The one posted on the blog is the correct one. We are just moving the kids to their new apartment and I do not give out their address on line. Only Jon's apartment number is published:o) So everything you send will get to us via apt. #282. THANKS!
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Post by Jon Strebe Part 2
This is the video from the church service he spoke at. God gave him such a great opportunity and like Jon said, at this point he refuses to waste the platform God has given him. I'm so proud of him! This will be the last you will hear from him for about 2 weeks as he is struggling to get through each day, hour, minute. Please pray today as he is "rescued" at 10AM! I love him SO much but I know my Heavenly Father loves him more!
We are...GODSTRONG!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjAFCcdBXNM&feature=share
We are...GODSTRONG!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjAFCcdBXNM&feature=share
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Quick Update
Jon is receiving the last of his 3 days of chemo. We are finishing up here at the clinic today (Saturday). He will have rest days Sunday and Monday (will still come in to get fluids). Then on Tuesday he will have his stem cell transplant--"rescue." Some of you have asked if they will take his stem cells again. The answer is they took all they needed before he began the 1st round of chemo. So they will use what they have frozen for this round. Again this week the medical team has reminded us that Jon would die from the amount of chemo they are giving him without this "rescue." I believe that Jesus is using the stem cells to rescue his body but ultimately Jesus is rescuing him. I love the mental imagery of that. Jesus came to this earth and died on the cross to rescue us from this fallen world so we could live eternally with Him.
Jon's parents left, boo hoo. They were here for 2 weeks and actually had to see Jon at his worst but then got to see him bounce back somewhat to the point he was able to do some activities with us. Jon's best friend and his wife came for a week. That was during Jon's "off" week and it was perfect timing because Jon and Matt could hang out and we even all enjoyed a double date. I have a friend that lives here from the past (graduated with Mark and good friends with one of my good friends) and she was able to babysit the kids while we went on our date. Huge blessing! Now Sara has flown in from Dallas and will be here for a week with us. Yea for Aunts!
On a side note, we are moving apartments. I do not have the energy to even write about it or think about it. A friend here has offered to completely help move everything and Jon's sister, who is here now, said she would coordinate it all so that we don't have to even think about it. And I'm NOT. We are just going to do it because it is the right thing to do. Period the end:o)
On another side note, Emma Kate was up 2 nights ago throwing up all night among other things, LOL. It was a rough night for all but pray that Jon will not catch what she has. Poor girl. It was a sad sight for sure. It was the first night Aunt Sara was here so great initiation for her. I did take care of Emma Kate but I'm pretty sure Sara got no sleep because at one point it was me, Sara, and the twins all in a queen bed! Emma Kate and I finally moved out to the couch so she could do her thing! OMG, she reminds me so much of me when she is sick, it's scary! Well, she reminds me of me in general and that is scary too, HA.
In closing, I got a card in the mail from a friend and in it, it had a great reminder of something. Our 3 children are completely trusting us through this process. They are putting their complete trust in us that all the decisions we are making for them are what is best and will not bring them harm: childcare, new places we take them, the classes we put them in, the apartments we are living in, etc. So us as adults need to trust in Jesus the same way! Are we?
Please pray for Jon as he speaks in church tomorrow night. He is so excited about this opportunity to share about what God is doing in his life. He was saying that God has provided these opportunities and he refuses to let them go to waste! He is such a good communicator, pray that the words that flow from his mouth will be from God!
Strebe's continue to strive to be...
GODSTRONG!
Jon's parents left, boo hoo. They were here for 2 weeks and actually had to see Jon at his worst but then got to see him bounce back somewhat to the point he was able to do some activities with us. Jon's best friend and his wife came for a week. That was during Jon's "off" week and it was perfect timing because Jon and Matt could hang out and we even all enjoyed a double date. I have a friend that lives here from the past (graduated with Mark and good friends with one of my good friends) and she was able to babysit the kids while we went on our date. Huge blessing! Now Sara has flown in from Dallas and will be here for a week with us. Yea for Aunts!
On a side note, we are moving apartments. I do not have the energy to even write about it or think about it. A friend here has offered to completely help move everything and Jon's sister, who is here now, said she would coordinate it all so that we don't have to even think about it. And I'm NOT. We are just going to do it because it is the right thing to do. Period the end:o)
On another side note, Emma Kate was up 2 nights ago throwing up all night among other things, LOL. It was a rough night for all but pray that Jon will not catch what she has. Poor girl. It was a sad sight for sure. It was the first night Aunt Sara was here so great initiation for her. I did take care of Emma Kate but I'm pretty sure Sara got no sleep because at one point it was me, Sara, and the twins all in a queen bed! Emma Kate and I finally moved out to the couch so she could do her thing! OMG, she reminds me so much of me when she is sick, it's scary! Well, she reminds me of me in general and that is scary too, HA.
In closing, I got a card in the mail from a friend and in it, it had a great reminder of something. Our 3 children are completely trusting us through this process. They are putting their complete trust in us that all the decisions we are making for them are what is best and will not bring them harm: childcare, new places we take them, the classes we put them in, the apartments we are living in, etc. So us as adults need to trust in Jesus the same way! Are we?
Please pray for Jon as he speaks in church tomorrow night. He is so excited about this opportunity to share about what God is doing in his life. He was saying that God has provided these opportunities and he refuses to let them go to waste! He is such a good communicator, pray that the words that flow from his mouth will be from God!
Strebe's continue to strive to be...
We went to another apple orchard/pumpkin patch. The kids had a blast!
Isn't the picture above adorable? Look how cute they look in this little school bus. Now look at the picture below. Pictures can be deceiving. This was taken right before. Emma Kate is draped over the bus, Kristina is trying to get Ryan in place and Luke is doing who knows what. Just thought it was funny!
Ryan LOVES tractors. He was in heaven!
Doesn't Matt look cute with his purses? We had him doing EVERYTHING while here. He could write a book on all that we (I) got him in to.
Chick-fil-A had family night and the owner has reached out to us and been fabulous. So we went and joined in the fun--hayrides, pumpkin decorating, and good food!
Jon and I were able to go on a date to PF Changs before this 2nd round. It was so fun and great to see him enjoying eating again and actually have enough energy to spend time with me!
Thursday, October 3, 2013
And Down the Stretch They Come!
So, this is Jon writing to you again. Yes, I know you haven't heard from me in a while, but I am still alive! I am just going to apologize up front. I feel like I am pulling a Donna today. I feel like I am a little bit of everywhere, ha ha! So if my entry feels like it is a little bit of everywhere, there is a reason.
Part of my issue with being all over the map is that I am struggling somewhat. Even as I write to you the neuropathy in fingers and hands is making this process somewhat difficult. And the ringing in my ears is so loud at times I can't hear myself think. Last night, Donna and I were able to go out with me life long friends, Matt and Kristina to the Spaghetti Factory to eat dinner. Let me just tell you the mud pie I ate, is not something I struggled with at all :)! Anyway, as we were sitting and talking, I told them I had not given one thought to what was about to take place tomorrow (today), which was my start to the second and final round of chemo. Donna will tell you that I haven't thought about much these past few weeks. And more importantly, and problematically speaking I literally do not remember anything about what has happened in the last few weeks. I blame it on my "chemo brain", but deep down inside am worried it is just a "me" issue :). So last night I start dreading everything that is about to happen. Sometimes, knowing what is to come is worse, than not knowing. Ignorance is bliss! So as I type these words, I can literally feel the chemo dripping into my body, sucking the life out of me. It is altering my state of mind, and body. My ever present thoughts and fears are becoming reality again.
After having said all of this, clearly I have issues, and need to talk to somebody about this, more specifically God, which brings me to the daily devotional that I completed yesterday. I am working through a study written by James MacDonald who himself battled cancer. The title of the daily study was God's Presence. In the study MacDonald talks about in times of trial, what do we do? Do we move towards God or do we move away from Him? Do we allow our fears to pull us way from God or push us towards Him? He goes on to talk about what God does when we face trials, or hard times of any kind. He says that when we go through trials, it may feel like God disappears, or moves away from you. Instead, God "rolls up his sleeves", and digs in with us to help us through our trial. He leans in closer so that we can hear Him! You may not be able to feel Him closer, and you may not be able to see Him working, but He is taking that first shift, and every other shift, because He is God! Psalm 34:18 says "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." Let me encourage all of you. We all have challenges in our lives. They are just different than other people's challenges. Yes God gives "more" to others to handle, but just the same we all go through our own trials and tribulations. When you face fears of any kind in your life, know that God is waiting for you to draw close to Him. He loves you and longs for you to reach out to Him and say "I can't do this without you, please hold my hand and help me through this". The next challenge, is to say the same thing when things are going good. Sometimes, I am finding it is easier to draw close to God when things are hard. You know you can't do it without God, so you cling to Him. My challenge has been when everything is going "good" to cling to Him just as hard as when things seem to be bad.
I must apologize, I am tired right now, and need to take a break. I have many blessings that I want to talk about tomorrow. Have a good evening everyone!
Jon
Part of my issue with being all over the map is that I am struggling somewhat. Even as I write to you the neuropathy in fingers and hands is making this process somewhat difficult. And the ringing in my ears is so loud at times I can't hear myself think. Last night, Donna and I were able to go out with me life long friends, Matt and Kristina to the Spaghetti Factory to eat dinner. Let me just tell you the mud pie I ate, is not something I struggled with at all :)! Anyway, as we were sitting and talking, I told them I had not given one thought to what was about to take place tomorrow (today), which was my start to the second and final round of chemo. Donna will tell you that I haven't thought about much these past few weeks. And more importantly, and problematically speaking I literally do not remember anything about what has happened in the last few weeks. I blame it on my "chemo brain", but deep down inside am worried it is just a "me" issue :). So last night I start dreading everything that is about to happen. Sometimes, knowing what is to come is worse, than not knowing. Ignorance is bliss! So as I type these words, I can literally feel the chemo dripping into my body, sucking the life out of me. It is altering my state of mind, and body. My ever present thoughts and fears are becoming reality again.
After having said all of this, clearly I have issues, and need to talk to somebody about this, more specifically God, which brings me to the daily devotional that I completed yesterday. I am working through a study written by James MacDonald who himself battled cancer. The title of the daily study was God's Presence. In the study MacDonald talks about in times of trial, what do we do? Do we move towards God or do we move away from Him? Do we allow our fears to pull us way from God or push us towards Him? He goes on to talk about what God does when we face trials, or hard times of any kind. He says that when we go through trials, it may feel like God disappears, or moves away from you. Instead, God "rolls up his sleeves", and digs in with us to help us through our trial. He leans in closer so that we can hear Him! You may not be able to feel Him closer, and you may not be able to see Him working, but He is taking that first shift, and every other shift, because He is God! Psalm 34:18 says "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." Let me encourage all of you. We all have challenges in our lives. They are just different than other people's challenges. Yes God gives "more" to others to handle, but just the same we all go through our own trials and tribulations. When you face fears of any kind in your life, know that God is waiting for you to draw close to Him. He loves you and longs for you to reach out to Him and say "I can't do this without you, please hold my hand and help me through this". The next challenge, is to say the same thing when things are going good. Sometimes, I am finding it is easier to draw close to God when things are hard. You know you can't do it without God, so you cling to Him. My challenge has been when everything is going "good" to cling to Him just as hard as when things seem to be bad.
I must apologize, I am tired right now, and need to take a break. I have many blessings that I want to talk about tomorrow. Have a good evening everyone!
Jon
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Great article in the Island Packet on Jon
Here is a great article the Island Packet did on Jon and his battle with cancer!
http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/09/29/2712456/longtime-beaufort-county-coach.html
Also, I didn't want to leave you hanging on my balloons. I was going to post a picture of the balloons but that never happened. Jon always calls me his beautiful disaster. And sure enough everything I do has a story behind it and ends up in disaster. I stopped by Kroger to get the balloons and they told me they had JUST run out of helium. I did not have time to go back until the next day. I got 2 light blue balloons, 1 Duke blue, and 1 pink. I did not have time to release them until later that evening. By the time I went outside to pray over them and release, 2 went to the heavens, and 2 went straight to the ground. I am not even going to try and analyze it. God knows my heart and I tried. But I was laughing inside!
Here are lots of pictures!
http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/09/29/2712456/longtime-beaufort-county-coach.html
Also, I didn't want to leave you hanging on my balloons. I was going to post a picture of the balloons but that never happened. Jon always calls me his beautiful disaster. And sure enough everything I do has a story behind it and ends up in disaster. I stopped by Kroger to get the balloons and they told me they had JUST run out of helium. I did not have time to go back until the next day. I got 2 light blue balloons, 1 Duke blue, and 1 pink. I did not have time to release them until later that evening. By the time I went outside to pray over them and release, 2 went to the heavens, and 2 went straight to the ground. I am not even going to try and analyze it. God knows my heart and I tried. But I was laughing inside!
Here are lots of pictures!
There has to be a 1st for everything!!
The Strebe's are GODSTRONG!
GODSTRONG babies at the zoo after riding the train!
My baby boy Luke who is struggling with wheezing and his asthma while up here. After doing this breathing treatment I am happy to report he has not wheezed in almost 72 hours!! Also, through Jon's Nurse Practitioner we are able to get in with an allergist at Riley Children's Hospital quickly!
Thank you Coach K for giving Jon something to work toward and look forward to! Here Jon is with the different things Coach K has given him.
Jon and Emma Kate enjoying a beautiful day at the park on Saturday in Plainfield, Indiana!
God has given us gorgeous weather while up here!
During Jon's break between rounds Emma Kate and I play nurse each morning. We flush his ("doodles") catheter out.
I hope you can see this. I did a panoramic view of the apartment and all the cards that are strung along the wall. The family room is full so this round let's fill up his bedroom!
Here is Jon on a Saturday afternoon in the BMT clinic watching football. Don't you love the big flat screen they provide for him?!
There is a program for cancer patients called Magic Hour Foundation. There are photographers all over the country that volunteer their time to take pictures of cancer patients going through treatments. I found out about it through another cancer patient blog I was reading. I googled it and sure enough there was a photographer in Hilton Head.
Thank you Amber! Amber is the owner of Little Elise Photography in Hilton Head Island, SC. Amber did an amazing job with our family. My kids are not exactly easy to take pictures of and she was amazing at working with them. Here is a sneak peek of some of the pictures she took! Amazing Job, Amber!
Thursday, September 26, 2013
More Blessings and FUN!
**T-shirts. One more day. Closes at midnight tomorrow (Friday) so if you still haven't ordered, this is just a reminder!
Blessings:
1. Our kids have stayed free of any contagious sickness!! For those who know us well, that is a miracle.
2. We live right on a canal that takes us many different places safely!
3. Jon's 5 day stay in the hospital cost $46,398.85. Patient liability: $0! Huge blessing. Simmer down people. Don't get too excited. We haven't gotten the stem cell transplant part of it. LOL.
Oh Yea, I was supposed to stick with blessings. :o)
I grew up in Atlanta and Jon in Baltimore. But both of us lived in the suburbs. It was a treat to go downtown! So city life, even for Jon and I, is new and different. And it is especially different when you have 3 small children. It has been quite an adjustment but extremely fun for the kids. God has blessed us in SO many ways. We live right across the street from the IU Law School. Also, right beyond that is the IU Cancer Center and IU Hospital. We also live right on a canal. We literally can walk through our apartment building, out the door, catch an elevator 2 steps away and go down to the canal. We can walk along the canal and feed ducks, walk to the zoo, and walk to a "field" the kids can play in. It is super safe, and no traffic.
Today, we went on an adventure at the hospital. They have a "people mover" that the kids call the monorail (like Disney) that moves people between 3 different hospitals. We thought we would let them ride it. So Jon dropped us off and we headed up to get on. We were waiting for the "monorail" and Luke leans over to me and hugs me and says, "Momma, I love you so much!" I knew something didn't "smell" right with him out of the blue trying to kiss up to me. My little momma brain went to town and said, "Luke, do you need to poo?" He said, "UMMM, I think I already pooped in my pants." Told you something didn't "smell" right. Anyways, got that all cleaned up, finally got on the "monorail" and the kids had the time of their lives. We pretended to be going to the castle at Disney and seeing Cinderella. We then met a doctor on the monorail and he told us to take the bridge to Riley Children's Hospital so we did. (By the way, when the doctor got on the monorail, Emma Kate said, "Is that the 'docta' where daddy lives?") Riley's Children's Hospital has a McDonalds, tons of stuffed animals, a really cool glass elevator that the kids could have ridden on all day, and a water fountain. Jon waited for us in the car and 1.5 hours later we finally came back out. He was wondering what the heck we did for that long! Guess he will never know!
Here's another funny pooping story. We were at the field the other day and Emma Kate announces she has to go potty. Ok, now please understand we are DOWNTOWN! I mean you have to be a little careful where you take these children. And on top of that there was not a good place to take her nearby so we literally took a long hike over to this building. Luckily, we did get in to use the potty. But it was not exactly close by. Here is a picture of my sweet girl trying to hold it while walking to the bathroom.
Prayer:
1. Our kids will stay well until we leave here.
2. Luke--I am having to use his inhaler for wheezing and his eczema is out of control. There are too many factors that have changed here to try and figure it out. Pray we can keep his wheezing at bay. Also pray that we will get in with an allergist here quickly. Our local allergy doctor told me today this is too serious and we need to be seen quickly. I called and a new patient is SO hard to get in and I have no connections. The first available appointment is October 11th. My local allergy doc said if we can't get in sooner we will have to go to Urgent Care. Pray that God will pave the way to be seen by Dr. Leickly quickly!
3. Jon -- He is still feeling nauseated and fatigue. Pray that he will feel somewhat "normal" before his next round and please pray that he will not get sick while on his "break." We are being very careful about where he goes and when he does go out he puts a mask on.
I will close with this. In Bible Study today, our leader challenged us. She reminded us that we trust Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior when we give our lives over to Him and it seems easy to trust. But do we trust Jesus with the day to day things? Finances, our children, sickness, our marriage, our jobs, etc. Do we truly give over our fears and release them to Jesus? WOW! That hit me like a load of bricks. Am I laying my fears of Jon's future at Jesus' feet? Am I laying my fears of my children at Jesus' feet? I have had near panic attacks over these things since we got to Indianapolis. Boy, was God talking to ME! It is a continual process for me and I must do it daily, hourly, by the minute! My desire is to trust Jesus with these things that bring me lots of fear and to lay them at Jesus' feet. I hope you can do the same today for whatever in your life you need to release. Tomorrow, I am buying 4 helium balloons. One will say JONATHAN-Cancer. The 2nd will say LUKE. The 3rd will say EMMA KATE. And the 4th will say RYAN. I am releasing them up to the heavens. I pray that I will truly release these 4 precious people to Jesus and let HIM take control! He loves them WAY more than I do!
Blessings:
1. Our kids have stayed free of any contagious sickness!! For those who know us well, that is a miracle.
2. We live right on a canal that takes us many different places safely!
3. Jon's 5 day stay in the hospital cost $46,398.85. Patient liability: $0! Huge blessing. Simmer down people. Don't get too excited. We haven't gotten the stem cell transplant part of it. LOL.
Oh Yea, I was supposed to stick with blessings. :o)
I grew up in Atlanta and Jon in Baltimore. But both of us lived in the suburbs. It was a treat to go downtown! So city life, even for Jon and I, is new and different. And it is especially different when you have 3 small children. It has been quite an adjustment but extremely fun for the kids. God has blessed us in SO many ways. We live right across the street from the IU Law School. Also, right beyond that is the IU Cancer Center and IU Hospital. We also live right on a canal. We literally can walk through our apartment building, out the door, catch an elevator 2 steps away and go down to the canal. We can walk along the canal and feed ducks, walk to the zoo, and walk to a "field" the kids can play in. It is super safe, and no traffic.
Today, we went on an adventure at the hospital. They have a "people mover" that the kids call the monorail (like Disney) that moves people between 3 different hospitals. We thought we would let them ride it. So Jon dropped us off and we headed up to get on. We were waiting for the "monorail" and Luke leans over to me and hugs me and says, "Momma, I love you so much!" I knew something didn't "smell" right with him out of the blue trying to kiss up to me. My little momma brain went to town and said, "Luke, do you need to poo?" He said, "UMMM, I think I already pooped in my pants." Told you something didn't "smell" right. Anyways, got that all cleaned up, finally got on the "monorail" and the kids had the time of their lives. We pretended to be going to the castle at Disney and seeing Cinderella. We then met a doctor on the monorail and he told us to take the bridge to Riley Children's Hospital so we did. (By the way, when the doctor got on the monorail, Emma Kate said, "Is that the 'docta' where daddy lives?") Riley's Children's Hospital has a McDonalds, tons of stuffed animals, a really cool glass elevator that the kids could have ridden on all day, and a water fountain. Jon waited for us in the car and 1.5 hours later we finally came back out. He was wondering what the heck we did for that long! Guess he will never know!
Here's another funny pooping story. We were at the field the other day and Emma Kate announces she has to go potty. Ok, now please understand we are DOWNTOWN! I mean you have to be a little careful where you take these children. And on top of that there was not a good place to take her nearby so we literally took a long hike over to this building. Luckily, we did get in to use the potty. But it was not exactly close by. Here is a picture of my sweet girl trying to hold it while walking to the bathroom.
Prayer:
1. Our kids will stay well until we leave here.
2. Luke--I am having to use his inhaler for wheezing and his eczema is out of control. There are too many factors that have changed here to try and figure it out. Pray we can keep his wheezing at bay. Also pray that we will get in with an allergist here quickly. Our local allergy doctor told me today this is too serious and we need to be seen quickly. I called and a new patient is SO hard to get in and I have no connections. The first available appointment is October 11th. My local allergy doc said if we can't get in sooner we will have to go to Urgent Care. Pray that God will pave the way to be seen by Dr. Leickly quickly!
3. Jon -- He is still feeling nauseated and fatigue. Pray that he will feel somewhat "normal" before his next round and please pray that he will not get sick while on his "break." We are being very careful about where he goes and when he does go out he puts a mask on.
I will close with this. In Bible Study today, our leader challenged us. She reminded us that we trust Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior when we give our lives over to Him and it seems easy to trust. But do we trust Jesus with the day to day things? Finances, our children, sickness, our marriage, our jobs, etc. Do we truly give over our fears and release them to Jesus? WOW! That hit me like a load of bricks. Am I laying my fears of Jon's future at Jesus' feet? Am I laying my fears of my children at Jesus' feet? I have had near panic attacks over these things since we got to Indianapolis. Boy, was God talking to ME! It is a continual process for me and I must do it daily, hourly, by the minute! My desire is to trust Jesus with these things that bring me lots of fear and to lay them at Jesus' feet. I hope you can do the same today for whatever in your life you need to release. Tomorrow, I am buying 4 helium balloons. One will say JONATHAN-Cancer. The 2nd will say LUKE. The 3rd will say EMMA KATE. And the 4th will say RYAN. I am releasing them up to the heavens. I pray that I will truly release these 4 precious people to Jesus and let HIM take control! He loves them WAY more than I do!
Monday, September 23, 2013
Shirts and blessings
First of all, I wanted to let you know that the T-shirts have been opened up again. They are only open for 5 more days for those of you who never got around to ordering a t-shirt. You can click the link to the top right of this page. Thanks!
I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the pictures you all have sent out of your GODSTRONG shirts. Jon is so uplifted by the support you all have shown to him. This picture today touched me in a profound way! This is Andrea Hartley. She is the daughter of my pastor when I was growing up. I used to babysit her, then I coached her, then I taught WITH her and coached WITH her. And I also wore her wedding dress on my wedding day! She is SO special and I ask that you join us in praying for complete healing in her body. She has a husband and 4 young children and lives in Texas. I love the verse she included on here. The outlook that her and her husband have had through this process have been such a blessing to me! Their total dependence on God has really struck a chord in me. But most of all that she would be going through this great trial herself and put this GODSTRONG shirt on in support of Jon is selfless and AWESOME! Doesn't she look beautiful? She is INSIDE and OUT!
I feel like I've really let Satan get a hold of me in the area of dwelling on the negative. So I am going to re-focus my thoughts on some of the blessings God has provided for us during this time.
1. People in Indy through friends of friends have reached out to us in magnificent ways. A family today had us over to their house. HUGE blessing for my kids. We have not been in a "home" since we got here. My kids had the BEST time! Kathy and Jen were the nicest people and we completely connected with them. Another person hosted us at the Children's Museum one night which was absolutely amazing! These people are perfect "strangers" but all part of the body of Christ and allowing God to use them!
2. Jon got a surprise this morning when he showed up at the clinic and they dismissed him without even giving him fluids! His blood work looked great. He will go back Thursday for more blood work.
3. FAMILY: Our family has rallied around us and left jobs, homes, and friends to come join us in taking care of our kids and us!
4. Jon has stayed mentally strong during this time--like stronger than me! He has really focused on staying GODSTRONG!
5. Our kids have adjusted so well! They have stayed positive and haven't really asked to go home which is amazing. They "get" it.
6. Emily has been a huge blessing and such a "constant" for the kids which is what I wanted. She knows all their activities and routines.
7. Jon had minimal side effects during this 1st round. HUGE answer to prayer!
8. We have gotten plugged into a church from the second we got here. They have been amazing and such a blessing. The kids LOVE it. And we have a "pastor" that comes and prays with Jon weekly. He is a former high school classmate of mine and lives in Indy and works on the IU campus. His church is the one we attend.
9. Apartments have been a blessing and the location is AMAZING!
10. Jon gets lots of "fan mail" everyday because of YOU!
Another precious Luke story:
We were at our friends house today having a play date. We were all sitting eating our lunch, Luke was beside me. Kathy asked me what the hardest thing about this journey has been. So as I was struggling to answer the question Luke taps me on the shoulder and says, "We need to pray for daddy." It totally caught me off guard. So I said, "OK, right now?" "YES" he said, "RIGHT NOW." I said, "OK, are you wanting me to pray, or are you going to pray?" He said, "I"M GOING TO PRAY!" So, we all bowed our heads and his prayer went something like this:
"Dear God, bless us and thank you for this day.
Please help daddy get better and help his doodles go away.
Help him to eat his oatmeal again.
AMEN."
Of course, most of us were crying. And that was that. He was done and we went along continuing to eat and talk. He is one amazing 4 year old! His heart for the Lord and his care and concern for others blows me away. This is the heart that God has given him. It is nothing that he has been "taught", it is nothing that we have done as parents. Just to clarify, the doodle the kids refer to are Jon's catheter where they administer the fluids, meds, chemo and stem cells. The kids see his "doodles" as a sign that he is sick and they want them gone because for them this will signify Jon being WELL. Also, Jon started this round in Indy by coming up to the kids apartment every morning eating oatmeal. As the days went on, eating oatmeal became more difficult until one day he ate eggs instead of oatmeal. Then after a few days of eggs Jon stopped showing up at all. We have never talked about this with the kids. They observed this on their own, and they drew the conclusion that if Jon is not eating his oatmeal he is SICK. When he starts eating his oatmeal again, he will be WELL! Precious, precious children of faith who pray for their daddy every night and we do our family cheer, "STREBE'S ARE GODSTRONG."
One last blessing and I will stop here:
Jon and I received a personal note handwritten by Coach K (Duke University) inviting our WHOLE family to Cameron to a game! WAHOOOO!!! We got it the day before Jon got out of the hospital. He was SOO excited! Pretty cool and Jon is SO looking forward to this at the end of his journey. Coach K also sent Jon a signed hat and a signed poster that said he was on his side, and a Duke shirt. God blesses us even with little blessings.
Strebe's continue to be...
GODSTRONG
I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the pictures you all have sent out of your GODSTRONG shirts. Jon is so uplifted by the support you all have shown to him. This picture today touched me in a profound way! This is Andrea Hartley. She is the daughter of my pastor when I was growing up. I used to babysit her, then I coached her, then I taught WITH her and coached WITH her. And I also wore her wedding dress on my wedding day! She is SO special and I ask that you join us in praying for complete healing in her body. She has a husband and 4 young children and lives in Texas. I love the verse she included on here. The outlook that her and her husband have had through this process have been such a blessing to me! Their total dependence on God has really struck a chord in me. But most of all that she would be going through this great trial herself and put this GODSTRONG shirt on in support of Jon is selfless and AWESOME! Doesn't she look beautiful? She is INSIDE and OUT!
I feel like I've really let Satan get a hold of me in the area of dwelling on the negative. So I am going to re-focus my thoughts on some of the blessings God has provided for us during this time.
1. People in Indy through friends of friends have reached out to us in magnificent ways. A family today had us over to their house. HUGE blessing for my kids. We have not been in a "home" since we got here. My kids had the BEST time! Kathy and Jen were the nicest people and we completely connected with them. Another person hosted us at the Children's Museum one night which was absolutely amazing! These people are perfect "strangers" but all part of the body of Christ and allowing God to use them!
2. Jon got a surprise this morning when he showed up at the clinic and they dismissed him without even giving him fluids! His blood work looked great. He will go back Thursday for more blood work.
3. FAMILY: Our family has rallied around us and left jobs, homes, and friends to come join us in taking care of our kids and us!
4. Jon has stayed mentally strong during this time--like stronger than me! He has really focused on staying GODSTRONG!
5. Our kids have adjusted so well! They have stayed positive and haven't really asked to go home which is amazing. They "get" it.
6. Emily has been a huge blessing and such a "constant" for the kids which is what I wanted. She knows all their activities and routines.
7. Jon had minimal side effects during this 1st round. HUGE answer to prayer!
8. We have gotten plugged into a church from the second we got here. They have been amazing and such a blessing. The kids LOVE it. And we have a "pastor" that comes and prays with Jon weekly. He is a former high school classmate of mine and lives in Indy and works on the IU campus. His church is the one we attend.
9. Apartments have been a blessing and the location is AMAZING!
10. Jon gets lots of "fan mail" everyday because of YOU!
Another precious Luke story:
We were at our friends house today having a play date. We were all sitting eating our lunch, Luke was beside me. Kathy asked me what the hardest thing about this journey has been. So as I was struggling to answer the question Luke taps me on the shoulder and says, "We need to pray for daddy." It totally caught me off guard. So I said, "OK, right now?" "YES" he said, "RIGHT NOW." I said, "OK, are you wanting me to pray, or are you going to pray?" He said, "I"M GOING TO PRAY!" So, we all bowed our heads and his prayer went something like this:
"Dear God, bless us and thank you for this day.
Please help daddy get better and help his doodles go away.
Help him to eat his oatmeal again.
AMEN."
Of course, most of us were crying. And that was that. He was done and we went along continuing to eat and talk. He is one amazing 4 year old! His heart for the Lord and his care and concern for others blows me away. This is the heart that God has given him. It is nothing that he has been "taught", it is nothing that we have done as parents. Just to clarify, the doodle the kids refer to are Jon's catheter where they administer the fluids, meds, chemo and stem cells. The kids see his "doodles" as a sign that he is sick and they want them gone because for them this will signify Jon being WELL. Also, Jon started this round in Indy by coming up to the kids apartment every morning eating oatmeal. As the days went on, eating oatmeal became more difficult until one day he ate eggs instead of oatmeal. Then after a few days of eggs Jon stopped showing up at all. We have never talked about this with the kids. They observed this on their own, and they drew the conclusion that if Jon is not eating his oatmeal he is SICK. When he starts eating his oatmeal again, he will be WELL! Precious, precious children of faith who pray for their daddy every night and we do our family cheer, "STREBE'S ARE GODSTRONG."
One last blessing and I will stop here:
Jon and I received a personal note handwritten by Coach K (Duke University) inviting our WHOLE family to Cameron to a game! WAHOOOO!!! We got it the day before Jon got out of the hospital. He was SOO excited! Pretty cool and Jon is SO looking forward to this at the end of his journey. Coach K also sent Jon a signed hat and a signed poster that said he was on his side, and a Duke shirt. God blesses us even with little blessings.
Strebe's continue to be...
GODSTRONG
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