Birthday...Birthday...Birthday!!!!

I know you all have probably seen pics on Laur's blog...but I'm finally adding Dalaynee's B-day celebration to our blog...Last week Saturday we had the family over...and here are some of the photos that Laur didn't have on her blog (ha, ha, ha!)...

I can't believe she's 3 already!!!!! But time does indeed fly when you are having fun!!! We had a blast as you can see.

Just more answered prayer!!!!

Well, we have been a little confused about where to go for treatment...we have an appointment this morning to get him set up with the radiation machine in Long Beach...but yesterday we went to LA for another consultation...because Cedar Sinai has access to new studies and treatments, we didn't want to miss out on anything there...but...as I noted before, we were told that the LB Radiologist dept was renown! Anyway, yesterday morning I prayed for God to give us direction during this appointment in LA...and...of course...HE DID!!! Basically, the Cancer Dr. in LA said that we could go to LB for treatment and just keep him in the loop...he'll monitor everything and if there is a new study or treatment that he thinks would be better, he'll take care of that for us...providing everything goes smoothly, we won't have to go back to LA for 3 months!!! My immediate prayer is for the appointment we have in LB this morning...in order to calibrate the radiation machine to hit the right area, they are possibly going to do a CT scan...and I am praying that they see no tumor on that scan!!! I will update tonight, if I can, to let you know how everything went.

ANOTHER PRAYER REQUEST: A dear friend on mine from church was having bad headaches lately and she was having minor tests while Jeff was in the hospital. The other day they did a CT scan on her and found a mass on her brain...we are floored!!!! She is at the same hospital as Jeff was and they did a biopsy yesterday...we don't know if hers is malignant or not, but we do know that it is 3 to 4 inches and kind of a weird shape...it is in her frontal lobe and there is a good possibility it is operable...there names are Mike and Sue Buccowich...they have 3 teenage children...please keep their family in your prayers as well and I will keep you updated on them too.

Thank you again for being such a blessing to us!!!!!
~Jayne~

And now about Jeff...

Yesterday, 6/22/07 (Dalaynee's 3rd B-day) we had a consultation with the Radiologist at Long Beach Memorial (the hospital that Jeff was in) and basically, after getting all the final test results back from his biopsy, he has a stage 3 (medium in seriousness) malignant tumor that is inoperable because of location, not because of seriousness. They want to do radiation for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week for 6 weeks starting in the next week or 2. One of Jeff's questions was..."will my personality change if you shoot radiation in my brain?" They said no...the most likely side affects are hair loss, & possible interruption or increase in his sleep pattern....that's about it...Jeff told me that if he looses too much hair, he's shaving his head completely...I told him that might be kind of sexy, so no worries there!!! Anyway, we still have an appointment next week Thursday in LA at Cedar Sinai to see what treatment they recommend, however, as a side note...we stopped by our family doctor, and he told us that the Radiologists at LBM (which is a great hospital out here, for those of you out of state) were renown in their field...just like the surgeon at CS was renown in his field...he continued to say that if anyone in his family needed radiation, he would send them to LBM...so...I think we are pretty well decided to get treatment there, which is way more convenient...we are still going to see what CS says though. The LBM Dr's said they'd sit down with him once a week to see how he is feeling and after about a month of treatment they'll take another CAT scan to see the results of the treatments. We were very encouraged because they said that they've seen patients live many years with this type of tumor...and...of course...the longer you survive, the better your chances because of advances in medicine. Keep in mind, this is all without God's intervention!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are extremely hopeful!!! Don't stop praying though...the road we will be on for the next 6 weeks may be a little bumpy and we will need your love and God's strength to sustain us. Please also pray with us that people may come to know Christ through our experience and that married couples, without anything scary to face, will know the new found commitment and appreciation for each other that we have realized in the past 3-4 weeks. We have promised to never take each other for granted again!!

Thank you again for all your comments, cards & prayers....we are comforted and praise our Lord for each and every one of you!!!!!
~Jayne~
P.S. My dizziness is almost completely gone!!! Praise GOD!!!

Last Saturday

We took Dalaynee to a local Petting zoo and pony ride place...she is finally old enough to ride the trotting ponies and not the slow ones. However we did have a little mishap...on her first ride...the horse in front of her pooped on her leg (look closely at the 2nd pic, left leg)!!!!

...we washed it off and she obviously wasn't too upset to ride again and again.



The petting zoo part is VERY fun also...


As you can see...a GREAT time was had by everyone in attendance!!!!
{photos courtesy of Auntie Laur...Thanks Laur!!!!!}

You're not going to believe this...

Yesterday morning while getting ready for church I felt a little dizzy when I sat down on the floor...then it subsided and I went on about my day...this morning I could barley get out of bed without almost falling over...we were scared to say the least...not another head thing!!!! I was able to get in to see my doctor and it looks like I have an inner ear infection. I can't really move my head from side to side or back & forth without almost falling over so now I am the one that needs taking care of!! I was given antibiotics and something for the dizziness...so...here we are on a slightly different road, yet this will pass. We have an appointment next week with the Oncologist at Long Beach Memorial and then in 2 wks at Cedar Sinai (the doctors at CS told us to keep the appointment with LBM). We should have a better idea how aggressive the treatment will be at this meeting. Jeff is still able to do everyday stuff and we plan to go back to work on Wednesday (when I should start feeling in kilter again). Thank you again for all your prayers and wonderful support...without the Lord and our supporters we would truly be lost.

Love,
Jayne

It's that time of year!!

This past Thursday afternoon we had the privilege of attending Zack's high school graduation!!! We are very proud of him...he graduated with A's and B's. He plans to go to a local Junior College and then transfer later to a University. His graduating class numbered 800 or more, so needless to say we sat for a long time in the hot sun...but...we are glad we got to go. On Thursday night they went to school and were fed from 8p to 9p and then from midnight to 6a they were at Disneyland for Grad Night Very fun!!! This picture is from the Winter formal a few months ago...he went with his girlfriend Cassie and some other friends.

His girlfriend is a real nice girl...she's an only child and when we met her parents we found out that her mom does the weddings at their church just like me, so we had that in common. Nice people. Cassie graduated with honors for her grade point average...we are proud of her too...she's going to Cal Poly in Pomona California...not too far away, but they won't be able to see each other as much as they do now so that will be an adjustment, but they'll be fine!

More requests for Prayer

Hello!
We have a couple more families that need prayer...Mark & Tammy Hatwan (my brother's brother-in-law) just lost there 8 year old son last week. He was confined to a wheel chair since birth and I'm not sure of all the details...but...please keep their family in your prayers. Also, a friend of ours from church, Greg Litherland, just got word that his father has been diagnosed with a brain tumor...they are still waiting for test results, but since I know all too well how scary this is I ask that you keep the Litherland family in your prayers as well.

Thank you...and to quote my husband..."there is no better place to be than in the body of Christ!"

Jayne

Words from Jeff

What's up everybody!
I'm alive and kicking and "having more fun than I should" (a quote stolen from one of my best friends and Ministry partners, John Brennan). I can certainly say that the world looks a lot different since my diagnosis...waking up in the morning and hearing the birds singing, baby Dalaynee running around the house and all the sounds of the world around me hold a whole new meaning! Since this is my first entry in the Nordsville blog, there are a couple of things I'd like to say...
Needless to say, I've been involved in ministry for over 14 years and I will continue to serve to my full capacity as long as I am able. The prognosis is promising as you can read in previous posts.

Thank you for all your prayers, and I also want to thank my place of employment, Cosco Fire Protection including Fred Kramer & John DeSousa for there awesome support.

Please lift my wonderful wife up in your prayers, because she bears a large part of this burden and helps me to stay positive. We continue to covet your prayers for healing and that many come to know the Lord through this journey. Please also pray that I am able to live life relatively normal during treatment. We are overwhelmingly blessed by our family, friends and church family!

In closing, as you go through your day completing needed tasks, I urge you to stop, look at the world around you, and appreciate life. Do your best to make a positive impact on the world, because none of us know the will of the Lord and what our future holds.

Thought I'd take a few minutes to post new information...we got back from L.A. a little while ago...basically they agreed that it would not be wise to operate...but...the Cancer Dr. told us that in 2007 there are many options for treatment and the longer you survive the better the treatment that's available...so...the better your chances of surviving. Jeff asked him for his "gut" feeling (which is difficult for them to say, because they are still running tests on the biopsy) and he said that he feels that Jeff has a medium tumor, but he believes that with treatment they can help him to live quite a few more years...we are extactically happy about that because that is without Devine intervention!!!!!! He told us that he had one patient that was worse off than Jeff and lived 20 years with treatment! He said that Jeff's age and physical shape are big things in his favor. Basically we are VERY encouraged!!! Please continue to pray for healing and strength.

You are the best!
Jayne

Update on Jeff

Hello all!
Here is the start of our family blog...basically so you can keep in the loop with what's going on with Jeff. So far we have all his records from the hospital and we are going to see a renown neurosurgeon in Los Angeles today! If he says it's inoperable then it definately is, but he'll have other options. At this point we are amazed at how smoothly getting his records and everything else has gone...definately the hand of GOD!!! Last night we had a visit from a lady at our church that prays for healing...she's not like Earnest Angely (for those of you that are as old as me)...she is very down to earth and a regular person, she just believes that God gave each one of us the power to pray for healing and some of us tap into it and some don't...It was awesome!!! I truly believe that God is going to heal Jeff...weather that means that they operate and take it out or that the next time they take a CATscan there is nothing there. GOD IS GOOD...ALL THE TIME!!!!

God Bless all of you!!!!
Jayne