Stable

 Good morning friends and prayer warriors - Cecilia's scans yesterday were "stable".  I hear that the word stable in terms of cancer is a good word.  Better than growth, not as good as clear but for now we will take stable and keep moving forward in HOPE.  Cecilia will get blood work in a couple of weeks and then get another set of scans in mid May.  After those scans if all is well we will discuss taking her port out.  It's hard to look that far ahead after the last 13 months so for now we are grateful for each day as it comes.  

Cecilia and Mary will attend and help with the Lift Jesus Higher Conference in Toronto this weekend with Be Love Revolution.  Originally we hadn't planned for Cecilia to go due to treatments and she was VERY disappointed but as He always does - God made a way!

Next weekend is our Youth Group Spring Retreat that we are very much looking forward to.  Jesse, Sam, and I serve on the retreat team and Mary, Cecilia, and Clare will attend.  

I will return to a more regular work schedule hoping to get some more hours in to help with finances.  My employers (and friends) at Christ the King have been incredibly patient and supportive as I was hit or miss with my job responsibilities in the past year.  I am SO very grateful to be surrounded by such loving people in every aspect of my life.

Homeschooling has taken on a more regular look as well as everyday life.  My sourdough making is my therapy.  My skills are mid at the moment but I'm learning!  

I will keep you all posted as things move along.  I hope you are having a blessed Lent and will continue to pray daily for each and every one of you.  

This current space feels like a different daily surrender to God and I'm learning how to breath in Holy Spirit and breath out fear, anxiety, and worry.  

Scan Countdown

 The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity and emotions.  Still living within the walls of cancer while trying to be "normal" is exhausting and exhilarating at the same time.  My social media "memories" now reveal our hospital time last year at this time.  Things I forgot about, tried to forget about, can't forget about pop up and highlight that trauma is real and can bubble to the top when we least expect it.  I consistently lay it all at the feet of Jesus and just as consistently pick it all up again.  I feel weighed down trying to carry on in the midst of grief, trauma, and uncertainty.  Kids still fight, birthdays still happen, dinner still needs to be made.  The sunshine and the lighter days make it easier to be sure, the support and love from friends and family lighten even the heaviest of loads.  As scan day approaches (3/25 at 12pm)  we look ahead with HOPE and gratitude - we are choosing to "thank God ahead of time" (Blessed Solanus Casey).  

We had some very unwelcome guests accompany Cecilia back from the hospital back in January - bed bugs.  Who knew you could bring those home from a hospital?  We tore apart their bedroom (where the bugs GRATEFULLY stayed!), treated, ozoned, and basically had to get an entire new room (bed, mattresses, etc) but they were contained and removed - thank YOU JESUS!  I do not recommend bed bugs to anyone ever.  As Cecilia scoured the mattress on her one good knee I overheard her saying "thank You Jesus for this mortification".  That's not verbatim what *I* was thinking but all is well that ends well!

Last week Cecilia and I were invited to be guests on Ave Maria Radio's "Epiphany" show.  They offered Cecilia Al Kresta's chair for the interview which was meaningful in so many ways.  You can listen to our interview HERE and stay tuned as I was asked to come back and share my reversion story on April 7.

Please continue to pray for us, for Cecilia, for all the things.  The suffering that the last year has caused all of us is very heavy at times and hasn't ended yet.  I promise we continue to pray daily for all of you and we are still very happily accepting your prayer requests!  Please feel free to email or text them or drop them in the comments.  I will update as soon as I can after scan results!    

On Living The Ordinary Within the Extraordinary

Abandonment to the will of God is the secret of happiness on earth. Say, then:  my food is to do his will.

St. Josemaria Escriva

We are living ordinary life here in extraordinary circumstances as we await the next set of scans on March 25.   Cecilia is feeling well, Lent is in full swing, life is full, life is good.  This week Cecilia and Mary are in Florida visiting Jackson at Ave Maria University where Cecilia hopes to study someday soon.  She has been accepted and we pray that her health will allow her to attend in the fall of 2025.  She is wisely leaving it all in God's Hands.  The hat she chose to take with her down to Ave reads "Living My Best Life".  Cecilia is living a life with cancer inside of her, a leg that is still recovering, medications and supplements that seem never-ending but it's HER life, the life that God gave her, and she is living it in the best possible way.  

Over the past couple of weeks we have regained our footing at home, stabilized somewhat, fallen back into routines and traditions.  Cecilia gave another talk at a different parish (St Thomas the Apostle in Ann Arbor).  The focus of this talk was on redemptive suffering, something she knows alot about these days.  I will link the You Tube video of the talk below.

Lily and Jude are preparing to make their First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion.  Josie will be Confirmed in May.  Jackson will graduate from college in May.   Life is moving at full speed.  Each and everyday I have to imagine myself laying it all down at the foot of the cross.  The questions, the unknowns, the anxiety.  Our community and family continues to lift us up in prayer making our heavy burdens seem almost light.  We continue to pray for you all every single day.  I have reduced/almost eliminated my Facebook usage for Lent but I trust that God knows what you all need prayers for and I ask for His provision for you.

I am not sure when I will update again but for sure I will on March 25.  Thank you all for your continued support and prayers.  In my weariest of moments I think of what you have done for us and gratitude always outweighs the sorrow.

Here is a little prayer attributed to St. Josemaria Escriva.  It is a reminder that we must surrender to God everyday and trust His Will in all things.

My Lord and my God:
into your hands I abandon the past and the present and the future,
what is small and what is great,
what amounts to a little and what amounts to a lot,
things temporal and things eternal.
Amen.