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Friday, January 31, 2014

Joey

the first day we took Odin and Jonah with to Dave's radiation
they had no idea what to expect
we walked through the second set of doors past the first waiting room and into the next 
right by the lockers where you get undressed and wait for the nurse to come get you
very small little corner with a few magazines and such
the boys read and I prayed 
 Dave went with a nurse to go over side effects 
such awesome loving nurses
I was praying about what I can do to help and be a giver in this situation
how can we thank the nurses and Dr.s for all they do
that was pretty easy
baked goods every week a couple times a week


A  young dad and his son walked up and plopped their bag of clothes down and sat right next to us
we started chit chatting 
I could tell the cute little boy had cancer and my heart melted
as we talked my eyes filled with tears
Joey had cancer in his brain and in his spine
he's in 4th grade 
he loves Lego's and the Packers 
his favorite number is 22 and he loves crafts with his Grandma
his joyful spirit radiated from him
he had 10 weeks of radiation and 2 weeks left to go
ending on his 10th birthday
the day after Jonah's
the kiddos had fun talking and listening to him
they were believers and we talked about praying for each other and keeping in touch
the boys were so excited 
they wanted his address so they could be pen pals
my boys love pen pals
like the good old fashioned hand written letters
not this computer stuff
they  were excited to be able to put a birthday package together for him
and we actually got to see him on his last day
he was at the hospital seeing another Dr.
you see they usually come at 4 for radiation
they came that day early because of the snow storm
it's amazing who God puts in our place at just the right time
we walked away and exchanged emails, address's, hugs and prayers of good health
 giving thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

*pray for Dave to stop puking and the nausea to be gone

thank you for your continued love and support

 

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Happy 9th Birthday Jonah

Time has gone fast
trying to enjoy every minute of it
you will always be a miracle baby to us
can't wait to see what God's plan is for you
we love you so much!












you and Olivia will always be irish twins


I can't believe we let you have long hair...



















thank you all for the awesome gifts, well wishes and cards
we all had a great day..

Monday, January 27, 2014

on to radiation week 3

Dave is in week 3 of his radiation treatments. 
his side effects are starting to get worse but they told us this from the start so at least we knew what to expect

fatigue, sore jaw, dry mouth, lots of mucus, loss of taste, some hair loss , and a bad sore throat
 
good news is that he is almost half way through his treatments and his weight has been stable now for 2 weeks
we hope to keep the weight loss to a minimum and avoid a feeding tube
he is still able to eat some solids but that changes every day
we have stocked up on Ensure and my homemade smoothies to keep him strong

the first two weeks Dave worked half days but now he is taking off
he will be able to do some work from home but it was getting too much for him to go in everyday and then go to treatments in the afternoon

Overall he is doing well and still in good spirits but it is definitely hard for him
we are blown away by all the support we have received
 all the cards, prayers, letters, shoveling our driveway, snow blowing our walks, emails, awesome meals and donations to help with bills
we are so blessed by all the love and support
 all the kiddos have been healthy the last few days so we are praising the Lord and thanking you all for your prayers and all of those who reached out to help
we couldn't do this without you
we love you dearly

*keep praying for minimal side effects

 Psalm 18: I love you Lord; you are my strength.

Some of you asked about meals so I added the link on the right
just click on it 
thanks again!

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Say a prayer.....
 
first it was the strep bug and now it is the flu bug
it has hit Gabe first, then Jeremiah, me and Odin
I have never done so much laundry in one day
Gabe was up all night the other night
non stop puking
I think he threw up on every corner of every pillow and blanket in the house
 It seems to be lasting only 24 hours
praying that Dave does not get it
thank goodness for Grandma Mimi here to watch the kiddos and help
thank you also for the last few meals Jenny and Cheri
It was perfect timing
thank you for your continued prayers and love

Thursday, January 23, 2014

homeschooling these past weeks
(way behind on these posts)
Odin is studying about David and Goliath
he had to make a slingshot out of twine and felt
he realized now he could braid Olivia's hair if she ever needed help 

Odin also had to make this game 
called 20 squares
a frequent game that was played in Jerusalem



Odin made blueberry muffins and some shortbread cookies the other day
did the whole thing by himself and did great
they are getting this cooking thing down pretty good



for Geography he made a play dough map of Israel and named all the cities


Odin is teaching Gabe how to play with the LEGOS without eating them




they both made King Nebuchadnezzar to eat but we kind of overcooked him



They both just read John Audubon's book
and are learning a lot about birds
all the different kinds, what they eat and how their beaks work
They had to catch popcorn(that I so gladly threw at them) with all sorts of different kinds of things
tweezers, tongs, envelopes...you name it
needless to say they never caught one


Papa Paul 
Gabe got into your chocolate goodies you gave us and dumped the whole container out
needless to say he was in heaven  and ate a few before  I could jump in



thank you for all the continued prayers and support

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

beautiful things
this little guy constantly dumping all the toy containers out
 

Jonah teaching Jeremiah and Gabe how to type


Odin's chubby cheeks



kids that love to read to each other


painting with my fan club





their imaginations



schooling with this little man


we are picking up Grandma Mimi today
so excited for our visit and an extra set of hands

love wins


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