Following Christian’s surgery last year, I recall telling a friend, “for everyone else, the memory of this may fade, but for us it will remain.” And just the other night when Ryan and I were talking, he mentioned that it might be hard for some people to fathom what we as a family went through with Christian’s suffering. But it would be very short-sighted of us to just end our days with the thought of past physical pains and earthly sorrows. Yes, the memory of last summer crosses our minds, but so do the present and future joys. For those of you wondering how Christian is doing, the answer is: great! As a past post may have indicated, we know there are a few cells of the cyst lining remaining in his brain. But what we don’t know, and can not live our lives in anxiety over, is whether or not those cells will regrow. We rejoice that God has given Christian this time of good health. In May, Christian had an MRI and the results showed no new growth, which means he will not have to go in again until next May for a recheck. This was great news to us and we ask that you join us in giving thanks! Some of you may have heard that during our stay at the hospital last summer, Ryan filled out a form for a Great Wolf Lodge contest. (Similar to a “Make a Wish” in that your child had to have a certain number of hospital stays in one year due to a certain condition.) When we found out that Christian had won, all of our children were excited and we planned the stay for the weekend after the kids were out of school. Christian’s favorite activity there was the wave pool. He would karate chop the waves as they came crashing at him and say, “Mom, I’m fighting the stormy waves, and the waves are losing!” Little did he know, his statement brought back to my mind the story of Jesus calming the storm and the significance of Jesus’ words, “Peace, be still”.

Besides a fun waterpark weekend, Christian has been busy playing with his siblings, helping pick vegetables from our garden, fishing, and catching crooks (aka playing police officer). We recently returned from a Colorado trip for a family reunion and at one point in the trip Christian pointed to a mountain and declared, “We should definitely climb those rocks…but without any gear!!!” I’d say he’s fairly fearless and joyful about life these days. His recent 4th birthday celebration was such a happy event and we are grateful for all of the friends and family who helped us celebrate the day! Thank you always for the continued thoughts and prayers for our family.

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.