Good day

Today has been a good day-the best since we came home. Last night Marcus and I spent the night at a local hotel because he thought soaking in a big jacuzzi tub may help him feel better. So yesterday after his routine labs, we checked in and he relaxed for a few hours. When I asked him if he felt better, he kind of shook his head side to side, as if to say so-so....all I know is that he rested well last night and only woke up twice instead of every 2 hours like the past few nights and ate a few pieces of meat off the top of a slice of pizza :) This morning when we came home after checking out, he sat up at the table, actually talked some to his mom and I (he hasn't been talking much, he signs or writes things down on paper) and even drank a carnation instant breakfast shake and took his meds with no complaints!! I would say that just those events make today a good day-maybe even a GREAT day considering how this past week has gone!
The doctors office did call this afternoon though to let us know that his White Blood Count is really low-expected after chemo-but reminded us to keep him away from groups of people and especially no one that is sick-basically keep him home if possible-and take labs again on Monday instead of waiting until next Thursday....so please pray for him that his counts can come back up so he doesn't have to battle another neutropenic fever like he did in Dec.
He is still very swollen, but it has only been 2 days since he started the Lasix, so I am praying it will start working soon, without dehydrating him. His right lung is almost completely collapsed due to the tumor and fluid, so breathing has been very difficult-he pretty much has to stay on oxygen 24/7, and uses a walker to walk. Please pray the chemo starts shrinking those darn tumors, so he can start breathing better and walking again freely! He is battling so many things right now and only God can truly carry him out of this....and after all the prayers, texts, emails, etc of support we received yesterday, it is totally obvious to me that God is working and hears our prayers. My strength needed a boost-I was really crumbling fast-seeing him suffer like he has been this week has been extremely difficult for me-way harder than I ever imagined it could be-and there were moments when I thought emotionally that I couldn't take it another day.....but God is so good and He stepped in and sent me the support, encouragement and strength I needed to press on....and when I awoke this morning, I knew it would be a good day :) THANK YOU GOD!!!!
So thank you all our faithful prayer warriors-your prayers are working and believe me they are GRATEFULLY appreciated. We love you all so much and don't know where we would be without each and every one of you-you each touch our lives in a unique way-so THANK YOU!!!

"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." John 15:7

So what if what I ask for is not God's will to give to me?? I know I shouldn't question anything, only trust...but this past week has been very difficult....and I am trying to be strong, trying to get Marcus to eat, walk around, engage....etc....but it is so hard. Especially when he just doesn't want to-he's tired from the pain meds, and he can't breathe-the tumor in his right lung basically has left no space and he is pretty much only working off the left lung...he still is retaining fluid....doctors say he has to eat protein and walk around for the fluid to eventually leave...but he doesn't feel hungry because he is so bloated from fluid. He doesn't want to walk because it is hard to breathe-even with his oxygen-so we are stuck....I keep pressing him to eat, walk, try-but you have to imagine how hard it must be for a man that has never needed help with anything, now needing help with pretty much everything....imagine what just that thought alone is doing to his psyche....it is hard...depressing, frustrating, guess I need to go the thesaurus for more words...but I don't feel like it...I am angry at Melanoma. I am angry at the fact that some people, no matter how much they try, just don't understand and don't get it-they take things for granted-they run to the tanning beds to look good-they don't wear sunscreen because they are too lazy-they count down the hours until they can dump their kids off on someone so they can have "me" time.......how I wish our lives were back to a time when Marcus and I couldn't wait to discuss what we were gonna eat for supper-now he stares at his food for hours-forcing himself to eat a few small bites of something, anything solid.

I'm sorry if the above sounded nutso-but at some points of the day-I guess I do feel like I'm losing my mind. But I keep pressing on. I keep begging God to guide me. To help me find new ways to encourage Marcus without being pushy-I don't want him to get mad and give up. But I want him to fight with all he has....and I know he is fighting-but the battle is so hard. And sometimes has him wondering-what if God's will is for him to come home...and not remain here with us? I ask God to please forgive me if I am being selfish, but there is no way I can fathom why God would need Marcus in heaven more than we need him here on earth with us....am I wrong to feel that way?

As I am typing this post now, Marcus is sitting at the kitchen table beside me, doing all he can to eat half of a junior burger from sonic-seriously, only half-that is it, that is all he can force himself to eat....but he is up, awake, eating, drinking water with his sonic ice he requested...and I am happy. I am refreshed from that and I will keep the Lord's words in my heart and continue to fight-and trust that God does know what is best and I accept His will to be done....even if I may not like it........

Cry out to Jesus

Marcus is having a renal ultrasound as I type. Dr. came in around 1:30pm and told him that she is concerned that his creatinine levels are increasing again and he still is very swollen in his legs/feet....the lasix did not get rid of as much fluid as she hoped and she is stumped really....SOOO, renal ultrasound to make sure kidneys are ok, then she totally discontinued neurontin(which they replaced the lyrica with) because she said that can also cause fluid retention. She also switched his antibiotic to an oral one, since the IV antibiotic has salt in it and he was getting it 4 times a day-also lowered his IV fluid intake because he is just not releasing enough fluid-and he keeps getting more pumped into him. He is more swollen now in his legs/feet than he was when he did the IL-2, which is amazing to me...so not going home tomorrow-maybe monday-all depends on this swelling.

Dr. said she felt like it was a miracle his creatinine levels went down overnight wednesday-and then he was able to get chemo-I am in agreement with that! Although we are unhappy levels are going back up and I am concerned his poor kidneys are just taking beating after beating...I will continue to "Cry out to Jesus" because He is listening......I know He is :)

Thank you all again for your continued prayers and support. We are truly blessed with amazing family and friends.

Healing Hand of God

Well, yesterday I went home to see our girls, go to the movies with them and out to eat, then spent the night with them at my mom's house-I needed to see them so bad. Marcus' parents stayed with him and after a rough night, finally some good news!!! Before returning to Houston this afternoon, I called my mother-in-law to see what the dr. said...and according to his labs, his kidney levels were back to normal and he would be starting chemo today!!! PRAISE GOD!! So around 6pm they began his first part of the chemo, which will run 3 hours, then the second part will go 30 mins, so probably around midnight he will be done and hopefully resting as good as he is now. They have been really having trouble managing his pain level, but I think they have it pretty much controlled now and I will just continue to pray things keep working after we go home. The main thing is getting the tumors shrinking and then the fluid and pain should resolve....so we need extra prayers please ;)

As I was driving back, I had Jeremy Camp turned up loud and the song, "Healing Hand of God" came on. As you probably know from my prior posts, I am a huge Jeremy Camp fan and have never found a song that I didn't like by him....but this song in particular, really spoke to me today. So I was even more excited when I found the devotional video I have attached....it was like God had Jeremy create this video for Marcus and I to help us keep our heads up and faith strong. Please watch/listen to it and I pray it speaks to you in your life as well.

Many prayers have been answered today and I am so thankful-you just don't know!!! I told the girls before I left that daddy was getting chemo today and that meant one day closer to him coming home!!! I don't know who was more excited-me or them ;) So as it looks now, if things go as planned, we may be home by saturday. They want to get more antibiotics into his system because he still has some bacterial infection in his lung, but the final tests are not completed yet to know exactly what it is (pneumonia or something else) but they want to keep it in check with the antibiotics-which, is what Marcus told Dr. Kim on monday before he was admitted-he told them he felt like he still had some infection in his lung and needed more antibiotics-but they had to get cultures of the sputum to see what they were dealing with...ANYWAYS-if you ask Marcus, he would probably tell you that he should be a doctor-and after all he is going through, he probably is right!!!!

So my mom-in-law and dad-in-law went home and I am sitting here waiting to see if Marcus needs me...his mom and dad pampered him like a king while I was gone-I hope he doesn't wake up asking me to go get them ;) Just Kidding!! They know that I will take care of their son-always! I really feel better today than I did yesterday and am so grateful for them staying with him while I saw the girls. I needed to hug and kiss them and just be with them-just their smell makes me happy-I know that sounds nuts, but you moms out there will understand...something about the scent of your babies-it just makes a momma happy!! Kinda makes me sound like a bear or something ;) Oh well, I needed to be with them and now I am back at my job as Nurse/Wife and will do everything I can to get Marcus well! So keep sending prayers PLEASE!! They are truly being answered everyday and I have seen the healing hand of God-today, more than ever! THANK YOU LORD!!!

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

I will try not to worry for I have complete trust and faith in my God-but sometimes it's very hard not to worry. No chemo for Marcus today-more tests-CT of chest, xray of chest, ultrasound of left leg, more blood drawn, breathing treatments-good thing he has been hooked up to the hydromorphone pump or else I just don't know how much more he could take !! Pain management team has now removed him from pump to begin him on new track of meds that we can continue at home once he's released-still don't have that date yet. At the moment they are concerned with his high creatinine and uric acid levels-his low urine output makes sense with those elevated levels-and they are trying to figure out next steps to get those levels back where they need to be before chemo can even be considered....so we wait.

There is truly nothing else I can say right now-I just ask for continued prayers for Marcus-he is fighting so hard-but he is tired-I am tired-tired of having our lives revolve around Melanoma-we will continue to give all our glory to God and keep praying for a complete healing. I will not worry about tomorrow, but I will cherish today!

"I will not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD." Psalms 118:17

First off-I am attaching video/song by Chris McClarney that I love-check him out!
Second off-we are ready for Marcus to be healed so he can declare the works of the LORD!! Even if the path is not what we choose....

We got a call from MD Anderson a little while ago, letting us know that the first choice trial is still not open-and they are saying 2-3 weeks more.....second choice trial-3 weeks or more-third choice trial-who knows....and Marcus cannot go another 2 weeks like he has these past 2 weeks....SOOOO, Dr. Kim strongly suggests he begin the Carboplatin Paclitaxel combo ( I am not 100% sure on my spelling yet, but will correct once we get paperwork) starting Monday. It is course that goes like this: 1 day of both chemos at the same time, 3 weeks off; 1 day of chemos again, 3 weeks off-then scan again to see if it worked. These chemos are proven drugs that show tumor regression, so we are expecting results. In the meantime, they are going to try and keep him on the waiting list for the trials-hoping that if they do open finally, he will be done with this chemo and in a washout period..that part, we just have to hand over to God and let Him lead us-and we can't worry about it. At this point Marcus has to do something....every day is worse...and I can't keep watching him suffer. Good news is that side effects aren't too bad with these chemos and he tolerated last chemos well, so we are praying these will be a piece of cake!

So please pray for us as we make our way back to MD Anderson monday morning to get this chemo in his body and continue on this healing road. We know the healing has already happened, we are just patiently waiting :) Thank you all so much again for your continued prayers and support! We love you!!!!

"Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance" 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT)

I am a people person and I truly love everyone.  I have always been fascinated with people's lives, their journey, their struggles, etc....and the bottom line is I want everyone reading this post to know I love them, to get their moles checked and I want them to go to Heaven when they die.  I don't think that is really asking too much right? ;) 

So, we are home, got back around 8:30 am and then we went to sleep :)  Last night was a rough one....after the CT scan around 4:30am the ER doc told Marcus that she was going to continue treating him like he has pneumonia, but even after the scan she wasn't really positively sure.. because of his remaining pleural effusion in the right lung and the tumor, the overall view was hindered....and basically we need to get him back on a treatment regimen to get the tumors back in check, so the fluid will go away and his pain will subside...we have scheduled appts mon and tues to meet with the clinical trial dept. about that latest trial-hoping to get that rolling by next week...and until then, he needs to finish his antibiotics and manage his pain with pain meds....as much as he can.....basically, cancer really sucks and there is no prettier way to say it-as the tumors grow, they push on organs and cause pain....so you just have to manage it until you can get a treatment that shrinks the tumors....which brings me back to getting your moles checked-PLEASE, PLEASE,  whoever you are, friend, family, stranger, please check your moles....if they look suspicious, please go to a dermatologist and let them check for you!!! Just that little step could save your life.

If I didn't love each and everyone of you, I wouldn't be wasting my time typing this-but God has really been speaking to me over the last few months....and I have promised God I will listen and be obedient-whatever He tells me to do, I will do it-no matter how psycho it may seem ;) Even if it means introducing myself to a complete stranger at McDonald's and giving her my contact info because I want to make sure she knows Jesus and goes to Heaven......I hope you are reading Smoki-because you are so very special to God and He obviously wanted us to know one another-I am just blessed He chose me to meet you-I love you girl and am always here for you!!

So, the next few days are filled with basketball games, church and trying to relax and enjoy my family-making sure we all realize how very precious life is and how we can't waste it on dumb, unimportant things....My love will never give up, never lose faith, is always hopeful and will endure-through EVERYTHING!!!

Love you all!!

I know He will Come....He did once already today...... :)

So I am typing now from the ER room #29 at MD Anderson, while Marcus finally rests....his nurse was not playing around and when he told her his pain level was 8 out of 10, she politely fixed him up with a shot of Delotta into his IV.....now if any of you truly know Marcus, you will know he has never done drugs and has never been drunk in his entire life...and he truly stays away from pain meds if possible....so once the Delotta hit him, well, let's just say, he was amazed....and now, finally, after 2 days of agony, he is finally resting, pain free, waiting for his CT scan......ER doc says from looking at his xray and bloodwork, she is concerned about 2 things mainly-pulmonary embolism or yet another pleural effusion.  She also says the CT will make more clear if the tumors in his right lung are growing, or if it's just fluid.....SOOO, we wait, for God's spirit to rain down once again....just like it did this afternoon...let me explain.....
We had been back and forth on the phone with Marcus' Med. Oncologist here at MD Anderson trying to determine what to do...come in, or wait it out....meanwhile, trying to determine our plan for the girls...Marcus wanted to drive himself and wanted me to stay home with the girls and go about our normal routine...I didn't feel comfortable with him driving alone with his pain the way it has been, but I didn't want to put more stress on my mom-in-law...she has been helping take care of my niece because her parents were sick, then my other brother-in-law has to have surgery and I didn't want her to have to choose where she wanted to be-especially since she has helped us so much, I wanted her to be able to help her other sons too....ANYWAYS, Marcus and Sela were sittin on the couch, discussing our options, and Sela did not want me to stay-she wanted me with her daddy and got really upset...Marcus was trying to explain to her that we needed to help our family-they have helped us so much and we needed to be strong and help back....he then told her that it was very important for her to continue to keep her faith and strength in God no matter what the outcome was for him....tough message to be sending to your 9 year old right before you leave for the ER, but he felt the need and then all of the sudden while he was talkin to her and explaining that we needed to ask God to help us all get through this difficult time and guide us and keep us strong, he was overwhelming overcome by the Spirit of God, so much that he said he felt warm from head to toe and just kept telling me that it had been a very long time that he truly felt God pour out His spirit on him like that....I was overcome with emotion and just ran to hold him and Sela tightly.....I was in awe.  After this pouring out of the spirit Marcus felt great-I mean, he truly felt better than he had in a week and he really wasn't even sure he wanted to go to the hospital.....but he decided he needed to get here and see what was going on-hopefully just get some antibiotics and come back home.....which leads me back to where I began.....
I have attached a video/song by Hillsong that I always enjoy, "You'll Come"..I know that God will come to us every time we need Him and every time we call for Him...I witnessed it today, and I continue to witness it every day......He may not fix things with a snap of a finger-but He is always there for us and never lets us down-we just have to call on Him and seek Him.....so we will wait for the CT and figure out what our next step is.....God is in control....and we are perfectly happy with that :)

Love you all and thank you so much for your continued prayers and support!!!

For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal

"Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Marcus was reading this to me last night before we went to sleep and it brought tears to my eyes....The past few days have been rough...Marcus has had some lower back pain and a low grade fever and it has been troubling me.  I want him to be healed so very badly!  I cannot stand to see him suffer and he puts on such a brave face for me and the girls-on one hand I admire him so much for it and the on the other, I hurt deep inside my heart because I know it is not easy to suffer with a smile on your face-but he does-because he loves us.

You know the little things really show me how much he loves me....for example-Figure Skating was something he would NEVER watch and always talked ugly about it-and not that I am a huge fan or anything, but I always liked to watch-the girls are so graceful-and I like to see what kind of crazy outfits the couples come up with! :)  But as we have been following the Winter Olympics-(I LOVE the snowboarding!) Marcus has watched Figure Skating without a fight-even comments on the techniques, scores, etc....I know it is silly, but that gesture-truly proves that he is no longer a man worried about what others think-he loves God-he loves me-and he shows it any way he can. 

So tomorrow we make the trip back to MD Anderson to see if the trial has opened again and is accepting new patients.  We have decided not to stress about this-we have put all our trust in this BRAF mutation, but only God can send the healing-and we believe in a living Jesus-and just like He healed the blind and sick in the bible-we TRUST that HE can heal Marcus in 2010.  So please keep sending the prayers, we thank you all so very much for them-and get ready to see your prayers answered!!  We are expecting a total healing from the inside out.  

And we know that what we are seeing now is temporary-but the the unseen is eternal-and we are so very excited about that!!!!!

Always Enough!!!

No matter what-He is Always Enough for me. Yesterday was a little rough for me-but I know that God is in control-and He is Always Enough-what peace that brings to my heart!! Enjoy the video/song above...and I pray He is Always Enough for you!!!

GREAT NEWS-ALL GLORY TO GOD!!!

GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!! Marcus just got a call from MD Anderson and he is positive for BRAF mutation!!! SO if needed, he would be eligible for another array of open doors in treatment!!!! Also, very preliminary because it was from an xray yesterday, it appears that the left lung tumor appears to be stable and possibly reduced....SOOOOO, more great news to follow after we get those CT scans Jan 19-21-but we just had to let you all know this news so far!! PRAISE GOD-WE WILL CONTINUE TO STAND IN FAITH!!!!!!! PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED EVERYDAY!!!

grateful for every sigh of relief :)

Well today was full of sighs of relief!
The girls and I dropped Marcus off for his appointment with Cardiopulmonary today at MD Anderson. The fluid in his Denver Cath just has not been coming out since our last drain Dec 26-which we are grateful for, but just wanted to make sure the fluid was actually gone in the pleural cavity before the cath is removed...well, the x-ray wasn't really completely conclusive-but the dr. tried to drain cath but couldn't get anything either...so he decided to take it out! Marcus was so pleased!! BIG SIGH OF RELIEF #1!!
While Marcus was handling the Denver cath appt., I decided to take the girls to the Houston Museum of Natural Science until he was done and before their appt at 2:15.....we were blessed with a great parking spot right by the door-BIG SIGH OF RELIEF #2! and really enjoyed ourselves...dinosaurs, bugs, animals, energy, chemistry-very eventful museum tour-but my favorite part was the Butterfly exhibit! I could have stayed in there ALL DAY!! I even had a butterfly land on me-Sela was mad because she wanted one to land on her so bad-and I had to threaten to beat Sloane so she wouldn't try and grab it off my shirt and put it on hers!!! They were able to touch some dead butterflies that the nice volunteer brought by-and they seemed pretty happy with their butterfly experience! Marcus was done around 1pm and we drove back to get him, grabbed a bite to eat-then headed to their appt all together.....BIG SIGH OF RELIEF #3!!
Girls had their annual dermatolgoist appointment-first time with new pediatric dermatologist in hst-dr. hebert-she was wonderful-I guess once she saw on their paperwork that their daddy was Stage IV Metastatic Melanoma, she decided to call all interns she had in her office in the room to learn ;) She came in with about 5 interns (thankfully all female or Sela would have flipped out more than she already did!) She went over all the girls moles and explained to interns and me what they were called, what we needed to be concerned with, etc...and THANK GOD-everything on them is normal! Sloane's little new freckle on her bottom lip had me concerned-and the dr said it was good that I was aware and concerned because moles on mucousal (not sure if I really spelled that right) areas are at a higher risk of metastazing if they are Melanoma-so she said to keep a close eye on that one and keep chapstick with sunscreen on her lips! Sloane will be very happy with me now-she hates stuff on her lips unless it is sparkly-guess I am now in search of sparkly chapstick with sunscreen ;) Sela has a large mole on her back that I have never liked, but dr. says it is fine-just keep watching and come back next year-and we will! She also explained to the girls-more to Sela since she is older and actually understands-how they needed to take really good care of their skin, wearing sunscreen always, protective clothing, hats, etc. and getting their moles checked for the rest of their lives-due to the family history with their daddy-I made Sela repeat what dr. hebert told her so she couldn't get mad at me when I was hounding her about all this soon ;) And I also made her promise that even when she was a grown up she would always get her moles checked and her kid's moles checked-she agreed, but then she said, "how do you know I'm gonna have kids?" ;) I was just happy with her promising me this and for the good news about their moles being normal! BIG SIGH OF RELIEF #4!!

So Sela starts school tomorrow, Marcus goes back for labwork locally to make sure all his counts are still good, and we get back to normal life until Jan 19-21 when Marcus goes back to MD Anderson for scans to see how this CVD chemo cocktail performed! We are still standing in faith, believing that God will heal him from the inside out-and we will not accept anything else!!!! Please stand with me in faith-Love you all!!!!

All glory to God-I will praise You always!!

So Marcus has been admitted now at Bapt. Hospital since around 11:45pm Tuesday-his fever went up to 103 and I made him call the dr-of course she said get yourself to the hospital asap!!! His WBC counts were very low (total count was ok but neutrophils-fighter cells-were only 300 and they are supposed to be 1000 minimum). He got antibiotics and fluids but still kept a
fever-drs decided to give him a neulasta infusion to boost those cells. I have been a praying maniac pleading with God to make his fever go away and get those neurtophils up to at least 1200-well-God is always faithful-Marcus' fever never went past 100.7 last night and his WBC went from 2000-6000 (neutrophils from 300-4000) overnight!!!!! Can someone please say AMEN??!?!?! So dr came in around 11am and said if no fever tonight and WBC counts still stay high then they will release Marcus in the morning!!!! Bringing a whole new meaning to please come home for christmas!!!! :)

I was a little emotional when I realized we wouldn't be waking up Christmas morning with the girls -but I worked it out where I will go to my in-laws house early-around 6-7am-wake the girls up and let them get their "Santa" gifts-which Sela already knows it's mom and dad gifts ;) then bring them up here to open the other gifts with their daddy-and wait until he gets released-because we are not accepting anything else-Marcus will not spike a fever tonight!!! Pray with me warriors-Marcus wants to come home for Christmas !!!!

I truly believe......You will Heal Marcus.........

I am attaching a video of a song that we have sung several times at church-it is very special to me-it was one of the songs they were singing during the Wednesday night service where everyone prayed on Marcus....the words truly say it all...and Jesus is all we need.....end of story.....

Marcus completed his last day of chemo today...and it was rough. He woke up this morning feeling very nauseated...and really didn't feel like getting out of bed-but he did and made it through his last infusion.....he pretty much stayed nauseated all day and has been resting since he got home around 4pm....I just keep praying he will feel better this weekend...he hates feeling like this and I hate to see him feeling like this-it makes me sad....I can't do anything, but I wish I could take it all away from him....please pray he can feel better over the next few weeks so he can enjoy Christmas...I just want him to be able to enjoy Christmas............

Speaking of Christmas...I was able to get a big chunk of shopping done today and I am glad-but I am still not finished...hopefully over the next few days I can knock it out :)

Nothing else really to say-just asking prayer warriors to keep sending the prayers-the devil is really getting that chemo to make Marcus sick-and we need it to make the cancer go away, but keep Marcus feeling good!!! Nothing is impossible through Christ....so help me pray for it!

Love you all and thank you so much again for your prayers and support of our family.

all is well

just a quick little post to let you all know that marcus is doing very well!! he completed day 2 of chemo today-and has 2 more days of this cycle....then 17 days off.  he spoke with dr. lavalais and she told him this chemo would accumulate and he may not feel anything until a few weeks after receiving treatment...but we are going to keep praying that God keeps all side effects to a minimum and he keeps feeling great!  we are still draining fluid from his denver catheter that was inserted into his chest last week-this has helped him tremendously!  he was having such a hard time breathing because of the fluid in his pleural cavity.  dr. lavalais said it may take 3-4 weeks before he sees a decrease in that fluid.

we are still standing in faith that God will use this chemo to produce a complete healing....and we will not accept anything else!!!  thank you all for your continued prayers, emails, texts and support-we love you all so very much!!

KINDNESS

Yesterday, Sela & Sloane were surprised with the most precious Christmas tree we have ever had.....my Aunt Kellie brought it to us-hand designed by her friend and co-worker, Lori Humphrey...with a special Melanoma Awareness ornament Aunt Kellie ordered for us......the kindness this gesture shows leaves me speechless....to some, it may be just a little Christmas tree, but to me and my family, this tree represents Love, Peace, Hope and everything Christmas is all about....the birth of Jesus Christ.  I knew we would have some sort of tree here in our 5th wheel, but quite honestly, I would have NEVER been able to put one together as beautifully as Lori did!! THANK YOU LORI !!!!!!  Sela & Sloane have been so excited!  We set everything up as soon as we got home...and the sweet gifts you sent are still wrapped-and that is driving them both nuts!! I keep teasing them and telling them the presents are for me and daddy!! ;) I will let them open some soon enough, but I love to see them squirm about it!! :)  There will never be enough words I could say to thank you both for the kindess you showed-we love you Aunt Kel and Lori Humphrey and pray your Christmas is blessed more than ever.....

Today Marcus will get an MRI of his brain...standard before treatment begins-he hasn't had one of the brain since June...and he will start his chemo cocktail on Monday....after last night's prayers at Golden Triangle Church on the Rock, I have no stress about next week at all.  I know that God will get Marcus through it and He will heal him....end of discussion.  We will no longer read things online, or listen to discouraging news, because we know the Creator of Heaven and Earth is in total control-and we are giving it all to HIM!  We love you all!!!

"Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span." Exodus 23:25-26

There are no words I can say to truly express my gratitude to Pastor Ron, the staff and congregation of Golden Triangle Church on the Rock. At tonight's service, you all sacrificed hearing Pastor Ron deliver a sermon to you-and instead gave your prayers to my husband Marcus and our family. Thank you and bless you all. Marcus needed every hand that touched him and every prayer prayed for him-more than you will ever know.

I have believed from the start that God will heal Marcus. I have told him that it may not happen quickly, but he will receive his healing-and once he does-he will have the most awesome testimony to deliver to people everywhere. I truly believe that his healing/testimony will bring people to Jesus that would never have come to Jesus-people that have strayed will return-and I am patiently waiting for that healing-patiently waiting to hear Marcus deliver his awesome testimony of faith, courage, healing, and complete trust in God. I will continue to pray, trust and give my entire life over to the Lord and let Him lead me and my family every step of this journey.

Marcus may have been diagnosed with Stage IV Metastatic Melanoma....but the Lord will take away the sickness and give him a full life span-in Jesus' name!!!

Great start

So far so good! Marcus finished his first dose of IL-2 around 10:30am and will receive his second dose at 6:30pm. At this point he has not had any side effects and is doing great-he is resting now until his next dose. He was feeling so good earlier he got up and walked around-he hates being stuck in the bed. But I just keep reminding him that he needs to take this time and relax, accept the treatment and concentrate on getting this melanoma out of his lungs!!! He agrees-we just keep asking God for strength and thanking Him for what we have received so far! No side effects at all up to this point! The drs really act like they are shocked and keep asking "are you sure you don't have shortness of breath, chest pain, etc?". I told Marcus they just don't understand the power of prayer!! All those
mighty prayer warriors out there-thank you-we know without those prayers-Marcus would not be doing as well as he is!!!! So keep them prayers coming!!!! :) don't stop now !! If he keeps doing well after his second dose, he will receive another at 2am. At this point we don't know how many more-he has 15 doses reserved for him-but they only keep giving as long as he keeps doing well,so I will keep you all posted. I am also posting updates on facebook, so if we aren't friends yet, send me an invite and you can get more updates!

Thank you again to everyone that came out to eat Saturday night for Marcus' 35th
bday and for everyone that came to Church on the Rock Sunday to join us and the elders of the church prayin over him. I feel this prayer was so powerful -not only for
Marcus but for everyone there! God brought us all together and I thank Him so much!! And thank you Cynthia Miller for arranging that for
Marcus-you and Byron are true blessings to us-thank you, thank you so very much!!!