Our Dade City family showed their Team Dan spirit on Easter Sunday!
MK and Ross celebrated Easter in Vero with Leah's parents.
Dear Friends,
So much has happened over the last month it is almost too much to digest. First and foremost, Dan's MRI showed no progression of the cancer!!! We met with Dan's neuro-oncology team at Duke this past Monday where we mapped out our next 12 week chemo plan. Dan will begin his new routine on Monday (3/31). This will be a pill taken once every 6 weeks. Dan's blood will be monitored weekly to make sure that all of his counts remain strong. We continue to give praise to God for Dan's health and for providing for our family. We are also extremely thankful for our wonderful friends, Mike and Kelly, who graciously cared for us during our trip to NC.
We moved into our new home this past Thursday. It is lovely. Dan and I were taking some empty boxes to the curb on Thursday night when we both stopped and just listened. Being from Orlando we are so used to the sound of busyness that we were overwhelmed by the tranquillity of the moment. It was far from silent, but the sounds were of nature and over it all was the beautiful rhythm of the Atlantic ocean. We truly believe that we are living in God's will and we are looking forward to a season of peace and continued healing.
I think that is particularly poignant that our next life-chapter begins at Easter. As Christians, we believe that Easter is when Jesus conquered death. It is the time when we focus on the joy of eternal life. We are no longer measured by the mistakes we have made in the past, our transgressions are made clean by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, and our future is now unlimited. There is no better time to start anew than this!
The kids are looking forward to starting in their new school on Monday. They are on Spring Break this week. Both of their new teachers took time away from their families to give the children the opportunity to walk around their new classes and quell their anxieties. Last week, our wonderful friends at Windermere Prep gave MK and Ross two HUGE "going away" parties. MK and Ross were given handmade cards, letters, gifts and memories that will sustain them when they feel lonely or afraid.
While I am on the subject of celebrations...Dan's company, Stryker Medical, had a wonderful dinner to honor the work that Dan did for them. People flew in from as far away as NJ to celebrate Dan's "retirement." It was a very honoring way for us to close that chapter of our lives.
It is always hard to say goodbye to friends. Leaving my Bible study was a particularly tender moment for me. I am so proud of the work that God has done with those wonderful women and I cannot wait to see the fruit that they produce in the future!
The amount of love and good wishes that we have received over the last few weeks has been simply awesome. I am grateful that we are not moving further away from Celebration. Each member of our family has developed life-long friendships that are our tangible (and thankfully portable) treasures.
One of my dear friends told me that you cannot fully embrace a new beginning until you have fully celebrated the ending. We have tried to do this. We are so pleased and thankful for the last chapter of our lives! Our friends will remain with us and change is unavoidable. We can look back over the last years of our lives and see God's fingerprints everywhere. Therefore, it is with great joy and contentment that we await the unfolding of our future here in Vero Beach.
Many blessings,
Leah (and Dan)
