Truly humbled

This weekend was definitely one to remember. Thanksgiving was great....I shared it with 32 of my closest friends and family. Colin and Kathleen were up from the land of the crimson tide and it was so good to see them as a married duo for the first time. Mrs. Gabler somehow pulled off the perfect meal, despite the numbers.....a very impressive feat and countless bottles of champagne were successfully downed. Mainly, it was just nice to spend time with friends and family. My brother Joe and his wife Sarah came in on Friday and, as always, it was great to be with them. On Friday, the whole lot of us avoided the lines at Best Buy and Target and hit up the movies. We saw The Fantastic Mr. Fox and I give it an enthusiastic "eh". Hanna also found a wedding dress!! She won't tell me what it looks like but it could be a tablecloth and she would make it glow. Then Saturday was the ALL Will Be Well 5k which was probably the most humbling experience of my life. The parking lot was filled with cars and the lobby was packed when I got there. I couldn't believe how inspiring it was. My extended family, friends from all corners of my life, nurses from Hershey, local community members, and people from my high school class and the trinity community were all there. Local businesses donated food and raffle prizes. I have never felt so much love and support coming out of one room. The run and walk were a huge success......I definitely would have won if it weren't for this cancer business and Kelly was able to get me a Golden Tate signed Notre Dame jersey, which is amazing. Much love and thanks to everybody was was there, who donated and who supported. The Leukemia Society and the Team in Training were there giving out information and the Be The Match Bone Marrow Registry was there signing people up the whole day. Its amazing to think about the lives that could be saved by the people who were courageous enough to sign up for that registry. That's really what its all about. Life is so good.....so amazingly good. Kelly Fisher, Ms. Kiker, Janet Quigley, Mrs. Gabler and tons others deserve so much credit for organizing this event. Its an impossible feeling to describe but I just feel so "lifted up" by the love that was poured out over the weekend. In the 6 months that I have been fighting this nastiness, I have never once felt alone and that culminated on Saturday. We are not meant to tackle life alone. We are given our faith, our God, and our fellow people and I have needed, and will continue to need, all of those. Anyway, I am still in awe at how amazing the event was and how amazing the people aroume me are. The icing on the cake was going to the Eagles game on Sunday with my dad as they squeaked out a win against the hapless Redskins. It was a great day....thanks again Uncle Ed for the tickets.

This came at a good time because this is a pretty big week. Tomorrow morning I have a bone marrow biopsy....this is gonna be my first one in a few months so I am nervous for a few reasons. First of all, it tends to hurt...alot. I will be sure to request my fair share of Morphine beforehand to take care of that. Second, and more importantly, it will give a picture of how/if the agressive treatment has been working. I have just been trekking along for a bit now with no real markers as to if the leukemia is staying down for the count. No matter what I will keep fighting the good fight until it is down for good, but we are hoping that this biopsy gives a good sign that we are headed in that direction. On Thursday, I will see Dr. Claxton to talk about the biopsy and my treatment and my progress through the whole thing. Please send positive thoughts and prayers this week for all that is going on. And please continue to pray for my dad.....he is a rock and I love him more than he knows.

These meetings with Dr. Claxton always scare me so I will be very anxious until Thursday. I will let everybody know any news as I find out.

much love, so much thanks, and ALL Will Be Well

"Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting."

"Do not get tired of doing what is good.
Don't get discouraged and give up,
For we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time."