A Beautiful Window: Fathers Day and Chemo #6 Tomorrow!!

It's after midnight, but my mind can't seem to rest tonight! I am gearing up for Chemo #6 in the morning...my FINAL chemo treatment!! I'm so relieved that this last one has finally arrived! Thank you so much for praying me through all of these very difficult weeks!!

If you could pray, not only for tomorrow's infusion, but also for my appointment with my oncologist. I'm still feeling a bit unsettled after the meeting with my surgeon. We have some difficult decisions to make, and I want to make sure that I am fully informed before making them. My oncologist has always been so helpful in explaining my cancer, treatments, etc.., so I am hoping that he will be able to shed some light on the many questions flowing through our minds.

We had a wonderful Father's Day weekend, both with Bryan and my dad (hopefully we will be able to celebrate with my sweet father-in-law soon!!). On Saturday, we took the kids to see "Inside Out," which was exciting (except for the parts when Eli got stuck in his chair and when he kept accidentally hitting the man in front of us while he ran back and forth between Bryan and I asking for more candy...someday, family movie outings will probably be more fun :). We celebrated with my dad last night over dinner, and the kids and I made Bryan french toast for breakfast and took him out to lunch after church today.

We have some pretty incredible dads in our lives around here, and it was precious time spent enjoying them. They love the Lord and lead their families in such selfless, admirable ways. I am so grateful that God has given me my earthly father to encourage me through all of life's joys and challenges and sets such an example as a godly parent. My father-in-law, Jim, is also such a blessing and has loved me as a daughter as long as I've known him!

And God knew that in raising little ones, Bryan would be the perfect one to dance through the minefields with me (yes...it's an Andrew Peterson reference, for those of you know him :). Through our recent challenges, he has been a rock for our family...never complaining that he has to work all day and come home to fill in all of the gaps with me being sick, staying up late reading to the kids because he knows they need extra love and attention right now, and extending them extra grace when they get out of hand. When everything seems to be spinning out of control around here, I look at Bryan to find him smiling at me. He knows that the One who drew us together in marriage is the same One who walk with us through life's difficult days. Bryan extends more love, kindness, patience, and joy to others than anyone I've ever met. He is a constant source of encouragement to everyone in this home, and we love him so very much!

So, along with Father's Day, here are some fun pictures from the past couple of weeks...

My friend, Melanie, spent the entire day with my kiddos. She took them to VBS in the morning and swimming for the afternoon. Not only that, she took them for the whole evening too so that Bryan and I could have a date!! We have such selfless friends...

We got together with my friend, Anna, and her family for dinner last week. Lots and lots of great parenting chats :)

My mom gets to spend a LOT more time with me these days (her days as a nurse are coming in very handy :)!

Dear friends of mine had a little "Last Chemo" celebration for me. These were the late night gals...I wish we had gotten a picture earlier of everyone! Most of these girls watched Bryan shave my head back in March, and it was awesome to have them there to cheer me on for this last treatment!