Life these days

Hello family and friends,

In case you haven't seen much of us lately, do not be alarmed.  We are alive.  We are doing as well as we can!  I'm crazy busy with school, mothering, caretaking, and some projects.  Ryan is busy with projects, work, speaking, and traveling.  We have been home very little on the weekends lately.

We are grateful.  Who would have thought back in those dark days of April 2011 that we would be here right now - busy, going about our lives, and doing our best to obey the things that God has placed in our lives.  It isn't easy - He continually calls us to step out in faith and do some tasks that seem extremely difficult.  Yet we know that His grace is sufficient for every day, and we are grateful for that grace that continues to buoy us down this long road.

The chemo blues

Ryan is on his fourth or fifth cycle of oxaliplatin, 5FU, and Erbitux.  It has been a battle.  I would definitely say that this has been his toughest chemotherapy combination that he has yet faced.  The side effects are numerous: rash on many different parts of his body, extremely tired, sensitivity to cold, virtually no appetite, acid reflux, digestive issues, sores in his mouth, the list goes on and on.  Taking care of Ryan has been a pretty tall order lately!  I can assure you that his attitude and his resolve is completely unwavering.  He is so nonchalant about getting treatment, even having a good attitude about the five-hour round trips to Chicago every two weeks.  His dad is the person that is making this trip.  We are thankful for him!

Scan time!

It is almost time for those fun, fun days of the year known as scan time!  These will be taking place on Thursday and Friday, October 25-26.  We are glad that we can combine this trip with some family time with Corey - he has a home game only 20 minutes away from Zion on the 27th, so we will stay after our appointments through the following Sunday.  Ryan will be getting a CT scan done on Thursday the 25th, and we will get results on Friday morning.  Given his lack of any pain or alarming symptoms, I am hopeful for good results!

Prayer requests

Friends, this road is long and hard.  I would definitely say that Ryan and I are both weary and downtrodden at the moment.  Right now I feel like I'm stuck on a perpetual Wednesday.  Nobody likes Wednesday because it's in the middle of the week and it's really far away from last weekend and the upcoming weekend.  It has been a really, really long and hard 18 months and we are exhausted.  Yet we know that we still have a far piece ahead of us.  Please pray for renewal and encouragement.  Please pray for us to keep our eyes fixed on the cross and that we would not feel any temptation to be disobedient while things are tough.  We long to glorify God at every turn of this journey, and it's hard to do so when we we feel like we are stuck in a valley.


Have we told you lately, "thank you"?  There are so many of you that are reading these words this moment and you have been reading since those dark days of April 2011 that I mentioned earlier.  Thanks for walking this road with us, however long you've known us.  We are thankful for your prayer and for your willingness to come alongside us as we figure out this journey that God has placed us on.