Elena's clinic visit was spectacular. According to our fabulous nurse practitioner, Elena looks spectacular and her counts are spectacular. We agreed that Elena is spectacular!
The day got even better when we received the news that Elena's adrenal gland is now functioning properly. Praise God! Elyse said that her body no longer needs steroids. Yay!! Elena's body is finally at the point where she can stop taking steroids and begin the process of weaning off the anti-rejection drug.
We can not express what joy we felt at the end of this day! SO many praises! Six months after Elena's BMT, we are finally at a turning point, a new phase. Elena's body is not only stable, it is healing. We are moving in the right direction. We are on track for Elena to be off all BMT related medications and most if not all "isolation" restrictions by the beginning of April. The idea of that seemed so very far away, even unattainable at times, and now it's possibly only two months away. PRAISE GOD!
On the way to Elena's clinic appointment we heard the song One Thing Remains.
We love this song and talked about how amazing and comforting it is to know that no matter what - - God's love never fails.
On the way home, we heard the same song. We want to share the song lyrics with you.
Higher than the mountains that I face
Stronger than the power of the grave
Constant through the trial and the change
One thing remains
One thing remains
Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me
On and one and on and on it goes
It overwhelms and satisfies my soul
And I never ever have to be afraid
One thing remains
In death and in life I'm confident and covered by the power of your great love
My debt is paid there's nothing that can separate my heart from your great love
So, tonight, like last night, we go to bed overwhelmed and satisfied by God's love for us.
In Him,
The Tates
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:13
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Enough
We are still working on finding peace and joy in every day as life seems to move full steam ahead even though we aren't ready and the pace we love is so much slower. Having a three day weekend definitely provided some much needed rest, fun, and more time in our days to simply enjoy life. We filled our weekend with a little shopping, lots of laughter, movies, playing at the playground, jewelry making, a long walk on the Suwanee Greenway with friends, and an indoor picnic. Elena can't enjoy eating outside yet - - haven't figured out the whole 'how to eat when you have a mask on' thing.
We also enjoyed a great morning of worship together in the balcony at church. The sermon was "What To Do When You've Had Enough" - - how appropriate is that?! Through Pastor Dean, we were reminded that God is always enough!
Below are the words from a song we sang on Sunday -Always by Kristian Stanfill:
My foes are many
They rise against me
But I will hold my ground
I will not fear the war
I will not fear the storm
My help is on the way
My help is on the way
Oh, my God
He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear
His promise is true
My God will come through always
Always
Trouble surrounds me
Chaos abounding
My soul will rest in You
I will not fear the war
I will not fear the storm
My help is on the way
My help is on the way
I lift my eyes up
My help comes from the Lord
This Friday, January 25th, will mark the end of Elena's sixth month post transplant.
These six months have been a war, a storm filled with trouble and chaos. We have had enough. But, we know, without a doubt, that His promises are true, He will not leave us, we are not alone, and He is our help! He has proved this over and over to us throughout this storm.
Many times God made Himself present to us through you - - your prayers, your calls, your notes, your gifts, your love, and your presence in our lives.
Thank you for staying with us - no matter what!
In Him,
The Tates
"I lift up my eyes to the mountains - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2
We also enjoyed a great morning of worship together in the balcony at church. The sermon was "What To Do When You've Had Enough" - - how appropriate is that?! Through Pastor Dean, we were reminded that God is always enough!
Below are the words from a song we sang on Sunday -Always by Kristian Stanfill:
My foes are many
They rise against me
But I will hold my ground
I will not fear the war
I will not fear the storm
My help is on the way
My help is on the way
Oh, my God
He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear
His promise is true
My God will come through always
Always
Trouble surrounds me
Chaos abounding
My soul will rest in You
I will not fear the war
I will not fear the storm
My help is on the way
My help is on the way
I lift my eyes up
My help comes from the Lord
This Friday, January 25th, will mark the end of Elena's sixth month post transplant.
These six months have been a war, a storm filled with trouble and chaos. We have had enough. But, we know, without a doubt, that His promises are true, He will not leave us, we are not alone, and He is our help! He has proved this over and over to us throughout this storm.
Many times God made Himself present to us through you - - your prayers, your calls, your notes, your gifts, your love, and your presence in our lives.
Thank you for staying with us - no matter what!
In Him,
The Tates
"I lift up my eyes to the mountains - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Moving On
Here we are thirteen days into the new year and we have to admit we are kind of stuck. We don't want to move out of our happy-all-stay-home-together-hibernating mode. Our time together during the holidays was so absolutely wonderful that we are finding it hard to move back into the daily business of coming and going to school (for Liv) and work. What we have decided to do is to simply combine our have to do list with our want to do list and continue to enjoy our lives together.
One of the things on our 'have to do' list was Elena's clinic appointment on Jan. 10th. She had a great visit! Praise God! All of her counts were up and she has been feeling good. The doctors cut her steroid dose in half and will perform another adrenal gland test at her next appointment which is scheduled for Jan, 25th. Please continue to pray for Elena's body to fully recover from the side-effects she is experiencing due to the prolonged use of certain treatment protocols. Please also pray that we can continue to ween Elena off of some of the 13 pills she still takes every day. Taking fewer pills will indicate that Elena's body is getting stronger and stronger; not to mention how happy she will be! She is really tired of pills.
This weekend we also got to celebrate something from our 'want to do' list: Olivia's 11th Birthday Party! She and some friends had a wonderful time sharpening their roller skating skills at Skate Country before returning home for cake and ice cream. There is simply nothing better than watching one of your children celebrate another milestone in their life. We look forward to many, many more!
So as we reluctantly leave behind the peace and tranquility of the past few weeks, we look forward to all of the new experiences that God has planned for us in the future.
"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." - Joseph Campbell
In Him,
The Tates
"Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?" Ecclesiastes 8:7
One of the things on our 'have to do' list was Elena's clinic appointment on Jan. 10th. She had a great visit! Praise God! All of her counts were up and she has been feeling good. The doctors cut her steroid dose in half and will perform another adrenal gland test at her next appointment which is scheduled for Jan, 25th. Please continue to pray for Elena's body to fully recover from the side-effects she is experiencing due to the prolonged use of certain treatment protocols. Please also pray that we can continue to ween Elena off of some of the 13 pills she still takes every day. Taking fewer pills will indicate that Elena's body is getting stronger and stronger; not to mention how happy she will be! She is really tired of pills.
This weekend we also got to celebrate something from our 'want to do' list: Olivia's 11th Birthday Party! She and some friends had a wonderful time sharpening their roller skating skills at Skate Country before returning home for cake and ice cream. There is simply nothing better than watching one of your children celebrate another milestone in their life. We look forward to many, many more!
So as we reluctantly leave behind the peace and tranquility of the past few weeks, we look forward to all of the new experiences that God has planned for us in the future.
"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." - Joseph Campbell
In Him,
The Tates
"Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?" Ecclesiastes 8:7
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Happy New Year!
HAPPY 2013!
We celebrate the start of this new year with joy and hope for the future. We are encouraged by Elena's progress and know that every day brings with it another step in the fulfillment of God's plan for our lives. Each day still has its struggles...questions of why and wanting everything to be normal again...but each day also holds promise and love. We have God's promise that he will never forsake us and a love for each other made possible because He first loved us. We are thankful for each new day given us and grateful for the many blessings continually showered upon us.
Thank you for being a part of our lives and for sharing this journey with us.
We wish each of you a very blessed 2013!
In Him,
The Tates
"We love because He first loved us."
1 John 4:19
We celebrate the start of this new year with joy and hope for the future. We are encouraged by Elena's progress and know that every day brings with it another step in the fulfillment of God's plan for our lives. Each day still has its struggles...questions of why and wanting everything to be normal again...but each day also holds promise and love. We have God's promise that he will never forsake us and a love for each other made possible because He first loved us. We are thankful for each new day given us and grateful for the many blessings continually showered upon us.
Thank you for being a part of our lives and for sharing this journey with us.
We wish each of you a very blessed 2013!
In Him,
The Tates
"We love because He first loved us."
1 John 4:19
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