Amazing!

We are home from our absolutely fabulous trip to the beach.
It can be described in many ways:
relaxing, restoring, carefree, restful, hot, fun filled....
truly a blessing.

It was all we hoped for and more!!
More fun - more relaxing - more than the four of us....

This is how the more than the four of us happened - when we were almost to the condo, we started saying, wouldn't it be great if our friends, the Vickers, could be here....then without really thinking we asked them if they wanted to come down and stay with us. They were already off on Friday - why not? Really? It's 9 o'clock at night! Seriously!?  Well, the Vickers didn't think, didn't plan, and didn't wonder. They packed their suitcases and were on their way to us less than 10 hours later!  Early the next morning, this is the text we received from Stacee:

"I had a crazy dream that y'all invited us to the beach and we packed the car and left!! We are in the car. I still can't believe it!!"

We couldn't either!  Talk about seize the day!  We are so not spontaneous, get up and go people!  We are so grateful that the Vickers didn't stop to think and question! 
They did what we try hard to do each day.  Enjoy THIS moment - enjoy THIS day - enjoy right now.  Too often, we miss it because we are thinking ahead to what might be.  Too often, we get pulled away by the fear, the what ifs, and the trouble and we lose sight of the hope, the joy, and the truth.

We are thankful that Robbie and Stacee continue to remind us to focus on what we know and what is real. We have said it before, the Vickers are a part of us. Over many years, our lives, our joys, and our sorrows have been woven together.

We are so very grateful to the friends who graciously loaned us their condo so that we could truly escape, to the Vickers for making this weekend extra special, and to God for giving us the peace and rest we so needed.

Now, home from the beach and back to reality.  Here are some updates.

Answered prayers:
Elena's mouth and throat sores went away quickly.
Elena stayed free from fevers and infections while we were out of town.
God has granted us peace, patience, and hope throughout most of our days.

What's coming up:
Elena's bone marrow test has been moved from tomorrow to Friday.

All of Elena's previously scheduled appointments at Egleston have been pushed back a week.  She is tentatively scheduled for a full day of evaluations on Tuesday, June 12.
This, of course, will depend on the results of Friday's bone marrow test.

Liv will have her annual brain MRI on Wednesday, June 13.

Please continue to pray:
-for Elena's bone marrow to show NO evidence of leukemia cells
-for Liv's MRI to show NO signs of recurrent tumor
-for God to give us the strength, peace, and hope we need
-for us to be accepting of God's plan and timing
-for us not to lose sight of the joy we can have right now
-for us not to be consumed by the questioning and wondering

Tonight we end this post with a prayer from a devotion by Samantha Reed:

"Dear Lord,
You are faithful. Please direct (our) thoughts and (our) steps. Take what doesn't belong—fear, doubt, unbelief—and replace them with hope, trust and joy as (we) focus on You instead of (our) circumstances. Thank You for working on (our) behalf.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen"