Happy Thanksgiving!

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100:4-5

I am thanful, this year, for a great family, caring friends, physical health, and for my husband, who loves me unconditionally!

What are you thankful for today?

Please pray with me...

A few posts ago, I mentioned my family friend, Robyn, who is 25 and was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. She has had 2 rounds of chemo and had a CT scan yesterday to see if the chemo is working. They met with her doctor today to discuss the results. Here is what her website journal (that her brother updates) had to say...

We met today with Robyn’s doctor. It was a hard meeting. He is not encouraged with the cancer’s response to the chemotherapy. Robyn’s lungs are not improving and seem to be covered with tumors which are allowing fluid to continuously leak into them. The tumors in the lymph nodes of her chest and arms are not shrinking and so the fluid has been unable to drain from her body. We have decided to go ahead with a third dose of chemotherapy which will be done this weekend if Robyn’s vital signs are stable. Robyn will also have to have a tracheostomy placed. This is a tube that will go through the front part of her neck directly into her trachea. This will allow her to be on the ventilator without having a tube in her mouth. This will be a tricky surgery because of the swelling around her neck. Robyn’s doctor is not very optimistic about this third round of chemo. It is pretty much a last ditch effort to save her. At this point she is stuck in a position physically where she is not really improving or deteriorating. It is not a place that she can stay forever. This is all still very surreal for our family. Your continued prayers are appreciated as we try to comprehend all of this and make wise decisions for Robyn.

So as you can see, Robyn and her family need your prayers more than ever!! Please pray for...

1. Robyn, that she will be comfortable and not scared during all of this. And she will fight with all that she has.
2. Her family (her parents, 2 brothers and a sister) -- for comfort, peace, rest and as much time as they can spend with Robyn
3. Her healing -- if it is God's will, He will heal her body!
4. That something good will come out of all of this.

Thanks friends!

Wedding + Baby = Longview trip

A couple of weekends ago, I drove to Longview, TX to attend my friend Tara’s wedding. Tara is the sister of my BFF from high school, Tandra. Tandra and I were connected at the hip in high school. During my junior and senior year, I think I spent just as much time at her house, that I did my own. The Anderud’s were my second family, so I did not want to miss Tara’s long awaited wedding! PLUS, during this trip, I was able to meet Tandra’s new baby girl for the first time…little Rachel Avery! I had been so anxious to meet this little baby girl and it was so fun watching Tandra be a mommy!

I got to Longview a few hours before the wedding, so I could visit with Tandra. I am so glad I did, cause our time together was so fun! I also stayed late after the wedding to help clean up and then I was able to go and have dinner with the whole Anderud clan!

The wedding was beautiful and the bride was stunning! The decorations were so unique and showed off Tara’s creative abilities! I am so glad I was able to make the trip. Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Marrone!!

Halloween - Arrrr!

I know I am really late on blogging about this, but I just kept forgetting. But my pictures are just too cute to not post! Because Bobby and I don’t have any kids yet, we usually don’t really get into Halloween that much, but this year with Polo, we (or should I say, “I”) decided we should dress Polo up! (She asked me too…haha!). Anyway, I went to Walmart and saw some really cute pet costumes. I purchased a Bee costume, got it home and discovered that since the head cover was connected to the body material, it was not going to work on our long weenie dog. So, after finding out that my nephews were going to be pirates, and I knew we were going to be with them that night, I just knew that Polo needed to be a Pirate too! So back to Walmart I went to purchase the Pirate costume!

We decided we would go out to my brother’s church (121 Community Church in Grapevine) and spend the evening at their Fall Festival. I didn’t tell the boys or Kara that Polo would be a fellow Pirate, so they were so surprised and excited when she showed up. We spent the night walking around, playing games and collecting candy. Well, Cade didn’t really “collect” his candy; he just ate it as he got it. :) The boys (and Chris and Kara) were such cute Pirates, and Cohen was the little monkey of the group. We had a great time and I think “Polo the Pirate” did too!

Callen posing like a pirate!

Aren't they cute?!

The whole Clayton "Pirate" clan

Polo the Pirate -- Arr!

She loved her costume and definitily turned some heads!

A heavy heart...

Where do I even begin...my mind has a million things running through it right now. Lately, it seems that tragic news has been hitting me from all different directions. First a few weeks ago, I heard that a a girl I knew from my church (she has since moved away) was diagnosed with cancer, pretty much in her whole body. To make matters worse, she is a thirty year old mother, of a 4 yr old, 2 yr old and newborn. In fact, that is how they discovered the cancer...when she was having some complications and they decided to take the baby early. She is now in the process of chemotherapy and numerous doctors visits. I was not super close to her, but her story just saddens me so much and I just hate this for her and her family.

Not two days later, I got an email from my mom telling me that a long time family friend was also diagnosed with cancer. Her name is Robyn and she is only 25! Her mom and my mom grew up across the street from one another for years and have kept in touch all of this time. So of course as kids, we played together. She was diagnosed when she had some pain in her shoulder, later to discover it was a blood clot. After numerous tests, they found cancer in her intestines and now possibly in her lungs. The updates we receive are not looking positive, but we continue to pray for God to heal her as only He can do!

THEN, on Monday I arrive at work and quickly receive the news that one of my former co-workers passed away over the weekend. He was invovled in a motorcycle accident on Saturday and died on Sunday due to head injuries. He was 35 and a father of 2 kids. Even though he was a former co-worker and we had not worked together for over a year, he had an impact on everyone he worked with. Brent was the life of the party wherever he went and you would never forget his smile and laugh. In fact, me and two of my other co-workers had just had lunch with him about 5 months ago! I can even remember him telling me he was going to get a motorcycle and I told him, "Brent, you don't need one of those, they are dangerous." Well, today was the funeral and it was so sad! The church was packed with so many friends and family. His Pastor, cousin, boss and best friend all spoke. His best friend's speech really did everyone in. In it he said, "Please make sure you always tell or ask your friends whatever is on your mind, cause you never know when it will be the last time you have the chance." That will make you think...

So anyway--that is what is on my mind tonight. My heart is heavy. Sometimes this life is not fun, but I know I have a better one to look forward to one day! I challenge you today to be thankful for your family, thankful for your friends and thankful for your health...we are not promised any of them.