Hello to our wonderful friends and family!

We have been quite delinquent on updating all of you via CaringBridge on the happenings of our family over this past year. Huge thanks to all of those who have reached out to us to check in and for all of your continued prayers! 

There's much we could update you on, but we decided to stick with a few quick highlights...

• BIG NEWS! Mandy will be having breast reconstruction surgery this Wednesday, November 16! She has worked hard over the past 11 months to prepare her body for this surgery as it is lengthy and intense...but we're finally here! The plan is to remove her remaining breast and replace it with an implant. On the side that is currently flat and that has received radiation, they will be constructing a breast out of muscle and tissue from her back and will also insert a small implant. Depending on how "flexible" her radiated skin is, they may have to insert the small implant at a later date during another surgery. It will be a surprise for Mandy to wake up and find out exactly what was done! She will have a 3-5 night hospital stay and is determined to be home sitting at the Thanksgiving dinner table the next week. For those who are interested, we have re-opened our Meal Train for several dates through January. By no means should you feel obligated to contribute (all of you have done SO much for us already!)...but no matter what, PLEASE pray for us and this exciting step.

Please Click Here for the Meal Train

• Matt received word over the summer that he now has a PATENT! The patent is for a special project he and a few co-workers worked on that used Google Glasses to streamline part of the engine building process. We are so proud of him!
• Lucy is in her second year of preschool and continues to do weekly autism therapy. She has grown so much in her communication and daily living skills and continues to work hard to keep up with her peers. She even performed in a dance recital over the summer ON STAGE in front of a large audience. She has the best sense of humor and continues to be a doting sister to Hope. We are in awe of the amazing kid she is.
• Hope is walking, running and everything in between! She is a very curious kiddo and enjoys exploring every cabinet and drawer she can get her hands on. She has started saying some basic words...her favorites being "uh-oh," "alright," and "cheese." She turned ONE in June and we couldn't believe how fast the year had flown by. We continue to savor every moment.
• We've been traveling a bit! Our family took a big post-cancer trip to Disney World in April. Lucy was over the moon excited. We even convinced our parents and Mandy's best friend from St. Andrew to join us despite it being a last minute trip. It was an incredibly magical getaway full of celebration. We also were FINALLY able to take our gifted trip from the Karen Wellington Foundation in July! The four of us had a whole week in beautiful Naples, Florida, where we visited the beach, enjoyed a private swimming pool and explored lots of local sites (including the historic summer homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford). We are so grateful to this amazing organization for giving us such a lovely opportunity to be together as a family and focus on having FUN!
• At this point, Mandy continues to be cancer free. As with every cancer diagnosis, there is always the possibility of the cancer returning. However, we choose to focus on each day of health and celebrate how far we've come as a family. We thank God every day for making it to this point and say prayers of thanks for each of YOU for surrounding us with your support and love to help us walk (and TRUDGE) through this journey. 

Thank you for coming to our rescue time after time with your prayers, check-in texts, childcare help, meals, and love. We consider each of you family and are beyond blessed to know you and have you part of our "village." Thank you, thank you, thank you.