Christmas 2011

This year has been a good year for the Winter family. When we started the year Paula was on the road to better health. As 2011 draws to an end it is great to share that Paula is doing great. Through most of the year Paula was on what they call maintenance chemotherapy. On August 23rd (the one year anniversary of Paula’s diagnosis) she had a CT scan. It showed some increase in the size of the places on her liver so they switched her to a different group of chemo drugs. Honestly we were disappointed by this but continued to trust that God was doing what He has promised us He would do. In October was another CT scan and this one was better. In fact, I believe this one was a clear sign that Paula is being healed. When she was first diagnosed we were told that her liver had cancer in too many places to consider surgery. When the doctor was talking to us about the latest scan he told us that everything was now contained on the right lobe of Paula’s liver and the left side looked clear. Praise God! We continue to go every two weeks for Paula to get her chemotherapy and wait for the day when the doctors tell us they see no signs of cancer in her body. You can count on the fact that when that day comes I will post the news on our blog.

This year had many other great events that I will share. In February Kyle joined the Webelos. He has really enjoyed it and is going to receive his arrow of light, which is the highest award you can earn in cub scouts. We are getting him ready to move into Boy Scouts. He has gotten a backpack and new sleeping bag so he can go on hikes and camp outs with the troop. Abbie is our little drama queen so she has joined “Up With Kids”. This is a drama group in the area. She was in a play this summer and is currently working on another one that will be in April. Abbie also continues her piano lessons and is getting very good. Tanya has enjoyed playing with her friends and turn 13 this November. It is hard to believe that she has been with us now for almost five years.  This year also included a couple international trips.  In March Kyle and I were in Manila, Philippines visiting a family from our church who were spending a year there.  Then in November I was part of a team of fifteen from K2 The Church to go to Mekelle, Ethiopia.  They were both great trips.

This summer we took a family vacation to Yellowstone National Park. What a great place! We all had fun camping and exploring the sights. We saw many bison and elk along with a bear. However, I think the most spectacular part of the park was the canyon areas. I didn’t remember that there were such great canyons there and so many beautiful waterfalls. Paula and I also celebrated out 22nd anniversary by spending a couple of days in Sonoma, CA. This is another beautiful part of our country. We toured around the area and found a really good chocolate store. They made great truffles!

Finally, this August we added yet another member to our family. This time it is a chocolate lab and aussie mix. We named him Rophe. We decided to name him this as a marker of what we have seen God do in Paula. One name of God is Jehovah Rophe, which means God who heals. He has been a good dog and a lot of fun. Rophe loves to be with us and has become a loved part of our family very quickly. He has found it fun to play Frisbee, eat anything he can fit in his mouth and agitate the cats.

Well we hope that all of you have a wonderful Christmas and a great 2012. We look forward to seeing all that God has in store for us this coming year and are incredibly grateful for all that 2011 has brought.

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