Grace, grace, God's grace.

This past week has been a whirlwind!

John continues to improve slowly. He has substantial pain and although that hasn't abated a great deal, he is able to move around a little more each day and today he was able to walk about five houses down the street with a walker and some spotters.

The really good news is that there was no cancer in the bone. This was wonderful to hear along with the fact that the margins of the areas removed were clear of cancer. When we visit the oncologist in a few weeks, we will be able to ask if the actual tumors removed were dead tissue, and are certainly praying that is the case.

We also received Pam's mom from the hospital yesterday (Friday) and she is getting along quite well. She was really struggling in the hospital with nausea and vomiting, and although they were a little reluctant to send her home with the vomiting, she felt she would get better much faster if she could just "break out." Happily, the problem has disappeared and she is eating and resting well, and amazingly, getting along with just Tylenol as she doesn't tolerate strong pain meds well. She is pretty mobile and we're working on her breathing deeply. Happily also, the mass of cells in her heart were benign (I might have said that already). Dad pops in a out to visit and sometimes mow the lawn and I'm sure he'll be glad to have her back home soon.

We were without power (like much of Ohio thanks to Hurricane Ike) through about half of the time John was in the hospital and actually stayed an extra day because of that - and that he felt pretty miserable.

This weekend has been a bit busy with family in and out and we were scolded by John's visiting nurse for that. There is always a chore to do and we've had extra tasks with trying to get mom's things here and get all the right mix of elixirs to help everyone get regular after anesthesia and narcotics.

We are grateful to have John's brother, Jim, here from CA to help out until Monday evening. He has been very helpful and we have all enjoyed his visit - especially John. Happy to have JR here this weekend also. And, thank the Lord for Audrey!

We have enjoyed receiving cards of encouragement and ask for your continued prayer. I'm sure the only way I'm doing what I'm doing is through the grace of God.

Be kind to one another.

Pam