MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!!

Good Friday morning!  I am sure everyone is very excited and busy today getting ready for your Christmas eve and day celebrations.  My family wants to wish you and your family a very blessed Christmas!  Tomorrow is the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  My prayer is for you all to have a wonderful time full of great memories, peace, joy and love.  I am taking the weekend off from blogging but I will be back again on Monday.

Here is a fun picture of Tyler playing with a bag of bows that I had.  He was loving it!

I know I have already blogged these verses this month but they are worth repeating.

 ⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

 ⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Today is another gift from God and He is so Good!  Merry Christmas!!

Christmas question.....Fess up....when you were a kid did you snoop for your presents or did you want to be surprised?  I liked being surprised.  Did anyone totally unwrap, look at their gift and rewrap it?  :)

Good Thursday morning!!  We have had a lot of rain the past couple of days.  I do love rain but I am ready for it to stop for a while and dry up some before Christmas gets here.  I think Christmas eve and day are suppose to be nice.  Only two more days left until Christmas!!  Wow!!  Hope you are all having a great time getting ready.  Isn't it fun?  I love all the preparations for Christmas.  The best part is getting together with our family and friends and eating!  We always have good food!

Tyler and I were invited to a Christmas brunch yesterday.  It was so fun and Tyler had a great time playing because his buddy Wyatt was there too.  Ty and I had another fun day and he totally keeps me too busy to think about all that I have going on.  The Gamma Knife place ended up calling me yesterday to set up my appointment.  It will be on the morning of January 12th.  I will also have to be there on the 11th for all of my pre-op stuff.  January 11th and 12th are great days.  My mom's birthday is on the 11th and my father-in-laws, Aunt MaryAnn's and friend Denise Roger's birthday's are all on the 12th.  I think on both days I should have cake and ice cream.  What do you think?  :)

Here is a picture of Tyler being silly and entertaining Jeff and I.  He was giggling so hard and Jeff and I were just cracking up at him.  Of course that encouraged Tyler to keep going.  Ahhh....love that boy so much!

I have been assured by so many of you that I am being covered in prayer from so many people around the world.  Thank you very much for getting the word out for me and for starting prayer chains.  I have happy tears.  The encouragement has given me such strength and I know I can do this again with your help.

I have Ty with me again today and we are going to make sugar cookies.  They are my brother Donald's favorite!

Prayer requests:  Let's please lift up in prayer again all those who are mourning  the loss of a loved one.  It is especially hard around the holidays as we do miss them very much.  Pray for  peace and comfort for the families.  Also for some married couples who are trying very hard to fix their marriages and put back together the broken pieces that have torn their families apart.  Pray for them as they start a new year for strength to forgive and to be able to work out their differences and to move forward with a positive attitude.  God is so much bigger then all the problems we have and He will help and guide us when we ask. 

Proverbs 12 verse 25:  Anxious hearts are very heavy but a word of encouragement does wonders!

Have a terrific day everyone!  Today is another gift from God and He is so Good!

Christmas question.......Do you decorate your bathrooms for Christmas?  Yes I do.

9:30 a.m. update:  My neurosurgeon Dr. Ott called and said that there is only one tumor (thank you God) and it is small. Still wished it was zero.  We will do the gamma knife procedure sometime in mid-January.  I won't know the date until after the first of the year.  He said how proud he and the gamma knife team was of me and to not worry.  They will take care of this too.  I need prayers for strength.  Love you all!

Good Wednesday morning!  The blog site was down this morning so it is a little late.    BIG ((((((((HUGS)))))))) to all of you!  Thank you, thank you, thank you for the many prayers, encouragement, support and love.  I feel like I have an army behind me now and we will fight this cancer.  I seriously feel tremendous strength.  Each and everytime yesterday when I felt down and when the tears wanted to start, someone was there with either a comment, text, phone call, e-mail, facebook post etc.....I stand here in awe of God's power and unconditional love for me and my family and that He cares so much for me.  He sends angels my way all the time.  I am not sure of the reason for all of this but I know it will be for a great purpose and plan that God has in mind.

The stories that I have heard in the last 24 hours from so many friends telling me the way God is already moving people with prayer for me has been a miracle. I am so touched and inspired by it all. To my friend Marga Cooley who is writing my book "SPF-150  It's a Sunny Day"....I have a few new stories to share already about what has happened in the last couple of days.  HOPE abounds!

My friend Terrie Olstowski came by my house yesterday with a pair of little boxing gloves and a boxing belt.  She kept one glove and I have the other.  That brought a huge smile to my face.  She is ready to fight this cancer too.  Have a wonderful Christmas with all of your family in Texas Terrie!  Be safe.

Angel Linda....Tyler loves the books that you sent to him.  We read them over and over.  Here is a picture of Ty with some of the books you sent.  He was playing with some confetti too.  Tyler says,  "Merry Christmas" and "thank you for taking such good care of my Nani!!" 

 I had a great time with Tyler yesterday.  He kept me busy and my mind off of things.  I smiled most of the day because of him.

Good news about my sister-in-law Noni.  The surgery went great!  Her torn miniscus was fixed and she is now on the road to recovery.  Thank you for keeping her in your prayers.

Prayer requests:  That Angel Linda's Dr. appointment goes well today.  Also for our military troops that can not be home for Christmas.  That they and their families will have a very Merry Christmas and stay safe.  Also for a friend who is having a lot of trouble with her eyes.....that the Dr. figures out the problem and she will be healed soon.

Deuteronomy 31 verse 6:  Be strong!  Be courageous!  Do not be afraid of them!  For the Lord your God will be with you.  He will neither fail you nor forsake you.

Have a wonderful day everyone!  Today is another gift from God and He is so Good!I Thank you God for each and every second of the day I spend with family and friends.  I appreciate it and I do not take it for granted.

Christmas question......Are you an eggnog drinker?  Will you have any Christmas Eve or day?  Only 3 more days until Christmas!!

1 Peter 5 verse 7:  Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.

Good Tuesday morning!  I can't thank you all enough for the tremendous out pouring of love for me and my family.  It was very hard to get that news yesterday.  I am taking things one day at a time.  I am strengthened by your prayers.  I think that is really what is literally holding me up. 

The next step is on Wednesday.   A team of gamma knife doctors will study my brain scans and then Dr. Ott, my neurosurgeon, will call me with a date on when they will do the gamma knife procedure on me.  Unfortunately I know what that entails and I am not looking forward to it at all.  At the same time I am so thankful that they have such a procedure that will get rid of that tumor.

Thinking about it all right now is a little overwhelming.  So again I am taking it one day at a time.  At some point during all of this Dr. McClay will be involved.  He will be getting a report this week.  My next full body PET scan is due in January.  After Dr. McClay sees that report I will then know if I have to go on chemo again or not.  I can't worry about that right now.  I need to get past this gamma knife procedure first.

Mike and I and my whole family covet your prayers.  I am doing well and I have my boxing gloves on ready for round two on this gamma knife/brain tumor thing.  I do have my moments of tears flowing but then I am strengthened again.  I feel like God is saying to me, "Have faith...you are in the best of hands and I am going to take care of you."  All of your continued support, faith, encouragement and love will get me and my family through this too.

My prayer request today is if you could please put me on your church's prayer chains again to be healed of this nasty disease.  Please stand with me in faith that I will be healed again and that God will use this to His glory.  His strength really does shine through us when we are weak.  I know He is in control.

I am keeping HOPE in my heart.  The journey continues........thanks for sticking with me and helping me fight.  I will keep you posted.

Please remember to keep my sister-in-law Noni in your prayers this morning as she has knee surgery.  We love you Noni!

I am planning to have a wonderful Christmas with my family.  Looking forward to all the fun we have planned.  The best medicine for me right now is I have my sweet Tyler with me for the next few days while mommy is at work.  He fills me with so much joy and he is such a wonderful distraction from all of this other stuff.  I already have plans to work on Christmas activities with Tyler this week.

This picture will bring a huge smile to your face.  What a ham!!  He took all the toys out of his toy box, climbed in and sat in it and found these sunglasses and put them on.  Of course Nani couldn't resist taking a picture or two.

 I would like to wish my friend Netty Ramirez a very "Happy Birthday" today!  Have a super fun day today Netty!

1 Peter 4 verse 19:  So if you are suffering according to God's will, keep on doing what is right and trust yourself to the God who made you, for he will never fail you.

Have a terrific day everyone!  Only 4 more days until Christmas!  Today is another gift from God and He is so Good!

Christmas question.....Can you name all of Santa's reindeer names off the top of your head?  Yes I can.  :)

Update:  Prayer warriors...we need your prayers right now!  Unfortunately, we did not receive the news we wanted.  Leslie has a new tumor that is already causing swelling.  She will need to have the Gamma Knife procedure again and will need to follow up with Dr. McClay on any additional treatment.  Understandably, Leslie is pretty upset but still has the fighting spirit and is planning on still have a wonderful Christmas.  Thank you everyone for your continued encouragment through this battle.  The battle is not done yet.  Today is a gift from God and He is still GOOD!  Monica the Sister

Good Monday morning!  How was your weekend?  Can you believe that counting today there are only 5 days until Christmas?  The only thing I have left to do is hit the grocery store for all the food I am going to prepare for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Mike and I are heading up this morning to San Diego for my appointment with my neurosurgeon for my latest brain scan results.  Please keep us in prayer as we go and that we hear great results.  My appointment is at 11:00.  I have felt and continue to feel your prayers surrounding us.  Thank you so much!  My sister will update the blog as soon as she can after she hears from me.

Here is a neat story about the candy cane.

The Legend of the Candy Cane Many years ago, a candymaker wanted to make a candy at Christmas time that would serve as a witness to his Christian faith. He wanted to incorporate several symbols for the birth, ministry and death of Jesus. He began with a stick of pure white hard candy. The white symbolized the virgin birth and the sinless life of Jesus. He made the candy hard to symbolize the that Jesus is the solid rock and the foundation of the church. The firmness also represents the promises of God. The candy maker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. He thought it could also represent the staff of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. The candy maker then added red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received, by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could be forgiven and have the promise of eternal life. The flavor of mint is similar to hyssop. In Old Testament times, hyssop was associated with purification and sacrifice. It was also used at the cross as they gave Jesus a drink of vinegar before He gave up the Ghost.

I have a praise to tell you about!  Teresa Cartwright Gow's latest PET scan results were good!  I am thanking God and let's all continue to keep her in our prayers to stay healthy.

Prayer requests:  My sister-in-law Noni is having knee surgery tomorrow.  Please pray that everything goes well and that she has a speedy recovery.  Also that Angel Linda's Dr. appointment Wednesday goes well too.

Psalms 47 verse 2:  For the Lord, the God above all gods, is awesome beyond words; he is the great King of all the earth.

Have a marvelous day everyone!  Today is another gift from God and He is so Good!

Christmas question.......What is one of your family traditions on Christmas morning?