Upcoming Appointments

Our next round of appointments at St. Jude are coming up soon. This time we will be there for 4 days. They begin on February 9th. The MRI is on the 10th. Please begin praying now that there will be no change on the MRI. Pray that God will keep His healing hands on Abby and that her body will fight off tumor growth. Pray that all the other appointments and blood work go well also. Pray for Jason and I, that we will lay our worries and fears at Jesus feet and not carry so much anxiety with us in the days leading up to that MRI. I can't begin to express how hard it is the last few weeks, and especially the last few days, leading up to the MRI. Pray that we will feel strengthened and at peace. Pray for Lyla as she will be away from us for several days. Pray that she enjoys herself and does not feel left out.

For all of you that still read this blog and keep up with Abby's progress, thank you! Thank you for continuing to pray for her. It means so much!

God's Word

Our journey began at Arkansas Children's Hospital. We were there for 8 days and during that time I realized that the only words that brought me or Jason comfort were the words of the Lord, the Bible. The most eloquent spokesman could speak words of comfort all day and it still doesn't have the same affect as reading a passage of scriptures in your Bible and knowing that God put them there for you.

Abby had 2 MRIs during our first stay at ACH. The first one was when we found our about the "lesion" (they didn't know what it was then) and the second one was to see if there had been any change and to do some different kinds of imaging to get a better look at the "lesion". I was anxious all that day, waiting for that MRI. We were praying that the anti-viral medicine they gave her had "fixed" her lesion and that there would be nothing on the MRI, but the doctors were less sure it was a viral infection and more sure it was a tumor. This MRI would tell us for sure (we thought). The morning of that MRI, Jason had a message on his phone from a fellow church member, listing some verses that we might find helpful. We looked them up, wrote them down, and read them over and over. I started searching for more verses to help me make sense of what was happening. I spent all day searching and writing. I had a notebook there with me and I filled pages and pages up with verses. During the MRI, I read them over and over and over.

Those verses that our brother in Christ left on our phone meant more to us and brought us more comfort than any words he could have spoken. For some reason, we (me included) want someone or something to help us with our problems but we overlook the best source to help us with all our needs, God's word.

I keep those verses in my Bible. I have many of them memorized now. When you go through trials and tribulations in your life, the Bible becomes even more alive, even more relevant. A verse you have read over and over suddenly has a deep and profound meaning. Those verses are real to me and I feel closer to the Lord when I read them. I know He had me in mind when He inspired them to be penned.

If you feel troubled today, grab your Bible. Pray that God would lead you to a passage that will help you. If someone you love is hurting, write down some of your favorite verses and share it with them.

Outside the Snow is Falling..

Abby was so excited that it snowed! She has had a blast sledding, making snow angels, and eating icicles! Lyla, on the other hand, would rather be somewhere warm. Thought I would share a few pictures of them enjoying the snow!

Starting soon, I plan to post about the very beginning of our journey in greater detail. I didn't start blogging until after we went to Houston which was about 3 weeks into it. I am mainly doing this for myself. I want to write about it now before I forget anything. I plan for this blog to be a record for Abby when she gets older so she can see what she went through and how far she has come. And I want to do this for all of you who read about Abby. Some of you may not know much about how this all started. I will write as often as I can until I am done telling the story.

Hope you all are staying warm!

Note added on Friday, January 6, 2010: I did post about the first few days of our journey but knew I wouldn't be able to finish it. I don't know why, but it didn't feel like the right thing to do. I removed the post and won't be telling that part of the story any time soon. I think it is too soon and too personal. So sorry.

Great Day

Yesterday was a great day! The girls and I drove to Benton to meet Kellie Beggs and her kids, Kodi and Alyssa. Alyssa is 7 and also has a brain tumor. Her tumor is a craniopharyngioma. She had surgery in October 2008 but there is some residual tumor left. She has MRIs every 3 months like Abby. Kellie truly understands how I feel and it was so wonderful to sit down and talk to her in person. We have emailed each other for months, but there is nothing like a face to face conversation. We talked about all the joys and hardships of this journey and surprisingly, I didn't even cry! I was just so happy to talk to someone who I knew wouldn't think I was crazy!

The girls played together and compared surgery scars. I am glad Abby will get to know someone like her. I am glad she will know that she is not alone. I am glad I know that I am not alone! Kellie has been such a source of strength for me, and I know that God's hand was in our paths crossing.

I smiled the whole way home. Abby has talked about Alyssa almost non-stop. It was a great day!

Our Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas. Our celebration lasted 3 days! We got tons of great gifts and just had a great time.

On Christmas Eve I made pizza and we drove around with our pj's on and looked at Christmas lights. We came home, popped popcorn, and read the Christmas story from the bible. It was nice to get to spend time with just us.

Christmas morning the girls were very excited to see what Santa had brought. Abby was so happy that Santa had brought her a baby doll, "He knew I wanted it and he got it for me!" Very precious. Lyla didn't really understand but she played and played.

We spent Christmas day with Jason's parents and siblings and Christmas night with my extended family. Yesterday we spent the day with my mom, stepdad, and siblings. It was so nice to relax with all of our family, eat lots of good food, and open presents. I was sad to see it all end. We do have one more celebration, next week we will go spend time with my dad's family. I can't wait to see all of them!

After church today the girls spent all afternoon playing in their bedroom with all their new toys. I didn't have to break up many fights or give out many snacks today! They were too busy!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too. I feel blessed beyond measure!

Merry Christmas!

I can't believe that Christmas is in 2 days! Time goes by fast! I was waiting to write because I wanted to include a picture of the girls in their Christmas dresses but we still haven't managed to do that. I will post a picture of them after the holidays!

Abby is very excited about Christmas-she wants Santa to bring her a baby doll. Lyla is excited about the presents and bows! I have had to re-wrap several gifts and none of the presents under the tree have bows now!

Christmas is always a very busy time but I hope that all of you can find time to remember the true meaning of Christmas and to cherish your friends and family. Please pray for those who will not be with their families this Christmas. There will be children celebrating in a hospital room instead of their living room. Pray that God brings them and their families comfort, peace, and strength. Remember them when you feel stressed about all you have to do and all the places you have to go. I know that I plan to soak up every minute with my girls over the next several days!

At our church Christmas program, our beautiful and talented teen girls sang the song "The Gift". It has stuck with me all week long and kept my mind focused on the reason I celebrate this joyous holiday. I would like to share the chorus with you.

He was the Son God sent to one and all
Put on this earth to hang there on that cross
Born to die so we could live
He had the birthday, we got the gift

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

We Saw Santa!

We went to the Christmas parade tonight and it was cold! The girls had a good time anyway. They especially loved seeing Santa at the end! We have our house all decorated for Christmas and the girls love the tree and lights. We are singing lots of Christmas carols too! Life is good around our house!