Ann Arbor said

Like I said, I'm sorry I haven't had the time to get an update to all of you that have been waiting & praying. We greatly appreciate your prayers & thoughts for our trip.  We did not find much in the way of new out.  They told us that had we gone to them first, they would have chosen to put me on the same treatment plan that my doctor started.  That was nice to hear in a way and gave us reassurance in my oncologist.  They asked questions about the pain I experience and checked it out. They said that they often have people get spot radiation treatment that can help decrease the pain down to 1 or even 0 so they are recommending a referral to a radiation oncologist for us to get more info.  I'm not sure about side effects or anything like that so we'll have to ask questions & get info before deciding.  They also asked if I understand my diagnosis...that I have stage IV breast cancer that has traveled to my bones & is incurable by doctors but is treatable.  They said that they hope that I get a long time out of the current hormone treatment I'm on (which sounds like 18 months to 2 years being the typical) and then we may have to try other medications or even chemotherapy.  They said when my current treatment stops working, that I should go see them, they may have a trial I can be a part of but I'd have to get in on it before starting another treatment plan.  Having that news said again like that, was kinda depressing but I know that God is bigger than any of that and I have faith that he will grant me a miracle of complete healing from this disease.  I know he can, I'm praying he will.  We had dropped the kids off in Grand Rapids with my sister Rachel so that they could be together. Sadie does so much better when she's not with a parent but is with her siblings.  Adam & I ended up staying at a Red Roof Inn at a medical discount rate since my appointment was so early in the morning and we had to be there even earlier so that we could get registered.  It worked out nicely since they had a Big Boy Restaurant attached to the hotel.

After the appointment, we were able to meet up with a friend from nearby while at the hospital and visited with her for a little bit. Then we met up with my aunt, cousin, & 2 of her 3 children for lunch. We enjoyed our visit. Then met up with Adam's cousin for her quick lunch. So sweet of her to drive to where we were to meet us.  Then we headed to Meijer to be able to look for  a few things that we don't normally get to look at.  We enjoyed walking around & looking. We purchased a few things from our list, including a neat plaque for our dining room that says Family Rules.  We headed back to Grand Rapids and we celebrated my niece's birthday with pizza and then Build a Bear.  Our kids thought that was one of the coolest parties to be invited to. They thoroughly enjoyed choosing a bear & some clothes and accessories all while staying within a budget they were given.  We got to see Adam's brother & his wife as well, since they recently moved to Grand Rapids.  It was nice to see so much family!  Wish we could have seen even more but time did not allow.  On Saturday, we had a yummy pan-e-cake breakfast and then met up with Adam's sister & her boyfriend for lunch. Then we made our way home.

We've finally finished putting all the trip stuff away & we've been working on decorating for Christmas. It is a slower process than usual but still enjoyable.  We ran into some light problems for the tree but after purchasing another strand of lights, I think I'll be able to get the garland on the tree so the kids can hang their ornaments. They've been waiting to do that for days.  It is one of their favorite parts of the Christmas season to reminisce about each ornament as they hang them.  I enjoy tons of ornaments on the tree so we'll end up with like 7-8 on each branch. lol  And the tree, even if it is tall and slim, will look beautiful.  Bethlehem Town is up and I've got a few other things out already.  We spent yesterday going to Morgan's Christmas program at school twice, celebrating her as star student in her class, and then getting a little grocery shopping done & back to watch & then bring Morgan home.  In the meantime, I've been working to figure out how to make a sign and share Gabby's video with even more people and figure out a sign for the football game she's headed to on Dec 22nd.  I think her picture is going to be in the Daily Press too but I may call them & tell them that they should run a story with it too.

Today Renee` helped me make some presents for the teachers to say thanks for taking such good care of our kids.  Just a small token of appreciation.  I had fun making the stuff.  It is so much more fun to do crafts with someone than by myself.  My sweet Sadie is a little crazy right now, getting into everything she can get her hands on. I think she's getting tired and may need a nap.  Tonight we got to Gabby's first band concert. She plays the Oboe and there is to be a feature of the Oboes since there are 4 of them that play this year. I'm excited about it but Gabby is quite nervous and wanted to miss school today so she wouldn't have to go to the concert. She's such a shy girl, that's why it's so amazing that she wanted to share the video she made for school with so many people.  She has moments when she feels shy that we are trying to get even more people to view it & share it with others.

Time to wrap this up but not without sharing some of God's word with you all.  This one comes from the Pre-School devotion that we do at night.  It's called God is Faithful. It talks about how people sometimes make promises but are unable to keep them at times. But God is faithful because he always CAN keep his promises, and he always WILL, no matter what. He will never change his mind.  You can depend on God and trust him, no matter what!  The verse says "Let us hold firmly to the hope we claim to have. The One who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23 NIrV. And the prayer says Lord, you are faithful to do what you say, I know I can trust you every day.
What I try to remember and remind our children and others is that God is faithful. No matter what.  Through all of this so far, He is walking by our side or even carrying us through. He is faithful!  And I hold tight to this hope and having hope gets me through so much because it also gives me a trust in the One who created me and loves me.  I have put my hope, my trust, my faith, in the One True God who created me and well....Everything!  Do you have this hope?  If not and you'd like to, you can email me at coachjetta7@gmail.com or you can watch Gabby's youtube video (which can be found on a previous blog post http://www.pierceproductions.blogspot.com/2013/12/ann-arbor-appointment-thanksgiving-gods.html ) to see how you too can obtain this hope!  Below is the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of hope.

hope

 verb \ˈhōp\

: to want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true

transitive verb

1

:  to desire with expectation of obtainment

2

:  to expect with confidence :  trust