Sunday evening we went to a park and then to a free outdoor concert at the Levitt Pavilion (Danny Wright). It was the perfect evening…having fun together as a family. What could be more special and relaxing than sitting at an outdoor concert next to my husband with our boy on my lap and our girl on Josh’s lap – picture perfect. Becca really enjoyed the concert (bringing popcorn helped!). A few days later she asked if we could go again to hear the “pretty music.”

During his naps, Isaiah has started sleeping with his face straight down, resting on his hands (picture to the left). Often he wakes up with a hand print on his face!

Happy 15 weeks, Little Brother!

We received very good news on the results from last Friday’s test: there’s no evidence of malignancy. Specifically, Becca’s blood levels were normal, the pelvic MRI didn’t show any spread of the tumor further down, and the tumor above her kidney didn’t take up the mIBG, which suggests that either the tumor isn’t neuroblastoma (other possibilities include ganglioneuroblastoma and ganglioneuroma), or that the neuroblastoma has reached maturity and become benign. They won’t know for sure until the tumor is removed and a biopsy is performed.

This afternoon we have an appointment with Becca’s oncologist to hear the results from last week’s mIBG scan. We will also hear if the MRI revealed anything suspicious in her pelvis area. This is only the first half of tests concerning the possible spread of cancer. We have to wait until after the surgery for the bone marrow and tumor analysis. We expect to hear boring news. We expect that everything will be just fine. We expect as we’ve been told that tomorrow’s surgery will take care of everything and that life will soon go back to normal.  But we also know that we could receive bad news. We wonder how we would respond to bad news.

So far (besides the initial news of the tumor) all our news about Becca’s tumor has been encouraging. We are so thankful that Becca’s tumor was caught this early in the game. Everything has been going so smoothly with Becca’s tests and the speed at which she is being treated. When I think of all the “what if’s” that could have happened if they hadn’t discovered the tumor this early, I can only be grateful that the Lord allowed the doctor to find her tumor. When we walk in the hospital and see children who are being treated for cancer I find myself praising the Lord for His mercy to our family. Thoughts of “why did the Lord allow this to happen” are far from our minds when we’re so grateful that the tumor has been caught and that things are going so well.

I’m reading a study by Nancy Leigh DeMoss called The Power and Practice of Praise. In one lesson she says a test of praise is “Will I praise Him when I don’t get the outcome that I wanted? Anybody can praise Him when the outcome is as we had hoped, but the challenge is: Will I offer the sacrifice of praise when it costs me something?” If today or in the weeks to come we find out bad news concerning Becca’s cancer will I still be able to praise the Lord? If I have to watch Becca suffer through cancer treatments . . . if we lose her . . . will I still be able to praise the Lord? This would not be easy and would be a battle I would have to fight. Could I have the spirit of Job and say “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord”? I don’t really want to find out.

In another study I’m reading by DeMoss she discusses Ezekiel 37:4 and Ezekiel’s response to the valley of dead bones: “But Ezekiel wisely says in verse 4, “O Lord God, you know.” You know. What does he mean by that? Well, he may mean, “Lord, You know that these bones can’t live.” Or maybe he means, “Lord, only You know what You can do with these dry bones.”  I don’t know what God is going to do or what He has planned for our family. We’ve taught Becca the catechism questions/answers: “Who made you? God made me. What else did God make? God made all things. Why did God make you and all things? For His own glory.” I’ve been thinking lately: how is God going to get the most glory out of our situation? Will it be by healing Becca . . . by having this be the simple thing of removing the tumor. That would bring Him glory – many, many people are praying and all will praise God for His healing. Or is God planning to bring glory to Him by allowing Becca to have a cancer that is more serious – by allowing her (and us) to suffer so He can show Himself to our unsaved neighbors. What would be more meaningful to them: would they perhaps be more drawn to God by seeing (Lord willing) our faith in God as we go through something like that? Becca’s tumor getting caught early and being removed would just be considered lucky to our unsaved friends. Watching us deal with something more serious could be what draws them to Christ. In my heart I say, “please, Lord – no.” However,  this thought has come to me often over the past week. So I pray, “O Lord God – you know.”

We expect to hear completely positive news concerning Becca today and for the next few weeks. However, we know that God works in ways we do not understand and we must be ready to trust Him no matter what the outcome is.

Becca did well with her MRI and mIBG scan last Friday. We had a good time playing until they were ready to put her to sleep. I had to wait two and a half hours while she had the scans done. When they called me to see Becca, she was quite grumpy and it took a while for her to even take a sip of water. Once she got home, she was her happy energetic self. So much for having her take it easy after the anesthesia! We were able to bring home Becca’s mask – which she now loves to use to put Flopsie to sleep (and sometimes Mommy). She’s been giving Flopsie surgery almost every day to remove the “bad bump” in his body.

Our precious little man is really stepping up to the plate to take his manly role in our home and help out as much as he can with his sister’s many hospital visits. He’s been sleeping all the way through the night (10PM – 6:30AM). He’s also moved to feeding every 4 hours. We’re thanking God for helping Isaiah do this when we especially needed the extra sleep and time. I’ve been trying to make sure I still spend time talking with Isaiah, since even though he’s just a babe, I don’t want him to feel neglected with all that’s going on with Becca.

The other day I took the picture on the right of Isaiah during his nap. The sleeping positions of little ones have always been amusing to me. That very night, Becca also assumed that position; it must be a sibling thing!

We’ve had a nice week with several days (Saturday – Wednesday) without doctor’s/hospital appointments. Saturday Josh and Becca went to Home Depot for their free kids workshop. Becca loves painting! Sunday we had Micah, Anna, and Adam over for dinner. Monday we went to buy Becca special pj’s for the hospital. I gave her several options, and she had a hard time choosing between her two favorite. I guess we’ll post pictures of those when she’s wearing them after next week’s surgery. She told Josh that they were “pretty pretty pretty pajamas!”

Tuesday we went to the Countrymans’ for our last swim of the summer (since we thought Becca’s surgery would be on Friday). We had a wonderful time enjoying the pool, and Heather made us a nice lunch. Becca loved the Jello jigglers! Tuesday afternoon we found out that Becca’s surgery would be the following week. Tuesday evening we had our upstairs neighbors (Tim and Teri) over for dinner.

It all started with a urinary tract infection. The urine analysis came back positive for bacteria, the doctor prescribed an antibiotic, and Becca’s follow-up appointment was scheduled for Tuesday, August 28. Tuesday I was planning on a quick in-and-out appointment with Dr. Raine. Come to find out that UTI’s are not so simple anymore. UTI’s can be a sign of vesicoureteral (VU) reflux…which usually doesn’t show up until later but causes problems in adulthood. So to be safe rather than sorry, Dr. Raine sent Becca to Radiology the next morning to have a kidney ultrasound and a cystourethrogram. Dr. Raine said he’s “old fashion” and likes to check everything out. Sounds like a lot of doctors only order the tests if the child has reoccurring UTI’s.

Wednesday morning (August 29) I took Becca in for a ultrasound of her kidneys and the other terrible test where they inserted a catheter and filled her bladder up with fluid and then took x-rays while she urinated. She did pretty well until the end and then she was screaming “GET ME OUT OF THIS PLACE!” You can see from the picture on the right that she was not very happy after that test. The picture on the left show how unhappy she was when we started our drive to the test — since she had to fast. Fortunately, she forgot about that part as soon as we started driving and was a very happy girl until the testing started.

I noticed during the ultrasound that the tech took a lot of pictures of her right kidney…it seemed strange. Then it seemed really strange when he only took a few of her left kidney and went back and took more of her right kidney. When we got home I told Josh that I thought something was wrong.  About 30 minutes after Becca and I got home from the tests, our doctor’s office called and asked for one of us to come in right away talk with the doctor. Josh went. You know it’s not good news when the doctor’s office calls right after testing and asks to see you. Josh came home and told me that they had found a mass and that it could be cancer – shock! I don’t think I’ll ever forget the look on Josh’s face when he came home and told me the news.

Thursday morning (August 30) I took Becca to Cook Children’s hospital for an MRI. They put her to sleep, which was nice for her. It’s a terrible thing to walk away and leave your child in a room where she’s just “fallen to sleep” and you know they’re going to do an MRI. She had a rough time waking up – pretty grumpy — but after that did great.

They told us we would hear the results in 2 days, which with the holiday weekend could mean Tuesday.  I was looking forward to a day without a medical appointment and decided it would be nice to have a few days before we heard the results. However, that night the oncologist’s office called and set up a Friday morning appointment with us. Becca’s pediatrician also personally called Thursday evening to tell us that the tumor is probably cancer . . . but that things were looking good. Shock.

Friday morning we met with the oncologist. She confirmed that the tumor is almost certainly a type of cancer called neuroblastoma; her assessment was based on how the mass appears in the images (and it turns out she’s a specialist in neuroblastoma!). She strongly suspects that the cancer hasn’t spread, and it doesn’t show the characteristics of the more aggressive types of neuroblastoma. If this is the case, after the surgery to remove the tumor, there will be no need for further treatment — just observation. She then made an appointment for us to see the surgeon that afternoon.

At 3:30 we met with the pediatric surgeon who will remove the tumor. He said that it has a clean profile, does not appear to have gone into the kidney, and will likely come out easily. He will attempt to remove it with laparoscopic surgery. If he can’t do that, he’ll simply make a larger incision and complete the surgery that way. The surgery is scheduled for next Friday, September 14th. If the surgery is done laparoscopically, Becca will only need a night or two in the hospital for recovery. If a larger incision is required, recovery might take an extra couple days. After surgery the tumor will be sent for analysis; a major part of this will be genetic analysis of the neuroblastoma (to confirm that it doesn’t fall into a subtype that is particularly hard to cure — but presently there is not indication that it is this type).

Today Becca goes in for a shot to prepare her for additional testing tomorrow. Tomorrow (Friday, Sept 7th) Becca goes in for a CT scan and an mIBG scan. She will be asleep for both.

It’s all gone so fast. Monday was a normal day…and now we’re dealing with this. How fast things can change. It doesn’t seem real…I keep telling myself “my daughter has a tumor and they’re calling it cancer. How can this be? Look at her – she’s the picture of health and high energy!!”

We’re so thankful for many things…the UTI (which had nothing to do with the tumor!)…our careful doctor…the location of the children’s hospital – about a 20-minute drive…the team of doctors…the speed in which this has all taken place. God is good and we continue to trust Him. I’m also extremely thankful that the night before this all happened Isaiah began sleeping through the night and has done so since then. He also moved to a 4-hour feeding schedule, which has been a great help with getting to Becca’s appointments. We’re thankful for the many people who have been so kind to us. We’re thankful for the many people who are praying for our little girl. We’re thankful for the church we’ve just started attending and for their kindness to us.

There is much more I could say, but time does not permit me to. Thank you for all your prayers for our family. God has given us His grace and peace during this time and we praise Him for all He is doing. We praise Him that He revealed the tumor early before major damage took place. We have a great and sovereign God and we know that He will do His best for us.

Happy 3-month birthday to my sweet little boy! Your mommy is not one to instantly fall in love with anything (with the exception of your daddy who I liked the day I met). I have preferences, but it usually takes me a while to really like things/ideas/people/etc. I loved you when you were born because you were our son – our baby . . . but as time has gone by I’ve grown to just adore you, my little man. Your grins and coos are so precious – you are precious to me. A wonderful gift from God – we thank Him for you. Happy 3-month birthday Isaiah Emil!

Since Becca has been on an antibiotic that requires her to stay out of the sun, we’ve been enjoying many different indoor activities. Sunday Becca asked if we could make the Cat in the Hat’s cleaning machine. She was very disappointed when Josh said he couldn’t make a real one. Monday we came up with an alternative! Becca is enjoying putting on her costume and sneaking up to attack me.

Adam and his mommy came over for lunch last Friday. Both Isaiah and Adam are growing fast.

Isaiah is growing fast and “talking” more and more each week. He’s a very happy baby and loves to interact with people. I could just sit and talk with him for hours. I’m trying to get Becca to interact with Isaiah more, but she’s not interested. She will help with him, but she rarely interacts with him. She was willing to give him a bottle the other day . . . for 30 seconds. Wednesday I tried to get her to read a book next to Isaiah, just so he could see her while she read . . . no way. Then I tried to get her to play with her toys next to Isaiah . . . she just so happened to be done playing the instant I made the suggestion! We’ll keep working on it.

Funny Quotes from Becca:

Mommy: “Did you wash your hands?” Becca: “No – but I washed my feet!” When we asked Becca to show us what she did, she happily ran into the bathroom, climbed up on the sink, and put both feet in to wash them.

When telling us the story about Jesus calming the storm: “Then it stopped right away so Jesus didn’t have to discipline it.”

Josh and I love surprising each other . . . we enjoy it so much that we usually end up giving our surprise away with our many “clues.” Last week I was able to totally surprise Josh with an evening date to You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. I’d been working on lining up everything since the beginning of August – tickets, babysitter, rearranging piano lessons, and telling Josh about the “surprise” I had for him that week. Six hours before our date, my friend who was going to watch the kids had to cancel due to an emergency, which sent me frantically searching for someone to watch our kids. Fortunately, Stephen and Kristen saved the evening and drove 45 minutes from their home to watch Becca and Isaiah. I’m very grateful for their willingness to help us out.

Josh was completely surprised to find out that the heavy wrapped box contained one of his books (for weight), a second wrapped package, and inside that, an envelope. The collage on the left captures his reaction as he realizes that the papers are tickets and that we’re going on a date “tonight!” Ah – sweet success and a lovely evening out with my man! (Yes – from the collage on the right you might notice that I cried . . . guess I was so pleased my success.)

A few other pictures: Our first watermelon from our garden! Both kids in the car after a pool party at the Woods’ house. Lunch with Miss Jean. Breakfast trials – Becca is having to learn that food is not finger paint – it’s a slow learning process! The last shows how much our kids enjoy photo shoots!

Our little man is doing great. This week he has started to laugh – it’s so cute. I love baby laughter! In other news, I had to take Becca to the doctor on Monday for a suspected UTI. The lab report came back on Wednesday confirming our suspicions, and Becca is now on antibiotics. Becca especially enjoyed her visit, since she really likes the Berenstain Bears story about going to the doctor. She did get a little scared when Dr. Raine put on his latex gloves, but that’s because we’ve also read a book about a vet putting on gloves and pulling out several animals from a puppy’s throat! Becca is doing great and you can’t even tell she has a UTI. For the record, Becca now weights 27.2lbs. and is 34.5in.

Sunday we had lunch with Lee Roy & Lou Olson. It was a delight to be able to spend some time with them in our home.

On July16th the EMU board voted to accept our family as missionary candidates to Cambodia. Lord willing, Josh will finish his Ph.D in the spring 2013 semester. After that we will move back to Greenville, SC, and begin deputation. We’re thanking the Lord for already providing three supporting families. We look forward to how He will provide all the support we need to serve Him in Cambodia.

For those who are interested in our future ministry, here’s some answers to the questions we were asked by the EMU board:

•  Type of service: translation of Bible; translation and/or development of Bible study materials; Bible school training
• Is there a clear need for this kind of service in that country? yes; at least two groups in Ratanakiri have a need for Bible translation (Jarai, Kachok); multiple groups participate in Bible school training, and there seems to be the need of more teachers who can work with individual language groups.
• What are your Goals for your ministry? If translation, then eventually the translation of the entire Bible into the target language, starting with the NT. In Bible school training, the goals would be set by other missionaries on the field and by the church leaders themselves – but in general, demonstrable progress in knowledge of the Bible and ability to apply Scripture in their own cultural context and teach the Scripture to their people.
• What are your plans to accomplish those goals? First, intensive language training in Khmer and then the target minority language. Then grammatical analysis of the target language. Building up a team of people in the target language to serve as a committee or committees in the translation process. Gathering of native literary forms for language development (literacy) purposes, as well as gaining a better understanding of how literature in the language is structured. Translation by committee, with active input/checking by specialists (me and others). Outside consultation to check translation. Periodic small-scale printing of completed Bible portions.
• What will you do when those goals are accomplished? Continue teaching; look to assist with other translation projects; work on the development of other native-tongue resources to help church leaders; (eventually) retire!
• Do you have a timetable in mind for accomplishing these goals? Language study will undoubtedly take up the first term and be a significant part of the second term (though we hope that in the second term we can be more active in ministry). Once started, a good translation can take anywhere from 10 to 30 years, depending on involvement of the community and many other factors. Perhaps 7 years for the New Testament.

Happy 10-week birthday, Little Brother! We love your sweet smiles and enthusiastic coos. Isaiah has rolled over several times in the past couple weeks. Usually he rolls over right after I set him up on his tummy with his arms under him (like the set up in the picture below). In the meantime, Becca continues to enjoy using chap stick. She’s a little too enthusiastic about putting on the red chap stick, but I’m glad it’s finally used up.

We’ve had a week filled with piano, pals, projects (some with paint), and pirates (yes, pirates!). On Thursday one of my piano and voice students came over for her lessons. Cayti has Down’s Syndrome and had the opportunity to go to a special bike riding class last week, but it was during her regularly scheduled lesson at Main Street School of Music. The bike class was on UTA campus (right across the street from us) so I worked it out with Cayti’s mom for her to come to our apartment for her lessons before bike class. Cayti’s mom watched Becca during the lesson and brought us dinner. It worked out great for all.

Friday  Micah, Anna, and Adam Martin came over for dinner. Adam was born exactly 3 weeks after Isaiah. It was neat to see the two boys together. I told Isaiah it was his first time to have a friend over.

Saturday Josh took Becca to Home Depot for a free kids workshop, something Home Depot sponsors on the 1st Saturday of every month. This month’s project was a cork board that Josh helped Becca put together and then Becca painted it. They both had a good time. While they were gone, I worked on reorganizing a closet. In keeping with the paint theme, Becca and I had done some finger painting earlier in the week . . . then we turned the extra paint into body paint.

Sunday afternoon Becca went to Ahana’s 5th birthday party at Pump it Up, a bounce house place; the part’s theme was pirates and princesses. We all got to play in the bounce houses (except Isaiah who wasn’t too impressed with the party.)

Monday John and Shawn Lutz came over for dinner. We enjoyed our evening with them. Becca kept both Shawn and John busy playing in her room and reading to her.

Tuesday morning the Hsu family (piano students) came over to meet Isaiah. They brought two containers of ice cream and ice cream cones for a snack. Becca enjoyed playing with the boys in her room while Missy and I visited together.

Wednesday was just a normal day with library in the morning and piano lessons in the evening.

Five years ago today we advanced from being a dating couple to an engaged couple! Thanks SO much for asking me to marry you, my sweet husband. I’m so glad that you chose me!

Sunday was our church’s last service. The church started about 5 years ago, and it gathered a great (if small) core group of dedicated believers. However, our church leaders decided last month that it would be best for us all to join with and serve in other local churches. We will miss seeing our friends each week; unfortunately, it’s not simple to visit with the friends we’ve grown close to at church, since most live about 45 minutes away from us.  This Sunday we begin our search for a new church family. We appreciate your prayers as we search. (The pictures are from our last service.)

For pictures of Becca and Isaiah see yesterday’s blog.

Happy 2-Month Birthday to Isaiah! Hard to believe our little man is already two months and growing fast. He now weighs 13lbs and is about 25.5 inches. He’s about the same size as Becca was at 7 months. We’re enjoying Isaiah’s smiles and his cooing. It’s so much fun to “talk” with him. Becca has learned how to make Isaiah “talk” like a little puppet. She puts her finger on his chin to open and close his mouth and uses a high voice to help him speak. (This is a talent I learned from my dad and have now passed it on to my daughter.)

For comparison, the picture below shows Becca at 7 months – 13lbs.

We’re had a full week. We enjoyed a meal with Stephen and Kirsten Ryland Monday night. Becca loved looking at and hearing their Berenstain Bear books. Tuesday night we had Steve Johnson over for dinner (the rest of his family is away). Wednesday the kids and I went to our Chick-Fil-A for their monthly free breakfast and then headed to the library for Mr. Bob’s storytime. Ah – a full week so far!

Isaiah continues to grow! He’s starting to “talk” a little bit. He continues to be a good napper and usually sleeps over an hour between each feeding. His last feeding is usually around 9:30 and then he typically eats again around 3AM. Thursday we tried giving him a bottle – wow, he gulped it down like he’d never been fed before! Guess I don’t have to worry about that. I’ve been more tired lately (maybe it has something to do with turning 30) and am enjoying a nice nap each afternoon when both kids are down.

Now for Becca news: Becca is waking up from naps without crying. We’ve come up with a good system for nap time (at least for now). I sit in her room until she falls to sleep. Then when she wakes up and “Mommy is not in the pink chair” she can come out, as long as she’s happy. Lately, she’s been coming out and waking me up from my nap! Becca has napped almost 3 weeks wearing underwear with only one accident the first week. We’re now working toward trying underwear for nighttime. Yesterday afternoon Becca asked for some “M-N-O-P’s” as a treat for having dry underwear..translation “M&M’s!”

Last Friday (July 20th) I entered a new decade. I’ve been thinking about all that’s taken place in my 20’s. I’ll name a few. I’ve lived in three different states (PA, SC, & TX). I’ve owned three different used cars (Acura, Grand Prix, & Camry). I’ve been a part of three different churches (COD, CPBC, & NLBC). I’ve earned three degrees (Bachelors in Music Education, Masters in Bible, & Doctorate in Education). I taught in the Dallas public school system. I’ve spent most of the decade (20-28) being a student. I spent the last 4 years being a wife, and the last 2.5 as a mommy.

Some would credit my doctorate as my greatest accomplishment this decade. But for me, my greatest “accomplishment” this past decade is something that was given to me from God. (I’m not saying that earning my degrees was apart from God’s help . . . this is just in a totally different category.) My greatest gain during this past decade is my husband. What a sweet gift from God is my man. My life is radically different because Josh chose me. He has been a wonderful friend, husband, lover, and pointer to Christ. I could not have better.

My second greatest gain this past decade is the sweet (double) gift of Becca and Isaiah. I am truly blessed to be a mommy to these two precious children. God is using them to draw me closer to Himself as I must rely on Him for strength in daily training my children. They bring me so much joy and laughter and are teaching me patience. My life as a stay-at-home wife/mommy is a great gift and I treasure this season of life.

The Lord has truly blessed me the last 10 years. He has carried me through the difficult times and abundantly blessed me with undeserved gifts. I thank Him for His unfailing love and faithfulness to me. I praise Him for always keeping His promises and never giving up on me. I look forward to what He has in store for me this new decade.

Happy 7-week birthday to our precious little man! Bath time has become extra fun as Becca has decided that just helping Isaiah’s bath by standing outside the tub is not good enough. Now I have two little ones in the tub and both seem to enjoy it. Becca’s one request is that I turn Little Brother so he won’t spray her. As for Isaiah, he just enjoys showing off his muscles!

Last Friday was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. We enjoyed taking our two little calves to celebrate the event. Becca loved dressing up and was very happy to see the “real” cow instead of the fake one (poster). Isaiah was very content to sit and watch people at Chick-Fil-A.

We enjoyed our free meal with René, Yani, and Amaris. It was our last get-together with them before they moved to Greenville, SC, where René will be teaching math at Hampton Park Christian School. We have truly been blessed by their friendship in Texas these past two years. We’re sad to see them go but are happy they are moving somewhere we’ll eventually end up. I’ve been telling Becca that Amaris would be moving soon. My practical little girl just reminds me that Amaris is going to Greenville and someday we will move there too and she’ll get to see Amaris again. The other day she also told me it was ok, since we had Amaris’ picture!