With Thanksgiving

Thankful.

The word itself doesn't even seem like enough to express the gratitude in our lives and hearts. 

Gratitude has always been at the top of our family's values.  We  feel and share our gratitude regularly.  We cherish opportunities to show it to others.  We have always felt beyond blessed even when difficulties came our way.

We are thankful for...

•  our loving and supportive families. May we cherish the moments and memories we have together.
• our precious children who bless our lives daily.  May we continually strive to fulfill our calling as their parents and give them the roots and wings they need for God's plan for their lives.
• our amazing friends who help, encourage, inspire, humor, and love us more than we could ever ask or imagine. May our relationships strive to glorify God.
  
• our church which has helped build the foundation on which our family stands. May we never forget the privilege and freedom of corporate worship.
  
• our wonderful house .  We try and never forget how privileged we are to have a safe, dry, warm, home for our family.  May we always use it to show hospitality and love to others.
• abundant food on our tables and in our pantries.  May every meal remind of of the millions who go without each day and inspire us to always share the bounty.
• Billy's job and talents which provide for our family in so many ways.
• our dedicated military and their families who willingly sacrifice so much to protect and defend our great country.
• for all our public servants who work diligently with hearts of gold to improve the lives of everyone they meet- firefighters, police, teachers, and nurses- to name a few.  May their passions be an inspiration and their sacrifices blessed.
  
• for God's beautiful creation which is a neverending gift as we unwrap new beauty daily.
• for God's amazing grace given to each of us as a free gift enabling us to walk through this life in victory serving our great God.  May we daily strive to view others through the eyes of our Father.
  
• for good health and access to excellent medical care.  This one has taken on a whole new level in our family. May we never forget the depth of our gratitude and continually pay it forward.
• for the little things, like books, music, art, laughter, cars, dishwashers and washing machines, phones, cameras, heating and air conditioning. 
  
• and for the big things- our country, our world, our freedom, our leaders, our lives, and our daily bread.

It is overwhelming to think of all we are thankful for on a daily basis.  And this list does not even include all our specific thanks from the past year.  The list would go on for pages and pages. We have been pouring out our thanks to God in a streaming prayer for months.

How do we say thank you?...

• for Dr. Ravenel for knowing Julia needed scanning despite only having one UTI in her life.
• for Brenner's Hospital for bringing the best care we could imagine so close to home.
• for Dr. Wofford for meeting us in our hospital room (2 hours after we even discovered Julia's tumor) to lovingly walk us through the process that would change our lives forever.
• for CT, ultrasound, and xrays that give our doctors the 'eyes' they need.
  
• for all the Camp Brenner nurses who poured their hearts into Julia's care time and time again.
• for Dr. Pranikoff who held our daughter's life in his hands for seven hours that Friday to open and explore her entire abdomen and remove that 'angry' tumor, without spreading the cells to the rest of her body- all with absolute precision.
• for the pathologists and tumor board who found the 'needle in the haystack' that led to Julia's diagnosis.
  
• for Noggin and the Little Einsteins which to this day bring Julia the best pain relief available.
• for the friends and family whom have prayed, cried, encouraged, cooked, cleaned, donated, helped, loved, and carried us through this year.
  
• for Dr. McLean who walked us through Julia's diagnosis and treatment plan and has held our hands through so much of this process.  Thank you for your love, humility, concern, patience, and gentleness.
• for the internet and blogs which have connected us to the information, support, prayers, friends, family, and compassionate strangers who have helped carry us through this time.
  
• for Dr. McMullen whose humor, passion, brilliance, and heart cannot be matched.  Thank you for making us see the blessing in radiation for Julia.
• for Dr. Sam.  I now know what angels look like. This man loves and knows every child he works with like they were his own. His skill made Julia's daily sedation smooth and easy for her and enabled me to lay her life in his hands with complete confidence.  (and he even baked her cookies!)
• for Dr. Hodges who has been great in preserving her single-kidney health. 
  
• for Arts for Life- Betsy and Michelle who have inspired Julia artistically and allowed her to look forward to her many trips to the hospital; and Colin who brought music to the hospital on some hard days.
  
• for Renae whose smiling face greets us on every trip to the clinic.
• for Nurse Dianne who has walked through treatment with us answering all our questions, easing our fears, and at times even reading our hearts and minds.  Thank you for making this easier on all of us.
  
• for Nurse Nancy whose experience, compassion, and skill is unmatched in our eyes. You are God's faithful and humble servant- an oncology angel.
• for Nurse Tammy who has patiently and gently cared for Julia on so many sick visits.
• for Nurse Karen who has become SO precious to us.  We will always associate your care, love, and heart with Julia's treatment and healing.  She loves you so much! And so do we! She considers you part of her family and talks of you often.
  
• for CureSearch and the COG whose research, clinical studies, protocols, and commitment to pediatric cancer provided us with cutting edge treatment, the ability to be treated locally, and the confidence as parents that we were doing the best for our child.  Priceless.
• for St. Jude's, St. Baldrick's, CureSearch, and others who are passionately committed to find a cure for the dozens of pediatric cancers.  They are on the front lines fighting for HOPE for cancer kids. We can never thank you enough.
• for chemotherapy.  As much as we struggle with poisoning our child, we are eternally grateful for having effective treatment options for our child.  We have watched too many others without this opportunity and privilege.
• for zofran and miralax.
• for ports and glad press n seal wrap.
  
• for waffles and red peppers.
• for our Brenner's family who has walked with us on this journey and shared their lives, struggles, joys, pain, fears, wisdom, and hearts with us.
  
• for clear scans!!   
• for healing from surgery, treatment, and chemotherapy.
• for the gift of another holiday with Julia and another day to wake up and enjoy her in our family.

...Life and good health are such a precious and fleeting gift.  None of us is promised another day.  Thanks to our amazing God who has provided each of these things above and so much more.  God's provision and timing have been perfect every step of this journey.  His grace was enough every day no matter what we faced.  To God be the glory!   Only our God can turn something as horrible as cancer into a blessing. We pray that the gratitude in our hearts continues to overflow endlessly to bless others and fight for better treatments and cures for pediatric cancer.

Thank you, God.  A million thank you's...


"Then hear, O gracious Savior; 
  accept the praise we bring,
That we who know Your favor 
  may serve You as our King.
And whether our tomorrows 
  be filled with good or ill,
We'll triumph through our sorrows 
  and rise to bless You still."
 -Gustav Holst, O, God Beyond All Praising