In Christ Alone our Hope is Found

I read Kate's Caringbridge post this morning. It made me cry. The kind of cancer is so different, yet the emotions are still the same. The heart break of diagnoses, the death of children you get to know, relapse, the pain and shock that as a parent you are dealing with a pedatric palliative care nurse, the wondering, the anger and at times the hoplessness.... It is all overwhelming. We rejoice that Kate's family trusts in the same Saviour we do. They have hope regardless of what happens. God will hold them and carry them. Praise God. But they need prayer. They are in a tough spot, I know it. I almost feel bad for asking for prayer for someone you  don't know and have no connection to. But even if  one of you prays for her family, it was worth posting this.  Kate's Caringbridge

We went to the airshow this past Saturday and it was so fun. The weather was odd. At times we were hot, then cold and then wet. It didn't bother us, it was still great fun! The picture above is my favouite of the planes. Josh did a great job capturing the them as they flew. I should probably call the snow birds and let them know that they need to work on their formation. The planes on the left are not nearly as tight as the ones on the right. Haha. Joking! I took so many pictures I didn't know what to choose. (Please excuse the color on a few of them. I didn`t feel like trying to figure it out. I am terrible at editing pics!) The first pictures are of my people. They are more important than the planes! (o: Instead of having parking at the airport, we all parked in town and were shuttled in on school buses. The kids were thrilled. School buses are a treat, not the norm!  (o: My sister came with us. Just so you know: We only have 10 more weeks until we meet her sweet littl...

There may only be a few people who read my blog that will really understand what I am talking about when I talk about PMDU and Art Therapy like this.  You will wonder what the big deal is! (o: But that is OK.  I just need to get it down! (o: Micah goes to a place in the hospital called PMDU (Pedeatric Medical Day Unit). This is where we get doctor checkups, blood work, day chemo and go to get checked in before being admitted or sometimes before a scan, if he needs an IV for contrast. It is where Art Therapy and Child Life are. It is home. In May, the whole unit is moved to a different part of the hospital. It is in a brand new wing.  It is beautiful. On one hand it is good. Sometimes it was cold and sometimes it is so stuffy that Micah and I want to scream. The last few times we had checkups the light to check his ears didn`t work. There are chunks out of the walls. It is getting pretty old. It doesn't look clean. Its blah. It will also be good to leave some of the roo...

So I love Ken. (o:  He is an amazing husband, but also a beautiful example of a father. For Father's Day we wanted to make something instead of buying. Ken loves gardening, so we made a stone to put in his garden with all of the kid's hand prints in it. Grace's was a challenge because she kept grabbing the cement, so we had to fill hers in. But at least we have the size of her hand. It is not perfect, but Ken loved it. Last week, I had no time to make a cake, so we bought a yummy strawberry one. Look at Ken's ring. There is a split it in. Weird. I wonder if we can get that fixed. This is ring #2. Number one was lost tubing down a river! (O: Ken played in a baseball tourney for school last week Saturday and he slid into second. He did wash it out when he got home, but by Tuesday night it was infected. He was in a lot of pain, had a fever and his leg was so swollen and red.  He was not well. He has done 2 days of antibiotics at the hospital so far and has 1 more to g...

I understand how hard it is to write what is on your heart and not send it out because it is too heavy or the feelings too private. I understand trying to make things normal at home, when your life is upside down, you are hurting so deeply and you are not sure if you or your life will ever be the same again. I understand what it`s like when people ask at the hospital how long your child's treatment is and you have to say that they have given no protocol or length of treatment. It is strictly day by day. People who have asked, who have been in the cancer world for a short time, just looked at me perplexed, because it is odd. People who have lived it or know people who have, would just nod understandingly. I read Holly`s (Kate's mom) post this morning and it brings me back to those days. I have checked my email everyday for the last weeks waiting to see an update, but there was part of me that wished it would never come. I talked to Micah's case manager, when we were ther...

I tried to post this link from Ann Voskamp on facebook, but for some reason it said it couldn't be posted. So I am hoping people will still read it if I put the link on here. It is worth your 10 minutes! (o: http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/06/what-to-sing-in-your-storms/

We are beach people. We don't really sit on the beach in the middle of the hot summer. We like to walk the beach. A few Saturdays ago,  went to Mackies for some fries. Grace was eating her first fries and really enjoying them. Just so you know, she was ignoring me. (o: In Mackies there are some rides. Grace LOVED this little car ride. Before we put the money in the second time she was rocking because she wanted it to go. That was a well spent dollar. I had to put this one in. Her dimple is so deep here you could possibly slurp soup out of it! (o: There is a new hurricane wind machine there. So cool. Siah looked like he was going to be blown away. This is Ken trying to coral the kids for a picture. It is not as easy as it seems. Hehe. This is the best one I could get. Not bad! My sweet man and his little friend. (o: She wasn't too excited to feel the water. She was lifting her legs as high as she could. Look at the look on her face! Sweet boy. Crazy boy! Big...

So our Pippa girl is 1 years old. Where has the time gone? We have called her Pippa for a very long time. I read a book and in that book the girl's name was Philippa and they called her  Pippa. It suits her and stuck. I am afraid this isn't just a quick happy birthday post. It is more of a book. I have a lot to say. Her birth was a beautiful day and an answer to so many prayers. This first picture is my favourite right now. She has one slanty eye and one round eye just like me. I love her tanned cheeks, her crazy hair, the set of her mouth and look in her eyes. She is my girl! Yikes, she is going to give us a ride! (o:  I had a reasonably good pregnancy with Grace considering the stress my (emotional) heart was under. It did affect me physically at little bit I think. I have so many memories of rubbing my belly in the hospital as we heard more and more bad news. At one point, they told us that if we couldn't get this cancer somehow we would most likely lose Micah in ...