Letting Go

On Monday, Sept. 5 we left our son, Ryan with another family in Lindsay, Ontario, to board there as he attends Fleming College. An  acquaintance of ours did some inquiries in her church and found a family whose son had just moved to Calgary, and who have a lot of empty rooms in the house. Ryan could even share meals with them. The room is absolutely perfect: roomy, a desk at a window facing east, walk in closet, receptacles in the right places, a fine bed, everything he needs.  He has been planning this for over a year and we have been planning with him, and yet we looked on this event with much apprehension.  It is natural for parents to try to make paths easy for their children and when there are many uncertainties it can be difficult to continue.

We had many worries. When living in dorms on campus, peer pressure can be negative and difficult to resist.  The other option was living off campus and six km away from the campus in a town we knew little about, and  we wondered how he would travel to and from the campus. Cars are expensive to insure. Are bicycles safe? All winter? His place of board is close to a bicycle trail that winds through Lindsay and can bring him straight to the college.

Ryan and I spent three hours on Saturday checking out the beautiful bicycle trails and the best routes for biking from his place of board to the campus.

Are there buses? We had not seen any evidence of Lindsay being serviced by buses, but when we explored over the weekend with our bicycles we saw bus stop signs at nearly every street corner.
The church we attended on Sunday couldn't have been more welcoming, even praying for us in the evening service. We enjoyed the services on Sunday and heard a very good message from Psalm 23 about God's love and care for us.  The new youth pastor is staying in the same home as Ryan as well.

It has been three weeks now since we dropped Ryan off  and we are confident that he will get along well in Lindsay. He has been back for one weekend and we have had encouraging emails from him. We need to practice living out Philippians 4:6 " Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." We need to  trust  God that He  will make all things well, trust Him before the outcome actually happens.

Life Keeps Changing

Hi Family and Friends,

Monday, Aug. 22nd we received the results of the MRI Gary had on the 17th. We are happy to report that there was no significant change again this time.

We are thankfull that all things are good at this point and we are very happy how things are staying stable.

Gary has been keeping busy with work and projects and is feeling well or just like always.

We also had 10 great days of camping at the beginning of August, sharing weekends with both sides of the family as has become a summer tradition.

Please continue to pray for good results and thank God for His faithfulness and His mercies that He has shown us over the past year.

Have to see the sunset!

A lot has happened since the last entry. Our home life keeps changing. Jessica our youngest graduated from grade 8 and has finished home schooling. She plans to go off to high school in September.

 

Gary spoke at Jess' graduation on behalf of all the parents to the graduates.
Their graduation text was Psalm 32:8, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you."
The following are exerpts from the speech:
This verse talks about God's initiative and does not mention our involvement in the process. God promises to instruct us, teach us and to counsel us.
We know from scripture that He wants us to be involved in the process as well. We are to be actively reading and studying His word and praying and listening for the voice of His Spirit.
The author of Hebrews gives us a challenge in chapter 11:1-2 ...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus...
When I supervised the hurdles at track and field I noticed that some of the participants looked at the track, some at the hurdles, but some couldn't help but look at the person next to them. This generally slowed them down. The author of Hebrews uses the illustration of an Olympic race to illustrate how we are to walk the Christian life. Athletes would make sure that they carried nothing with them that would slow tham down and that nothing would distract them form doing their utmost best. In the same way, we need to focus on God and His teachings and follow Jesus our Saviour.
Graduates and all of us: God's eye is on you...there are blessings...so let us keep our eyes on Jesus. May this encourage and challenge us.

 

David and Leanne are engaged and plan to marry next June 9th D.V. We are very excited for them.

Ryan graduated from grade 12 this past June and is heading off to college on the long weekend.

Christine went to Ireland to meet David's family and friends.

Michael is starting his second year of teaching.

Thanks for all your on going prayers for us.

Gary and Joanne



Progress of My Illness

     To all who are following the progress of my illness, here is an update. My regular doctor, Dr Macdonald was away, but I saw one of his associates, Dr Bainbridge.

     The results of the scan I had last Wednesday were as good as could be expected: there was no growth of the small area that they have been following. Dr Bainbridge said that this small spot would likely always be there and that it is difficult to tell whether it is scarring from the operation or something similar, but the fact that it is not growing is as good news as can be had at this time.

My bloodwork is in good order, and since I have been tapering off the steroids I had been on, some of their side effects (insomnia, weakness in my legs, facial swelling and weight gain) are starting to disappear as well. The reason for the steroids (pressure on the optic nerve of my eyes) has been alleviated and the ophthalmologist I saw says everything is in good order with my eyes now.

The plan is for me to stay on the study drug for the next 11 months, every three weeks instead of every two weeks, with regular M.R.I. scans every Nine weeks. As I am writing this I am sitting at home having had a bout with some stomach ailment and hoping to be over it by tomorrow so I can go back to work.

I would once again like to thank everyone for their prayers and other forms of support such as emails and best wishes. It means a lot!

Here are some pictures of some projects I am undertaking. The picture above shows some acrylic panels I hope to install on the roof of the horse barn as the existing panels shown below leak badly.

I am also working on strengthening the beams supporting the roof.

As one can see, the snow tires are still on our vehicles, which is good since we had snow and were driving through slush Monday morning when we went for our medical appointment. We are looking forward to spring in Southern Ontario!

MRI Results

I was visiting Gary's mom the other day and looked through some old albums with her. I found this picture of Gary when he was a little younger :) I love this picture! His love for animals has definitely been passed down to his children.

Gary just finished his fifth round of chemo. We met with the doctor and received the results of the MRI taken on Feb. 12th.

The news was good! This MRI showed improvement from the last one. The area that the doctors have been watching has become smaller. This is definitely encouraging.

Gary continues to feel good. He continues to go to work each day, enjoys his food and is really enjoying time spent with family and friends.

The few side effects he has been having don't seem to concern the doctor. A little more sleep would be nice but we blame the steroids for waking him up at 5 a.m. every morning.

The progress and effect of the treatments have been slow but things are stable. Life has been good and our routines quite back to normal. This is all good and we thank God through it all.

The next MRI will be at the beginning of April. Please continue to pray for healing and peace for our family as we continue to live our lives from day to day. 

Thankful to God,

Joanne, Gary and family.

Driving Again

Gary is taking a drive in David's new car, a Mazda 3, just before dark.


Hi Family and Friends,

Another prayer answered.

The day has arrived...last week Monday Gary was given the ok to drive again!

It has been just over 6 months since Gary's surgery and he has not driven since.

Gary said it felt weird to drive on his own again, like he was doing something he wasn't supposed to do.

It felt really strange for me too as driving Gary to work and picking him up had become a daily routine.

I will miss spending all this extra time with him but I'm very happy that Gary can drive again.

I think Jessica will benefit from it too as our homeschooling will once again start on time.

Gary's next MRI will be on Sat. Feb.12 and he has tolerated his fourth round of chemo very well.

We are very thankful to God and ask that you continue to pray for us.

Thanks Joanne and Gary

"Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You." Psalm 67:3,5

Surprise 50th by Gary and Kids

On Friday January 14th, Gary and the kids surprised me with a house full of unexpected company.
My birthday was on Dec. 21st so by this time I no longer expected a party, let alone thought about my 50th birthday. How they pulled it off without leaving a hint was amazing. I was 100% surprised. After going out for dinner with Gary and Greg and Laurie Kenyon we came home to visit some more. I didn't even notice the lane way full of cars. (Our lane way is always full of cars!)


Thanks Gary, kids, family and friends for giving me the surprise of my life. Thanks too for all the food and gifts. I felt very special. Now I can't forget I turned 50!

A New Year Has Begun

Hope you all had a blessed Christmas with your families and friends. We had a very good Christmas break. The whole family was home over Christmas. Opa and Oma, Dad and Mom Pennings, celebrated Christmas with us.
The most amazing thing happened... Opa (my dad who hates animals in the house) was being so entertained by Felicia, our Father's Day cat, that he asked if he could buy her!! This cat loves to play fetch and she will bring back the paper ball in her mouth and place it back at your feet to have it thrown again. Dad said he liked her because she was already trained. Watch out Mom, you might still get an animal in the house even after being married for over 55 years.

Opa and Christine
We are very grateful for our parents (and grandparents) who have had and still have a very positive influence in our lives.

Jessica and Ryan impatiently waiting to open their gifts on Christmas Eve.

Irish Mountain Bed & Breakfast
Dec.20-23 rd Gary and I went to a Bed and Breakfast at Irish Mountain in Meaford, Ont. to celebrate our birthdays away from it all.
We recommend this place to anyone who likes a secluded get-a-way with a fireplace and a private outdoor hot tub.(www.irishmountain.net)
Our get-a-way to Collingwood area was both peaceful and relaxing.

A self portrait on our cold, snowy walk.

We had a beautiful view of Georgian Bay as we sat in front of the fireplace looking out over piles of snow just outside the bay window. The skies were grey and we did not see the sun the whole time we were there but the roads were all clear of snow so the 3 hour drive up and back were great.

Gary finished his 3rd round of chemotherapy on Sunday night. His immune system remains strong. The chemo has not effected his appetite either (as the doctor predicted) He has tolerated this treatment very well and only suffered flu like symptoms.

You may be wondering about the results of the MRI Gary had on Dec. 14th. The pictures showed no change in size of the tumor and there was a little more swelling again this time. The doctor said it was hard to know and see what the tumor or tissue was really doing at this point so he would continue the treatment as planned.
Please pray that in the next 7 weeks the chemo will work over time and the MRI will show definite signs of improvement.

God is still hearing our prayers and has allowed Gary to continue doing what he has always done with the exception of needing a little more rest. The doctor was pleased that he is sleeping and eating well and still able to go about his daily tasks without any major problems.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes, love and concern. We continue to covet your prayers,

"Therefore in all things He (Christ) had to be made like His brethren (born as a baby), that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people.(died for us)
For in that He himself has suffered, being tested, He is able to aid those who are tested." Hebrews 2:17-18

We are putting our hope and trust in this Christ who is merciful and faithful and understands what we are experiencing.

Love Joanne and Gary

JESUS

He came not to a throne, but to a manger.

He lived not as a king, but as a servant.

He chose not a kingdom, but a cross.

He gave not just a little, but everything.

Holley Gerth