Well we can't get it tomorrow

Chik Fil A that is. Which is what we just picked up for dinner as we head back to Austin for a few days.

We don't have too much to update on the medical part of this situation but I'm feeling a little chatty (or shall I say typy) so I'm gonna expand on how God is taking care of us through this time after a brief update on the current diagnostic status.

Eric had his upper arm ultrasound yesterday and the tech told him that she didn't see anything. While that is pretty much an unofficial statement we were happy to hear it. We were not able to get his next test, an upper extremity MRI, scheduled until next Tuesday so we decided to head back home for a few days. Since we won't get to hear any official results or discuss treatment plans until all tests have been done and reviewed we are still pretty much just in a discovery and waiting stage. We are hoping that we will get a call about results on next Wed so we can finally know the fullness of this situation but we were told it may be a few days after the MRI so we really don't know.

Everyone has been asking, "So how are ya'll doing?" Ironically we are doing very well and have actually been able to enjoy a good portion of the last few days. The last few days have been full of time with different people in my family in situations we don't have the chance to enjoy barely ever. Wednesday we spent the entire day with our Aunt Loretta, and while we waited hours and hours to see the doctor we actually filled most of the day with laughter. Then we had dinner with her, Uncle Rob, and cousins Chris and Courtney. We barely see my cousins except for holidays and we got to spend the night with them which gave us the opportunity to see their home and time to just chat and although I was having a hard time processing the doctor appt it was truly wonderful to be surrounded by loving family. Thursday, after we finished up at MDA we went to Cosentino (my company's corporate office) and I got some work done. They gave me some space to work and again reminded me that I really didn't need to worry about it. But I wanted to and was glad that I could spend a bit of time at the office. I've been with the company for 8 years and Wed morning was my first time to make it to the corporate office and to meet many of my co-workers face to face. Working was actually great both because it was a distraction from the heavy subject of cancer for many hours plus I'm kinda workaholic so I was glad that I was able to get some work done. We then headed to again meet up with cousins Chris and Courtney for dinner. We had some awesome chinese food, I think the place was Hollywood Chinese and Viatnamese, it was off Montrose, soooooooo good! And as some of you know chinese food is always a good way to make me happy. And then we headed on to finally catch up with my sister Stephanie and family. We chatted some, relaxed and watched some tv. Again, spending time with family that we rarely get to see outside of holidays and we just got to join into their evening and be there together. Friday started early, I got a text from my sister Amber at about 5:30 a.m. asking if she could come spend the day with us. I responded with "Absolutely!!" A few minutes later we got a call from Australia from our crazy bloke Ben and Eric's sister Karen. I stirred Eric so he could chat with them a bit. We slept a little more and then my sister arrived and we headed out to grab some breakfast. We ended up getting to spend the whole day together. I did a little bit more work and then we headed out for Eric's appt. That went pretty quickly and we got to finally meet up with Jacque. My boss' (Chester) brother in law who works at MDA and has offered to help in anyway he can. Just knowing that people we have never meet want to help us is so amazing. On that note I should also mention the incredible love that we have felt from our dear friends the Padula's as they have reminded us daily that they are there for us and praying for us and that Ben even mentioned us to the CEO of his company who is a former oncologist and also offered himself as a resource. God is so good to surround us so completely in love in so many ways. After leaving MDA the three of us decided to catch a movie before we met up with Stephanie and family for dinner. Again, I mention this because we don't get to spend this kind of time with my sister that has four kids. It was a precious time for us to just enjoy each other and while the reality of why we had the opportunity to do so did not escape us we still got to laugh and talk. And I should let you know, we have laughed at cancer a lot. Weird right?! Well, we have decided to not let cancer steal our joy but rather to increase it. After watching The Social Network (which we all liked) we meet Stephanie, Felipe, Lauren, and Seth for dinner at Carinos. Over dinner we decided that we would all stay to catch the kids homecoming game the following morning (this morning). We went back to the house and made brownies together, got a preview of the mother daughter dance, and watched some TV. This morning we rose early, headed to the football field and got to see Lauren cheer, Stephanie dance, Seth play football, and Felipe coach. Eric was taking pictures the whole time, shocking right! And us three sisters got to chat and hear about being a cheerleader and football mom and the drama that can come with that. After 4 hours of taking all of that in Eric, Amber, and I headed to Tomball to see her family. While seeing Amber and family isn't usually rare, we haven't seen them since before our trip to Australia in May, so we were long overdue! I rode with Amber and we had wonderful conversation. We talked about prayer and aligning our hearts with Gods plan in both the good and bad things. And about how much of a blessing Eric is to our family and how him joining our family has been such a delight for all of us. She said she has always felt like he is the diamond in the rough in our family. I think that is such a perfect and beautiful image. In the years since God brought us together He has used Eric to teach all of us so much. Eric is always showing us what it looks like to be a person that rests in the peace that God and it's so amazing to see him to stay faithful to that in the face of this trial. We had the time to just be sisters and share our hearts with one another. Eric was probably a bit thankful to have some alone time for the first time in many days. He didn't ask for it but if I could have an hour or so away from me every couple of days I would take it :-) We finally got to see Jason and the kiddos plus Erica, John, and family. I played dolls with the girls a bit, Eric played some Legos and then most of us watched a movie together. And then we pulled ourselves away and are now headed home.

I am so thankful for all of our family and friends. We didn't have time too dwell on what could be over the last few days, we were just too busy as you can tell from the above.

As we head home I can assure you that we feel the power of your prayers. Days that could have been filled with tears have been filled with laughter. God is good and we trust in Him. He has been faithful in giving us peace, courage and so much more. Our prayer for all of you is that if this situation has made you sad, scared, or angry that you would find peace in Him and that you would recognize all the ways in which He gives us reasons to delight in Him each day.

Thanks and Love,
Brea