James was sure when he came home early from work on the 15th of March he had a kidney stone. The pain in his lower back was off the charts and he could only pace the floor. He could not sit or lay down. We ended up in the emergency room with hopes that some IV fluids and pain medicine would help flush the stone and we would be on our way. Not the case! The routine CT scan that was performed that night showed an incredibly large mass that wraps around his descending aorta and iliac artery which supplies blood flow to his left leg. It is inoperable. This began a nearly one month long hospitalization in the medical center where we spent our 28th wedding anniversary. During this hospitalization he perforated his bowel, had emergent surgery, lost approximately a foot of his colon, was given a colostomy, became septic, spent a week in ICU, ..... and then finally, after the third attempt of the large mass, it was determined the mass was malignant. To "cool off" the tumor and slow down its rapid growth, James received a 2 day, 5 part chemotherapy regimen. This was incredibly difficult on his body which was in early stages of recovery of a massive surgery that left him with a 22 inch incision, as well as healing from the blood infection which was circulating throughout his body. He has lost 50 pounds in this time as well as all of his hair. Ron Swanson he is no more!! We were finally home on the precious day of Easter and have been trying to navigate our new normal. Those who have brought groceries and meals, you are the heroes of the day and the bright light in dark days. Those who are praying for us, you talking to Jesus on our behalf, there are not words to describe the blessing that is to us in our incredible time of sincere need!! We love you!! And those of you who are supporting our three children, you are the unsung heroes in all of this!! Those who are reaching out to them to make sure they have a shoulder to cry on and unconditional love and support, you are angels to us!! We have an incredibly long journey ahead of us. Not sure what life looks like tomorrow or next week but we do know that we serve an amazing God who has NEVER forsaken us or let us go without whatever we needed in the moment! We ask that you seek our Jesus, in your lives, and ask Him to walk out your days as He is with us. As hard as it has been, neither James nor I, could imagine walking this out without God at our side! He is allowing this for a purpose and reason which affects the eternal kingdom we serve. We as a family ask for prayers for strength to endure the path laid out ahead that we cannot see and courage to stay the course, even if the path becomes scary and unsure! We know God is with us and will not let us go! We will keep updates on this page as often as we can. Never stop believing that God is good and He is faithful to His children! We love you guys!!