I love Summer!

Hi Everyone,

Joshua has been super busy enjoying the gorgeous weather we've had the past couple of days. We've gone to several graduation open house parties, celebrated Father's day with "Papa," played on the swingset, splashed in the pool and celebrated mommy's birthday all in one short week. Summer is the best!

Joshua is growing so quickly. He repeats everything we say and has been putting words together at a rapid pace. The other day we were downstairs playing and he set up his Little People house. He immediately told me that they were hungry for lunch and he fed them french fries, apples, pickles, chicken, peas, and bananas. As he fave the Little People the food he would say, "There you go daddy, there you go mommy, there you go baby." It was adorable!

He is also in love with the water (just like his mom). We spent the entire day outside on Monday and had a blast. He loves getting me all wet and chasing me around with a bucket of water saying, "I go get you!"

Joshua is also helping to plan for his 2nd birthday party. He wants to have Pooh Bear plates, a lot of balloons, cake and bubbles. He is even working on his dance to the Happy Birthday song!

We are also excited to get to know some new people this summer. We've joined up with a MOPS group in the area and are looking forward to Tuesdays at various local parks. It seems to be the perfect fit for both Joshua and his mommy as we get used to having our time together as daddy heads back to work.

Anyway, that's all for now. We have to work on making a memorial stone for sweet little Molly. She was Aunna and Uncle Chuck's "doggy" and she passed away last week. We will all miss her so much.

Have a great week everyone...we'll post again soon!

~Joshua and his mommy

Getting things back to normal

Hi everyone,

I'm not sure how many people are still reading the blog page, but I thought I would keep it as up to date as possible just in case.

Randy went back to work on Monday for a half day. It was a rather odd day for us in our home because I also went back to work on Monday morning. I was asked to come in for a meeting on Monday morning and boy did it feel strange waking up at the crack of dawn and putting on "work" clothes. Randy had a great first day back and has continued to do well. He has taken a nap each afternoon in order to regain his lost energy.

Joshua and I have are having a wonderful time together. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday enjoying every second together at home....ahhh...how nice! Today we made a meal plan, gathered our coupons, and headed to the grocery store. He LOVES putting the food in the cart and then putting it all on the belt at checkout.

Unfortunately, Joshua is missing his "Aunna." My aunt is normally at our house M-F for a few hours during the day to hang out with Joshua. Sadly, her dog has taken ill and she hasn't been able to come over to see us. Joshua misses her, but he prays for their dog each morning and talks about his "Aunna" while he waters the flowers outside. He can't wait to see her this weekend at her garden party!!!!

We are all enjoying the more "normal" side of life these days. God has blessed our family in a very mighty way and we rejoice in that blessing each day. Every day, every moment - we are thankful for the precious gift of life.

Love,
Randy, Rachel and Joshua

p.s.
Mocha is doing well also. She had a vet appt. today and has a bit of an infection, but we have her on antibiotics and we are praying for her full recovery!

The Results Are In!!!!! MIRACLES ARE REAL!!!

Hi Everyone,

Well, we just returned from Dr. Pieper's office and here are a few quotes directly from the dr's mouth: "Terrific!" "This looks wonderful" "I don't see anything" "Everything looks pheneomenal!"

Yeah God!!!! Randy is officially tumor free! The doctor is very pleased with how things look and has given Randy the go ahead to drive and return to work part time next week (June 1st). As far as his tastebuds go...they will return...just no time frame at this point. We are thrilled with all of the wonderful news!

Randy will have another MRI on December 9th and 6 months after that. He will have MRI's for the remainder of his life, however there will be less frequency as the yeard progress. The doctor also indicated that should this tumor return (which we believe will never be the case) the MRI will catch it before any symptoms would be manifested.

So, thank you for all of your support and prayers. God is soooo powerful and sooooo awesome! He has had us cradled gently in His very capable hands through this entire journey and we know He will continue to do so.

We are so blessed to have experienced God's grace and power through so many miraculous events. Our prayer is that this journey - God's power and might - has blessed you and has either encouraged you to dedicate your life to Christ, renew a relationship with Christ, or blessed you in knowing that the God that you serve really is working in a real and powerful way everyday!

Love,
Randy, Rachel and Joshua

Long Weekend

Hi Everyone,

We just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone and safe Memorial Day weekend. Take a moment to reflect on all that God has given us. Freedom is something that many only dream of. Thank you to all of the men and women that have sacrificed as they served our nation. Thank you to all of the husbands, wives, sons, daughters, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, friends, etc. that have bravely held their loved ones memory in their hearts.

Randy and I plan on enjoying the beautiful weather this weekend - finishing up some yard work and spending tons of time outside with Joshua. We will write a detailed post next week after Randy's appt. with his doctor (he had his MRI last week, no results yet).

Love to you all,
Randy, Rachel and Joshua

Moving along

Hi Everyone,

Well, it's been almost 2 weeks since radiation ended. I just buzzed Randy's hair again because you can now clearly see all of the hair loss post radiation. It just looks a bit less dramatic when it is all buzzed. Randy is also still struggling with his taste buds. He is now drinking Ensure to help him get all of the vitamins and nutrients he needs as food just doesn't taste all that great these days. He is able to taste several sweet things although that is getting to be touch and go as well. Hopefully, his doctor will be able to assess this better when we meet with him on the 27th.

Randy is doing really well all in all. He has lost a lot of his strength through this whole process and still experiences episodes of total exhaustion. We just take it one day at a time. He has also been battling a cold (Joshua has an ear infection and I have a sore throat) which hasn't helped in the recovery process. I also think that the whole "brain tumor" thing has finally started to set in for him. It is a very surreal thing and its us both in different ways at different times. However, the awesome part of the whole thing is that whether we are praying that this never returns, rejoicing in how God has already worked, looking ahead to his follow up MRI's, or whatever the case may be we know that God's hand is holding us close and will never let go of us! How great is that?!?!?!

Anyway, please keep us in your prayers as we do go for his post radiation MRI on Wednesday (we won't have any results until the 27th). Also, pray that Randy is able to experience an increase in strength daily as he looks to his return to work in early June...oh, also pray that his doctor will let him drive in the very near future.

Thanks again for everything....we continue to press on -
Love,
Randy, Rachel and Joshua

DONE

Hi Everyone,

Well, we are officially done with radiation. We are soooo happy! Randy went to see "Wolverine" at the theater this morning to celebrate. :-) I will enjoy it more next week when things aren't quite so busy. I've added a few photo's for you to check out of Randy's radiation mask. Enjoy!

Rachel

Day 29...one more remaining

Hi Everyone,

Well Randy is looking forward to his last radiation treatment tomorrow. Things have been really going well and we are praying that all continues to run smoothly. Randy does have a bit of stubborn yeast build up (radiation does a number on your mouth) and so they are switching meds and giving him something stronger (he'll start that tonight). We are really praying that his tastebuds return to normal quickly following radiation (maybe from radiation, maybe from the yeast). He lost 7 lbs. in one week as a result of not enjoying the taste of food :-(

Anyway, we also found out that Randy isn't allowed to drive for at least another month. Dr. Pieper (neurosurgeon) will re-evaluate this on May 27th...Randy was pretty bummed out about that news. So...I will continue to drive him around to all of the wonderful places he wants to go. It does get exhausting at times, however I am soooooooooo thankful that he is here with me for me to be able to do the driving!!! :-)

He will have a follow up appointment with Dr. Chan (radiation oncologist) in 4 weeks and that is the fist of several. We will be professional waiting room folks by the time this is all said and done :-)

We are doing great...we can't wait for radiation to end tomorrow. I'll be taking Randy to the movie theater on Wednesday for his celebratory viewing of "Wolverine." He thought he could drive himself there...oh well...he'll still get to see it :-)

We will continue to keep you posted.

Much Love,
Randy, Rachel and Joshua

p.s.
did you know that May is National Brain Tumor Month??? Thanks Aunt Joan for the tip!!! How cool!!!

Wrapping it up

Hi Everyone!!!

Well, Randy and I are on the count down. Only 2 more radiation treatments left (Monday and Tuesday). We are thrilled! God has really poured out His blessings to us during this time. Randy's side effects haven't been horrible and he is just now starting to notice more hair loss...at the end...how cool! He is still struggling with his taste buds so we are praying that his taste returns shortly after treatment ends. God really is an awesome God!!!

The impact of what happened and what could have been (although we know the "could haves" were never in Gods plans) is just starting to settle in for Randy a bit. He truly sees how delicate life really is and how intricate the brain is...in the same sense we both realize that God is the creator of life and He has so delicately orchestrated our every breath!!!! Yeah God.

We will keep you posted as we celebrate the last 2 days of treatment. Please pray with us as we look forward to a post radiation MRI...we want the best results possible. We are also asking for prayer for a friend of ours. We just recently found out that our friends son (Doug) has been diagnosed with malignant tumors in his spine. He is 15 years old and is at Beaumont recovering from surgery, undergoing physical therapy, and preparing for radiation. Please pray with us for complete healing in his body and for strength and peace for the entire family!!! We know that God is the Great Physician and we are believing for more miracles!

Thanks again everyone...until we chat again,

Randy, Rachel and Joshua

Day 24

Well, we met with Dr. Chan today and she is very happy with how Randy is doing. His tastebuds are starting to experience some side effects...food tastes a bit bland. However, the doctor is treating him for yeast in his mouth and said that the mouth rinse used for that might take care of the tastebud situation. Anyway, that is about all on the update front. We are counting down...6 more radiation treatments....yahoo!!!

Love,
Randy and Rachel

Days 19-23

Greetings,

Well, we have finished up yet another fun filled week of radiation treatments and physical therapy. Randy is doing great! His energy is still lower than normal, however that is the only real side effect he his having outside of an occasional headache. Yeah God!!!

Randy had his last physical therapy session on Friday. His therapist did request another script for therapy which the dr's office gave, however as long as Randy continues to do his exercises at home he can stay clear of outpatient therapy for now. He is thrilled!

We have 7 days left of radiation. They will be increasing his dosage this week and are praying that he continues to move through this as wonderfully as he has thus far. We will meet with his radiation oncologist 2 more times before the treatments end. Then we will head for another MRI and his follow up appointment with his surgeon. We are praying that this course of radiation treatment worked and that there aren't any signs of this tumor on his brain stem or anywhere near it...cells be gone!!!

Please continue to pray with us for an awesome report from Randy's doctor and of course that as we return for MRI's throughout the year and years to come that this thing never returns in any way shape or form. We have been blown away at how many people have come along side us to support us through this and we know that God has been answering prayers like crazy. We have a great testimony to share and are willing to share it with everyone.

We hope that if you are in the Michigan area you were able to get out and enjoy some of the wonderful weather we have had in the past few days. If not...well, we hope wherever you are the weather has been top notch as well.

Have a great weekend....we sure are!

Love,
Randy, Rachel, and Joshua