and Dad decided that surgery was the best thing to do next. With as aggressive as her cancer is, we don't want to take any chance of letting it have time to grow back. They are just going to remove what is left. The surgery has been scheduled for Friday, July 10th. There will be other surgeries to follow. Radiation, as I understand it, will be shortly after this first surgery. Please be in prayer about the 10th and all that goes along with it.

The Doctor Called

Mom and Dad heard from the Dr. earlier this evening. The cancer is mostly gone, which is wonderful news. There is still a small spot that is left. This leaves Mom and Dad with some decision making to do. They have asked that we pray for peace and wisdom for them while they are making this decision. They will tell the Dr. tomorrow morning what they have decided and then they will quickly move into the treatment "of choice". I will post again tomorrow with more details and with the direction of treatment to follow. Thanks you, in advance, for all the prayers about this decision. God is so good to hear our prayers and the prayers of those who love us.

Keep Checking

We did not hear any news today. We are hopeful to hear something early tomorrow. Keep checking back tomorrow. I will post as soon as I know anything.

MRI Over

Mom's MRI is over now and we expect results by tomorrow. We may even have the results by the end of today. I will post whenever we know anything. Thank you again and again for all the prayers.

Report On Mom

I have not posted on Mom's illness in a while, but I now realize that when I don't post there are people who wander if something is wrong. Mom is doing very well right now except she is just so exhausted and cannot do many tasks without being so tired. Her spirits, of course, are wonderful. She has the follow-up MRI today at noon which will give the Drs. the information they need to make the decision of which treatment course to follow next. I will post about that as soon as I know something.
Please pray that the MRI give the Drs. all the information they need to make a wise decision and pray that Mom and all of us have a peace about the decision being made. Mom is going to try to post soon, so keep looking for that. Thank all of you so much for your continuing love and support and, most of all, prayers during this marathon that we are in. I know we say the same things over and over but we want everyone to know how Mom is doing.

Back From Port A

Family picture after dinner
Cason fishing in the ocean with Dad.

Cason with his prize rock.

Mom with the boys on the porch at the condo.

Mom and Cason at the beach.

Braden enjoying the sunshine.

Braden with Dad.

Swimming Lessons '09

As you all know my son has no fear, especially when it comes to water. Ms. Jody and Ms. Breanna did a great job this year of helping him learn to swim. Today was his graduation day and I just eat this stuff up. Here are some pictures that capture a bit of what these ladies have been seeing that past two weeks. Thank you both for being so precious with my precious one!

Cason and Ms. Jody

Cason and Ms. Breanna

Cason going down the slide at the end.

Cason finally sitting on his fishy mat. They had to ask him a thousand times during his 30 min. lesson.

Ms. Breanna is so good with the kids.

Cason having such fun with Ms. Breanna

Cason and Addie were fast friends.

Cason swimming with Ms. Jody

Cason and Addie eating their reward candy.

Braden: 6 1/2 Months

Braden is an absolute joy to us around here. He is such a happy baby who smiles and explores all the time. He has such a tender heart already. He also knows what he wants when he wants it and he usually can get to what he wants. He has been scooting a whole lot lately, but in the last week he started to crawl. I have to admit, I was not ready for this just yet. I really thought it was going to be a bit longer before he started to more this quick. However, it is so fun to watch him work at getting somewhere and then being so happy that he made it. He is one determined little man. He has also been sitting up all the time and today his first tooth broke through. I had no idea that this was coming either. He has really not fussed or anything which is such a blessing. We sure do love this little man. God is so good to give us each other. We could not be more blessed.

Round #7 Today

Mom went and had her blood work done this morning and all numbers were good. Her red blood cell count was still lower than her normal but the level was in the normal range. I think she kind of predicts to get that booster shot again, maybe next week, but we will see. It sure did make a difference last time.
I have only talked a short time with Mom today but, what I gather, is that she was full of joy today. She sat with her "chemo friend" today for the last time since she is one round ahead of Mom. Her name is Jamie and Mom has really found a good friend in her. I think meeting people who are going on a similar walk is one of the ways God blesses us during these hard times in life. Mom sure has enjoyed her time with Jamie. I even think that Jamie and her son are going to join us at church on Sat. Please pray that Mom and Jamie both feel up to coming to church.
Mom was also joined today by two other special people. One of them is a long-time friend of Mom's, Sarah. Sarah means so much to Mom and her presence today brought peace and excitement at the same time. The other special person is my aunt Juanda. Juanda is married to one of my dad's brothers. We adore every member of the family and each one of them has brought something different to the table during Mom's treatment. Juanda has offered to come help Mom through the first few tough days of this round of treatment. This provides Mom with some help when Dad needs to be away and it also provides Dad with a little bit of a breather. Don't get me wrong, Dad has not complained one moment, but we all know how much he does and Juanda is so gracious to step in. She has been running errands and driving Mom to and from chemo along with countless other things. Thank you so much Juanda!
On the way home from chemo, Mom was overjoyed. She was even brought to tears by the shear joy that today brought. Not many people could take a day of chemo and turn it into feeling overwhelmed with joy, but Mom can. She and Dad have prayed that everyone they come in contact with during all of this be touched by the hand of God. I think today is a testament to that prayer and also an answer to many of mine. Thank you all for going on this journey with us and for your constant encouragement and eagerness to help in every way you can. We are blessed by you all.
More details to come, as usual.

Fun at the Lake

Braden on the dock.

Cason and Mom on the boat.

Cason could not get enough of the water. He is a fish, just like his mother.

Dad and Cason jumping off of rock island, 20 feet up. Cason made Dad do this countless times. They had a blast.

Both boys in their matching suits. Neither one would ever look at the camera. Of course!