Believe

• "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24
• This is our daily verse. We truly believe that Ric is being healed and if you can see him you will understand why we say that. Even his Doc is amazed at where his blood work numbers are at in relation to where they were just a couple months ago. Doc has no explanation for it other than a Higher Power is doing it. Ric is continuing to gain weight - absolutely no pain - gaining strength every day - appetite is tremendous. We praise God every day for what He is doing for Ric. It is our miracle - we are so blessed.
• Thank you so very much for your continued prayers for him as your prayers are making a difference. One thing that most people don't understand is the power of prayer and especially when many people pray together for the same result. If all did truly believe it then we could change the world with our prayers.
• We had a very nice Christmas - spent time with our families in Othello. It was an energizer for Ric and seeing him energized also energizes me. We have recharged our batteries and are ready to continue moving forward. We also are looking forward to what 2012 will bring us all.
• 2011 is pretty much a blur with so many ups & downs - blows to the gut - several times wondering if Ric was going to make it or not. A rollercoaster ride it has truly been. Our family understands that life is precious & not to be taken for granted. Our life before this was what most people would think nearly perfect but we now really understand what a perfect life is. Spending time with those you love EVERY day. All the other stuff is just that STUFF. We have everything that we need - our family, a roof over our heads, food to eat, clean water, good jobs, wonderful friends & neighbors. Could not ask for ANYTHING more!
• Our prayer for each & every one of you is that you have good health, love in your life, and friends & family to surround you . May God bless you all. Happy New Year!

Up another pound!

• Ric had his treatment today & is up another 1.2lbs since last Thursday. He said that he feels so good today - the best that he has in 9 months. Yes it has been 9 months already since Ric was diagnosed with cancer! Crazy. In some ways it seems as if this year has just passed by but then at other times it's dragged out :)
• Saturday we had a nice visit with Octaviano, his girlfriend Berta and his mother Irene. Octaviano also has cancer - multiple myeloma.
• Sunday our friend Stu Hill fixed us a wonderful salmon dinner - it was great having dinner with him, Robin, Lauren and Stu Jr.
• Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! We know that this will be our best Christmas ever.

Climbing!

• Another really good week. Went to Monday Night Football game with our neighbors Tom & Wendy. Had a great time hanging out with them. That's where we took our picture with our Seahawk Santa hats.
• Ric had his bi-monthly Dr appt yesterday and he's up another 3 lbs for a total gain of 13 lbs since his low weight point on Nov. 8th. All his lab work numbers continue to improve - some pretty amazingly so in the last couple weeks. Doc stated that Ric's miraculous recovery is not due to anything that he is doing but is definitely God working. It's good to hear others saying what we definitely know to be true. Doc said he doesn't want to see him again till after the holidays so we get a little break from Dr. appts. He will still be getting his Avastin treatments every two weeks with his next one coming up on Tuesday.
• Ric is looking more like his old self although he still tires easily and needs at least another 20 lbs to be at a healthy weight. His appetite is still really great - he amazes me on how much he's putting away. Maybe the steroids are finally kicking in.
• I just want to thank you all for the prayers especially for me as I cannot tell you what total peace I have been feeling over this past month. Please continue your prayers as they are truly working! Love you all!
• If I don't get a chance to post again before Christmas, hope you have a very Merry Christmas and get to spend wonderful memory time with your families. Don't forget to do something special for someone else who is struggling right now as that is the reason for the season - love others more than you love yourself - that's what Jesus did and we are to be like him!
• Oh yes and since Ric's oncologist is Jewish want to make sure that we say Happy Hanukkah - which begins on Dec 20th!

Woohoo!

This is gonna be a short update - Ric is up another 5 lbs! YESSSSSS! Had another treatment today. We are enjoying things going in a positive direction now. Please keep Ric in your prayers for protection from side effects, continued weight gain, continued appetite and those tumors to be getting smaller and disappearing! Thanks for your love, prayers & support!

Even More Thankful - Revised @ 10:25pm

So I've revised this to add a couple more items that needed to be told in this post! You'll have to re-read it to get the added news. :)
• The last couple weeks (other than the fall) have been really good. We had a very nice Thanksgiving - Holly's boyfriend John cooked a wonderful spread with some side dishes also made by his mom. John's family, Rocky & Ember and my sister Renee, her husband Ted & son Johnny joined us. Johnny is with the Stryker brigade & getting ready to ship out to Afghanistan so we were very happy to be able to see him. Ric ate alot of food so hopefully that will result in some added weight when we go to his dr appt this afternoon. His appetite has been fabulous so just been praying that some of it sticks to his ribs literally!
• Friday night we had dinner with former Rebels players Molly & Megan and Megan's parents Mike & Nancy. Molly & her boyfriend Russ attend WSU so of course there was banter between them & Ric about the upcoming Apple Cup. Megan goes to college at University of Missouri so we were excited to be able to see her during this break.
• Went to Apple Cup - weather was great & Ric had lots of energy to be able to enjoy the whole game & a couple hours of pre-game in the event center. As you can see by the picture above, we finally got to meet Jim Lambright (former UW Football Coach) in person. In a previous post on the blog, Jim had called Ric to encourage him in his battle. It was really great to talk to him in person and thank him.
• Thursday before Thanksgiving we were blessed with a visit from my wonderful friend Danette & her two daughters Alyssa & Nichole. Danette & I have been friends since Junior High & she lives in Oregon. She brought us some of her homemade salsa which Ric is now enjoying.
• Sunday we had a wonderful phone conversation with our longtime friend Ive who lives in Florida. Ive is our older "sister" from UW college days. We'd lost her phone number & finally was able to get her to contact us thru her son Brandon as we knew she would want to know about Ric's battle & be praying for him (and as she said call everyone she knows to pray for him).
• Ended the holiday weekend with a very nice visit with Glen & Becky yesterday evening. Had to drop off some gifts for them to take to the children we sponsor in Nicaragua & for some good friends there as they will be heading to Nicaragua later this week for the graduation ceremony at Dario Christian Academy. It had been our hope that we would be able to attend the graduation since this will be the first graduating class from high school. We hope & pray that God will allow us to return to Nicaragua sometime next year. The staff & the children at Dario Christian Academy have been praying for Ric's healing also & have sent us many encouraging videos, letters, e-mails.
• Ric had his doctor appt today and he is up 3 more lbs for a total of 5 lbs since November 8th! You should have seen the smile on his face as he was standing on the scale & saw where his weight was. I have not seen that smile in way too long so it was FABULOUS to see him smile like that again!
• Thanks again for all your prayers, love & support. Please continue to pray for no side effects from the Avastin & that those tumors keep shrinking smaller & smaller and that Ric continues to gain weight. Also please pray for Ric's youngest sister Minerva as she's been having some health issues lately. She is the one he donated the kidney to in 2000.

Ups then downs - literally

So today started out being a very good day. Appetite is still UP. Ric is UP another pound! He had his 2nd Avastin treatment this round and was feeling good. His recent craving has been for hamburgers (not sure why) so we went to Dick's on Broadway for burgers and fries. Then we decided to stop by Michael's in Issaquah to buy some items to send to some of our little friends in Nicaragua (others are heading down next week). As Ric was getting out of the car and stepped up on the curb, his knee buckled and he fell. Usually he waits for me to come around to help him when getting out of the car but this time he did not. Maybe because he was feeling so good. Unfortunately he bruised his left ribs and ended up with a big bump on the left side of his forehead. His head hit the concrete so hard that I heard a crack and I was in total fear as I ran over to him. He didn't lose conciousness and actually was extremely mad at himself for not being able to right himself when he started to fall. It was pouring down rain at the time and he was getting soaked so I was able to get a worker at Michael's to help me get him back in the car. Called 911 so the EFR crew was there in no time. All his vitals were fine but we took him to Swedish/Issy ER. They took xray of his ribs - no fractures and because of him being treated with Avastin they had to do a CT scan to make sure there was no bleeding in his brain. Fortunately no issues - Thank God! But he is in alot of pain with his bruised ribs. Of course all of this really frustrated him as he was having such a good day. So for now please pray for quick healing of his bruised ribs and the bump on his head and that there will be no issues from this little setback.

Things are good

Ric continues to amaze me. Just last week he was needing a walker to get around as he was pretty weak due to the dehydration due to the chemo side effects and the additional weight loss. On Tuesday when we had to go to his Dr appt he decided he didn't need it and has not used it since. Our San Diego trip was really needed by both of us. We had a fabulous time - got to see lots of good friends and soaked in lots of sunshine. It really lifted us both up. Dr. appt went well. He's up one pound! Although that does not seem like a big deal it is since most every appt since August he has dropped some weight. Everyone at the Doc's office commented on how much better Ric is doing since earlier in the month. For now we are focusing on getting Ric to gain some more weight. If he keeps eating like he is that shouldn't be a problem. He'll be continuing the treatments every two weeks. Next one is next Tuesday.