It may not feel like Spring outside yet (though I am very, very thankful for a couple days of sunshine this past week), but I can't cover Stella's arms and legs anymore. They have been hidden for far too long. Bring on the heat. I told my mom today that if I hear anyone complain about the heat this summer I am going to tape their mouth shut. Benjamin heard me say that and told me that is not very nice. Ha ha.

Stella spends lots of time watching Benjamin shoot hoops. She is always so happy when he lets her have the ball for a little while.

Egg Hunt

A friend here had a big egg hunt on Saturday for any families that were around for Easter. Benjamin had baseball practice but I took the other three and had a great time. I was kneeling on the ground near this bin holding Stella and she hyperventilated and squirmed around until I finally just sat her in the tub. She was happy there for the rest of the event.

Surgery

We met with the surgeon yesterday and really liked him. He was kind and seems well seasoned in this particular surgery. My thyroidectomy is scheduled for Friday, May 6th at noon. Thanks for your prayers for great peace as we wait, for a successful surgery, for not a single cancerous cell to be found in any of the lymph nodes, for quick healing (4 little kids wanting to hug my neck makes me a little nervous), and most importantly for God to be glorified in all of this. As long as I have praise music playing, I am able to fix my eyes on Christ and rest in His love. I struggle at night with all the 'what ifs'.

We are blessed and overwhelmed by the prayers being said on our behalf. He hears them and His Spirit continues to cover us with joy and hope. Some people at our church had a beautiful time of prayer over me on Sunday morning. Every hair on my body stood up. He goes before us and behind us.

"Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory." Romans 8:14-17

And so I don't forget, one funny moment and one sweet moment of the past week:

My eyes were pouring tears after I got off the phone with the endocrinologist's office last Thursday. I knew what 'abnormal' results meant. Benjamin asked why I was crying. I said, "I'm just a little scared." Sam tilted his head to the side (his classic position before he says something endearing), and said in a tender little voice, "You're not scary, mama." Thanks buddy.

Benjamin's prayer over me a few nights ago as I tucked him in: "God, thank you for my mama. Thank you that she is my greatest mama. Please take out all the bad things in her neck and keep her neck safe. Give her courage. Help her to be strong in the Lord. Amen."

Love. them.

The C word

Bekah and I have been given some troubling news that I feel the need to share with you. A few weeks back, Bekah had been in to see a Dr. about regular colon screenings (she has a genetic mutation that predisposes her to colon cancer). At this appt. the nurse practitioner felt some bumps in her neck. A day later she had an ultrasound, which found some nodules on her thyroid. Nodules on the thyroid apparently are quite common and roughly 90% are benign.

However, to be safe we scheduled a biopsy with an endocrinologist on Monday. She survived getting poked about a dozen times in the neck with a needle and then we waited. Thursday morning we had a call to come back to the doctor, because of abnormalities in the results.

Bekah has capillary carcinoma (thyroid cancer). Obviously, we are shocked and somewhat devasted. Cancer holds a lot of emotional weight and baggage in Bekah's past, so this is quite a blow to her.

Here's the good news: If one were to pick which type of cancer to "get", it would definitely be thyroid. It is typically very treatable and minimal in damage. Nearly all patients have a normal lifespan, and the treatment is not too severe. If you gave it a "stage", this would be a "stage 1" cancer.

So now we make an appt. with an ENT surgeon for a consultation, and then schedule a thyroidectomy within the next few weeks. 6-8 weeks after the surgery, she will have to take a radioactive iodine pill to kill any remaining thyroid/cancer cells in her body. This pill won't make her sick, but she will have to isolate herself from direct contact with kids and pregnant women for 1 wk.

After that, she'll have to take a dose of levothryoxine everyday for the rest of her life, and monitor some things annually to ensure that nothing has returned or spread.

Your prayers are appreciated. We're kind of in a daze/fog right now, trying to figure out how to process all of this, but trusting that this will all be over soon and she can resume life cancer free. Please pray that we would wait well and praise Him in this storm.

It was only a matter of time...

This morning Isa was sitting on the exercise ball we have in our bedroom. She fell off and hit her face on Drew's night stand. She started crying so I ran in there and picked her up. I asked her what hurt. She pointed to her chin. I kissed it and asked if that felt better. She stopped crying after about 20 seconds and said, "Yes." It wasn't until she opened her mouth to tell me she felt good that I noticed she had completely knocked a tooth out. I can't find the tooth so I'm pretty sure she swallowed it. Only this child would hit her face hard enough to knock a tooth out and be done crying less than a minute later.

At lunch she wanted to pray. She said, "Thank you Jesus for this food. Please give me another tooth. Amen." He will, baby...it will be awhile but He will.

Outer Banks

Drew, Stella and I made the trip to the Outer Banks this past week for my childhood friend, Betsy's, wedding. She couldn't have asked for a more beautiful week for April. It was in the 60s and sunny the whole time we were there. I forgot a camera so I am gathering pictures from friends. Still trying to track one down of the bride at the wedding.

The morning before the wedding we spent some time enjoying the ocean.

Stella loved the water. She was kicking and breathing hard each time a wave crashed on the shore.

She fell asleep on our walk. I rarely get a chance to just hold her while she sleeps so that was a treat.

The lovely bride and groom.

The day after the wedding we had a chance to hang out with Betsy which was wonderful. I am a big fan of destination weddings now.

Spirit fingers. Ah high school.

Girlfriends I have known for 25 years now.

Hello. A shout out to a friend that couldn't make it.

Precious Stella Claire. She was so easy to travel with. So flexible. So pleasant.

Tricia suggested we hike over the sand dunes to watch the sun set. Little did we know there was a wind advisory. Smart. About 10 minutes from sunset, all the clouds rolled in and we couldn't see anything. Check out Stella. She is all smiles in spite of the wind and sand blowing in her eyes.

Food Fun

Not sure how much Stella actually got in her mouth, but Isa sure had fun feeding her. No, actually she did a pretty remarkable job and she got Stella to eat more than I have. Stella hates cereal and all vegetables except for sweet potatoes and tries to throw them up. She tolerates pears, apples, and prunes for a few bites. She really likes bananas.

Woah, that was a big mouthful.

Visitors

Drew asked our friend, Jesse, to come down and speak to the men of Morris Hall tonight. His family and the Stuckeys came down as well and it was so fun to spend the day with dear friends from Ohio.

First Pig Sale

The kids experienced their first pig sale on Friday night. Drew's dad is a swine nutritionist and thought they would enjoy it. They had fun and keep talking about it. When we pulled up, there were multiple buildings and one of the kids asked how we would know which one the pigs were in. Benjamin chimed in, "Papa will know. He is a doctor of pigs."