Week 8 - A few days to go

We've had a busy day with Christmas programs and concerts for the kids and it has been a great weekend. We enjoyed the Bard Christmas party Friday evening with many friends from Bard. We celebrated with our St. Martin's church family this morning as the kids reminded us of the true meaning of Christmas. We enjoyed the company of our parents today as they spent the day with us following Emily and Adam to their concerts. The joy of the season is with us as we now await Friday's appointment in Cleveland. Eric begins the testing process at 10:30 and his appointment with Dr. Dreicer is at 1:00. Fred and Helen (Eric's parents) will be traveling to Cleveland with us. We know that many of you will also be traveling with us in spirit and that your prayers will carry us there and home again.

Eric is doing well. His spirits are good. He is gaining weight again and looks healthier than he has for months. We suspect that we will know a great deal more after we are finished in Cleveland Friday. Our prayer is that the cancer has not aggressively grown. We are so aware of the fact that anything can happen this Friday. There will be good news or there will be bad news and we will take whatever news we get and go from there. Otherwise, until Friday, we make no plans or even try to predict how this will all turn out. We have put it in God's hands and know that worrying about it will not change the outcome. We talked the other night about how blessed we have been and that so many events in our lives were not in our timing but totally in God's plan. As we watched our kids today, we were reminded of the journey we took bringing each of them into our lives. How can we not trust our God who blessed us with Emily and Adam? How can we attempt to take charge of a situation that we know doesn't really belong to us alone. We will go Friday trusting Him and knowing that no matter what the outcome is, He has not forsaken us in anyway. He is faithful in ALL things and our hope needs to always remain in Him.

When we know more on Friday, I will update the blog again. Thanks to all of you for the prayers, words of encouragement, hugs and acts of kindness. There are not enough words to express our gratitude for each and every one of you these past 4 months of this journey. Remember these next few weeks the real reason for this special season. Enjoy your preparations and treasure every moment and event that makes the holiday special for you and your family. Not one of us gets a second chance at Christmas 2008... make memories and celebrate the birthday of the Christ Child.

Christmas blessings to all... Eric and Gwen