In Christ Alone our Hope is Found

I have been so bad lately with posting and organizing pictures. Here are a few from the last few weeks.It is quite boring. But once I put these pics on, I feel like I can start over again.  Daddy love. Just a side note..... Check out that COOOOOLLL bib she is wearing.  Really it is the best thing ever. It even has sleeves that you can use or if you don't want to you can just take them off. The dog Naddie bought Micah because his last scan in January was clear! (o: She is starting to wonder how fun it would be to squeeze the bunny. I said I wouldn't do it, but I did.Of course she loved it. Bad, bad sugar! Grace all bundled and ready for go for a walk with Ken and I.  Wishful thinking..... Spring please come back..... Josh is a fantastic big brother and she LOVES him. My big boy. This keeps her happy for a very long time  I appreciate my big sink! The kids made a ramp in the driveway. This is the small version!  They are l

I already posted this on facebook. But maybe there are people who read this blog, who are not on facebook. Kate and her family are going through such a tough time with Kate's relapse. At this time they are so discouraged and weary. One of the beautiful things about the body of Christ, is that we can come together and pray for each other. Would you pray for them? You can read their most recent update here. Kate's Caringbridge Site

This past Thursday, I had an appointment to take Grace in to get her chest listened to. She has had a cold for a while and was sounding pretty rough. That morning, I decided to take Micah in to get his chest listened to as well.  For the last few weeks, he has been so tired and white and has been really out of breath. Ken and I were worried. My parents told me later that they have been worried and wondering if there was something going on with him. I haven't wanted to take him in to the hospital. I wanted to wait it out a little and not make a big deal about it and worry Micah. So I thought this was the a good opportunity to get him looked at. Our family Doc is a love. He delivered me, so I have been with him for a very long time. He didn't hear anything in Micah's lungs, but because of his laboured breathing, he wanted to be very cautious and send Micah for a chest XRAY. This put me into a little bit of a controlled panic to be honest.  Unexpected scans/Xrays are hard.

Ken and I went on a little 44 hour holiday the last few days. All our kids found a place to sleep for 2 nights and it was wonderful. We used to do this every Christmas break and every summer for 2 nights each time. But in the last 3 years, it really hasn't worked out that way. So we are so thankful that it worked. I love spending time with Ken. It is great to be husband and wife for a few days without being mom and dad too. We know that we love each other and are best friends everyday. There is no doubt. But being together without any distractions is special. We did stay close this time.  Grace is pretty little and Micah won't say it, but he doesn't love it when we leave. We don't mind staying close, then we don't have to waste time driving!   We stayed here once when Micah was still in treatment and really liked it. I have to admit that I am very picky when it comes to hotels and inns! This one passes! (0: This is the view from the deck. The flavour of the roo

 A year ago this week was a big week for us. I know we have so many anniversaries and dates that are important to us that you probably can't keep track of them! Nov 9 2007 - found the tumor on our couch Nov 22 2007 -  first big (abdomen) surgery Dec 28 2007 -  chemo started May-June 2008 - 6 weeks of radiation Sept 2008 - major lung issues/oxygen for 4 days/started steroids Feb 2009 -  chemo ended Spring 2009 - first clear scan after treatment ended Dec 7 2009 - relapsed March 22 2010- they didn't give chemo because the tumor had grown so big (a Monday) March 25 2010 - big lung surgery (a Thursday) June 2010 - clear scan March 2011 - still cancer free So much stuff. So much pain and sorrow. So many tears and questions. So much growing and learning.  So much joy and praising the Lord. I have a few pics from that time, that I would like to post. The first one is a picture of the night before his lung surgery. I took about 100 pictures of the kids fooling around.

This past Monday, it has been a year since we had to stop treatment because of the size of Micah's tumor. It had grown substantially since the last scan. The chemo was not working. I will never forget coming home and telling Ken that they didn't give Micah his chemo. There are no words. It wasn't until Monday afternoon that I remembered. When I did remember, it took my breath away. The heaviness of the feelings of that day completely overwhelmed me. I cried and whispered the name of Jesus. Once the rush of tears was gone, I was still. I was calm. I felt joy. Micah has been given another year with us. He will be here with us to see the flowers bloom and to slip his stubby fingers with chewed up nails into mine as we walk the beach in the spring. As time goes by, the memories are still so vivid and hurt just as much. But, as we get further away from surgery, the more our perspective changes. The hurt is mingled with such thankfulness and joy. Praise God from Whom all

I found this beautiful song on the The Macs blog . The video I chose has a few pictures of Jesus in it towards the middle. Sorry about that. I looked for another one, but the other one played so softly.  Take a listen by clicking the link. I included the words so you can listen and read at the same time. I like to do that. The words are so beautiful. Her husband had a brain tumor and that is where the song comes from. He did live. She also wrote Indescribable. Laura Story - Blessings on You Tube Blessings -Laura Story We pray for blessings We pray for peace Comfort for family, protection while we sleep We pray for healing, for prosperity We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering All the while, You hear each spoken need Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things 'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops What if Your healing comes through tears What if the thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near What if trials of this li

I wanted to post some random details about the past week and some simple thoughts, but I really don't feel like writing! So I kind of did a post in point form with pics in between. It does the job! (o: Natalie is getting so big! I will pay 50 cents extra for Dawn dish soap. It is way better than Palmolive and PC brand. Just so you know.....(O: Grace is cruising around the house. I am in love with asparagus. I wish it was free. We have eaten it 5 times in the last 2 weeks, because it has been on sale for under 2$ a lb. I just bought 2 more today. Yum. Even Grace ate some yesterday. Good girl. She figured out how to ride her horsey this week. If you look closely you will see the Value Village price tag. It was such a good deal, I am going to leave the sticker on (4.99)! That is quite a deal, it is an expensive horse (o: . We all have bad sinus colds. Grace is so much better. Josh is not well at all and is SO miserable. I get it. Ken cleaned out the furnace roo

Yesterday on the facebook, I came across a status that was put up by a lady I know from the hospital. She has a son who is undergoing treatment right now. I am happy to say he is almost done! Here is the status. Max Low is 12 years old from Neola IA. He has been battling cancer of half of his life. His doctors recently told his parents to enjoy the time they have left with him. His wish is to get 1 million cards. If you would like to help Max get his wish please send a card to:  Mighty Max Low, C/O Greg and Bambi Low  PO Box 111  Neola, IA 51559 This makes me sad.  I don't know him or his family. But he is someones son, maybe a brother, a grandson, a nephew, a friend, a student....... He is someone very special to many people. By the words in this status, it is quite clear that he is not going to be receiving anymore treatment. He is going to lose his life. Jesus, please be near this family! You know, I can almost put myself in their position. We were so close. It

So the other day I put together a new blog. It is going to be strictly a picture story of our lives - no writing. I will still do pictures like regular here. But I thought it would be fun to try a picture blog. I think it would be neat to look back on and print out. I have seen the 365 picture blogs. But I have decided not to commit to that. My goal is to do a picture or 2 everyday to reflect what is going on here. But I will be happy with every other day though! (O: So feel free to take a look, if you are interested. I did my first one today. Look right HERE ! You should probably put on some sunglasses before you click. The colors are bright. I am not sure if I can stand it. I let Micah and Naddie pick it. I will try to leave it for a while. (O: Hope you are having a great day in the sunshine!

I know, I know, more of Grace, but she is doing new things everyday. This is important stuff! Yesterday she started to wave for real and she waves like the queen! (o: Today I put her crib mattress down and she also clapped for the first time. The third thing that happened today is that she finally moved FORWARD. She actually crawled. No more of just this backwards stuff! Time is going so fast and I just might cry. I am excited to see her doing new things. But my baby is gone! Alright, so girlie is a mess. She just had lunch with no bib, her hair is a mess and it has has food in it, but I had to document it. See her leg in the air.... FORWARD! This is her taking in all the clapping and cheering from the counter where we were eating lunch! Oh, how she loves an audience! (o: She has been doing this lately when we listen to music or are having fun. We are still cheering. She loves it. I have been trying to get a picture of this for awhile now. It is my favourite thing she does.

We thought today was a school day for Ken, but he surprised us this morning! He had no school. But I am thinking he would have had a snow day anyway. The roads are pretty bad. Regardless of how it happened, we are home and March Break has begun. I had hopes that we would be done with snow. But we woke this morning to a beautiful snowfall. This is what out our front door looks like. Notice the poor, sad bikes under the snow! My strange little daughter Grace loves loves loves snow, outside and even cold. We opened the door and then she cried when we shut it. So I let her sit in front of the open door for about 10 minutes. It is so cold and she didn't even care. See the white stairs on the left of the picture? That is my parents house.(o:  How beautiful! But I still would take sunshine!!!!! (o: Enjoy your March Break! I know we will!

Look at these cuties! This is Brie Van Dyk sitting with my Grace girl. Brie is my good friend Mel's little lady. They are 3 months apart in age and are 3rd cousins. (Her dad is my cousin.) We are hoping they will be great friends. We have already told them that they must be friends! (o: I just realized after looking at this picture that my girl needs a haircut of some sort! Her head is looking a little wild!

Today we are going to Niagara Falls with Ken's family. This trip is an annual one and is so fun. We are so blessed with a big, loving, Christ following, supportive, giving family. It is so neat for my kids to have so many cousins to play with. I believe Grace was number 20 or 21. It is special that we have 9 brothers and sisters to talk with and to love. What a blessing. As I am  running around  like a crazy woman and blasting Chris Tomlin getting ready to go, I have been thinking about last year. I started thinking that sometimes these annual things are so hard. There is always the wondering if this is the last year we do this as a complete family. Without Micah our family will never be whole again on this earth. I started to get sad, and was thinking about last year. Last year on the Friday of our family trip we found out that Micah's tumor grew some more and we weren't sure what we were going to do for treatment on the following Monday. Things were so uncertain. We