Update 5/17/24: Milestones #2

James 1:2-4 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

My friend Lindsey shared that verse in her blog post yesterday. It’s hard to imagine that one can be joyful in trials, and yet I have found this true in our lives and I have seen it as I glimpse into other people’s lives, like Lindsey. Please be praying for Lindsey and her family. Her husband’s brain cancer came back again after a 3rd surgery and they are navigating some difficult times. 

Watching others suffer and not do well is hard. Although we celebrate Wayne’s health, sometimes it makes us feel guilty. Why are we blessed with answered prayers for healing while others prayers appear to go unanswered? I call it “survivor guilt”. We are not more deserving then others, but somehow, God in His perfect sovereignty has decided He’s not done with Wayne or me yet here on earth. 

This past weekend, we were blessed to watch our oldest, Abigail, graduate magma cum laud from Liberty University. She received her bachelor degree in Business Administration: Finance with a minor in accounting and Women’s Ministry. None of us thought Wayne would be here in person to see this momentous occasion. God is so good! Abigail was thrilled to have us there to celebrate with her. The pictures are further down.

Micaela and Joella will be participating in the local summer swim team. We thought this would be a good outlet for them, especially since they both love the water.

I have been working on my to do list, which included painting the guest bathroom and painting sitting in a new toilet. That is the part where Shan 

We stayed with my sister in Durham the night before the graduation since hotels were outrageous in Lynchburg. It was wonderful seeing her.

Abigail’s graduation was amazing. We made sure to take lots of pictures, especially of Wayne and Abigail.

Naomi celebrated her advancement from the youth group on Wednesday night and Joella received her Timothy Award from AWANA. I cannot believe that my baby is entering youth group. Time flies too fast!

Joella had braces put on today. She is the last one to have her teeth done. 

Update: Rebecca

I had another dose of immunotherapy today. So far I’m feeling fine, just tired from a long day. I went from PT to the orthodontist straight to the hospital for blood work and my treatment. Overall, I feel like I am bouncing back nicely after the rough few months of treatment. It is nice to feel tired from being busy doing mom things instead of just being exhausted from cancer treatments. I’m thankful for my health and every day God gives me with my family.

Update: Wayne

Wayne continues to baffle and amaze us. He walked another mile this week at the gym on top of his PT. We noticed today that his speech is improving as well. It is slow, but progress is being made. Only God! As I said earlier in my post, sometimes it is hard to celebrate when others aren’t doing well. Despite the difficulties, Wayne continues to fully trust God and enjoy each day God gives him. Wayne knows from experience that everything can change on a dime. 

Prayer Requests:

- Wayne: for continued improvement, especially for his speech.

- Rebecca: pray that my hip fully recovers with PT and that my blood work stays good after my treatment.

- Kids: pray for wisdom for the kids as they each pursue different things (jobs, future directions, etc)

- Please pray for my friend Lindsey and her family as well as Mary, another friend with brain cancer. Both families need our prayers.

Update 5/10/24: Milestones

Psalm 105:1-4 “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all Vis wonderful acts. Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.”

We have been on the busy train of life the past few weeks. So many important milestones in our kid’s lives. Naomi had prom and graduated, Grace returned home from serving with Life Action and is now enrolled as a full time college student next year, Shan and Sophia are wrapping up their school year with Liberty, Abigail is graduating from Liberty tomorrow, DJ called and has had some issues and we are waiting to hear from his staff at the residential place, and finally, Micaela and Joella are wrapping up school and gearing up for the summer swim team. On top of all of that, we have had many PT appointments, driving kids to work and all their events, and helping my parents out on their farm. It’s been a whirlwind. Sometimes I’d like to pull the chord and stop the train. But I guess that’s what we get for having 8 kids. 

Update Wayne: Wayne continues to hit some amazing milestones himself. We have now passed the six month mark from ending his treatment, so we have once again surpassed the typical survival of 3-6 months. Not only as he passed it, he’s getting stronger and faster. He walked a mile this week! 

Update Rebecca: I have another immunotherapy next Friday, but I have been feeling pretty good. I’m going to PT right now for some hip pain. My doctor wanted to make sure it’s muscular and not any side effects from my treatments. 

Naomi’s prom pictures. She went with her friend Sarah.

We made a trip to Chicago to surprise Micaela’s friend for her birthday. Wayne visited his oncology team while we were there. Nothing new to report since we are on palliative care and are not doing MRIs. They said he looks good.

I always love going downtown Chicago because it brings back so many memories. This is the building I worked in when I worked at Deloitte.

The kids had a blast with their friends.

Going to Chicago means seeing many friends. This is my friend Melody and her son Nathan. Melody and I met years ago in a homeschool group. When we were getting ready to adopt the boys, her and some of her friends played an instrumental role in helping me learn Chinese culture and how to make Chinese food…for which Shan is grateful. 

It’s crazy when you see other people’s kids, because time is a thief. I remember all these young men when they were just boys. They invited me to hear their presentation they were doing for a competition. They ended up winning at the state level and are headed to the national competition. The did a historic presentation on “Wong Kim Ark and the Battle for Citizenship”. It was amazing and very informative. I’m rooting for them to win nationals!

I went to lunch with two of my very best friends who I have known for 18 years.

I was teaching Susan the tricks of a 0.5 shot. 🤣

Sue and Tracy are also two of my best friends. Whenever we get together, there are lots of laughs.

My dad his back surgery to repair the screw that came out. He is doing great and is already two weeks into recovery.

Micaela loved dissection day at CC. She took the cow heart home to show everyone how heavy it was. I love this girl and her joy in learning.

My friend, Juyi, from Taiwan is back visiting America. This time, her husband and son came with her. It was so wonderful to meet them all and spend time with them. 

 

Abigail and I enjoyed spending a night laughing at the John Crist show we watched. Laughter truly is good medicine.

We also were visited by my friend Danielle who moved to Texas. It was great catching up with her. It was her birthday, so we had to get cake!

 

Naomi graduated from high school with her associates degree. We are super proud of her. She plans to take a Gap year and spend the year doing mission work with kids. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for her life.

I will post another update in a few days. I apologize for those who have been waiting. Life is just busy, as many of you know. 

Prayer Requests: 

- Please pray for us as we travel to Virginia to see Abigail graduate tomorrow. I’m sad that not everyone can go, but that is life with older kids.

- Please keep praying for our health and that God gives us as many days as He desires for us to live out here on earth. Pray that we never forget to make the most of each day living for the Lord.