Wednesday January 31, 2007 4:45 pm

Greetings

PRAISE THE LORD! PRAISE AND THANKS BE TO GOD!

We are indeed so happy today! All is going well! Marty has not had a headache since before surgery. Her breast has not had the same kind of pain today; it has been more from the surgery and the J-P drainage tube. Praise the Lord! Dr. Kelly, the surgeon, was just in and changed the dressing. She thought that all looked good and was going well. The area was still swollen and red, but certainly did not look as bad as it did before surgery. So, there is no doubt that this needed to be done.

Actually, it did not really surprise Marty and me because, last Saturday we talked about the surgery possibly being needed. As we saw that breast get worse with redness, swelling, tightness and pain, we just figured the implant would have to come out. We are just so grateful that the surgery went well and that it does seem to be helping the entire situation. Praise the Lord!

We never know what a day may bring, but the hour for serving God is ALWAYS present. This is God’s commission and His commandment to us, that is so often very difficult for us to remember and practice. When a day brings us something that we are not expecting at all, it is often very difficult for us to focus on God, rather we tend to focus on our situation and our will.

I think about this now, because Opera just had a young man on the show that was struck by lightening and she asked him what his first thought was. This teenager responded to Opera by saying that he prayed to God, saying “God if I am to die, so be it, but if I am to live, please send help!” WOW, what a statement of faith. I am truly impressed by this young man and give God praise and thanks for his testimony.

I am also truly impressed with my wife and how she has come through the last 7 – 8 days. It has been obvious that she has been very sick and in a lot of pain which was trying its best of her to get her completely down. But, she never gave up her faith, nor did I ever hear her question her faith in God. She continued her study of the Word, as well as her devotional and prayer life, to be close to the Lord, and to seek God’s help and will. Praise the Lord and thank you God!

At present, we do not know how much longer it will take to get all of the infection out of Marty’s body, and/or how much longer we will have to stay here at St. V’s, but again we know that the Great Physician is indeed in charge, is here with us, and is ministering to us. Praise the Lord! And thanks to all of you for your support, prayers, and encouragement. They all certainly mean a lot and are very helpful.

Have a positive evening in the presence of our God.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday Night 10:15 pm


PRAISE THE LORD! PRAISE THE LORD!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

Marty is really doing quiet well! She has been going all evening. When I did the last blog she was eating some “clear liquids”, which was fine. Then she was up to the bathroom. Then she asked if she could go for a walk, so off we went for a walk. When we got back she sat on the edge of the bed and started doing her devotions but was having some trouble staying awake. Now she is having a Steak and Shake fruit and yogurt milk shake and talking to Jennifer on the phone. Not bad for the same day as surgery.

Marty has indicated that she has not had a headache since she has been back from surgery. Also, her breast is so much better that she hasn’t had anything for pain since surgery. She said that the tightness and pressure is gone, all of the bad pains are gone, and the surgical site does not really hurt all that much, basically just to the touch. It seems quiet amazing that just getting the implant and irrigating the infection out, could make that much difference in that short of time. But, we are not going to question that, we are just going to thank and praise God and the medical team that are God’s hands and feet. Thank you Lord.

You know it is so nice to talk to doctors and medical folks that will talk back to you about God. I really do appreciate that and indeed have had that opportunity today. Thank you Lord.

We also appreciate the calls, the prayers, the support, the concerns, and the sincere offers of help from so many of you. You are awesome and very important friends to us. Also, we what to thank Bonnie and Glenn, who stopped by last Saturday, and for Glenn and Dan, who were here during the surgery with me today. Your visits and support are greatly appreciated. Praise the Lord!

This had been such a blessed and beautiful day and we give God the praise and thanks for being so good and gracious to us. Thank you Lord!

You are no doubt asleep as this gets published and we pray that you get the rest you need tonight, that tomorrow in word and deed, you are truly being God’s servant, doing His will and glorifying Him. May you also have a positive day tomorrow feeling God’s presence and blessings. May God truly be glorified and praised.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday Evening 6:30 pm

Hello Family and Friends:

Praise the Lord! Marty is out of surgery, out of recovery, and back in room 6619 doing well. Praise the Lord! The doctor reports that all went very well. There was a lot of infection in the pocket that held the implant. The implant has been removed and the pocket cleaned out. So now it is up to the antibiotics. They are talking about 2 weeks of IV medicine. God is so good - all the time! All the time - God is so good! Praise the Lord!

By the way the correct phone number is 1.317.338.0718.

Probably will be more later tonight.

Be positive, take care, and God bless!

Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday noon

A very fast note to let you all know a couple of things, both good news.

First is that Marty's numbers are up today. Praise the Lord! Also the infection doctor said this morning that he expect good things to happen once that implant comes out. He said we are making no progress this way, but should see a difference even by tomorrow with the implant out. Again Praise the Lord!

Second we have changed rooms. We are now in room 6619 and the direct phone number is 1.371.338.0718. Please pass this on to anyone who may need it or want it.

We remember and are certainly grateful that God is in charge. We know God will be with Marty this afternoon and with Dr. Kelly and all of those who minister unto Marty. Praise the Lord!

Be positive and God bless.

Jack
John 3:16

Monday Evening

Greetings to family and friends:

Late this afternoon we did hear from the surgeon and as long as all blood work is acceptable the surgery will be at 2:15 pm tomorrow. I believe it will be a very good thing. Marty tells me that she has all kinds of different pain from her left breast area: sometime a dull ache, sometimes sharp stabbing, aching, throbbing, and sometimes it just plain hurts. The hard thing about it sis that she can just be laying there in bed and all of a sudden jump because of the pain that just seems to come out of nowhere for no good reason. Again, I do believe that it will be a good thing to get the surgery done and over with. Marty is also looking forward to tomorrow being over and for all this infection business being done and over with in the future.

We know that God is in charge and that His will will be done. We do pray for His grace on Marty that all will go well, her discomfort will be easily controlled, and the problem will totally be taken care of. Thanks for your support, love, and prayers.

Have a positive night and day tomorrow. God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Monday Afternoon, January 29, 2007 2:00 pm

Hello!

It’s cold outside, but the sun is shining, the wind is blowing, and God is so bright and beautiful. The Spirit is around with peace, grace, and love. Jesus is our guide and God is in charge. How much better could it be! The triune God is our refuge and the positive aspect of our day and our lives. Thanks be and praise be to God!

Well, indications are there is no major improvement and we are not sure what is happening. The platelets Marty had yesterday took them up, but no where near normal. Her HGB was down to 7.5 this morning and she is now having two units of blood. The last blood she got, the day we came in, didn’t even take her back to normal. So, we will see what these 2 units do. And the WBC is down today, but still within normal range. We don’t understand what all this means, but it is not acting like it has in the past. We believe that this could be caused by the infection (at least one doctor has indicated that as well) and we don’t really understand what it is doing to the blood.

As far as Marty is concerned, she feels really bad and her symptoms are still the same: head- aches, neck and shoulder pain and all kinds of different left breast pain. She is also extremely tired and is sleeping a lot. So, that is kind of where she is and certainly is relying upon God for her strength and courage.

Dr. Bunce, the infectious disease doctor, was just in and now we have three doctors that feel the infection has seeded itself in and around the implant of the left breast. Therefore, they are saying that it needs to come out. However, the surgeon is the one who makes the call and to the best of our knowledge and the best we can find out right now, no one has contacted her. We want the plastic surgeon, Dr. Kelly, who put the implant in, to see Marty. So, right now we are waiting for her to be contacted and then to come in. So, you might say that we are in a holding pattern because the antibiotics just cannot do their thing. We are sure, that when Dr. Kelly gets here, that things will move along and be done as soon as possible. The problem will be that Marty is on some blood thinners and the platelet count is so low that we don’t know what will have to happen with all that, in order for surgery to be done safely. Then, following the surgery, Marty will still need to get about 2 weeks of IV antibiotics. So, right now we seem to be looking at about two and a half weeks until we will see the end of this side road of infection that we are now traveling. It will indeed be good to get back on the main road. But, whatever happens, let us praise and glorify the Lord!

I do believe that that covers things for now. So praise the Lord! And God bless!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Sunday Evening January 28, 2007 5:45 pm

Well, friends and family here we are praising and thanking God:

We are pleased tonight to say that, we don’t have all the answers, but, we do have a few of the answers and some more questions.

First, we understand that the infection is Staphylococcus Coagulated Negative, Strain 1.
Second, we understand that it was in two of the three lines in the central line and in the blood.
Third, we understand that it is “seeded” around the implant in the left breast.
Fourth, we understand that it is very stubborn and hard to get rid of.
Fifth, the headaches are probably being caused by the sickness and infection and are not a separate problem.

So, what is to happen now?
First, today they did more blood cultures to see if the infection is still present in the blood. Second, tomorrow Dr. Kelly, who did the breast surgery will stop in and look over the situation.
Third, antibiotics will be continued until it does its job and/or something else works better.
Fourth, tomorrow morning we will see Dr. Lee and hear what he has to say and think about the situation.

Still, not much has changed with Marty today. She had a fair night, waking up 4 or 5 times to go to the bathroom during the night and going right back to sleep the rest of the time. Today she has so far eaten two meals, taken a shower, talked to all the doc’s, gone downstairs for the C –T Scans, getting six units of platelets, taking a couple of indoor walks, visiting with Erin and Eric, and the rest of the time sleeping. She is a “trooper” and we Praise and thank God for that!

That is about the story and since it is the truth, I guess, we will have to stick with it.

GO COLTS - GO COLTS - GO COLTS One week from tonight, that is exactly what we are going to be saying and they will do the job so we can celebrate the awesome victory.

Today’s scripture calendar is Isaiah 55:9 which reads: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” You know as I have thought about that verse I have had to say “Thank you God, thank you.” I am so glad that God is so much greater that I am, and yet accepts me for who I am and gives me someone to look up to and strive to become like. Yet, He does not demand the same, only encourages and guides those who wish to follow to be the same. How different that is than what we experience in real life and what most of us teach by word and deed. It seems to me that we always teach in our society to put ourselves as first priority. That is not what God wants us to do. God has higher ways and thoughts and He wants us to share them with Him. Indeed that is different than we are, because when we have something that no one else has, we want to keep it, unless, of course, we can get a lot of money for it and then we would sell it for as much as we possibly could, no matter who it hurt. And God said “my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” “Thank you God, thank you.” God paid the price of giving His own Son for us, and so now we get His thoughts and ways FREE. Praise the Lord! Oh, I suppose that some would say that it is not FREE because of things like what we, Marty and I, and others are going through right now. But, I ask how can this be compared to what Jesus when through for your sake and for mine. Personally, I do not think it can be compared. While on the other hand, I think that it can. What motivated Jesus was to glorify God. And I hope and pray that what motivates Marty and I is that we each glorify God in word and deed even though His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. God never did promise any of us a rose garden but, He did promise us that He would always be with us, and go through whatever it is that we go through with us. So, what we are going through, God is going through as well. Therefore, the best I can do is to glorify God and I pray that I am doing that! At least I want always to strive for God’s ways and God’s thoughts and I hope that you do also.

Have a positive evening, rest through the night, so you can have a positive day tomorrow!

God bless!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Saturday Evening

Greeting

This will be very short to just let you all know that all is about the same. Marty just got back from a walk and is in a lot of discomfort particularly with whatever is going on with her left breast.. Erin and Eric are here and that is a good thing. However, Erin is hungry so we need to go and get some food.

Have a positive night and be ready to praise and worship God tomorrow, In all that you say and do glorify the Lord!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Saturday Afternoon 01.27.07 1:00 pm

Hello to all and God bless you!

Just a quick note to say that Marty is about the same today! She had a fairly good night, getting up a couple of times, but sleeping fairly well. Praise the Lord! Today she is still doing a lot of sleeping. The WBC has gone up a very little, and the other two have gone down a little. The HGB is only .3 away from having to have more blood. So we are expecting that that will probably happen tomorrow or if things don’t turn around on Monday. She is still getting the IV heavy antibiotics around the clock.

Even though this is our first time down this road during Marty’s treatment, the nurses tell me that this is not unusual for people getting this treatment. Further they tell me that all that is being done is what needs to be done. With her blood the way it is it takes time.

God is in charge and God is good – all the time! All the time – God is good. We give thanks and praise to God daily for His grace and love that comes to us in so many ways and that we feel around us and with us. We also give thanks for your support, prayers, love, and presence. God’s will will be done! Praise and thanks be to God!

Have a positive day and God bless!

Jack (Marty has been and is asleep.)
John 3:16

Friday Evening

Praise the Lord!

We hope that you have had a positive day, seen the Lord at work, and have done the Lord’s work today. Everything that was to be done for and to Marty today has been done. She has a Pic Line in her antecubital space of her right arm, the echo has been done of her heart, and she has spent a lot of the day sleeping. She stated a little while ago: “This has been a wasted day and all I have done is sleep.” Well, that is not totally true, since she has eaten three meals, taken 3 or 4 walks in the hall, finished off a number of glasses of liquid, gone to have the tests done, read and talked. I really do believe that Marty is improved today, her WBC is up today, but the other two are still pretty low. So, we still have a ways to go. I asked the doctor this morning about time and he said we would see what “several” days brings. So, I am not sure what that means. We are indeed pleased and praise God for the improvement, healing that is happening and pray for it to continue

Today, when we went for the Pic Line to be put in, we went to the Cardiac Vascular Lab and on the wall behind the desk was this statement by an unknown author that I thought was awesome food for thought. It said: “Attitude is the mind’s paintbrush. It can color any situation.” Isn’t that awesome? Think about it, and join me in adding it to your life for guidance, as I do the same in my life.

It has been another looooong daaaaaaay, so I am going to close for now. Again, thanks for your prayers, support, love and help. Have a positive weekend and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16s

Friday Morning

Good morning to all:

Hope you had a good nights sleep and are ready to be about your ministry to glorify the Lord!

Marty’s night was better. She got about 6 hours sleep, with only having to get up two times. She does feel some better this morning so far, but can hardly keep her eyes open to do her devotions. (Think of that, I am not even preaching or involved.)

I arrived about 4:10 am and met Dr. Lee down stairs, just arriving, so we walked to the floor together. He then came to Marty’s room about 6:10 am. Loooong wait! Marty woke up I think it was between 5:15 and 5:30 am. At any rate, the doctor says that it is looking like “staph” infection one of the three ports of triple lumem line. There definitely is infection, as mentioned last night, but the type is not pinned down yet. The good thing is that if it is staph, she is already on the right medication. Praise the Lord!

Today, the central line is to come out and a pic line is to go in. The pic line will go into her right antecubital space of her right arm and stay away from both shoulders. We will see how that works. I will probably help her take care of it, because I understand that it pretty much takes two hands to do so, and she will have only one. She is also to have an echo test done on her heart to see how the valves are doing. That will certainly be a good test and a good thing to check out. Praise the Lord! The doctor says the heart sounds good, but he just wants to check this out.

The result of the Doppler Test yesterday and Chest X-ray Wednesday night were normal .There were no blood clots on the Doppler and no infection on the Chest X-ray that were found. - Praise the Lord!

So where are we? Need the confirmation that the infection is “staph” and then Marty will need to take enough antibiotics to kill the infection. Dr. Lee said that we would be in here for several more days to get that accomplished.

Marty tells me that her scripture calendar has Exodus 15:11 for the verse for today. It reads: “Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” Isn’t it great that even the earliest of Old Testament scripture is still relevant today? Praise the Lord! Further, I think that this is an awesome mini definition of our God, don’t you? Let us always remember that God is always “working wonders” in each of our lives. Some of those may be bigger than others, but none are more meaningful and/or more needed to each individual at the time it is given. God knows and God responds in His time. Praise and thanks be to God! As you go through this day, I challenge you to look for at least one, if not two or three ways, that the following are accomplished:
1. You see and/or experience God majestic in holiness

2. You see and/or experience God awesome in glory

3. You see and/or experience God working wonders.


Morning Prayer just came over the speaker from one of the chaplains here at the hospital and as a starter, she gave us all a good reminder: and that is “in all that we say and do to build up and not to tear down anyone or anything in word or action.” AMEN, AMEN, and AMEN!

Have a positive day and God bless!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Thursday Night

Greetings from Room 6607

Praise the Lord! This has been a good day, because God is in change. We thank God for that!

Marty has continued to receive IV antibiotics and fluids. Her temperature has continued to jump around. The highest we know about today was 101.4. We have also learned that a first report back on the culture of one of the lines in the central line has started to grow some germs already. That will no doubt mean that the line will come out tomorrow and then we will see where we go from there. Marty has continued to experience fatigue, particularly after she has done some-thing: shower, take a walk, eat, etc. Being in the bed not doing anything is when she feels the best most of the time. But, even sometimes doing that, is not comfortable because of the dis-comfort in the right shoulder, right neck, left breast, both upper arms and both legs. It has not been a real easy day!

We give thanks and praise to God that this is the first infection that Marty has had in this process. We feel so fortunate and blessed that no more have occurred. Praise the Lord!

Go Colts – The door way to Marty’s room and the walls in the hall are now full of Colt posters and other items of encouragement. This is a Colts floor and the staff have already done some decorating, but the crew tonight love the additions that have been made by 6607. We will continue to say GO COLTS!!!!!

It is late, so we are going to close for now. Dr. Lee will be waking Marty up about 4 to 5 am.

So, we hope you have a positive night and a better day tomorrow glorifying the Lord!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Thursday Morning
January 25, 2007 7:30am

Update:

Talked to Marty on the phone right before she went for her doppler (sp?) test and her night was not real good. She was getting blood and other meds. all night I guess. She did tell me two things:

1. The chest xray was clear.
2. They are not going to take the central line out until they get blood work back.

You are now as up to date as I am.

Just remember, God is in charge and in control - Praise the Lord! God is gracious and God can handle it all! Glorify Him!

Have a positive day and God bless!

Jack
John 3:16

Thursday Morning
January25, 2007 7:00am

Good morning

Marty is in room 6607 direct phone number is 1.317.338.0706 and the other number is 1.866.338.2345 ext. 80706. Of course all of this is at St Vincent Hospital - 2001 West 86th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46260

They went right to work on her when we got into the room. They were doing lots of blood work –cultures. I think they were going to have to give her an extra unit of blood because they took so much from her. A lot of those results we will not get back for 2 to 5 days. The CBC did show that the WBC was starting back up. Between noon and 6:00pm it had gone up a little. At about 11:00pm they got the first unit of blood started on her and that was after she had had 2 different IV medicines. Today they are to change her central line and to do a test for a blood clot.

Eric came over to Peru last night and is going to help me get the motor home out and loaded and then go down with me this morning and we will see how she is.

Need to go, so stay positive, keep the faith, glorify God, and let others know whose you are!.

Praise the Lord and God bless.

Jack
John 3:16

Wednesday Afternoon
January 24, 2007

Greetings:

Just to let you know we are on our way to St. V’s Hospital for Marty to be an inpatient for 2 days to 2 weeks depending on what is going on. After seeing the doctor at noon he has questions that he needs answers to. He feels there may be infection in the blood and/or a blood clot. When she gets there she will get both blood and platelets. Need to go and get her to Indy.

Praise the Lord! God is good – all the time. All the time – God is good! God is in control!

Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday Night
January 23, 2007

Greetings from 1845:

Just to put it all out on the table at the top, today has been a very hard day for Marty. She has had so much trouble trying to do anything and even keeping her eyes open. She has experienced a large amount of fatigue. I suppose that it may be a normal amount for where her numbers were yesterday. I believe I reported them last night, but here they are again anyway: WBC – 0; HGB – 8.4 (she is to get blood at 8 and the lower it goes the more fatigued she gets); platelets were at 400 before she got the 12 units yesterday (she is to get platelets at 20,000 and again it seem the lower it goes the more fatigued she gets). So you and I can both see the reason she is where she is. We will see Dr. Lee tomorrow and get new numbers and see what he has to say. We are expecting to get blood on Thursday. By the week-end she should be coming back up and feeling much better.

Oh yes, you may have noted that I have not mentioned the shoulder or neck recently because the medicine and heat have been controlling the pain. But today with the numbers so low, there has been pain over and above the heat and medicine. There is the reason I do believe that it is connected somehow to the chemo and/or the cancer. But I guess we will never know, and it probably doesn’t make a lot of difference, because I can’t imagine the doctors would do anything else to treat it. They certainly have tried several different ways.

Micah 7:9 says “He will bring me out into the light; I will see his justice.” Awesome verse – Praise the Lord! What awesome benefits we receive when we have a good and meaningful relationship with Almighty God. Light and justice may you find them in your life.

Have a positive night and glorify God in word and deed tomorrow. God bless.

Jack
John 3:16

Monday Night
January 22, 2007

Greetings to all!

It has been a long day, but all is well and God is to be praised. Praise the Lord!

Marty had a hard time getting up this morning and was very tired when she did get up. We finally left home about 12:30pm after a nap and her shower. We went to Dukes and got the CBC that was due today and it told the story. The WBC was 0, the platelets were 400, and the HGB was 8.4. Needless to say we were on the way to St. V’s because she is to get platelets when they get below 20,000. No wonder she was tired, with those numbers and with the platelets where they were . She was bleeding from the nose and if you just touched her she got a bruise because blood vessels would break. Try this one, and believe me it is true. On the way down to Indy we stopped at Bakers Corner to use the restroom. When Marty went to dry her hands under an air dryer, the high powered air hitting the top of her hand, by her knuckles, gave her a bruise about a inch and a half in diamenter. Now granted it was kind of a strong air dryer, but I could not believe it did that to her, but it did. It just shows how dangerous the bleeding problem can be. So, the bottom line is we got to St. V’s and got 12 units of platelets, which should take if over the 20,000 danger point and hold her until the bone marrow starts making its own. The next thing will be the need for blood because the HGB has not finished dropping. Blood should be needed Thursday or Saturday and by early next week all should be on the way up. Praise the Lord! Let’s just pray that she does not bleed or get an infection, either and/or both of which could really be bad. We finally made it home about 11:00pm, it was a long day. Oh yes, I didn’t mention that Marty had a chill, she had some frozen yogurt for desert at dinner and she could not get warm for probably close to a half hour. Actually this had happened a couple of times much earlier in the process, like before she had any chemo. So, it had been a long time and we don’t know what has caused this. There have been 2 of these today. Since I arrived home, I’ve checked my temp twice and it was 99.1 and when I got undressed it was 98.9. So, there’s nothing to be concerned about.

Today’s scripture is indeed a thoughtful one: Daniel 2:22 “He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.” What a positive verse that we should always keep in mind. Part of what it says to me is that no matter how dark and down things may seem, God has “light” to shine on all of those things when we turn to Him and allow Him to guide us to His way and will. That light is so awesome may we always be looking for it. Praise the Lord!

It is late so we will say, have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3: 16

Sunday Night
January 21, 2007

GO COLTS!!!! HURRAY – WHAT A WIN!!!!! WAY TO GO COLTS!!!!! WE ARE

PROUD OF YOU!!!! AND WE THANK YOU FOR THE SEASON AND SUPER BOWL!!

Greeting to friends and family!

It is so exciting to be writing to you now and listening to the local TV (Indy) station with the celebration that is now going on in Indy. Of course, everybody is really happy and there is a lot of celebrating going on. What a wonderful thing for the city of Indy and Indiana. It’s a great day in the neighborhood!

Marty is really into her tiredness and even now, when she blows her nose, she gets some blood. That is a sign that the platelets are low. We will get a CBC tomorrow and then probably head to Indy for the platelets. From the Saturday results we also know that the WBC is on the way down, of course that is what is supposed to happen after the chemo, in fact that is exactly what the chemo is suppose to do. It is to kill off the WBC and get rid of the cancer cells. So, that is what we want. The numbers on Saturday also showed that the HGB is on its way down. It will be more toward the end of the week that blood will be needed. In the mean time, this is the down week, this is the vulnerable week and we pray again for God’s presence and grace.

You know it was really interesting this morning when I woke up and looked out the window. It was dark and I could not tell for sure if it was snowing or not. It was just so dark out that I could not even see the white snow. Then, I looked over to the spot light on the flag and I could then see the snow. As I thought about it, how true it is about life and about our faith. It is when we see the light of Jesus, make that a part of our life and make God a first priority in our lives that we see and know God. The snow as it comes down is so white, pure, and beautiful as it covers God’s creation. It, also I believe, is a symbol of how God wants things to be and encourages us to be about. So, I hope that if you haven’t, that you will rely on God to help you with whatever might be going on in your life. That is indeed what Marty and I have done, and we thank and praise God for all He has done with and for us, particularly since August. But, if we had not been doing it before August, it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to do it after August. God is so good – all the time. All the time – God is so God. Thank You God!! Praise the Lord!!

Today’s scripture is so good, it comes from James 1:19: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” That is an awesome way to go. May we all do this.

Have a positive day and glorify God in all that you say and do.

Go Colts!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Friday Night

Greetings to all:

This has kind of been a lazy day for Marty according to her, but the reality is that she has had another good day. Praise the Lord! Marty was up a little earlier than normal and we had breakfast with two members of the Church Family. Then this afternoon, she put away some Christmas decorations, took care of the recyclable items, went to the post office and then did a lot of reading and had a little rest this afternoon. Marty thought that she would fall asleep as she read, but that did not happen. However, tonight she had a little nap and maybe caught up a little. However the bottom line is that she is feeling pretty good and there is not a lot of fatigue yet. Tomorrow we will go to the hospital for a CBC and see what the numbers are at that point.

Hope that you are all doing well and thanks for your support, love, prayers, and all you have and are doing to help us at this time.

Have a positive night and a better day to the glory of God tomorrow.

GO COLTS!!!!!!!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Thursday Night

Hello to all!!!

Today has been a good day for Marty. Praise the Lord! She again had a good nights sleep and then has been busy all day. She went to the hsopital for a blood draw and CBC which still turned out very good. The platelets are on the way down but still in normal, so we will wait and see what they do. The other two are still very good and nothing to worry about. Then Marty went to the store to do some food shopping before going to the church for Super Thur. dinner, a class called "Three Colors of Love", and then the last part of choir practice. Need I say that she is now in bed, and I believe well she should be. I just can't hold her down, and I would now say that that may not all be bad. The doctor continues to say that she can do what she can do. Although I did not agree with that at first, I have come to accept it becasue doing that doesn't seem to hurt her. Praise the Lord!

Today's calendar scripture is from Ecclesiastes 3:1 and is such an important one for us to think about and remember. It says: "There is a time for everything and a season for evey activity under heaven...." What an awesome affirmation. Nothing is to be unexpected in life (even though we often say "Why did that happen to me?), and during every thing in life God will be with us. Praise the Lord! We, you and I, will never be alone - isn't that awesome? The next time you feel put out and/or are around someone that is put out I encourage you to think about this verse and then I hope you will feel God's presence and more importantly will know how to deal with what ever it is that has "put you out" of touch with God!

Be positive and God bless!

Jack
John 3:16

Wednesday Night

Greetings!

Well, finally we can say that Marty had a good nights sleep. Yes, last night she really had a good night, only being awake once and not getting up until about 6:15am and then going back to bed and asleep. Praise the Lord! She needed to have a good nights sleep and we are hoping that tonight will be as good. The day has gone well, too! Marty said the phone was quiet busy and it was good to talk to everyone. She got the laundry done today and some of the Christmas decorations put away before her energy starts going down.

Tomorrow we will have to have a CBC done and see what the numbers are doing. We know they will be going down, because that is what they normally are doing at this time. That means that the chemo is doing its job.

You know each time Marty has received a chemo treatment she has said a prayer as it was started. A part of that prayer was something like this: “I ask and pray that the chemo will do its job by doing away with the cancer cells and letting the healthy cells alone.” Now, isn’t that putting it just the way we want it. And we continue to pray that the cancer will indeed be gone and the healthy and well cells will live, grow, gain strength, and take over all of her body. Let’s keep our prayers going. Thanks for your support and help.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday Night

Greetings from Home – Praise the Lord!

We got out about 2:30pm this afternoon and got home about 5:00pm. It was great! But, the best thing was the bright, colorful sunshine. After all those days of clouds, darkness, and rain, today when we left the hospital, it was very cold, but beautiful. The sun was so bright, and when you sat in side, in the sun, it was so warm. Buddy really enjoyed it. First thing this morning, when I put the blind up, he hopped up on the back of the couch and just started soaking it in. Praise the Lord! Marty sat up in the passenger seat, while I put the jeep on the back of the motor home and she was in the sun. So, when I got finished and was starting off, she mentioned the warmth of the sun, even though it was so cold out. And then a little later on the trip, Marty mentioned how great it was to see the sun shine all around, instead of just out one little window. Praise the Lord! My first thought with the bright, beautiful sun this morning was God’s warm smile and grace on Marty as she got out of the hospital. Since she had been in the hospital this time, this was by far the greatest and brightest day. A sign of God’s love and grace on Marty as she was leaving from this treatment. Praise the Lord! God is good – all the time. All the time - God is good!

Marty had another bad nights sleeping last night. So, we are looking for a good one tonight. The right shoulder is still causing pain and being treated with heat and pain medication. Other than that she is really doing well. She has tolerated the chemo rather well, not had any problem eating, and/or keeping food down. She drank a lot of water in the hospital and took at least 4 walks all around the 6th floor each day. So, her lungs sound great and her strength is still up. Praise the Lord for all of the stamina, strength, desire, positive attitude and approach, and grace that He has given to Marty. Oh, by the way, the numbers are coming down, just the way they are supposed to. So, we will be doing every other day blood draws for CBC. We would expect that platelets and blood will be needed in the next seven to ten days or so, as they have been the past two times.

Well, I think that about covers it for tonight, except to again say GO COLTS!

Have a positive night and a day tomorrow that truly glorifies our God!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Monday Afternoon

To all of our family and friends whose support, help, call, pray, and all that are so meaningful to us!

THANK YOU!! Yes, thank you for your support, help, calls, cards, emails, prayers, and all you do that is so helpful and meaningful. Without your support and communication it would be without a doubt a more difficult journey.

While being down here in the big city and walking the halls in and out and all about, I have again been trying to note the actions of other people in relation to me. This time I have been looking at peoples eyes as I walk by without saying anything. My little experiment has shown that the majority of people will look away right away, a small number will smile, and the smallest number will say “Hi!” What does all of this mean, I don’t know, but it seems to me that it adds to our being lonely individuals out for ourselves and afraid to “relate” to someone we don’t know. Putting that down that way really makes me sad. And I guess that part of that comes from the fact that by the time I get to the car I am sad and lonely, because it makes me feel that way. And when I get to the floor I am glad to see people that I know and hear their greetings and see their smiles. It is such a better feeling to come on the floor and be around the people here. How do we, you and I, act when we are walking down the street, hall, or wherever that we are with strangers? (Or even with friends for that matter.) As children of God do we encourage other children of God with our words, deeds, and actions even if they are strangers? Or are we to wrap up in just what we are doing and/or what is going on in our lives to share and acknowledge God’s love? Join with me in thinking about and working on these observations.

Marty’s calendar scripture verse for today is: “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds… Teach them to your children….” (Deuteronomy 11:18, 19). What awesome advice!

Well, Marty is sleeping right now, because again she had a bad night as far as sleep, so, taking a nap now is a good thing. She will start her next to the last chemo in just a few hours. Her neck and shoulder are still giving her discomfort so she deals with it with heat and pain medication. Marty’s numbers are doing their thing as they are supposed to do at this point. So, all is going well, Praise the Lord!

Marty talked to Dr. Lee a little this morning about the future and it sounds like the plan may be changing a little. He said this morning that he thought he would do a bone marrow biopsy before the next treatment, instead of waiting until after it. And if the biopsy shows what he thinks it might he will recommend that we go back to St. Francis Hospital and see the transplant doctors. So, we are praying that God will help Marty to discern His will for her as we travel on this path. God has been so good and so much healing has been done, Marty has handled all the treatment so well. So, we sure need to discern God’s will for Marty’s care now and in the future. Thank you Lord for getting us to this point and lead us to the next step.

Well, I need to bring this to a close because I am going back to Peru for the Martin Luther King, Jr. service of Christian Unity to be held at out church tonight. It is the sixth year for this service in our community. The first three years the music folks at St Charles organized the service and for the last 3 years I have organized it. It is a great service with combine church choirs and music as well as participation of pastors. It is a true time of song and praise, and God is indeed glorified. Praise and thanks be to God!

So, thanks for being there and have a positive evening to the glory of God!!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Sunday Evening

This has been the Lord’s Day, we hope you have rejoiced and been glad in it.

Greetings and Praise the Lord!

Today has been a good day in room 6609. Marty did not sleep well again last night and basically has been awake since about 4:35 am this morning. That makes for a looooong day! But Cheryl, as well as Eric and Erin have been here today. In fact, Eric and Erin are still here. Erin and grandma are playing dolls right now. A couple of other Dora games, that we have in the motor-home, have made it over here to the hospital today and have had a lot of use. It has been a good day – Praise the Lord! Marty’s shoulder has continued to hurt but again not as bad as it usually has been, her basic numbers have come down some but are still within normal range, with 4 of the 6 chemo treatments done. So, the next chemo will be tomorrow (Monday) evening and then the last one on Tuesday morning and that will be the last medication for treatment # 3. Praise the Lord!

GO COLTS!!! THE COLTS ARE GOING ALL THE WAY!!!

Today’s calendar scripture has been Psalm 18:2 which is a spectacular verse that Marty and I find very meaningful and helpful. “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.” If God was not our rock and refuge I am not sure where we would be. When we rely on God for strength and guidance, it is indeed awesome, the ways in which His grace and love comes through and gets us through. God is so good – all the time! All the time – God is so good! God is so close and so helpful in times of need, what a blessing! Sometimes we miss God but it is not because God has left us, rather it is because for one reason or another we have gotten off and blocked out “the Rock” in our lives. How easy it is to do. Check out your relationship with your God and I pray that it is a healthy and growing one.

Have a positive night and an even more positive day tomorrow. God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Saturday Evening

GO COLTS - GOOD JOB COLTS - ALL THE WAY COLTS!!!!! YOU’LL DO IT!!

Greetings to all from Indy!

On the excited and adventurous side of me, I would like to go to down town Indy tonight to see what all is going on. I would also like to go to the airport when the team comes in. But I don’t think I will do either, I will just be happy and celebrate with the cancer patients on the 6th floor of St. V’s Hospital. There are a number of patients that are as happy as I am. The woman, in the room next to us, is from Amboy and had her door closed during the game, so that she would not bother others with her yelling and noise. During the 4th quarter, when I went over and knocked on the door, and went in, the first thing she did was apologize for being so loud. When the game was over this end of the hall was pretty loud and an older couple from the other end stopped by to celebrate as well. It has been fun. The woman next door said that she thought it would be interesting to know the reaction of the team if they knew that a bunch of patients on the cancer floor were cheering and all the way they were for the Colts. It seems like it would be interesting to let them, the Colts, know the enjoyment they gave to a number of people on this floor and that they took their minds of their situation while they were playing.

Marty had a bad night last night. She was looking forward to a good, long night of sleep last night, but that did not happen. She was awake a number of times and then up about 6:45 am, even though the doctor did not come in until after 9:45 am, although she had been on the floor since 6:30 am. Today has gone pretty well for her. She has had a short nap or two and read a lot. She also enjoyed watching the Colts game. It sounds like she and her nurse must have had a good time. At least the nurse said that she had a good time taking care of Marty. She has continued to put heat on her neck and shoulder and take the pain medication. She is getting her third chemo right now, until about 10:00 pm and then she will be half way through with this treatment. Praise the Lord!

Marty and I talked on the phone this morning before the retreat started, and the scripture passage from the calendar that we shared and have held up for inspiration today is Psalm 8:1 “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” What an awesome verse and “thing” to think about. Just the idea of saying or thinking about “God’s name” is so up lifting and positive in my life. There are, of course, those in our society and lives that find using the Lord’s name in vain as “majestic.” But, of course, I want to lift it up in the positive way of using the Lord’s name, because when I think of God the first thing I think about is His grace, mercy, love, strength, and all the ways that He cares for each of us that is majestic. God is so good - all the time. All the time - God is good. God’s name should be lifted up by all of us, just in gratitude for all He has given to us. God’s name should be the greatest name in all the earth, because God is the creator and sustainer. Praise and thanks be to God! I am so glad that God is in charge of my life and my day is so much better, when I allow God to guide and uphold His will in my daily life. It is not always easy and I don’t always do it well, but it is awesome when I allow God to do His thing and be majestic in his own right. I hope this all makes sense and has a part in your life as well.

Better go for now, so join your Community of Faith in the morning, be positive, and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Friday Night

First day of chemo is done and Marty is in the LEAD!!!!!!

Marty has had a pretty good day today. The chemo finished about 10:00am and she has been free as a bird since then. Tonight her right neck and clavicle area has been hurting, but not really more than usual, and with heat and pain medication it is controled. Praise the Lord! The next chemo will be at 7pm tomorrow night.

I am headed home tonight for an officers retreat at church tomorrow. I will be back to see the second half of the Colts Game tomorrow- Go Colts ! I will listen to it on the way down and cheer them on to a win.

Going to keep this short cause we need to walk the halls and I need to hit the road. Don't worry I will not hit it to hard.

Have a positive evening and day tomorrow. God bless!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Thursday Afternoon

A greeting, from Room 6609, at St. Vincent’s in Indy!

We are here and it is as usual hurry up and wait. We are basically all settled in, all of the admission stuff is done and we are waiting. At this point, I believe we may be waiting for the blood tests results, that they did when Marty first got here, to come back.

GO COLTS ***** GO COLTS ***** GO COLTS ***** GO COLTS

It is kind of too bad that the game is not here in Indy because our door way and room are all decorated and ready to cheer the Colts on to victory. We have had a couple of people come by and comment on our decorations.

By the way, our room number is 6609 the long distance number is 1.866.338.2345 ext. 0708 and the local number is 1.317.338.0708 and the address is 2001 West 86th Street Indianapolis, IN 46260.

Marty is still feeling very good today. She is on pain medication for her shoulder and it is tolerable at this time. When she gets on the pre-chemo medicines that should take even more of the shoulder pain away. At least, it usually does do this, and we expect that it will this time also. So, that is a good thing.

We I think that will catch everyone up for now. So, I will close and do that wonderful thing of paying bills.

Have a positive evening, night, and day tomorrow. God Bless!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Wednesday Night

Well, here we are again – greetings to all!!

Well, when we publish tomorrow we will be in Indy. The doctor was very pleased with every-thing today. So, we will be on our way south in the morning. Marty’s numbers were all good today. The Hgb .was the same as last week, the platelets were up from last week, but still within normal range, and the WBC was down a little, but again still within normal range. So, Dr. Lee was happy! He also said that her heart sounded good as did her lungs. So, he said “pack your bag” and we said that Marty already had her bag packed, which she actually did. It was Jack that still had a number of things to do to get ready, and actually still has several things to do.

Jack and Buddy will be staying in the motor home again. It should be interesting. I have it all winterized. So, I am carrying water in jugs this time. Also, I have two electric heaters in the motor home and it will be interesting to see if that will keep it warm enough or not. There is a nurse who stays in her motor home all winter and says that she uses two of the same kind of heaters and her unit is even bigger than ours. She also gets along with jugs of water. So, if she can do it I am sure Buddy and I can do it too!!!!!!!

Go Colts is the theme for Marty’s room this time. We have some interesting items to put on the door and in the room. I do not believe there will be any question about the team to support. But, on the 6th floor of St. V’s there really isn’t any question any way because they have had Colts things up since October. So, the room will fit right in! Go Colts!! In fact, go all the way Colts!

Well, we go in for the next to the last planned chemo treatment and look forward to the light at the end of the tunnel. Marty really has felt good today, in fact the last couple of days, and said how great it is to think about the fact that in about two months the chemo will be over and she can look forward to feeling “good”. Praise the Lord! God has been with us and so good to us thus far and we have no reason to believe that it will be any different. Praise the Lord! As we go past this half way point we give God thanks, thanks, thanks, and more thanks for His grace and love that we have seen in such an abundant way. God has provided Marty with such a great attitude and the strength to endure so much in such a positive way. That is why we say Thank you Lord and Praise the Lord! And in two plus months we look forward to saying the same thing.

Need to close for now and get the rest of things packed and get some sleep. So, have a positive night for the day tomorrow. And may all that you say and do tomorrow glorify God!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday night

Midnight and all is well! Praise the Lord! Is a better week than last week for sure! Thank you Lord!

It has been a "good" day and tomorrow (Wednesday) we will see Dr. Lee. With the way Marty is feeling we think we will be going to St. V's on Thursday for treatment # 3.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Monday Evening

11:00pm and all is well!

Greetings to all! It has been another good day. Praise the Lord!

Marty has been busy getting ready for the Women’s Bible Study here at the house tomorrow night. She has prepared a snack and a desert for those who come.

I got the outside Christmas decorations down and part of them put away. The rest, I put in the basement until they dry out. I have also been doing the fun thing of paying bills.

That has about made up our day. God is good all the time – all the time God is good.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Sunday Evening

Blessing and Greetings:

“Today is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Thank you Lord for this day and for your love, we are indeed rejoicing and are glad. Praise the Lord!!

Go Colts! Go Colts! The Colts are going all the way! Go Colts! Go Colts!
They have it all and they can go all the way!

Marty is doing so good that she watched the last part of the Colts game for me yesterday and had the score for me when I got home. It was so great! I only wish I could have watched the game. But, I am so glad that Marty had the score for me. And Marty is doing well today. This afternoon, when she laid down and was reading her book, she didn’t even fall asleep. That was sure a surprise to both of us. Normally she would have been asleep before she could have read two pages, but instead, she read for about an hour and a half. Praise the Lord! Her shoulder is still giving her discomfort, but other than that, she really seems to be feeling pretty good, particularly for all the chemo that she has had. It is looking more and more like the third treatment will begin this coming Thursday. We will see Dr. Lee on Wednesday and then we will know for sure.

Marty’s scripture calendar has a good one today – Ephesians 5:8: “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light…” What an awesome passage and thought for us to always remember. It also seems to me that we must keep in mind that that word “once” can mean a moment ago. It is so easy for us to slip back into the darkness, even though we have experienced the “light” but don’t “live as children of light.” So, keep the faith, be positive, and let the light of Jesus shine in everything that you do.

Thanks for reading the blog and for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. It is God’s love expressed through all of you that encourages and supports us so much. Praise the Lord!

Have a great evening and a greater day tomorrow! God will be glorified!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Friday night

How is everyone???

I am looking for help to build an ark – any who would like to join me, can stop by Sunday afternoon. Particularly if it is still raining, we will finalize plans. What do you think? Isn’t this weather something else? I guess one thing for sure is that we can certainly be happy that it is not snow! If it was snow, we would probably be in worse shape that we were in 1978.

At any rate, since Marty is home most days and has the TV on for noise, she has heard a lot about the weather and she was telling me tonight at dinner, that part of what she has heard says all winter will be very mild and the summer very, very hot. Marty says that they are saying it is because of El Nino. I don’t know, but I believe that God is still in charge and that again we do not know what His plan is or the timing for it. So, with His blessing, we will have to take it and check out our relationship with God, to see where He is in our lives.

Well now, to the purpose of this blog, Marty is improving each day this week. Her shoulder is also improving. She is still on the pain medication to keep it more under control, when she has to use it. She is still doing some napping during the day, particularly after she has her shower. They say that taking a shower is one of the hardest things we do to our heart and body because of the body temperature change and the exertion. And that sure seems to be true for Marty, even when she uses the shower chair, she still comes out very tired, like she has just worked a double shift. In the mean time, she is keeping up with preparing the meals, doing a number of thank you notes and reading, answering the phone (even the telemarketers that drive her nuts, and we have the do not call - HA! HA!), and, oh yes, all the washing. So, as you can see, particularly this third week, she keeps her self busy.

You see as the doctor explained in the beginning here is what each month is like:
Week one - in the hospital for chemo on days 1, 3, and 5- twice a day for 3 hours each time.
Week two – home, having CBC’s every other day and watching for the numbers to go down.
Week three – numbers are down, having to have platelets and blood, while experiencing a lot of tiredness thus being in bed and the lounge chair much more.
Week four – feeling better and numbers up, doing things, and feeling like there is light at the end of the tunnel.

We have two more rounds of the above to go. We will see Dr. Lee this next Wednesday and it is possible that the next round will begin on Thursday.

It is good that even in the “struggles” God gives us a plan, a process that can give us some regularity and help us to cope with all that is going on. God is so good – all the time. All the time – God is so good. Praise the Lord! We do see God’s grace and love in so many ways and certainly do give Him thanks.

Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for me, so, I probably will not get another blog on until Sunday. I have a Presbytery Assembly to go to tomorrow. So, I hope that you all will cheer the Colts on to a win. Then, I will be in a good mood when I write on Sunday. GO COLTS!

Have a positive day, know God’s constant blessing, and glorify God in all you do.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Thursday Evening

Praise the Lord and give thanks to God for this day!!

It has indeed been a pretty good day for Marty. This afternoon she went down to church to help her Team to fix the Super Thursday dinner. About 4:30 she came home to get some rest, but that just meant about 15 minutes of lying down. At 5:30 she was back to the church to help serve and clean up. There is no stopping this woman, but praise and thanks be to God that she can do it. She is a little tired tonight, but probably not really any more than she has been for the last 8 to 10 days. The next week should be pretty good and we look forward to it, even as we look toward to next Thursday when she will probably go back into St. V’s for her third treatment.

God is good – all the time: All the time - God is good. We give thanks and praise to Him for all His goodness and graciousness shown to us in so many ways. I encourage you to stop and think for just a few minutes about all God has done for you, even if you do just consider today, it will indeed be a long list. Thank you God!

Going to go for now and maybe even get to bed a little early.

Be positive, take care, and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Wednesday evening

Hi to all!

It is good to write to all of you tonight and let you know that today has been a better day, the numbers were up, and the doctor is pleased. That sentence about puts it all in a nut shell and tells the story. Praise the Lord! The shoulder is becoming more tolerable when on the pain medicine every 5 to 6 hours. The tiredness is not as bad today, but other than the doctor’s office, Marty took it pretty easy. It is good to see Marty feeling improved. I thank the Lord so many times a day that I can’t keep track of them, for His grace and love particularly as it is being shown through Marty at this time. What a blessing!! What a strong, faithful servant of the Lord’s Marty is. Praise the Lord!!

I also want to thank God for all of you, and thank you for all of your support, prayers, love, emails, cards, calls, contacts and all. It is so helpful and meaningful to have such support. Praise the Lord!

We will see Dr. Lee next Wednesday morning and discuss then ,when Marty will go for the next treatment: next Thursday will be the earliest and if it will not be then it will be a week from then. It will all depend on how Marty is feeling and how ready Dr. Lee and she think that she is for treatment number three.

Have a good evening, a great nights rest, and be positive, so as to glorify God in all you do tomorrow.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday Night

Good evening to all!

Sorry we missed last night. It was a long day and when we sat down in our easy chairs the next thing we knew it was about midnight. I decided that we could wait a night to do the blog. Marty asked me if I had done one, and when I said no, I think she was quiet happy, particularly that she could then go right to bed and did not have to read a blog.

At any rate, Marty is doing better today. The blood on Saturday lead to some numbers that were acceptable yesterday, it also helped a lot with the tiredness. Being able to stay in bed today and to rest the rest of the day has also been a big help. Her shoulder has let up a little as well. It indeed is still hurting her but not to the degree that it did last week. That too is a reason that I think it is connected to the chemo. Last week is when the chemo had Marty’s blood to the lowest and it is the week that her shoulder hurt her the most, but since getting home from the hospital the last time. That two plus two is going to equal four for me until the doctors can give me another answer. The other answers they have given so far have not held, so, I will stick with this one. So, I guess that means that we have two more times to go through this and I am not looking forward to them. But God will indeed be with us, and it will all work out to His glory.

Praise the Lord! We had a wonderful few days with the kids; they arrived safely and have made it home safely, Praise the Lord! It was indeed good to have both families here at the same time and to have all four grandchildren together for four days was a great joy. They are growing and changing so much. But, that is what they were born to do, and it is good to watch them do so. Eric and Erin surprised us by having a professional picture taken of Erin alone and of the two of them together. Since Jennifer has this done on a regular basis she has been on her brother to do it as well. So, they did and it is great, Praise the Lord! Not only did the pictures turn out really good it also means that we now have both families pictures on the entertainment center to look at on a regular basis. God has been so good to us and we praise and glorify Him with thanksgiving for our years together, our family, and our friends, who also have been good to us and supported us so much the past four months. Thank you God!

We certainly hope that you have a good evening and night, get relaxed and rested for the day of ministry that the Lord puts before you tomorrow.

Be positive, take care, and be blessed.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16