Oh, what a night...

So, last night around the dinner table, we were all having the baby name discussion. I love to ask Cameron what names he likes as well as what he thinks of certain names. So, last night we were discussing boy names. We asked Cameron what he thought about boy names. After much contemplation he says "if the baby is brown, how about we name him Mr. Brown?" Well, after we explained to him that, in fact, our baby would not be brown we continued our discussion of names. Next, I asked him if he liked the name Noah. He lit up all over the place and exclaimed that he loved that name. So then Stuart asked him if he liked the name Cooper. Cameron just looked at him in all seriousness and said "you can call the baby whatever you want but I'm calling it Noah." The evening ended on an exclamation point when I had an unfortunate incident with strawberry jell-o and poor Roscoe now looks like he has the measles. Another story for another time. TTFN

Live Like You Were Dying

So, at church, we are doing a sermon and small group series on the Tim McGraw song "Live Like You Were Dying." This series and the accompanying study has been an awesome opportunity for the two of us to talk through our thoughts on love, forgiveness, etc. We have really tried to leverage the series and what is happening in our lives to draw closer together and closer to God. It's amazing what God does and what He reveals to you when you seek Him.

Anyway, with that in mind (and inspired a bit by the Facebook phenomenon of 25 things about me), I have put together a list of 25 things that I love about my wife.

1. The way her face scrunches up when she can’t stop laughing at something
2. She lets me call her “wife”
3. We almost never fight about what to watch on TV because we share a sense of humor and both love sports
4. She’s always there when I really need her
5. She tries to be strong for me even when I know she’s a wreck inside
6. Our taste in music is so similar that it’s almost scary
7. She took care of me when I could barely do anything for myself
8. She’s not afraid to kick me in the butt when I need it
9. She reminds me what “love deeper” means
10. She remembers everyone’s birthdays, holidays, etc. so that I don’t have to
11. She is an awesome gift-giver, who often buys me and others things they wouldn’t even think they would want, but then end up loving
12. She is incredibly humble
13. Despite her humility, she is incredibly competitive
14. She knows infinitely more about the human body than I can ever dream to
15. She is very low-maintenance
16. When she’s not pregnant, she loves to try new beers with me
17. She’s always up for an adventure, as long as it doesn’t interfere with naptime
18. She’s a sneaky good cook
19. She can’t ride in a car for more than about 10 minutes without sleeping
20. I feel like we live out 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 every day
21. She never drags me to girly movies
22. She enjoys having “her money,” but still calls me or asks for my permission for big purchases
23. She has an addicting personality, which she can use for good or evil
24. Despite all of my faults, mistakes, etc., she’s always been there for me and will never leave me
25. When she agreed to marry me on February 13, 2005, she made me the luckiest man on Earth that day and every single day since

Where to begin...

We'll start with the exciting news and then get on to the other stuff. So, on Sunday, Megan officially felt the baby kick for the first time. We were driving in the car and all of a sudden Megan started laughing. After a few strange looks, Megan said "I think I just felt the baby move." She had felt the baby move around a little bit before, but never like this. It was definitely the neat and exciting experience that we need more of right now.

So, now for the updates on me. I started radiation therapy on Monday. To do the radiation, they have to have you in the same position each time so that the treatment is hitting the exact spot. Well, this creates issues the first time they are trying to set you up because it is a long, tedious process. So, I spent Monday from 10:30-12 and then from 4-5 at the Cancer Center. But, now that they know what position I need to go in and have my back marked up like a shooting range, the process is much quicker. As a matter of fact, today I only spent 20 minutes in the building.

The radiation treatments will continue for the next 6 weeks (4 down, 26 to go). So, Lord willing, we will be done on March 27th. The techs, nurses and doctors have been wonderful. I couldn't ask for a better group. Despite the depressing nature of what they do and the miserable attitudes that everyone could have, everyone in that unit is upbeat and wonderful. They are all incredibly special people.

Throughout this whole ordeal, we could not ask for a better support system. Our church, friends, family and coworkers have been wonderful. We have received get well soon cards, gift cards, fruit, chocolates, dinners, hugs, prayers and so many other blessings that we could be here all day trying to mention them all. They say that in times of need, you find out who your real friends are and we're finding out that we have even more friends than we could have ever imagined. We are truly blessed.

I love Stump!!!

This guy won the Westminster Dog Show last night. He is 10 years old. That makes him about 70 in dog years. I wonder if Stump would want to come live the rest of his retirement years in Indiana? Hmmm...

Brown or White?

So, here's a little something to make you laugh today. Last night, we were sitting around the dinner table talking about the impending arrival of Baby R. We told Cameron that in another 4 weeks, we get to go see a picture of the baby on a tv. I thought it would be kind of fun if Cameron went with us to see the ultrasound. So, when asked if he wanted to come with us he replies "I don't care if the baby is brown or white as long as I have someone to play with." Oh, if we only knew how his little brain functioned.

Love Like You Were Dying

Right now in church we are doing a series on Live Like you were Dying. Yep, that's right, the Tim McGraw song. We've all heard it a thousand times. However, have you ever really heard it? Do you really know what it's saying? I hear songs on the radio station I listen to all the time and can sing most of them by heart. Every once in a while it hits me "this is the first time I've really heard this song." That was the case a couple of weeks ago when Stuart and I finally listened and heard the song "Hope Now" by Addison Road. It's not a well known song as its mainly played on the Christian radio stations. Part of the song goes like this:
Everything rides on hope now.
Everything rides on faith somehow.
When the world has broken me down, your love sets me free.

I had been hearing this song for a few weeks and then I HEARD it for the first time. I came home and told Stuart about it and of course, he had no idea what I was talking about. Then, the morning of his surgery, I came down the stairs and he had it playing on his computer. He didn't know that was the song I was talking about. I think its amazing that we both had picked that song as our theme song for the trials and tribulations that the past few weeks have brought us.

It's the same thing with "Live Like you were Dying" by Tim McGraw. I've spent a lot of time contemplating this song lately in conjunction with our latest sermon series. There's a line in the chorus that goes like this:
And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter.

That is what this experience has done for me. Don't freak out, I'm not dying and neither is Stuart (although when you hear the "C" word, the feelings are indescribable). I have said this to numerous people over the past few weeks but now you get to hear my emotional ramblings because I need an outlet. I always knew that Stuart meant the world to me and I couldn't be without him. However, when faced with the uncertainty of the future, that love is pushed to a whole different level. All of a sudden, our relationship transformed. Stuart would tell you that I'm not the most compassionate person in the world (I told him the lump on his shoulder was from playing too many video games. I'll never live that one down). I think Stuart might have a different take on things now. I had no idea I had the ability to love as deeply as I have in the past few weeks. All of a sudden, other things in our lives didn't seem near as important as being together. The space between us on the couch in the evenings has diminished and the words "I love you" take on a whole different meaning. When I hear the phrase "to love someone so much it hurts", that now has special meaning. So, in those lyrics when it says to love deeper, we certainly have.

At first I thought the timing of this series at church was horrible. I didn't want to think about those things when faced with our situation. The timing is perfect. We all need to hear these things and think about the fact that today I have one day less on this earth than I did yesterday. So, for now, Stuart and I will continue to walk by faith (which is another great song if you've ever heard it), trying not to worry about what the future brings and enjoy the deep love for each other that God has blessed us with.

We had our follow-up with the oncologist this morning. He did recommend that Stuart do a course of radiation. So, we go on Thursday for a consultation with the radiologist and he will begin 6 weeks of radiation treatment next week. It's not our ideal situation but it's not a horrible situation either. These treatments will give Stuart the best chance for not having a recurrence. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We are stronger because of all of you.