Merry Christmas and Thank you!

So much joy in our home!

The emotions are so close to the surface. Christmas has never meant more to me...because...Christ has never meant more to me.

Such a blessing to have all of our children together and sharing special memories of this past year and expressing our love for all that Jesus has done for us as we celebrate His birth.

We each gave Jesus a gift this year for Christmas. During a special hour on Christmas Eve before going to bed, we shared what those gifts were.We all cried as the gratitude just flowed.

How blessed we have been by the Lord!

How blessed we have been by each of you!

Thank you!



Merry Christmas!

The Miracle of Christ

I love Christmas!

I love that we have a huge celebration to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. My need for Christ has never been greater. And I'm thrilled to see more and more people turning to Him.

I have witnessed his power in my life and in our family and know that there is nothing He can't do according to His will.

It has been a very interesting, even inspiring last few days.

The news of the Provo Tabernacle burning down was shocking. I personally saw flames raging nearly a full day after the fire fighters had been pouring water for hours on end through their huge fire hoses.

Finally, 36 hours after the fire started, they were able to enter the building to begin the tedious process of finding the fire's cause and also examining the structural integrity of the remaining walls.

I was so moved to see a photo of the firemen holding a picture of Jesus Christ with outstretched hands. This was the first item recovered from the devastated building. The picture was completely charred except for the area immediately around Christ. Seeing this reminded me that no matter what may happen to the physical things around us or what may happen because of trials and challenges of every sort, it is Jesus that matters most. He has all power, wisdom, and strength. He is our Savior. He is our Rescuer. He is the giver of all life and all hope.

That's why Jesus is the heart and focal point of Christmas.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Provo Firefighters look at a painting of Christ that was burned in the fire. The fire burned the entire image except the image of Christ near the center. Provo City Firefighters continue their work at the historic Provo Tabernacle after the building was destroyed by fire. Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010. (Photo by Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

"Sparkalies" and Christmas Joy!

Talitha is LOVING all the excitement around our home about Christmas. From the music to the lights, she is fully onboard with this celebration.

Audrey has several nativity scenes on display around the house. I came in the kitchen one morning this week to find Tali playing with one of the little sets that she has adopted for her own. She loves little baby Jesus and likes to keep Mary close by taking care of him.

When it gets dark, she stands by the window looking at all the "sparkalies"--her endearing term for Christmas lights. It doesn't matter how many lights she sees. She just can't contain her delight. Sometimes we'll drive in the car and she'll see the lights in the neighborhoods and just about go crazy trying to take it all in. There's nothing like the enthusiasm of a child at Christmas time. I compare this enthusiasm of children to the words spoken by the angel to herald the birth of the Christ child:

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." (Luke 2:10)

What if we really captured the significance of Christ this year? What if we got so excited just at the thought of Christ that we had to share our joy with someone or we'd pop?!
 
The more I experience His saving grace and rescuing power, the more excited I get to celebrate His birth. So when I see Talitha filled with more excitement than her little body can handle, I feel joy. Real joy.
 
So I say, let’s all join our voices this year with angels past and present in expressing the glad tidings of this sacred hymn:
 
Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Persistence and Good News!

The results of the spinal tap are what we had hoped-- clean!

We are SO grateful Talitha's spinal fluid is cancer-free. The ventricles in Tali's brain are still enlarged but her head has adjusted to this and continues to process spinal fluid without assistance from a shunt.

She keeps us laughing now even when we don't necessarily want to be laughing. The other day there was a "warm dispute" happening in another room between two of Tali's siblings. Talitha--with her awkward walking--made her way into that other room and then in a serious voice asked "what is going on here?!"

How she has picked up so much, so fast and knows how to use it all in context is shocking at times. Not exactly what I was expecting especially after brain surgery and the mute-ism that came with it during those first scary days nearly a year ago.

I heard Audrey say in Church today that because of what she has experienced, she knows now that regardless of how bad or hard things get, Christ has the power to get you through it. That's why you can trust Him....completely. (She said it so much more eloquently it just brought tears to my eyes.)

I've been thinking lately about the many lessons that have come through the blessing of trials. I came across a quote from Napolean Hill that I'd read before but didn't appreciate as much as I do now. It shed new light for me on the scriptures that talk about the need for "opposition in all things" and the necessity to "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ" and to "endure to the end":

"There is no substitute for persistence! It cannot be supplanted by any other quality! Remember this, and it will hearten you, in the beginning, when the going may seem difficult and slow.

"Those who have cultivated the habit of persistence seem to enjoy insurance against failure. No matter how many times they are defeated, they finally arrive up toward the top of the ladder. Sometimes it appears that there is a hidden Guide whose duty is to test men through all sorts of discouraging experiences. Those who pick themselves up after defeat and keep on trying, arrive; and the world cries, "Bravo! I knew you could do it!" The hidden Guide lets no one enjoy great achievement without passing the persistence test. Those who can't take it, simply do not make the grade.

"Those who can "take it" are bountifully rewarded for their persistence. They receive, as their compensation, whatever goal they are pursuing. That is not all! They receive something infinitely more important than material compensation--the knowledge that "every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage!"

No matter what the trial is, no matter how difficult the road, none of us are alone. God will help us. God wants to help us. There is no end to His power and ability to lift us, heal us, supply us, comfort us, rescue us, and save us.

Now that's Good News!

Tests and gratitude

So much to be grateful for!

Three days in a row of trips to hospitals for tests can wear you out pretty good. But Talitha did great even with one, sometimes two IV pokes in each wrist and each foot and a needle in the back at different points during the course of those three days.



Tali's kidney and heart tests didn't show any problems. (Yay!) The MRI looks great as far as no tumors in the head and spine. (Yay!) We won't have results on the spinal tap till next week but trust that the fluid sample drawn will be cancer free. Perhaps the most exciting of all was that the hearing tests showed the best results from any test so far! (Yay!!)

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers and support. There just is no way to adequately express the gratitude we feel.

Tali is thankful for her new coat she received just in time for the very cold week and the early morning trips to Salt Lake. On both Tuesday and Wednesday she had to be sedated which means no eating or drinking in the morning. On Tuesday, she didn't even ask for food or milk from the time she woke up to the time of the MRI. Shocking as this was, it sure did make the morning much more pleasant for mom.

Thank you, Tali!

Next round of tests

The holiday season kicks off in a new way for us as we begin the week with 3-days of tests at three different hospitals.

Tomorrow (Monday) is the echocardiogram and kidney test. Talitha will start the day off with a clinic visit at the Oncology offices at the PCMC. There they will insert two IV ports--one in each wrist. Tali is old enough now to know what's about to happen when it comes to needles so there is no delayed reaction like there was last December in PICU. She does not appreciate pokes like this and is quite vocal with her feelings on the matter. (Please let the nurses find good veins the first try.)

After clinic, Audrey will take Tali across the enclosed walkway from the PCMC to the University Hospital to begin her kidney tests. From there, they will go back to the PCMC for the echocardiogram. Then back to the University Hospital to continue/finalize the kidney tests. (Please let Tali have a good night so she'll be ready for a long day ahead.)

Tuesday is another MRI. This one will be at the Riverton IHC facility. They plan to keep the IV ports in Tali's wrists (used in Monday's tests) to spare her additional pain--she will need to be sedated for the head and spinal column scans.

Wednesday will be the sedated hearing test and lumbar puncture/spinal tap at the PCMC. Again, the plan is to keep the IV ports active and use them for access on Wednesday too.

We are encouraged that after a rough week of being sick, Talitha is doing much better. We kept her home from church as a precaution because she has a lingering cough. Suppressed as it is, we are grateful her immune system is showing some spunk.

Thank you for praying for Talitha. She's getting better and improving slowly but surely.

So much to be thankful for...

Happy Thanksgiving!

What do we allow to define us?

Talitha picked up a bug that's set up shop--temporarily--in her respiratory system.

Sunday night we heard her start with some congestion and by Monday morning, you could hear it in her lungs. The thought of a hospital trip makes me cringe. So we've been doing everything we can to support her little body in reversing this sickness.

Besides Tali receiving a blessing, we've been praying, keeping her hydrated and filled with good food, good thoughts, and lots of love.

She seems to be in good spirits and plays and follows a normal routine. She tires a little more easily and doesn't resist her afternoon nap as strenuously.

Audrey was quite shocked in going back and looking at pictures of Tali when she was undergoing cancer treatments. Now that she has hair again and is putting on weight and acting so normally, it's hard to see the pictures of her in such a sick condition.

I try not to think about it too much other than to praise the Lord and remember His miracles and to look for His hand in my life. I know God carried us and made it possible to do what we could never have been able to endure on our own.

I've been thinking lately of what we allow to give definition to our lives. This journey with Talitha has of a necessity consumed a large portion of our time. The lessons that have come and keep coming are a blessing for which I'm grateful. 

However, I've noticed that when so much energy and attention is given to one area, unless we are adequately grounded, that part of life can start disproportionately coloring the whole picture, almost like painting a landscape with too few colors as if some of the colors ran out so you start using blue when you should be using yellow.

Part of the challenge then is in facing the trials of life and enduring them well without allowing the problems to define who we are. I know this may sound weird, but I'm starting to see how it could happen that if one particular challenge over-defines who you are, then when that problem passes, you could lose a sense of identity because a large part of how you defined yourself is no longer part of the picture.

A better approach would be to allow the definition of who we really are to be founded upon or closely tied to Christ and His plan of happiness for us. That way, we can build definition around something that doesn't change over time. In fact, we can trace the lines of our character, our self-worth, and what matters most to us over and over knowing that the picture most closely resembling our Lord and Savior will be wonderfully balanced and of enduring value.

In short, a problem can mold a person or a person can mold a problem. The difference is essentially the degree to which Christ is the defining role model.