This morning Dave is having his anesthesia assessment and seeing his Urologist and Surgeon.  We will know scan results in a couple of hours.  For those of you who are interested, you can read about Dave's surgeon Dr. Raphael Pollock.

I wish all of you could have been with us at Bethel Church yesterday to hear Dave give his testimony of God's grace over the past year.  He talked of his appreciation for Grace Fellowship and the way they loved us, encouraged us, gave to us sacrificially, sent us books, emailed, called, and the list goes on and on.  He also thanked the families of Bethel that were so kind to us and our children.  They were "the church" to us during our time in Houston and have become our friends for life.  The pastor there at Bethel as well as Carlton at Grace Fellowship have both been teaching through the book of Ephesians for a while.  It was really neat yesterday how what Dave had to say related so well to what both churches have been learning through the study of Ephesians.  Dave talked about how a pretty wise man had told him that what you have going in to suffering is pretty much what you have going through suffering.  He said he had all these great aspirations to study and learn alot of scripture,  but much of the time he could only sit and stare.  Chemo takes a toll on your mind. He told them if they haven't been through a time of sufffering that they probably would eventually and these are the 2 things he would encourage them with before they go into a time of suffering.    
1)  Know God and God's Word      
2) Be an active, plugged in part of the church body. 
 He finished his talk with this quote from John Piper, "Cancer doesn't win if you die, it wins if you fail to cherish Christ". 

Dave is having his CT scan now.  He has a cardiac injection and scan at 10 today.  We will probably not get the results from the CT scan until Monday.  That kinda stinks.  Hopefully Dave will be able to enjoy the weekend with out worrying. We are staying with our friends this weekend and Dave will be sharing some of his story Sunday at Bethel Church in both of their morning services. 

Something fun.....it's tax free weekend in Texas :) 

We are about to board our plane for Houston. It is like 100 degrees in this airport and its even hotter in Houston. Oh how I loathe this heat.  I'm looking forward to some cool crisp air this fall.  Anyway..... I thought I would share these pictures.

Dave will celebrate his 38th birthday next Wednesday...the day after his surgery.  Being without that ugly old tumor will be a great birthday present!!  The pictures above were from a couple of weeks ago.  Some of our sweet friends got him a cake since he will be gone on his actual birthday. 

leaving on a big jet plane :)

So today's the day.  We will be flying to Houston in a few hours.  I am thankful today to be able to leave my kiddos in such good hands.  I know that my sisters will take care of them as well  as I would.  It is a relief to not have to worry about that.  Dave is feeling a bit anxious today.  I think we will feel some relief when we get to Houston.  We are hoping we may be able to get the scan results tomorrow.....it can't hurt to ask.  So I will keep you updated as we know anything!  Thanks for walking through this with us! 

Getting Ready

Today is packing day.  I'm trying to find the motivation to get it done.  It's alot of work to pack all 5 of us.  We have been keeping as busy as possible so we would have no down time to sit thinking and worrying.  I think I am blogging today to avoid doing what I know I need to be doing.  Dave has taken Erin to have 4 teeth pulled....ouch!  He also is working today.  So...I guess I better get busy.

I have been sitting here clipping coupons and planning my shopping trip for tomorrow. I kid you not that I have been sitting here planning and clipping for 5 hours.  So, if you see me out tomorrow, do not get in line behind me.  You will be very aggravated at having to wait while they scan all my coupons. I hope to save some major bucks tomorrow!!  I am starting to get the hang of couponing.  My favorite sites for couponing are listed over to the right on the side bar.  Oh, and before you think I totally neglected my family to coupon...I didn't.  The kids were with me and the girls were actually trying to find their own coupons to buy some things they want.....like markers:) 

WE have been super busy since my last post.  We completed our bathroom project and it looks so good.  We were also able to get our garage painted and organized.  I got all my kids market stuff tagged and priced....this is a huge accomplishment.  We decided to hold off on starting school until after Labor Day.  This gave me more time to get our house in order before we have to go back out for surgery. 

The big question of the week has been "how are we doing?"  Well, we are anxious.  The closer we get to the surgery date, the more nervous we get.  Dave is anxious about the scan.  He will have a scan this coming Friday...the 19th.  Then we will get those results on Monday.  It's always hard having to wait for scan results.  I think even going back to MD Anderson is gonna be hard.  In some ways, it is still very surreal that we lived in Houston for 8 months and that Dave was very sick for most of that time. I am looking forward to seeing all of our Houston friends over the weekend and going to Bethel Church Sunday.  Surgery is still set for the 23rd.  Thank you to all of you who have faithfully prayed for us. 

August....It's been a year

It has been a whole year.  A long year.  In a way though, it seems like just yesterday.  We seem to look at things as before cancer and after.  We didn't know it was cancer last August.  I didn't even know Dave had gone to the doctor.  He had spent 14 days or so in Russia, had some pain while he was there,  and went to the doctor 2 days after he got home.  He got up early, left without waking me, and went to the doctor's office.  They sent him for a CT scan.  That all happened in the first few days of August last year.  We got the news that he had a cyst and needed to see a urologist. We had no idea what the next year would hold.  We have definitly been "Held" this past year.  We think we hold to Jesus, when all along he is really holding us.  Oh how thankful I am it has not been up to me or Dave or anyone else this year.

Lamentations3:22-24

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

Those are some of my favorite verses.  The song below has also been great for me this year. 

Held 

by Natalie Grant

Two months is too little, they let him go

They had no sudden healing

To think that providence

Would take a child from his mother

While she prays, is appalling

Who told us we'd be rescued

What has changed and

Why should we be saved from nightmares

We're asking why this happens to us

Who have died to live, it's unfair

This is what it means to be held

How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life

And you survive

This is what it is to be loved and to know

That the promise was that when everything fell

We'd be held

This hand is bitterness

We want to taste it and

Let the hatred numb our sorrows

The wise hand opens slowly

To lilies of the valley and tomorrow

This is what it means to be held

How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life

And you survive

This is what it is to be loved and to know

That the promise was that when everything fell

We'd be held

If hope if born of suffering

If this is only the beginning

Can we not wait for one hour

Watching for our Savior

This is what it means to be held

How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life

And you survive

This is what it is to be loved and to know

That the promise was that when everything fell

We'd be held