2009: Year of the Comeback

we rung in 2009 with a heavy heart. one week ago today we learned that my older brother andrew has cancer. some intense and un-manageable pain sent him to the ER last week where they discovered several masses in his abdomen. he was referred to an oncologist, only to receive confirmation that, yes, the masses are cancerous. there are masses in his liver and in different spots in his abdomen. andrew lives in st. louis, mo and was in seattle visiting for christmas. he has extended his stay for the time being. he had a biopsy last week and they were unable to determine the type of cancer - where the cancer originated. this is important because then they can match a specific type of chemo to the specific type of cancer.

the picture above was taken just 24 hours before his pain began - and just 24 hours before the rest of our lives changed. amazing how your whole world can change in a flash.

we have deemed the year 2009 to be the year of the "comeback". a word that we thought appropriate for a year that will be filled with healing. not only healing for andrew's body, but also healing for other family members and situations as well.

an immense amount of details will be filling our lives in the days and weeks and months that follow. details that we need to trust will work out and just fall into place. i will be starting a blog to record and share andrew's journey and comeback. i will post that later. i will also be organizing a fundraiser or two, more on that later as well.

also, my blogging has been sub-par of late - - - i have not shared about our family photo shoot in november, thanksgiving, the jingle bell run, my 1-year anniversary of blogging, christmas in spokane and seattle and just general new photos of riley and her daily happenings. wow, that's a lot i've missed!

for now, we pray for a miracle.