Sorry that I have not posted in a while

A number of you have given me some feedback that I haven't posted in a while, which is very true. We have had a busy month of May with the boys having the Movie premier in Charlotte last week and then n Portland OR this week-end. We also had the opportunity to spend a few days at the beach with most of the family, which was very nice. 

Jenny remains about the same, she has a remarkable attitude towards all the changes that she has had to endure as a part of this journey. Last week we had the hospital bed delivered and moved some furniture out of my office so that we had the option of not having to try and make the assent up the 15 steps to get her to bed each night. She seems to like the new arrangements, since going up and down the stair was sometimes an adventure and always took a lot of energy. The options and flexibility of mobility, eating what you want, and being able to go where ever you want have all been taken away from her, but her attitude is always amazing, and not one of complaining or bitterness as I am sure mine would be. What a grace that God has given her to take this path.

One of the high spots of each day is when we do our devotions. We are reading through the bible and currently are in Isaiah 25, where he is painting the picture of the grand feast at the end of time, when the Lord brings his chosen people together and takes away the covering of death that was upon us.

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
(Isaiah 25:8-9 ESV) 

When we get to the end of a passage like that Jenny just says "Amen"...I agree.

Looking Forward to Easter!

This is a time given to us on our calendars to reflect upon the resurrection of our Lord, the overcoming of sin and death, of the new body, and eternal life. I was thinking this morning about the shortness of Jesus' years on earth - only 33. It was not too short, there were not things left undone, he didn't have a "bucket list" with items still unfulfilled. It was perfect, His life was exactly as God his father intended it to be, just as each of ours are, for those of us who are submitted to His lordship.

Jenny spend many hours a day sleeping, she doesn't have many items on her to do list, her calendar is not full of appointments, she is at peace. I take great comfort that She is right where God has placed her, in this place, at this time, totally at peace, knowing that on the other side of this life is one far better and forever.

As we mark this weekend as a time of remembering the death and resurrection of our Savior, I am so thankful that he has removed our fear of death and is our model of complete trust and acceptance of the grace and love shown by our loving father in heaven.

May all of you enjoy God's peace this easter....

Jennypalooza!

It has been quite a week - we celebrated Jenny's 52nd birthday in grand style. We started out the celebration with a family dinner with a few friends and a huge quantity of shrimp and grits, spending some time recanting all of the things that we so appreciate about Jenny. It was a meaningful and wonderful time. 

The 2nd night of the Jennypalooza was spent with another group of friends, worshiping together and thanking God for all of his goodness and grace that He has shown towards us. It allow allowed us to all be together as a family, a rare occurrence these days, so we had an impromptu family picture taken.

On day three of the celebration, we went out to eat with some friends and again enjoyed the Jennypalooza with ice cream and fried tortillas at a local mexican restaurant. 

So, it has been a wonderful week of celebration, family gathering, and worshiping the Lord. Also this week we have started meetings with hospice and will be getting together with them today to map out a plan for the future, as always we appreciate your support and prayers. Thank you all for your birthday cards, facebook notes, emails, flowers, chocolate covered strawberries, and all of the other birthday related kindnesses we are overwhelmed at your love poured out in so many ways...

  

A week to remember

Last week we participated in the Charlotte Brain Tumor Race, which was an event to raise money to help find cures for brain cancer. We had over 70 people sign-up to be a part of the "Running for Jenny" team.. Collectively we raised over $7,500 towards the cause. Below is a picture of Jenny and one of the sweet nurses from the infusion center that joined us on Saturday.



The week-end brought many people together including workmates, family members, neighbors, and church members as we enjoyed the beautiful day together. It was a blast to be together.  Jenny's brother was also able to arrange a lay-over in Charlotte for a couple of days on his way back to PA from a business trip in TX. It was wonderful for them to be able to spend time together.

Getting everyone together also allowed us to have some really good discussion about the treatments approach that Jenny has been following and the best direction to go from here. Based on discussions with family, friends that are in frequent contact with Jenny, and our oncologist, Jenny has determined that the benefits of the current treatments no longer outweighed the time, energy, and side effects, so we are not going to continue the infusions and chemo any longer.

Please continue to pray for us, for strength and peace for Jenny, and wisdom for the all of use, and we continue along this journey. We had a wonderful encouragement from the pulpit on Sunday from Psalm 78, where we were reminded that we should "...put our trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands." 

Even now, we do not forget God's deed of grace and mercy which has be showered upon us, so we keep his command to trust in his goodness and kindness towards us.

3.6.14 Update - Good News on the MRI

The MRI done yesterday showed no change from last month, which is great news. Based on some of the memory loss and mental confusion that Jenny has experienced over the last few weeks we were bracing ourselves for news that wasn't nearly as encouraging, but God continues to surprise us with daily graces that exceed our expectations!

today we are rejoicing in the words of psalms 23:5 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over"

We are in the infusion center for a little bag of avastin and then we'll be heading home for a nap. Thank you all for your prayers and support.

2-20-14 Update

We are sitting in the Infusion center, waiting for the last IV bag to empty out. Never fast enough. The last few days have been a little bit of a roller coaster, on Monday Jenny was unable to get out of bed or walk without assistance, it was pretty scary. The only change was that her dosage of anti-seizure medicine had been doubled on Saturday, so we hoped that there was a correlation between the increase in dosage and the decrease in function... We based the dose back to the original level and see seems to be doing better. 

Jenny and Her Dad at the Infusion Center

She continues to take naps everyday and not have a huge amount of energy, but it looks like we are not going to have to employ the walker that a bought quite yet....

We have been blessed with having Jenny's sister Maria here on Monday, and then her mom and dad here for a few days this week. It has been a real blessing!

Thank you all for your prayers and support, and if you haven't signed up for the Brain Tumor Fund Raising race in Charlotte on March 22nd do so by clicking here.

  

The latest as of 2.9.14

Sorry for the delay in posts. Here is the latest - Jenny has started a daily pilled based chemo (Temador). This is the same medicine that she was on when she was getting radiation. She will be on this for the next 30 days, and then we'll do another MRI. Based on the pathology of the tumor, we have some indication that it might be effective.

We also had to meet with a Neurologist this week after Jenny suffered a mild seizure last week. She is now on some anti-seizure medicine and will go in for an EEG in a couple of weeks to see if there seems to be any addition abnormal brain wave activity. She has not had any other events like that since.

Overall, she is holding up well, the chemo has taken a little spring out of her step, but she is overall doing well. Jenny's sister, Paty, came and stated at the house for a few days earlier this week and was a real blessing with her laughter and culinary skills and allowed me to head up to Boston for a couple of days to meet with a client. At the worship meeting this morning a group of people prayed for Jenny, which was very encouraging to both of us.

We are enjoying the nice weather, taking some opportunities to sit out in the sun... Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

For any of you in the charlotte area, we are doing a 5K/10K fund raising race on 3/22. Go to this link - password is Jenny if you want to register for the race... the team name is Running for Jenny