Abby's Journey Archive

We started off our week meeting our newest little extended family member (Baby Sienna was born to my brother Rich and sister-in-law Laura on September 13) as well as interviewing with a local TV news station. Then we ended the week with potty training so I guess you can say we fit a lot into our week!

The television interview was a wonderful opportunity for us to share how God has led us so faithfully through the past 18 months. The producer, Jeff Bills, wanted to know how a family deals with having a child in a situation like Abby's. We only agreed to the interview on the condition that we would be able to declare how our relationship with Christ has been our source of strength and comfort. Jeff readily agreed and gave us so many opportunities to share the many ways God has blessed us and cared for us. Please be praying that God will lead Jeff as he condenses 90 minutes of raw footage into a news story that will declare Christ to many people. We will notify you all when we find out about the air date.

Abby has more good days than bad days. She continues to amaze her oncologists with how she looks. Her left side is definitely weaker than her right side. Sometimes the numbness in her left fingers is very discouraging and frustrating to her. But, overall, she is handling it pretty well. Some days when she is tired, she has quite a limp, but we are thankful that God continues to keep her as well as she appears. After consulting with the oncologist, we decided to leave her Decadron (the drug that reduces the inflamation in her brain due to the tumor progression) dose at one pill every other day.

Abby has been Elizabeth's biggest potty training cheerleader this week. She is always ready with a treat whenever Elizabeth uses the potty and there is no end to her compliments of "big girl!" Of course, we're all rejoicing in the thought of ending our "diaper days".

Finally, I want to encourage you all to eat out Monday, September 26! Chili's Restaurant is having a great fundraiser to benefit St. Jude's Research Hospital. They are one of the leading hospitals in the nation working to find cures to pediatric cancer. It sounds like 100% of the profits go to St. Judes. See the website for a location near you. http://chilis.com/

We enjoyed a "normal" week of activities after the excitement of last weekend. We continued on with homeschooling, had picnics outside on the playset and spent time with friends.

Every morning we praise God for His mercy and goodness when we see Abby's smiling face greeting us. She has had some episodes of left side numbness and weakness, but overall she continues to feel great. She is plugging away at her schoolwork which makes her teacher very proud! Our curriculum covers American History so we spent some time watching the old Schoolhouse Rock TV shorts (some of you may be familiar with them..."I'm just a Bill, yes, I'm only a Bill, sittin' here on Capitol Hill..."). Anyway, Abby's laughter while she was watching was a joy for us.

Thank you for your prayers for our family. We feel so blessed by you all. On a sadder note, we heard the news that one of Abby's fellow patients from UMC died on Thursday. Some of you may be familiar with Haley Knutsen's story. You can read more on her web site at hopeforhaley.com Please pray for her family as they grieve their loss.

Abby, Lindsay, Jessica, Audrey, and Alex had a successful performance at Saturday's Scrub Ball put on by Positive Impact. Everybody we spoke to said they really added something to the program, which was a high compliment since they were in the company of Tommy Lasorda and our own local favorite Jineane Ford, not to mention the countless others that either were part of the entertainment portion of the program, or worked tirelessly to pull off the evening.

Abby and her friends were treated also to a night at the Buttes resort. The following morning they arose for devotionals with Amy and went swimming in the resort pool, and even got to go down the water slide in the pool complex.

Abby continues to feel well, for which we give hearty thanks and praise to God. She went to bed complaining of a little numbness in her fingers, but she is due for a Decadron dose in the morning, so hopefully that will help keep these symptoms under control.

Our week ahead is filled with homeschooling, which Amy recently started back up. Abby and Josiah continue to enjoy it, especially when combined with their once-a-week session at Eagleridge Enrichment Program

One more piece of information for you all today. C.R. registered a domain name to make giving out Abby's website easier. From now on, you can go to http://abbysjourney.net and it will get you to this blog. Use this easy link to pass her website on to others.

We've had lots of people asking how Abby's TV appearance went. So, here's the run down. C.R., Josiah and Abby went to the studio and met with Jineane Ford and Pam Gerber, the representative from Positive Impact. Then they waited in the "green room" for their turn.

President Bush preempted their spot a bit with his speech so the interview was shortened, however, Jineane was able to encourage people to attend the Scrub Ball as well as highlight many of the silent auction items that will be available. Abby got to hold a Shih Tzu- Poo puppy (which she named "Lizzie" because she is "curious like little Elizabeth") and wear a Sapphire/Diamond pendant. Both are auction items for the ball. Pam mentioned that Abby would be dancing at the ball to represent the types of families that Positive Impact helps. Although Abby said very little, her smile hopefully won the hearts of some people and encouraged more people to attend the Ball.

After the show, C.R., Abby and Josiah got to sample some of the food from the cooking portion of the program as well as enjoy a short tour of the studio. The whole experience was very special to all of them.

Would you all be praying for God to use Abby (and her friends Alex, Audrey, Jessica and Lindsay) for His glory in their dance on Saturday? We firmly believe our involvement in the Scrub Ball has a divine purpose. Abby's website will appear in the program so more people will be able to come hear how our faithful, great and loving Savior has carried and continues to lead us in Abby's journey.

This morning we got an unexpected call from one of the Scrub Ball organizers asking if Abby would mind appearing on TV in a live promo spot for the event and Positive Impact in general. At first, Abby was a little apprehensive, but as soon as we determined that Josiah could go with her, and reminded her that this is another opportunity to possibly help draw people to Jesus, she was willing.

So in about an hour we will hop in the car and head for Channel 12 in downtown Phoenix. We are going to be guests of Positive Impact on "Arizona Midday" with Jineane Ford. It starts at 11 AM.

We wanted to invite all of you in the Valley to consider participating in the annual Positive Impact Scrub Ball this Saturday, September 10. Positive Impact is a charity organization in the Valley that is "dedicated to helping families in crisis whose needs are greater than their resources." Many of the families they help have children like Abby who are facing life-threatening illnesses.

God-willing, Abby and a few of her special friends will have the privilege of participating in the evening program with their recital ballet dance. Abby is looking forward to the opportunity to do something to help out other kids like her.

If you would like more information, go to http://positiveimpactinc.org/