Songs In The Night

Job 35:10

"....Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night;"

God is so good to us. He gives us songs in our hearts even when we are sad and even when we don't always understand things in our lives. Even when we are having bad days, He gives us songs.

Jerry went to his oncologist Monday. They did not have to give him a transfusion, but all of his counts are down. His red blood cells, his platelets, and his white blood cells are very low at this time.  He is neutropenic and is very susceptible to infections, so he is unable to be around crowds.

It is a little discouraging for him, because he is not able to go to church.

Monday, he will start another round of chemo for five days. That will cause his blood counts to drop even lower. Please be praying for him. Pray for encouragement and that he would not get any infections and that the chemo would do what it is designed to do.

At the end of November, he will return to Duke Clinic for a bone marrow biopsy to see if he is a candidate yet for the transplant or if he will need more chemo cycles.

Please pray that we will remain strong and be of good courage.

Thank your so much for your prayers, cards, and condolences at the passing of my brother.

We love you!

Jerry holding Brylee "Hope"

In Memory of Dennis Knight



Dennis Dewayne Knight
October 18, 1952 - October 16, 2011



Patricia and Dennis

Dennis

Dad, Mom, My Brother Jerry, Patricia, & Dennis

Dennis' Graduation Picture





Sunday morning my brother, Dennis, went home to Heaven.  As I was reading his orbituary, it told of his work, his family, the organizations he belonged to, but it really didn't tell some of the important  things about his life.

The most important is that on February 20, 1976, the Lord allowed me to lead my brother to the Lord. The week bfore on February 12, I had visited his wife, Mary, and after giving her the plan of salvation, she asked Jesus into her heart. Dennis called me a few days later and said, "I want what Mary has."

There was such a change in Mary's life, that my brother wanted to be saved also.

That is the most important fact I can tell you about my brother's life.

I know he is rejoicing in Heaven right now. His wife and our mother had passed away several years ago and I know they are having a happy reunion time.

I am sad at the passing of my brother, but so happy that he is in Heaven.Please pray for our family at this time.

We are unable to travel to the memorial service because of Jerry's health. Please continue to pray for Jerry's treatments.

We love you!



In A Holding Pattern

Our youngest son, Mark, loves to fly. When he had his pilot's license, I loved flying with him. In the afternoons, he would rent a little two seater, one engine plane and we would go flying above Owensboro, Kentucky and over the Ohio River to Newburgh, Indiana. It was always exciting and an adventure.

The first time I flew with him, I was so excited. It was a Birthday present to me. But what I didn't know  was that Mark had never flown at night time. So while we were flying it started getting dark. It was time for him to land the plane, but since it was the first time flying at night, he got disorientated with the lights, which is easy to do,  and he could not find the runway.

Well we were in a holding pattern for a while. I was trying to figure out how long we could stay up in the air and was praying that we had plenty of gas. Maybe we could fly around until morning when we could see better. Or maybe another plane would fly by and we could just follow it. I was a little scared, but I kept very quiet and just prayed. Before long my son said, "There it is, Mom. I see the runway." I was so happy. His Dad was suppose to fly with him that night, but he decided he would wait until another time.

We were in a holding pattern and a state of delay. That is what we are in now with Jerry's leukemia. Jerry is going through a series of chemo treatments and transfusions, waiting until we are cleared for a landing.

One day the doctors are going to say you are cleared for the transplant. Your counts are where they need to be. Please be praying toward that day for us. We still have good days and bad days. We still serve a wonderful Savior Who is still the Pilot of our plane.

I Chronicles 29:13

Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name

Every morning we always have our prayer time together. It's a very special time. We take turns praying. Usually we end up crying and thanking our God for all His wonderful blessings to us. Sometimes we are so amazed by His blessings to us.  Even through Jerry's illness, we are thankful, because it has brought us closer and it has also brought us closer to our God.

Through these past 4 months we have felt His presence in our lives through his love for us and through the love of our family and our friends.  God has been so good to us.

We would appreciate some extra prayers at this time. Jerry is not feeling very good. He has been really weak and tired from the chemo last week. They gave him a transfusion of platelets and red blood on Monday. He is to receive another transfusion on Thursday.

 We are still hanging on to that thread of hope which is always there, even though sometimes it might feel a little thin. We always try to find some sunshine through the clouds.

We love you and please keep on praying.

Welcome Brylee "Hope" Rice

A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on.  ~Carl Sandburg

It was a very special day in the Rice Family. We welcomed a new member - Brylee Hope Rice. She was born, October 8, 2:59 p.m. to our son, Neal, and his wife, Amy. She weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz and was 18.5 inches long.

We were so thankful that God blessed us with another little grandchild. We might be a little biased, but she is so beautiful.

WHAT A GREAT DAY!!!!

Autumn






Beautiful West Virginia

   Autumn is our  favorite time of year. It's a time of nostalgia with our minds  full of memories of autumn days long ago.

And in this autumn of 2011 we are gathering more wonderful memories. We are so excited thinking about each day that the Lord gives us. We're excited about a new grand daughter that is soon to be a part of our family and about the holidays that will soon be approaching. We're excited about all the family traditions we have shared throughout the years and enjoying them in each new season that the Lord gives us.



We are especially excited about our future and what the Lord has for us.

This is day 4 of Jerry's chemo treatment. Tomorrow will be the last day for three weeks and then he will start another week of the chemo.  He's been running a fever and is very tired and hasn't felt his very best. But with all of this we are so hopeful. We know there are so many people praying and we are looking forward to a lot more autumns together.

We love you.

 

Autumn

Oh, how I love those Autumn days,

With sunsets filled with golden haze.

The scenes of brightly painted trees,

All decked out in colored leaves.

Jumping and laughing in leaves piled high,

The delicious aroma of apple pie.

Chilly mornings with frosted window panes,

Walking along leaf covered lanes.

Autumn is more than a time of year

It's memories and feelings that I hold dear.

-Patricia Rice



Babcock State Park in West Virginia



Thank you Lord for Family

"The love of a family is life's greatest blessing.”

We had such a good weekend. Our youngest son, Mark, and his two children, Alexis and Gavin, flew in for a visit. There was lots of laughter and fun. Then there were tears when they had to leave. That's always the hard part. I wish we could have all of our family around all the time.



Neal, Jerry, and Mark




Kyla, Gavin, Alexis, and Hayden







Mark, Gavin, Kyla, Alexis, Amy, Hayden, and Neal
























Jerry started his second round of chemo today here in Greenville. He'll have to go for 5 days. Please be praying that it won't make him sick and that the chemo will keep the leukemia blasts from coming back.  Today his platelet count and white blood count was low. He will probably have to have a transfusion next Monday. He is very susceptible to germs now and of bleeding easily.

We are so very hopeful that the chemo is going to work.  We have so many people praying and we have a good God who loves us.

We love you!