Great and Not So Great

Since our last post in July, many things have happened.
Some great, some not so great.

The great things have been:
receiving some good news about Elena's test results - her heart, lungs, and thyroid are all working well - huge praise!
great counts for Elena at her August clinic visit - they were the best they have been since transplant - another praise!
hearing the news that Elena does not have to go to the clinic for THREE months! A first in FOUR years! Praise God!

going to the park and pool

back to school shopping

meeting new teachers
going to Louisiana for our niece's wedding

seeing Christy's brother and his family who live in Colorado and
filming a commercial for CURE that will air on 11Alive during the month of September, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

The not so great things have been:
trying to meet the demands of school work and homework
trying to keep up with multiple classes and multiple assignments nightly watching our girls' struggle daily because of the harm caused by Liv's brain surgery and Elena's chemo and radiation
not knowing how to best help our girls learn, retain and process information
feeling overwhelmed because our girls feel that way
feeling helpless because our girls feel that way
the harsh reality that every school year, every transition, every assignment, every test, will be hard for our girls

(pictures of all of this would be bad!)

Once again, we are growing really, really weary of the not so great things. 
We continue to try to choose joy each day, but finding that joy in the midst of the chaos, anger and sadness is hard.

Please continue to pray for us.

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God." Romans 8:26-27

In Him,
The Tates