Easter 4 Webbs

Happy Easter friends and family,

I haven't given up on the 4Webbs blog.  These past few weeks have been indescribable.  Great things have happened and terrible things have happened.  I'll do my best, but there is no way to put into words the twists and turns of life or the schedule I've been keeping.  Kendra and I used to plan ahead several days, weeks, and years.  How will we spend our summer? What sports will Easton and Layla be interested in next year?  When will we get a chance to go on a vacation to Washington?  These long-term dreams and goals are all tucked conveniently in the freezer as we shift our whole lives to living one day at a time.

As a short update on Kendra, she completed two of the three Cyberknife radiation treatments for the cancer in her spine and liver.  One more treatment on Monday.  Then we will meet with the oncologist on Wednesday to chart a course for chemotherapy.  That treatment will start somewhere around April 20th or so.  Only six short months of weekly chemo treatment, plus another two months of general radiation and Kendra will be as good as new!  I know... It's not THAT simple.  I know Kendra will be in pain and tired and sick and broken down in every way possible, but if I get too complicated with trying to understand the details then it becomes overwhelming so I just choose to keep it simple and let the doctors take care of the details.

I'll go all the way back to Easter weekend as a starting point.  Here's the annual 4 Webbs (plus two Burgess grandparents) Easter photo.

Ouma and Oupa were both here for an unplanned Easter visit.  This was not on their radar to spend Dad's spring break and Ouma's entire spring here with the 4 Webbs, but we are forever grateful for their sacrifice to be here with us.  They were such an integral part of our Easter week that it hardly seems appropriate to have just a picture of the 4 Webbs, but here's a simple on of just us.  The part of this picture I'm most proud of is that Kendra is standing up on her own strength with just the help of her turtle shell back brace.

One of the areas that fell through the cracks lately with all the craziness is our follow up on thanking people personally for gifts and kindness.  Kendra has never been great at sending thank you cards, but for the past month we've dropped the ball on many occasions.  People sent us gifts and dropped them off at our house on a regular basis.  I was almost moved to tears when I saw all the Easter gift baskets and toys and candy for the twins.  We've been doing well as a family, but sometimes even the smallest gifts make the biggest impression on the twins.

They keep all their Easter gift bags lined up in the kitchen.  I'm most proud of the fact that they only get one piece of candy per day and leave the rest alone.  One starburst or one Reese's egg or whatever.  They could easily walk by and devour entire baskets of candy, but their self control is really encouraging.

Before Easter service Kendra was not even sure her back pain would be low enough to attend the service. Even so, she was able to help Layla get her hair dried and curled while the rest of the family suited up in our Easter outfits.

Have you ever had your wife go on stage at church on Easter Sunday and take over the service?  Probably not, but I have.  Her back pain was so intense that she didn't think she would be able to even make it to church.  She asked mom to help her into the car and she came anyway.  When she arrived at church her pain decreased and she sat through the entire service.  Her boldness and desire to testify was so outrageous that it raised my eyebrows.  Towards the end of the service Kendra sensed a pause in Pastor's message and spoke up with a request to address the congregation.  He agreed and she slowly walked on stage to give her testimony of how she was able to attend Easter service.  She finished and stepped down off the stage as the congregation applauded.  I don't know what happened for sure in the hearts of those who attended, but faith was increased by everyone with an openness to catch her excellent story of how to have power over circumstances.  This was the Easter I'll never forget as long as I live.

Back at the house, we've only cooked a couple of meals in the past several weeks.  our church and neighbors and friends have brought dinner virtually every night for weeks now.  One of the rare dinner occasions provided an opportunity for Ouma to give Layla some cooking lessons.

But first, she needs her apron.  It's completely normal for Layla to cook in a tutu.  Nothing surprises me anymore about her princess personality.

Kendra is making intentional efforts to connect with each of the kids individually.  This involves hanging out in the master bedroom because Kendra spends most of her time here.  Easton chose to play Battleship for his Mommy time.  Not sure who won the game, but every minute she spends interacting with Easton and Layla is a valuable use of time.

Our neighbor invited us over for an unplanned Easter egg hunt in their backyard. One neighbor boy is a few years older and the other two are a few years younger.  Their parents and Logan and Bree and I hid the eggs throughout their massive backyard.  The kids waited impatiently until we gave the green light to go!

Easton and Layla were zipping around finding eggs.  They split up most of the time but their paths crossed once or twice and I was able to capture an action shot of both of them in the same frame.

The plastic eggs were filled with candy and real money.  I put a quarter or two in each of the eggs we brought to the neighbor's house.  The kids were equally as excited about money as they were about the neighbor's candy-filled eggs.  Anyway, we are stocked up on eggs for next year already.

See you soon!