August 9, 2004

Good morning, it’s 5:00 am and I can’t sleep. Tammy and the boys are sawing logs right now. The past week seems to have been very stressful even though Michael got a 4 day break from his radiation treatments. He is doing very well physically. His neck is very burnt and is peeling like a severe sunburn but with lots of Aloe Vera, he is taking it well. The doctor was concerned about damage to his eyes from all of the radiation so she gave him a break and started him on an antibiotic cream to hopefully prevent damage to the tear ducts and glands. So far, so good. No sores to report in his mouth or throat area but still lots of thick mucus that causes him to spit and gag quite a bit. He gets very frustrated with it but knows that will be ending soon when the radiation is through. Emotions appear to be the major portion of the battle right now. Not sure if it’s the stress of the daily schedule or knowing that we are in the heat of the battle or just feeling like life isn’t fair right now, but we do know that God is still in control. We know that God is big enough to take care of every situation, however sometimes the best release is just to sit down and cry, individually and together. There is no doubt that God has chosen to allow us to go through this trial to bring us closer to Him. We can feel and know that is taking place already. It’s sorta like growing roses, there is a lot of painful pruning, trimming and training to produce the flower, but the beauty of the flower that is produced is unmatched. Yes, God is in control, but we still are given the choice to either be in His will or be in His way. We are continuing to try to be in His will. Michael goes back to radiation this morning at 9:30 am for treatment number 22 of 28. Then we will go next door for blood work to determine counts before starting his big chemo treatment. Today’s chemo requires the overnight stay in the hospital. Last time he did very well with minimal sickness and we are expecting the same results this time. We’ll be home by Tuesday afternoon. All of the radiation should be finished on Aug 17th, however he could still experience some side effects for 1-2 weeks after that. We are praying that by Labor Day we’ll be looking back at the valley we called radiation. Justin is doing very well with all of this. It’s been hard for him to watch his little brother go through this but he is very strong. He knows that God will take care of us and is confident in God’s abilities. He gets up every morning and feeds the goats, calves, dogs and chickens. Twice a day he makes sure they all have fresh water and collects the eggs and much more. We are very proud of his commitment to encouraging and helping Michael get through this. Justin is a very special gift that God has blessed us with. Please continue to pray that things will go well. This definitely is not the way we would have chosen to spend the summer and the next 10 months but it’s for a purpose. We are learning a lot about ministry through this. You really don’t understand what people need and how to minister to them until you’ve gone through a situation like this. We have found there is a lot more that is needed than just raising money for bills. Sometimes it’s sending a card, a phone call, bringing snacks, cutting the grass, tilling the garden, playing Uno on the rainy days, stopping by to just watch the clouds together or delivering a banana split that you really don’t need. Every day is a gift from God, we can choose to make the most of it by being a blessing to someone or waste it. The day belongs to God, the choice belongs to us.Thank you to everyone that is praying for Michael and our family. It’s working. Please help us pray for Gene Brown, (medical), Uncle Timmy (medical), Grandpa Pat (medical), Uncle Denny (medical), Pat Kirkpatrick (medical) and Myra’s mother (medical). We believe....