Goodbye 2011 and Hello 2012!

I can’t believe Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas has come and gone since the last time I blogged.  Oh and our 8 year anniversary.  Yes 8 years!  I can’t believe I’ve been married to my best friend for 8 years already.  It feels like just yesterday I was walking down the aisle.   And I’m not sure I would have called him my best friend all those 8 years.  Lol  Yes there’s no secrets that we had our trials in our marriage but we both stuck it out and were committed to working through all of the crap and we are so thankful we did.  Because if you ask me we are crazy about each other now. J  And coocoo in love. J

Tomorrow will be 6 months since Justin had his surgery at Moffitt.  I can’t believe 6 months ago tonight we were heading to bed in fear of the unknown and what life was about to hand us.  I feel like we were somewhat naive little kids without a clue as to what we were about to face.  Yet still very scared of what the future held.  6 months ago tonight we were heading to bed ready to face one of our biggest challenges in life thus far.  However tonight, 6 months later, we are heading to bed with the security that God brought us through and stood by us through it all.  He carried us when neither of us had the strength.  He was faithful as always. 

Justin is doing great.  It’s been a little over 8 weeks since he quit Interferon.  He is feeling much better.   Some of his side effects have lingered.  He is still losing hair.  It took a toll on us both emotionally.  And he still isn’t feeling 100% yet.  They have done blood work on him thinking it was his thyroid but it wasn’t.  There’s not much more they can do until he has his next scans on January 12^th.   We both still feel very strongly that quitting Interferon was the best decision.   Nobody can fully understand the effects of it until they’ve been through it.  And even I being by his side can’t fully understand what he went through.  What I saw with my eyes though it was brutal. 

The kids are doing great.  Jayden was struggling in school and his behavior improved tremendously once Justin quit the treatment.  We never realized how much it was effecting the kids that daddy was sick.  But they are doing much better.  Looking back I have no idea how we survived financially other than God.  I can’t tell you the amount of people he placed in our life to bless us.  I still look back in awe of his faithfulness even in the finances when it seemed impossible.  Justins business has continued to flourish and God has blessed us with a great employee who has done an amazing job at running the business for Justin. 

I feel so blessed by the amount of quality time that God gave Justin and I together the last 6 months.  We have spent almost every single day together majority of the day.  We do just about everything together.  God took a very challenging trial in our life to not only grow us closer to him individually but also as a couple.  We set our alarm every morning to have an intimate time together doing devotions and praying as a couple.  We strive to have him the center of our marriage and the center of our home.   I can’t say the road was easy.   I can’t say we kept our eyes on him through it all.  I can’t say we didn’t doubt him and weren’t angry with him at times.  But I can say that looking back God was in the center of it all and he never let us go.  He was faithful and loved us through it all.   

Justin is still getting his vitamin infusions and he goes back January 12^th for a PET scan.  Yes there’s still fear.  Fear that the cancer will have come back.  Justin made a comment to me this past month that this could be his last Christmas with us.  I have peace that God has removed his cancer from his body FOREVER!  But I know Justin still struggles with it.  He still looks at his kids and thinks that he won’t see them grow up.  But I continue to remind him that we have to look at how faithful God has been up until this point.  He isn’t going to fail us now.    And even though much good came out of the last 6 months we are both looking forward to saying goodbye to 2011 and Hello to a happy and healthy 2012!   Please keep us in your prayers for his PET scan on January 12^th.  We love you all and Happy New Year!!!

Good Bye Interferon!!!

So a lot has happened since the last time I updated my blog.  Hope had another gymnastics meet in Lakeland and did awesome!

We went to a Bucs game.  We were given free ticket with awesome seats and front row parking so we didn’t have to walk too far. 

We’ve been to one of my best friend’s wedding.  What a gorgeous bride she was and a beautiful wedding.

And we’ve decided to quit Interferon!  Justin simply just had enough!  It’s been a rough road.  He’s done pretty amazing I think.  But after much prayer, research, and meeting with his oncologist we have chosen to end this treatment known as HELL in a shot. 

My last post I let you know that they cut Justin’s dosage in half.  It was pretty good for the first few days.  We had high hopes.  But then after it started to get back into his system the half dose was nearly as bad as the full dose.   All his symptoms came back full force and he was back to being bed ridden and miserable.  He put on a good front to people who came by the house or called him.  But it was hard.  Something I’d never wish upon someone.    Many nights we wouldn’t even talk.  He was too fatigue to even carry on a conversation with me.  The kids knew to leave daddy alone and not bother him.   He often felt as though he was having a heart attack and his whole body would shake.   I don’t think he was depressed but then again who wouldn’t be if you were cramped up in a house for 8 weeks feeling absolutely miserable.   I want to say that the kids weren’t affected but I honestly think they were.  We started having problems with one of our precious kids at school and I can’t help but think that daddy being sick was affecting his behavior and actions.  I tried really hard to not only be a mommy and wife but also to be a “nurse”, “a daddy”, and many other roles that I had to take on.  Some days were good and I was strong.   Other days I would just cry and be angry at what was going on.   But through it all I think Justin and I handled the situation pretty good.   But it was only because of the strength from our heavenly father.   Some days it was a simple verse in the bible that would keep me going.    Other days it was a listening ear of a friend or family member.  My family went above and beyond at doing everything possible to make our life easy whether it was taking the kids, feeding us dinner, helping with Justin’s business or simply being an encouragement. 

But after a rough day, Justin sent me an email.  He was too fatigue to talk with me.   He said something very short and simple but basically that he had given it his best effort and he felt that this drug was only going to make matters worse if he continued for the whole year.  And that he needed my support with his decision to quit.  That I would stand behind him 110% percent.    So with that being said I said ok.  With the exception that he meets with his oncologist to let him know before he quits.  

So yesterday we were back at Moffitt to meet with his oncologist.  She basically gave him kudos for the 2 months he stuck with it.  She said majority of her patients don’t finish this treatment because it’s so brutal.  She herself isn’t a fan of Interferon because of how brutal it is and was proud of him for what he did do.   She said the studies that have been done with Interferon have been anyone whose taken it for one day or up to a year.  So basically there is no specific study that says taking it for a year is more beneficial than the two months he took it.  I honestly felt at peace leaving the appointment yesterday that she was completely supportive of Justin and his decision to quit.   

So the plan now for Justin is continue to get his weekly vitamin infusions.  Continue to make lifestyle changes to take care of our bodies.  All of which include covering up in the sun, exercising, and making healthy food choices.   And lastly we will be back at Moffitt every 3 months for checkups and pet scans.  His next appointment at Moffitt is the beginning of November with the dermatologist and then in January he has his first pet scan.  The doctor did say it will be 4-6 weeks before he starts to feel better and back to normal.

Today we are rejoicing.  We are closing a chapter of our lives that we both believe will not ever have to be reopened.  We are choosing to have faith that God has taken his Melanoma out of his body to NEVER return.   A sweet lady in my bible study group shared a bible verse with me last week.  It was “Nahum 1:9 What do you plot against the Lord, he will make a complete end; affliction (pain/suffering) will not rise up a second time. “   So we are standing firm that the Melanoma will not rise up a second time.  

So goodbye Interferon!!!!  You will NOT be missed!!!

And lastly I can’t even begin to express my gratitude to each and every one of you that have touched our lives the last 5 months during this trial in our life.  Tears come to my eyes as I think of how much we were blessed in the mist of the storm.  The prayers, words of encouragement, cards, money, food, donations, gifts, time, and service that has been given to us these last 5 months will never be forgotten.  I journaled every bit of it and want you to know how much you touched our lives.  And my prayer now would be that God would bless you beyond your imagination.   I love you my friend.

Hopes 2nd Gymnastics Competition

This past weekend Hope had her 2nd Gymnastics Competition in Daytona Beach.   We originally were going to make a family weekend trip out of it but since daddy was sick and couldn't go, it ended up being just Hope and I.  We left early on Saturday morning and drove back the same day.  It was a long day but a fun time together.

The competitions are usually two day events that are broken up by level and than age.  So Hope is always competing with her same level girls as well as her age.  There were 8 teams that were participating at this particular time. 

Hopes team "LaFleurs"!

She competing beam first, than floor, vault and lastly bars.  I was only able to get pictures of floor.  The others were too far away for my cheap camera to get a good shot of.   Here are a few pictures of her during her floor routine.  

She was so proud of herself and so was mommy! 

After she competes which usually last about 2 hours they have awards.  The judges at this event were extremely picky and scored very hard at this competition.  So even though her overall score wasn't as good as her first competition she still managed to pull 5th place on vault and 6th place on bars. I was so proud of her!  Here she is getting her vault award.

And here she is getting her bars award.

Hope Maria Newton did great!  Mommy and Daddy are so proud of her!  She has worked so hard and loves doing gymnastics.  One last salute before we hopped in the car for our 3 hour drive home.

Justin has had a couple really good days.  Last Tuesday we had an appointment with the Oncologist at Moffitt.  Justin went in with the hopes of talking the doctor out of doing this treatment so that he could quit it all together.  Its been really rough on him and the side effects haven't given him any type of relief.  After 3 weeks of feeling miserable, hardly being able to breathe, not being able to leave the house, feeling nauseous, fatigue, short temper, sore all over, loosing over 20lbs,  itchy and swollen in the injection site, bleeding gums, and overall feeling like hell he was done!  And this is even WITH getting the vitamin injections twice a week.  So he was planning to go and tell the Oncologist that he was done with the Interferon and was quitting.  Well that's not quite how it went.  She didn't let him off the hook that easy.  After listening to how he was feeling and than reviewing his lab results she told him that first he needed to take a week of.  His labs came back low which means his white and red blood cells were way under so they had him take a week off from the Interferon in hopes that his counts will go back up.  So since he didn't get an Interferon shot last week; by Sunday he was feeling good.  And by Monday (yesterday) he was able to go back to work and work a full 10 hour day.  Its been so nice to have my husband back to normal and feeling good.  It makes us all happy inside. :) 
He had his labs done again yesterday and assuming his counts are back up than he'll start his Interferon shot again tomorrow but they are going to cut the dose in half and hope that his side effects are not quite as bad.  We both are dreading tomorrow.  Its been rough on the treatment and having him feel good the last few days has been so nice.  But we are praying that half the dose will be more tolerable.  And if not than we will re-evaluate it again. 
Also some of you heard that when we saw the Oncologist last week that they noticed a dark spot on his skin graft that they were concerned about being Melanoma.  They decided to biopsy it on the spot.  Justin was NOT the least bit happy about them re cutting on his skin graft.  But the good news is everything came back clear and it wasn't anything to be concerned about.
Thank you for the prayers.  Its been a struggle.  A struggle that we both feel like giving up on and calling it quits.  Life is so much better without Interferon.  But we don't feel God telling us yet to quit but to keep going.  So until he tells us otherwise we will continue.   I told Justin last week.  As much as I want to quit this all together.  I don't feel that God has taught us yet what he wants us to learn.  I'm not sure what that is but I feel that God has a purpose in all of this.  He is stretching us to new levels in our faith and walk with him.  And as hard as this road is I trust that he is going to bring us out stronger at the end of it.   God has continued to provide for us and I thank each one of you that he has used to help us.  Justin made a comment to me last week after another amazing God story.  He said "Well at least I know I'm not going to die through this"  And my reply was "Why do you say that?"  And he said "Because he has shown us too many God stories that I know he'll want me to be able to share with others".  So we are looking forward to the day that he is healed and we can be a witness to someone else because of how amazing our God is! 
Rom 5:3-5 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Please Pray for a Clear Decision

Sorry I haven’t updated recently.  It takes a lot of time to update the blog and unfortunately “time” is something I’ve been lacking lately.  I feel like I’m a single parent and have a whole new respect for those women out there raising their kids alone.  (Other than I don’t get the “time off” when they are visiting the other parents house. J )  However I’ve had “time off” when they are visiting grandma and grandpa’s house. J  Thanks to them I’ve been able to keep somewhat “sane” during all this.  If it wasn’t for all their help I probably would have gone psycho by now. Lol  

Justin has been on the Interferon for about 3.5 weeks now.  He hates every minute of it!  I think we both went into this blinded and not fully understanding what this drug does and the awful side effects.  Thank you Jesus he hasn’t really been throwing up but has been nauseous.  One of the most frustrating things is he says he wants something to eat so I walk to the kitchen to make it and by the time I finish making it and bring it to him he’s already too nauseous to eat it.  Very frustrating on my end but I try to just smile and say okay baby.  J  He is down about 22pounds since he started 3.5 weeks ago and I’m doing everything I can to fatten him up and keep him from losing weight so rapidly.  He is drinking lots of Boost drinks to help with that.  Fatigue is another big side effect.  He basically hasn’t left the couch since he has started.  A few times he tried to get out of the house but realized that it wasn’t a smart thing to do and since then has basically been just lying around.  Walking to the mailbox is like running a marathon and having a simple conversation with me is like running a mile per Justin.  Yes, I did say just talking takes more energy than he has at times.  He is very short of breath and breathes extremely hard at times.  He says it feels like he’s breathing under water sometimes and can’t get enough oxygen.   Some of the other side effects have been itchy body, cold feet, extremely sore neck and back, hot/cold chills, and not so pleasant moods/emotions are all just some of the side effects he’s been experiencing.

And then there’s my side effects……. Sometimes I think mine are worse than his and I don’t even have an excuse for them.lol  Lots and lots of tears and emotions, exhaustion, face breaking out like I’m 13 years old again and gaining weight because there is no time or energy for me anymore.  Lol We are basically a wreck over here in the Newton Household. Hahaha  

But God’s grace is sufficient and through all of this he has continued to send people and resources our way to bless us beyond our imagination.  I keep thinking, “there’s no way we can be blessed any more than this, and then God does something else amazing.” J   Other than individual people sending encouragement and support our way we’ve also been given more fundraisers for Justin.  One of the more recent fundraiser was my sweet bible study ladies planned a bunko night to raise money for Justin.  Last week God had a huge tree fall down at one of his commercial properties.  Justin was able to sit on his couch and arrange employees to get that tree cut down and hauled away.   I honestly believe God had that tree fall over because he knew we were short some money and he provided it that way.  So through the storm God is continuing to show us his face and provide for us when it seems impossible.   

Justin started getting the vitamin IV twice a week now because once a week just wasn’t doing it.   So even though his side effects have been rough we know that this vitamin IV has helped him cope with it. 

But we are asking for continued prayer.  Prayer that God would give us a clear answer.  We go back to Moffitt tomorrow to see his Oncologist to reevaluate everything.  First of all they want to discuss the Vitamin IV and what exactly is in it because they aren’t sure he should be getting it.  Secondly they want to see him because of his breathing.  I guess that’s not a normal side effect but yet it’s a huge side effect of Justin’s so they want to check him out because of that.  And thirdly Justin is struggling with it all.  He is sick of feeling miserable and a year of this seems unbearable to think about.  He doesn’t understand if they are just doing this to build his immune system to fight off future reoccurrences of the cancer than why he can’t have his immune system built strictly the holistic way.   So basically he wants to quit Interferon.   And only be treated through the holistic doctor and then trust God for his future.   We aren’t sure what the right answer is.   It’s easy for me or anyone else to say “suck it up” but none of us truly understand what Justin is experiencing in his body and mind right now.   So that is why we are asking for continued prayer that God would give us a clear answer tomorrow after we  meet with the Oncologist of what we should be doing. 

I will try to give you an update sooner than later if anything changes.  Thank you for the continued support, encouragement, love and prayers. 

2nd Fundraising Garage Sale

Last weekend we had another very successful garage sale.  Thank you so much to everyone that donated and helped out.  My parents did so much work!  They deserve an extra special thank you!

Here is a picture of Hope and Jayden helping run the sale.  Hope was making duct tape bows to sell and help raise money for her daddy. 

Another big special thank you to my sister Chelsy and her husbnad Jay.  They helped also so so much with the sale.  They live right next door so unfortunately they couldn't get out of it. lol  And sweet Ella was such a good girl like always.  She loves her uncle Justin too! 

And heres my sweet hubby having his share of the sale in the heat.

So all in all it was another very successful sale!  Thank you Jesus!  But the most exciting thing happened when I got home that night and read on facebook that my sweet cousin, Amy, in Indiana and her two kids, John and Kate, had a garage sale also in Indiana that day to help raise money for Justin.  You have no idea  how much that touched us.  Unfortunately we aren't as close as we'd love to be with them just because they live so far away.  We basically keep in contact through Facebook.  I think she has only  meant Justin once on a trip here to Florida a few years back.  So all that to say that she barely even knows Justin but her big, sweet, heart still took a full saturday of her own time and many hours before prepping to get ready for the sale.  All for Justin so that she could send us a check to help out.  You just have no idea how much that touched us!  Thank you so much Amy, John and Kate!  We love you!    

       

Another picture of them in their clean garage!

And now the update on Justin.  This past Wednesday, August 31st, he had another surgery at Moffit to remove two more spots that they are concerned about being Melanoma.  We get the results for those next week.  And than after the surgery he had his first shot of Interferon.  So the poor guy had a rough day.  But rough doesn't even begin to explain how he felt once the Interferon hit him about 6 hours after the shot on Wednesday.  It was a hard night Wednesday night.  I got only 2.5 hours of sleep and I think Justin got even less than that.  I think he experienced every side effect possible for the drug. :(  Around 2am in the middle of the night we were both feeling that this treatment might not work and that we may choose to quit. 

The next morning we had an appointment with Dr. Young, the holistic doctor.  We basically were going there to beg for his help and see if he had any answers for us on what we could do to help relieve Justins side effects.  He told us that he has only had 2 people he knows that have made it through the whole treatment of Interferon because its such a beast.  (At that point we were NOT going to be #3 either) But he said that he could give Justin an IV drip for about an hour of nutrition and vitamins and fluid; all stuff that would help relieve some of his symptoms.  At this point we were willing to do anything.  They hooked him up and we sat and waited.  Let me tell you that Dr. Youngs IV is heaven sent!  It helped Justin soooo much!  He was able to eat a little and keep it down and able to carry on a conversation.  His symptoms became manageable!  Dont get me wrong he has still been sick, but its been a manageable sick.  In other words he doesn't think he's going to die.  And we also feel confident now that we will be able to carry on with his year treatment if we can continue to get the IV from Dr. Young.  Now unfortunately its another expense that is costly.  Dr. Young recommends getting his IV drip 3 times a week; but we are going to try to do it once a week.  Most likely the same day he gets his Interferon shot to help offset the terrible side effects that first day or two.  And let me tell you another God story!  Justin had the miracle IV drip at Dr. Youngs office on Thursday, another expense that we weren't expecting but went ahead with it anyways.  And that afternoon a dear friend of ours sent a card with cash in it.  The amount of the IV treatment that he received earlier that day!  God is good!

Justins eating a little bit here and there and will have some really good moments and than bad ones also.  I asked him earlier what he feels like and he says it feels like I have a really bad case of the flu.  His tummy is nausious and his body aches something terrible.  I've been giving him neck massages but his younger brother Jameson came to his rescue this morning and gave him a long massage.  Thank you so much Jameson!

But lifes exciting. (Hardly! lol)  He moves from the recliner, to the couch, to the bed, and back again.  We are anxiously waiting each new day hoping that it will bring a little bit more relief....at least until Wednesday when he has his next shot. :(

I think one of the hardest things about Justin being sick is that he's going to be missing out on lots of family activities.  Hope had parents night at gymnastics last night.  She did so great!  But after her second routine she ran over to me in the stands and whispered "I wish daddy was here to see me." :(  And tonight we celebrated my 30th birthday at my moms house (even though my birthday isn't for another 10 days).  It was hard not having my best friend, my hubby, at my birthday dinner.  :(  Something I never want to experience again.  But I made it through the night with only one break down in tears. :/

All in all life sucks just about now.  I'm not going to lie.  I'm struggling a lot.  I'm selfishly mad and angry that I have to go through this with my husband at such a young age.  I wish we were going to Labor day parties or trips this weekend instead.  I'm upset that I know the birthday money I got tonight will be going towards something for this family to stay afloat or towards a treatment for Justin; and not a new outfit.  But all these feelings are selfish of me.  I am so incrediablly blessed to even have such an amazing husband who loves me so much to be able to share this trial with him.  I'm so blessed to have such an amazing support system from family, to friends, to even strangers that have touched our lives.  I'm blessed to have Justin here today and 3 healthy precious beautiful kids.  I'm blessed to have a home to live in and not out on the streets this week when its been so rainy and gloomy.  And i'm blessed to have eternity!  And thats what I have to choose to keep refocusing my thoughts on!  So today I thank him for this!

Happy Labor Day weekend!

xoxoxoxoxo 

Hope and Jaydens First Day of School-August 22, 2011

Today was Jaydens first day of Kindergarten and Hopes first day of 2nd grade.  They both were so excited. and we even got out of the house on time to get a quick family picture.

Here's Jayden walking to his classroom with his big boy Hurley backpack from his grandma.

Here he is getting ready to walk into the hallway of where his classroom is.  This hallway brought back memories for Justin and I since we both went to school at Keswick and spent many years in these hallways walking in and out of our classrooms.   

We feel so blessed to be able to send Jayden to Keswick this year.  Thanks to a scholarship from Jesus!

Here is a picture of Jayden with his Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Martel.  She is known as the M&M teacher.  Her whole room is decorated in M&M's and if they are good at the end of the day they get one or two pieces. :)  I"m anxious to see if that's enough to motivate Jayden to be on his best behavior all day. :)

He felt like such a big boy. 

And another picture of him sitting at his desk.  He is the most handsome Kindergartener I know. :)

And one more snapshot with daddy before we tearfully had to say goodbye.

Next we were off to take Hope to school at Seminole Elementary.  Here she is with mommy outside of her 2nd grade classroom!

Hopes is excited to have her friend Reagan in her class this year.

My sweet girl at her desk getting ready for the day.  And she's the most gorgeous 2nd grader I know. :)

And one last snapshot with her teacher, Mrs. Swartz, before I had to kiss her goodbye also.

And than mommy and Keegan were all by ourselves:(  We thought about them all day!  I miss my babies so much and can't believe how fast they are growing up.  I wish time would slow down. 

When I picked them up they were so excited to tell me all about their day.  They both had a great time and can't wait to go back tomorrow!

P.S. Jayden got M&M's today! :)

This past weekend was our first fundraising garage sale for Justin.  And all I can say is Wow!  God continues to amaze me!   As you know we have been raising money for Justin's treatment that he starts in the next couple weeks.  It will be a  years worth of treatment and the doctor said its pretty much guaranteed that he won't be able to work the first 2 months and than it depends on each person situation if he'll be able to work the last 10 months.  God has provided a huge support for the medical bills but as you know its not just the medical bills that we are worried about but also since Justin is the primary income of the family and runs his own business if he doesn't work than we don't get paid.  And than the gas we'll be spending driving back and forth to Moffit and so on.  So financially its been a little scary and that's why my sweet family decided to plan this garage sale for us to help try to take some of the burden off of us.  My family worked so incredibly hard passing the word out to get donations for the garage sale, picking items up from peoples houses, hours and hours of pricing all the items, advertising, putting up large tarps, getting set up and running it.  I know some of you  may think putting this together was easy but it was FAR from that.  My family spent so much time selflessly doing this for us and we appreciate it so much! You will see below in the pictures the large tarp that my step dad and brother in law spent hours putting up so that we could stay out of the sun during the sale.

 

And than look at how much stuff we had!!!  Thank you to each and every one of you who donated stuff for us.  We appreciate it so much and are so grateful for it.

My parents stored all this stuff in their house.  Could you imagine living for weeks with all this STUFF in your house!  That in itself would be enough to put me over the edge! lol

God continues to amaze us.  He sent so so so many special people to the sale.  Some friends I haven't seen in years or hardly even knew came by to support us.  People who I don't even know but know our families came by to show their support to us.  Strangers read the ad in the paper and saw that it was a charity garage sale for a Melanoma patient so they came by to support us.  One lady who was a stranger came by not to buy anything but to give us $100 dollars!  I spoke to many special people that day all sharing their love and support and stories about their loved ones who dealt with cancer.  I only had one lady who told me that Melanoma was the #1 cancer that causes deaths.  I wanted to say a few not so kind words back to her but I held it together and politely thanked her for coming by.  Does she not realize I already knew that! 

My family and I had a goal in mind of what we wanted to make at the garage sale.  Yes it was a pretty high goal but we knew God was faithful and could help us reach our goal.  Let me tell you that God not only gave us our goal by the end of the first day but by the end of the second day he DOUBLED our goal!  Isn't he awesome!  And it was all "Him" because when we went to pick up the garage sale signs at the end of the day on Saturday we noticed that 5 out of the 7 signs had been purposefully taken out of the ground and laid upside down so that no one could see them.  Satan wanted the sale to be unsuccessful and didn't want us to be able to give God the glory that day but our Almighty God shined through once again!!!  So all of you who supported us we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!  And a special thanks to my family because this wouldnt' have been possible without you.  And lastly our Heavenly Father who blessed it beyond our highest expectations!  And those who couldn't support us this past time but still want to we are taking donations still for the next sale which will be August 26th and 27th.  Most likely this will be our last sale.  So clean out your houses and support my sweet husband.  And if you have nothing to donate we'd love for you to come by.  We had so many cool stuff at the last sale! 

On another note some of you have asked about last weeks appointments to the holistic doctor and than at Moffit.  Last Tuesday we meant with Doctor John Young who is a holistic MD and a friend of Justin's.  He took a trip with him years ago to Peru.  He is a strong believer and Justin really respects this man.   We explained to him Justin's situation.  His first response was "I don't know if you will be able to handle the Interferon, its a beast!"  And than he told us that he could give Justin a more natural treatment without all the harsh side effects and Justin would feel great and still be able to work.  He also explained to us how important our diet is and what we put into our bodies.  This wasn't the first time we heard this.  We've been reading and doing research ourselves about diets and eating clean.  If I only followed through with the way my mom raised us we'd be fine. lol  I was raised on all organic vegan foods.  But life gets ahead of us and I HATE cooking so I typically went for what was fast and easy to feed my family.  We are trying really hard as a whole family to change those habits not only in ourselves but also our kids.  But anyhow we left Dr. Young's appointment feeling great.  For once we had a positive outlook on Justin's situation and instead of leaving the appointment all down and depressed, (which is typically how we leave Moffits appointments) we were encouraged and felt that we were going to go with Dr. Young's treatment instead. 

Than on Thursday of last week Justin had a full day of appointments over at Moffit.  He had MRI's, labs, CT Scans and than an appointment with the Oncologist.  Praise report is that all of Justin's scans came back clear.  No cancer is shown right now in his brain or internal organs.  Another huge praise report!  But the Oncologist still Strongly encourages us to still do the years worth of Interferon.  I asked her what his prognosis is if he doesn't do it.  She said well if he chose to not do Interferon or no treatment at all, and if another Melanoma spot popped back up (which is pretty much guaranteed, its just a matter of when),  he would automatically be considered stage 4 and with no treatment would be given about 5 months!  Okay, well that wasn't quite the answer I was looking to hear.  So with that being said we WILL be doing the Interferon treatment over at Moffit and we WILL be getting routine check ups, and we WILL be doing treatment every single time another spot comes up because 5 months is NOT an option!!!

So with that being said we told the Oncologist we have chosen to move forward with the years worth of Interferon.  Now there are 2 types of Interferon.  Option A: would be to have injections 5 days a week over at Moffit for 4 hours a day for the first 2 months and than 3 times a week for the last 10 months.  All insurance companies cover this one.  Option B: would be to have an injection ONCE a week for the full 12 months and can be given at home yourself and only visiting Moffit once a week for labs or checkups. But not all insurance companies cover that one.  They both have the same side effects and do the same thing.  So the next prayer request is that insurance will cover the Option B plan.  Because driving over there once a week sounds much more appealing than 5 days a week.  We are waiting to hear back from Moffit which one they cover and when the medicine comes in.  Once it comes in he will start the treatment.  We are thinking about August 31st possibly.  But we will keep you updated once we hear.

Lots of information that I'm trying to explain in a Cliff note way.  But I know many of you have been asking so I wanted to share.  Sorry for not getting this out sooner.  In all honestly I don't like talking about it.  It takes a lot to even write it all out because it brings up uneasy feelings.  Its easier to just ignore it, not talk about it, and hope that it doesn't happen.  But it is happening and we have to move forward with it.  Some of you are asking how Justin is doing.  He is doing good.  He feels good and is having a hard time accepting that he'll be feeling like crap for the next year, but he knows it has to be done. His mind though right now is swamped with what he has to get done with his business before he starts treatment.  He has worked so incredibly hard at building JB Lawns to be very successful and support his family so that I can stay home with the kids.  I know its scary to think that it could possibly fall apart this next year.  But we are trusting that God will not let that happen and that his customers will be understanding. 

Thank you again for all the prayers and support.  You all mean so much to us and have touched our lives.  If theres one thing I've been learning through this all is to not be so selfish.  I never thought of myself as a selfish person but to see peoples selfless actions and doings these last few months has really made me think that I could do a better job.  Many of you we hardly know and than many of you we know so well but all of you have touched our lives because of your unselfish giving and support.  I hope that I can do the same in return to someone elses life. 

XOXOXOXO

Garage Sale this week!

Yesterday Justin had a follow up appointment on his skin graft.  The doctor said its healing great!  We are both very pleased with how great it’s healing and the work that the plastic surgeon did.  While we were at the appointment he told us that he received all the records from Justin’s dermatologist.  After looking over Justin’s paperwork the doctor noticed that Justin has about 3 to 4 more spots that are pre-melanoma spots that should've been removed a couple years ago.  So he will be scheduled to have those removed at Moffit as well soon.  He then asked us when we were going back to the Oncologist and stressed to us again how much he Highly recommends that we follow through with the year treatment for Justin.  Being a stage 3 Melanoma that Justin has, we are simply lucky according to the doctor that it’s not in his lymph nodes; but in our eyes we are blessed. :) 
Justin’s next appointment is with a local MD this Tuesday.  He has his doctorate in the medical field but is also a naturalist/holistic doctor.  So he knows the best of both sides.  We are excited to be able to meet with him since he has been highly recommended by a few people and share Justin’s situation. Not only that but God has opened the door for us to be able to see him this Tuesday when his next new patient appointment wasn't until October 20th!  Another awesome "God thing".  
And then also this Thursday, August 11th, is when we go back to the Oncologist at Moffit.  Our first appointment starts at 12:15pm that day and the last one starts at 4pm.  We have 4 or 5 appointments back to back that day.  So it will be a long day for us.  He will have more blood work done, an MRI of his skull, and a full body Scan from the top of his head to his pelvic bone.  These will be done to see if the Melanoma has spread to any of his internal organs.  We have a pretty high chance that they have not spread yet but it’s still a little scary to think that there’s still a possibility.  And unfortunately at the end of the day there is still always microscopic cells that even our advanced technology can't detect.   The last appointment on Thursday will be with the oncologist to discuss the treatment and letting her know what we have decided.  Whether to start the year of Interferon or choose not to.  We are swaying much more to go with the year treatment.  However it’s hard to choose to do something that is going to make you miserable for the next year when he's feeling great right now.  But we both feel that God is asking him to go with the treatment so we plan on choosing to. 
We sat the kids both down on Friday night to explain to them a little more in detail what is going on.  We've tried to keep them somewhat in the dark with all this so that they can continue to live a carefree childhood as they should be able to do with no worries.  But with all the emotions that they've seen us go through; more so mommies emotions lol; and visitors we've had to come pray, and doctor visits we've had they've been asking lots of questions.  So we thought it was only fair to share with them what is going on and what daddy will be going through the next year.  We did choose to leave out the word "cancer" for now and let them know that even though daddy will be very very sick for the next year that he will be okay in the end. 
It’s been a different summer, I’m sad to see the kids going back to school in two weeks.  The guilty mom syndrome makes me feel that I didn't get to spend much time with the kids this summer or do anything extra special or take a vacation with them.  It’s been a summer with lots of tears, many trips to Moffit, lots of research from the internet to books I’m reading, lots of learning, lots of cleaning to get ready for a garage sale, lots of prep work in the house, lots of prayers, many special angels visiting the house and a diet change in the family (learning to feed our bodies foods that prevent cancer and aren't toxic).   But most importantly we've seen Lots of God through all this.  And that has been our only hope at times when it feels so dark.
Lastly I want to let you know that we are having the first garage sale this Friday and Saturday, August 12^th and August 13^th, at my mom’s house.  My whole family has worked so hard to get this garage sale together in hopes to raise a lot of money to help possibly make a dent in the medical bills that are continuing to come in as well as the very expensive treatment Justin will have this next year.  Many of you have donated items for this sale and we greatly appreciate it.  We are still taking donations this whole week and you can drop them off at my mom’s house.  Please email me at anewton81@yahoo.com if you need her address.  We hope to have at least 1 or 2 more sales over the next couple months.