Prayer....

The first day of chemo yesterday was relatively uneventful. Please pray that it continues that way!

One specific prayer request - Please pray against HICCUPS! Matt has been fighting hiccups all day today on and off -we all know that hiccups can be annoying and painful if they last. I did a google search this afternoon and it seems that the one chemo drug he gets has an "undocumented but common" side affect of causing hiccups.

.....and of course continue to pray against nausea.

Stuff.... and Clarification...

Today is Matt's first day of chemo... and I woke up today just dreading the day (because of all the unknown's, the possible side affects, and I just want Matt to be pain free) - but almost immediately after thinking to myself how much I dreaded the day - the very next thing that ran through my brain was - This is the day the Lord has made -Let us rejoice and be glad in it (Pslam 118:24)- How True!! Thank you God for that reminder today.

After going to church yesterday and talking to some people we realized that there may be some need for clarification on some posts that we made earlier so that there is no more confusion

Just to recap Matt's last month

1 - Matt was diagnosed with Colon Cancer
2 - 2 areas of the colon/intestines and part of the stomach wall were removed
3 - the tumor was removed - it was indeed malignant
4 - the tumor had breached the wall of the Colon -leading to more testing
5 - the tissue/lymph nodes that were around the area of the tumor - tested negative for cancer (meaning that the cancer looks to have been contained in the tumor itself and has not travelled to any other part of Matt's body)
6 - because the tumor breached the wall that is the reason for the Chemo
7 - Chemo is 3 days a week - every other week - for six months (12 cycles)

Frankenstein is Home

Well, after spending over 4 hours today waiting in the surgery prep area I finally had my port installed... My neck and chest are pretty sore and I feel like Frankenstein with this thing in my chest but other than that I feel pretty good. I would take a picture of it and post it but I don't want to make Kendahl Bear feel sick. =)

My mom forgot that I was having surgery today and I had a lot of fun giving her a hard time about it this evening (I love you Mom!). She swears I never told her... if she reads this she'll kill me so let's see if she reads our blog or not. =)

I start chemo on Monday so if you feel like praying for me, pray that I won't get nauseous (along with all the other "possible" side affects I got to hear about) and that I'll be able to continue working through this whole six month process.

Reflections of Cali

We had a great weekend out in LA (other than the oppressively embarrassing showing by Ohio State).


Ben will be happy to know we hung out with Towmater.


Lightning McQueen wanted Ben to know he said hello.


We stopped by Monstropolis and hung out with Mike Wazowski after work.


Yeah, and who was calling who Grumpy before the trip?


My new aviator hat... Josh, you can borrow it if you want.


Julie challenged me to a drag race... I won.


Julie getting ready to make a run with the Toontown Fire Department.


Julie let me drive since I was doing such a good job controlling my road rage in traffic.


Don't say anything... Julie's a little self conscious about her bug eyes.


Hanging out in a tree house at Disney.


Chilling on the beach in Santa Monica.


Here's a shot of the Santa Monica Pier.


Great seats... terrible game. Good times.


Not a bad pregame... but it was no TBDBITL!

California Dreamin'

Another vacation?! Two days from now we will be on our way to Detroit to catch a plane to sunny California for 4 wonderful and fun-filled days.

On the agenda:
Disneyland for Friday
Ohio State vs USC football for Saturday (GO BUCKS!)
Disney California Adventure for Sunday
Who knows what we will get into for Monday

When we planned 2 back to back vacations a couple of months ago - we had no idea what would be going on in our lives (obviously) - but I cannot begin tell you how the timing turned out to be perfect -and giving us the ability to just get away and enjoy.

Now - come on Buckeyes -Get your Game on! The only way I want to be with someone named Grumpy is if he is in a dwarf costume at Disneyland!

Photos of Maine

Here are some photos from our last trip to Maine. Instead of spending our entire time in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, we stayed about an hour south in Belfast and spent our time going various places and taking in sites we had not had time for in the past. Of course... in case you're wondering we did indeed have lobster for every single dinner.


Here is a shot of the view from our hotel balcony in Belfast, Maine.


This is a photo of the new Penobscot Narrows Bridge. Notice the windows in the peak of the tower. That is an observatory that we (and by we I mean Matt... someone else was glued to the ground below) went up in to get a view of the Penobscot Narrows River valley. The old bridge is still there right beside the new one... it is the one that we went across on the motorcycle on our first trip to Maine that Julie about had a heart attack on as we could feel it swaying back and forth as we crossed it. They will eventually take the old bridge down but they have not had the budget to do so yet.


This is a photo of Fort Knox... no, not the one where the government keeps its gold... this Fort Knox was established in 1844 to protect the Penobscot River valley against a possible future British naval incursion.


Here is a shot taken within the walls of Fort Knox. It is one of the best preserved fortifications on the New England seacoast.


Here is a photo of Fort Knox taken across the river in the town of Bucksport, Maine. You can see the Penobscot Narrows Bridge in the background.


Here is a photo of some Navy ship sitting in the bay in Camden, Maine. We thought it was a destroyer at first until we saw the cranes on the deck.


Here is a shot of some of the homes in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. It was a beautiful little town.


Here is another photo of Boothbay Harbor.


I've always been infatuated with Bath, Maine ever since we went to the christening of the USS Oscar Austin when Lauren's husband Ray was its Weapons Officer. Here is a shot of Bath Iron Works showing some of the new navy destroyers being built.

Pass the Butter!

OK, we just got back from Maine... we'll try and get some photos up for ya'll to see real soon. In the meantime, here is a recap of our meeting with the oncologist this afternoon.

They want to begin chemotherapy as soon as possible. Even though the lymph nodes they tested were negative for cancer, they claim that because there was perforation (the tumor came through the wall of the colon) there is a 50% chance that it will return. The therapy they want me to undergo is supposed to reduce that risk to 30%.

I will have treatment 3 days a week... every 2 weeks... for 6 months. They want to install a port in my chest for the treatment immediately. I told them that we would wait until after next weekend when we get back from L.A. (following OSU's win over USC). =)

Julie and I would like to thank everyone for all the prayers and support we've received... we're truly blessed by you.