Joel's Journey: Andrew is 12 !!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Andrew is 12 !!

Howdy Partners.....Andrew done went and turned 12 and we had ourselves a right good time, sure as shooten!! First we gathered up all the lil' doggies and played some games. We had a tin can shoot and most of em' were dead eyes! Next we had a Hobby Horse Race. They rode like the wind to the finish line! After that was the Cattle Drive. Them cowpunchers had to drive their cows(balloons) over the range. Some cows made it, some didn't, they were let for dead on the dusty trail! (balloons popped) Rattlesnake Rucus was next, passing a plastic snake(like hot potatoe) around in a circle to some good "old" cowboy music! By that time these hungry Buckaroos had worked themselves up an appetite and were ready for some chuck wagon grub. They filled their belly's with Howdy Partner Hamburgers, Fiddlin Franks, Bucharoo Baked Beans, Cow Chips and washed er'down with some Sasparilla. With belly's full and a fire crackling we settled down to "brand" Andrew with some blessings. Terry, Caleb and Daniel gave Andrew some good preachin' in encouraging him to seek the Lord, take up manhood, study to show thyself approved, ect. By God's grace I know Andrew will saddle up and follow the trails with the Lord. He came to me personally and thanked me for all the party and his gift. He has taken a step in the right direction....showing gratefulness! To round up the night Andrew opened his gift and was happily surprised with a Leatherman. A 16 arm utility tool. We couldn't quite crawl in our bunks without some sweets, so with a little bit of Campfire Coffee we had Sheriff Surprise(a yummy brownie bar) Cow Patty Candy(homemade millionaires) and Old Codger Cookies( sheriff badge sugar cookies) Now that there was a good time! And thanks fer comin along on the trails with us!!!!

The party was great!! I was the one quite miserable...A bladder infection hit hard yesterday morning. Anna and Bethany really had to pull things together for me. They did and I am sooo grateful. Right now I feel a little better but not 100%. Hopefully by this evening I will be mostly over it. Thanks for praying for me.

Anna took close to 400 pictures, her memory card was filled. I'm not going to post them all:) So many fun ones, that I might post some more in the future! Her picture taking abilities are priceless to me! I put the one of Joel too, his last party with Andrew, he was always right smack in the middle of partying!! Boy, he would have loved this one. Josiah had the biggest time!! I missed my lil' cowboy, Joel! It is times like this that the tears sting your cheeks and the pain seems so deep. Being together is a treasure. Lord willing we'll all be together again one day!!!

Blessed and joyful trails to you!!! (more pics below)

Cindy

3 comments:

Danielle said...: Aw, that looks SOOO fun! I am so glad that the party turned out so well! Thanks for posting all the pictures. I'm glad to hear you are feeling a little better also, Mrs. Morris. :); March 22, 2008 at 10:37 PM
The Lockwood Family ♥ said...: Happy Birthday Andrew! I always love looking at the pictures and hearing all about your birthday parties.
It reminds me so much of celebrating with our little ones. It is so wonderful how a family can have so much fun together. I love seeing how your older ones and little ones all have fun together. I love how even the simple things are still enjoyed by all. There is so much joy in a family who loves the Lord and loves eachother. Such a contrast from families who are so broken and "into" their own things.
I am praying you fully recover from your bladder infections quickly...those are so very painful. What a blessing to have your older daughters step in and get everything ready!
love,
Jaynee; March 23, 2008 at 3:46 PM
Annie said...: FUN pictures! Sounds like a really fun party!!!; March 26, 2008 at 3:16 AM

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Joel's Story

Joel, our 11th of 13 and a twin of Josiah, at age 3 was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer, on December 6th, 2006. Joel had three perfect years of health and he and Josiah celebrated their 3rd birthday Sept. 13th, 2006. The first of Oct. Joel started having unexplained fevers for a few days and would return to active play. After the fourth round of fevers we took him to our family Dr. which they said his iron was low, so we treated that for a few weeks and took him back only to have his hemo. showing lower than before. We were referred to a hematologists and saw him a few weeks with blood checks twice a week. At a visit on Dec. 4th we showed the Dr. the bumps, (which were tumors but we did not know at the time) on Joel's head and he was very concerned and we were told we needed to admit him immediately and start extensive tests the following day. Joel went through rigorous testing and then the dreaded results were given. Joel was at a stage IV the most extensive stage, but we were hopeful that the Lord would use the means of Chemotherapy treatments to restore Joel's body. Joel endured 8 1/2 days in the hospital, came home for Christmas, and returned for his second round of chemo Jan. 3, 2007. Joel had a seizure that night after midnight and went into a coma due to a tumor bleeding in his head area and causing his brain to swell. After tests the following days, the Dr. declared Joel "brain dead" and took us to court to force us to take Joel off life support, as we did not agree with the medical field's definition of death. Our family sought to stand with the scripture, "life is in the blood,"and until Joel's heart quit beating naturally, he was living. We were making arrangements to bring him home and on January 23, 2007 his little heart stopped beating and he went to be with the Lord Jesus in heaven. Our lives are changed forever. God is faithful in the midst of this trial and we look with great hope to be with him someday.