James and me after the birth of our 9th child, Sam.
Quote of the Week: Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
On February 29th my husband, James, was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer of his throat. I suppose there was some point in my life when I wondered what it would be like to hear the words from a doctor that someone I loved had cancer. But, I never thought it would be my husband, 48 years old and healthy, the father of 9.
James had been bothered by a chronic sore throat. He had been to the Minute Clinic, to our friend Howard Guthmann, his personal physician and then to the throat specialist, Dr. Bobby Silver. When he came home from what was supposed to be a routine visit with Dr. Silver, he quietly sat me down and told me he had cancer. His words were a blur. I heard him say that he had a tumor in his throat … Dr. Silver was certain it was malignant …99.9% certain … biopsies would be back in two days … CT Scan and PET Scan were scheduled – the tumor had metastisized to at least several lymph nodes in his neck. Stage IV cancer. High cure rate with this kind of cancer. I felt strangely like I was trying to catch up with his words. I certainly felt pain, deep emotion and fear. But I had always thought, that if confronted with cancer in a loved one that I would be overwhelmed by this. Instead I felt as if I was in a dream where there was some sort of a race going on… a race of a lifetime …and I was already terribly, dangerously far behind. Instead of being paralyzed by emotions I had feared, I felt a silent desperation, and an urgency to somehow catch up with the rest…
Finishing up our first year at 9 Kid Fitness, I want to thank all of you who have visited our site, contributed with comments, and just checked in with us via Facebook and Twitter. Launching last March, my hope was to engage with others who are trying to make fitness a priority in their very busy lives. Thank you for being a part of the 9 Kid Fitness community, and I hope that we will continue to find support and encouragement from each other in 2012! Today I would like to look back over the last year and highlight nine of the most visited posts at 9 Kid Fitness:
I’m leaving for Washington, DC tomorrow and will run the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday. Trying to dismiss the hamstring pain that seems to now be creeping around my hip, I thought I would re-read a favorite book, 
Quote of the Week: The more we are afflicted in this world, the greater is our assurance in the next; the more sorrow in the present, the greater will be our joy in the future. St. Isadore of Seville
Quote of the week: This is the day the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24
Quote of the week:
On Monday I wrote about 
There is really only one thing to say on this day, and that is “Thank you”. Thank you to all the men and women who died serving this great nation of ours. Thank you to all of our military, both living and deceased. Thank you to those who are in foreign lands serving at this moment. Thank you to all of our retired veterans. Thank you to those in military training who will serve our country in the future.
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