Great News!

We just returned from our latest trip from St. Jude and we received wonderful news. The tumor still has not changed!! It was awesome to hear the doctor say those words! I am still amazed at how God continues to bless our family and I am so grateful that His healing hand is still touching my precious baby!

This trip went really smoothly. Lyla did just fine being away from us-I think she was treated like a queen while we were gone! Abby was very brave yesterday during the IV poke and the MRI. She is so brave! Macy was good too! That was definitely an answered prayer! We have to go back for two more days to finish up some appointments but they don't require any needles or anesthesia. Here are a couple pictures of Abby and Macy during this trip.



I met a few other mothers this trip whose daughters have brain tumors as well and are in a similar situation as us, waiting and watching. It is comforting to meet others who really understand.

After being at St. Jude and seeing all those kids and families who are struggling to survive, I feel extremely blessed. There are so many things we take for granted and it is very humbling to spend a few days being reminded of how fortunate we are to be able to be leave the hospital with a relatively healthy child and have another 3 months of "normal" life. So many families are not that lucky. Please pray for all the families that are at St. Jude, battling this terrible thing called cancer. Thank you for the prayers for Abby, and please continue lifting her up in prayer. This is a lifetime battle for her.

Family of Five

We are now a family of five! Macy Grace was born 5 1/2 weeks ago and has been such a wonderful addition to our family. Abby and Lyla adore her and, of course, Jason and I are in love with her. We feel so blessed to have such a perfect baby girl! My heart just wants to burst sometimes when I think about all that God has done in our life.

Here are a few photos of her. I don't have a single one of her and her sisters! Maybe one day I will get around to that!



The girls have done really well adjusting to life with a new little one around. I made it through the sleep deprivation and Jason made it through dealing with me! God has answered so many prayers for us throughout the pregnancy, labor, delivery, and the coming home process. He is so faithful and wonderful! It has not always been easy though. There are many days that life feels like chaos and I have to remind myself that this is just a season of life and we will make it. That is why it took so long for me to update the blog-I barely have time!

Last night I was reading to Macy out of one of my favorite books. I bought it for Abby but after having a trying past few days with my newest girl and with life in general, I had a feeling it would help change my attitude, and it did. The book is "God Thinks You're Wonderful!" by Max Lucado. As I was reading "You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by the Master Craftsman", tears ran down my cheeks as I was reminded of how blessed I am, even when life isn't going according to MY plan. He has a deliberate plan for me and for each of my girls. He is the one who is wonderful!

I would also like to ask for prayers for Abby. We will return to St Jude in 2 weeks for an MRI and our next round of appointments. Pray that the tumor will remain stable, with no change. Pray for Abby as she faces another IV. Pray for Lyla, she will stay with family this time and she cried about that today (she wants to go). Pray for Jason and I as we will be taking Macy with us. This trip won't be easy but we will make it!

"So promise me you'll never forget...that you aren't an accident or an incident...you are a gift to the world, a divine work of art, signed by God" Max Lucado from "God Thinks You're Wonderful"

Family Update

I haven't written in a while and thought I should probably update everyone on how we are doing. To make a long story short: Great!

Abby and Lyla both are keeping me on my toes-running, jumping, dancing, learning, fighting-all the fun stuff little girls do. They are best friends and worst enemies every day. I don't think I have ever written about my experiences going from working mom to stay at home mom but I LOVE it! It is so great to see their personalities grow and develop and have a front row seat to all that they learn and do and say. Abby has had no new symptoms/warning signs develop. She is a typical 5 year old in every way. Lyla likes to be her comforter-any time Abby gets hurt or get in trouble, Lyla is right there, patting her back and asking if she is ok. So precious!

I am now almost 36 weeks pregnant. All is going well with this pregnancy. I have started feeling really tired lately and all the typical pregnancy issues (reflux, back aches, insomnia, etc.) are making labor and delivery look better and better! I have had such an increase in my desire to hold her-I can't hardly wait! Everyone in the house seems to feel that way too. Abby and Lyla are talking about her more and Jason keeps saying that he can't wait either. She doesn't have a name yet so Abby and Lyla call her "baby sister". Lyla will raise up my shirt and hug and kiss my belly and say "I love you baby sister". Abby talks to her all the time, just like if she were really there looking back at her. She loves to put her hand on my belly and feel her move. Lyla isn't patient enough for that! We are slowly getting our house ready for another baby and it won't be very long until she is here!

As you can see, we are all doing really well. We just try to enjoy every day and make the most of it. Although Abby's tumor is never far from our thoughts, we try to not let it rule our life. We talk openly about MRIs and IVs and medicine and her scars without over talking, if that makes sense. When we pray we ask God to keep His healing hand on her. We watched part of the St Jude special with her and looked for all the doctors and nurses and places we recognized. She thought it was so cool that her hospital was on tv-she has no idea what a big deal St Jude is! She seems to take it all in stride-it is just a part of her life and she doesn't seem phased by it at this point. I don't know at what age she will understand the seriousness of her diagnosis but I pray every night that God gives us the wisdom to deal with her questions/concerns/fears as she grows.

She asked a while back why she had to take medicine every day-she figured out that not every little girl has to do that. I talked to her about how God makes everyone special and unique-we aren't all the same. And God had chosen her to be extra special-that was why she had to take medicine and why she has MRIs and 2 scars and that was why she had to stay in the hospital and have surgery. Not too long after that she declared to her cousins that she was special because God made her that way! Another day I heard her tell a cousin that she doesn't get scared because God is always with her! It feels good to know she takes what we tell her to heart.

Please keep praying for her and for our whole family. Pray that the tumor never grows and actually shrinks (so God can really show off His power)! Pray for our whole family to have peace in our hearts and for Jason and I to have wisdom when talking to her and Lyla and when making any medical decisions. Pray for Lyla and "baby sister" that we will always keep their feelings in mind and that they never feel left out. Pray for all the patients at St Jude and their families. Pray for my friend Kellie and her precious daughter, Alyssa. Alyssa's tumor has grown and they are facing big decisions. I would not be as ok as I am today if it weren't for God sending Kellie my way. She has been a constant source of encouragement and understanding. Thank you all for your prayers-you have no idea what they mean to us!

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore I will hope in Him" Lamentations 3:21-24

MRI Results

We just returned from St. Jude and everything went very well-the MRI showed no tumor growth!! Words will never be able to describe the feelings I have after hearing those words, utter relief and joy.

Abby was very brave yesterday when she got her IV. We had been practicing and she did awesome! She did cry but she did not melt down, I was so proud! The MRI went smoothly and she had an easy recovery from it. Lyla went with us on this trip and she was so good-I am super proud of her too!

We were able to go the the Children's Museum and play for a while and have a nice meal last night. We were all very tired though.

Today we had an eye appointment-her vision is still excellent. Then we met with the neuro oncologist. It was a fairly quick and easy trip and of course the results are fantastic!

I feel so absolutely blessed that God would answer our prayers time and again. It is hard to see so many children who are so ill-I wonder why we have been spared so much. But all I can do is give honor and glory to Him for His wonderful works and never stop praising His mighty name!

Thank you all for your continued prayers. They are being answered!

MRI Coming Up

Abby's next MRI is in less than a week. Please pray that the tumor has not changed and that we get another 3 months!

She is doing great-no changes in her that we can see. She is excited and a little nervous about going back to St. Jude. She loves it there but hates getting "shots" (IV). She talks about the "shots" a lot and we have actually been practicing lately. She does really good with the IV until the needle comes out so we are practicing NOT LOOKING at the needle. She is going to turn her head and look at her newest stuffed bear instead while I sing her a song. Hopefully it will work. We always put numbing cream on her arm and I really don't think it hurts her but she had some terrible experiences with IVs and blood draws at other hospitals.

Lyla is going with us this time. This will be the last time we go as a family of four. Next time around we will have a newborn baby!

Pray for Abby, pray for Jason and I as this is a very stressful time, and pray for Lyla too! She tends to get overlooked during these visits.

The Past Few Months

Time is just flying by! I can't believe it is the middle of July already! It won't be long and we will be a family of 5! I thought I would update everyone on what we have been up to lately.

Back in May, Abby graduated from preschool. I got choked up during the ceremony because so much has changed in our lives in the past year. I am glad that Abby got to go back and spend time there and graduate with her class. She absolutely loved that place and loved her teachers, Ms. Christy and Ms. Linda. It made me sad that she won't be going back there, that a phase of her life is over for good. Everyone there has been so good to us. They raised a lot of money for us and prayed so hard for us.


We had the chance to go fishing at Adam's pond again! This is where we went last year around this same time, but under very different circumstances. We hadn't been to St. Jude yet or had surgery yet. We still thought she had gliomatosis cerebri! We had a great time this trip with about half the worries of last year lifted off our shoulders!


Memorial Day was spent at my brother's house. They have an awesome pool and the girls had a blast swimming there. Lyla is a daredevil in the pool. She had no fear!


We planted a raised bed garden this year, our first time to do so. We got a late start and some rocky dirt but it has grown quite well. When it was cooler the girls and I took care of it but now it is Jason's baby. We are getting tons of tomatoes. Sadly, bugs ate our squash and zucchini but the tomatoes and cucumbers are doing great. We also have 3 honeydew melons.

Before the heat settled in, we tried to clean out our house, building, and shop. We took 2 van loads to the Battered Women's Shelter! Our house is petite and adding another family member motivated us to clean out the junk. It took several days in the heat to finish but we have cleaned out and organized almost everything. I have the baby stuff ready to be washed and brought inside when it gets closer to time. I made room for her clothes in our closet and put the crib in its place.

It has been a very hot summer. I try to go out with the girls as much as possible but the heat makes me especially miserable and cranky. We got a little pool for them to play in and sometimes I turn on the sprinkler for myself!



Jason's mom went camping during the record heat so the girls and I went up there for a couple days. She has a camper but it was still too hot for this girl! My little ones had fun though!

Jason had a few days off around the 4th so we took the girls to Blanchard Springs. It was a really nice day and we had a lot of fun. We explored the spring and the caverns, ate a picnic lunch, and went for a swim.



We watched fireworks at the golf course this year. It was nice because the kids had lots of room to run around but unfortunately the trees blocked some of the fireworks. It was still fun!


Our church had VBS last week. We had a ton of kids! I did music again this year and Jason helped with the recreation (aka, dunking booth). The girls loved their classes and I think it went wonderfully. I was absolutely worn out by the end of the week but it was worth it.

Speaking of worn out, the baby and I are doing well. She is growing and so is my belly! The heat makes it harder but I know I will make it through. Abby was born in August during one of the hottest summers ever. I was 8 and 9 months pregnant when it was over 100 degrees outside, I can make it through this! I feel her moving all the time and my arms are starting to feel the need to hold her. A friend from church gave us a glider rocker and Abby has me sit in it and rock her babies so I can practice for her baby sister! I thought it was so sweet of her, but now she has got me longing to hold a real baby in it!

On a different note, after much prayer, research, and more prayer, we have decided to homeschool our girls. It has been an inkling of a thought since way before I quit work and everything happened with Abby. Then it became an occasional thought, then it became a pressing feeling that this is what we should do. I have already planned out our year, which will be like an advanced preschool. This way we can adjust to life with 3 girls before really tackling kindergarten. I actually started a new blog, Fruit of the Womb, to keep up with this journey but I am not sure that I will be able to keep it up. I want to, but it is time consuming, and time is something I am short on. I am not sure how this will work, but I do feel like it is what God is calling our family to do, so I know if I leave Him in charge that it will succeed. Please pray that we will continue to follow God's direction in this area.

We will be taking a short vacation to Branson at the end of the month, Abby's 5th birthday is coming up soon (August 10th), and our next MRI is August 23rd. Then we will just wait for baby sister to come in October! Please continue to pray for Abby, specifically that there will be no tumor growth.

It's A...

I had an ultrasound yesterday and we found out that we are having...

ANOTHER GIRL!!!

Honestly, I was surprised. I really thought it had to be a boy, I mean we have 2 girls already, so a boy has to come sometime, right? After the initial shock went away, I was so excited. Another girl! More dresses and bows and baby dolls! I love having girls and another girl, well that will be just too precious!! I can't wait to meet her, to hold her. I wonder what she will look like (other than beautiful), what her personality will be like, and what her name will be. I feel blessed beyond measure! Three girls!!

Thank you all for your prayers!