Tumor Is Shrinking

Today, Bethany had an MRI and chemotherapy. A long day for her. But, we received great news. Her tumor is continually shrinking. Here is a little bit of information for the picture above:

WE HAVE SHRINKAGE! The tumor shrank approximately another 4 mm. The tumor started out at 25mm. After the first 12 weeks, the MRI showed 11mm shrinkage. This time (another 12 weeks) it shrunk 4 more mm. On the photo: The one on the left is today, the next one over is the one from November and the one second from the right is last June when we discovered the tumor had grown. The tumor is the bright white spot on the bottom left.

Bethany just finished up week 25 of 70. So, she has a long way to go but this is fantastic news. We thank God for the continue presence in our lives. We thank him daily for the doctors, nurses, and medicine that enables this to occur.

Minnesota Snow

I took this picture on Sunday, December 9th, from the back of our church. We ended up cancelling services because of how bad the weather was in town. But, staff was hanging out at the building to let individuals who came out that our services were cancelled. This was our (my) first real MN snow and my phone captured the beauty.

2012: First Day of School

Jacob & Isaiah entering 8th grade

Bethany entering 4th grade

They are growing up before our eyes.

Tumors, Scoliosis, and Chemo ... What Gives

This post is going to be a little message to God ....
This post is going to be a little raw about my feelings
This post is going to be a little about not understanding
This post is going to be a little about what Bee's situation is doing to me

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To the left is a picture of my fighter - Bethany. This picture was taken by my wonderful wife on her first chemotherapy day. Each chemotherapy patient at the hospital receives a gift bag filled with multiple goodies. It is to help them begin their journey. For Bee, this journey is 70 weeks, but this is not her first fight.

God, I really have no clue what is going on and what is happening. I know that you are big enough to handle it; so I will tell you that THIS SUCKS and I have no clue why Bee has to go through this or any of the other children in this world. I mean, come on; have you truly strolled the halls of the Children's hospitals and truly looked into their eyes and see the hurt and pain in their eyes and their families eyes. Many of them are struggling and do not know what is going to happen. These are kids.

As, I look at Bee, we found out that she had tumors at a very young age and have continued to monitor her. For information sake, from the time she was one till now; we had 14 MRI's or so to monitor the situation. Thankfully, we received the "no change" message until recently. For me, all the no changes may have given me false hope that she was going to fly through this and everything as going to be "fine".

Of course, monitoring the tumors and keeping a close eye on that was not enough. She also had severe scoliosis and it kept getting worse and worse. So, at 7, yes, 7 she had to have growing rods in her back and had to limit her activity for a year; yup; just what every 7 year old wants to hear. But, she came through it and even has gone through 2 procedures of lengthening the rods.

But, then came the news that we dreaded. Yes, there had been a false hope but at the same time; knowing the words could eventually come and they came. There is a change and we believe that we need to start a 70 week chemotherapy treatment. Yikes.

God, maybe you did not realize, but I resigned from my ministry position and am not making much money stocking shelves; especially when we are paying $419 a month to keep her insured. However, to shift from her a bit and to my wife; my wife needs insurance as well and we cannot get it. So, Ii am in a midst of a job search; we have some promising leads, but with Bee beginning the treatment; this makes the journey even more adventurous.

So, Bee had the first chemotherapy session on Thursday and the first 36 hours were good. Then the side effects took place. God, I am sure you know how much Bee loves food and how much she loves the tradition of eating donuts on Saturday. She was in so much pain (jaw) that she could not eat. Then on Sunday, Grandma took her to the buffet (oh her love) and she could not eat; tears strolled down her face.

I definitely do not understand and comprehend why this is occurring. Why does a girl so young have to have tumors, scoliosis and be in a 70 week chemotherapy treatment program ?

I am a little jaded and numerous emotions run through my mind. It is extremely tough for me as her dad to go through this. I am sure ANY parent would say the same thing that watches their child struggle. If I am honest, I am also aching because she has the tumors, scoliosis and going through the treatment process because of NF. It is genetic disorder and I am the one that passed it on to her.

It was interesting and not by mistake (led by the Holy Spirit, I am sure) that the sermon we listened to on Sunday morning was from John 9. John 9 is about the blind man from birth. Disciples were arguing and Jesus answer is troubling - especially in some translations. Here are some of them:

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. (NIV)

“It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. (NASV)

Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. (KJV)

Looking at those, it could almost be read - may needs to be read (yikes) that this was part of God's plan to bring Glory to Him. Hmm, that is just odd to me and if I may be real blunt: God, that is warped to think that you may have purposely created people for that ??

I know that many do not like the message version but, I like it a little better and it is easier to swallow. Here is the Message:

Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?" ^3-5Jesus said, "You're asking the wrong question. You're looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over.

I can swallow this. Things happen. We do not need to research or debate things. Life occurs. However, within life, we can look at it through the lens of what God can do. I think this is precious. I fully believe that God has an amazing story. He has a story of restoration and redemption. We are part of this story.

I have no clue why Bethany is going through what she is going through. But, I can tell you that she is teaching me a lot. I can tell you that she is an amazing young girl with a tenacious spirit and she is willing and able to share her story. God will touch her, lead her and give her strength and she will share that. I will continue to scream that THIS IS NOT FAIR. But, I know deep down that God is with us and I know that we can see God working it miraculous ways. I can point to numerous things and go there is no way to explain what is happening; it has to be God.

In the next few days, weeks, or months, I may be receiving a job offer and that job offer  may not be in Indiana and we will be looking at being separated for the school year / treatment process. If we do that, I am sure many will not understand and maybe question us and that is okay. We are navigating these potholes as we come to them. There is no road map on how to do it. I am so thankful for friends and family members that have gave sacrilegiously for us to keep our head above water till we (I) have a job that can provide finances and insurance for my family.

David in Psalms 40 says the following

I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened. He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock

I think we are still in the mud, but are slowly being pulled out of the mud. I am looking forward to the solid rock and being hosed down and cleaned as we give thanks to God. To follow Bee's story / updates / leave comments / give financially; you can visit us here: Beating The Brain Tumor

8th Grade ... Here We Go

Yesterday, I took Isaiah and Jacob to preview day at their school. I cannot believe that it is now 8th grade. They saw old classmates, walked the halls, got their class scheduled, found their lockers and more.

Weight Loss: My Journey

In the summer of 2011 when I cam home from the summer trips, I jumped on the scale and saw 212#'s and I gasped. The 212#'s on my 5'9 body was really beginning to show and to take a toll on this almost 40 year old. I decided that I needed to do something but nothing drastic because I was in no mood to really get in shape, so I wanted to squeeze under the 200# mark.

Christmas of 2011, we were at my in-laws and my kids were doing Wii fit and playing games on the balancing board. My daughter asked me if I wanted to play and I said sure. I jumped on and because it was te Wii Fit, it asked if I wanted to create the character/program. My wight, 199#'s. I was happy, I was under 200. My daughter gasped though.

On the gasp and New Years resolution knocking, I decided to do something about my weight. Here is a picture of  me a few days ago with my boys at the pool.

My current weigh is 163#'s. I dropped the 36 pounds in three months and have remained the same weight the last two months. I only got on the scale at the end of the month - yes, just one weigh in a month. I was happy with the 14, 13, and 9 pound weigh loss to get me to 163.

I never had a goal weight. Instead it was more, let my body lose the weight and let my body choose where I am going to be stable and I think it will be around 165. Now, i love math and did some numbers and there is a small (very small) part of me that wants to lose 4 pounds. Not so much to squeeze under 160 and be at 159 but if I did go to 159, that would be a 53# weight loss or from a % standpoint - 25% of my body weight is gone - I would have lost 1/4 of myself.

I am not sure if I had a picture last summer of me with my shirt off, I was too much ashamed. At June, it will be 6 months. Maybe, I can take the approach the first 6 months was lose it and the next 6 months is build it. So, in July, I could start working out and building muscle ?? I will need help with that.

212 Never Again (I pray)

Free Ice Water --- NOW !!!

A few days ago, I was on a mission trip with our pre-teens. We joined four other churches and overall it was a grerat experience. Here is a picture of our team:



The group is not what I first expected. I thought that we would be taking 15-20 students from our 5-6 grade ministry. But, that did not happen. However, what did occur was that we took three families and having three families do a trip together was awesome.

Now, onto the free water.

On Wednesday, we decided to go and get some ice cream at the local place to get the best ice cream intown. When we went in to the store, we were the only ones there. We were ordering for us and we were also treating the 4 staff members back at the church, so we had 11 ice cream orders to fill. There was one teenage worker in the store and she did fantastic putting all 11 orders together. We decided to make life easy on her to put it all on one ticket. Honestly, I think it was the obvious church.

While we were in there, another church group came in. They all had their money out individually and was very apprehensive while we were in there. As soon as our oder was complete, we exited the store and went back to the church.

Thirty minutes later, I hear an adult minister complain about the teenager who was working the same store. He was upset because he wanted a free water and she would not give it to him (store policy). Now, I will also remind you that he was the one leading the group that was paying individually, he did not order a thing and they sold water bottles for .69 cents (I do believe). It was hot out and he could not believe they would not give out free water and he let her know about it.

As I listened to the story from a distance, my heart broke. A minister lamblasted a teenager for following store policy. I could not let it go. I went to worship time with my group and after the worship experience, I excused myself.

I went down to the ice cream store where she was still working and the store was still hopping. I waited in line and when it was my turn, I said to her:

Thank-you for serving us so graciously earlier. I heard about what happended after we left with the water, is it true. She confirmed. I said, I want to apologize on their behalf and for the trouble that they gave you, I want to give you a tip.

She was speechless and grateful.

I am amazed at times how rude we can be to others and it breaks my heart that it is fellow ministers who are the cause of pain at times; to me it is unexcuseable.

I did not spend time with her to hear her story because of how busy she was. I am not sure if she is a followe of Christ or not. But, I cannot imagine what her thoughts may be when she got a rude awakening from a minister.

Think before you speak and act ---- anytime. Not to mention when you are on a mission trip.

The New House

We have recently moved into a new town and a new house. We moved to Fishers where I currently serve at a local church. Below are four pictures of our new house:

The Front Lawn and House


Our Basketball Hoop / House from the Street


Our Side Yard: Swing / Patio


Inside Front Door

Steel Curtain

Here is my favorite piece of sports memorabilia, it is up for sale. Message me !!

Confirmation Sunday

This past Sunday (May 22nd), we had confirmation Sunday. We had a great group of students, peer guides, and adult leaders. Here is a picture of the confirmation class:



This year, I moved the confirmation service to the worship service and it went really well and the church seemed to appreciate the fact that we were there together.

Family Pictures

In late November (Thanksgiving Weekend), we went to the church to get photos taken for the church directory. We were not too thrilled to go because we have never really had luck with pictures. The company and individuals taking the pictures were really good though and the photo shoot was actually fun to do. Below are some of the photos and I am also actually using them as my sidebar pics. I am looking forward to the church directory and seeing everyone else pictures.

Isaiah



Jacob



Bethany



All Three Kids



Family Hug

Thanksgiving 2010

we went to Stacey's parents house for Thanksgiving. In the picture is my wife and 3 kids, Stacey's parents and Stacey brother and his his wife. It was a good time of relaxing and visiting and of course, a little food.

Vacation Pics

Here are a few pictures from our camping adventure:

Walking Through the Woods



Family Break On The Trail



Bee Silly-Stringed Me



Jacob and His Walking Stick



Isaiah Throwing Football At Our Tent Site



We had a great time !!

It Is Fall

I took a few photos of the house that we live in and the church that we serve at and you can tell that Fall is upon us. Some leaves are still green, some are turning colors and some are falling to the ground .....

Almost A Month

Well, it has been almost a month since I have posted here. i need to place my facebook statuses over here. Making a 140 charachter response via the phone is so much easier then logging on to a computer and putting thoughts down here.

It has been a very busy month as I have made the transition to the new church. things are going fantastic. In week 1, my focus was the Sr High Curriculum and we have that mapped out for the school year (Aug - May). The second week was dedicated to Confirmation. We are making some changes in the curriculum to hopefully create more of a flow while emphasizing the strengths of the existing program. In between the curriculum prep, I was meeting with various staff and ministry leaders. In week 3, I was in Puerto Rico with 18 students and 4 other adults. Here are a few pics:

Our group inside the rain forest



A few of the students at a roadside stand getting canapas - the love to eat them and to throw them



The beach a few blocks from the hotel we stayed at going in and out of the country



View from Old San Juan




One of our youth taking a break on the worksite when she found an animal friend.



While there, we participated in a local kids club, worked at a Salvation Army, helped at a Juvenile Retention Center, attended local church services and helped with a few work projects at a local school academy.

If I get my act together, more on the trip later.

Pics of the New Home

Here are some pics of the home. Someone else is currently living in the home. We will be redecorating and when we get it redecorated and moved in; we will put pictures up.

We are super-excited about the home.

Family Pic

We do not have many pics of us as a family unit; we (for whatever reason) do not hand a camera over to someone and say, "will you take a picture of all 5 of us" Well, here is one of all five of us and I LOVE IT. I think that it shows the personality of our kids, so wonderfully.

Jacob & Blood

In the soccer game Saturday, Jacob was trying to make a defensive stop. The offensive guy from Northwestern was about 6 feet away from him and gave a powerful kick. The ball connected on Jacob's face. A great defensive play, but Jacob was hoping for a chest block stop, not a face :) There are two pics below, one of the impring of his glasses and another of us at the house after the game with his blood stains. He was proud of the battle scars.

Imprint of the Glasses



Blood Stained Clothes


Btw, they lost 2-1 in a hard faught game.

It Is Us

The 5 of us at Hotel Indigo - April 2, 2010

Ice Cream in Columbus