Surgery Day

It's finally here.  Dave has to be at the hospital at 7:30 and surgery will be around 9:30 this morning. 

The scan showed no real change in the tumor.  We will find out at 3 today what time the surgery will be so I'll post that when we know a time.  We have seen all the doctors, now we just wait. Just the preparation for this surgery is scary.  All the waivers to sign and all the what ifs will kinda freak you out!  Dave is on a clear liquid diet today, so he had some chicken broth and lime jello for lunch. : (   Good thing he had a yummy dinner last night. 

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.