Surgery On Tuesday Afternoon!

Jonathan is scheduled to have surgery tomorrow at 11am. This surgery is to place the port that he will need for his chemotherapy drugs. Please pray for everything to go smoothly, for his body to be warm, and for him to wake up ready to go home.

Shawn is in Ohio for work. This will be the first surgery he has not been able to be here for. We had no idea they were going to move so quickly in scheduling it or he would have stayed home. It will be ok... I know it will. God has been blessing us so greatly and making himself known so deeply to me in the past couple of days. I know everything will go according to GOD's plan tomorrow.

I will post after we get home from the hospital.

PS. The picture is from tonight, Monday. Jon has joined a baseball team with one of his best buddies, Wesley. It is a special team that is only for kids with their special challenges. It is very special... I really was impressed with how the coaches and volunteers make it so fun for the kids. I imagine what I saw tonight was the true spririt of little league... just pure plain fun and encouragement. There are more pics on the flickr site. He did great... only got overheated and threw up all the way home. I am sure it was worth the memory of getting to play his favorite sport.

I thought I would share a few of the blessings that we recieved yesterday. Jonathan's teacher and secretaries at the school (and some of his most favorite people) sent him this adorable cookie bouquet. It was so sweet for them to be so thoughtful. And it meant so much to all of us.

I am trying to formulate the words in my mind to be able to share with you all about this situation. I want to share with you the spiritual side and "real" side of our lives. It takes time to be able to do that so bear with me... and time is something I seem to be running out of.

I don't really have any news as of yet. The dr in Atlanta did call and talk to the dr here in Knoxville. We have an appt. Monday morning at 9am with the surgeons to disucss the plan for port placement. The message I got was that we may be able to start chemo next week.

I didn't realize that it was so urgent to start so quickly. My goal was to start after our trip to Colorado the first part of June. I will be touching base with everyone Monday so Shawn and I can figure out what to do. I don't feel an urgency as I pray but I am not sure we have all the facts either. The oncologist here has not called me yet to discuss the plans so that leaves things a little open ended. I think I am still going to ask them to wait for chemo until we get back. Our lives will drastically change and I think we need a vacation first!

If the plan goes as fast as they are saying then Jon will probably have surgery this week. They are considering keeping him overnight due to his health issues. Shawn is going to be in Ohio for work Monday through Wednesday so that may complicate things.

I will keep you all posted as we learn more. Thank you for your prayers. We are all really doing well overall.

Jonathan's tumor has grown!
We just got home from our scan/appt in Atlanta. After 4 years of stablescans Jonathan's tumor has begun to show some signs of growing again.This is the second "regrowth" since diagnosis. There is not a lot of change but it is in that critical area of the hypothalmus and going up into the ventricles again. He has been having alot of trouble with temperature regulation, memory, right side weakness, very shaky andwobbly, and slurring his speech. Since he is progressively getting worse it is time to begin treatment again.

We are waiting for all the docs to be in touch with each other and get a plan together. We will more than likely be putting a new port in and be beginning chemotherapy again.

I will post again soon. In the meantime, please pray for us and the drs to have wisdom and to make the best choices.

Jonathan is home!!!!

Thank you all for your prayers and emails. It is noon on Wed. April 18 and we have just made it home. Everything went well... it took a little longer than we expected to get things going. Jon's surgery was supposed to be at 2:45 but they didn't actually start until 5. Two hours later the doctor came out with some nasty looking pictures of the polyp... and the news that everything went well. The polyp is nothing more than a polyp. They double checked to confirm that there was not any kind of tumor tissue.

Your prayers for his temperature regulation were answered! Jon's temp stayed stable the entire time. He was awake the entire night and is still going strong!

Thank you again for supporting us with your prayers and love.

Please pray for Jonathan today! Jon is having sinus surgery today around 2:30-3:oo pm. He is supposed to be at the hospital at 1pm.

I am praying that this surgery will bring much needed relief to this little guy. He has been so miserable and in a lot of pain.

Please pray for relief, quick recovery, that the surgery will be sucessful and safe- there are alot of critical areas right next to the sinuses. Pray especially for his temperature to be stable through the whole procedure and afterwards.

Thank you for your prayers. I will post again after we get home.

" The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, than the mighty waves of the sea." Psalm 93:4

Thank God that he is mightier than the noise in my house tonight!!! Isn't it wonderful how, even in the midst of the crashing waves and chaos, God is able to make himself known to us.

Today I would give almost anything to be sitting on this beach with nothing but the sound of crashing waves. But since a vacation doesn't appear to be anywhere on the horizon for me... I will have to be content with the great truth- God is greater than anything that I find myself surrounded by today. If I could just grasp this and just how incredibly refreshing even a moment in intimate fellowship with Jesus is I know that I would find "vacation" moments filling each day. May we each spend a little time tonight in our "retreat" with Christ, resting in his peace and his presence.

Spring Come Back!!!!

Where did it go???? Temperatures have dropped to freezing this past week. A complete shock to all of us who were enjoying the 80 degree temperatures of the week before. All the flowers that had colored the ground with beauty have shriveled up. The leaves on some of my trees have turned brown and droopy. Its looking a little gloomy around here.

Today as I think about this verse I am reminded that my mind is to be fixed on eternity. No matter how gloomy it is here on this earth I have heaven waiting for me. If only I could get that one thought to really plant itself firmly in my heart. So many other things just wouldn't matter anymore.

Heaven. A place of ultimate rest. That sounds good to me. What sounds even better is have an eternity of intimacy with my savior and my fellow brothers and sisters in Chirst. Won't it be great to actually feel the arms of Jesus wrap around you and hold you tight. Or to lay your head upon his chest and listen to his heart beat? I am very excited about the fact that in heaven we will have eternal fellowship with other believers without conflict, broken relationships, hurtful words, or having to say good bye.

Today my heart felt a little gloomy. My world has overwhelmed me again. The neverending cycle of cleaning my house and saying no a hundred times a minute has worn me out. The silence of the phone and lack of intimate fellowship has left me desiring more than can be found here on this earth. Today I have heard the voice of God saying " Set you mind on things above". I will praise Him this morning for the eternity that awaits. I will lift my eyes to my Savior and wait for him to lift up my heart.