Reflections

A year ago today, January 8th, 2007 Kate was admitted to Children's Hospital for placement of her broviac (central line). This began a three week long hospital stay which included high dose chemo therapy and her first stem cell rescue. As I reflect on all that we experienced last year, I am overwhelmed with a deep sense of gratitude to God for all that He has done for us. What amazing grace and mercy He poured down upon our lives on the journey of 2007. It was a long, tedious and often wearisome road, but God provided strength in the midst of our weakness and carried us in His loving arms each step of the way. Daily we experienced His faithfulness. Miracles all along the way were testimony of His power and grace at work. One thing that we will never be able to fully comprehend is the army of prayer warriors raised up in the states and around the world to carry Kate's needs and those of our family before the Father. A year later we are still meeting or hearing from people we have never even met telling us how they have been praying for Kate. We experienced the power of prayer as you stormed the gates of heaven with your requests on Kate's behalf. Words simply cannot express our gratitude to each of you for your prayer support.

Today, one year later, Kate is half way through her senior year....amazing grace!! She has applied to three colleges and was thrilled last week when she learned of her acceptance to the college that seems to be surfacing to the top as her number one choice. Fatigue still has the upper hand in her day, and she still struggles with nausea, but it seems to be improving. Kate's spirit remains sweet as she faces the challenges that cancer has left on her life with incredible grace and courage. Each day is truly a precious gift to be treasured. Today and every day we are held secure in the palm of God's hand. Thank you God for your faithfulness and your amazing grace!

Our blog updates will be less frequent as we enjoy the busy days of senior year and days of uneventful health issues. Of course when there is something news worthy to share or special prayer request we'll keep you posted. MRI scans will continue to be every three months to keep a check on things. Please continue to pray and ask for Kate's complete healing. She still has quite a ways to go to regain her strength, and stamina. Leg muscles are once again very weak and climbing stairs is quite a feat. Her balance is still a little off and falls happen now and then. Please ask for complete release from the residual nausea and a significant increase in her energy level. Please pray that the cognitive and processing issues that she is experiencing will diminish with time as her body heals and grows stronger. Please also join Kate in praying for God's clear direction in her choice of a college.

God goes before us, walks beside us and comes behind us. Confidence of this, we embrace yesterday, today and all our tomorrows.....ONLY BY GRACE.