Sorry, we've been MIA...

Oh dear, I just looked at the date of the last blog post and realized it has almost been two months since our last update....oops!  So sorry, we don't get to sit down much.

For our non-facebook using friends and family...  here is an update on Andrew that I just posted:

Psalm 71:14–15 (ESV): But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. 15 My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day,
for their number is past my knowledge.

Check out God’s grace displayed in these pictures!!! The picture on the right is Andrew a year ago... still smiling, but his body wearing the effects of stage 4 cancer. The picture on the left is Andrew this morning when I dropped him off at horse camp... same smile, a body still full of cancerous tumors, but by God’s grace the recent prrt treatment he completed has gone to war against these tumors (it’s not a cure, but we pray it will wage war on those tumors for a looong time... forever would be awesome 😉) and allowed his body to do more than just survive, but even thrive. He’s put on about 12 pounds over the past year which is huge for a cancer patient. 

This battle is FAR from over, but we will continue to fight on our knees, trusting our good, good Father daily! Please continue to cover this sweet boy in prayer. Specially that his cancer would remain stable, we would continue to see improvements in pain, and that we can continue to ween down on his crazy pain medication regimen. #butGod!!!

Andrew’s Army (you), your prayers and support are what sustains us! THANK YOU!!!

***of course, just as I had feared...  shortly after I shared this post, Andrew had some tummy pain (although, no where near as bad as it's been in the past).  It felt like such an attack from the enemy, since he had been doing SO good for so long with pain.  I was hesitant to share that post for fear it would stir the hornet's nest and the enemy would get busy, since he certainly doesn't want God to be praised so publicly.  Whether Andrew's pain was the enemy at work or coincidence, it caused me to be confronted with my fear... fear that rushes in like a flash flood anytime Andrew's pain shows up....  his pain is an in your face reminder that he has cancer and I can't help but let my mind go to dark places like "does this mean the cancer is spreading?," etc, but the song "Fear is a Liar" is a great reminder of fears proper place and name.  Fear is a liar!  It belongs in the fire where God will burn off all the impurities (lies) and lead you to what is true.  That is the place where "But God" reigns.  But God doesn't adhere to what makes sense in my finite mind (pain = cancer is spreading)...  He is bigger than my problem and He already has a solution for what I'm going through and what lays ahead, etc.  Soooo much easier said than done, but what are you fearful of?  What stops you in your steps, steals your breath, robs you of your rest, and your happiness?  Read the lyrics to this song and I pray it helps you put fear in its proper place too!

When he told you you're not good enough
When he told you you're not right
When he told you you're not strong enough
To put up a good fight
When he told you you're not worthy
When he told you you're not loved
When he told you you're not beautiful
That you'll never be enough

Fear, he is a liar
He will take your breath
Stop you in your steps
Fear he is a liar
He will rob your rest
Steal your happiness
Cast your fear in the fire
'Cause fear he is a liar

When he told you were troubled
You'll forever be alone
When he told you you should run away
You'll never find a home
When he told you you were dirty
And you should be ashamed
When he told you you could be the one
That grace could never change

Fear he is a liar
He will take your breath
Stop you in your steps
Fear, he is a liar

-Grace has been doing tutoring at Gigi's Playhouse a couple times a week and anytime she's not at Gigi's, she's begging Abby to tutor her.  Here is a glimpse of a typical day in the Ross household...  Abby will tutor Grace in reading for 30-45 minutes and at the conclusion Grace will say " aaaand now...  math tutoring time" (picture this in her joyful little voice).  When math tutoring is over, she will say "aaaand now.... writing tutoring time!"  I'm so grateful that Grace loves tutoring so much, especially with her Sissy (even if she wears her sissy down a bit 🤣) .  At least Grace appreciates all her sissy's time and investment in her, when she lost her 2nd tooth and got candy and 50 cents from the tooth fairy, she gave her 50 cents to Abby and said "here you go Abby, this is for tutoring me."  When not tutoring, Grace can be found playing How to Train a Dragon, Harry Potter, or Lord of the Rings with Andrew.  Welcome to Grace's world!

-Andrew just finished horseback riding camp this past week, which he LOVED!  He asked to keep riding horses during the school year, so we are going to give it a go!  I'm praying it will be something that gives him confidence, relieves any stress he is hanging on to, and maybe even helps with pain in some way.  Andrew has also started violin lessons with his favorite music teacher.  He has always (since he was a little guy) been interested in the violin, so the fact that he's actually getting to try it and with a teacher that loves him like her own is, well, a big, giant blessing! 

-An area we are struggling in with Andrew is in math.  Andrew is a very smart kid, despite being on drugs all day everyday, and lacking a whole lot of motivation; however, math (specifically his multiplication facts) has been SO hard for him to learn and retain.  David works with him daily and has tried so many different strategies to try and help him, but it is a constant battle.  David has put a lot of time and energy into researching possible problems and solutions.  We hope to have him tested for Dyscalculia (basically dyslexia, but for math) and or anything else that could be the issue because we are desperate to help him.  I hate to see Andrew struggle so much with something that should come so much easier, but then again I have to be honest, it's the least of our concerns (in the big picture).  I'm grateful to have a normal kid kind of concern, but then we battle the thoughts...  how much do his grades really matter any way, there's no telling how long God will keep him on this earth, so do we spend a ton of energy focusing on something that at the end of the day may not even matter that much (see that's the enemy) or do we raise him as if he is going to live a long life and be an old man?  We choose the latter until God says otherwise, but I would be lying if I didn't say I have to fight the temptation to feel like we are wasting precious time on something frivolous.  Wow!  I just probably overwhelmed you with the roller coster my brain lives on.  Sorry!  I'm just grateful that this roller coster docks at the platform of truth (what God has to say about it all)!

This is how I feel about math😜.  No really, this is the kids at Mrs. Kathy and Mr. Alan's house being silly on one of there many fun playdates.

-Abigail continues to play a ton of soccer in addition to work out at F45 (which she absolutely LOVES), where David and I love to work out too.  Abby and her team won a 3V3 tournament this weekend where her team won the championship and we got to hang out with some of our favorite Pine Cove counselors!  Abby went to a pretty amazing soccer training/camp a couple weeks ago.  Here is a Facebook post I made about it:

3v3 champions!

Hoot Smash and Trap being silly with the Rosslings!

There is something so unique and special about your Pine Cove family!  Love these girls!

Abby hates to miss getting to work out at F45!  I don't blame her, that place not only helps you get strong, but they make it SO fun!

She's got some hops like her Daddy!

This pic is Abby in a nutshell...  She is on the right looking fierce and determined to beat her dear friend Annabella in a race.  These girls are super close friends, but watching them go head to head on the soccer field might lead you to believe otherwise :-).  I'm just glad they are on the same team!

Abigail made some amazing memories and grew a lot (in soccer of course, but also emotionally and spiritually) at the Region III Olympic Development Program (ODP) Camp in Alabama this week! Those that know my girl well know that she hates to be away from her immediate family and who could blame her really (she has had far too many experiences where she wakes up in the morning to find out that one of her sibling has had to go to the ER, or our family is forced to be split up because one of her siblings is in the hospital, and being faced with the mortality of those she loves most day in and day out)... The girls stayed in the dorms at University of Montevallo (which was beautiful by the way), so Abby struggled some with wanting to stay with me in a hotel instead of the dorms (which obviously wasn’t an option), but she learned to lean in hard to the Lord and fight that fear with truth. The girls received high-level training from college coaches and competed against other Region III state ODP teams from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Louisiana. Overall it was a great experience and I couldn’t be more proud of this sweet girl!

Abby's Andrew's Army symbol she writes on her wrist anytime she plays soccer!

Flight delays can actually be fun when with great friends!

As I mentioned Abby struggled with being away from me during this trip (she stayed in the dorms while I stayed in a hotel and cam to watch her scrimmages and some training, but didn't get to talk to her in person for more than a couple minutes twice a day).  She talked to her counselor about her experience and what we learned is that she is insecure about  being away from us because if she has eyes on David or I then she is assured that everything is ok (with her siblings, etc).  For some reason I thought this trip to Alabama was going to be super relaxing for me, but it was far from what I had envisioned.  Helping Abby process her feelings was emotionally exhausting and my sweet friend and I did a lot of driving back and forth twice a day( 35 minutes each way) to watch the girls play when ever we could, staying up late, and getting up early, but it was all worth it.  Abby got to learn from some amazing soccer trainers, but most of all she got to practice her mental game (setting her mind on what is true), and we made some amazing memories.  We leave in a week and a half for California where Abby and her team will play in the Surf Cup in San Diego and we will (Lord willing) get to see friends, the beach, Disneyland, Legoland, etc.  

-Last but not least, Family Camp!  Here is my Facebook post about Family Camp:

Pine Cove Crier Creek Family Camp was a little slice of heaven! This would have been our 7th year, but we had to miss last year because Grace was busy having her 6th open heart surgery. This year was so different than previous years because we were just crazy grateful to even get to go back to Family Camp this year (our life’s normal shenanigans didn’t keep us from being able to make it) that we didn’t have any expectations, worry about logistics/what everyone would wear for theme nights, etc. Instead we just enjoyed and soaked in all the sweet memories. 

We certainly got to see God’s tender hand in the details this past week in so many ways... it rained the first 3 days (but didn’t thunder or lightening, so none of our activities were interrupted), cooling down the temperature and slowing the pace down a bit which helped Andrew out tremendously. Andrew was assigned the most amazing counselor who’s sole responsibility was to hang with/take care of Andrew, and he did just that in a way that was perfectly suited for Andrew (they went inside to play games or read Lord of the Rings when it was too hot outside for Andrew or in an effort to get Andrew to rest a little, etc). The biggest blessing (that truly felt like a miracle) was the fact that Andrew had ZERO pain all week despite the late nights, early mornings, Texas summer heat, and the exhaustion that comes from having so much fun all day everyday 🙌🏻! The girls also had super awesome counselors that have left a powerful impact on all of our lives.

I’m praying everyone of you will get to experience something like Family Camp someday because it is truly nourishing, refreshing, and overall a great reset each year for our family! #HeisthegoodShepherd #butGod#crazygrateful #weloveourPCfamily

If you are looking for a vacation that will draw your whole family closer together, closer to the Lord, build a lifelong bond with some AMAZING counselors (who you want your kiddos to look up to as what they are aspiring to be in college), and families, laugh a lot, even cry a little, do rad activities like zip lining, horse back riding, wake boarding, and ultimately recalibrate your heart as to what really matters in life than please do yourself a favor and sign up for Family Camp!!!

 Grace's Character Quality was "Loving"

Grace aspires to be a counselor too (just like Bubba and Sissy).  This is one of the many chants she loves to do (Wild Kids is the group she was in at camp :-)

Love the extra time with my man..  especially playing pickle ball in the pouring rain while most other couples relax.  This guy doesn't know much about relaxing 😂

 Presley Pepper (this little girl is every Ross Family members favorite little person) and her family/our dear friends!

 The counselors...  The most God honoring college kids your will ever meet!

Pine Cove summarized in one picture!  I couldn't find Andrew one morning and as I looked off in the distance I found him.... being prayed over by his amazing counselor, Spewie!