A couple of days ago Seth and I realized that it was exactly a year ago that we sat in a cold waiting room in MD Anderson and we were parents of a cancer patient. Our little boy had cancer. After 8 hours of consult we were told to go home and make a decision,  get the tumor out- risking a non-functioning leg in the end and continued need for radiation which would result in sterility, or attempt chemo and radiation and risk the mass matastesizing to his bone thus requiring an amputation. You all know the story. You all prayed for our baby and for us. As the year has progressed God reminds us of his faithfulness when we see Jackson’s scar and when we are reminded by those of you that prayed. It is surreal. We continue to process emotions.  It felt as though God took Jackson away for a little while (through our fears and the actual surgery time where we passed him over into the hands of the surgeons) and then graciously handed him back for us to care for him and enjoy him again. We love him so much.  Before I start sobbing…

On a much lighter note, I have been busy at work trying to find us a place to live for our 9 month time in DC. We have had a few great leads that have led to disappointment but we are now in the process of signing a lease on a place we are really excited about.  It happens to be only 10-15 mins from Ryan and Stephanie and a 3 min walk to the metro. We also have learned that thanks to Obama, Seth will qualify for a subsidy that will cover his metro costs. The townhouse has plenty of room, a small back yard and has a park just a hop and skip away. It has front steps  that are just begging for a big pumpkin and pot of mums in October!! Pray that all of the paperwork will go through quickly and that it will all be official soon!

And for the weekly “something funny” from Jackson: yesterday we ordered Chinese food and ordered beef and broccoli. This  morning Jackson was playing and somehow found the menu. He came to me and said “broccoli!” How on earth did he remember that that menu was from our dinner and he had had broccoli for dinner?!

All of you that keep up with our blog well know about Jackson’s cancer scare last May. Thousands of people prayed for Jackson. And for us. God was so gracious to save our little boy! Anyhow, my dear friend Annie forwarded me an email from her friend that had been praying for Jackson. She was recently on vacation on Captiva Island and met an interesting couple. The woman was a pediatric oncologist surgeon and her husband was a former player for the 49ers. After Annie’s friend shared the amazing story of Jackson (since she knew the surgeon might be interested) the surgeon told her that she in fact was Jackson’s surgeon. Wow!!! She  remembered Jackson because his case had been so rare. She is one of about 100 specialists in the world in rhabdomyosarcoma. If you ever need someone to operate on your child with a tumor call this lady! She is the best.

Because we live abroad the “small world concept” doesn’t always amaze me like it does others….until now. Wow.

We also wanted to share an article my dad wrote after the time at MD Anderson. It was published recently in an online magazine for the Christian and Missionary Alliance.  Here is the story.

For years I have heard older people saying things like “I can’t wait for heaven”.  There were times when I honestly could not agree with them. As a Christian I know that Heaven is supposed to be an amazing place filled with unimaginable thing.  But I also looked ahead and knew that I really wanted to someday be married and have children. I wanted heaven but not until I had my chance to experience life!

Now looking back I am more aware than ever of our need for Heaven. Each day that I live I see more pain and more human life that convinces me that there is no way out of this except through the cross and through our “escape” to Heaven.  As a mom, I experience so many amazing joys, but as a mom I am brutally aware of the fact that I cannot protect Jackson from the evils of this world.  I am unable to protect my parents, husband, child, my siblings and my friends from the evils of this world. I can cook a good meal, wash Jackson’s hands after playing, avoid spending time with unkind people and I can put one step in front of another. I cannot (no matter how organized and worried I am) stop a friend from having an eating disorder, a relative from an addiction, a friend from having an abortion, my maid from being lazy. It’s only through the power of Christ in our lives that change can come. We are all here in this world, living and trying to battle against the evil we encounter. I am not trying to be negative, there are joys and triumphs in this world too that we have all experienced and savored. But those aren’t the things that make me long for heaven.  I think part of this new longing is getting older and having more life experiences.  To have experienced health problems, unexpected loss of someone special, diagnosis of cancer in Jackson, 2 moves, living far from family and friends, and everyday threats of being killed in a bombing all in 3 yrs there is no way I can convince myself that this life is sufficient.  There is more for us to look forward to and thank goodness there is more!

I now have a new longing for the day when we will have no pain and sorrow. There will be no death and there will be no chains that bind us to our burdens.  We will be new creations! Heaven sounds like a very attractive place to me now that I have gained a little perspective.

I love this picture. It was taken on a rainy, dark, dirty night in Bogota on our way back from a trip. In the midst of the darkness we saw a rainbow.  There is hope of something so much better!  Beyond the streets of Bogota for sure!