December 16 - The Funniest Card

Hi everyone-

I thought you might like to know where we are in the card count. We're at 602 cards!!!! Please don't stop sending cards...we'd love to pass the challenge on to someone else at some point. I personally think Harriett Rustan (who actually received around 628 cards) must have known that Jim was up to the task. Some newly diagnosed people just don't seem up to it, which is understandable.

Jim loves getting the cards. I bring all the cards in and he makes a beeline for the pile every afternoon. Some of the cards are very touching. It's truly inspiring to know how many people are thinking of and praying for us. Some of the cards are very funny - and he really laughs hard. But so far, it's going to be tough to top our funniest card winner. It's from Julia and Tilman Harig. They live in Germany - so this card's got it all: humor, distance, and multiple layers of funny, including the fact that the kid's name on the card is "Jimmy".

I believe that the cards are an enormous part of Jim's healing process. They give him something to look forward to every day. No matter how bad the day is, he knows he can look forward to the cards at the end of the day. Even if he's too tired or sick to do anything else, he can open the cards.

Our most recent surprise - the word is really out in Kohler. We got a card from a family we don't know who live only one block away. Something about it brought tears to my eyes. We also got a card from the Kohler Elementary School staff. Kohler may be the best village in the whole world. I never honestly thought we'd enjoy living in Sheboygan this much. But it is just fun to say the word "Sheboygan", isn't it?

We're looking forward to Christmas. I am picking up my brother, Jim's parents, and Jim's Aunt and Uncle at the airport on Thursday. There are going to be 14 people at my parents' house for Christmas. It's going to be a nice Christmas. And now we can really celebrate knowing that all the tumors are SMALLER!