Well, we leave today for Anchorage!   Praise the Lord, we have been offered a place for the children to stay with my Mom and Sister, and a dear friend covered their tickets to Anchorage so that we could all be together.   I am rejoicing!   I’m nervous too, pray that everything goes smoothly with baby, and for rest and peace for Nathan who has been working so many long hours getting ready to go.   I can hardly believe how many of you who are praying.   Thank you!

We are here at Providence Hospital waiting to be induced around 8 or 9 AM this morning.   Please pray for strength for the labor and baby’s safe delivery.   Thank you to all of you who have been praying and sending little notes of encouragement.  I jump on email and read them when I am feeling a little overwhelmed, and it just means so much.   We are so blessed with all of you in our lives!

Caleb Nathaniel Hobbs arrived at 12:31 AM today, he weighs 6.7 and is 20 inches long.   Two hours later he was admitted to NICU, and we have learned that his lungs are underdeveloped.  His stay could be a few days and possibly up to a month depending on how he responds.   Please pray for his health and our hearts as we face this time of separation from him!   During the time we just spent with him this evening, he was really fighting with his breathing and to keep his oxygen levels up.  It’s hard to see his little struggles, and to see him all pricked up as he is a hard baby to get IV’s in.  Pray that his IV’s stay in and that his lungs respond to treatment!

It’s been a rough day.  Caleb’s situation was described to us as dangerous and not yet steady.  He has had a ventilator put in to help him breath and is utterly exhausted and maxed out.  Please pray for his healing.   Nathan and I are feeling fragile and tired as well, leaning hard on the love and prayers of all you who are holding us before the Lord.   We know that He is at work, we trust Him with the process, and we are thankful that He counts tears. Sorry updates have been so sparse, We can’t seem to upload from the hospital, so a friend is taking Nathan to a nearby wi fi spot to upload this.  Thanks for keeping up the prayers, and pray that we can be a light here to those around us!

Praise the Lord for our first bit of encouragement with Caleb’s struggle in NICU!   His left lung is clearing a little, and he was more relaxed today.   Tomorrow I begin a crazy week of tests, meetings with docs, etc.   Please pray for peace, clarity, wisdom, and the strength of the Lord for Nathan and I. We’re going into a big week very weary, I know that our strength is not in ourselves but in the Lord, and I am trusting for those mercies that are new every morning.   Bless those of you who are praying for us!   Your notes of encouragement have meant so much to us!

Thanks for your patience with this site! We can’t upload from the hospital, so even if I write, we have to find a chance to go mooch off of a wireless connection at a coffee shop. The days have been so maxed out, and we just can’t always make it happen, but thanks for checking in and praying for us!   Great news today in that Caleb is holding strong and they are trying to slowly back down his supports.   He is still on the ventilator, morphine, and several other strong drugs, but his lungs are clearing up very little by very little bit.  We also praise the Lord for helping us through this days of tests.   Tomorrow is also very full, and we really need the Lord’s wisdom and stamina!  As we drove in Anchorage tonight, the sight of those huge mountains reminded me of their Creator! If he can pull off majesty like that, my heart feels very safe with Him directing our steps... A God that shows His greatness not by being carried, but by carrying us.   That is something worth pondering!

Good news with Caleb! He is off of nitrix, morphine, and even the ventilator tube came out last night!   I got to hold him for the first time since he was one day old!  Hallelujah!  My cancer has been given a grade 3 status.   The doctor told us that of six things that could be favorable, I am six for six unfavorable, which is definitely not good news.  Basically, it is big, bad, and growing fast.  Somehow, it didn’t discourage me, because God knew all of that before the doctor told us, and I have known from the beginning that He is working in our behalf.  Impossible situations don’t faze Him!  I start Chemo monday, we are also working with a great Naturopathic Doctor to help my body stay strong during chemo and be in the best position to make the chemo work well.  The ten days we have been down here have been such a roller coaster ride, I am praying for a restful weekend full of special moments with the children... all five of them! :)

I started chemo at noon on Tuesday and had a violent reaction that made us stop the chemo, and I was pretty much drugged and useless the rest of the day.   Today we try again, hopeful that my body has built up the immunity I need to the herceptin.  This is an important drug, it exactly targets my HER2neu type of cancer, but it sent me into “rigors” yesterday. Please pray for us around noon (4 pm Ohio time) on Wednesday that I will be able to tolerate the herceptin and then the two other chemo drugs.  It should take about four hours for the infusion. Caleb is doing well, still in NICU, but growing stronger. He still can not get full feedings from the bottle, so he is on the feeding tube. They’re concerned that he is still dropping weight, so will try to increase calories today. I think he can come home once he learns to use the bottle, but it could take a little while. Keep praying!

Two days out from a successful chemo treatment and so far so good!  Thank you to everyone who was praying about my reaction to the herceptin... all went well the second time around!  The low days are actually about halfway through the treatments, so in about another week my body should be feeling the effect of lower white blood cells, etc. I’m so grateful for every good day!   Nathan will be returning to Nome to work at the Community Center for a few days next week, hoping to come back for the weekend with us in Anchorage. I’m planning to move over with Mom, Danielle, and the children. Caleb is such a darling! Praise the Lord he has finally started gaining weight, a few grams at a time!  His bottle feeding is very slow, he can drink about half and it just utterly exhausts him so the rest goes in by feeding tube. That is our big hurdle now, so pray that he can learn to nipple that bottle!

Caleb is home!   My Dad is here!   Hallelujah!   We are rejoicing in Caleb’s release from NICU and to my shock and surprise, Dad showed up on the afternoon flight.  I’m doing pretty well, feeling a bit weak and weary from the chemo, but better in many ways than I had expected.   My hair isn’t falling out yet, as Shaina makes sure to remind me several times a day.   (That isn’t expected for another week or two.)   Nathan returns to Nome on Thursday for about ten days of working there, and he’ll be back in Anchorage before my next chemo on July 22.   We don’t yet know if I will be able to return to Nome, but I am hopeful that we can do that before too long.   Please continue to pray for strength as my body nears the low point in this first round of chemo.   I’m fighting a head cold and some other physical issues, so I would appreciate your prayers for strength!    I’m sorry the updates have been sparse the last few days, the days have been so full and I’m pretty tired by the time evening rolls around.   But, at last, I’ve updated the blog as well as added a Photos page and some movies from the homecoming at Caleb Clips.  Enjoy!

We have reached Caleb’s actual due date. :) The doctor said he is gaining weight and doing great!  Nathan is back in Nome for a little while but planning to return soon.   We miss him!   Please pray for my health as my blood draw this week showed my white cells are very low.   They’ve asked me not to go out into public, etc. until they start to come back up.  The concern is that if I did catch a viruses or infection, there is nothing in my body to fight against it, so just pray that we will be protected from that.   Thanks so much to everyone who is standing with us in this place!   We are so blessed by you and your words of encouragement! 

Good news from my oncologist... he is willing to let me return to Nome!   I’ll have weekly blood draws there, and only need to return to Anchorage for a few days every three weeks for a check~up and my full round of chemo.   I am so excited!   We may be here even two more weeks, the return is contingent on how I handle my round of herceptin tomorrow as well as the next full round of chemo on the 22nd.   Pray for no reactions!   We’re hurting with Nathan’s family in the death of his second cousin, Randy Loper.   He was one year younger than Nathan, leaving four children and wife behind. I know they would be grateful for your prayers. Suddenly our trial feels very small.   I am reminded that God does not need to be understandable to be trustworthy. 

Hurray for no reaction to the herceptin on Wednesday!  Unfortunately, my groshong catheter has been closed off and is not working well. (Chemo can go in but blood won’t come out for blood draws, etc.)   Pray that the sheath my body is building around it will break down and not cause it to malfunction!   I’m still having a lot of doctor appointments, etc. and will continue to do so through next week.   Hopefully after my next round of chemo on the 22nd we can begin preparing to come home.   Thanks to everyone for your prayers on our behalf!

Daddy is home!  Much to our delight, Nathan arrived back with us safely after 11 days in Nome.  Tomorrow is my blood work to make sure we are go-ahead for chemo on Wednesday.  Please pray with us that the blockage with my catheter will be cleared and that they will be able to draw blood from it!  (see description below from 07.18.09)  My hair is starting to fall out pretty severely, and even since this afternoon my scalp has become very tender.   I was so blessed by friends from Arctic Barnabas coming today with love, prayers, and the gift of a lovely scarf to cover my poor head.  Such kindness! Physically, I am starting to see the toll of the cancer and chemo.  In my spirit I sense it too, but I am also sensing much grace for each struggle.   Bless you all for your prayers!

We are well!  I’m a little tired from yesterday’s chemo and today’s neulasta shot, but grateful for no reactions during yesterday’s infusion.  We still haven’t booked tickets back to Nome, we need to see how I respond to these treatments... the neulasta can have some nasty side effects, but it does boost my white blood cells, which is really necessary after last round’s low numbers.  I’ve added some photo pages, AK photos just shows some shots of life here, and Portraits are the first professional photos we’ve done as a family.   I hope you enjoy them!   Please continue to pray that we’ll know the right time to return to Nome, and for a good response to the neulasta shot.   Thanks!

It’s a tired night at the Hickel House here at Providence Hospital.   Caleb’s little nose is so stuffy, and he’s having a hard time sleeping.   Yesterday during my chemo session, he accidently pulled my catheter out of my chest, and thus we have had to extend our stay and at 9:30 this morning I will have a new medi-port surgically implanted in my chest.   This is a port under my skin, accessed by a needle, versus the tube coming out of my chest that the groshong was.   I’m not looking forward to the surgery, still feeling very weak after my chemo round.   Please pray that all goes smoothly, specifically that a don’t get a punctured lung as that is a risk with this surgery.   I have a great surgeon, Dr. Whitcomb - pray that God guides her hands!

Surgery went well, but recovery has been rough!   My strength is returning little by little, and I am grateful for that.   Mom left Thursday evening, after laying down more than two months of her life here with us.   Nathan’s Dad and his fiancee Daryl Bradbury are here with us for almost five days.   The children are loving getting to know Grandma “D”!   They leave next Tuesday,  and Danielle returns to stay on Monday morning.   Just in time, too!   Tuesday evening we leave for round four of chemo. Perhaps this time it will be slightly less eventful!   Caleb is smiling more and more each day, and even has coo-ed at me a few times.   Wesley learned how to say “car” and now uses to identify any form of transportation. :)   I love little boys!

Well, round 5 of Chemo has begun!  We’re back in Nome, doing pretty well, and amazed at how quickly summer leaves and fall floods in.   Danielle has done an amazing job holding down the fort while Nathan and I have to leave for treatments, and we’ve been blessed so often by our friends here with meals and outings for the children.   The chemo is taking it’s toll on my strength, but I am still much better than I had ever expected to be.   We had amazing news that the tumor is shrinking drastically, to the point that it has gone from being stage 3 in size to almost impossible to find.   Sadly, that doesn’t seem to mean that I get to skip out on mastectomy and radiation.  At this point they feel that is the only wise route for me to go.   I’ve been told that a return of the cancer would be terminal from medical perspective, but right now, with aggressive measures we have hope of total cure. Pray for wisdom, we are seeking God’s will for the next steps, and we need His direction!

Well, next Wednesday is the sixth and final round of chemo.   The last round has gone SO well.  Thanks for praying!   My brother Nate is here for at least a month.   He’s staying with a guy from church and working with another guy from church.   We’re super glad to have him around!   In Kate’s words, “Uncle Nate is my friend, I just LOVE my friend!”

It’s Thursday night, December 3rd..   Tomorrow at 9 AM I will begin surgery, expected to take around five hours.   Nathaniel and Mom are here with me, and Ruthan Glaser flew in to Nome to stay with my sister for the week and help care for the children.   Nate Sobie’s up there too, which is terrific.  When she leaves, Mom will head to Nome and be with us for the month of December.   I’ll have a lot of limitations with lifting and caring for the children, so having them here is a life saver.   Thanks for praying, I think we’re feeling about like we’re going to jump off of a cliff!   I never have liked points of no return... Pray for the children as we are away for almost two weeks, for their caregivers, for our courage and my healing.   Thank you!

My surgery recovery has been long and slow, but we gratefully made it home just in time for Christmas.   I’m doing better day by day, and we’re preparing to head for Ohio on Wednesday morning, January sixth.   We stop in Anchorage for two days of medical stuff, then on to Wadsworth.  Noah and Shaina are already there with my Dad and Sister.   I’ve posted some pics from Christmas time, and I’m hoping to do some blogging soon.   Just a quick praise, instead of being permanent, my “chemo brain” issues reduced and seem to be completely gone!   Thank you all for praying for me!   I am rejoicing!

It has been a busy two months in Ohio!  Many doctor’s visits and much prayer resulting in the decision that I will take two additional chemo’s during my radiation.  I am just over halfway through radiation, and so grateful that the burning has not been to severe.   The one chemo I am taking is sensitizing my body to the radiation, so they expect more drastic burning.   Every day that I go in I am praying that those rays will find and kill the cancer, but that God’s hand will protect me from severe scarring and burning.  I believe He is hearing and answering my prayer, and I praise Him.   I’m pretty weak and dealing with a lot of exhaustion and nausea from the medications.   How blessed I am to have my family here... they are a constant help and blessing.   Nathaniel returns from five weeks in Alaska on the 23rd of this month, and we’re all counting the days.   We don’t know yet when we’ll return home, just taking it day by day.

Radiation is done... Hallelujah!   Today was my last day.   I’m determined to endure, however, as the burning and effects are supposed to continue for up to another two weeks after treatment stops. Gratefully, my burning is not as bad as expected, although my skin is beginning to break down.   I have developed a severe reaction to my Tykerb medication.   It’s a horrific rash accompanied by a rash that has robbed my of three straight nights of sleep, even with percocet!   It just has to run it’s course, I’m off the Tykerb now, and will start back slowly, but the waiting is excruciating.  (especially at night!)   I would be grateful for your prayers in that regard.   I’ll try to update soon about the next step for us.  

We are home in Nome!   After two months of resting and regaining strength in Ohio, I was well enough to make the trip, and we arrived home on May 27th.  Danielle and I are still unpacking, we’re pretty well adjusted to the time change, but the stomach flu is working its way through our family one by one.   My lymph edema has been painful and swollen the last weeks, I’m waiting for some customized sleeves.   According to the specialist I’ll need to keep it wrapped 24/7 from now on if I want it to keep from stretching and getting larger.   We are happy to be home, and have enjoyed catching up with friends both from Nome and some chances to visit with friends from some neighboring villages.   I don’t have to return to Anchorage for 4-5 months, and will have my last two herceptin treatments here in Nome. Praise God for bringing us to this place in our journey!