THANKFUL!

We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

I hope everyone has a happy HEALTHY holiday season. You are all such blessings to our family!

Blessed Assurance

"This is our story....this is our song...praising my Savior...All the day long..."

She's Cancer Free!


Ginger

Done!?

Hi everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates. Life has been busy with summer fun and the beginning of school. Honestly, it's difficult to remember to blog when life "seems" to be going along with some sense of normalcy. Mom has been doing very well...living life with unbelievable courage! She finished chemo on August 27th which, strangely enough, has been a bitter sweet experience. "Sweet" with the excitement of NO more poison being pumped into Mom's body..."Bitter" with the fear of "what next?"

While we desire to maintain a peaceful faith that Mom IS cured, fear is trying to rear it's ugly head into our world. Please pray that we can truly rest in the peace of Jesus...the peace He promised us when He said, "Peace I leave with you, My own peace I give you; a peace the world cannot give, this is My gift to you. Let not your hearts be troubled or afraid."

Mom has lab work tomorrow (Sept. 7) and a CT scan on Thursday, Sept. 10. We are expecting a clear scan and would truly appreciate all your prayers this week as Mom goes through these tests.

A friend reminded me a few weeks ago that "Faith is the opposite of fear. " With this in mind we intend to battle our fears with prayer!

Blessings to all!
I promise to keep the blog updated a little better!

Ginger

Half Way There....and 5 Years Ago Today

I apologize for such a lengthy time between updates.

Mom is doing well! She is half way through her treatments...3 rounds down...3 to go! Her doctor is pleased with her progress and the bloodwork indicates that the treatments are working! Please continue to pray for Mom. We definitely feel your prayers! The chemo and other medications are hard on Mom's body but have not touched her spirit. Mom is pretty wiped out for about 9 days during each 21 day chemo cycle. However, on about day 10 she begins to feel human again and bounces back with full force. She is able to work in they yard, enjoy the kids, and even get out of the house for short excursions!

We continued to praise God in this storm, having faith that He will give us the strength and peace we need to weather this leg of life's journey, looking forward to fair weather once again.

On a different note...

Katherine and I came back from Disney World and hopped right into the wonderful world of summer! We had a fabulous trip and enjoyed seeing the dear families who were with us, 5 years ago, on our journey to becoming a family. Nothing in Disney World compared to the magical, instant bond between the children. We, all the parents, watched the children in awe as they laughed, hugged, and walked arm in arm throughout the trip. They are brave little souls and we feel blessed to have been given the gift of parenting them. I never cease to find wonder in the world of adoption. It's a miracle, actually, that Katherine and I found each other from opposite ends of the earth...literally! It seems that Webster's thinks so as well. :) According to the dictionary, a miracle is...an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs. I thank God everyday for His divine intervention in my journey to becoming a mom!

By they way...It was 5 years ago today that I sent this email from Kazakhstan:

June 21, 2004

What more can I say....I thought this day would NEVER come and here it is...I AM OFFICIALLY KATHERINE'S MOM!!!!!!! I just returned from court and it was just one more unbelieveable experience on this journey. It is an extremely hot day so dressing up for court was not the most pleasant experience. Mom went to court with me but was not allowed to go in the court room. The judge sat behind the desk and the prosecutor sat next to him. Accompanying me was my translator, the director of the orphanage, and the representative from the Ministry of Education. The judge and prosecutor had stern faces...quite intimidating! I was asked a few questions by the judge and prosecutor. The director of the orphanage and the woman from the Ministry of Education spoke on my behalf. I then had to read my closing statement which I had prepared beforehand. The translator talked and coached me through everything. She was wonderful!! We then left the court room and returned about 5 minutes later for the decision. The judge read a long statement that bascially said that he was in favor of me becoming Katherine's mom. The only thing I could understand, with a little help from my translator, was when he said, "Her name may be changed to DuBose. You are granted my permission to be the girl's mama." That's ALL I needed tohear!!!!!!!!!

A couple of pictures from our "trip of a lifetime" to Kazakhstan!

Lessons on Giving AND Receiving

"Every day, dear Father, work your grace in me.
Strengthened by your Spirit, I'll serve you joyfully!"

Selfless giving brings joy to the giver. I've witnessed this numerous times in my life...after all...I was raised by a selfless giver, my Mom. She has spent her entire life bringing Christ to others through service and the giving of her time and talents. Growing up, I vividly remember if someone needed a ride home from school, a babysitter, a Sunday school teacher, a tutor, a listening ear, a meal, a place to sleep, a committee member, a mission trip chaperone, a friend, a teacher, or a mom...she was there. This spirit of giving has continued and I am amazed by it so much more as an adult. I think what amazes me the most is that she always answers God's call to serve with a joyful, humble heart...remaining in the center of God's will.

This weekend we found ourselves on the RECEIVING end of giving. This is a totally different experience in many ways, yet familiar in the sense that through both giving and receiving we remain in the center of God's will. Receiving takes a humble heart. A humble heart is a joyful heart filled with peace and an openness to experience Christ in our lives.

Early Saturday morning, the first of many cars began arriving at our house. Just like little elves, the members of the Knights of Columbus at Our Lady of the Lake began spilling out of the cars with tools in hand and energy that could put the energizer bunny to shame! They got right to work trimming shrubbery, cleaning out flower beds, planting new flowers, cleaning gutters, sweeping the roof, mulching, trimming trees, mowing the lawn and topping it all off with a beautiful statue of the Blessed Mother placed in one of Mom's gardens!

Many of you know that Mom's yard is her prized possession. She LOVES working in the yard and tending to her beautiful perennial gardens. Each season she has an agenda for what needs to be done to take care of the yard and make sure it is ready in the spring for each new bud to emerge gracefully. Not being the garden expert, I have tried to "stay on schedule" with the yard work. However, there was still SO much to be done. Mom has spent many anxious hours looking out the window noticing everything that needed to be done and longing to have the energy to get outside and do it!

The selfless giving of 20+ men and children from the Knights of Columbus, spending a beautiful Saturday morning working in our yard, has given Mom a view from her window that brings JOY instead of anxiety. Our yard looks BEAUTIFUL! We are so grateful! A huge "Thank You" goes out to the Knights from OLOL! I've posted some pictures below.

Update on Mom... Last week her doctor said that she is tolerating the aggressive chemo very well. Her CA125 blood test showed that the cancer is indeed dying! Keep praying...we definitely feel the power of your prayers.

Katherine and I leave for Disney World on Saturday. It's a reunion trip that has been planned for over a year.

We are meeting the 5 other families who traveled with us to Kazakhstan, 5 years ago, on our adoption trip. The children are all near the same age and will be actually "meeting" each other for the first time... although they did spend the first months of their lives living in the same orphanage waiting for us to come and get them! It's hard to believe that Katherine has been home for 5 years! Mom was supposed to go on the trip with us. We will miss her dearly and will hopefully find a way to email pictures each day. Marte and Kathy will be here with Mom. Please pray for our safety on the trip. :)

Good Night!

!

Courage

"True courage is not the absence of fear—but the willingness to proceed in spite of it.--Unknown"

My mom has so much courage. Not until you are in the thick of it do you realize how much courage it takes to fight this devastating disease...

Courage to eat when you know it will cause pain.
Courage to get up in the morning when you aren't feeling too well.
Courage to go to sleep at night when the mind seems to wander the most.
Courage to be poked endlessly in a body already battered from 3 surgeries.
Courage to face the physical changes that cancer brings.

....and she does it all with a smile on her face and laughter in her voice.

Amazing! It's a courage that can only come from faith...Faith in the God who created us and who loves us far beyond our human understanding. I'm so proud of my Mom and so thankful for her example of true faith.

I know it's been a while since I last posted...but we are still here and doing well. Mom finished her first round of chemo and begins the second round this week. Her leg is so much better and she no longer needs the walker! She even walks up and down our street during her physical therapy sessions! We gladly accept all these wonderous blessings from God.

She sees her oncologist this week to find out how things are going. Please pray that it's all good news!

Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Good Night!

2 Down 16 To Go!

Mom has tolerated her first 2 treatments and has 16 more to go. (For a quick math lesson...that's 6 rounds...3 treatments in each round. :)) The first day the chemo was put into her chest for 3 1/2 hours and it really wasn't too bad. The second one was IP therapy (Intraperitoneal Therapy) where she was injected with 5 liters of fluid (mixed with chemo) into her abdomen. As you might have guessed, this was not too comfortable and made her feel pretty yucky...not nauseated (thankfully!)...just yucky. This procedure took 5 1/2 hours. She will go again on on Thursday and that will finish this first round. She has been very tired mainly because she is taking so much anti-nausea medicine. She doesn't like taking this "down time" but I told her just to think of it as "guilt-free leisure!"

One of the side effects of chemo is, or course, decreased white blood cells. Mom gets injections to boost her white blood count but we are still doing our part to stay well and keep her from getting sick.

On another note...Mom's leg is getting so much stronger. Praise God!

Keep praying...Pray especially that the chemo is doing it's job!

I'm always so thankful to God for all the many blessings He sends our way. I would love to share them all with you but it would take many hours...so I'll just highlight my favorite one for this week. Mom called me after her first chemo treatment and said, with a smile in her voice, "The chemo kills the cancer, but the therapy is the other women getting treatment with me! One woman told me that after her chemo she craves beer-joint food... like pickled eggs!" There are about 10 other women going through the same thing as Mom who all sit around in the chemo room laughing, sharing stories, and truly supporting each other.
Ahhh....what a blessing!

We love you all!