Our Story: June 2010

June 30, 2010

Yucky Virus

The blog update will have to wait a couple more days. Unfortunately, both of our girls came home from church camp with a nasty virus. Took both to the dr last Thursday and then took Reagon to the ER till almost midnight on Monday night. Fever/neck pain/stiff neck/back pain/headache/cough and wheezing. Nasty stuff. Thank you Jesus that Jed hasn't even had a sniffle....he is still going strong! I can't even begin to tell you how much Clorox and Lysol this house has seen in the last week! lol

Please pray for Jed. Today is chemo day. My mom is coming up to help with the girls while we are gone to the hospital. Pray that they are better fast and that Jed will NOT get it!!

June 22, 2010

Child of the Most High God

Hello Prayer Team!

We are still celebrating!!!! I have been blown away at the number of emails I have received about Jed's scans! Thank you all so much!

I think I have experienced every single emotion known to man in the last two weeks. From heartbreak to joy unspeakable and back again!

As I was getting ready to post this week, I loaded my most recent pictures from my camera onto my computer. It looks like my sweet middle child Kendall Elizabeth took some pictures one afternoon while I wasn't paying attention. When I came across this picture, all the emotions from this day came flooding back to me. I had just finished a weekend with some of the families from the recent flooding tragedy in our area and while on my way home, I received a phone call that Jed's precious little friend Sam had gone to be with the Lord. It was a Sunday afternoon and I remember sitting in our back yard porch swing with a sleepy little boy and praying for what felt like hours. I am so thankful that God allows us to speak to him. No veil to seperate us from our Creator. We have a direct line to the Almighty God and boy, have I been using it! Isn't it amazing to think that at any time, any place, we can come before God in the holy of holies and He hears our cries.

Summer has arrived here in Arkansas and is it ever HOT!!!! Right now, I am doing my very very best to enjoy every single minute with my kids and family. The girls are out of school and Jedidiah is so excited to have them home with us. Both girls have busy schedules with basketball camps and church camps but when they are home, Jed is right beside them.

One afternoon while Josh and Reagon were at ball practice, Kendall announced that she was hosting a "Jed parade" in the back yard. She had some cute games set up and a face painting station. It was so cute and Jed loved it!

Jed asked for a deer hunter, a dog and a rabbit. If you look close, she actually did a good job!

Love this shirt from one of my blog readers! Thank you!!!

Kendall and Jed play so well together. They spend all day playing games and reading books and of course, Biscuit is right in the middle of the action! (Morgan, I'm sure this is not what you and Ms Sondra intended when you gave Jed the cute duck bag but it makes the perfect pet carrier!!)

Josh and I ate at K&J restaurant last week. On the menu: hotdogs and macaroni! YUMMM! Compliments to the chef!

I told Kendall she should rename her restaurant "The Naked Chef!" LOL

While in Branson a few weeks ago, Josh and I took the girls to the Noah Musical. Since Jed can't be around many people, he stayed at the cabin with Nana and had to miss the show. Kendall decided to recreate it for him one night last week. We received some very cute bible books with cds a few weeks ago from friends so Kendall found the Noah and Moses cd and books. She hooked up her cd player in the foyer, wrote out tickets for Jed and Biscuit, turned off the lights and put on her own show. It was precious and Jed stayed as still as can be during the entire production!

(During her show, the lights were out and she used her flashlight to show Jed the pictures in the book while the cd played the story! So cute!)

This past week before scans, we held another prayer circle in our yard for Jedidiah. We had another big crowd in our yard and even more prayed in agreement with us in their own homes. We are so very thankful for all the prayers and support. We feel so blessed to have each of you in our lives!

I love the next two pictures. They speak volumes to me and are both very powerful.

A father with his hand held high, thanking God for the healing of his son!!!!

A community of believers, gathered together for one special little boy, asking God to keep His protecting hand on him and thanking Him for all He has already done!!

Wednesday was a very emotional day for us but we were surrounded by family and covered in prayer. My parents, Josh's parents and GG came with us for the long day of scans. We were thankful to have them with us.

Jed and Nana during Play Hour

For all of you Razorback fans......right before our scans, we ran into Keith Jackson in the hall. He is a former football player, a radio broadcaster, and most importantly a christian man. Wow...Josh looks like a kid next to him! =)

I know you all know this already but I don't get tired of saying it......Jed's scans came back CLEAR of new tumors! We have been rejoicing day and night!!!!

Jed is starting to act more like he did before he started chemo. He is so funny and has such a sweet personality. One morning this week while I was showering, he was on his little step stool brushing his teeth. He kept saying "Oh yeah, I can see sooooooo good!"...."I can see perfect"...."I'm doing a good job brushing my teeth and I can see my teeth shining bright!". When I got out of the shower, I didn't notice anything out of place.

Then I looked at his face!!!! He was brushing his teeth with my contacts sitting on his face!!!!! I couldn't stop laughing!!!

Saturday night before Fathers Day, we visited my sister 's new home. We celebrated Fathers Day with my dad. Jed had fun fishing out of Uncle Jerry's pond.

Sunday morning, I was up early getting our girls ready for church camp. I have so many memories of church camp and would give anything to go back and see all of my church camp friends again.

I'm one of the weird people who actually like packing for camp. I print out my little lists and open empty suitcases and get busy! Josh and the girls were at church and Jed was napping so it was easy to get everything together and ready for a fun filled week!

I pack all of Kendall's daily outfits in a labeled gallon ziplock bag. All she has to do is get of the shower and grab a bag. It has everything she needs, including hair accessories! I would do it for Reagon too if she would let me but that might embarrass a teenager!!! LOL

After Jed's nap, we started our Sunday school class. We studied on God the Father and Jesus the Son of God. He colored his lesson pages and we read our story and then he made Josh a Fathers Day card.

My children are so blessed to have a Godly father leading our home. I pray every single night that my girls will marry someone like Josh. I also pray that Jedidiah will follow in the footsteps of his father and treat his wife the same way his Daddy treats me. If he does, she will be a blessed woman.

After church, the girls ate a quick bite of lunch and then we were off to church camp. In case you are wondering, church camp is 3 miles from our house!!! LOL No long road trips! The camp is fun and I am one of the girls counselors. We have a great time although we get VERY LITTLE sleep! Jed had a blast last year...a little two year old, running from bunk to bunk and being spoiled rotten by all my camp girls. We sure miss him this year. I remind all my girls that he will be back in full force next year! I go to camp around 7pm each night and stay till around 8am the following morning.

I got tickled when I noticed what Kendall was wearing! Reagon was probably not too amused since they looked like twins!!! lol I had to laugh at this picture, Jed was wanting to go with us and would NOT get his picture made with the girls.

Please be in prayer for our church camp girls. Our nightly devotion time before lights out is my favorite time of the day. The girls really pour their heart out. I pray that each one of them will have a deep love for the Lord and will be used to build His kingdom.

And pray for me!!! With over 30 girls in one cabin and lots of chocolate and caffeine, we are lucky to get a couple good hours of sleep each night!!!! =)

Jed and his Daddy are having all kinds of fun without us girls! I think they are getting used to having a big king size bed to sleep in, John Wayne on the tv at all times and ice cream for supper! They may not want us to come home anytime soon!

And because Josh thought Jed needed another puppy, meet Gravy.

Don't laugh. He called the poor dog "milk carton" and "curtain" for a while!

Doesn't this look like a happy boy!

I want to thank each and every one of you who come to my blog each week and pray for our sweet Jedidiah. I know that God has big plans for his life and for our family. We have, with your support and prayers, finished 10 rounds of chemo! We meet with our doctor tomorrow to go over the next set of treatment plans. Because the tumor did not grow back and they did not find any more tumors in his body, the plan is for Jed to receive 14 more chemo treatments. We will have full body scans again in 12 more weeks to make sure this second set of chemo drugs continue to keep the cancer away. Until then, we are enjoying our son and thanking God for blessing us with good news!

I would like to ask each of you to remember Sam's family in your prayers. Our hearts are so heavy but we know that Sam is no longer in pain and he is enjoying the presence of our Lord!

Please pray for Jed's roomate buddy Jonathan. He had his MRI yesterday and the results will be in today. I am so anxious to hear from his mom. Pray that his brain tumor is shrinking. Hey...we serve a great big God...PRAY that his brain tumor is GONE!!!!

It is with great sadness that I ask you to pray for little Adrianna. She is 4 years old and such a joy. During our last overnight chemo, she rode her little pink trike into our room to say HI to Jed and Leikyn. After Jed's scans this week, he stayed with his grandparents while Josh and I went to visit Adrianna in her room. Unfortunately, she had taken a horrible turn for the worse. We prayed with her and pleaded with God to show mercy on this sweet little girl. I hugged her Mom and could barely stand it as they took Adrianna for her MRI. The results came back with devestating news and little Adrianna is now at home enjoying her family before the Lord takes her to her final home.

I have been asked the question time and time again over the last few weeks "How can a loving God allow this to happen to children?"

The answer is "I dont know"

But what I do know is God loves us and His ways are perfect!

No matter what happens in this world full of sin, God still loves us! He loved us enough to die to take the penalty for our sins and if we receive Jesus Christ as Savior (and I pray that we all do!!!), we will be forgiven and promised an eternal home in heaven.

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."Isaiah 55:9

I don't understand why Charlie had to leave his family. I don't understand why Hannah didn't have the chance to go to college and get married. I don't understand why Sam didn't get the chance to make new friends at kindergarden. I don't understand why little Adrianna's family is preparing to say goodbye to her. But I do know that God is in complete control. He is good and merciful. I simply don't understand but I do TRUST. Sometimes when it seems like I just can't take anymore heartache, that is when I go to God and rest in His presence and promises. His strength is made perfect in my weakness.

In devotion last night at camp, I talked to the girls about the importance of having Jesus in their life. I told them as I looked at all 30+ of them that I had no idea what was going to happen in their life but I did know that each of them would experience heartache at some point and I can't imagine going through the trials of this life without Jesus. We read scriptures and talked about God's promises of never leaving us nor forsaking us. I assured them that no matter what happens in our lives, even in the midst of pain, God promises to be with us. He is our fourth man in the fire.

Thank you all again for being our faithful prayer warriors. Jed's counts have been super low but we have been blessed with fever free days. Please pray that we will continue to stay germ free during the coming weeks.

June 17, 2010

Clear Scans!!!!

Jed's scans are complete and the report is in! Jed's doctor called to tell us they found NO NEW TUMORS!!!! We are sooooooo happy!

We have 14 more chemo treatments to go before the big party!!!!

Thank you all SO MUCH for covering us in prayer!!! Jed has such a wonderful group of prayer warriors!

Another blog post coming tomorrow......I would love to do it today but we have no clean underwear and I have bills stacked to the ceiling and our electricity could shut off at any moment if I don't start sorting through my paperwork piles!!!! =) lol

Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value then they? Matt 6:26

June 14, 2010

Heartache and Heaven

http://wildfire.gigya.com/facebook/preview.aspx?fb_sig_api_key=f7667e9ebccf2157d6f15f991a5e3ce9&wid=345220111&p=bHQ9MTI3NjM1OTI5MTgzOCZwdD%2AxMjc2MzU5NTU2MTg%2AJnA9MTI1ODQxMSZkPUFCQ%2A5ld3NfU%2AZQX%2AxvY2tlX%2AVtYmVkJm49ZmFjZWJvb2smZz%2AyJm89MDkzNGRiMDBjYjI2NGI4MThkODIyMjAyYjczOWI5ZGMmb2Y9MA%3D%3D&s=1

In this clip from ABC's Good Morning America you can see many of my friends, my sister and my husband, Josh.

Heartache and Heaven. The only two words I can think of to describe the last few days. Our community has experienced such loss and tragedy.

I could write pages on this blog and tell you of the stories I have heard. Firsthand. Stories from a mother who lost her husband and all of her young children. She talked and I held her hand and listened. No words could be said. Just heartbreak.

I have witnessed God in the middle of the suffering. When I feel able to share these precious stories, I will post them here.

Please continue to pray for the families as they make their way homes today and prepare to bury their loved ones.

Please be in prayer for us. Wednesday is such an important day. Jed's big scans will take place around 1pm and 3pm. We are praying for God's mercy once again.

In the clip, my husband Josh (purple hat/dark blonde beard) is ministering to a man who lost several family members including his grandchildren. (He is shown right after a woman in an orange shirt who lost two family members, a 23 year old mother and her 3 year old son.)

June 11, 2010

Please pray for our area! Flooding Tragedy

http://www.weather.com/outlook/videos/twelve-dead-after-campground-floods-17543#17543

http://arkansasmatters.com/fulltext?nxd_id=321545

The death toll in our area has risen to 14 with so many more missing. My heart is just breaking. My Dad is a first responder and he has been out since 4am helping with the rescue efforts. Our family has a cabin that sits right along this river. I have so many childhood memories of this river and my kids love camping here.

Please be praying for the families and the rescue teams.

Thanks,

Lori

June 10, 2010

Our Hope is in You

Thank you to all of you who have emailed wondering why I haven't updated. Jed is doing good, we have been a busy family! The girls are active in basketball and softball so our evenings are spent heating up the roads for practices.

Jed went in last Wednesday for his BIG chemo. Unfortunately, this chemo was a bit rough on him and we ended up having to stay two nights.

Wednesday morning at clinic, he was weighed and measured and his port was accessed and then the WAIT began.

It was really one of the hardest days in clinic so far. As we were pulling up to the hospital, I noticed one of our dear friends walking out to his car. I knew immediately something was wrong because their next appt was not supposed to be until the 16th. (Yes, somehow I keep up with everyone else's appts too.) As we made our way to the clinic doors, I met Christopher's mother in tears and she just hugged me the minute we made it to the door. She said the drs had found something on Christopher's last ct scan and although they were hoping it was just scar tissue from his surgery, they couldn't be sure so they were scheduling more tests. I was scared for her but thankful we could be there to pray with them. (Christopher is the sweet boy who had his leg amputated a few months ago. He is such a sweet heart. He just got back from his MakeAWish trip 6 weeks ago). Christopher was not aware of the finding on the ct scan so we were trying to keep it quiet. That broke my heart since he was feeling so good, he had gained some weight and his hair was growing back nice and dark. He and Jed were having a good time playing in the waiting area. He was called back to meet with the doctors and a few hours later they emerged with heartbreak on their faces. The cancer is back and it has spread to his kidneys. His surgery is today so please be praying for them. They are dear friends of ours and just 6 short weeks ago they celebrated their "no more chemo" party. His remission was so short.

Just a few minutes later in the same waiting room another heart was broken. Charlie, a 18 year old football sized teenager was getting ready to fly to St Louis with his grandparents (they raise him, his dad is in the military) but he had to come in to clinic due to vomiting. His grandpa was talking about how excited they were to go to St Louis on Monday for his stem cell transplant, how thankful they were for their chemos to finally be finished after two long years and how they were finally at the end of the road with a long future ahead of them free of cancer. He told me that Charlie's dad was able to take leave from the military and was flying down to meet them for the transplant and Charlie's older brother by only 1 year was the donor. During our conversation, he was called back and a couple hours passed. When he walked back into the room, his face told the story we all didn't want to know. Charlie's cancer was back.

As if that couldn't be enough, TWO more families experienced the same stories that day. One sweet girl has celebrated 9 months cancer free only to find out that day the cancer was back and spread. Her beautiful brown hair had grown so long in those short 9 months. She asked the nurses to shave it off for her.

I was nearing a breakdown again so we asked the nurses if we could take Jed to get a bite to eat in the cafeteria.

He ate like a grown man! He kept wanting more corn and we were getting tickled watching him eat it! =)

Play hour opened up so he and a volunteer played farm animals with him while I tried to gather my thoughts and keep my emotions in check.

We were finally checked in for the night and Jedidiah thankfully slept great.

He would wake up to watch a movie or play a game and then he would be right back to sleep.

We shared a room again so Josh did his best to sleep in the little chair next to the bed and I sleep with Jed.

The next day was yucky! Jed had a sick stomach all day and the meds just couldn't stop the vomiting so Dr Stine wanted to keep Jed another night. He finally started feeling better that evening and was able to go to play hour again. I love this picture of Jed and Tyler playing the Wii. It was hilarious and the volunteer kept laughing at Jed. He would say "Sorry, Loooossaa (loser) every time he would beat Tyler!

Although we didn't want to stay another night, we did get to see one of our favorite nurses! Her brother dates a sweet girl from our church and she is one of our biggest prayer warriors. It's always good to see her and Jed just loves her.

We shared a room with this precious little girl. Leikyn is 18 months old and the sweetest little doll! She loved Jed and the two of them chatted back and forth across the room. We finally put them together and they were as happy as can be.

Leikyn kept laying her head on Jed and it would embarrass him to death!!!! LOL

The more she hugged, the more embarrassed he would get. Finally, he just said out loud "WHATEVER!!" and closed his eyes. He would NOT open them at all. We just couldn't quit laughing. He was so embarrassed.

Thursday night, Jedidiah and Leikyn were sleeping so I decided to go over to ICU to visit our sweet friend Sam. I thought I was prepared and prayed up for this visit, but it really hit me hard. After signing the visitor's papers, I was able to go back to see Sam and his family. Linda (his mother) and I hugged and cried. I wanted to offer words of encouragement and pray with them for Sam but I could barely stop crying and sure didn't have words. After several minutes with Sam's parents and the nurses, I realized it would be the last time I would get to see this sweet little boy. Before leaving, I laid my hands on Sam to pray but not a single word came out of my mouth. My heart hurt so bad I thought it would bust but somehow I knew the Lord was hearing my cries from deep within my heart.

It took several hours and lots of words from my husband to finally calm my nerves.

The next afternoon, Jed received a 4 hour blood transfusion and he felt and looked so much better. Finally, the discharge papers came around to be signed. I was so torn. I was anxious to leave and go home but sad that so many were staying behind.

Every time Jed gets a big chemo treatment, he is given $10 for the gift shop. He couldn't wait to pick out his prize although Josh thought the bat and ball set might not be a good idea. Especially during a long drive home! Lol

The church in our community where Josh grew up, hosted a benefit fish fry for Jed. He wasn't able to attend since he was still vomiting but Ms Lisa took him to the church (1/4 mile from our house) and snapped this sweet picture. I honestly don't know what we would do without all the loving support we have received. We have witnessed families who have lost their jobs, had cars repossessed and have to scrape to get gas money for dr visits. Our financial burden has been lifted by so many people and we are forever grateful. I can't imagine having to worry about our child and worry about bills.

Sunday morning during our Sunday school lesson, Jed won the prize for the most questions answered. Biscuit didn't pay attention because the score was 6-0! Jed was the clear winner! LOL His prize was a set of bible match cards and he LOVES them! I will say something like "who was in the lions den?" and he will answer "Daniel!"...then he finds Daniel and his match for a point. Yes, we make our own rules!!! =)

This week's Sunday school craft was painting! I set up a table and chairs on the front porch before it got too hot and Jed painted a beautiful flower pot.

He really misses church and our church family. As you can imagine, as the preacher's son, he was a bit spoiled! I will be so thankful when we are back in church. I can't wait to hear Jed sing his specials again!

On Tuesday evening, as I was on my way home from Kendall's softball practice, my cell phone rang. It was Sam's dad. As I drove, he began to tell me about Sam's condition and after a couple of minutes, I pulled over to talk. He proceeded to tell me how grateful he was to know us and how much they were praying for Jed. They were told just 9 short months ago when Sam was diagnosed that his cancer was 90% curable but it appeared that God's plan was for Sam to be a part of the 10%. As I wept, he was full of encouraging words and I felt so terrible. I wanted to be the one uplifting him as he prepared to say goodbye to his sweet 4 year old son, but God was using him to minister to me. Through tear filled eyes, I didn't realize that someone had pulled up behind my car. The lady in the car behind me proceeded to honk her horn and through the rear view mirror I could see her ranting and throwing her hands up in the air. Let me tell you, the Lord was in full control of that situation because if he had not been, I would have slammed my car in park and given that lady an ear full! Thank you Lord for keeping me inside that car! I still get shaking mad just thinking about it.

The Lord is really working on me...and thank goodness, because I would have hated to hear what I would have told that woman if He wasn't! LOL I have always had a compassionate heart but in the last couple of weeks, I have started to see people differently. When I get behind some old man or woman on the highway driving 25 in a 55, I would normally mumble something like "drive or get off the road" but now I begin to wonder. Could they have just left the nursing home visiting their husband or wife? Or when someone passes me going 80, instead of yelling "crazy driver!!", I picture my dad trying to get to our house the day he found out about Jed. I'm sure he broke the speed limit. Being at a children's hospital for the last 3 months, it is nothing unusual to ride the elevator with someone crying. Or see someone break down while eating lunch. Those same people will eventually leave the hospital. We never know what is going on in the lives of others around us. The lady at the bank, the man at the post office, the girl behind the counter in McDonalds. I pray that I will be more sensitive to those around me.

Thursday morning I was able to talk to Sam's dad again. The nurses and doctors were preparing Sam to go home for his final days. At noon today, I talked with them and our little Sam is being loved on and enjoyed by his family every single minute of the day. They have even gathered blow up mattresses so they can all sleep together in their living room. His dad told me that every single second is a blessing. He also said that every night Sam's teenage sister will pray and pray over his body begging for a miracle. God bless that sweet little girl for clinging to hope! It made me think of the story of Lazarus. His sisters sent for Jesus with this message "Lord, the one you love is sick." Lord, the one YOU love is sick. Not just the one we love, but the one YOU love. Our sweet Sam is sick. And just like Lazarus, if you want Lord, you can make him whole.....and what an enormous testimony it will be! Could you all pray without ceasing for this family and for Sam?

No matter what we are going through, no matter what circumstances we face, our God promises to walk with us in the fire. Josh sings a song that I dearly love "He never promised that the cross would not get heavy or the hill would not be hard to climb, He never offered our victories without fighting but He said help would always come in time!"

No matter what, God promises to be the fourth man in the fire with us.

This week we received a very unexpected call. Our dear Charlie is no longer fighting cancer but is walking with the Lord. He has now been eternally healed and leukemia is no longer harming his body. This family was in clinic with us since day one. We were introduced to them on our very first appt to meet Dr Stine and learn of Jed's cancer. I am already upset about walking into the clinic Wednesday and not seeing them there. I ask all of you to please storm heaven asking for mercy and grace to pour down on this family.

God, we thank you for all the fiery trials you have already brought us through. We know that YOU love US with an everlasting love. Thank you that you will always be in the fire with us. That you will never leave us or forsake us. We are grateful that you are the same today, tomorrow and forever. You will never change! We know that you are a merciful God and we are resting in your promises. God, we put all our HOPE in you!!!

Josh and I were looking at old photos a couple nights ago and we found this picture from just 5 1/2 short months ago. Who would have known then, that these two precious first cousins would fight cancer together. You better believe, I am planning ONE MAJOR CANCER FREE party for these two. I don't know when it will be, but I can't wait to host it.

I would like to ask each of you to please begin praying for our scans on Wednesday (june 16). I am already so anxious but know that we are blanketed with prayers. We are praying and BELIEVING that these scans will be as clear with no sign of cancer.

I don't even have the words to thank each of you for praying for us.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12