A Wonderful Christmas Surprise

Thank you so much Bro. Weber and the Youth group from Peoples Baptist Church here in Greenville, NC  for coming by our home and Christmas caroling.  You made our  Christmas very special.

We want to thank our friends, family, and church family for their love, gifts, prayers, and support at this Christmas season and special time in our lives.

The Love of a Brother

A brother is a friend provided by nature.
-Legouve Pere

Jerry and his brother, Bob

Growing up together, they were like most brothers. They had their fun times together, playing and pretending and probably had their quarrels like most siblings.  But I believe there is always a special bond between brothers and sisters.

When the doctors decided to try a stem cell transplant to treat Jerry's leukemia, they said a sibling would be the best donor. Jerry's two brothers and two sisters all willingly agreed to be tested to see if they might be a possible donor.

After being tested, Jerry's brother, Bob, was a perfect match to be Jerry's donor.

We all met at the Duke Transplant Clinic today in Durham. After doing a physical on Bob and blood tests today, the transplant oncologist said everything looked good and they were going to proceed with harvesting Bob's stem cells for the transplant. He will be in Durham all week taking injections to build his white cells so they can harvest them on Thursday and Friday.

Our prayer now is that after they harvest them and send them to the lab for checking that they will be suitable for the transplant.

If the cells are good, Jerry will check into Duke University Hospital on Saturday, Christmas Eve, to begin chemo and then on the 29th of December, they will do the transplant.

Please be in much prayer that they will be able to do the transplant. We love you and we are so thankful for all the love, support, and prayers.

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.



Bob and his wife, Julie



Christmas Magic

John 3:16 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

I remember the first Christmas I celebrated as a saved person. It was the most specal Christmas. I finally understood the meaning of John 3:16. That God loved me so much that He gave me the greatest gift a person could receive.

The Magic of Christmas

What makes the magic at Christmas Time

What makes it so different than any other time.

Is it the evergreen strung with bright lights,

Or the candles burning all through the night.

Is it the songs that we all sweetly sing.

Or the presents we hope Santa will bring.

Is it the angels, the manger, the star,

The shepherds, the Wise Men who traveled afar?

What makes the magic at Christmas Time?

What makes it so different than any other time?

I think it’s a Baby born on that day.

Who came to give hope and show us the way.

That makes the magic at Christmas Time.

That makes it so different than any other time.

-Patricia Rice

This Christmas will be a different Christmas for us. We will be spending it in the hospital. Next to the gift of Jesus, we will be receiving one of the best Christmas presents we could receive - Jerry a transplant and hopefully a remission of the leukemia.

We love you and please be praying for us. 

Gathering Sunshine

I loved reading stories to our sons while they were growing up. And one of the stories I remember was titled "Frederick". The story was about a little mouse named Frederick. While the other field mice worked  to gather grain and nuts for winter, Frederick would sit on a sunny rock by himself. He would gather sun rays for the cold dark winter days. Another day he gathered “colors,” and then “words.” And when the food ran out during the winter, it was Frederick, the dreamer and poet, whose endless store of supplies warmed the hearts of the other mice, and fed their spirits during the darkest winter days.

Right now we are gathering sunshine, memories,  and laughter for the months ahead of us. Every time we talk to our family or spend time with them, it's a ray of sunshine that we're going to need in the months ahead of us. On a day when we need to laugh, we can think of something funny that one of our grand kids said or did or a special time spent with family or friends. We're going to need lots of laughter to carry us through the days ahead of us.

We're so excited about the transplant and so thankful for God's goodness to us. We know from reading the literature about the transplant that it will not be an easy road, but we know that we have a good God with lots of people praying.

We love you!

Joshua 1:9

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid,

neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Hope Again

James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,

and cometh down from the Father of lights,

with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

After several rounds of chemo that didn't seem effective in destroying the leukemia, Jerry's primary oncologist at Duke and the transplant oncologist have decided at this time that the best option for the treatment of his leukemia is a bone marrow transplant.

He has a preliminary date to check in at the hospital December 23 to begin chemo in preparation for his transplant. His donor is his younger brother, Bobby, who is to report to Duke on December 19. Bobby will also have to go through a physical exam to make sure that he is a suitable donor.

We are very excited about this hope that God has given us. Thank you for your prayers in seeing us through this thus  far and ask that you please continue praying.

We love you!

Christ, Our Solid Rock

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

"THE SOLID ROCK" written by Edward Mote. A hymn of grace, God's wonderful grace.

The biopsy report was not good today. We talked to Jerry's oncologist at Duke, Dr. Diehl, this evening. He said the leukemia is not any worse, but it is not any better, neither. The chemo has kept down the leukemia blasts, but it is not getting rid of the myoplasia (the baby leukemia cells). Dr. Diehl is going to talk to the transplant oncologist and try to decide what their next step will be. Jerry had an appointment Monday with the transplant center, but we're waiting to hear whether or not they will still want Jerry to keep the appointment.

We know God loves us and He's still a good God. Please keep praying.

December

December in West Virginia

"God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.”

-James Matthew Barrie (The Creator of Peter Pan)

We love December. Sometimes we are like little children. We love the decorations, the Christmas songs (really I listen to Christmas songs all year long), Hallmark movies, the excitement, and Christmas cookies. We especially like what we celebrate in December - the birth of our Savior.

December can be an emotional month also. It's full of memories of loved ones, of past Christmases, memories of friends. It's also so full of expectations. We are full of expectations of what God has for us and for our future. It will also probably be an emotional month for us because of all the changes that have happened in our lives this past year.

Jerry had his biopsy yesterday. We will not know the results until Friday. We are suppose to call the doctor around 5:00. If the results are good, Jerry will undergo another round of chemo here in Greenville in December and hopefully start the transplant after the first of the year. If the outcome is not favorable, the doctor talked about trying another kind of chemo.

We know that we have a good God who loves us and is in control of our lives.

Please continue praying for the outcome of the biopsy and for God to give the doctors wisdom about the treatment. Waiting is hard sometimes. The nurse from Blue Cross/Blue Shield told us to be patient. She said cancer treatment is a long process, it's not like treating a cold or the flu.

We love you and hope you have the happiest of Decembers full of wonderful memories.