Oh yeah! Marie was born on Oct. 18th, 2010 at 6:27 PM. She was about 7 lbs. 8 oz. and 20 1/3 inches long. (By Japanese measures, she was 3564 grams and 51.7 cm.)
She is almost 3 weeks old now.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
She's Here!
When Marie Josephine was brought to my face, she was radiating like an angel. She glowed! It's as if she was born sprinkled all over with sunlit diamonds. All that struck me was HOW beautiful she was! It was one of those "your heart just starts dancing" moments!
I'm still bewildered. Every time I look at her I feel so...amazed.
I'm still bewildered. Every time I look at her I feel so...amazed.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
A Way to Face Cancer
Since there are many ways to face cancer, I thought I'd share how we faced mine.
After the first surgery, the doctors did some tests on the tumor they'd removed and discovered it was not the first one. The tests revealed the cancer itself originated somewhere else. So, with the diagnosis changed to stage 4, we suddenly had a new challenging decision to make. Should we fly the children home to "spend what time we had left together" or should we keep them with my husband's parents while the doctors researched and tested to find the location of the original tumor?
It was the end of June, 2009. We had no idea how long I had. It was also a tough decision because just 6 months earlier, at the end of December, my Dad had been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer. He lived for less than 2 months and passed away on February 15th, 2009. Then, two months later, it was announced that another close relative with stage 4 cancer would soon be passing away.
So, what did we do? In gentle, sorrowful surrender, we decided to pray and ask God.
I was ready to accept if it was "my time to go" or if "against all odds that I'd recover." I knew it would be wise to cooperate with which ever path God indicated was His will because, when it boils down to it, it's really about "whether it's our time to go or not."
In those prayers, through the Holy Spirit, my husband and I were both specifically told that "not only would I recover, but we'd go on to have a 6th child too."
The answer, especially with the promise of a 6th child, was kind of stunning. We knew we could trust God's Holy Spirit though. We'd each had many incredible experiences trusting and acting upon it throughout our lives, yet, if that promise regarding my recovery and a 6th child ended up not being true, then what of all the other wonderful experiences and promises we believed God was the answerer of all those many years? Were they of God? Many things, even whether Jesus Christ was the Messiah or not, had been answered to us through the Holy Ghost. What then could we do but faithfully trust? So, trust we did.
We also bought a couple books. Two, which I highly recommend, are both by Lynn Eib. One is called When God & Cancer Meet and the other is called Finding the Light in Cancer's Shadow. Lynn Eib is also a cancer survivor and the work she does is absolutely amazing.
After the first surgery, the doctors did some tests on the tumor they'd removed and discovered it was not the first one. The tests revealed the cancer itself originated somewhere else. So, with the diagnosis changed to stage 4, we suddenly had a new challenging decision to make. Should we fly the children home to "spend what time we had left together" or should we keep them with my husband's parents while the doctors researched and tested to find the location of the original tumor?
It was the end of June, 2009. We had no idea how long I had. It was also a tough decision because just 6 months earlier, at the end of December, my Dad had been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer. He lived for less than 2 months and passed away on February 15th, 2009. Then, two months later, it was announced that another close relative with stage 4 cancer would soon be passing away.
So, what did we do? In gentle, sorrowful surrender, we decided to pray and ask God.
I was ready to accept if it was "my time to go" or if "against all odds that I'd recover." I knew it would be wise to cooperate with which ever path God indicated was His will because, when it boils down to it, it's really about "whether it's our time to go or not."
In those prayers, through the Holy Spirit, my husband and I were both specifically told that "not only would I recover, but we'd go on to have a 6th child too."
The answer, especially with the promise of a 6th child, was kind of stunning. We knew we could trust God's Holy Spirit though. We'd each had many incredible experiences trusting and acting upon it throughout our lives, yet, if that promise regarding my recovery and a 6th child ended up not being true, then what of all the other wonderful experiences and promises we believed God was the answerer of all those many years? Were they of God? Many things, even whether Jesus Christ was the Messiah or not, had been answered to us through the Holy Ghost. What then could we do but faithfully trust? So, trust we did.
We also bought a couple books. Two, which I highly recommend, are both by Lynn Eib. One is called When God & Cancer Meet and the other is called Finding the Light in Cancer's Shadow. Lynn Eib is also a cancer survivor and the work she does is absolutely amazing.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
One of the Hardest Questions
When one suddenly finds out they've got stage 4 cancer, it usually means they've unknowingly had it for awhile. With 5 young children at that time, soon after surgery, it struck me one day that I probably had cancer while pregnant with many of them.
When I realized that, it felt as if a bowling ball, falling from the top of the sky, had landed hard (very hard) in the pit of my stomach. Had I passed on lung cancer to my children during pregnancy? I remember forming that question in my mind, but getting the words out to the doctor was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Asking it was worse than trying to run in a dream. The thought of unknowingly hurting one of my children in such a way was...worse than...it was worse than I can even try to explain.
Then the doctor answered as best they could in English and drew a diagram to help me understand better. Essentially, the cancer hormone/protein/or whatever it's called is too big to cross the placenta! So, none of my 5 children could catch it from me!
If relief were a fountain, I was a geyser. If Mt. Everest itself could represent the height of the geyser, that definitely would have described me!
It was SO GOOD to learn that lung cancer CANNOT cross the placenta! Praise God!!!!!!!!
When I realized that, it felt as if a bowling ball, falling from the top of the sky, had landed hard (very hard) in the pit of my stomach. Had I passed on lung cancer to my children during pregnancy? I remember forming that question in my mind, but getting the words out to the doctor was one of the hardest things I've ever done. Asking it was worse than trying to run in a dream. The thought of unknowingly hurting one of my children in such a way was...worse than...it was worse than I can even try to explain.
Then the doctor answered as best they could in English and drew a diagram to help me understand better. Essentially, the cancer hormone/protein/or whatever it's called is too big to cross the placenta! So, none of my 5 children could catch it from me!
If relief were a fountain, I was a geyser. If Mt. Everest itself could represent the height of the geyser, that definitely would have described me!
It was SO GOOD to learn that lung cancer CANNOT cross the placenta! Praise God!!!!!!!!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Tanabata 2010
Last night, 7/7/2010, was Tanabata. Tanabata is a special time of year when two stars cross paths in the sky. In Japan, it's tradition for couples to dress up in summer kimonos and go out to watch the twinkling stars. Most of Tokyo, the largest city in the world, turns off its lights for Tanabata. People also adorn bamboo boughs with a variety of beautiful decorations and brightly colored papers where their deepest wishes are written.
Last year, about 2 weeks after my brain surgery, my husband and I were asked by the hospital staff to fill out 2 pieces of brightly colored paper to place upon the brain surgery wing's bamboo bough. We decided to write our greatest wishes. We wrote the promises God had made us (I will write more about how those answers came later in another post). The promises were 1.) that I would, against all odds, recover from this and 2.) that I'd not only recover, but that we'd go on to have our 6th child too.
There are so many details, yet, suffice it to say, this year at Tanabata, we have a lot to celebrate. I'm now cancer free and 25 weeks pregnant. Last year, the three of us, my husband, my mom (who had flown in from the USA to help take shifts with him at the hospital), and I (after a nurse helped me dress in a deep plum summer kimono adorned with pretty pink and white flowers) went to the Tokyo Tower together. We took pictures and, due to my health, we were given special permission to skip the extremely long ticket line out front. This year a different version of the three of us (my husband and pregnant me-in the same deep plum summer kimono, yet a tad frumpier looking this time) decided to go to the Tokyo Tower again and take pictures in the same places we did last year.
I'm going to have to search for those pictures from last year, yet I cannot wait to post them here plus the new ones we took this year. Taking this year's photos was definitely one of those "Oh my goodness! Thank you, thank you, thank you, heavenly Father" moments!!!!!!!!
Last year, about 2 weeks after my brain surgery, my husband and I were asked by the hospital staff to fill out 2 pieces of brightly colored paper to place upon the brain surgery wing's bamboo bough. We decided to write our greatest wishes. We wrote the promises God had made us (I will write more about how those answers came later in another post). The promises were 1.) that I would, against all odds, recover from this and 2.) that I'd not only recover, but that we'd go on to have our 6th child too.
There are so many details, yet, suffice it to say, this year at Tanabata, we have a lot to celebrate. I'm now cancer free and 25 weeks pregnant. Last year, the three of us, my husband, my mom (who had flown in from the USA to help take shifts with him at the hospital), and I (after a nurse helped me dress in a deep plum summer kimono adorned with pretty pink and white flowers) went to the Tokyo Tower together. We took pictures and, due to my health, we were given special permission to skip the extremely long ticket line out front. This year a different version of the three of us (my husband and pregnant me-in the same deep plum summer kimono, yet a tad frumpier looking this time) decided to go to the Tokyo Tower again and take pictures in the same places we did last year.
I'm going to have to search for those pictures from last year, yet I cannot wait to post them here plus the new ones we took this year. Taking this year's photos was definitely one of those "Oh my goodness! Thank you, thank you, thank you, heavenly Father" moments!!!!!!!!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Introduction
It was about a year ago when we found out I had stage 4 cancer. We live in Japan and our 5 young children (at that time ages 2 to 11) were emergency flown out of the country to be cared for by my husband's side of the family soon after the first tumor was discovered. I had collapsed, needing surgery, and was unable to take care of them. A week after surgery, the stage 4 diagnosis came.
This is a blog that I am putting together to share how this...I don't know what to call it...has gone and what we've learned. I am hoping it may also help others too. I don't know how to do a blog. Hopefully it will get pieced together as time goes on. Presently, we're over half way to having our 6th child. At age 38, I'm 23 and a half weeks along. I figured I ought to get this blog going, and, maybe by the time baby number 6 is born, I'll have caught up to speed with how blogging works!
Welcome aboard! May God breathe peace into your soul. He IS at the "steering wheel" of everything.
(The blog may stamp the time this post was published at. Considering time differences, it is just after 7:30 PM here.)
This is a blog that I am putting together to share how this...I don't know what to call it...has gone and what we've learned. I am hoping it may also help others too. I don't know how to do a blog. Hopefully it will get pieced together as time goes on. Presently, we're over half way to having our 6th child. At age 38, I'm 23 and a half weeks along. I figured I ought to get this blog going, and, maybe by the time baby number 6 is born, I'll have caught up to speed with how blogging works!
Welcome aboard! May God breathe peace into your soul. He IS at the "steering wheel" of everything.
(The blog may stamp the time this post was published at. Considering time differences, it is just after 7:30 PM here.)
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