Merry Christmas from the Cook Family

Please excuse the quality of my pictures... my camera is not a regular digital camara. The lighting was terrible, but we tried to dress alike for the Sunday morning service.
By the way, I don't recommend doing all the work that I have done the past few days to those who just had a baby. But, it does give me a sense of normality right now, which I felt the need for. I have had some pain because I get a little carried away. Overall, I am doing great though.
The baby is doing well, and the children are enjoying their presents.

Thank you, dear churches, families, and friends!

Well, we got a downpour of a Christmas blessing from a kind church yesterday. Thank you to all who gave in that! I don't know really what to say, but I think I shall not run out of diapers for a very long time. Thank you to all those churches who have loved, given, and prayed for our family during this difficult time.

I really want to thank our church (Wesleyan Evangelistic Church), too, for they shower prayer, friendship, and listening ears, and they are walking through this with us... and, then, wow, all the many other churches praying for us... it just makes me want to cry and makes me so glad to be a part of the great family of God. Thank you, everyone for your notes, phone calls, etc., for they do cheer me so. By the way, I think Ron is saving those cards you are sending, for when he feels down, he can go back and read them again.

Mega-thanks to his parents! They've taxi driven us, cleaned our house, baby-sat, and did basically whatever we needed them to do the past couple of weeks.

We did enjoy the visit today from Ron's boss. Wow! Loved the card with all those signatures and notes. Thanks for all! I must say that I am verythankful for the job Ron had, because his insurance and catastrofic sick-leave is going to help us out majorly! We received a bill for $10 and some cents, and the rest of the bill was being paid by insurance and benefits... it was going to be 40 some thousand dollars so far. I know not everyone has insurance, and my heart does go out to you, because medical bills are huge these days! I think this will help me to pray harder for my dear friends who are in this situation. I don't know if we will always have these benefits either, so I am thankful for what we have now!

Today, Ron had his second chemo treatment. He really does well with them so far... mostly it saps his energy. But, really, I am impressed at how well he is.

I feel tons better today. I was having tremendous pains, but today I have felt worlds better, and even tried my first shopping trip with three little ones... It was an adventure to say the least, and I only bought five things! I worked on organizing my kitchen today, and did some other cleaning, as well. It feels good to have my energy back! Actually, I almost feel like staying up half the night doing more work... sounds crazy for somone who just had a baby 8 days ago, huh? You just have to understand that I went to church the day after I had Faith, and went IHC 6 days after I had Charity... really, I love church and God's people. I LOVE camp, revivals, etc., but do find ia little more difficult to hear a whole sermon these days. I am sure all those Mamas out there know what I mean. Anyway, I don't like to be down for long, so I praise God for the renewed energy.

Do keep in touch, and may ya'll have a very Merry Christmas!

More from the Cook house

Ron and his girls





Well, I am so sorry that there seems to have been a miscommunication on the baby's picture, so you will have to settle for my home pictures.

Much has happened the past few days. Hope went to church for the first time Sunday evening. What a cold day to venture out!

Ron got a port put in today for his chemo, so that they won't have to keep poking him. He was having problems with blood clots, and he had an infection under his arm which is being treated with antibiotics, so hopefully this port will spare him of such problems in the future.

A dear church in the Cincinnati area, Kenwood Bible Methodist Church, has a youth group who decided to buy gifts for our family for Christmas... it was really sweet of John and Mary (the youth pastors) to stop by and deliver those yesterday. The girls had so much fun. Charity was horrified at one of her gifts at first... it was a dancing, Spanish-singing monkey. She just stood there saying, "I don't want it" over and over. We laughed so hard! Then, when she saw how much Faithy loved it, she decided she liked it too. Now, I think the thing might drive me crazy! The gifts were all so very nice... hope you enjoy the photos of last nights Christmas celebration! I heard another church has such things up their sleeve as well! Wow! I think I shall be in shock after this Christmas. Everyone has been so kind!

Besides feeling like someone beat me up, I am doing fine. Really, though, I am recovering pretty well, and I am so happy to have my little one here. By the way, never change your baby's diaper near a computer... my baby, well... let's just say my keyboard got a good cleaning today! Never saw that one coming! Ha!

A sweet moment took place here the other day when Faith and Charity decided to "have devotions" together and took turns "reading" their Bibles... copying what we do in Family Devotions. It was worth it all to see them "read" and pray together. Warmed this mama's heart!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Good night and God bless!

Welcome! Hope Christiana Cook

She arrived at almost 2:30pm on Thursday, December 13, 2007. I was induced 2 1/2 weeks before my due date given by ultrasound. There was a little scare at the end before she was delivered as the baby's heartrate dropped due to an umbilical cord being wrapped around her little body, but God helped it her to come before a c-section was necessary. Praise God! She weighed in at 8 lbs 1 oz... so, her weight was actually considered large for gestational age... so, the poor girl kept getting poked and checked for sugar problems. Her length was 20 1/4 inches. She is fine, and gorgeous! She seems so tiny to me and fragile. I wish they would stay small for a little longer sometimes. She loves eating, sleeping, and being held (sounds like many adults). I think she resembles her daddy most. Her hospital photo should be available within the next couple of days on www.GrowingFamily.com
Feel free to check it out!
Faith and Charity are so excited about her. The day before I went into the hospital, Faith fell into the coffee table, and we spent much of that Tuesday at Children's Hospital... it took many hours of waiting to get done something that only takes a few minutes. They glued her eyelid instead of stitching it in hopes that it would be a smaller scar. Don't worry, it wasn't that big of a cut... she is a little bruised though! I know it sounds like we love hospitals right now, but, really I would like to take a break from the action!
Ron has been a great help to me today... I even got a nap when I got home... I think I shall get more rest here than the hospital! It is good to be home!
Enjoy the snow! (All those who live near) It sounds like we will have plenty! By the way, my OB/GYN was in a minor accident today because of the weather when she was trying to get to the hospital to see me! Brave lady!
I am recovering pretty well. We thank you all for your prayers.

Recent Family Photos (sorry about the quality)

There you've got it! New pictures at last. Some of them are pictures of pictures... so the quality it not good. I have some pictures of one of the last children's church services we did together, but I will plan to share those later, as I think this is alot for today, and my computer is having personality issues in the picture download area. Ron does wear a hat often right now since he still has alot of stitches. He did start chemo Friday, but they may have to be more aggressive, we'll see. Thanks for praying! Notice the picture of me and my hugeness... Soon, very soon, I shall see the gift inside! I had to put the picture of Charity in the basket. That is the basket that is for dress up clothes (something Faithy loves to do), but, Charity found another use for it. The real picture of the girls with the Christmas tree is much cuter, but Faith sometimes makes faces for the camera and she looks silly. They are too funny.

Be still, and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Be Still My Soul
Words: Katharina von Schlegel
Music: Jean Sibelius

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright as last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and wind still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul; the hour is hast'ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

I'm sure there's a reason...

An overnighter at the hospital... unsuccessful! I expected to come home with a bundle of joy, and instead... well, baby is still tucked away!
They had thought that the baby was under distress yesterday, and sent me off quickly from the doctor's office to the hospital to be induced... well, baby seems okay, and I just got an overnighter and false promises at a hospital... I am sure there is a purpose behind this... just am waiting to find it out.

They say they love me...

It was a sweet thing that Faithy said to me the other day... She said that I was the best! She made my day! Both of the girls now say "I love you" to me, and I just eat it up, of course. Then, Faith looked outside yesterday at the snow and was talking about it, then finally said "This is the best day ever!" So cute! Not sure if everyone felt as happy as she about the snow, but she thought it was great! Just thought I would share a proud moment with you!
Then, she decided last night to tell our pastor's wife that our house was a "disaster" and about her toys, etc... she went on and on about it... kids can be too open and honest sometimes! They make me laugh! Would love to hear some of your kids' sayings, etc. Have a good one!

Good News

Hey, Faith did fantastic playing the bells on Saturday and Sunday. I promised her a whole piece of gum each night if she did well. She played with great enthusiasism. Sorry if you missed it! She was the shortest child up there, although one girl was actually six weeks younger than her. It was so adorable!

I have been able to spend more time with the girls lately, and I am glad, because, well, they are great! Not to say they always behave, but there sure have been some funny moments the last few days. Today, they danced to some kid's songs and it was so funny, I just sat there and watched... would not have wanted to miss that for the world! You would have had to have been there. Then, the other day, while I was on the phone with a dear friend, Faith decided to use Daddy's guitar case as a slide, and I promptly stopped that activity... thought she might ruin it. Charity has been talking in whole sentences!!! She has been shocking me at what she can say!

Ron is almost done with the radiation treatments! Yeah for him! Second step almost done! With the surgery and radiation done, he will have the chemo to face, and we've heard good things about the effectiveness of chemo on Hodgkins. By the way, he starts that on Friday this week! He may only need to go in once every other week for that. It takes about four hours to do. I am glad that it is not an every day thing like radiation is. So is he!

Hey, don't be too surprised to see a welcome to the world post soon for the baby! I think it will be VERY soon! Yeah! I am looking forward to holding her in my arms!

Ron had a special day today. When he woke up, he arose to a fairly clean home, lots of clean laundry, and a love letter from yours truly. Okay, it really is amazing what one can get done when all of the house is sleeping! Another cool thing we got to do today is go out calling. This is Ron's heartbeat!!! He had such a great time! I wasn't able to get out of the car with him, because I had the children with me, but I sure had fun knowing that I was able to help him be a blessing. The people were even more responsive than usual, because they had been told about his illness. Amazing how all things do work together for good!

Thanks for all your prayers and notes!!! Have a good night!

Busy... busy...

That about explains it all these days. Guess I ought to tell you what they found out about Ron's bones... I guess the cancer is on the bones... but, it is not deep into them... not in the marrow either. However, this does put him at stage 4. He finishes the radiation Thursday, and is scheduled to start chemo the following Monday. He is doing well, all things considered.

We are having a bout of sickness here agian with the children, who seem to love to bring home any bug out there... not good for my hubby since his immune system is down. Please, pray that he will not catch whatever it is the girls have.

My girls have huge amounts of energy these days, and can tare through a clean house in a matter of moments, leaving it looking as if no work had ever been done. Actually, I wonder what their motive is for being so destructive!

Tonight, our church is having a Christmas play,and Faithy is supposed to play the bells. I sure hope she cooperates this time. Bless her heart, she has been having a bit of a struggle these days.

Well, I must go and get ready for tonight! Have a great and relaxing weekend! He He