In Christ Alone our Hope is Found

Christmas is coming and we are looking forward to Josh and Ken being home with us for a while and being able to visit St Thomas for 4 days. It will be so great to sit around with family and just spend time together. Our visits to St Th, the last few times have not really been relaxing. We always have so much to accomplish. This time we are going to plan as little as possible! It will be great! While we are in Ontario, Micah will also have a chest XRAY. Our oncologist has decided that it would be a good idea to have an XRAY and check up at 3 months, instead of just going with an MRI at 6 months. I am thankful that we will have a look into his lungs now instead of waiting a full 6 months. But as our Doc and I emailed about this, I just really wanted her to say that it's not necessary. We are so ready to get away from being so dependent on the scans and hospitals and put this all behind us. Having to do an XRAY every 3, is just a reminder of the possibilities. It does put an ache ...

Thanksgiving is huge here. Josh gets 3 days off from school and Ken gets 2. We will take it. What a blessing for Josh to be home with us. Sometimes it feels like he doesn't live here with us. That's not bad, it's just not what we are used to. He loves school and I love that he is in school, but sometimes we miss him home and he misses home!  Ken is also thankful to have some time to work on his papers. We have been invited  somewhere for Thanksgiving dinner today and it will really be a fun time of fellowship. They are a great family! Thankgiving has always been over rated to me. My thoughts are that it is like Valentines Day. It is something that we need to live all the time. Ken and I don't need a special day to show each other the love, faithfulness and commitment we have for each other. I would prefer to be shown and show this on January 1, 2, 3, 4, ..... and maybe in a special way on Feb 1.... (o; . We should also be constantly in a state of thanksgiving, firs...

This is Micah's last picture of his port. It is just below the scar in the middle. We can see it plainly, but maybe if you don't know what you are looking at, you may not see it! It was easier to see when he was thinner!(o: This is Micah's neck. You can see the tube (a raised line) that goes from his port into the artery in his neck. It's to the right of the scar in the middle of the picture.   Micah was still groggy and very white when we got home to my parents. I took this picture just before I tucked him into my parents bed to have a rest before the other kids came back. It makes me laugh how much red stuff they put on him. It went all the way up close to his ears. We were joking that it was probably a boy who did it. A lady would have painted him nicely! At least the red is nicer than the orange they used last surgery! (o: Micah and Josh were fooling around shortly after Ken picked Josh and the other kids up. I think this crazy is pure relief that ...

I started to link this POST  on facebook, but I felt this so hard, it almost seemed careless to put it on facebook. It makes me weep with joy for Kate and her family, that God is showing His mercy, grace and power to them, just like He did to us. There are 3 paragraphs, where she put her thoughts and feelings into words that I could never find. Reading these words make Ken and I teary because it is like she read our hearts. We 'know' these words. She is a beautiful writer. Holly McRae's words... 18 months ago we were told there was little to no chance she would survive this second fight with cancer. We had known from the beginning we had one chance to beat it. Then it returned. A deep grief seemed to accompany the fear that our days could be short. We were well aware that recurrent, metastatic cancer oftentimes doesn't respond to treatment. This form in particular is a deadly beast.   Daily a deep grief seemed to inch its way through my soul. The emotional agon...

I can't believe how fast time is passing. Josh got his first report card. Ken has about five more weeks of his first semester.  Hmmm, can you tell we measure time by school events? It has always been that way! (o: I have a ton of pictures that I need to get in here. I like to put my favourite pictures on my blog, just in case I never put them in an album or do it digitally. (o: For Natalie and Grace's birthday last spring, we got them a Baby Be Blessed doll. It is a doll that we got to choose the hair - color and style, face shape, skin color, dress etc. We also picked out a Bible verse, their full name and a date to go on the patch on the tummy.Natalie has slept with and loved her "Molly" since the day she got her. The last few weeks, Grace has started carrying her "Baby" around with Bunny. I am hoping to hide bunny soon and replace her with Baby. Hopefully she will stop sucking her fingers then!   I love how Grace cuddles in with her brothers. Si...

If you have walked through a trial, are walking or will walk through a painful time, I have a sermon that would be of great encouragement to you. The text is Romans 8:18-2five. It is about hope in suffering for those who are in Christ Jesus. It is a reminder that our God is perfectly gracious, loving and kind. All of His actions are consistent with who and what He is -Perfect!  Even the dark providences He gives us to walk through are from His perfect loving hand.  Often, we don't understand why we suffer, but our suffering is part of a bigger picture. Our suffering is labor pain, promising a glorious inheritance. Hmmm.... That is beautiful hope. My favorite verse from the text is Roman 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (NKJV) This sermon is very pastoral, is comforting and gives perspective. It was a blessing to me. Here is the link -  SERMON .

We are home and were unpacked in 20 minutes. We are tiiiiiirrrrreeeed. It's been a long few days, and it's amazing to be home! The more we leave our home, the more I see that I am a homebody. I love home so much, that I giggled when I walked in. I am also learning that home is where we make it. (o: I had an odd moment at the hospital yesterday. Someone asked me if we are from out of town. I said, "Yes, well, no, I guess....." We don't feel like we belong in St Thomas, we aren't from Grand Rapids. We are from St Thomas, but live in Grand Rapids. Do you know? She must have thought I was a little nuts! This is the post that I wrote last night.... First, I have to say that my heart is so heavy for our dear friends, Scott and Jen. They have been blessed with twins. A girl and a boy. Their little boy, Owen has had some challenges with his health.  Here is today's facebook status from Jen: We received devastating news last night. Owen's MRI showed massi...

I have been writing up a storm the last few days. Thoughts of port surgeries and big surgeries have been swirling. Even though this is such a small surgery, we have been struggling a bit, everyone in their way. Normally we don't sit around thinking about the past. God is pushing us forward in a beautiful way. We are so thankful that the memories and pain are fading more with each year that passes, but there are just some times that those cracks in our hearts break open a little bit and sting like crazy. There are so many things that have gone on just in that area of the hospital. The memories that the pre-op, waiting and recovering rooms hold are so painful that words can hardly express them! Walking out of the OR and taking my mask off while leaving him with complete strangers that were going to cut a 8 inch incision in his belly and explore and cut inside his tiny little five year old body for 7 hours, wondering if they would get it all and if he would have excess bleedin...