End of 2011

Dear Family and Friends,
It is so hard to believe that 2011 is coming to an end.  As I've said numerous times to numerous people, "it started out so fun"!  After close to a year of preparation, Chris pulled off a surprise party for my 50th birthday that was an unbelievable event.  A week later, I managed to break my leg (to put it mildly) and things went downhill from there.  Now, at the end of the year we are almost 2 months out from the devastating diagnosis of a rare brain cancer.  The most important things that the party, the fracture and the cancer have brought home to us is that we need to always remember that our God is a loving, gracious and merciful God and we must always put our trust in him; and that we have an abundance of loving, caring and supportive family and friends who will drop everything to be there for us whether it is to celebrate, to grieve, to laugh, to cry, to cook, to clean, to pick us up off the floor, get us in and out of the car...you name it, you have done it for us and for that we are forever grateful.

What a difference a week makes.  Last Saturday as we sat together on Christmas Eve, Chris was barely able to stay awake and had hardly an idea that we were celebrating Christmas.  He was not able to walk on his own, wasn't eating and was hardly talking.  Today, he is walking quite well again, is talking up a storm and his appetite is returning.  Yesterday Lisa came over for while and they sat on the patio and talked for awhile, then Cliff came over and went with Arlo to the therapy visit.  It's nice to have a couple of people who know the routine in case we need back-up - thank you Cliff.  This evening he had a visit from Heidi.  Unfortunately though, he is starting to lose his hair.  It started yesterday and is quite a bit more noticeable today, it seems to just be constantly coming out.  He says he doesn't really care though as it is part of the treatment and he has always said if his face was shaped better for a shaved head he would rather just shave it all the time.  It's probably more of a loss for me since I've always loved his thick, soft hair.  BUT, as he told me today, "it will grow back".

As we head into 2012, our New Year's wish is for all of you to enjoy a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012 filled with love: love of family, love of friends and most of all, love of God.

Thank you for ending 2011 with us and starting 2012 with us.  We would not be able to experience the peace, hope and love we have enjoyed this past year without you.

Love to you,
Chris, Janet, Sam, Ryan and Jonathan