I'm still learning this whole blog setup!! I'm slowly figuring out how to put pictures on but haven't quite learned how to rearrange them. I'd like to be able to add the links(pictures ) of the kids we are praying for so if anybody can help I'd appreciate it. We are getting ready to go to Columbus for Easter this weekend. The kids are really excited. We are going to try and make it to the Zoo to see the new baby elephant. Hope everyone has a great Easter. I will put new pictures on when we get back.

I have been wanting to make a blog for a long time to be able to tell the story of our daughter Brooke and her battle with a rare form of childhood cancer. Let me back up just a little. I married my husband Bob(that I have known since we were in 2nd grade!!) July 8, 1989. We had 2 sons Bobby and Brandon and then our family welcomed our daughter Brooke on Jan. 9 , 1997. She was a very healthy baby and we had no idea that anything was wrong with her. On Feb. 26, 1998 I found a large lump under her right ribcage and took her to the pediatrician. She immediately sent us to the children's hospital. Our world was turned upside down, we had no idea what we were about to find out. After several tests were run we found out she had Stage 4 Hepatoblastoma that had already spread to both lungs, she was given a 25% chance of surviving. This type of cancer is very rare in children and only 1 in one million children are diagnosed with it each year. I will never forget that day, I went home to get some stuff I would need and could barely drive I was crying so hard. I begged God to save her life, I couldn't understand why this was happening to my baby!! Just a few days later she had surgery to remove the tumor that took up 75% of her liver. She was in surgery for more than 9 hours and lost a lot of blood but she came thru. The surgeon removed the tumor along with 75% of her liver. She was in the PICU for a week. It was the most devastating thing I ever had to see when I walked in and saw my baby girl lying on that bed with all of the wires and machines she was hooked up to. It's amazing to me how fast kids recover, just a few days later she was sitting up in her bed and feeling much better. Our next battle was to begin chemotherapy to try and kill the tumors that were all over her lungs. Brooke had 17 rounds of chemotherapy, many making her so sick that she almost didn't make it. Throughout all of this we had so much support from family and friends and prayers from all over the world. I don't think we would have been able to get thru it without all of these prayers. In May 1999, Brooke's doctors felt there was nothing left to do for her, none of the chemo she received was getting rid of the lung tumors and we couldn't find a surgeon who was willing to remove them. I refused to give up and searched the internet for experimental chemo and found that she would be accepted for that at Dana Farber in Boston. When we got there the doctors ran their own CT scans and the surgeon said he would do the surgery on her lungs!!! What an answer to prayers, we were ecstatic!! In July and August of 99 he did surgery on each of her lungs and removed all of the tumors. God led us to Boston and she has been cancer free ever since then. Brooke is now 12 years old and is a beautiful, healthy miracle from God and we are so thankful!! We thank Him everyday for her. I have met many children and their families along the way and some of them are also survivors but so many have lost the battle :( I don't know yet why God chose to save Brooke but I know He has big plans for her!!! During that time Bob and I became Christians and alot of things have changed in our lives, including the addition of our youngest son Brady to our family. My wish is that if anybody out there reads this and is going thru the same thing they can have hope, just like we have, every morning when we look at her beautiful face.