Halloween fun!

We love Halloween!! I was talking with my neighbor this morning about our family time on Halloween. We like to have a fun dinner with spooky finger food. My friend Jen has me hooked on Kraft foods website. They have so many cute kid friendly snack ideas! These mummy pizzas were a hit last year. Take a look around www.kraftrecipes.com for some fun!

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/mummy-face-pizzas-114029.aspx

God of my tomorrows

I've been thinking a lot about things to come. Newness.

2 weeks ago I had a very bad blood infection. There is no explanation as to how that makes you feel... Let's put it this way, I am pretty tough and have a high pain tolerance, but I was not able to get out of bed for 5 days. I ended up in the emergency room with an idiot for a doctor. 3 IV tries later I had a good IV and antibiotics.

Today, I had radiation, an Nplate injection and steroid treatment. I was off of radiation and treatment for a week after that blood infection. I forgot how the treatments make me feel. I am asked all the time- "How does radiation make you feel?" WAY better than chemo, but still pretty bad. Weak, tired, hurting, rubber, floppy... Going up the stairs to my bedroom becomes climbing a mountain. (sometimes crawling up a mountain) Picking up Jesse Ava becomes heavy weight lifting. I am pretty good at putting a smile on and expressing that I am going to be alright. Truth be told, some days are very hard.

My goal from day one of my cancer battle has been to set an example of faith and strength for my family. The night that I went in to the hospital Jaela had a very hard time. She was in tears all the way to the hospital and all evening until she finally fell asleep. It broke my heart. Every time Joelle prays she says "thank you for making mommy feel better." I have four little precious spectators in my cancer journey. My hope is that when they are faced with tough times, they will remember that God is the God of their tomorrows. He will walk you through tomorrow, just like He got you through yesterday and today.

Psalm 71:14

But I will hope continually, and will yet praise You more and more.

I am super thankful that God is the God of my tomorrows.

I am thankful for newness. I should have 3 more months of radiation and treatment, and then I will be checked every 3 months and so on. I can't wait for that fresh start.

Happy Birthday Jo Jo!!!

Our sweet Joelle turned 3!!! It is crazy to think that if she had been born with clubfeet like we all thought and the sonogram said... We would just now have an evaluation to see if her feet were corrected enough to cut the casts in half for the next 9 months. Wow. We wouldn't get to hug and hold her without her being in pain, and she wouldn't be running around with her brother and sisters. She wouldn't be pushing her baby (Bella) in the stroller or even crawling.... I will never forget the joy of the Dr. handing me each of my children for the first time. I will never forget looking at the faces of the Dr. and nurse as they looked at the sono pictures of mangled and twisted feet. I will never forget the nights I cried myself to sleep thinking about the struggle my daughter had ahead of her, and she hadn't even been born yet. I will never forget asking that people not buy footed pj's for her, or the thought of not being able to really cuddle my sweet girl. I will never forget Dr. Alling rushing Joelle off to be examined right away to see how bad her feet were. I will never forget him jumping up and down yelling "PRAISE GOD!!" when her feet were straight!!!... but most of all I will NEVER forget that my God is a healing God. Now she says "pain no way Jesus. Maman" and stomps on the devil with feet that he tried to mess with... She is an everyday reminder that our God is amazing.

Big fun :)

"Taking it to the streets"

This Sunday, our church took Jesus to the streets of Ft. Bend County. Our group went to four corners and worked on 2 houses for two ladies. They live in trailer houses with no electricity....in Houston!!!...and only one had working plumbing. Man could one of the ladies pray!!

I was chopping down some tall weeds, and heard a meow... There were 2 kittens in the mess. We saved one and found it a new home. The other one ran up in our car engine, and eventually ran off. We had a ton of fun.

Sweet Rich Hubbard

Rich passed away yesterday morning. The tumors took over and caused his kidneys to fail. I am at a loss for words. Pray for his family.

My sweet friend Rich Hubbard is fighting hard. For those of you who don't know- Rich is a family friend, and pastor from England. He was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer last November. My father-in-law connected us several months ago, with the intent of me having someone who understands completely what I am going through, and encouragement.... What I have gained from my relationship with Rich is a mentor. An amazing friendship. A teacher. A laugh. I treasure this man. We talk via email about 3 times a week. Last week, I emailed to let him know about my blood infection, and to ask how he was feeling. He didn't reply. This morning, I heard from his wonderful wife(Lynda)that he has been in the hospital all week with high amounts of potassium in his blood and has been having seizures. His tumors have gotten to such a high number that they are taking over his body, and he is in so much pain.
Needless to say, I have been in tears since 3am, when I heard from Lynda. I am trying my hardest to stay away from the WHY WHY WHY????!!! Just last week my "teammate" Don Burk lost his battle with cancer. I saw his smiling face and a big hug every Sunday. He would remind me every time I saw him that he was on my team against this stupid cancer. All of that said...

A friend on Facebook posted this for me to read-
"An apple tree will produce apples because of what it is. When it is young, it will have no apples; but it still must say, 'I am an apple tree.' When it is winter & there are no leaves or apples, it still says, 'I am an apple tree.' Is it lying at those times? No. It would be lying to say anything different (see Rom. 4:16-17)."

I Am A God Who Heals.
I heal broken bodies, broken minds, broken hearts, broken lives, and broken relationships. My very Presence has immense healing powers. You cannot live close to Me without experiencing some degree of healing. However, it is also true that you have not because you ask not. You receive the healing that flows naturally from My Presence, whether you seek it or not. But there is more-much more-available to those who ask.

The first step in receiving healing is to live ever so close to Me. The benefits of this practice are too numerous to list. As you grow more and more intimate with Me, I reveal My will to you more directly. When the time is right, I prompt you to ask for healing of some brokenness in you or in another person. The healing may be instantaneous, or it may be a process. That is up to Me. Your part is to trust Me fully and to thank Me for the restoration that has begun.

I rarely heal all the brokenness in a person's life. Even My servant Paul was told, "My grace is sufficient for you." when he sought healing for the thorn in his flesh. Nonetheless, much healing is available to those whose lives are intimately interwoven with Me. Ask, and you will receive.

Psalm 103:3 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases

James 4:2 (KJV) 2Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9 7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

Matthew 7:7 7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Please pray for Rich and Lynda Hubbard and their kids, Lois Burk, and me.
Rich says keep fighting. I am going to beat this cancer for my team.