Why We Will Never Win the Coveted "Parents of the Year" Award.

Reason #1

We let Brady get this close to the TV.

Yes, I took these pictures from the comfort of my chair.

Reason #2
We asked for a portable DVD player for Christmas because sometimes he hogs our TV. Granny and Papaw sent him one. He LOVES IT.

Reason #3
The DVD player volume conflicts with our TV volume.

Reason #4
We still occasionally give him a bottle (I said occasionally! Don't you judge me!)Reason #5
Sometimes we take photos of him when he is being crabby.

Reason #6
We let him chew on balloons...

...and beaded necklacesReason #7
We let him play in closets

Reason #8
His sleep schedule is not always regular.

BUT...he's a bright light in a dark time for us. His blue eyes look right into my soul. He pats my leg when I cry. He says "dude" and has the most adorable chubby little fingers. His hugs and open-mouth kisses can cure cancer :) Who knows when we will be able to have another one. So I am thankful for this one. And as the days get long and my patience is put to the test, I need to remember not to take him for granted. Thank you, Lord, for this precious little man!

Photos from the Last Week

We've had a busy week - we had Kimmie, Martain, and Baby Jaidyn visit from PA last weekend, and then I went to Emmaus (in Iowa) for two days. Brady actually stayed behind, went to Grandma Lola's during the day, and had "guy time" with Daddy at night. This is the first time he hasn't accompanied me to Iowa - even back to my first trip, he was swimming around in my belly! I missed him so much, but my trip was simple, easy, and relaxing. However, I did find it ironic that on one of my flights I was seated in front of a loud, demanding, seat kicking, adorable little boy with fat cheeks. It felt just like home!

We put the tree up before the Fergusons arrived. For obvious reasons, our tree is only decorated on the top half, and Brady has his own special tree to "decorate" himself. We only lost two glass ball ornaments in the making of that decision.

This is what's known as a blackmail photo for the future. I just dare Brady to bring a girl home...ever.Here is my cute boy, sitting in Daddy's chair watching cartoons on Saturday morning. Here is the cute momma (Kimmie) with Baby Jaidyn, so sweet and cute and incredibly tiny!We brought the swing up from the basement for Jaidyn. You can see how well that worked out!Jaidyn snuggling with her loveys - every baby needs a lovey!

Martain and Brady were best buddies - in fact, Brady wouldn't leave Martain alone!There are six people in this picture. Can you find them all?Doggy gets a ride in the car

Talking on the "phone"

And now, we are counting down the days until Christmas in Iowa!

Finally a Decision

My oncologist (Dr. Simmons) called me this morning. I will be starting radiation therapy in January. He said he re-evaluated my risk factors and the conversation he had with Dr. Khalil (my surgeon) and overall he said what trumps any other factor is a concerned surgeon. So he made the decision that I need to start radiation.

My first step is to have my teeth evaluated - all of my teeth must be healthy before radiation, so some of them may have to be extracted. Yikes. He is referring me to a dentist who works with radiation patients.

I am not sure what the protocol will be for my treatment, but I do know that it will be every day for six weeks straight. We will have quite a bit of logistical details to work out, so we would appreciate prayers for this. Especially I am concerned for Brady; obviously we will need help with him while I am in my treatments.

I am okay with this. I'll admit, it scares me. The side effects won't be pretty. But the end result will be peace of mind that comes with the aggressive treatment. And we know that the healing truly comes from the Lord, and we are so thankful for such a Great Physician.

In the meantime, I'll be eating anything and everything that I can get my hands on, since my taste buds are about to be fried. Bring on the Christmas treats!

The Update is...there is no Update!

We are on hold with an official decision regarding radiation until next week. My surgeon is presenting my case to a "tumor board" at the hospital on Thursday, (basically a bunch of doctors who confer on difficult cases) and my oncologist will discuss my case with his colleagues this week as well. I fall into a "gray area" as far as treatment goes, therefore a decision won't be made until all the proper authorities agree!

The reason for the "gray area" is that my pathology report shows peri-neural invasion. This means that the cancer could be traveling along a nerve somewhere that we don't know about. I also could still have some cancer hiding in the base of my tongue. (My surgeon is concerned that because the tongue acts as a muscle, when he initially performed surgery on the area the tongue could have actually retracted and therefore hidden some of the cancer). Kind of hard to explain, and understand, but that's where we are at with things. A PET/CT scan at this point would do no good, since the area is still healing. Also, PET/CT scans are not 100% accurate.

Due to the fact that this is an aggressive cancer, the first two years of treatment is critical. If the doctors choose not to treat me with radiation, then instead I will have PET/CT scans every 3-4 months. If anything lights up on the scans, we would make a decision then.

I feel very comfortable with the doctors making this decision. The oncologist made a phone call to the surgeon right then and there to discuss things before sending me on my way. I am comforted knowing that they are not taking this decision lightly, and that several doctors are weighing in on my case.

I guess the toughest thing for me and Jason is that we were kind of floating on cloud nine, thinking this was over. And it's not over. It sort of feels like we got the cancer-smack right in the face again. But this time, we are only waiting on treatment decisions. I am still stage one. My surgery was still highly successful. There really is no need for us to feel anxiety. But we still do!

Clearly God has more to teach us! I know that I need the daily reminder that this is out of our hands, and in His hands!

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Thank you for being so faithful!