We just returned home a while ago from my second treatment. I am a little sleepy from the Benedryl they give me to prevent an allergic reaction to one of my medicines, but other than that I feel great this evening.

We arrived home to the wonderful aromas of freshly baked rolls and pumpkin pie that Amber baked today. Yum! I am looking forward to our Thanksgiving dinner. Wish you all could come!

I received my blood work results today and was delighted to find that they had all returned to normal from last week's lows. Thank you for your continued prayers that my body would withstand and recover well from each treatment.

The count that was the most gratifying was the one that indicates a marker for the presence of ovarian cancer tumors. Anything above 34 is considered abnormal and pre-surgery, mine was 907. My results today showed that my count is down to 16!! The doctor said the one in two weeks will be more crucial, but this certainly bodes well. I am so very grateful.

Those are the technicals. Now for the "heart" of the matter...

Again, a very special thank you to the Madziarczyk family for their warm hospitality last night. We slept well and got several more hours of sleep thanks to being closer to the hospital than had we driven from home. Such a blessing!

The day at the hospital was a very heart-touching one. It was a very busy day in the treatment clinic. It was filled to capacity, and as soon as one bed was empty, someone else came to take their place. Amazing...

The thing that touched my heart so deeply was the haunted, lost, and fearful looks in the faces of so many around me. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to face something like this without the peace of the knowledge of the Lord's perfect soveriengty to bring rest and hope. I spent much of the day praying for the people around me. I also discovered that a bright, sunny smile at them would bring a glimmer of a smile and some hope to their eyes. I made it a challenge to attempt to draw as many to smile as I could. How I longed to pass on the peace of our Lord to each of them.

But, my friends, the children...oh, so many little ones and teens. Ones with so much living to do before them. And the aching mommas who held them and listened to their cries and pleas for help. Those nearly wrenched my heart from my chest. I remember full well what it felt like fifteen years ago when our daughter, Tina, had a bone marrow test to determine whether she had leukemia. I remember standing on the outside of the door of the room where inside my little girl was screaming over and over "Mommy make them stop! Mommy make them stop!" My heart went out to those precious mommas, and I prayed for them as a mom who understood their tears too.

A passage of scripture came to my mind often today as I thought of why I was there and why we were all there. It is from II Corinthians 4, verses 14-18:

"Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."

How I pray that these momentary light afflictions will be used to bring glory to our Father, a smile to a weary heart, and a glimmer of peace to a soul overwhelmed by the temporal sufferings of their days. May their hearts be renewed day by day by our Father who cares more for us than the anguished heart of a momma holding her cherished sick child.

We are grateful for the peace that passes understanding or comprehension, and we are blessed to feel well this day.

Please continue to pray for Amber's recovery from her dizziness and tummy upset. Both are doing better. She has had so much on her plate caring for her family and her momma. Please pray that the Lord would strengthen and sustain her. Please pray for Tina who has been battling a terrible bronchitis for weeks. With her compromised immune system she has a terrible time fighting illness and it can be very dangerous for her. Sadly her illness will prevent her joining us for Thanksgiving--she will be missed. May the Lord restore her to health too.

May God bless you all as you hug your loved ones on this Thanksgiving Day. May your tummies and hearts be filled with all the blessings you have been given. How sweet to have one another and to enjoy the grace and mercy of a Lord worthy of our thanks.

With all my heart, Colleen