Carys is NED!!!

Friday was the big day. We stayed in B'ham Thursday night to be at the hosptial @ 7am. When we got there she had her port accessed, labs drawn and we went upstairs for the scan. She had to drink some drink (with the contrast in it) before the scan. She did great all day! When we made it back to clinic Dr. Haines informed us that radiology was backed up and it would be a while before we knew the results. We went to Mrs. Kimberly's activity room and played with a new friend. Finally, we got the news! NED...no evidence of disease! ALL of the nurses in clinic gathered round and sang to Carys (a no more chemo song)! Then Carys found out that she had to have a breathing treatment before we could go home. That killed Carys' happy spirits but 10 mins later (when the treatment was over) she was right back ready to go to the Cracker Barrell! Thanks so much for all the prayers. PLEASE take time out of your schedule to PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!

This is Carys before her CT scan. Can you see the hair?!?

Many of you have asked about the CT and what is it like for Carys. She just lies still and the machine takes the pictures. She does not have to be sedated since she is such a big girl!

Carys and Mom before the scan. You can see that we have to wear lead jackets to protect our selves from the radiation.

Carys during the CT. She has to lie very still and she does a GREAT job!

Carys and Dr. Haines after the NED...no evidence of disease... was delivered!

Justin and Carys at Cracker Barrell for our Celabration Lunch

Great Fun

Here are some fun pics of Sawyer. I am sure he has not gotten enough attention over the past months. He is such a fun child. He loves to make everyone around him laugh! I am truly blessed to be his mom!!!

Sawyer has discovered the "Money-bars"

Not sure what this face is...but it is CUTE!

Sawyer is addicted to watching The Wizard of Oz. This is his "lions and tigers and bears! Oh My" face!

Sawyer's Idea of Fun on a Rainy Day!

Just Hangin' Out

Bare-Foot Cowboys

Cancer has a way of making you appreciate everyday and everything about your life. I hope that through telling our story two things will happen (1) people will realize they need the Lord everyday and that life without Him is not worth living! (2) don't wait until cancer or some other tragedy comes along before you stop and smell the roses!

Isaiah 43

On my first night to class this semester I saw Isaiah 43 on a license plate. I had to check it out…so here is what I found.

Anyone ever called you something other than you name? I have spent my entire life either being called “Lisa” (my mom’s name) or having my name misspelled. And who in Alabama can pronounce Salcedo? But, there is one who I know will always remember my name. That is… My Heavenly Father!

Isaiah 43:1b says “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.”
Praise the Lord that I am His! I should never suffer an identity crisis as long as I have this verse to lean on.

Now look at verse 2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.

WOW, what a promise. Notice that He does not say that we will not face storms, or fire; but promises only that He will be with us through them all and NOT allow these things to overcome us. His promise is to protect us through it all!

Please read vs 3-17 as well. They have a lots to say about how God views His children; even when they disobey.

What really caught my eye was in verses 18 and 19. “Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.”
I have said this before, but I BELIEVE that God placed this verse in the Bible just for me and my family Right Now! It was exactly what I needed. A verse to pray and hold on to and we enter this new part of our lives.

I BELIEVE that soon and very soon, I will be able to remember not the things of the past ten months. Oh, Father let me never forget the lessons You have taught me during this time, but I can do without the fatigue, worry, sadness, and all the other feelings involved with watching Carys fight.I am looking forward to the “New Thing” He is planning! What a mighty God we serve. One thing we have learned is that you NEVER know what God is going to do because no man can understand His ways. BUT…whatever He plans it IS GOOD

Touched By God

I believe that God looks for chances to have direct interaction with His children. If you go back to the Garden of Eden, He came down and walked with Adam and "woman" (as Carys says!) I think He still wants for us to "walk" with Him everyday.



A year or so ago I was teaching by Bible class at CCA from Acts 1 about the day of Pentacost. I had to do a lot of studying to understand what I believed (and what God's truth was) about the Holy Spirit in MY life before I could share with the students. I read, studied and learned that The Holy Spirit is God's gift of ever-present comfort and direction to His children. After salvation, He (the Holy Spirit) is always there. He NEVER leaves us. However, I also believe that in God's design for us as Free Will beings, we must ALLOW the Holy Spirit to be at work in us.



I think we make a choice to accept the peace, comfort and guidence He brings.



Anyway, things have been very tough in a lot of areas for our family over the past 10 months (since Carys's diagnosis.) Although I have felt closer to God though this ordeal, there were times when I just sat and thought "why" and "how"



I know He was trying to teach me LOTS of things though this. As someone who likes (OK loves) to learn I would like to believe that I can take away from this all He wanted me to know; and - pass the tests He has for me later. So, when issues come my way, or He puts me in a position to help others, I will know His will beacuse I have lived it!



Justin always tells me that worry is a selfish thing; something we do rather than giving EVERYTHING up to God.



Money has been tight; to say the least. I have been off taking care of Carys and Sawyer and Justin missed a lot of work to make appointment. Everyone has been so great to help. Money has always been there when we needed it no matter how much we needed or when we needed; God used all of you to keep everything going for us.



Our "miracle" begins in January 2007. I decided, for no apparent reason, to purchace a cancer insurance policy offer to me at CCA. Turns out, the "no apparent reason" was in my mind that I was serving God at CCA and He was working in my life to provide things for us I could not understand at that time. 9 months later, Carys was diagnosed. No matter who I talk to, they tell me the policy I have pays more that any other cancer policy they have ever heard of. Can you say GOD!!!!



The second part of the miracle happened yesterday (8/21/08). Things had become really tight. We had not received an insurence check in a while due to a delay in getting the paperwork from the hospital (that envolves another blog I will entitle - selfcontrol!) Anyways... I sent the paperwork about 2 months ago and they denyed it all. I worried! This had been our life line so far. Again, I have to deal with the hospital billing department (not fun) and re-send the papers last week. It generally takes 14 days for a claim to be processed. So, I have been calling the past few days to see how far along the claim was. The phone messgae said that thier offices were closed due to the hurricane!



Great, I thought! With the first of the month comming up (bills) what am I going to do?!? I did not sleep for 3 nights; worring, selfishly!



I decided that this was beyond my control. The moment I gave it up to God (yesterday morning) I felt relief. Justin called me and asked me what we were going to do. I said, I do not know by that is God's issue to handle. We had not done anything wrong like spend too much, it just was not there. The Bible says He waters the lillies and feeds the sparows, how much more does He care for us!



So yesterday was my FIRST worry free day in a while. When I was telling Justin on the phone that I was giving it up to God I felt the "might rushing wind" mentioned in Acts 1 at Pentacost. Call it what you want, but I KNOW that I had allowed the Holy Spirit, already living inside me, to take hold and give me the comfort and rest I needed!



Then the really amazing thing happend when I got home. There was a check in the mail!!! How could they got it done so fast, and with the hurricane. I have a theory. This is ONLY a theory but I think I speaks to how BIG and GOOD God is!!!

I think... in God's foreknolwdge, He KNEW right where I would be and what I would need. SO, he caused a hurricane to come causing the insurance office to speed up their claims before the hurricane struck causing me to get WHAT I needed, WHEN I needed it! What do you think??

Things Change

"Things change, plans fail. And you look for love on a grander scale.
Storms rise, hope fades, and you place your bets on another day.
When the going gets tough, when the ride's too much, when your just not sure enough...
Jesus will still be there..."

These are the words to a Point of Grace song that I used to sing. I think it is one of those that got lost somewhere between the casette tape and CD years! I will be looking for it as soon as we get home.

The words are so true. Life has a way of changing just the moment you get the hang of it. Justin and I were just settling in to being parents to two kiddos when Cancer came our way. In many ways, it seems we are just getting use to Cancer and all that implies (i.e. chemo, drs, blood counts, ect) and here we are nearly at the end of the road!

This is certainly a change we are ready for, but still it is another change. Thankfully, we have verses like Ps 18 to remind us that God is our refuge and if we keep the faith, He will reward.

Tonight will (Lord Willing) be our last night to spend in Children's Hospital of Alabama. Which, on the surface seems great. But, that means we will not be meeting as many people as we have. We will not have so many people in our path to touch. We will have to really get to work now seeking out opportunities to tell people what God has done for us. Its almost like the hospital was a testing ground to what He will have us do in the real world. Here, people are right there in front of us ready and willing to hear what we have to say. Now, we will be out in the "regular" word showing God's love to those who may not be so open to hear the message we bear in our hearts.

One of my biggest fears is that Carys will be well and there will come a time when no one will care to hear her story. Please, whatever happens, do not let the goodness of God in our lives (or yours) start to fade. The fact that He has kept and protected Carys should be even more reason for us to serve Him.

Continue to pray for the many still fighting. Little bodies tired and worn. Pray for the parents and loves ones that they might see through their pain and see that God is SO much bigger than anything we can experience on this earth!

Miracle in Clinic 8

Today God showed up in a really big way while we were in clinic. This time, although He completely answered my prayer, it was not concerning Carys!

We meet a family that I was sure right away was a "new family" to the Hem/Onc clinic. There little girl was so beautiful little girl with brown hair and a big green hairbow. I went over to the family to ask for her name so that I could add her to my personal prayer list. I asked if they had recieved her diagnosis yet. They were sent to children's for a bone marrow test by their pediatrition who was so disturbed my her blood work that he sent her right away! They were told by Dr. Watts at Childrens that he was not so sure that is was cancer.

I began to pray for God to intervene in this little girl's life as he has so many times for us! To make a long story (wait) short, the mother came out to inform the family that her test was ALL CLEAR!!! NO CANCER. We saw the entire family leave praising God for the blessings of that day. The only scripture I could think of was:

"THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US AND WE ARE FILLED WITH JOY!"

God's Grace

God has once again used His Word to hit me over the head with the Truth that I really needed to hear! I have been doing some study on the life of Paul (aka Saul of Tarsus.) I have fully accepted the call that God had placed on me to speak and disciple other believers. I still cannot fathom exactly why God has called me or understand what He expects to accomplish with me. However, I know that is His Will and I am smart enough to know that He knows best!
Beth Moore has become such an inspiration to me. As I use her commentary to study God’s Word His message to me becomes apparent. I am in a stage that I know Ms. Moore understands; perhaps you do too. I want to serve God I believe Philippians 1:6 when it says, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” That means that I (and you) must yield to the Holy Spirit’s guidance on my life. Especially, when I feel the tug to change or improve any area of my walk.
You know God is working when He reveals something you to when you are not even looking for it. I just began Beth Moore’s book To Live is Christ. Just the title sounded like exactly what I needed. After all, that is what I long for. To live in such a way that my very waking in the morning is to serve and honor the One who died to set me free! The book and study is about the life and ministry of Paul. There are already many highlighted portions in my book but one part was so profound to me that I must share it with you.
First, you need to turn to Acts. You need to read chapter 7 and verse 1 of chapter 8. This describes the death of Stephen the first Christian martyr. Go ahead, do it now!
First, no one will argue the fervor and devotion that Stephen gave to the cause of Christ. He fulfilled what Saul would later write in Romans 14:8 “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”
Now, notice Acts 8:1 “Now Saul was consenting to his death against the church which was at Jerusalem…” Saul was there cheering on the crowd as they stoned Stephen. Here, God paints us a picture of two men on opposite ends of the spectrum in THEIR love for Jesus. If you are like me, you are quick to praise Stephen and condemn Saul. Read here what Beth Moore writes. I hope if hits you like it did me!
“As Jesus watched. He didn’t miss a single not of Saul’s phylacteried head. Remember, Christ was up on His feet at the time. Can you image the alloy of emotions He must have experienced as He looked on the two key players in the kingdom for that day? One for Him. One against Him. One covered in the blood. The other covered by prayer shawls. One who could not save himself from men. The other who could not save himself from sin. One dead in body but alive in spirit. The other alive in body but dead in spirit. One loved by God. And the other loved by God. Grace, grace, God’s grace.” Beth More-To Live is Christ pg29
WOW! Did I need to see that the Easter season! I am way too quick to judge those living in open sin. What I need to remember is that Jesus GAVE himself for them as much so for me! In fact, the only thing that separates “them” from “me” is the precious blood of Jesus!
“Father, You are mighty and holy. I thank you for the gifts of this and every day! Thank You for Carys’ health, healing Justin and me, and providing a great support for Sawyer at home. I ask you to be with my church family tonight as they partake in the Lord’s Supper. Oh how I wish I could be there with them. As always, I will trust Your plan even if I do not understand.
Thank You for Your Word! Its truths touch me and keep me.
Thank You for Jesus. Words are not enough to describe all that I owe Him!
Please use Your word to teach and correct the areas of my life that need it! I want to serve and please You so teach me more each day to walk in Your Way!
Amen”