Watch This!

When you get a chance, take a few minutes and watch this video. This family's faith is amazing! His message is one we all need to hear and apply to our lives.

When My Heart Is Overwhelmed


I can't say that I felt like he and his wife did when they were told their five year old daughter had cancer. I wish I had had faith like that. I did question why. I had nothing to say to God. I couldn't even pray for my sick child. I look back on those months and wish I had handled them differently, better. I wish my kids could have seen their mother be rock-solid strong instead of falling apart. But I also hope that this is all not in vain. Eric and I often say to each other that we hope to be changed for the better because of all of this. I want to know the Bible like he talks about in this video. I want to know and trust and love Jesus that much. I want to be able to say, "It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn Your decrees." (Psalm 119:71) Are we saturating our minds and hearts with the word of God so that His character and promises fill our hearts? So that when the storm comes we are able to trust Him and say, "You give and You take away. Blessed be the name of the Lord"? I looked around the congregation of our church this morning and my heart hurt because there are many in my church family going through very difficult things in their lives. The the only way to live in a world full of hurt and disappointments, sickness and cancer and death - is to know and love Him so much that we can trust Him, no matter what.

This sermon is also excellent. It is about suffering.

Struck Down but Not Destroyed


P.S.   After writing this post I was able to watch this sermon too. In part of it he talks about when he did ask why. It's really good. Take the time to watch these videos!

When Sparrows Fall

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH!

February 26 is Hannah's birthday and she will turn four! She has been so excited about her birthday this year. This birthday has been extra meaningful for our family as we are overwhelmingly thankful to celebrate her being here with us. Birthdays truly are something to be celebrated (even as we adults get older and think we would rather not have any more). Life is such a precious gift - not to be taken for granted!

As a family we aren't big birthday party people. We usually just have immediate family over for cake and gifts. Since this year was special to us for Hannah's birthday, we decided to have a big party and invite all of her friends and family. The invitations were sent, food bought, house cleaned... and Hannah started running fever on Friday afternoon. It was a low-grade fever, but since it stuck around for several hours her doctor told us to go ahead to the ER. We had to cancel the party. Thankfully, her blood counts were high enough that we didn't have to go up to Atlanta to stay. They treated her with IV antibiotics and sent us home. We were all disappointed about the party. We snapped a few pictures of her enjoying her cake and pinata.

This is her "birthday dress" she chose.

Making a wish and blowing out the candles.

As soon as she laid eyes on this pinata in the store, she had very detailed instructions that she would NOT be blindfolded because she wanted to watch herself bust it and all the candy fall out.

February Appointment

Hannah had her February appointment on Friday.  She is handling her oral chemo well and her blood counts were where they should be. The oral chemo makes her stomach hurt some days and the doctors gave her a little extra medicine for that. Her doctors were pleased with how she is doing. It is good to have a normal, routine appointment with no complications!

This was about hour three on the drive up when she gets really bored and ready to get out of her car seat. (And you can also see how she kicks Eric's seat countless times during the rides!)

My creative, seasoned-veteran sister, Maria, told me about this idea -- to color on the paper of the exam table. It has always been a hit and keeps her occupied for a long time. 

Banquet

 A couple of weekends ago the Twilight Pageant hosted a Valentine's banquet to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House. There were queens from many other pageants there - I don't think I've ever seen so many beauty queens in one place. Lauren and Hannah were in awe! It was a great event for a wonderful cause!

The entertainment was an Elvis tribute artist. Hannah wasn't so sure about him at first...

...but she warmed up to him later.

Lauren and Hannah had a great time on the dance floor! 

Haircut

I've been worrying about this for months and finally did it today...

I have gone back and forth by growing my hair out and cutting it off for years now. I guess I had heard of people donating their hair, but never thought of doing it myself. I don't know why I never considered doing it, I guess I had to have cancer hit home before I became aware of these things. I had been talking about it and letting my hair grow since this past Summer. I finally got it long enough to qualify (8 inches) and today was the day!

Before

After

Please know that my only intention in posting about this is to bring awareness to this wonderful program. I wish I had been more aware and willing the last times I cut my hair. The Pantene Beautiful Lengths program has partnered with the American Cancer Society to provide wigs for cancer patients at no cost to the patient. We met a teenage cancer patient at Hannah's hospital and her wig looked so much like real hair that I caught myself staring at it (probably a little rudely). How important for these girls/ladies to be able to feel a little more normal while going through chemo treatments! And did you know that it takes several people's hair donations to make just one wig? Next time you are considering a haircut, please look into this great charity!

By the way... I have the best hairdresser in the world - thank you, Brittani!! 

Feeling Good

Hannah has had some really good weeks lately. We are so thankful! Last weekend, some good friends of ours asked us to go to the beach with them. I don't think I've ever been to the beach in January, but I loved it! On Sunday, the weather warmed up and was perfect. There was hardly anyone there and nothing was crowded. The kids had a wonderful time together.

From these pictures, you can see that her hair is growing back! It is definitely coming in darker than it was before. 

On one of the nights we went to Pier Park where they have rides and fun things for kids to do. The kids had a great time and didn't want to leave.

Do you see that smile on my face? That's because in my old age I had forgotten what The Scrambler was! I (WRONGLY) assumed that if Hannah was tall enough to be allowed to ride with an adult, then it must be a kid's ride. Never again!! 

Hannah is fearless. She loved every minute of it and begged to ride it again. 

Make-A-Wish

A few months after Hannah was diagnosed we were going through the mountains of paperwork with our social worker. One of the forms she handed us was from the Make-A-Wish foundation. We looked up at her, shocked and a little afraid. She smiled, obviously accustomed to this response, and said that your child doesn't have to be dying to be eligible for a wish from the foundation. A life-threatening disease like cancer qualifies them. We never knew this, but were thrilled. We were able to meet with the two volunteers assigned to us this week while we were at the hospital for Hannah's appointment.

You can see from this picture how my kids instantly fell in love with these two amazing women. Did you catch the word volunteers? These ladies have careers and families (at least one of them has small children - I didn't get a chance to ask the other) and they have given countless hours to volunteering for organizations like Make-A-Wish. They both had taken off of work to meet with us. This experience of meeting them was very convicting to me! I have used the excuse that I have small children and I am therefore too busy to volunteer for things right now - maybe later in my life. What a great example this is to me to live my life differently and more meaningfully!

We were able to spend more time chatting with Holly, the volunteer on the right. I asked her why she volunteers for the THREE different organizations to which she donates her time. I half expected her to say that she had a sibling who battled cancer or something like that. Her answer was that she grew up in Memphis and her parents were always good about taking her to visit the patients at St. Jude Children's Hospital. It made an impression on her and now she continues to give back with her time. Wow! What influence there is when we teach our children through our actions and not just our words! Her parents included her in their volunteering/giving and now she is carrying it on in her life and the next generation with her own children. Because of her parent's actions, she is continuing to make a difference in many children's lives - including my kids! This was definitely a lesson in parenting for me.   I want to be intentional to involve my children in service to others and giving of our time.

Thank you Meredith and Holly (and Holly's parents)!