Merry Christmas!

Well, another Christmas has come and gone, and with it the frenzy of shopping for gifts, wrapping them until all hours of the night, then watching people rip open what took you several precious hours to make perfect! Oh, well, it's all about what is on the inside, right?
Christmas is always mine and Andy's favorite time of year, and this year is no exception. We went home to Dalton the weekend before Christmas to celebrate my dad's birthday (the 23rd--stinks for him--the infamous Christmas shaft birthday!) and celebrate with my side of the family. We racked up in Dalton, then headed to Gainesville. Andy gives me a budget with which to shop every year, and so I worked especially hard this year to stay within the budget, and get him everything his little heart desires (even though he never knows what he wants for Christmas!). So, I only went a little over budget, and when I began unwrapping my gifts, I realized that apparently the budget does not work both ways--he blew it out of the water (but will not admit it:)) Even though getting things is definitely fun, it has been so wonderful spending quality time with both of our families, and realizing how very lucky we are that we both love each other's parents and siblings, and our holidays are not a chore--but a blessing! I cannot post any pictures right now, because the site is being ornery! I will post them a little later on! Love to all!

Update on Katie...

Hi, all! Thank you for your outpouring of support for my friend, Katie, and her family! Andy and I stopped by Emory Friday afternoon to visit Katie and her husband, Jacob. Katie seemed in good spirits, but I know the most daunting task in front of her and Jacob is to be away from Merriwether for the next month or so. I am attaching a message from Jacob with the contact information for them. Katie is no longer allowed to have visitors, since chemotherapy will be doing a number on her immune system. Thank you for your prayers, and I know that Katie's family covets every one! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas, and don't take for granted every second that you have with your loved ones! Here is the message from Jacob:
This is a strange message to send at Christmas time, but I do not think there is any time when sending a message like this would not be strange. I used to send group e-mails all the time when I was living in Scotland, and I guess in a way my sending this message from Emory University Hospital is like once again writing from a foreign country. This past Wednesday my wife, Katie went with her mother Melody to her grandfather's (Don Thomas, Melody's father) family medical practice. Dr. Thomas, or Papaw as he is known to Katie, determined that Katie had strep throat. Because Katie also had an extremely high fever, Papaw also took a blood sample from Katie. In doing so, he determined that Katie's white blood count was abnormally high. He immediately sent her to Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton. Melody called my cell phone and left a message informing me that they were going to the hospital. I happened to be finishing some training for my work just as Melody was leaving me the message and I rushed over to the hospital at once. At Hamilton they took some more blood and determined that Katie had some type of Leukemia. We were placed in an ambulance and driven down to Emory University Hospital that evening, Wednesday, December 20. The following day the staff here performed a bone marrow biopsy on Katie and determined what type of Leukemia she has: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_myelogenous_leukemia). Katie's course of chemotherapy started at 8:20 last evening. She will have seven days of chemotherapy. In two weeks Katie will undergo a second bone marrow biopsy designed to determine where Katie's white blood cell and platelet counts stand. If they are at a good level she will have two more weeks of recovery and at the end of January be free to go home. Once Katie is in remission she will have a series of follow up sessions, hopefully at Hamilton Medical Center, designed to track her progress and ensure her recovery is on track. I am staying with Katie here at the hospital and Katie's parents and sister, Annie and brother-in-law Jonathan are taking care of our daughter, Merriwether. Please pray that God will heal Katie. Please pray that he will protect our precious little girl and let her know that even though her Mama and Daddy cannot be with her they love her. The oncologist told us today that we cannot have any more visitors here in the hospital room because Katie's immune system is too vulnerable to outside bacteria and infections (no live flowers allowed on this floor for that reason). We covet your thoughts and prayers. Please let all of your praying friends, all of the intercessors and believers, know about Katie. I know that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Our mailing address is:
Emory University Hospital
Katie Whitlow, Room E617
1364 Clifton Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30322

The direct hospital telephone room number is 404.712.3617
My cell phone number is 706.260.7351
Thank you for your prayers.
God bless and Merry Christmas.
Jacob Whitlow

Prayers Needed!

Tonight, I just found out that one of my dear friends, Katie Whitlow, has been diagnosed with leukemia. Katie went to the doctor this morning with strep throat and a high fever, and when the doctor (who happens to be her grandfather) got her blood work back, her white blood cell count was 4 times what it should be, so he sent her to the local hospital to have more tests run. The tests showed that she has leukemia, so the hospital had an ambulance take her and her husband, Jacob, to Emory in Atlanta to begin a minimum of 4 weeks worth of treatments for leukemia. The good news (if you can call it that) is that the leukemia has been caught early, and there is a 70% chance that the first treatments will NOT be rejected by her body. Katie is 25 years old, and she and Jacob have only been married for a year and a half, and they have a 7-month-old baby girl named Merriwether who needs her mama to be healthy! Katie has a love for the Lord that I envy, and I know that He will somehow be glorified through all of this--it's just hard to see it when things are so yucky. I need my prayer warriors to take this and run with it. Get the word out, I know that Katie will be healed, but the Lord needs to hear our prayers and faithfulness! Just so you can see who you are praying for, here are some pictures taken two weeks ago at her sister Annie's baby shower, and a picture of her precious baby girl!

This is Katie's sweet baby girl, Merriwether.

This is a picture of Katie with all of the girl grandchildren in her family. Katie is in the middle in the pink sweater.