saying good bye to grandma grace

Jenny had to move her scheduled treatment to today, instead of going in Friday, as originally scheduled, due to my Grandmother Grace passing away this week. So, we are traveling this weekend to Birmingham Alabama. Grandma was a remarkable woman of 98 1/2 years of age. Up until very recently she was living in her house, driving her car, and "taking care of the elderly" in her church family. I had the opportunity to visit her a couple of times over the last year and she told me each time that I would come to see her and we would go out to dinner together - "Raymond", she would say with a very southern/Italian accent, "I am not sure why the good Lord still has me on this earth, but if it is only to pray for my children, grand children, and great grandchildren every day, then that's enough for me." Our conversations would range from college football, to the direction interest rates were headed, to the latest speech that the president had given, to sports center... 
It was certainly an opportunity to experience God's grace with I saw the legacy of a family history of life centered around a church family, and an undivided trust in the Lord's willingness to hear  and answer our prayers.
Please pray for us as we travel to Alabama tomorrow, a day after Jenny's treatment, that she would be able to travel comfortably and feel strong enough to manage the requirements of the services on Friday.

3,000 Miles Completed!

Maria's completion of the Race Across America is completed. Not only did Maria finish, but she won the Woman's division and numerous other awards and honors including best rookie rider. She, and her story, is making an impact, on all that hear it. The following is an article that was published as part of the race coverage that does a great job of capturing the depth of Maria's commitment to the cause of raising support and awareness for Brain Cancer research.

Maria's Amazing Testimony  

Thank you all for your continued prayer and support. Jenny has felt much better following this week's treatment, there has been some low grade nausea, and some tiredness, but much better than the last two treatments! God's grace poured out on us again...

MRI Update - Good News!

The MRI came back unchanged from the last one that was done, so that is good news - no new growth to be seen! They are adding an additional anti - nausea drug to the chemo cocktail today, so we are hopeful that it will be effective.

Thank you all fro your prayers and support. Go Maria Go! 2,230 miles down! Only 765 to go! Unbelievable. You can follow maria in real time here, she is racer 462.

Overcoming hardship - Maria's Example

For those that have been praying for Jenny's sister Maria in her bike race across america, here is a great summary of what has transpired in the race, after the crew's car was run into by another car and their spare bikes and equipment (along with the van itself) were all totaled. It has been such an inspiration to watch Maria's determination, perseverance, and  stamina and she refuses to give up, even in the face of these trials. Following Maria. An unbelievable testimony to Maria's dedication to the cause, she is now over 66% of the way across the country and in first place for all women!

Tomorrow Jenny and I will be going in to get the results of the MRI that was performed on Monday as well as have another chemo infusion. Please continue to pray for Jenny's reaction to the chemo, that her nausea will be minimized and that she will feel strong following the treatments.

We are observing God's grace this week as we celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in Savannah Ga, enjoying recounting the grace that has been provided through our marriage and family.

Big Day Today! 3000 Miles to the Cure - mile 1...

Today Maria starts her trek across america. What an amazing feat of bravery, endurance, and dedication. There are a number of ways that you can follow along and be involved. There is a page that will help you locate where maria is each day at Where is Maria. There is also a facebook page where you can sign-up to pray for Maria each day and keep updated on specific prayer requests at Pray for Maria. There will also be a blog that you can follow at the facebook site or you can signup for email updates at Email Updates. This is a picture of one of the support vehicles that a local supporter provided the super cool skin for the team.


Jenny Update: The latest treatment this week was not without it's difficulties. The port that is used to draw blood and to deliver the chemo was blocked, so there was a three hour delay in getting the infusion completed on Thursday. There was also some nausea on Friday, which we had hoped to avoid. Jenny is feeling better today and is looking forward to our 25th wedding anniversary trip to Savannah next week.

Prior to heading to our little get away, Jenny will go in for an MRI on Monday the 17th to get up-to-date images. We will be coming back for an appointment on the 20th to view the MRI results and have the next chemo treatment.

Please continue to pray for continued strength, healing, and encouragement for Jenny and for Maria's safety, protection, and endurance. Thanks for being in this with us! 

Sorry that I have been away...

Sorry for the big gap in posts. Here is the update: We spent last week at Hilton Head as a family and had a great time with wonderful weather and a very relaxing time! It is truly a expression of God's grace to be sitting by the ocean, with the family all around and Jenny feeling well.  Because of the vacation, Jenny got to skip a week of Chemo, which was a great break. This week, I had to go out of town for a couple of days and Jenny's sister. Maria was here to take her to the infusion center.

After that infusion as well as the last dose a few weeks ago, Jenny was hit with some pretty strong nausea, which had not happened with any of the previous sessions. So, please pray that her system would allow the chemo to work without making her get sick.
We just finished cleaning-up from Grace's (our daughter) high school graduation party, where we had about 50 of her friends over for Jones Soda, Pizza, and Homemade Pies. It was a wonderful time of sharing how Grace's friendship has impacted those around her, and sharing in this rite of passage. The picture below is Jenny with some of her girl friends at the party:

Jenny and Her Girl Friends (Jenny 3rd from right)

Maria is getting ready for the cross country bike race and was out training this morning right after the sun came up. Continue to pray for her as she prepared for this massive undertaking - there has been a facebook page set-up for those that want to pray for Maria as she rides - https://www.facebook.com/groups/371043566340255/ so that you can stay involved the whole way across america.

Everything is going well!

Jenny went in for another round of Chemo yesterday, and everything is going well. I was out in the mid-west traveling on business, so Jenny 's parents were here, and they took her over to the appointment, which was very much an evidence of God's grace for us. Another kindness that we experienced this week was having out dear friend of over 25 year, Bob Kauflin be able to stop by and visit with Jenny, it was a very encouraging time. 

We hear from Charlie and TIm as they are working their way back across the country, they are catching up with some of our Paparella and Troncale cousins in Pennslyvania for the last couple of days, ending up in Washington DC with the a huge event to support the

2013 Race For Hope - DC 5k Run/Walk - Sunday, May 5 - Washington, DC

We are looking forward to having them back...

Thanks for all  of your care and concern. Finals week for all of the mulligan scholars next week and then it is off to Hilton Head for a family vacation!