Rejoice!!!

Ryan completed his 30 days of radiation on Thursday! Praise Him! We are very relieved that that part of the journey is over - please continue to agree with us in prayer that the radiation did what it was intended to do - purify and cleanse his body of any cancer cells, continue to pray also that Ryan will be protected from the long term side effects that radiation can cause (remember- Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego). We are so very thankful and praise Him that Ryan did really well during the treatment - no nausea, headaches - a drop in his appetite, but his weight maintained!, tired but he always pushed through and had a great little attitude about everything! The entire medical/radiation team seemed as if they were hand picked by Him to take care of Ryan (and of us :)) - there are definitely angels among us. We have seen the evidence of His hand and your prayers every step of the way! We could not do this if we were not continually sustained by Him and your prayers. I never had to make the drive to Vanderbilt by myself - not one single time! Most days I had more than one offer to ride with me - some took a day off from work to just ride with us. Each of you will never know what that meant to me. Initially I wanted that in case Ryan got sick on the ride home - after I realized that probably wasn't going to happen, you all continued to insist on riding with us! You truly ministered to me by doing that - from the bottom of my heart I thank you. We have also had some angels who came in and worked some magic over our house - laundry was done, clothes were ironed, floors were mopped and the list could go on. Addie has been taken care of on therapy days and sometimes just to give us a chance to catch a nap. We are so blessed with the most wonderful family and friends! While this part of our journey is ending - we cannot forget the precious children who are just beginning radiation - please keep these little ones in your prayers.

Ryan is thrilled to not have the needle in his port-a-cath (he can get real baths and play in the tub for a long time - not just on weekends now!). He has asked every morning "are we done with radiation?" I guess he just needs to make sure that he really is done. He also asks if he is done getting that needle put in - oh, how I wish I could tell him that he will never ever have to do that again! I try to be positive about it by pointing out that even though he will have to have the needle again, hopefully he won't have to have it in for an entire week anymore. He wears out quickly but still gives it everything he's got and wants to play Power Rangers with his Daddy nonstop! His appetite is still not the greatest and eating continues to be a struggle for him - he just can't chew very well and he can't open his mouth very wide and I think he tires quickly. Please continue to pray for the muscles in his face to "wake up" or whatever it is they need to do. It is hard to watch him struggle with this even though he never complains. The other night Addie kept telling him to smile! - I was ready to kill her, but before I could say anything Ryan just told her he couldn't because of his surgery - very matter of fact. Then, they were on to another subject. I think Addie is pretty confused about the whole face issue - she can't verbalize it, but I think she has plenty of thoughts going on in her little head.

We celebrated the end of radiation with lunch at The Aquarium - Ryan's friend Tiffany was able to meet us there. He was very happy to see her as they haven't had much time to play lately.
We did have our shopping trip on Friday and it went very well- it really wasn't that crowded! Some of you must have been praying:)! Toys 'R Us had the new line of Power Rangers out and I think he was almost able to get one of every color - he was very happy! Addie could care less about toys, so it was hard to keep her focused on the task at hand. She did finally find a princess gown and a baby doll in a bathtub. Once she found it - she was ready to go. Ryan, on the other hand, has to look down every aisle , touch every toy, then - lay them out in the aisle before he can decide what he wants to buy. Funny how very different they are. Thanks to Pap for all the quarters and to each of you who have sent those dollars to Ryan and Addie - they had a great day because of your kindness and thoughtfulness! I can never say "thank you" enough for the way so many of you are loving our children - it looks like Santa already came!

Our next dr. visit is January 9th - Ryan will have his MRI. Please pray and agree with us that the results will be clear! We try not to think about it, but it is really hard not to.

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas - enjoy your families, take lots of pictures (I regret that I wasn't better at that in the past!). Because of CHRISTmas - we have HOPE!!

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 4:19