that Trey was diagnosed with cancer.  I’ve learned quite a few things in that time period.  If  you’d like me to expand on any of them, just ask.  Please make sure to check out the links as well.

1.  I very well may lose my son.

2.  I haven’t yet.

3.  Cancer really is inconvenient.

4.  Stress is a persistent sneaky bastard.

5.  I feel most truly alive when I love/bless others.

6.  Your relationships change.

7.  Some people draw nearer to you.

8.  Some people will leave you.

9.  Hurt is universal.

10. Comfort, true comfort, is rare and most always misunderstood.

11. Days go by like years, years go by like days (borrowed from Drew Slaugenhaupt).

12. Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it (borrowed from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off).

13. I covet people with steady income more than healthy children (I need to look at this more closely).

14. Prayer is a continuing enigma and more vital than I’d ever imagined.

15. A strong marriage is vital to surviving times of tragedy.

16. It is daunting but an honor and blessing to be allowed to suffer.

17. Fear is a debilitating and crippling (yet not undefeatable) foe.

18. Sleep is fickle, rest is rare.

19.  There are people who God will use to love you in the rarest of places you thought you’d never go or be.

20. You have more reserve (emotional, mental, physical) than you could have ever imagined.

21.  God will use the very worst of circumstances to spread His Love and Grace).

22. The goal of the Full Armor of God is simply to stand, not win, just stand.

23. People don’t “lose” their battle with cancer when they die, they complete it.

24. People with cancer who are deemed cancer free (and their loved ones) are not free from cancer at all and should never be treated as if “that’s all over.”

25. Cancer in specific, and tragedy in general, can swallow you up (and your loved ones too) if you let it.

26. Life wasn’t easy before tragedy hit.

27. For me…for me, to be open, honest, and vulnerable was more than a good way to deal with this time period.  It has been vital.

28. Spending time EVERYDAY with Rachel, one on one with NO distractions, and talking is also vital.

29. People mean more to you than they would ever imagine, you must tell them.

30. The bacon cheeseburger with special sauce, and pizza are the best food at CHP.

31. Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHP) is truly worthy of every dollar you give it.

32.  Not every Children’s hospital is the same and are not as compassionate/patient first as CHP.

33. “I know how you feel” is still one of the very worst things you can say to someone you are trying to comfort.

34. Simple laughter is at times all that you need to get through another day.

35. My decision to let Rachel take the lead on Trey and that I would be  responsible for taking the lead on Joe and Bella’s (along with Rachel’s) physical/emotional well being was as wise as anything I’ve done.

36. God will meet your needs, most often in the craziest of ways.

37. Music will reach you in a vast and varied amount of ways (Chris Tomlin concert, the music of Mumford and Sons).

38. The number of “mental snapshots” that I have taken is staggering (Disney, Give Kids the World, walks with the kids, Holiday mornings, family gatherings, dancing in the kitchen, Trey naked, Great Wolf Lodge, being on a ferris wheel with Trey, Trey naked again, all three kids laughing and playing, etc.).

39. Joe and Bella know more than we think (and much more than we would hope) and think about it more than we could imagine.

40. Trey, my YoungWarrior, is truly a warrior and defies the odds time and again.  He…is not…done…yet!

Merry Christmas and again, feel free to ask me to expand on any of the above.  Thank you for praying and being here with and for us.