We have had such a great day! We've been walking around in a cloud of thankfulness since Tuesday.

Frank had to be at the hospital early this morning to receive a medicine via an IV. Afterward, he had a meeting with a hospital administrator. He's working - even during treatment. I am so proud of him and his wonderful attitude. I stayed at the apt. while he took care of business and was able to get out and walk. It felt great to get out, although I did miss my dad's company. We walked together every day over the weekend.

Frank and I went back to the hospital this afternoon for the chemo. Unlike the past chemo treatments, this one only lasted 20 minutes. That is quite a switch from the fanny pack he used to wear over 5 days. It's amazing how much stronger this is, yet how little he actually gets of it. We were in and out of there quick and came back to the apartment for dinner.

There have been so many blessings all along this journey ~ we love to talk about them. One of them is the time we've had together. Not many couples at this stage in life have this amount of alone time. I can remember when getting 10 minutes after work was an accomplishment! I know you guys can relate. Although we miss the kids and are ready to see them next week, we cherish the time we've had together, too. Like I told him before we were married, "he's a keeper".

He is feeling really good. The annoying side effect he's got right now are the hiccups. The decadron gives him the hiccups. Not just every now in then, but for hours. He's sitting behind me now, hiccupping away!...for over an hour now. Scaring him didn't help - I tried!

Tomorrow is the transplant. We go in the afternoon and they'll give him some of those wonderful stem cells he so willing gave in April. We praise the Lord daily for His goodness to us. We talk to many patients that don't have such wonderful news. We are humbled and overwhelmed at the mercy and grace that has been given to Frank. We give God all the glory for the healing process that has taken place in his body. Prayer is a powerful!

1 Peter 5:6,7 Therefore humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.
I'm so glad He cares for us! May each of you experience the joy of the Lord today!

Peg

Psalms 66:19,20: "Certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my (our) prayer. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me."

Good Morning!
Well, things are going very well for me so far.

I got all my test results back on Tuesday and everything was very promising. They can only find trace amounts of the "M" protein in me at this time. My bone marrow biopsies were clean. The good part is the Dr. made the comment that I really haven't gone through the most aggressive part of my therapy yet. The stem cell transplant (which I now get on Friday) is the heavy hitter.

The tumor lesions in my bones are either holding steady or reducing in size. Again, good news.

By this coming Monday, the chemo will be working me over pretty well. The nurse said the fastest anyone has recovered from Stem Cell Transplants was 12 days - the longest was 48 days.

Please pray for a speedy recovery with no complications. In fact, pray that I set a new world record of 11 days.

As you can imagine, we are very happy to be in this place and that the Lord has brought us so far.

Frank & Peggy

Well, today is the big meeting with the Dr.'s to see where I stand, if I'm healthy enough to take the next round of chemo, and to start the weeks of waiting on the results of the transplant.
Peggy and I see the Dr. this morning at 9:00am, then I have a few more tests.

I feel really good about this phase (transplant) of my treatments. I know it will not be fun, but somehow I think the most difficult part of treatment is past.

Pray that we will all stay infection free.
Frank


Hi everybody, Peg here.

Sorry we've been so lax on an entry. The last few days of school were so hectic, and we left for Little Rock last Wednesday. We enjoyed getting to come home for the weekend and enjoying the extra day to rest. We didn't leave Memphis until 11 o'clock last night...so little time!

This is the trip we've all been waiting for. The trip you've been praying for. We both have a lot of anxiousness about it. Our "medicine," besides a lot of prayer, has been to live as normal as possible take one day at a time.

Sunday in church, these verses spoke to me: Psalm 33:20-22 "Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield, for our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we have hoped in you."

Thank you for your prayers, your support, your encouragement and your love. Each one of you have been a blessing to us. Have a wonderful, wonderful day!

Hello!! We're singing praises today for more answered prayer!

Frank's blood work for his myeloma markers came back with a new low ~ 0.3. Not only was this a new low for him, his levels stayed at 0.4 for 4 weeks before the drop. This was also a first Praise the Lord!!

The goal is for that level to be zero, but if the numbers stay low, and consistantly stay down, the doctors will say Frank is in remission. We are so very thankful that this is on the horizon.

Our break from Little Rock has been great. We've been so busy with the children The end of the school year makes May so busy ~ and fun. Frank went with Zach to dissect a fetal pig while I went out of town with Chandler. The boys shared all their details with us at the dinner table.....over spaghetti.......how much fun!!

Frank's appointments for Little Rock begin next week. Please keep praying for this next phase of treatment. God has been so faithful to us. He is there and meets every need. To Him be the glory!

The new picture was taken during the stem cell collection April 10. Ain't he a cutie??
Love, Peggy

Hello all, yes these past two weeks have been wonderful. I've been Mr. Normal doing all the things that we all do everyday. From picking up car pool to spreading fertilizer on the lawn, man it feels good to do that stuff.

One caveat, I still have not cleaned out the attic. That would be abnormal activity, of which I am still not ready to tackle.

God Bless You All!
Frank

Hi everybody, it's Peggy. Frank and I have had an incredible few days. I have so much I want to share, but sometimes it's hard for me to get it out in words...

Frank's sister, Neely was here with her husband Dave and their baby girl, Marissa. Newborn babies are just such miracles to behold! Seeing her brought a flood of feelings for me. Joy for their family and all they have to experience with her, and memories of our own family: places we've already been and how precious that time is and, of course, how fast the time passes.

But looking at her precious face was very calming. It reminded me of how much God loves us, and keeps us, and provides for us. Not just as a baby, but every day. We have felt that fatherly provision from God so strong through this. It is so amazing and humbling and awesome to see God work in such a real and tangible way. It blows us away........It gives me the strength and faith to continue to trust Him for every detail of our life.

What I've been trying to do lately is thank Him more for where we are, and trust that the final outcome of any hard time is that we are being perfected and molded to be more like Him.
Frank is doing great. His blood levels are coming back up from the chemo. And we are enjoying being home.

We return the last part of May for the transplant, and have some specific things we are praying for. Frank continues to have some GI systems. Nothing serious, but annoying for him. Please pray that God would prepare His body to handle this next phase and heal anything going on that would cause complications. Please pray as the Lord leads you for all the different aspects of being away from home. The safety and emotions of the children as they are with us and away for some of the time. The protection of Frank emotionally and physically.

Chandler and I are leaving for St. Louis on a school trip tomorrow. Please pray for a sweet time of fellowship with "just the girls", and for safety.

Frank and I thank God all the time for each one of you, and for the way He has used His people to be His hands and feet and angels over us.

May God bless each one of you! Until next time...