9 WEEKS!!

Wow, it is hard to believe that it has been 9 weeks since we got the phone call from Mom telling us about Dad's leukemia. We, as a family, spent almost a month Skyping daily and finding out how Dad & Mom were doing. Dad made it through a week of chemo and his second bone marrow draw. The results were good...no leukemia was found!! The only lingering problem was a heart thing. His heart would start racing, this was not a life threating thing but still needed to be dealt with. He was able to have surgery to fix the problem and all is well now.

For Tabetha's 15th birthday we met the family at my grandfather's cabin in Pennsylvania. It was good to see Dad doing as well as he had sounded on the phone. My sister and her youngest son, Jacob, were there, home early from Africa which made the visit that much more special. Dad even had the energy to take Jacob on a 4-wheeler ride!! The highlight of the weekend was when my Dad's brother, Frank, and his family came to visit. Their oldest, Megan, was the flowergirl at our wedding and it had been almost that long since seeing her. Since that weekend my sister and her family have moved to Jackson, Michigan and are on staff here at the Bible School until next summer. They are looking forward to adding another little one to the family in January.

So today Dad is to start the next round of treatment!! He will start a 4 month process of 1 week of chemo each month through February. His schedule will be 1 day chemo - 1 day rest - 1 day chemo - 1 day rest - 1 day chemo. These rounds of chemo are stronger than before but are needed to make sure he is in complete remission.

Well, that about rounds out this update!! I was hoping to post a few pictures but figured that by the time I did it might be another 9 weeks. Thank you for you prayers and emails. I'm sure Mom will be posting again at Dad's Carepage. http://www.carepages.com/ his page is listed under EverettHalstead (no spaces).

Praying for my parents!!

My Parents!

Everett & Muffy Halstead

I would like you to meet the two people that are responsible for bringing me into this world, Everett & Muffy Halstead. It was way back on a hot August afternoon in 1970 that this all got started with those two little words "I Do." Since that most wonderful day they have had 4 children, Jenni (Me), Sue, Steve and Thom, or ABC and D. Those 4 children have since married and have rewarded my parents with 9 grandchild, and the 10th on the way. Here is the break down in case you don't know. Jenni married a Canadian, Jason DeMarce, way back in 1991. They started the whole grandkid thing with Tabetha and Ethen, both of whom are teenagers now. Sue also found a Canadian, Dalton Dueck, and were married in 1995. They added Jessica, Caleb, Benjamin, Jacob and one we are all looking forward to meeting in January. If you are following the math here you may have just figured out that the Dueck family will be responsible for half the Halstead grandchildren come January! So then there is Steve or as he is known by his youth group Pastor Freako. Steve married a girl from back home, Andrea, and they supplied Koty, Jayla, and Maddie. I would tell you what year they were married but I being the oldest have started loosing my memory and can't come up with it, but Koty will be 6 this year. So to a beginning there is always an end. The end here is Thom. Now Thom met his wife, Kris, from around our home area. She is German and has since made Thom a world traveler taking him to Germany to meet her family. Again, I don't remember the year they were married and as of yet have no children. So that is the basics of the family tree!!

Now to let you all in on the reason for this post, praying for my parents. It was 3 weeks and 3 days after my Dad celebrated his 58th birthday this August 17th he found out he has Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). I bet you just figured out why were praying. Well, here it is. Everett & Muffy are missionaries in Guinea, West Africa and were home for a 9 month furlough. Just days before they were to leave on Sept 2nd they decided that some health problems Dad was having needed to be taken care of before the flight back so they postponed their tickets and waited to see what was wrong. Dad was getting weak, pale and was tired all the time. They were eventually referred to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for answers. They have since received an answer and have now begun a new journey. Mom has moved in with Dad, coffee pot, popcorn, laptop and just 2 other suitcases. Together, with the prayer of many, they will journey through this. We siblings keep in touch through Skype and Facebook since we are a bit spread out. Jason & I are in Jackson, Michigan. Dalton & Sue are in Conakry, Guinea, West Africa, but returning stateside to Jackson, Michigan in October. Steve & Andrea are in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Thom & Kris are the only ones down home and close.

So here we are 6 days after what I thought might be the worst day of my life, to hear my Dad was really sick and would need to fight for his life. So many thoughts and memories have come to mind this week...remember the day Dad "fell" in the tub with all of us kids and he still had his clothes on, remember all the games and track meets Dad & Mom were there for, remember showing up at Papaw's and surprising him with his first great-grandchild, Tabetha. My parents have been there for me through thick and thin. They have prayed for and watched God heal my marriage. I know they pray for both Jason & I as we parent our children. They have been a wealth of wisdom and encouragement over the years. I may not be able to be there physically but God is using people from down home to take care of them in so many more ways then I could. I will continue to lift my parents up in prayer from here in Jackson, MI.

I have had so many people ask how I'm doing and I have finally come up with an answer. I can see how God has been in control of this even before Dad got sick and because I can see how God has been at work, I can rest in Him for the future. How great it is to have hope in an unknown future, how great a God I serve.

Doggie Hospital Trip #3!!!!

Gem is having to learn the hard way that she can not chew on her bandages. I had to take her today after lunch back to the vet because she had chewed through quite a bit of her bandage this morning. The following pictures tell the rest of the story...

Look at me...what do you think?

Poor Baby!!

Family Picnic in Pennsylvania!

What a fun Labor Day!! We traveled to PA for a family picnic at Uncle Al & Aunt Marty's house. It was a great time to see parents, sibling, grandparents, aunts, uncles and even some extended family. Tabetha & Ethen had a great time swimming and playing on the blow-up slide. It was a long trip but a fun time, and you can't beat the food at a Leber Labor Day picnic.

The only way to travel...sleeping!!

Grammy first!!

Ethen relaxing at the top!!!

Uncle Thom ready for slide!!

4 Generations of Lebers!

Phil & Bert

Muffy

Jenni

Tabetha & Ethen

Here are some fun crazy pictures we took while Dad was in Pennsylvania. Don't worry we didn't have too much fun while he was gone and we really, really, really did miss him!!! We were excited when he got back and even more excited when we saw all the Tastykakes and Pork Roll.

Thanks Dad!!