Excuse me, I didn't order the Texas...

This is my third start at writing this blog entry. Lisa has one coming up tomorrow to kick off the new year. This will be the EIGTH New Years that this blog has seen. (Please feel free to explore the archives they are the right-hand side as you scroll down on the website)

I feel like Lisa and I really hit the ground running at the start of last year. We had had some great visitors at the end of 2009 and had some great visits with people in early 2010. We were hopeful and we were tackling the problems before us. I feel like the mood at the start of this year isn't as bright. We've spent all of 2010 fighting, doing things we really don't like to help the fight, and it seems like the return has been minimal, perhaps even a setback in some areas.

We have learned a lot about ourselves and our friends this past year. We continue to be surprised at what God brings our way to help us through things. In a lot of ways I don't feel like there was a lot of large dark spots in 2010, just a lot of gray. Like the Seattle weather it might not be raining, but the clouds are there to block the light.

I can think of bright spots (like the clouds rolling back) from this past year. The rapid transition to Houston from Colorado Springs and the aid that we were blessed with being able to make that happen. The help we received when we decided to move here and Lisa got as she packed up our house. The help we got from my good friend Dan to help us do Colorado Springs to Houston and back in a weekend. The various nurses here and there who have been friendly to us, even extending Christmas dinner invites. The new things we never thought we would be doing or seeing in Houston. The new chemo making it more able for me to think clearly. Connecting with people I wouldn't have connected with normally through the blessing of technology in Facebook as well as this blog.

Standing at the edge of one year and looking into the next there are a lot of things I could worry about and fear. There are also things I can hope for. My hope for list is kind of small this year, I feel like 2010 kind of beat a lot of expectation out of me. I'm not going to worry about this next year, I'm going to try and keep surviving as long as I can and perhaps someday our lives (Lisa and myself) won't be so dictated and defined by one situation.

Thank you team for following, commenting, emailing, supporting, and praying for us. Here's to another year with more bright spots than overcast days, and perhaps, just maybe, a little rest from the fight.

~B.