She's a Survivor!

Many of you know that my mom was first diagnosed with colon cancer almost 10 years ago. Since then she has had 2 other recurrences and is now in remission...praise the Lord. She is the strongest woman I know and a real prayer warrior. She believed God would perform a miracle in her life and He has, more than once. Though I wouldn't wish cancer on her or anyone else, I can say that I have learned so much about my own personal walk with the Lord and I have obviously learned a great deal from watching her battle this terrible disease. She has used the trials to share her testimony, minister to others, and to give God all the credit, and it has definitely brought our family closer together.


All over the country the American Cancer Society holds fundraisers called Relay for Life. Locally, they have one in Palmetto every year. At the beginning of the event they have a survivor walk around the track. My mom has walked in it before, but not in a couple of years because of scheduling conflicts. This year my aunt asked my mom if she would want to walk in it again and my mom said that she would. Thus started our family's Big Give. (that's what we called it b/c we've all been watching that show) We all arranged to surprise my mom at the walk. She had no idea that we would be traveling since Bailey is so little and she thought that Lauren had a super busy weekend. Ryan and I made it through the airport with 2 children although that is another story in itself and our flight was on time. God answered so many prayers along the way and I'm so thankful. For example, we fly a small airline called Allegiant Air back and forth to FL and it seems that every time I fly the flight is running a little late. I knew even if the flight was on time, getting into St. Pete and getting to the walk in Palmetto would be close. I prayed constantly for 2 weeks that the flight would be on time so we could make it to the walk. As the plane was backing away from the gate, I asked Ryan to look at his watch to tell me the time. It was 2:30 on the dot, which was our exact scheduled take off time. God is good! Needless to say, we made it to the walk to pull off the big reveal and my mom was incredibly surprised. It was a special time to remember my grandmother (who died of colon cancer) and to be thankful that God has blessed my mom over the past 10 years.

The Big Reveal - she is shocked!

walking the survivor's red carpet

Taking the Survivor's Lap w/ her friends Kathy and Bill (also cancer survivors)

We're all about to walk with her on the caregivers' lap

our action shot - actually walking the lap