Phew!

Aaron's surgery went well, so much better than 10 years ago, and better than we expected. He'll just be in pain for a few days, but he knows a brave little boy who has been a really good example of handling pain.

One week ago when we arrived at the hospital for Nathan's surgery, he said, "I never get to have a 'normal' day." What he meant was the girls get to stay at our friend's house and play, but he has to be at the hospital. Well, today he got to stay at their house and play, too, reminded that this was God's gift to him.

Now It's Aaron's Turn

Aaron goes under the knife at about 10:00 a.m. tomorrow for his hernia operation, God willing. Tonight he's feeling achey, flu-like. It's never boring around here. Please pray for my dear husband, the rock of our family.

These Pictures Tell About Nathan's Recovery

This was taken today. The lump you see is the shunt. I prayed that the Lord would give Nathan joy to outweigh his sufferings.

Today we got a visit from the young man who gave Nathan his racing trophy, and his brother. They are John Bandimere's grandsons (of Bandimere Speedway), and I'm sure he's proud of them. Their family had been praying for Nathan, and called a few days before the surgery. These boys wanted to buy Nathan and his sisters some Christmas gifts with their own money. And they came with some very nice gifts. We have received so much kindness from this family, and we are Bandimere Speedway fans for life!

Opening gifts on Christmas Day, three days after surgery. Best Christmas ever!

In the wagon getting ready to leave Children's Hospital the day after surgery.

The day after surgery, napping with policeman bear. He wanted to be dressed in his own clothes to be ready for a visit from his favorite police officer.

We thank God for sparing Nathan's life, for sparing him the massive headache and the rush to the hospital for emergency surgery. He was throwing up the day of surgery, we think from the cranial pressure, so it couldn't have been much longer. God's timing was perfect, that his surgeon could do the surgery, and as a bonus, that we could be home for Christmas.

He's Home!

Just a quick post to say that Nathan is home as of last night. Up a lot through the night with pain/vomiting, but doing much better today. Biggest complaint is a very stiff neck. He's walking around, sitting and playing, even humming some of the time. We're so thankful. I'll post some pictures and other details when I have some more time. Thank you all for your prayers.

After Surgery

I just heard from Darlene. Nathan is out of a successful surgery! The surgeon came out and told them it could not have gone better. He was able to burst the largest cyst and one of the smaller cysts. Darlene and Aaron are just now going back to see Nathan.

Thank you Lord!

I'll update more when I talk to Darlene tomorrow.

Answered Prayer

Thank God, Nathan slept through the night and woke up well. We met with the surgeon today and learned more about shunts and the procedure he will be doing. He is planning to attempt to burst the largest cyst and then place the shunt. The surgery is still scheduled for 5:00 Tuesday, but may be moved up an hour or two. We so appreciate your prayers.

Missy will try to post the results late Tuesday or Wednesday.

SCHEDULE AND COMPLICATIONS

Nathan is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. But tonight he started throwing up, most likely from the virus I had a few days ago, but it is also one of the symptoms of brain pressure, so things are complicated now.

He will either have surgery as planned, or they might admit him to the hospital tomorrow to keep him under observation.

Please pray that Nathan's surgeon will have wisdom from God to know the best course of action, and be skill ful in the surgery. He will either attempt to burst the cyst, which is risky, and put in a shunt, or leave the cyst alone and just put in a shunt to drain brain fluid.

Pray that Nathan will recover from his sickness and gain some strength before his surgery.

Surgery Dates

Nathan's surgery is scheduled for this coming Tuesday, but not sure yet of the time. The doctor is hopeful that Nathan should come home around Christmas. We rescheduled Aaron's hernia surgery for the next Tuesday, the 29th.

What We Know Right Now

We will know more tomorrow morning, but I will tell you what we found out today. The largest cyst closest to the ventricle is the only thing that has changed since the last MRI six weeks ago. It has grown larger and is beginning to close off the ventricle, and the ventricle is starting to swell. So the neuro-oncologist thinks that sometime within the next week or two would be the optimal time for the surgery to put in the shunt. Hopefully catching it before the massive headache sets in. That way it could be scheduled so that Nathan's neuro surgeon could do the surgery, and not whoever would happen to be on call in an emergency.

We'll know tomorrow if Aaron will go ahead with his surgery or have to cancel.

This is not the news we wanted, but we know that the Lord has his good purposes for everything He brings into our lives, and we can trust Him, even when our circumstances don't look good.

Nathan is being a steady trooper. He is already planning to pack his policeman dress-up outfit to wear in case officer Crump comes to visit him at the hospital.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

Just to let you know, Nathan is scheduled for a follow-up MRI on Wednesday to see how things are doing in there.

On Friday, Aaron is scheduled to have a hernia repair surgery. Ten years ago he had the same type of surgery done, and he had a rough recovery. We're hoping he does better this time. I think he'll be spending Christmas on the couch, though.

Urgent Prayer Request for Kirk

Our friend Kirk was scheuduled to have his brain tumor treated with a cyber-knife procedure today. But they found on a MRI that his tumor has grown so quickly and is now so large that they can not do that procedure on him. Instead he will have to have brain surgery quickly to remove the tumor and have it biopsied to see if it is cancer.

After all his other brain surgeries, they were hoping that this relatively easy procedure would be the last of all his treatments, but now they are faced with a major brain surgery and possibly cancer. Please pray for God's peace and grace to be overflowing to them during this difficult time, and for wisdom for the doctors who will be treating him.

All That And Sausage Too!

Yesterday was a really great day for Nathan (and us). He actually got to go to the hospital to have fun. The Make-A-Wish Foundation invited him to a Christmas shopping event. A volunteer escorted him with his list through the shopping room to help him pick out gifts for his family, then they wrapped and tagged them and he came out carrying a big bag with a big smile on his face.

As he shopped, I visited with a mom who also has a son named Nathan, who also has a brain tumor and a shunt. It was very comforting to talk with her. I watched a little girl, maybe 5, dressed in a santa dress, bald with a scar on her head, scamper over to her parents after she was done shopping. You can't imagine the display of love and happiness in that little family. It would have baffled me before. How can those parents look so happy? Now I know. You treasure every moment, thankful that God has given you today with your child.

That night we had a quick sausage and brussels sprouts dinner (one of his favs) and dropped the kids off at friends. Aaron and I had to do some quick Christmas shopping, but first we ran to get a Christmas tree, put it up, and throw some lights on it to surprise them. We had missed out on cutting down our own tree this year, and the kids weren't sure if we were even going to have a tree.

When we pulled up and they saw it in the window they were soooo excited! Nathan said, "Wow! First, sausage, and now a Christmas tree! This is the best day!"

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. This was a very happy Thanksgiving - giving thanks to our Creator, Savior and Lord. So much to be thankful for - we are all together, housed, clothed and fed. So far, Nathan has not had to have another brain surgery, and so it was an extra special Thanksgiving.

On the way home tonight, after looking at Christmas lights, Melissa was counting the days to Christmas:

"Oneday, Twoday, Foursday!" Pretty logical names for the days of the week.

Hope and Balloons

Yesterday I read the post "Permission to Hope" on the blog Bring the Rain that made me cry and hit home. It's a story that has to be told.

Angie Smith, the wife of the lead singer of Selah, was told at the beginning of her last pregnancy that her baby wouldn't live more than a few hours after birth. She carried that baby and got to have a few hours holding her, and that was all.

She is now expecting again. You have to read to the end of the post to see what the Lord did for her to comfort her in a way that only He could do. He has such tender knowlege of us. She put into words a lot of my feelings, even though our situation is different. I'm hoping Nathan's balloons (cysts) will burst. That's the hope I'm holding onto, along with the belief that God is in control, and that He is good.

After reading you will begin to see why she has over 4,000 followers, and over 250 comments on one post.

http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/2009/11/permission-to-hope.html#disqus_thread

Hearing and Seeing

Nathan's hearing exam went well. His hearing is in the normal range. Often chemo permanently destroys hearing in certain frequencies, but he can hear just fine. Well enough, said the audiologist, to hear mom when she tells you to clean up your room.

Yesterday afternoon he had an eye exam. His central vision is great, but, as I suspected, he has had damage to the optic nerve, and doesn't have peripheral vision to the right, which the doctor said is permanent. This was caused by pressure from the tumor or cysts. He didn't see any cranial pressure through Nathan's eyes, which was good news.

So, the bad news is far outweighed by the good news that he can hear well and see well for the most part, and that right now there isn't fluid build-up in his brain.

"Let me HEAR Thy lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in Thee." (Psalm 143:8)

"O taste and SEE that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!" (Psalm 34:8)

FIRE DRILL

A few days ago we had a fire drill of sorts. We just had gotten home from the grocery store and I was about to make dinner when Nathan said, "I have a new headache," and then he went to the bathroom with diar....h. I thought, this could be it.

Called the neuro-oncologist's office - got an answering service.

Called Aaron - no answer. Called the security office at Aaron's work - no answer.

Called my friend who is on stand-by - no answer.

Dania ran to get photos of the family for Nathan to take to the hospital. (Her first response - how sweet.)

Then the on-call doctor called me back and said she didn't think it was anything to worry about, but I asked for Nathan's doctor to call me. He talked me through everything and explained why he wasn't concerned about this, that it would have to be a migraine-type headache.

So it was a fire drill, and we were all thankful to be home together that night having dinner together and not at the hospital.

A new leaf got added to our Thanksgiving Tree.

Today we went to the fire station to have a tour. I thought, if there was a possibility of having to take an ambulance I wouldn't want Nathan to be frightened, and the kids have always wanted to visit the fire station anyway. They had a blast. At the end of the tour the firemen and paramedics got a call so we got to see them jump in their trucks and roll.

THE SURGEON'S DECISION

The news we got today is that the surgeon wants to wait and watch, and not do surgery until something presents itself, if it ever does. I was told to go on with life as normally as possible and to not worry about the mild headaches Nathan has mentioned lately, but only if he gets a severe one that will be unmistakeable.

Another little twist ,as of this evening, is that Aaron will need to have a hernia repair surgery, possibly before Thanksgiving. Please pray for God's perfect timing for this.

ANOTHER BRAIN SURGERY?

We all left the house at 6:00 a.m. this morning for Nathan's MRI scan. After waiting some time we were told the doctor was in a meeting (not knowing the meeting was with the surgeon discussing Nathan's case).

The long and the short of it is that the cysts have grown rather quickly, and if the cysts grow any bigger they will plug off a ventricle in the brain where brain fluids drain. This could happen any time now. If it does, Nathan will have an excrutiating headache & nausea, then we will have hours to get him into surgery.

We're waiting to meet with the surgeon after he meets with a team of surgeons. Right now, the options we know about are:

*have surgery before hydrocephalis happens (but surgery before the ventricle tube swells is difficult because they would be going thru the ventricle endoscopically to get to the cyst, and its harder to go thru a narrow ventricle)
*implant a brain shunt at the 4th ventricle to drain fluids that way
*or, wait and have emergency surgery to drain the cysts if he starts getting brain swelling

So, please, please pray.
The odd thing is that after the doctor examined Nathan, making him run up and down the hall as usual, he said, "He couldn't look any healthier. Not even if he tried."
I've done everything I know to help him be healthy, but this is where, as a mom, I know I'm not in control, but God is.
Lately, we've been reading about Moses. I feel a bit like Moses' mom who did all she could to take care of him, but there came a point when she had to cast him upon the water in the basket and entirely entrust him to God.
Yes, my legs feel weak and I have a knot in my stomach. But it's good to walk through trials with our eyes open, not trying to run from them, holding the Lord's hand through the pain. Emotions are just part of this. His plan is a lot bigger than our narrow list of acceptable circumstances.

A BIG Snowstorm

I think we got 24" total. A lot for October.

Who is that bearded man?

The snowlady got snowed on last night and needed a makeover today.

Snow Day Delay

We have 12 inches and counting of snow today, so Nathan's MRI had to be rescheduled to next Thursday. SO glad we didn't have to drive in this weather. If all goes well, he should have surgery to remove his mediport the next Wed.

NO MO' CHEMO!

Today Nathan's doctor said that it's time to stop chemo treatments, so he won't be having the last four. We've moved up his next MRI to next Wed, then the week after that he should be having his mediport surgically removed. THANK YOU GOD!

The Lord has mercifully gotten Nathan through this past year - what a year!- and we entrust Nathan's health and the future to Him.

As I type this, Nathan is in the other room playing the recording in his Build-A-Bear he got in the hospital last year:

"When I am afraid I will trust in You." (Psalm 56:3)
"Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)
"Great is the Lord and mighty in power."
"We love you, Nathan."

Picking A Pumpkin (and picking on pumpkins)

We went to the historical museum to pick a pumpkin, and just because we love to go there, especially in the Fall.

While we were trying to pick the favorite pumpkin, Melissa would try picking them up, then decide they were not "it" and drop them. Poor pumpkins.

The hay maze, with old schoolhouse in the background. It always makes them want to live "back then."

Those were the days......

Found it!

He's A Reading Machine!

It always amazes me when after months of working on letter sounds one of our kids starts reading. That happened with Nathan a few days ago. Suddenly there's a new attitude towards reading. "I like reading" is what he said, and he meant it.

I've taught all the kids with a no-nonsense program called The Writing Road To Reading. Each one of them said, "This is boring!" at the beginning, but then they're glad after a while when they can suddenly read.

HOW MANY MORE?

Nathan has a two week break before his final four chemo treatments. This Wed. happens to be a Zoo Free Day, which we'll get to go to, (yeah!), and next Wed. is the play Beauty and the Beast, which we'll get to go to with our homeschool group. His final treatment and MRI is scheduled for Nov. 11th.

We just need wisdom, and pray for wisdom for Nathan's doctor to know how many more treatments he should have. They don't go over a year because that is the limit of toxicity the body can handle. But Nathan has been having more and more tummy pain, which the doctor attributes to the chemo, and the toxicity building up. Will finishing the course do him more harm than good? Please pray for God's leading in this.

OUR ALMOST DOG

Nathan had been wanting a dog for quite a while. But it was mostly out of the question because the girls are allergic to dogs, we're not into animals in the house, and.....we have four children. We just told him to pray about it, and we prayed & considered too.

Well, last week we were offered a hypo-allergenic sheepadoodle puppy dog who was housebroken & had gone thru obedience training. We thought this must be our answer. This puppy was 9 months old, very sweet, but was bigger than most full-grown dogs. We brought Schatzi (little treasure) home and discovered a lot about having a big puppy dog:

*they will take and run with anything you drop

*they will search out all items the kids have left all over the backyard and chew them

*you cannot turn your back for a second

*little 3 year old girls can be terrified of them

*they take you for a walk, especially when a bunny crosses your path

*they take a lot of time

*they are a lot of fun

We also discovered that you can't leave a young dog alone with young children, especially if they haven't been together since birth, and the constant vigilance wore me out. He was still in the biting (teething) stage. I didn't have the time to train a dog and train my children. So, sad to say, we had to give him back.

All our fears of disappointing our children or devastating them just didn't happen. They were sad at first when they heard our decision, but any sadness vanished when they pulled out their toys again without having them carried off.

And now at least our children won't feel that we're holding out on them to not have a pet, since we tried it for a week.

A Cozy Welcome to Fall

We had a great time in Steamboat Springs. There was snow, Fall colors, bike riding, horses to pet, a teenie-tiny cabin, popcorn, and reading The Hobbit aloud.

Hmmmm... why'd we get the cabin called Poverty Bar?

Nathan got the bow-and arrow that he had been wishing for, which we found in a little shop up there.

I was grateful for the seasons of life that God brings to us, thankful to be in this cozy cabin all together in a beautiful spot, and not in the hospital.

One Year Ago Today

It was one year ago this weekend that Nathan first got diagnosed with a brain tumor, and we were in the hospital preparing for his surgery.

Thank you all for helping us, loving us, and walking with us this past year. We're going up the mountains for some much needed fun and family time, marking this first year with remembering God's goodness to us.

WINNER OF THE HIGH SCHOOL DRAG RACE

Last week was our first, official week of school. It was also our very first homeschool co-op, which meets every Friday with about 25 other children. So, after hitting the books a fun weekend was in order, but we didn't have any plans, other than stacking wood on Saturday. That isn't in the fun catagory for the kids because it involves spiders, getting hot, and working.

Saturday night, I got a call from Nathan's orofacial myologist (she retrains lip and tongue muscles for proper speech - I'll do another post about her because she's amazing.) She had some connections with the owners of Bandimere Speedway and was able to get us tickets for Junior Dragsters on Sunday. But it was more than that; we got a tour of the press box and command center, and Nathan had a chance to ride in a dragster as it was being towed back after the race. I cannot say enough good about John Bandimere and his son-in-law Larry, two kind and godly men.

Aaron took the kids back to the track on Monday for High School Drags, where high schoolers bring their own cars to race, and also get to race against police cars. They were there the whole day and had a blast.

Nathan got to ride in the winner's car after the race going down the drag strip FAST! He gave Nathan one of his two trophies he had won that day. You can imagine how perplexed I was when they came home with Nathan holding a trophy as big as himself which said "Winner of the High School Drag Race." My question was, "Aaron, you didn't race your truck, did you?!" Then everyone talked at once telling me the story.

Camping Trip

We just got back from our one-and-only camping trip for the year. Since I'm always cold at night whenever we've gone camping, Aaron decided to put up the outfitters tent he uses for hunting in the Fall, complete with a wood-burning stove. It was pretty homey for a tent.

But poor Aaron couldn't sleep because it was too warm. The rest of us slept great.

Besides bike riding, the kids' favorite thing was eating s'mores around the campfire. Just imagine stickey marshmallows sticking to dirty faces and hands.

August MRI Results

It was a long day at the hospital today, and at the end of it, not the results we had hoped for, but we accept it from God's hand. The good news is that the tumor looks stable, but the cysts have grown since the last scan. The doctor reminded us that the chemo doesn't have any effect on the cysts, just the tumor.

If the cysts get dangerously large, the only way to deal with them would be with brain surgery. But they would not take that risk unless absolutely necessary because of the location in the center of the brain. His brain surgery last year was relatively easy because the large cyst was off to the left.

So, could you please pray that these cysts would not continue to grow, and that the Lord would prevent him from needing another brain surgery? Thanks, it means so much to hear that others are praying.

The doctor also reminded us that we are in this for the long haul. Nathan will have MRI scans every three months for a few years, and then every 6 months for about 10 years, because these tumors and cysts tend to regrow. But his chemo treatments will end by November.

By the way, we did go to see Kirk, but he was just getting out of a follow up procedure to check on the vessels in his brain, so we visited with Rima for a while. Kirk's doctor was confident that he got all the AVM, but it seems like his recovery will be a long road. Hopefully, Nathan can go visit him in a few days.

If anything, all this is a cure for complacency, and a motivation to seek the Lord in prayer.

Comfort

This has been a rough time for Kirk and Rima. Kirk had surgeries Monday, Thurs. and brain surgery on Friday. Since the surgery, Kirk doesn't have full use of his right arm and leg, which the doctor says is temporary. Most difficult of all is his loss of speech, which they say is also temporary. He appears to understand, but is having a hard time finding words beyond yes and no. His brain is having to recover from the trauma of the surgery. Sunday we saw him make a lot of progress from when we saw him on Friday. They would appreciate any prayer offered on their behalf.

I think seeing Nathan recovered so well from his brain surgery gives them some measure of comfort. It was a comfort to us seeing our friends' son come through his brain surgery nine months before Nathan's. The Bible says we are to comfort others with the comfort we received from God, and that's what we are trying to do for them.

On this Wednesday we will be at Children's Hospital for another MRI and a treatment. Then we plan to go next door to the hospital where Kirk is, this time with Nathan with us, and visit them. It's kind of poignant to me that almost a year after his surgery, Nathan would be in a position to go cheer up someone else in a similar situation.

He'll Have A Hard Time Eating Corn-On-The-Cob Tonight

Last week at the orofacial myologist (who retrains muscles of the lips and tongue) Mrs. Coulson told Nathan to wiggle his loose top tooth and get it out before next time.

Well, today it was still hanging by a thread. At our first stop at Children's Hospital, Nathan's nurse tried to wiggle his tooth loose but chickened out. In the car I told Nathan that Mrs. Coulson would probably give him a prize if he had that tooth out today, so he worked on it all the way there, but it still hung on.

Then, victory, he finally got it out as we sat in the waiting room, and was rewarded with a nice prize. The tooth fairy will try to not forget this time to leave him something under his pillow, too.

Since it was just him and me today, we went to lunch afterwards and played I Spy as we ate, and then went to Farmers' Market. A year ago, I wouldn't have believed that taking Nathan to chemo would be included in a nice outing day.

Kirk Needs Prayers

Our friend Kirk had a 3rd surgical procedure on the blood vessels in his brain yesterday, and he wasn't recovering well from it, and experiencing some numbness. He is supposed to have another one of those surgeries done on Thursday, then brain surgery on Friday. Also please pray for strength and comfort for Rima. And for a good, compassionate nurse - they have mostly had some meanies.

Now THAT Was Scary

All the kids were in bed with their doors mostly closed, and Aaron was in the shower. I had my eyes closed for a while praying, then had to go downstairs for something. Just before I walked out of the door I saw a flying shadow of something larger than a moth. The kids have let in plenty of flies, wasps, bees and ladybugs before, but this was a bat!

I slammed the door to our room and didn't know what to do. Aaron would never hear me yell through our bedroom door all the way to the shower. But I did it anyway - "Aaron, there's a bat in our bedroom!!!!!!!" The kids were very entertained by this in their rooms. I'm glad I didn't freak them out.

After a few minutes, he sauntered out brushing his teeth, cool as anything, with the bat gone. Aaron had let him out by taking out a window screen, but before that he was marveling at what an amazing creature the bat is, as it flew around our bedroom. Believe me, that was nowhere in my mind.

Yes, it was a little hard to fall asleep.

Chemo Song

There is a difference between 6 year olds and, say, 56 year olds who are going through chemo treatments. Six year old boys make up songs like, "Kimosabe needs some chemo" when they're walking around the house. They do not take it very seriously.

Some of Nathan's other latest songs he makes up out of the blue are:

"Grandmas and Grandpas are always old" to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle
and "Grandpa's In The Hamper" in a 70's era tune

No offense, grandparents, I don't know where he gets those lyrics.

How To Celebrate?

As Nathan's year of chemo will be coming to an end in September or October, I've been thinking lately of how we can celebrate. It really is an occasion to celebrate, and a time of thanking God for getting us through this year. I asked him if he wants to have a big party and invite everyone. He said, "Well, you'd have to do a lot of cooking, and that party would just be a lot of talking, and then we have to clean up the house. Why don't we just go to Heritage Square (an amusement park)and then come home and have almond butter and crackers?"

O.K. so we have a different idea of partying. The important thing is to do something that's special to him. I'd welcome any fun ideas.

The next MRI is scheduled for August 12th. The nurse told me at the last visit that,no matter what, they will not go past a year of chemo, but will just monitor the tumor with MRI's every few months. These weeks before Aug. 12th will drag slowly for me.

He Slept Through It

Last night we had the most dramatic weather ever, and Nathan and Melissa slept through it. Strange lightening lit up the sky, then all of a sudden the wind became very strong. Then it was like someone opened a marble storehouse up in the sky and dumped them all at once for 20 minutes straight. The noise was amazing. Just a little north of us there was a tornado and golf ball sized hail that did damage.

Nathan was up before his sisters, as usual, and greeted them when they woke up with a bowl of hail stones he had gathered. You can't do that every day in July.

Barefoot in the Hail

When you're a kid, you don't mind going barefoot or bareheaded while it's hailing. Dania and Nathan collected some bean-sized hail. They always put them in the freezer, for a keepsake, I guess. After some time in there, I think, what's the purpose of leaving hail balls in the freezer? And I chuck them, hoping no one will miss them.

Look, Ma! No Training Wheels!

He finally got it! Nathan so much wanted to be off training wheels when his Papa was out visiting a few weeks ago, but he missed the show. Just a few days ago he was riding like a turtle afraid to flip over, but now overnight he's going as fast as his sisters. And he's suddenly become a really fast runner. Something's changing in there.

Whoooo Wheeeee!

Update on Kirk

What is impossible with man is possible with God. Kirk's doctor said that he would most likely have to have 5-6 more surgeries on the vessels in his brain before he can have surgery to remove the tumor. Having gone through just one brain surgery with Nathan, I get weak-kneed just thinking about that, and can't imagine going through it six times in a row.

Please pray for a miracle. Kirk had a rough night last night, and he has a long recovery road between each surgery. And it will be a long road for Rima. It is in these times that the Lord accomplishes so much good in our souls, and strengthens our faith in Him.

If it is on your heart to contribute to their financial needs (which are many), please email me and I can help you get it to them. It will be an encouragement to see God's goodness put on display as He cares for this family in every way.

Pray for Kirk

Our friend Kirk just had surgery on the vessels in his brain, and is recovering in ICU. The doctors found his situation complicated and said that he needs to have a few more surgeries of this type (6 hours). After that's resolved, he will need to have surgery to remove a tumor in his brain on his acoustic nerve. Please pray for his recovery and healing, and for encouragement.

Also pray for his wife Rima and their two children during this time, and for provision for them while Kirk is unable to work.

It Makes Me Happy

This was two days ago in Estes Park. The happy look on his face and the glow of health makes me so happy and thankful for God's grace to us. Nathan had his chemo treatment today, and is tolerating it well. He was eager to tell his nurses about the fun he had this weekend. They always seem to enjoy the rare times when they get more than one-word answers from him.

Father's Day at the Evergreen Rodeo

It was a real, rootin' tootin' rodeo - our first ever. Lots of fun!

There are people out there who ride bucking broncos for fun.

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys.

Dania entered the Mutton Bustin' competition. That's her in the helmet, like a lamb to the slaughter. The object is to hold on and ride the sheep for as long as possible, but she got bucked off as the sheep took off.

Smiling through a fat lip. Brave girl.

Visit to the Colorado Train Museum

Kids love this place! If you're in Colorado, you should bring your kids here, especially Thomas fans. Nathan and the girls had a ball exploring the trains with Papa from California.

We got to ride on this train and experience all that smoke!

Just like in Thomas the Train.