This morning, January 8, 2009, my daddy went to be with the Lord. His passing was very easy, very peaceful. He wasn't in pain, nor was he suffering, he simply went to sleep.

Thank you for all of the calls, cards, prayers and support you've offered my family over the past 4 months. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

Matthew 25:23 "Well done my good and faithful servant".

Rest in peace Daddy. I love you.

Well, we didn't get the news that we'd been hoping for. The CT scan results came back, and unfortunately, the chemo hasn't worked at all. All of the tumors have grown in size, and there are more spots in the lungs than before. On top of that, Dad has pneumonia. So, the best thing we can do for Dad is just to make him comfortable, and love on him the best we can until the end.

Please continue to pray for our family. This is such a scary, horrible time. The only shining light we have is knowing that Dad is really the lucky one. He gets to meet Jesus first! How awesome it will be for him. Sad for us, but awesome for him.

Thank you for everything you've all done. As I've said before, we could not have gotten through this without all of you.

Love,
Amy

Quick update, we had to put Dad back in the hospital yesterday. He had just become too weak and malnurished. They put in a feeding tube, which will allow Dad to get all of the nutrients his body needs, and will help him regain his strength. We're going to postpone chemo for this week and probably next week too, just to give his body a break and regain some strength.

On a good note, we spoke with the doctor and he showed us on his computer the lab test results. It was actually a comparison from the very first test through the last test, and there is one particular level that indiciated either bone disease or liver disease, and since we had already ruled out bone cancer, we're assuming it's the liver cancer. This one has continued to drop which to him indicated that the chemo is working. They're going to do a brain and abdomen scan today, so please be in prayer that we'll get good results.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Hope everyone had a safe and fun time ringing in the new year. Dad is still struggling with eating. Some days are better than others, but most days he's barely eating solid food at all, and is pretty much living off of liquid protein shakes or supplements, and even that is a struggle. It's a vicious circle. He's not hungry, he's too weak to even swallow, but he won't get stronger if he doesn't eat. I've read that more than 40% of cancer patients don't die from the cancer, they die from malnutrition, and that scares me so badly.

So, I'm calling all of you prayer warriors out there, we need to pray very specifically for Dad's appetite to increase, for the ability to swallow the food he puts in his mouth, and the strength to just eat at all.

Thanks everyone for the prayers, calls, cards, etc. Keep 'em coming. We appreciate it more than you know.

We had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope all of you did also. Dad had a great day, as you can see from the new picture.

We all got a Christmas surprise. Scott and Tina announced that they're expecting a baby in July. We had all given up hope that they would have another child, but in God's perfect timing, He is blessing them, and us, with a new baby. Mom and Dad are thrilled, and Dad is just absolutely certain that it's a boy. They'll find out in February. Please be in prayer that the pregnancy will go smoothly, and the baby will be born healthy. We're sooooo excited!!!!

God bless you all.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Dad has been feeling pretty good, just tired. The good news is that he's sleeping better, but now he's almost sleeping too much. Other than that, it's been a good week. We're all very excited about Christmas, and celebrating the birth of our Christ. I'm so thankful for another holiday with my family. We're so blessed.

I pray that all of you have a wonderful holiday with your family, cherish every moment, and make special memories that will last forever.

God bless you all.

Sorry for the delay in updating the blog. This week Dad has been considerable weaker than last week. There's really no rhyme or reason for it. Dad feels good, is sleeping MUCH better, but his legs are so weak that he really couldn't stand up. Friday his blood pressure spiked up pretty high, so Mom called the doctor and he told her to up his blood pressure medicine, which seems to have taken care of it. The doctor said that weakness and fluctuation in blood pressure are just normal side effects of the chemo he's on. While we were relieved to hear that it's just the chemo, it's still frustrating for Dad, and he gets kind of depressed.

As of this evening, Dad is doing better and is able to walk around again. Like I said, it's just strange how it comes and goes, but it's normal I guess. So, we're hanging in there, just day by day.

Please continue to pray for our family, especially for Mom. It's so hard on her. Scott and I are here as much as possible, but we can't be here all day every day, so it all falls on her. Please pray for strengh for her.

Again, thank you all for the continued prayers and support. We love you all so very much!