Happy Holidays!

We would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy NewYear!

December 15th

Hello! Hope everyone is doing well. As I sit typing this today, we have ice on the roads in Georgia so schools are delayed for 2 hours for us. The weather has been very cold this past month or so. Allison says we have bi-polar weather here! I think that pretty much sums it up : )

We have been doing well since I last wrote. We enjoyed a very nice Thanksgiving with family and friends. Becca was blessed to be able to participate in her high school chorus trip to Prague (Czech Republic) and Vienna (Austria) over the Thanksgiving Break! What a life changing experience. She really enjoyed her trip. She was very homesick too!

Becca has a job at a used bookstore and loves it. She stays busy with school, her job, chorus, and all the church activities. Allison is playing volleyball and sings in her school chorus. Both she and Rebecca have boyfriends that they enjoy spending time with.

Steve has been doing well overall. He does have daily pain he lives with and some days are worse than others. He keeps himself busy so he doesn't have time to focus on the headaches, jaw pain, etc. His leg still causes him a lot of discomfort and limping. He always stays upbeat and full of optimism. He is so faithfilled and such a wonderful role model to us all! Steve really enjoys playing his bass guitar in the church praise band and raising fish (his newest hobby). He has over 20 fish tanks of all sizes and many beautiful fish.

Steve and I were able to go to Virginia this past weekend to visit his family and see his mom. We had a wonderful trip! It was like an extended "date night" since it was just the two of us. Steve's mom is not doing very well. She is in a nursing home and has Alzheimers. She is in a wheel chair, is unable to do anything for herself and cannot communicate. It was very hard to see her that way. We are thankful for the 15 seconds of clarity we were able to experience with her as well as the opportunity to see her and visit with Steve's brothers and their families.

Hard to believe it has been two years since Steve's big surgery! Time sure does fly when you get older - ha! We would like to wish you all a very happy holiday. We feel so blessed by all the love, prayers, and friendships we have in you. May God bless you and yours during this glorious season.

November 15th 2010

Sorry for the delay in my post! My goal is to update this blog each month. I am obviously behind...

We have been blessed this month with answers to prayers! On November 2nd Steve had a tooth pulled by his oral surgeon. The tooth was extremely sensitive to any kind of touch. This could be because of a periodontal infection or return of cancer to the bone. After waiting for 10 days to hear back we were told on Friday that there was no cancer found in the biopsy done. Thank you God for answering that prayer!

Steve still has a lot of pain and discomfort from that area and the teeth surrounding it. He will go later this week for a follow-up visit with his oral surgeon and his oncologist. In the meantime, Steve's prosthetic dentist has already created the plate with his bottom teeth and Steve has been wearing it daily. He has decided that he would prefer not to have this permanently attached with implants. This way he will not have to go through another surgery and more painful recovery. He can take this plate in and out as needed and is happy with the results. Sounds like a smart decision to me!

After almost 2 years of paying for Steve's liquid nutrition on our own we have been given the approval f0r insurance to pay for it! This is definitely a God thing. A few weeks ago we were contacted by a cancer specialist nurse who works for our insurance company. She offered to help us in any way that she can. I called her to ask for help with my appeal for syringes that Steve uses to feed himself (I have long since given up on my appeals for the formula.) Long story short, we are eligible for the food, syringes, and anything else we need for his feeding tube! Wow, what a blessing! Last week they delivered a month's supply on our doorstep. We will reapply for this again in January since this works for one year at a time. God is good...All the time!

At church yesterday we had a guest speaker, our District Superintendent. His sermon was a reminder of how we should all be sharing our love for Christ with those we come in contact with. It is my prayer that God will use me each day to reach out to those around me to share His good news. So, go out and use your talents to help God's lost sheep find their way home. We pray that you will all have a very blessed Thanksgiving holiday with your friends and family. God bless you all!

Happy Fall Ya'll

Fall is finally here. And maybe the weather will give in to fall too! After so many 90 degree days it will be a relief to have some cooler temperatures.

We are just finishing up our first Fall Break from school. This is the first year we have had a week off of school in September. We had to start sooo early in August, which none of us was happy about, but we sure did enjoy our week off. We were fortunate enough to use a neighbor's timeshare for a cabin at Big Canoe up by Ellijay, Georgia. What a welcome and much needed retreat from the "real world"! We were able to hide away in the mountains and enjoy each other's company. Such a blessing!

We spent the week relaxing, walking, canoeing, visiting a pumpkin farm and apple orchard, watching lots of movies and playing games. Each of the girls brought a friend so that helped them enjoy the week too.

So, now its back to the grindstone of schedules, homework, work, extracurriculars, etc, etc etc! Steve has a couple of appointments coming up. He has a check-up with the dermatologist, an appointment with a pain specialist and one with the reconstructive dental doctor to get that started. Life goes on : ) Thank goodness for the little breaks that help us rejuvenate. As you go through the week remember what Paul said in Phillipians (4:13) - "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Have a good one!!

Happy Labor Day

Hope you have all been able to enjoy some relaxing during this long weekend. We have had some beautiful weather. I feel Fall coming right around the corner!

Steve and I spent part of our weekend in the emergency room. Saturday afternoon he came in from the garden to gently tell me that his feeding tube had come out and we needed to head to the ER. So, we headed out. Since we were on a bit of a time rush we did not have to wait long in the waiting room. However, they could not find a feeding tube in the hospital! It took them at least an hour to finally track one down! Then they finally put it in. We had to wait so they could do x-rays to make sure it was in correctly. Then we were finally on our way home again. The good news is Steve now has a brand new, squeaky clean tube that works perfectly! Now we do not have to go in to the hospital on Thursday to have a new one put in. Of course, a trip to the emergency room is never inexpensive, but we are so glad it was an easy fix : )

Today, we went to the funeral of someone who has come to be an important part of our lives. Otto Hall lost his 12 year fight against brain cancer on Friday night. He was a special man who brought joy and happiness to many lives. He will be sorely missed here on earth. We look forward to the day we will see him again in heaven. Please keep his wife, Karen, and their kids, Daniel and Lynsey, in your prayers.

The funeral hit so close to home for all of us. We are working to keep our focus on appreciating each day that God gives us. As always, I pray that you are able to spend time being thankful too. God bless you all.

Sundays

Have you ever had one of those weeks? You finally get to the weekend feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, basically "down and out"? This was one of those weeks for me. I just didn't want to do anything this weekend. I just wanted to sleep in and be lazy, so going to church was not very appealing today. But, this was my week to sing in the praise band, so I made myself get up and go....

Have you ever thought about how blessed we are to have Sundays? A chance to rest, refresh, replenish, refocus, and reconnect. All those "re's". Today at church God definitely spoke to me in the songs we were singing. We each have our own way of worshipping - through the sermon, prayer, music, etc. Mine is music. The words just speak to me. I can remember when Steve and I started on this journey of dealing with cancer 12 years ago, that is when I truly started hearing, feeling the praise songs we were singing. This week's songs were all about praise to God for all he is to us. What a blessing to be reminded of how to get through the drudgery of all the daily stuff. Just give it over to God and He will take care of it all.

My favorite song from today says "I don't understand Your ways. Oh, but I will give You my song. I'll give You all of my praise. You hold on to all my pain, and with it You are pulling me closer, and pulling me into Your ways. It's gonna be worth it, It's gonna be worth it, It's gonna be worth it all. I believe this." Boy, am I glad I went to church today!

Seeing Steve up on stage this morning playing his bass guitar despite all the pain and suffering he has endured this week was another reminder of the blessings God has given us. Steve had his nose procedure done this week and had to endure the pain of that along with the healing from his tongue surgery. Yet, he never misses his chance to work for the Lord, to play that bass with all his heart. What an amazing soul he is. (Please continue to keep his healing in your prayers.)

Have you had a chance to reconnect this weekend? With your family, friends, your God? Do you feel refreshed and ready to face the world and all its demands? Did your weekend include time to worship with the One who loves you more than anyone else? I pray that you did. If not, make time for yourself. Replenish, refocus, rest, refresh, reconnect. You will be so glad you did! God bless you all.

Follow-up Drs. visit

We went for Steve's post-op doctor visit today. He has been in unusual pain this time so we were anxious to see the doctor. The good news is that there was no cancer found in the bone that was removed during surgery : )

The other thing we found out is that Steve's mouth has not healed at all so far. In fact, it is worse than it was immediately after surgery. Dr. Grist had left a small opening in Steve's mouth rather than sewing it up because it would tether the tongue too much causing his speech to be much worse. Because the tissue has been affected by radiation it is taking it a very long time to heal and in fact it has opened up even more.

Dr. Grist gave Steve an antibiotic and pain medicine to try to take the edge off the pain in the meantime. Rather than go back in to surgery to try to put a graft of skin on it, we will wait to see if it will heal on its own.

In the meantime there is some concern about the healing causing other problems. During the surgery, the muscle that allows Steve to open and close his mouth was affected. As the healing occurs the muscle may tighten causing Steve to have a hard time opening his mouth. Steve has already felt the stiffness. Dr. Grist said there is a metal apparatis that can be used to help him exercise his jaw muscle. Steve has chosen to work on this himself because of the pain that would be involved in placing it in his mouth in the first place.

So, to recap, we would truly appreciate your prayers for healing for Steve. He is having a tough time this go round. And to top it off, he goes tomorrow to have the Mohs procedure done on his nose to remove the skin cancer that was found there. Poor guy. At least we were able to get him some more effective pain medicine. Thanks for everything! God bless you all.