Sending Stuff to God

Today after gymnastics, we decided to eat at Red Robin. When we left, the kids each got a new shiny balloon. Claire had hers in hand (which is huge because she used to have a major phobia about balloons with helium) and said that she would like to send it to God. We decided that we would wait until we got home, write a prayer on it and send it on up. Here is the prayer she wanted to send to God.

Of course brother has to share the love too!

Cohen waving to the balloons.

Steph, we love you with all our hearts. We are blessed to call you friend and to be a part of your brave fight in which we KNOW you will be victorious. WE BELIEVE! We are praying each day that God heals you. We are also praying for safe travels to and from Houston. I feel it in my heart....remission...I feel it.

last days of summer

The past few days have been such a treat! Mom and Dad turned on the heater in their pool to take the chill off and we declared Wednesday and Thursday POOL DAYS! We decided to take full advantage of the warm weather, as we know those days will be gone very soon. We are very much looking forward to the cool crisp days of October, but want to make sure to enjoy what warm days we have left. Notice Drew and Claire in their "spidey suits" and rain boots. If you know Claire, you are familiar with her rain boot obsession. Other faces you may or may not recognize....Miss Alivia Jane (the one with the beautiful blue eyes and great tan from St. Thomas!) and "Lella" (actually Ella, Cohen's little buddy from next door is riding in his car with him.) Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather as much as we are! Oh, and I have an update that I am working on. Steph's appointment in Houston has been rescheduled for October 8th and 9th. More details very soon!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Another Stephanie

During the past year as we have watched Steph in the battle for her life, we have come across people who are just down right special. People who were friends or even acquaintances that have basically become like family to us. One of those people is Miss Leah from school. She sent me an e-mail yesterday to request prayer for a friend of hers. And any friend of Leah's is a friend of ours so I wanted to share a little about her story and encourage you to visit her page and pray for her full recovery. She is a young mother of 3 beautiful children (her baby girl was just born in August) and she is fighting a very rare type of Lymphoma. Take a minute to check out her blog www.stephanievest.com.

Thanks a lot Ike.

This is the last e-mail I got from my mom. She e-mailed me from home because we rarely get to have a full conversation over the phone! So here it is!

Hi Everyone!Update on our plans! Last night, one of my best friends, that lives in Houston (Teresa) called and said that they were saying on the news that M.D. Anderson was closed because of water issues. So, I picked up the phone and called the hospital and actually reached a person! She told me that they would be making a decision at noon on Sunday if they were going to reopen on Monday. So on Sunday morning we updated Dan (the pilot), apologized for being such a pain because we've only changed plans 57 times! He was his usual wonderful, pleasant self and said no problem! At 10:30 I went ahead and called just to see if maybe someone already knew something. I was on hold for 10 minutes and talked to a really nice girl who when I asked how she was doing she informed me she had been there since Thursday and that a tree had went through the back of her house and she just wanted to go home! She said they were in a meeting at that moment to decide whether they would be open for appointments tomorrow and to call back at noon. I thought I would try, didn't work! I just felt so bad that we weren't giving Dan much notice. At noon, I called and was on hold for 20 minutes. The lady I talked to this time said that they were not having appointments Monday and to call back tomorrow to see if they might be on Tuesday. At this point, Steph will just have to call and try to reschedule. I will let you all know when we have plan #58!

Love,Cheryl

So there you have it! I will post as soon as I hear anything new!

I just remembered...

something Drew said (actually sang) the other day and had to share. I had picked up the kids from school and we were headed into our house. Drew hopped out of the truck and was singing, "I've got peace like forever, I've got peace like forever, I've got peace like forever in my soul!" (I've Got Peace like a River) Love that kid.

This afternoon...

was so wonderful and uplifting. I can't say thank you enough to everyone who came and supported Steph and her family. The prayers were beautiful and so heartfelt. The best part of the afternoon was before we started praying and Pastor Scott was asking people to pray for certain things. He asked who would like to pray for safe travels. We hear a little, "I will" come from the couch. It was Drew. Bless his stinkin' little heart! I love that kid! We felt every single prayer today and we know so many of you were there in spirit. The members of Steph and Scot's church will be having a time of prayer at 2:00 pm on Sunday. They are asking everyone to take time out on their own and pray for the Phillips family. God will hear our prayers!

Call to Prayer

For those who are interested and able, we will be meeting at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon (Friday the 12th) for a time of prayer in preparation for Steph's appointment on Monday. We will meet at the Phillips house with Pastor Scott and our families. If you can't come and wish to participate, please join us in prayer wherever you are. If you would like to join us and need directions just shoot me an e-mail and I would be happy to give those to you. If we hear anything regarding her appointment and the hurricane, I will let you know. She hasn't heard anything yet so we are assuming the appointment still stands.

Appointment

Steph's appointment in Houston is on September 15th at 7:00 am. We really don't know much right now, but I personally have a really good feeling. I told Steph that I have a sense of peace right now that I haven't had in quite a while. I'm not as anxious as I usually am about this appointment. Not sure why....it just feels different...in a good way. If I learn anything new I will pass along the info. Until then, pray that God will heal our dear friend!! Love and Prayers!

Whatta Woman!

I received an e-mail today from our good friend Holly. For those who don't know, Holly's Husband recently lost his brave battle with melanoma cancer. I stand amazed at how graceful Holly has been during a time of complete tragedy. She is so brave and continues to be a pillar of strength for her two beautiful little girls. She made it her personal goal to make her and Jeff's dream of an urgent care clinic for cancer patients a reality. She is well on her way and here is the message I had waiting in my inbox today.

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to share the good news that with the help of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, we are now officially The Jeffrey A Melton Urgent Care Cancer Foundation. Anyone who wishes to donate or sponsor can do so through the CFO. We are on the way!

Thank you all! Looking forward to Tuesday night--the 9th, at the Gillioz.

Holly

Please take a moment to visit her blog and read about the upcoming benefit at the Gillioz. The Meltons are a very special family who will always hold a special place in our hearts. My heart is filled with pride to even know Holly. I am blessed to call her a friend.

I did it...

now it's your turn! I finally had my debit card and computer in the same place and put MY money where my mouth is. So our team has now raised $50.00. I know we have a few thousand people who look at this blog so I dare you all to donate $2.00. That's it....$2.00. That won't even buy a tank of gas!!! So why not put it towards finding a cure for cancer. Just 2 bucks. Come on, you know you want to. All the cool kids are doing it! HERE

There's really nothing to say here.