Happy 4th and prayer request

Hi everybody! We are home and had a wonderful trip! The weather was so perfect and the beach was beautiful. Every time I go to the beach I am reminded of God's amazing love! Steve had such a great time. He spent much of his time fishing and he has really gotten quite a tan. Such a handsome guy he is : ) The girls enjoyed playing in the surf, sand, and the pool. I loved getting away from my to do list and from all the animals!

Yesterday was Steve's birthday! He looks great - for a 52 year old - ha! He and Alli are fishing this morning to celebrate (you'd think he had gotten enough of that at the beach). We will be going bowling later today with my folks. The weather has been dry here, but the mornings are cool which is nice. Wednesday Steve and I will go to meet a dentist that specializes in prosthetics. While Steve was fishing on the pier in Panama City he met a man who had been through surgery with Dr. Grist (he had his nose removed) and the dentist we will see - Dr. Carpenter - is involved in his reconstruction too! What a small world we live in.

While we were at the beach we heard from Dr. Grist regarding the blood work and CT Scan. Steve's blood work looked fine (he has had thyroid issues ever since his radiation treatment), but his CT Scan showed a new area that was discolored. The base of his tongue was gray on the scan which could mean there is something to be concerned about there. Dr. Grist said we will do another scan in September and then decide how to proceed with that. Steve asked if it was okay to continue to see Dr. Roser for the teeth implants. Dr. Grist said to keep the August appointment to talk about it, but not to actually do anything yet.

Please pray that this new spot is not anything to worry about. Please continue to pray for Steve's healing. I ask that you pray for the girls, Rebecca and Allison. They have been holding up okay, but this new development is really bringing reality back again. Becca takes this all so hard - I guess because she is older. She tries to be brave for us and her sister. I know she really just wants to be a "normal teenager". We know that God is always with us, but I often wonder why we have so much to deal with. Thank you for your prayers and support! Happy 4th of July!