today we rest and cherish good news...

I feel as if we have been on a merry go round with our doctors and hospitals. We met with a very kind urologist who once again apologized to Ken for this unusual and unfortunate incident. The biopsies on all ten punctures came back benign so we are still not sure why the recognized PSA levels are slowly creeping up in Ken's blood work. We will need to be vigilant and have a reevaluation in six months but for today we take the good news. It is very cold here with one helluva wind coming in from the South...55 to 60 m.p.h. winds whirling around the hillside and I would call the street a dance with the huge containers rolling from one side to the next. Ken returned to the campus today to retrieve his student's finals and journals plus numerous other miscellaneous paper requirements. By five this afternoon he was completely spent and we had a quick dinner and came home to return numerous calls to his family. It is wonderful to have plenty of family to assist you when you face turmoil but when we repeat and repeat the diagnosis over and over again we do sometimes feel overwhelmed. Tonight we will snuggle down and let the snowflakes kiss our hillside as we relish the warmth of our little cabin in a deep winter woods. I am hoping to finally get a good night of deep sleep and not jump up each time Ken turns over or gets up to use the facilities. We have another visit to OSU Hospital on Monday but then we will create our own river of denial and just enjoy the coming of Christmas. I need to get the christening dress under way so little Morgan can reflect her white light up into her mother's eyes for the Baptismal. I have collected some crystals and small silver trim to add to the vintage design in this special commission. Yikes every year I try to make a homemade card for my siblings and have yet to even put them together. I have the envelopes...red...and the design and paper punches I want to employ in various design compositions. Maybe tonight I will just sit down and enjoy the quiet of the house and play with colors and sparkles and snowflakes for the people I love the most.

I wish I could express how much your words of loving encouragement have helped us to see the promises and possibilities for tomorrow. I really am a Tigger personality but the thought of saying goodbye to my dear Ken was more than I could even think to bear. "Peace on Earth" to all is truly the only gift to have on a snowy winter night. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart