I TRUST in YOU.

That is what I kept repeating today. On the way to school, on the way to Target (retail therapy), on the way to Hobby Lobby and even a few times IN Hobby Lobby. I don't even care if the lady in the fabric department thought I was off my rocker. In fact I was kind of hoping she might ask WHO I trusted in, because I have a hunch that lady could have used some good news today! Anyway, it was strange this morning. I didn't feel the need to ask this morning. All I could come up with was, "I TRUST in YOU LORD." I do. I TRUST Him. I TRUST His plan. This is the kind of stuff I used to hear and be so baffled. Where do these people get this kind of faith? I never knew how people made it through such tough times. But now I know. NOW I understand. I wasn't hungry then. I didn't thirst for the Word of God. I didn't know pain so how could I possibly understand the need of something so much larger than myself? Some might say I was blessed...and I was. Blessed because Jesus knew me inside and out. He knew that there was a work to be done in me before he could throw the hard stuff at me. Thank you Jesus.

We were thrilled to find out that the tumor is shrinking. We were starting to (as you could probably tell) get worried. Every time Steph would have a pain, we panicked. So to find out that the cancer has not spread was good news. To find out that the tumor has shrunk....WONDERFUL NEWS! She will continue with chemo for a total of 4 months (possibly 6) and will go back to Houston in two months for another scan. They will then decide if they want to continue with chemo or put her on a "maintenance program" which is a lower dose of the chemo. They also told her that she is a candidate for ERBITUX at some point if needed. This was good news because as many of you know, with colon cancer, treatment options are pretty limited. So we will stay on this course and pray that she won't need the Erbitux....EVER! But it's comforting to know that she is a candidate, just in case.


Now, on a lighter less medical side, let's talk about those adorable Phillips boys. They went to dinner on Tuesday night and then to the ice skating rink. Levi kept yelling, "Put skates on me NOW!" If you know Levi, you know that he is VERY articulate for a 23 month old. He also has a pretty good idea about what he wants! They were afraid that if they put skates on him and let him go, they may never catch him! Drew was so excited about skating. He told Scot, "Come on dad! This could be our own special moment together!" They had to pay extra because when everyone MELTED on the rink, it caused a big mess.



I was so excited to report our news when I picked the kids up from school. The first person I told was a mother of a little guy in Claire and Drew's class. She flagged me down in the car line desperate to know if we had heard anything. She is no stranger to the feeling of waiting for this type of news. Her little guy fought for his life not long ago at the tender age of 2. When I told her she was in tears and we talked about how our children are being changed because of this cruel disease. We agreed that they are seeing God work miracles. I shared with Miss Sandy and she literally jumped up and down and screamed in the car line! Another momma had already gotten the news via my moms original text. It was a VERY happy day in the car line today!



Please take the time to stop and THANK GOD for the work he is doing in Steph. Thank you all for praying and continuing to pray for Steph. You guys are wonderful. Really, you are. Please have a MERRY CHRISTMAS! I KNOW we will!

Sending my love to each and every one of you!