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Friday, May 30, 2014

Sometimes it's Hard...

... but mostly it's Good!  Friendship... 

I was reminded again this week past what a treasure our friends are.  It was our annual camping trip extraordinaire!  With friends.  5 days.  Fun.  Fellowship.  Delightful Grace Break!

 
Some of my favorite people...
22 years of together, ups and downs, smiles and "frowns",
woven into one big beautiful family.
 
Y.U.C. stands for "You Ugly Camping" - don't ask, long story :-)
but we wouldn't trade a minute of this journey together...
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 


 


 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
The work of friendship in our lives is an undeniable labor of love.  To have kindred spirits who understand your joy and your grief... who get your kind of funny... who welcome you into their messy, crazy lives...
 
that's the love that keeps us going through the valleys,
that puts the smile in our hearts.
 
Praying your weekend finds you all knee-deep in joyful fellowship with one of God's sweetest gifts...
 
Friends!
 

Monday, May 26, 2014

Honoring the Brave...

Today the flags were flying down Dad's street.

 


 
A beautifully poignant reminder of today's solemn celebration.  As the flag flies free in the warm breeze we have only to look to the brave men and women of our armed services to thank, for freedom is never really free...
 
 
 
Graced with Gratitude this day...
 
 

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Promising Clinical Trial for Pancreatic Cancer...

Hope for a Cure... That's what clinical trials are all about.

If you haven't seen the news on MM-398 here's a sneak peak...a letter from Julie Fleshman posted on the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network this past week:

I am pleased to share some good news for the pancreatic cancer community. Today, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced the positive results from its NAPOLI-1 phase III clinical trial. The study involved three participant groups, each made up of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who had been previously treated with gemcitabine (Gemzar®) -based chemotherapy.

Patients were treated with either Merrimack’s drug MM-398 (irinotecan liposome injection), the chemotherapy drug 5-FU and leucovorin (a standard treatment option) or a combination of MM-398 with 5-FU and leucovorin.

This study showed that a combination of MM-398 with 5-FU and leucovorin increased overall survival by nearly two months (6.1 vs. 4.2) compared to those patients treated with 5-FU and leucovorin alone. This represents the median, meaning some patients experienced longer survival, and some shorter. A statistically significant increase in progression-free survival was also observed in this group.

The patient group treated with MM-398 alone had similar results to the group treated with only 5-FU and leucovorin.

We are encouraged by the results of this trial. New developments will eventually lead to greater treatment advances. Last year, Abraxane®, in combination with gemcitabine, proved effective in treating newly diagnosed patients. Now, MM-398 is poised to help those who seek additional options after their initial treatments for metastatic pancreatic cancer. Two new medications in 18 months is a clear sign of the momentum we are gaining in the fight against pancreatic cancer.

Merrimack plans to submit MM-398, to be used in combination with 5-FU and leucovorin, by the end of 2014 for approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). MM-398 is not currently available to patients. We will share more news as we learn of it.

The 417 patients who enrolled in this trial have helped change treatment options for this disease and created a legacy of progress for those yet to be diagnosed. To learn more about pancreatic cancer clinical trials or have a personalized search performed for you or a loved one, please contact our Patient and Liaison Services (PALS) program. We maintain the nation’s most comprehensive pancreatic cancer clinical trials database and do not charge a fee for any of our services. PALS Associates are available at 877-272-6226 and pals@pancan.org, Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 5 p.m., PT.

With hope,

Julie Fleshman
Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA
President and CEO

No, it's not a cure... yet!  But praying with Hope for treatment advancements for all going through the pancreatic cancer journey.

My Love,
               Jane

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Flowers for Mom


 
A day of remembering...
 
 
 
...of grieving still...
 
 
 
... of missing that forever smile...
 
 
 
A day of Sweet Gratitude for the love she lavished on us all...
 
Happy Mother's Day Mom
 
Missing you every single day,
Loving you Always and Forever,
 
     Jane
 

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Life Lessons


For your weekend, dear friends... a favorite reprint from Regina Brett, The Plain Dealer.

Here is one of her most-requested columns... the 45 Lessons Life Taught Me and 5 to Grow On

1.  Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2.  When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3.  Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. 
4.  Don't take yourself so seriously.  No one else does.
5.  Pay off your credit cards every month.
6.  You don't have to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.
7.  Cry with someone.  It's more healing than crying alone.
8.  It's OK to get angry with God.  He can take it.
9.  Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry. 
13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of any eye.  But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties.  Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes.  If you want to be a writer, write.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood.  But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.  Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now.  Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything.  Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.  Your friends will.  Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.  Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms.  They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day.  Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Don't audit life.  Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. 
44. Envy is a waste of time.  You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
47. Take a deep breath.  It calms the mind.
48. If you don't ask, you don't get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

It's All Grace!
Much Love,
            Jane


Saturday, May 3, 2014

Garden Gates Beckon...








 



 
 
 


 


 


 

























A visit to Clark Gardens in Weatherford, Texas to welcome Spring!
 
May your weekend be filled with just such beauty and peace...
Praying you find Garden Gates of wonder to walk right through,
 wherever you might be.
 
In Grace Bowing Thanks,
                       Jane

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Choosing to Walk into the Danger Zone

Hurricane Gale destruction... Terrorist standoff... Avalanche and Flood aftermath... shocking School Shootings... horrific Fiery Infernos...

When everyone else is running the other way... the bravest of the brave choose to stand and face the nightmare and walk straight into the Danger Zone.

Firefighters and Danger.  We know a thing or two about these.  Our Number #1 son wears the gear proudly and has shared stories of fearsome fires that sorely tests the faith of this faint-hearted mother...


 
My heart spills with love and deep gratitude for the willing sacrifice that Travis and so many of these brave men and women make to protect us from the most grievous of dangers. 
 
And as our family gathered together this Easter past, a realization bloomed slow and sure as I watched our lovely daughter and her husband walk out the call God has placed on their lives... the Danger Zone is not reserved alone for the spectacularly dramatic explosions in our lives.   As Katie and Jordan sweetly tended to the needs of a child that is not their own... I saw a willing sacrifice to walk straight into the Danger Zone, wrecking the heart, quietly and completely, with a powerful love brave enough to face whatever nightmares might come ...
 
 
 
Katie and Jordan's Fostering Journey has been filled with moments of great hilarity, sincere gratitude and on-your-knees-pleading-for-strength to get through...  They could start their own blog if they had but time!  I have found great delight in watching  the children placed in their care bloom with life and trust and laughter and love... the brothers that arrived last November, burned and hurting, both physically and emotionally, have begun the healing process and were recently placed with a trusted family member...  in their wake a small, but feisty little 9-month old girl took up residence in their homes and hearts, her craving love and attention all but drowning out the missing of those precious boys....
 
... and so it goes in the fostering world, the loving and the leaving... a bittersweet parting that is the sacrifice Katie and Jordan have signed up for... the heartache of falling in love and letting go... to protect these little ones, it is a safe-keeping of the most fragile kind in a very real Danger Zone.
 
Danger Zones.  Be it a very physical wounding or a deeply carved emotional grieving ... I've learned that we are all stronger than we think we are. 
 
When mom was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer, she fell head-first into the most dangerous of Danger Zones.  In the beginning she questioned her ability to walk the road laid out before her.   For her, the Danger was both physical and emotional.  There was fear.  There were so many tears.  There was pain.  There was sickness.  Her prayers were for the strength to maneuver the journey with Grace and Dignity.  God answered completely.  Mom learned to her own amazement that she was much, much stronger than she ever thought she was...  And she would tell you that you are too... Don't ever give up on living your life's story... you are so much stronger than you think you are... 
 
I've also been on the other side of the life-lens and felt the searing pain of watching my mom consumed by the nightmare of this terminal cancer.   Perhaps you are there right now... it is a special kind of agony caring for a loved one that cannot be healed... so many times I wanted to do nothing more than run as far from the pain and hopelessness as I could... it simply hurt too much....
 
And yet, I've learned that what applied to mom, applied equally to me... and to Dad... and our friends and family... we are so much stronger than we think we are.  When every instinct in us urged distance from the pain, a wall against the heartache... we were able to stand together, face the foe and run straight into the Danger Zone for mom... we were all so much stronger than we ever thought we were...
 
all because of Love. 
 
It is a sacrificial gift to stand in the gap for those we love... to wade into the muck and mayhem of cancer treatment... to clean up the vomit... wipe the brow... shoulder the despair when the crown of hair falls loose to the pillow... wipe the tears...  prepare the meals to tempt the listless... drive to appointments and wait endless hours in cold, sterile rooms so they won't have to wait alone... apply balm to throbbing mouth sores and lotion to swollen feet... to smile into the fear... to offer grace... to just be there...
 
Choosing to Walk Straight into the Danger Zone.  For Love.
 
This is what the bravest of the brave can do. 
 
"The Lord God is my Strength,
my personal bravery, and my invincible army;
He makes my feet like hinds' feet
and will make me to walk (not to stand still in terror, but to walk)
and make (spiritual) progress upon my high places
(of trouble, suffering or responsibility)!"
                                        ~ Habakkuk 3:18-19 (the Amplified Bible)