Merry Christmas

Sarah is playing with her sisters this morning. I hope she does not crash like yesterday but it is still a blessing to see her have the strength to play around. Now we have the steroid attitude, but we will take that over sickness any day!

Sarah and Hannah wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas by watching a performance they were part of at our church last week. It starts at the 7 minute mark of the video.

God Bless and Merry Christmas, Jay

I Bring You Good News from Bent Tree on Vimeo.

Christmas Update

Thanks for your prayers for Sarah. The spinal tap went really smooth yesterday. Today has been hard for Sarah so please keep her in your prayers.

We hope that she feels better by Saturday so she can enjoy the Christmas weekend. This is the third year of battling this sickness and we are ready to have a normal Christmas. Two years ago she was sick in Hong Kong. We did not know it was Leukemia but she could not even sit up Christmas morning. Last year she was in the hospital with a mysterious virus. We left only a few days before Christmas. And this year we have a spinal tap a few days before Christmas and Sarah has stayed in her pajamas since returning home yesterday.

In all of this she is still so courageous. She still keeps her smile and somehow finds a way to be excited about everyone's presents. Tonight we were watching a movie and she looked at me and said, "Daddy, what did you do to mommy's stocking?" She could see it was filled today.

We try to remember that we celebrate the birth of a Savior who was totally inconvenienced by coming to earth to save us. His earthly parents had to live outside and Jesus was forced to be born in a stable. I am sure they wanted it easier, but God had other plans. We continue to want it easier, but does easier mean better?

I pray all of you have a Merry Christmas and continue to seek the King of Kings even in the hard times of life.

Turning 9!!

Tomorrow, the 14th, is Sarah's 9th Birthday! If you want to send Sarah a message you can email through the blog or send me or Anne an email.

When Sarah was diagnosed in January 2010, we were told of Sarah's two and a half years of treatment and the thought of Sarah being 9 when she finished seemed so far away. Through God's grace and mercy, we've made it to the point that seemed unreachable two years ago.

We still have until January 2015 before the doctors use the word "cured", but it is a blessing to know Sarah only has three more months of chemo. She was supposed to have a back procedure tomorrow, but her doctors were really good to allow her to postpone it a week. A back procedure on your birthday is not fun. :)

Please continue to keep Sarah in your prayers. Her back procedure is on the 21st at 8 am. Also, over the last few weeks Sarah has noticed her hair falling out. We are told this will not be like before when she went completely bald, but it does make Sarah nervous. So keep that in your prayers also.

Thank you for sharing the journey with us. Over the last few months, Anne and I hit a wall with writing on the blog, but we pray we are able to finish strong as we start 2012 and looking to the end of chemo on March 26th, 2012.
In the next couple of weeks, we will send you an update on potential plans for 2012 and beyond.

Blessings, Jay