Much Needed Items

So many of you have responded with overwhelming kindness to my "list assignment". So many of you told me that you had been waiting to help and needed help with how you could help us. It's been hard--trying to be open and honest with our needs. God has been good to us, but we know that He is using you as His hands.
First I am going to list the very practical needs that the lymphoma society said that every cancer patient who is going through chemo needs (esp. ones that go out of town for their treatments, as we are going to Ptld routinely)
**Gas Cards are very practical and extremely useful--as we travel to Portland and back many times during the months for treatments.
**Gift Cards for restaurants, as Mj is living in Ptld for 7-10 days at a time -- this would offset our expenses
**Gift Cards to Stores, e.g. Target, Wal-Mart, Costco, for the 101 needs of being away from home and for items needed during this stressful time.
**Phone cards--so Steve can use to call out of hospital.
**Give Blood --if you can. The ESD is trying to set up a Blood Drive, where blood can be donated "in honor of Steve Smith" Blood is always needed and it truly is a gift that "keeps on giving"

Mj's list:
**A list of men that I can call on to take Steve to Dr.'s appts in Roseburg or Portland.
**Dasani bottled water --Steve's favorite brand of water. I try to purchase it on Sale. If somone could purchase it on sale, I could reimbuse them.
**Protein bars, granola bars, fruit bars with nuts--anything with protein that might taste good. Steve desperately needs protein.
**Wal-Mart brand of pretzels with peanut butter inside--he just tried them and really liked them. Steve's appetite is still good and we try to make him eat 5-6 small meals daily. He cannot eat fruit without a peel. And no fresh vegetables, only cooked ones. Plus he craves sweets, so the Walkers baked us their healthy cookies, that Steve devoured. So Oatmeal Raisin cookies, are a good bet.
**Help in cleaning our swimming pool this spring.
**Yard work--cutting roses back, trimming trees, mowing lawn etc.

Steve's list:
**Help Mj with housework. (Even if she says she can do it, please insist that she except your help!) Vacuuming, dusting, mopping floors esp. during the remodel we have lots of added dust bunnies. Boxes are stacked everywhere until we get the remodel finished. (Ask to help with Easter decorations--she'll balk, but insist!)
**MJ loves flowers--she loves geraniums, and lost all of her baskets of flowers due to the cold and frost this winter. She plants dozens of pots around the patio and pool area. Her free time in the spring is digging in the dirt. That is one outlet, I'd like her to be able to continue.
**As many of you are aware, MJ had her heart set on a round table and chair set for our kitchen. The lady promised it to her before we left for the hospital and while we were away, the woman gave it to her sister-in-law. Even though MJ tried to give her a deposit,etc. She still elected to give it away to someone else, knowing MJ was caring for me in hospital with chemo. MJ has been searching craigslist for months trying to find the "perfect set"and she finally found one ( then destroyed my Valentine gift to her in the process!)
So if any of you hear about an unusual round table and chair set for sale would you please think of MJ and let us know. The set was antique and unusual--no brand name given. Sorry I'm not much help. I only saw a picture.

Our emotional/spiritual/financial needs:
**Please pray for strength to fight the battle. Courage to not give up Hope. Pray for our girls as they wrestle with the seriousness of their father's illness.
**Please pray for Lynsey at NNU--she is so conflicted about staying vs. coming home. Please pray for financial resources to pay for the final few months of college. ( MJ had planned on working this spring to handle the remaining tuition payments. )
God is in control and knows our needs, please pray that this need will be a handled in such a way to give Him honor.
**Please pray for MJ as she continues to care for Steve. Give her strength to know when to ask for help and more importantly, to take the help. She cannot go 24/7 taking care of me.
**(Only those of you who ever owed an old house will understand this request): Please pray that we can get assistance from plumber to help find the pipe under our house. We need to replace the old clay pipes under the house, before we can proceed with the remodel job. The floor cannot be finished until the pipe is found and new one is secured. This has been an ongoing problem and we are on borrowed time. If the tree roots start growing into the clay pipes, we'll have major problems. We are so blessed to have had Project Smith go so well, we just need to have the final piece in place, so we can finish painting, papering, etc. to get this final project finished. (This is a major emotional issue for MJ--we have talked about getting this done this Spring for months and now with my illness, it is taking a much longer time to finish!)
**Pray that the enemy doesn't set up camp in our midst, with discouragement, doubts, major household repairs, illness, etc. Please pray that our home can be a sanctuary during this very difficult time.
**Pray for MJ's back pain, the more stress she endures, the greater the pain. Enough said.

We will continue to share with you the answered prayers and how God has shown His love to us as we obeyed by presenting our needs to His peope.

love,
mj and steve