Good times, good news, and God's good grace

Whew...it's been a crazy week and my head feels like it's spinning!!  I'm going to try to keep this short and sweet because I honestly don't have much mental energy left to write :)  But I want to give a quick update on where we are at the moment.

As far as chemo recovery goes, I'm finally feeling much better!!  By Thursday of last week, things still weren't moving in a good direction.  My nurse had me come in again for fluids to help with dehydration, and they tested my blood chemistry as well.  This revealed that my potassium and magnesium levels were both VERY low, so I needed IV doses of both of those electrolytes.  My sweet dad volunteered to bring me, so we had a few hours of great conversation at the infusion center.  I knew this was a sacrifice for him, being that it was a busy work day, yet you never would have known it.  I'm so grateful for his protective nature and his great big love for his kids, and I adored having that precious, uninterrupted time to talk with him.

Our family gathered for the 4th of July at my parents house, and it was fantastic!  I was feeling good enough to eat, and my dad had loaded up on some pretty amazing fireworks (which Bryan and my brother set off almost flawlessly...only one minor hiccup with a malfunctioning rocket that didn't make it up in the air quite high enough :).  The kids had a blast, and it was so much fun to see the joy in their little eyes.

Yesterday brought one more trip to the infusion center, where my magnesium was low once again, and I received another IV dose.  Hopefully, that's my last trip for a while!!  We tried to meet with my oncologist while we were there about my MRI results; but he, unfortunately, didn't have them yet.  A good amount of yesterday was spent in limbo, which was frustrating.  Our biggest question has been, "Did the chemo do it's job?"  We just really wanted to see those results to get a better idea of what we are looking at moving forward.

I'm so grateful to report that those MRI results were FINALLY revealed to us, and they bring very good news!  From everything they can see on the MRI, there is no measurable cancer left that can be seen in my breast or lymph nodes!!  This means that the chemo was very effective in shrinking the tumor and killing cancer cells in my lymph nodes!!  There could still be cancer present and the calcifications are still suspicious, so surgery and (most likely) radiation are necessary.  But it's still very good news!  Once they do surgery, they will send everything to pathology to try to get cancer free margins.

We are still meeting with doctors to determine the best course of action surgically.  You can pray for discernment and wisdom for us as we navigate these waters.  We keep reminding ourselves that God already knows the steps, as well as the outcome, and we can rest fully in that.  We feel like we are getting good, solid information to work with now, so we will make that decision soon.  Thank you so much for your prayers!!  The MRI results were such a confirmation that we have an army of loved ones constantly bringing our needs before a mighty God who hears your pleas.

Paul Tripp, in his devotional "New Morning Mercies" was such an encouragement to me yesterday.  I was feeling so uncertain and overwhelmed, and these words gave me such comforting reminders about God's grace for each moment...

"God has promised to supply and empower, your job is to follow him by faith where you live every day.  You don't wait for the provision before you move.  God has not promised that you will see it beforehand.  You don't try to figure out what God is going to do next and how he will meet your needs; you move forward in the certainty that he is with you, for you, and in you.  This God of awesome power will grant you power to do what is needed."