Happy Birthday, Anna-Renee!!!

A sweet baby girl!

One year old!

Asleep in Daddy's arms

Anna's 3rd birthday

 Today is Anna's 17th birthday! My how time flies! I remember the tiny baby being placed in my arms. I remember the ornery little grin as this fun loving toddler would grab her big sister's toy and run for it! I remember when she wanted skates sooo bad and was excited to get them for her birthday. There were the chicken pox, the style of sandals she just HAD to have, and the love of life this girl has had all along. She has always loved to sing, and I remember when she received a new song in her heart! What a beautiful change took place in this girl the day she accepted Christ as her Savior! Anna has been a joy to this family from the beginning! It's been three years exactly since the day she landed in Uganda, Africa for a life changing experience. Anna's love for missions has never been the same since. One year ago, we celebrated a milestone....sweet 16, with make-up, pierced ears, a special dinner, and a hope chest. Wow, it's been a whole year since that day! And since her last birthday, much has happened, much has changed, but not her winsome spirit or her love for her Savior! As I look at my precious daughter lying in her hospital bed this 23rd day of May, 2013, her 17th birthday, I still see that sweet, fun loving girl who is more in love with Christ than ever before. She loves to share that love with anyone, everyone. She still loves to sing, smile, and hope for the future. Today is a birthday we will never forget. Our family will gather for a birthday celebration on the 8th floor at Seattle Children's Hospital. She will enjoy being with those she especially loves, she will enjoy the cards and gifts that we will give her. The special surprises will be fun. Anna's smile will be bright. This is day +5 for her. Five days have passed since her 3rd "birthday"...another celebration we recently enjoyed. We are grateful to get this time to be together. We are grateful to get the chance to love on our favorite Anna in the whole world! We are excited to wish Anna-Renee a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

A birthday past...

The girls being silly

A lovely young lady

Loving on Lydia

Always a bright smile for the camera!

Such a beautiful girl

Growing up

A first for make-up (though not needed!)

One year ago today! 16!

Another awesome photo shoot with Jenny!

Sporting a new look

Enjoying the love

A new journey

WE LOVE YOU, ANNA-RENEE!!!! HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY!!!!! 

Day +3

Today is day +3. Naomi came to spend some time with Anna while I stayed home with the little ones, and Craig took the older four boys over to Bremerton. He had a couple of appointments today, several errands to run, and the boys had Boy Scouts this evening. One of the meds Anna was scheduled to take today we knew made her really sick the last time she took it so Anna knew that if she needed me, I would come in an instant.

On the home front, school went on for Julia and Lydia as normal. Okay, as normal as possible right now. Abby and Zeke drew pictures for Anna and enjoyed "helping" mama fold clothes. Selah was ready for a nap, so I put her into the playpen and shut the door. Next thing I know, I am hearing the turning of the door nob and a precious but naughty little girl is standing there with her THREE special blankies in her arms and a huge grin on her face! Too cute, but, being the good mommy I know I need to be, instead of smiling at her and telling her how adorable and clever she is, I scooped her up and let her know that in no uncertain terms, she MUST take her nap...thus she must stay in her bed! Again, after the door was closed, I heard that familiar sound..the turning of the door nob, the three blankies in tow, the huge grin on her pudgy face. Scoop number two, you MUST take your nap! Sigh...The third time I heard it I was in the dining room and didn't get up right away. I instead quietly got up and peeked around the corner. She was laying on her tummy in the hall by the kitchen with her 3 blankies and huge grin. When she saw me with my phone taking a picture, she sat up and grinned even bigger...uh oh, I was caught! So this time, I scooped the little munchkin up and hauled her to my bed, where we BOTH took a little nap...and she stayed put.

As I woke up from my little nap, Naomi was calling me to come for Anna. She was feeling pretty lousy and needed her mommy. So, we all piled in the car and headed to Children's. I went up after saying good bye to all of the little ones who were very sad they didn't get to come say hi, and traded with Naomi.

It is sometimes hard to keep that smile when you feel lousy, you want to be home, and well, you just feel lousy! I held her precious hand and stroked her fingers, telling her how much I wished that I could take this from her! After a bit of time, the smile was back, tears were gone, and we were laughing together remembering the night doctor's corny jokes. Laughter really does do good like a medicine! As well as having mommy there to comfort you! Anna was able to stay awake for quite some time and she actually asked for a bite of FOOD! She ate 3 bites to be exact! And so far, she has not vomited! Yay for small victories! She was able to get freshened up with a shower and then tucked back in a freshly made bed. Then we Face Timed with the family at home. This was medicine for her soul! She enjoyed watching the little ones clamor in front of the computer, taking turns to express their love for her and how much they missed her! Zeke was so excited he almost spilled the beans about a special birthday surprise waiting for her! They were all quickly gathered and admonished to not tell the secret so Anna could have a surprise! Then it was loves, and kisses, and "hi's" all over again! When Anna got off of the Face Time, she was all smiles and a few yawns. She was all tucked in, her sleepy anti-nausea meds kicking in, and ready for much needed sleep. "Mom," she said, "I love you. Thank you for being here. Now go get yourself a bite to eat at Starbucks." "I love you too, it is my privilege to be here with you, my love! I'll get food when you have gone to sleep, until then, I'll be right here by your side. Good night sweet heart." As she nodded off, I slipped out of the room to get my dinner. Since then, I've been here, using her computer to catch up on some blog reading of my own, and post a quick update for everyone out there.

Thank you all for your love and prayers! God is truly giving us the strength we need on a day to day/moment by moment basis! I have a wonderful husband who has the support of a wonderful church to be able to stay here and take a huge portion of the hospital stay upon his shoulders. He affords me the luxury of sleeping in my own bed at night and he is always making sure that I don't over due it. He also makes sure the other children get lots of mommy time while then getting over to give them daddy time as well! I am truly thankful. We are also very blessed by every opportunity to minister to others that God is giving us! We have a very long prayer list that grows daily as we meet more people. Our hearts are breaking for the souls here who are hurting beyond measure! It is a love only our loving Saviour could instill in us. Thank you, Lord for this trial in our lives, that gives us true understanding of what other's suffering means to them! Thank you for breaking my heart, keeping me dependent on you! As in the words of the famous poem, "Footprints", it is when we are in the biggest trials that you are carrying us...unlike the author, I KNOW I am being carried, Lord, as I feel your arms around me all of the way!

An Over-due Update..Day +2

 Friday was the big day! Day 0/transplant day. It was a day full of emotions, preparing our boy/man for surgery and excitement over the cells that would then be placed into Anna's body. We were so proud of Daniel! He was never nervous, just excited over what he was getting to do!!! We met up in Anna's room for a time of Bible reading and prayer before taking him down for surgery. One last hug from Anna before he left to give her the gift of a lifetime. Daniel went back into surgery a little after 2 p.m. and came out around 4:30. While he was in surgery, Craig and I went to the gift shop and got balloons for the entire crew. It was fun carrying so many balloons through the hospital halls! Then we decorated Anna's room with them. This made for a very festive atmosphere for a very special day!! The children came for the big event as well as a couple others. Then it came.....the cooler with Daniel's cells. As everything was being prepared, the nurses from all over came in to sing, "Happy transplant day to you!" (to the tune of Happy Birthday") Day 0 is a highly celebrated day for bone marrow transplant patients! The cells took just over 7 hours to be administered, so Anna actually became one of a few double 0 patients! This means, that since it went into Saturday, that Saturday was also day 0. Sunday was day +1, today is day +2.

Saturday, we received the disturbing news that an error had been made concerning the first 2 bags of cells. The wrong tubing had been used. The tubing that the nurse hooked up had filters and the Dr. was unsure if the stem cells had been filtered out. This was devastating! Though the good thing was that the last bag was the fullest and the amount that most transplant patients receive. Daniel had produced 3x more cells than most donors are able! Well, this didn't seem to help much in the way of encouragement to a very sick young lady who is depending on those cells! Tears were spilled and questions were asked. We know that human error is a part of life and we must be accepting of that. We all make mistakes, and God is still ultimately in control! He has a plan! Well, a couple of hours later, Dr. Woolfrey came back with some VERY good news! She had just gotten off of the phone with the head of bone marrow transplants at UW, and he said not to worry! That they actually use the filtered tubing on patients with allergies and have always seen good results. (in other words, the stem cells got through the filter and grafted into the patients) He said to go ahead and count all 3 bags as good!!  What a relief!

At this point in the transplant process, we are looking at rough days ahead. Anna will continue to get sicker. She already has mouth sores forming that go throughout her digestive tract. The nausea is increasing, but they are trying to keep it at bay with around the clock anti-nausea medication. She also has pain meds at the push of a button to keep her feeling as good as possible. I am so proud of Anna! She is doing quite well! She pushes herself to be as physically active as possible. Everyone here is pleased with how well she is doing. Keeping active will really help her recover better later. She is also being a witness at every opportunity. Today we were able to talk about her mission's trip to Uganda with her nurse and CNA. They asked what Anna and Craig had done while there, so we were able to share just what they did! They then asked if any of the younger ones had gotten to go on their trip yet, so we then shared about the situation that took place when it was Samuel's turn to go. How perfect each part was in keeping them home when we would be faced with the diagnoses of Anna's CML. The nurse was amazed at how it all worked, to which Anna replied, "It just shows the Sovereignty of God! He worked it all out!" Little things like that can plant seeds in the hearts of those we share it with. We pray those seeds will be watered, and that God will get the increase one day!!!

The longer we are here, the more families we are meeting. The other day we met a man who's wife had a baby girl named Isabella, born on the ninth of May. Their baby girl needed to have open heart surgery and was scheduled for Thursday the 16. We told him we'd be praying for his baby girl. I was really burdened all day Thursday and told Craig I truly hoped God had answered our prayers for that family! Who knew if we'd ever see them again? Craig shared with me today that he ran into the dad yesterday and so he asked how everything went. I am so blessed to say that she made it through with flying colors! She may even be going home this week!!! While we were both in Anna's room today, A code blue went over the intercom. Craig immediately stopped and prayed, "Dear God please help that child be okay!" and would you know that literally seconds later the code blue was cancelled!! To which Craig said, "Thank you God for answering our prayer so quickly!" It is so awesome to see God working in so many ways!!! I mentioned a young lady in the room next to Anna's named Lynsie. I have had the privilege of getting to meet her and chat with her on a couple of occasions. Please Pray her transplant will be successful and that she will be able to live a long and full life! Pray we can share the love of Jesus with her and her family!!! Also, please pray for a 19 year old young lady who is also on her 3rd relapse. It is very sobering to meet patients who have been down this road a number of times. We have such a burden to see them get better and we are praying for them! It is wonderful to know that the love as well as the healing hand of Jesus has no limits!!! It isn't all bad news here, though. Today we heard of a young man who is on day +21 and was getting a two hour break from the hospital! We enjoy hearing good news on occasion! Our mission field is all around us, please pray that we will take the opportunity God affords us! May we be a beacon of light to all who we meet! May they all see Christ in us no matter the situation!

Thank you all for your love, support, and esp. your prayers! It was so good to be in the House of God yesterday and to get to see many loved ones and be encouraged by them! And to those we don't get to see, we know you all are praying for us and we are encouraged by that!

Please enjoy the spattering of pictures from the special day!

The look is him watching the t.v. above him

A prayer from his Pastor/Daddy

Headed back for surgery

Balloons for the crew!

A festive room for a special day!

Little siblings who LOVE their Anna

All the nurses singing, "Happy Transplant Day!"

Daniel's cells

All hooked up and ready to go!

The cells getting started

Another prayer over Anna and the cells

Anna showing off her line

Overwhelmed with thankfulness toward her brother

A proud little girl who is touching the light on Anna's finger!

Daniel getting to come up and see Anna

"Health to thy naval, marrow to thy bones"

Daniel made it through the bone marrow harvest like a champ! He is at this very moment in recovery and the cells have been delivered. We are just waiting for the orders to put them in! The coolers are literally sitting outside her room in the nurses station. Her siblings are all here waiting to watch the initial hook up. Thank you all for your prayers!

Day 0/ Transplant Day!

Dr. Woolfrey

 Yesterday Daniel had his appointments at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance to make sure he was physically ready for the bone marrow harvesting. He was cleared! (That's the reason for the thumbs up with Dr. Ruiz-Gutierrez) Dr. Woolfrey will be the one doing the harvest today, and Dr. Ruiz-Gutierrez will be assisting her. Dr. Burroughs is the one who had originally checked Daniel in at Children's, and Christa is a precious Christian lady who works in the child life area of S.C.C.A.. After his appointments, Craig took Daniel for a special Dad and son lunch. Daniel ordered bleu cheese top sirloin steak, you know to get that iron up! The wait staff gave them free appetizers when they found out that he was donating his bone marrow to his sister! He is indeed our hero! His willingness, yea, his eagerness has been a great testimony to so many!

Daniel's surgery will take place this afternoon and then Anna will receive the fresh marrow soon after. Daniel's recovery time will be about a month as he will be restricted from rough housing and wrestling around to protect his pelvis. The pelvis will be fragile as it will have between 200-300 holes in it that could shatter the bone if he were to take a blow to it. He will also be very sore for a couple of weeks. However, his hospital stay will only be a few hours.

Dr. Ruiz-Gutierrez

Dr. Lauri Burroughs

Christa Peterson

 We are very proud of Daniel as well as all of our children for being willing to make this sacrifice for their sister. We pray that all will go well with the transplant process. The process takes several weeks to complete. The easiest part will be getting the bone marrow put in. This will be administered through Anna's Hickman line. The hard part, as well as the most life threatening part, is the grafting process. Daniel's stem cells will have the journey of accepting Anna's body as it's own, and Anna's body will have the task of receiving Daniel's stem cells as it's own. This will be a long and drawn out time. The risk of liver failure or lung failure is very real during this process through a problem called graft versus host disease. We pray this will not be an issue for Anna. A little gvh is expected and even good as Daniel's immune system will become Anna's.

Anna still has a long road ahead of her. It will be some time before she feels like her old self again. I am encouraged though. Yesterday, as I walked down the hall, I saw many of the sick teens walking around with a bit of a bounce to their step. It's encouraging to see that Anna will start to feel better. Even if it takes a little bit more time and a lot more prayers. Which is where you all have been a help to us and a blessing! We know you are praying! We feel God's presence. His comfort has been surrounding us from the beginning. His faithfulness has abounded. The joy of the Lord is our strength. He has used His people to uphold us and to encourage us through every aspect of this journey! We have not had to walk this path alone! Nor will we have to continue on this path alone. Thank you all! And........

HAPPY TRANSPLANT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Free! appetizers for the HERO!!

Dad And Daniel having a special lunch

Happy Transplant Day!!

A Quick Review of the Week

 Tuesday was a rough day. It was Anna's first day on the Cyclophosophamide and she reacted to it in a bad way. Anna's face had extreme raised, red splotches all over and her lips were swollen. She got really sick and this caused her Daddy and Mommy to be quite concerned. She was already on Benadryl for nausea and we thought it should also take care of any allergic reactions. The splotches gradually decreased and the Dr. was able to put us at ease. She assured us that if her reactions got worse than we would have alarms going off all over the place, and people running in to help her.

 Yesterday was a better day. Though Anna remains feeling pretty awful, she did not react to the drug the same as Tuesday! She actually was able to get up and walk two laps around the 8th floor wing!!! She also asked for some saltine crackers and Sprite, then asked for string cheese...and she ate it all! That's the most she has eaten in days! As you all know, today is Anna's day off. Not that she will get to be left alone from meds and vitals, but that she will not have any chemo drugs put in her.

Anna's neighbor is a young lady named Lyndsey. She must be about Anna's age and is on her third relapse of cancer. Please pray that she can conquer cancer once and for all! Lyndsey sent over this huge balloon for Anna! It was so sweet! She wanted to deliver it herself, but wasn't allowed at this point. So it was delivered by a nurse. She also gave Anna a black wristband that says, "stupid cancer!"  What a sweet gesture, one young lady with cancer to another. I hope we can in turn, minister to her and her family.

Tomorrow is the big day! Daniel goes in at 12:45 p.m. for surgery to harvest his bone marrow. The surgery will last about 2 hours and 45 minutes. Then he will have a 45 minute recovery time before being released. The hospital staff has said that if everyone is healthy, they encourage the family to all be there with Anna as she gets the bone marrow. They celebrate transplant day as a big 2nd birthday, as she receives new life into her body. Craig has already gotten to explain to some that this won't be her second birthday but her THIRD!!! She was born physically (17 years ago next week!), then born again through the blood of Jesus, and tomorrow, given another life from her brother's bone marrow. We are so blessed to be given the gift of life, both physical and spiritual! And to be given the opportunity to share it with everyone we come in contact with! We are thankful for all of the prayers being offered up on Anna's and our behalf! We feel the presence of God in every circumstance!!!!

Unexplainable?! We Know Better!

Getting her chemo started 

Still able to smile!

 This morning at 2:00 a.m., Anna received her last two hour dose of Busulfan, which has been administered four times a day for four days. Today she will begin her two days of Cyclophosphamide, a more extreme chemo drug that is given only once a day. After tomorrow, Anna will be done with "conditioning". Conditioning is the term used for the six days of intense, high dose chemo therapy that prepares or conditions the body to be able to accept the bone marrow which will be given on Friday.

After a few days, not feeling so well..but still smiling!

Thursday will be Anna's "day of rest"; however, Daniel will be busy with appointments at S.C.C.A. all day. Daniel will get the last minute check-ups and blood draws to make sure he is ready for the marrow harvest. He is so excited! People keep asking if he is nervous, and I honestly have to say that he isn't!

Anna has kept a positive attitude throughout this process though she has been feeling worse as the days go by. Her vision has been blurred making it difficult to be up walking around as well as to read. This has been a source of frustration for her.  Also, her nausea has been pretty bad, making it difficult to eat food. Some of the anti-nausea meds make her really sleepy.

Yesterday I stopped in to deliver a couple of books to Craig and give Anna a kiss and hug. Emotions ran a bit high, so I stayed longer than I had expected. I held my baby girl for as long as she needed. I was able to help her get freshened up and then we sat on her bed together and watched as a storm passed over us. It was beautiful to watch. From the strike of lightening to the down pour, to the sun breaking through once again. I told her how beautiful a picture that was for us. That through the storms of life, God is always there shining His light.

Anna was excited to get gummy bears from Irv (at church), delivered by Michael. She eagerly opened them and had a few~ an amazing feat since food is not very appetizing right now. Thank you Irv!!  We sat and enjoyed each other's company for a little while until she got sleepy. Again tears, I laid down next to her in her bed and held her in my arms, promising to stay by her side for as long as she needed me. Sometimes a mommy's arms is the best place to fall asleep. I am thankful for that time. Right now we live life moment by moment. A "quick trip" to the hospital can easily turn into a couple of hours or more. But that's okay. This is just for a season, and though it's difficult for the younger children to understand, they do know that their sissy is very sick and has extra needs right now. I hear it in their prayers as they ask God to "help Anna not have cancer anymore".


~"The effectual fervant prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16
I must share about the doctor's rounds yesterday..... Dr. Woolfrey and the P.A. come in the mornings for rounds. They read off Anna's numbers from the blood work that has been done and Craig asked about Anna's liver numbers. The Dr. said that Anna's numbers were amazingly perfect! She said it was completely UNEXPLAINABLE! (you see, we know that her enzymes had been bad back in January due to the TKI's, or cancer drugs, but her bilirubin remained elevated and actually climbed a bit while her liver was supposed to be "cooling off". Well, this made them think she may have something called "Gilbert's (pronounced jheel-bahyers) syndrome" which is actually common and just means her liver has issues processing the red blood cells. This was not a concern regarding the transplant so we had gotten the green light to move forward.) Well, Craig responded to Dr. Woolfrey's comment of the "unexplainable" perfect liver numbers with, "This is totally explainable Doctor, we literally have people from around the world praying specifically for Anna's liver! God has answered those prayers!"

What a great testimony of God's handiwork through the prayers of righteous people from all over the world! Thank you all for your diligence in praying for Anna! This brings great joy to my heart knowing we can share such things with the doctors and nurses whom we hope to spread the light of Christ with at every opportunity!

My exhortation to each of you today is to seize the moment! Take each opportunity to vocalize God's goodness to all you come in contact with! Share the light of Christ, pray for lost souls to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus! Especially in the storms of life, the darkest clouds can cover that light, but you don't have to let that happen...you can allow His light to shine through you and spread that hope to everyone!

Enjoying her gummy bears!

**Please pray for my father-in-law, Larry, he is currently in the hospital in Astoria, OR. We are unsure what is wrong with him, but know that he received 3 units of blood last night. Pray for wisdom from the doctors and for Craig in knowing when he may need to head down there to see him! Thank you all!**

Asleep in her mommy's arms.