Merry Christmas!

"In this world you will have tribulation..." John 16:33 . Jesus went on to say "...but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
O Come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O Come ye, O Come ye, to Bethlehem,
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels,
O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

What a wonderful time of year to rejoice and be glad because He has come. "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the city of David, a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11

Savior - how precious that word is for us and the overwhelming impact it has on those who accept Him as their Savior. He is our hope in this sinful world and our salvation out of this sinful world.

Sorry we haven't written in a while. Having too much fun enjoying "Christmas". I've been pondering in my heart this Christmas and what it means to "Come let us adore Him". We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Such sweet memories for all of us. Doug's younger brother John and his 17 yr old son Francesco are with us until Jan. 6th. We are having delightful time with them.

Last week they hydrated me on Wed and Friday to "tank me up" for Christmas. They take such good care of me. I have been feeling good and thank you for all your prayers. I'm sleeping well and those waves of anxiety have dissipated. My air exchange is just fine for now. I can go grocery shopping, run errands, work around the house. Just pace myself. So for now, the idea of a trac is put on the back burner. Also we got two doctors opinions about the feeding tube and for now since I can swallow food and drink, they can't recommend it. So, will keep praying about chemo and further treatments. Dr Tezcan is trying to find a combo that won't be so nauseating for me.

The wedding plans are coming along just great. Hannah is a little stressed so pray for her. I'm loving it all. Can't wait for the day (Jan. 5th)

Nathan has received such wonderful support from all of you. Thank you for all your love, prayers on his behalf. He is doing well. Michelle is staying strong relying on the Lord for her peace and strength. God Bless.

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

Oh how we Vetschs love the snow. We went out in the hot tub early Saturday morning. There was snow on all the aspen branches overhead of us, and it would blow down on us. We are so enjoying the hot tub my family bought us last Spring. We went sledding at the golf course that afternoon. I sat and watched with such fun memories. The older kids have been up to Schweitzer and Silver Mountains to snowboard. They love the new Quad lift improvements. Several of the kids are switching back to skiing.
This was a good week for gaining new perspective on my situation. Just have not been comfortable and been doing ALOT of enduring. Doug and I made an appointment with Susan Herbst (Physician assistant at Cancer Center) to talk about it and options for further comfort. We talked about pain management, my weight and dehydration issues. We decided to pursue a feeding tube. One of my doctors has already said it isn't warranted. Will you please pray about this matter as we pursue mor opinions. Also we continue to pray about further chemo treatments which are causing such nausea and dry heaves. One more thing, the trach is still an option that I find myself wanting to do after Hannah's wedding. We desire God's will be done and that all of it would be to Glorify Him.
I have a huge praise in that the moments of anxiety are much better. When they wash over me, I have purposefully given them to the Lord. He is in charge of all the details of death and loved ones left behind. And all the other concerns a mother's heart has.

I'm sorry I haven't written lately. I've been struggling with health issues and time has gotten away from us. I did do the new chemo drug last Thursday. It went real well with no reactions. Over the weekend, I started to get nauseated, dehydrated and couldn't stop dry heaving. Sunday afternoon we went into the ER and they were so sweet to me. I received 2 Liters of fluid and an IV shot of anti nausea medicine. Oh, by evening I was feeling so much better. Continue to deal with waves of anxiety. I think its a side effect of my pain meds. I will inquire about this matter. Sleep continues to be an issue although my breathing is doing well. I'm really trying to keep my thoughts only on Jesus BUT having moments of discouragement. Where great faith lives, fear cannot live. Where great fear exists, no faith can survive.

2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." Fear is a product of the devil and Satan will strive to turn my doubts into fears and my fears into panic.
"Lord, I believe, help me in my unbelief." Mark 9:24

We were greeted Sunday morning by a phone call from Nathan in Iraq. It was so wonderful to hear his voice. He is doing well. We do still need to keep praying for his safety even though we hear that it is improving over there. Still in harms way. Also, Hannah had a second Bridal Shower with Jake's side of the family, on Sunday afternoon. She was blessed once again with such sweetness of generosity towards her. We as a family are blessed to have them all in our life.

Glorious Bridal Shower for Hannah

On Saturday, we had a Bridal Shower for our Hannah (Wedding is Jan. 5th, 2008). There were 26 ladies there to celebrate Hannah getting married. We had a very special time with ladies that have been and are a big part of Hannah's life. It was glorious! And the weather outside made it even cozier inside. It had been snowing and more fell that night (about 8"). So it was special.
Since last I talked with you all, I had been sleeping pretty well. On Sunday though I started having waves of anxiety over me. I couldn't figure out if it was anxiety that was triggering shortness of breath or shortness of breath causing the anxiety. It persisted into Monday, so we called Dr. Detar back about this anxiety. And he said that my CO2 level maybe elevated due to inefficient air exchange. So I did blood work and it showed normal. But in the discussion, I discovered that one of the nausea medicines that I had been taking was good for anxiety as well. Once I starting taking it again, my anxiety went away. Praise God! My sleep in the past couple of nights has been somewhat normal. I am also taking a High Calorie, High Protein shake mix usually three times a day and that is going well. Keep praying for weight gain and resting in the Lord for needs of my family. I need to learn to not fight the shortness of breath but relax my way through this and keep my thoughts centered on Him.
"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 comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Chrst Jesus" Philippians 4:6-7