growing

Growth is good. Sarah and I experience obvious growth every day. We witness Abbie and Asher grow physically; We also witness their developing personalities, interests and talents. We grow in our relationships with people and God. Our bank accounts are (not) growing. As we live this life we grow in wisdom and intellect. Unfortunately, my cancer keeps right on growing too.

The cancer in my lungs is now twice as big as it was last year and as a result I have developed an asthmatic cough. The three areas in my head and neck are larger. I have noticed lately that I have had more difficulty speaking and eating and my doctor confirmed that I have lost some mobility of my tounge. This makes me really worried since I only have the use of half of my tounge .

I have been using a drug name Tarceva, a chemotherapy class drug which targets cancer cells, since May. This drug produces an acne type of rash and other skin issues. I tried this drug last year but discontinued using it after 6 months because of the rash. I have been receiving acupuncture twice a month and so far it seems to be keeping all of the side effects to a minimum. We will do some more CT scans in 3 months and we will know for sure if Tarceva is helping. If it is not I will probably pursue a clinical trial but I am hoping for the best. So as always, keep us in your prayers; pray that Tarceva would prevent the cancer from growing.

Another health note: On my recent scans, the doctors noticed that my left pelvic bone was fractured. The fracture probably occurred last August when I received radiation treatments to my hip and then was soon after unable to walk. This is the first time I learned about this but then again I have notice a painful bump for awhile. I didn't know what was wrong but I did know something wasn't normal. My advice... our body never lies, listen to it. If your body doesn't feel normal, be safe and check it out and stay on top of it!

abbie goes to school

today is the first day of kindergarten! abbie is in mrs. maggard's afternoon class and just could not wait any longer to finally get to school! there weren't any tears, just loads of excitement and eagerness into this next phase of life. she is so ready, and we know she will do a great job. her desk is right in the front... which we'll see if that's a good or bad thing (for mrs. maggard!). i'm sure she will let everyone know all about her class and we'll try to get her words on the blog so you can hear about kindergarten from her view!

he's getting so big!

i took asher to deanna rose on friday with my sister leah and her two kids. we had a great time, and asher really enjoyed making noises at all the animals. i had the chance to grab some shots of asher and have my new all time favorite image of him. enjoy!