Darling Darla :-)))

Our dear friend Darla (as in "Darling Darla") flew all the way from Shreveport, Louisiana to come and visit us! We had a fun today (and ate way too much) but really enjoyed catching up. Seems like just yesterday we saw each other; it's crazy to think that we all haven't caught up since 2008!

Thanks for visiting us, Darla! We love you and hope to see you in your neck of be woods soon :-)

Happy Australia Day!

Although it's snowy and cold here, we did celebrate Australia Day with our dear friends Mark and Ginny, who hosted an awesome and yummy dinner party in honor of Australia Day! We brought some ANZAC bikkies and told the story of how they don't contain dairy products and can therefore keep a long time. We even found some Australian T-shirts to wear as a family! Can't wait to see our Australian family soon!! It was also fun for Zev and I to reminisce about where we were on this day, 10 years ago. We were dating and I took Zev and my brother out to HMAS Watson, where we watched the traditional boat races on Sydney Harbour. That time seems so long ago and yet seems like just yesterday. I wonder what the next 10 years will bring?

Sending you much love and joy,

Fiona xo

Long and skinny

We had Zachary's 9 month well baby visit yesterday (a little after his actual 9 month birthday). His statistics confirm what we had a suspicion of: our son is long and skinny! I think his big head makes it look like he's bigger than he really is :-). Here are the stats:

- He weighed in at 21 lb which puts him in the 53% for weight
- he measures 31 inches in length which puts him in the 99% for height
- his head circumference is 48 cm which puts him in the 99% for head circumference

He gets the long and skinny part from his dad. The big head I can safely say he gets from his mama :-)

He has had a bout with a stomach virus that has lasted 6 days now. Meaning he needs his drawers changed every 2 hours and oftentimes a complete outfit change. The doctor said it could last anywhere from 10 to 14 days! That may account for some weight loss too.

I hope you enjoy this update on Zachary's development. He's just opened up the air conditioning/ heater register in the floor and is exploring the interesting and nasty world of dead insects as we speak. So I've gotta go. Such a boy!

God bless,

Fiona

Baby dedication

Today was Sanctity of Life Sunday at our church as well as Zachary's baby dedication!! He did so good up there. He has also started to officially crawl this week! January 16th to be exact. Just in time for our visit Down Under!

Here is Zachary's life verse. It is painted on the canvas tryptic in his room.

"For I know the plans I have for you" declares The Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11. That verse has helped me a lot this past year too!

Had a lovely day :-))

Cookie Monster brought cookies for daddy today :-)

A beautiful day

Today is going to be a great day, I just know it. I had a great week last week and it was ALMOST tainted by the news on Saturday from my oncologist that my blood counts are low, but I am not going to let that news dampen my day. The good news is that: a) I am alive today; b) I am saved and am going to go to heaven one day (although God please let me stay on earth a little longer!) c) I am blessed to have an awesome husband, son, family, friends, access to expensive chemotherapy and diagnostic tools such as an MRI every 3 months; d) Zachary is such a doll. I know I already mentioned him, but he seriously wakes up HAPPY every morning. He makes my heart sing. As Zev does too of course :-)

So I would like to leave you with some of pictures from this past week which brought a smile to my face. Yes, one of the pictures includes a picture of Coach purses. We went to the outlets on Friday. Zachary was such a good shopper. Purses make me happy. So do cute shoes. I'm still a girl :-)

Have a great week!

Ps: My oncologist wants me to come in for weekly blood work this week. She may readjust the dose of chemo (Temodar) that I am on. Please pray that my blood levels stabilize. And that I don't get sick :-)

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:6

Guess who's 9 months old today?!!

Little man, you rock our world. We love you so much!!

What are you up to these days?!

- you are VERY active, inquisitive, talkative. You are crawling with your belly on the floor, doing what Miss Ginny calls the "inch worm crawl"
- you are getting used to your play room but still don't like being alone in it. Mummy leaves you in there for about 15 mins and then you start to fuss. Mummy is excited about making it a fun space for you :-)
- you eat solids twice to three times a day, plus a 6oz bottle of milk with each meal
- you are starting to pull up on things and can get on your knees! We still don't have baby gates on the stairs! Soon though!
- you have rhythm and mummy has watched you bop up and down to her favorite songs. She thinks you get the rhythm from her :-)
- you look so much like daddy
- you are a little flirt with the ladies, especially the sweet ladies who look after you in the church nursery. I know that they love you when they "fight" over who got to hold you.
- you are still wearing size 3 diapers
- you are a long baby but not so chunky. You wear 12 month clothes and sometimes 18 month clothes. The waist is sometimes loose on you though. Long and skinny like daddy. Trust me; you will appreciate this when you grow up!
- you are definitely photogenic. You can turn on the smile and pose whenever you see a camera. I wonder who you get that from?
- mummy and daddy love you more with each day. You truly are a blessing and you are our treasure and our gift from heaven. Thank you, Lord!

Hope you are all well and happy and healthy. Health is so important!

Love FIFi xo

This day will be a great day; this year will be a great year :-)

Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you! Zev and I hope that you had a lovely holiday!

Sorry that I haven't written in so long. I'll be honest, although I appreciated the love and joy of Christmastime, it was a really hard time for me emotionally. Dealing with cancer has been harder, much harder than I expected. I am doing well physically and am tolerating the chemo well (thank you, God!) Zev has been my strong rock here on earth, to encourage me and reassure me. Zachary is my little angel and his sweet face propels me to continue on, to make the best out of each day. Local friends have rallied around me to cover me with their kindness and friendship and encourage me without realizing it! I do believe that God gave us Zachary when He did, to help Zev and I get through this tough time. And of course my family in Australia has been outstanding in listening and encouraging me and helping me see the positive side of things :-)

I feel good on all fronts now (thank you, again, God!) and feel like I have come out of a "cloud" of sorts. I am sure this will sound crazy, but I believe that I was in the middle of a spiritual warfare there for a little bit. But I prayed to The Lord in the midst of the storm and He held my hand and led me through it. I am so grateful to Him for that.

So we stayed local and low key for Christmas. Zev and I had more fun than Zachary I think, in watching him open his gifts. As can be expected of an 8 month old, he loved the wrapping paper more than the gifts themselves! Sweet boy :-) We received some really unique gifts, such as a beautiful music box filled with delectable German "Nuernberger" cookies from my German teacher, Ulla and her husband, Manfred (herzlichen Dank!); a package of German homemade cookies from my German Masters of Laws colleagues, Laura and Philipp (auch danke schoen!!) a goodie packet from sweet Leslie and of course gifts from the grandparents and our brothers.

New Year's Eve weekend we spent with Zev's little brother, Deven and his wife Lauren. They flew down sans kids (thank you, grandma and grandpa for babysitting!) We had such a fun weekend! I'm so glad they came down!

So the next big adventure is....Australia!!!!! We are so very excited to be heading Down Under very soon and can't wait tointroduce Zachary to the family as well as meet all the new additions and just spend some quality time with family and friends. It also helps that it is the middle of summer in Australia and nice and hot :-))

Well, hope you enjoy the pictures from the previous few weeks. As always, THANK YOU so much for your prayers. I have especially seen first hand this past year how POWERFUL prayer truly is.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

Let the little children come to me

I cannot comprehend what has happened to those 20 little angels in Connecticut. I believe that they are all in Heaven with The Lord. Jesus said "Let the little children come to me." Matthew 19:14. Although he is too little to understand, I did hold Zachary and tell him how much I loved him. Zev and I feel so blessed to be his parents.

We hope that you are all safe and well. Cherish each other and tell each other how much you love them. My biggest lesson learnt from this year is to do that: cherish each day as if is your last and tell people that you love them :-)

I love you.

Newest Aussie in the family!!

Guess who the newest Aussie is in the family?! (Dual citizenship). Now to get on that Australian passport on time for our trip!

Zev and I have been ABUNDANTLY BLESSED by our church family. This past Monday, the Military ministry at our church had a wonderful dinner, hosted by the lovely Penny and her husband Jim. They put on quite the spread and presented me with the surprise gift of a prayer blanket that had been handmade by two sweet ladies at our church. The military wives had then written on the blanket with scripture verses so that I would always be "covered" on prayer. I love these gals so much ;-)

I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas season.

Much love and prayer,

Fiona xo

Finding the cure for brain cancer

I have decided to join Dr. Quinones in his quest to find a cure for brain cancer. I do not know why I have brain cancer and may never know in this life, but I believe that making the most of my cancer and not "wasting" it is a wise choice :-)

Dr. Q performed an awake craniotomy on me in August of this year. I believe that his act of taking out a part of my brain tumor has helped to extend my life. I am currently on a chemotherapy drug that was a clinical trial drug (and therefore not covered by insurance) just 6 years ago. As of just last year, Temodar has been used to treat the exact tumor that I have: Oligoastrocytoma.

This has all been possible thanks to research. Dr. Q's team of researchers is working diligently and urgently to find a cure for brain cancer. In order to continue their research, they need support in the form of funding. A donation of $5.00 would go a LONG way in terms of supporting this critical research. If you are able to give more, thank you!!

Thank you so much for your support and prayers. I am so blessed!

You can donate anonymously or in my name through the website: https://www.active.com/donate/qquest/fionayork

Thank you!

Fiona xoxo

Treasure each and every day :-)

God is good! We had a good visit with the neuro-oncologist today. He said that he had "good news" to tell me regarding the MRI. It showed a little shrinkage, which he said could be attributed to either the natural shrinkage of the tumor that occurs post-surgery or the chemo. He couldn't say for sure. I was thinking in my mind "or thanks to The Lord"! This will be the new baseline for future scans and he said he was pleased with how I was coping with the chemo. Thank you to all who prayed and encouraged me. This experience, indeed this whole journey with brain cancer, has showed me how the body of Christ works to support each other in times of need. Please pray that my next scan on March 4th also shows favorable results :-)))) Today is a great day!!

I'll leave you with a picture of my two Z men in the hotel last night. I am blessed beyond belief. When the doctor gave me the results of the MRI today, I looked at Zachary and in my heart thanked The Lord for more time on earth to be with my son and husband. I even turned to Zev and said (after the doctor had left the room) "I guess I will be able to take Zachary to his first day of school"! I appreciate and give thanks for each and every day that I am alive and symptom free. I praise The Lord because He is strong and faithful and above cancer.

Guess who's 8 month old today?!!

Zachary is! He is such a big boy now. Looking back at pictures of when he was just half his age; amaze me. Back then, he had no hair (although his head was still large!) and we thought he was so advanced for his age!

Zachary, what are you up to these days?

- You are ALMOST crawling! You get on all fours and rock back and forth. You sometimes lift a leg up (usually your left leg) and stick your bottom up in the air. We love watching you and clapping and encouraging you on. Once you get the hang of moving your hands, there will be no stopping you!

- You wear a size 3 diaper.

- You are growing so long and quickly too! Although your weight is not in the "large" section. Maybe you'll have a fast metabolism like daddy! You'll be grateful for that when you're older :-)

- You are driving. (Just kidding :-))

- You eat 6 ounce bottles every 4 hours or so. You sleep through the night (well from 1030pm through 530am). We will take that!

- You are still such a mellow, happy baby. We have been so blessed by God to have you!

- You like to eat food and are on "Stage 2" foods. You're not a fan of green beans or peas though, so mummy has to mix them with other foods like carrots or sweet potatoes.

We are currently on our way to Charlottesville, where I will have an MRI today. They do MRIs locally, but my neuro-oncologist is at the University of Virginia, hence the reason for going up there. We saw a rainbow on our way out from or house! Providence? God is good and we know He will keep His promises till the end of time.

This has been a great week for us. Usually the third week of my chemo means that I am tired. Thanks to the generous help and love of two special ladies, Ginny and Penny, we were able to transform my house into a home! These two southern belles came and first used stuff we already had to decorate our house, then we went shopping to buy stuff to accentuate certain areas. These gals can decorate on a dime! They were so energetic and got me going and excited to be in my house every day!

We also received our Christmas cards, with pictures that were taken by Micah Cummings and Ginny on them!

Still on the road....please pray for our traveling mercies and for the results of my MRI to amaze the doctors! I would love to be able to say "only God can explain this!"