busy weekend

It was busy weekend and guess what!?!? I forgot my camera......So briefly here is a summary of our weekend....

Ben had his first basketball game. Grandma and Grandpa McVay came down for the game too.

Have you every seen a gym divided into three courts with all the players being in either 1st or 2nd grade? Wow, it was loud, busy and PACKED.

Ben did a great job and we are glad we got the first game over.

Here is Ben and Jake ready for church this morning. Jacob had a children's program in front of the congregation today. You guessed it, forgot the camera again. I am hoping to snag a picture from anothe parent so at least I have one of him playing the "bells."

After church Luke got called into work...so the boys and I finished making some sugar cookies. I got a phone call, forgot I had turned the timer off and smelled the cookies about 15 minutes later. I will say they taste good with coffee but that is about it!

Tonight, I was in the kitchen and heard something like snoring from the other room, this is what I saw...

Jacob was the one snoring (his foot up, really is that comfortable?)
Must be!

And Ben snuggled up under two blankets...
Don't they look like angels when they are asleep?
Then they wake up and that is a different story (but I still wouldn't change them for the world).

Christmas Season

Random pictures of our 2009 Christmas Season.

It began with shoe boxes for Samaritan's Purse....

They both chose boys to shop for...imagine! I forgot to take a picture of the final project but we loved doing this as a family.

Thanks Luke for taking them shopping....
Since you did this, the shoe boxes weren't late....

Jake discovering his "glitter globe" that was boxed up for the year.

I love this picture.

K-State....

At least each boy had their own ornament or it would have gotten physical.

The boys usually drink hot chocolate while decorating the tree.

Sugar is a "no-no" on our "special diets."

BUT, we couldn't back out on "tradition"

I think Grandma and Grandpa will understand...

Christmas music provided by PANDORA!

Mom not keeping up with taking ornaments out of the boxes...

The finished product.

I love it when only the Christmas lights are on in the house.

It makes me feel happy.

It makes me reflect on our Savior's birth and the fulfillment of God's promise.

Jacob did it!

Jacob did it!

Jacob learned how to tie his shoes this week!

He has been working really hard but couldn't seem to figure out the last "bunny ear."

Then viola, he got it!

Jacob "sporting" his tied shoes that he did all by himself!

Now, when the new wears off, I am sure I will be back to tying shoes...

But, in the meantime, my dry, cracked hands are enjoying the break.

Biopsy is OVER!

We did it! Luke and I made it to Wichita for our Dr's appointments. I took my Ativan and Luke threatened to record me using his phone, but I don't think he new how to work it! Lucky for me!

Luke got a FABULOUS report from Dr. Moore, Jr. and Luke is able to go on his trip. Luke's x-ray continued to show a lot of arthritis in his back and his zyphoid continues to grow bigger. However, that is something that can be addressed when he comes back from Liberia. I also have to thank Zoe who as an awesome "studies" nurse. She has a great personality and is always so upbeat and caring. She followed Luke for awhile while he did supplement study for his type of lung cancer. They pulled the study but at least we still get to see her!

Yesterday, the Ativan made me feel drunk. It didn't stop the pain of the needle/catheter going in my arm to dispense the morphine. If the morphine helped I did not notice because it was so painful. Seriously, I didn't get all these drugs on the first bone marrow biopsy but thank you God I had them on the 2nd one. I started crying and got super embarrassed because I can usually disassociate from the pain, just couldn't yesterday....There are no words to describe what they do during the biopsy, so if you are curious, "U-Tube it", and see! My hip continues to hurts and if I don't apply pressure it throbs. I feel like my entire body is in shock and that every bone is bruised in my body.

I hurt so bad this morning I had my friend drive me to the Dr in Newton so the nurse could "re-dress" the bandage and add more tape. I started crying again (which I don't like doing) and she was so empathetic, understanding how frustrated I was. Thanks Susan, she is another awesome nurse!

PRAISE: I would like to thank everyone for their prayers yesterday. We have wonderful friends that care for us. We received another unexpected donation for Luke's trip. Praise that I am married to such a caring, loving, wonderful husband. All of the small details he thinks of when caring for me are appreciated. For example after being wheeled downstairs in a wheel chair, he had the car warmed up and once I got in car he covered me up with a blanket (as I am always cold). Praise for my women's bible study....Kelly made us meal last night that was gluten free! I love the women in this study as they are so caring towards one another.

PRAYERS: That Luke's trip will be 100% funded by the time he leaves on January 6th. Pray that the supply money will come in for materials for the library and safety for all those going on this trip. Continue to pray for answers for my test results even if it is good/bad. Pray for peace for the boys as they are getting anxious about these new things happening in our home.

It is a GO!

PRAISE: We received word yesterday that Suzy had heard from Tony and the trip is a GO! The funds should be coming in soon for supplies! Luke had everything ready to be mailed to the Liberian Embassy but didn't want to send the envelope until we had word from Tony. ... He was so excited! I sent him to the post office so he could get in the mail. I am fairly certain he was floating on cloud 9 most of the evening!

PRAISE: We sent our first envelope to Deer Creek Church with donations! It was awesome. Friends and family have been so gracious, we are excited to have them share in God's work. We are roughly 50% funded for Luke's trip that will begin one month from yesterday.

I am going out on a HUGE LIMB here and speaking from my heart. I have been wanting to share this for awhile on my blog but never felt the timing was right. It may be a point of anxiety for me, but I believe some things need to be shared in order for some extra prayers.

In the midst of everything good going for Luke our family (me especially) is experiencing some spiritual warfare. I spoke with our Pastor the other day and he agreed and gave me some resources. As some of you know I really haven't felt well for about 2 years. It is draining. I hate saying I don't feel well because I know people are tired of hearing it and I am SICK AND TIRED of FEELING SICK & TIRED......I have seen multiple specialists and the most recent is a hematologist/cancer specialist. I have been having blood drawn weekly for almost a year. For some reason I don't produce very many white blood cells and then my body can't fight off sickness. In September I had my lowest WBC and the lowest "infection fighter count" and it was the best I felt in months. The Dr. wanted to do a SECOND bone marrow biopsy and I refused. They are painful, they take weeks to heal from and above all they couldn't find anything wrong (even though I continue to have 2-3% abnormal lymph nodes).

Luke and I decided to go some alternative routes and met with a Chiropractor/Kinesiologist (Dr. R.) in Topeka. He didn't know all of my side effects but came to the conclusion I had "parasites." He indicated I have probably had them since I was kid. I don't know what kind because living in the central US facilities don't do enough testing to know what they are looking for. Regardless of what type of parasite, my treatment would be the same. He also indicated if I had them my entire family would more than likely have them. So we have been on a high protein/low carb diet since the beginning of November. The boys have done great even with such strict dietary regimen and just have a few more weeks to go before finishing treatment. FYI parasites LOVE sugar so we are trying to starve them and take supplements that inhibit their ability to digest sugar.

The bottom line is my body is TOXIC from the parasites waste. Their waste travels through your blood stream and they excrete amonia and other things harmful to humans. There is a strong correlation between parasites and cancer and fungus. That is a different blog for a different day.

However, this exhausting. My ability to work is limited because I don't know how I will feel. This last week my leg broke out in shingles which is another sign of a very compromised immune system ! Therefore, Luke and I decided to go get my second biopsy because of all the indications of a "pre-leukemia" or "lymphoma."

Luke told Pastor Dave the other day that his going on this trip depended on my biopsy results. I promptly told him he was going regardless of the test results. I won't go through typical cancer treatment anyway so one more month isn't going to hurt me.....BUT today is the day of the biopsy.......We are making the trek to Wichita in the snow, sleet and ice. Besides, Luke has an appt too with his cancer Dr so it is kind of 2 for 1 deal!

Praises: Look at the top. We have so much to be thankful for.

Prayer Requests: answers (whatever they may be), endurance, protection, for our boys as they are anxious because the last time Luke was gone that long he was in the hospital after having his lung removed last year, safe travels today and continued prayer and financial support.

Ephesians 6:13-17: Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.

Team Liberia

We will soon be announcing the blog for "Team Liberia 2010." VERY EXCITING!

Luke and I have been learning A LOT about international travel. Luke has been a champion planning ahead and getting his "to do" list taken care of. I am impressed since I tend to be a procrastinator and/or "work under the gun" kind of person....

PRAISE: We are about 12% supported for Luke's trip to Liberia. Luke was able to get his Yellow Fever shot and other mandatory vaccines yesterday (which was an issue on Monday). God is showing me sides of my husband that I have never seen before regarding his FAITH!

PRAYERS: Please pray for Luke as he is getting persecuted regarding his trip to Liberia from both friends and family. Emotionally this can be very trying. Please pray for endurance as my health continues to be like a roller coaster.