In Christ Alone our Hope is Found

I have thought about heaven a lot since Micah was sick. There were moments my heart physically hurt because the longing was so great to be at the feet of Jesus and to be in a place where there was no sin, suffering or pain. Our Pastor read the first verses of Revelation 21 at the very end of his sermon many years ago, the Sunday after Micah relapsed. I will never forget sitting in my pew so overcome with emotion. I was beside myself with grief  because of our pain, but there was also such hope in the gospel. The beauty of those words finally connected with me that day.  A few weeks ago those verses were quoted off the pulpit again and it still fills my chest with intense longing. I have been thinking about death more than usual since Dr Murray had an introduction to his sermon that asked the question, "Who would you die for?". He listed many people as options. I was shocked to realize that my list is short and almost non-existent. My list would be much longer if Doc would h...

It has been a big week in our house. Lots of things are happening. First, Grace is getting BIG. I love this picture of her working on her math. Look at her little hands. Sweetness. These are the images I need to bottle! A little funny story about Grace. As went across the border this week, the guard asked if we had any fruits and veggies in our snacks and I said no. Grace chimed in from the back, "BUT we have BUNNY with us!!!" The guy loved her and told her bunny looks like she needs a bath! (:  She tends to lighten things up at the border. Although some of those people have hearts of stone and just want to cause problems for people!! They often do a roll call of the kids from our paper work. When they call her name she smiles and waves with her big dimples showing, almost like we coached her to charm them. It usually works! (: Last Thurday, the kids and I drove to Canada for Micah's first aftercare appointment. We saw old people and new. We hugged and smiled. I m...

I remember standing inside Micah's hospital room five years ago listening to the surgeon talk to the residents outside our door. I was just going out to get some water and I stopped to listened. He was giving Micah's history. It was a little fuzzy because the sound was coming through the door. But one of the residence must have asked, "What will happen next?" or "What are Micah's chances?" I heard Dr Merritt say, "I don't know. I did my best and we will see what happens." Those words come back to me often when I think of where we are today. Dr Merritt didn't know, but the Lord sure did and He had something beautiful in mind for our boy and family. God has given Micah 5 very healthy years. We could have never even imagined this 5 years ago. It was one of the hardest days of our lives. We didn't know if Micah would come out of surgery whole. Surgery took 2 hours longer than was originally thought. His breathing was incredibly rou...

Yep it's March. I have become one of those absent bloggers - Something I have always said that I would never do!! I love blogging so much. It's a great outlet, but I have to settle my longing. It's not part of my season right now. The time will come back some day. Sometimes learning to be content in the season you are in is hard, but important. It's so easy to keep looking forward and forget about today. If you do that, someday you will wish you could have all of those today's back. We got the call a few weeks ago about Micah's first aftercare appointment (April 16). He is going to get his heart thoroughly checked out for any damage. They are going to do an Xray of his chest to check on his lungs. He will see his oncologist and radiologist, meet a new case managerand see a few other new people that I don't know. It's kind of an exciting day. It is also the first time that we are going that Micah is completely and totally aware of what has gone on, what...

All of our kids are so special, each in their own way. There is no doubt. We celebrate each victory and new step with joy. I love celebrating birthdays with the kids. The fun of balloons, a special supper,cake and a present is exciting!!!  Each new year is a beautiful blessing that the Lord has given. Each new age also brings it's own unique fun. Today Micah is 13. I wasn't planning to do a post, but I can't let this day go. So many of you walked these years with us and it just seems fitting to celebrate these milestones with you. I have been sitting here for a while trying to find the words, but they are not coming easily. No words seem to do justice to how our hearts are feeling.   Just this week, after reading a caringbridge entry from a little girl, did I see from the outside where we were 5 years ago at this time. I had my perspective, but it's different reading it aloud objectively (if that makes sense). It made me see anew the beauty of the gift the Lord gave...

What is that New Years Eve Song? daaaaa, da ,da , da, daaaa-da da, daaaa, daaaaaaaa-daaaa...... That song is playing in my head as I write this. Hehe !(: ANOTHER new year is here. 2015. The number actually makes me laugh. In 1999, we lived in the Niagara area. We bought extra water and canned stuff like every other crazy for Y2K. Remember that? The thought of the calendar turning to the year 2000 kind of blew my mind. When someone would mention 2010 or 2015, I figured we would be flying in cars by that time. It sounded light years away. The fact that I would be turning 39 in the year 2015 probably made me shake my 23 year old head too! At that time 39 might as well have been 70 really. Our lives are more centered on technology, but nothing crazy is happening. At least we aren't in flying cars yet. Although, I would have paid big time for our Honda Pilot to take off on the trip home from Canada last week. The trip felt like it was a pregnancy - the last days of pregnancy. Y...

5 years old. September 2007. A few months before diagnoses. Ken, Micah and Siah are gone on a camping trip with cadets. It's Josiah's first time going on a fall campout. The dads are always invited, but none usually go. Ken likes camping a lot, but just not so much in the cold. On the bright side, it's a little warmer than last year. (grin) The boys are thrilled he is going.  Ken is a kind dad! (:  So it's pretty quiet here, which is odd for a Friday night at 5:35. Quiet is nice! (: Today is the seven year anniversary of the start of our journey with Micah and cancer. (Micah's story) 12 years old. September 2014 Usually on this day, I have so much to say. This year, I don't have anything to say. I think I have said it all already.  (: I simply wanted to share this milestone and to ask you to praise God with us that we can acknowledge this day as a family of 7.  I wouldn't say it's a day of celebration like March 25 is. It's more of a ...