Sunday (December 28)

Well, Christmas is now over, and we are preparing for the next phase of our life. We had a wonderful Christmas. We were able to travel to Brevard to spend Christmas Eve and Chrismas morning with Jodi, Matt, Chloe and Ethan. And, yes, we still believe in Santa. We are so blessed to have children, grandchildren, family and friends.

We are now starting the final week of Joel's 10 week regimen of chemo IV's at Baptist Hospital. His final one will be this coming Friday, January 2. He will then have a 2 week break and start the next phase on January 20th. That drug is one of the "bad" ones, as we call it, that he received in the hospital in September. He will go to Baptist for 3 days in a row for this treatment. He may lose his hair again and his counts will go down which will result in fatigue and some other side effects. He will then get about 6 weeks of rest before starting the final 3 day treatment in March. If his bone marrow test is clear at that time, he will only have to take chemo drugs by mouth. He should finish that phase in April 2010. It has been a really tough 4 months, but, we are grateful that he is alive and is doing well. This was the best Christmas present I could ever have.

Joel actually had to get a hair cut yesterday. Joel's personal barber, aka brother-in-law Tony, came over and buzzed him.

God has been so good to us. He has allowed us to celebrate our 37th wedding anniversay on December 18th and to spend another Christmas with our grandchildren. We know his hand in on us at all times.

Jodi and Matt are in Costa Rica this week and next on a much needed vacation. They went last year and enjoyed a week of beautiful warm weather learning to surf while I was here babysitting 2 kids, 2 dogs, 1 cat and snow! This year, Matt will not be able to surf since he broke his leg in Septmber and consequently had to have surgery. He is doing better and is using a cane now instead of crutches. Matt's mother and father are babysitting this time.

We would still appreciate your prayers for us and we continue on this journey.

Monday (December 15)

Well, here we go again. Joel has now finished 2 weeks of the 2nd 5-week phase of chemo. He is feeling good and we have started going back to church. We missed 3 months and really missed our friends. Joel's white counts are still up and his doctor says he can go back to work. He will be going in every morning and work until I come pick him up to go to Baptist for treatment. He is able to drive himself and has several times when I have not been able to go. He likes me to be with him if my schedule allows it. I am still working and still trying to take care of my Mom, too.

As Christmas nears, we are so blessed that Joel is still with us. When he was first diagnosed, I honestly did not know if he would be here at Christmas. We are so grateful for the wonderful doctors and nurses as they take care of him. And, for the Lord's gift of Joel's life.

We now have more appreciation for our lives and the things that we used to take for granted. We are blessed beyond measure with the best family and friends anyone could ask for. Joel and I have learned not to sweat the small stuff. We try not to let problems bother us and just appreciate the fact that we can be together.

This coming Saturday, December 20th is our granddaugher Chloe's 7th birthday. She is such a miracle child herself, and we love her and our grandson Ethan so much. We will have a chemo treatment early Christmas Eve morning and then travel to Brevard for our tradition of being with the kids on Christmas morning. After brunch, we will come home to spend Christmas evening with Joel's family. A lot of traveling, but so worth it.

Thank you again for all your prayers, cards, phone calls and concern for us. We love you all.