Ol' Clem is about as good a hunting dog as you can get.  He has been groomed, trained, corrected and praised so often that words are no longer needed by his master.  Ol' Clem knows what to do and has dedicated himself to that service.  He is getting a little older and has this knot on his leg that slows him down, but he loves what he does.  The truck simply backs up to the dog run and Ol' Clem jumps right in.  He paces around the bed of the truck anticipating the breeze on his face, the free range to roam and the scratches behind the ear for a job well done.  Ol' Clem's world was about as close to dog utopia as you could get. 

Very little changed until one fateful afternoon.  The truck backed up as usual and Ol' Clem piled right in.  He stuck his head out in the breeze and noticed they were taking an unusual route.  They didn't park in the wide open spaces but rather next to a large brick building.  Ol' Clem remembers being surrounded by white coats, held down and being painfully poked and prodded.  The rest of the events are rather fuzzy and out of sequence.  Ol' Clem began to feel confused and uncertain.  Why would his master allow such terrible things to happen to him? 

The truck began to back up to the dog run and Ol' Clem had serious reservations about jumping into that truck bed again.  At that moment, Ol' Clem began to see a clearer picture.  He remembers his master scratching him behind the ears and kissing his forehead as the whitecoats held him down.  He remembers waking up in the main house in a comfortable bed of towels and blankets, plenty of food and water and was out of the rain.  He remembers the master removing the bandage from his leg and replacing it with a new one. He is flooded with the memories of encouragement, love, hugs, smiles and care. 

The gate swings open and Ol' Clem gladly leaps into the truck.  He notices the knot on his leg is gone and he feels much better.  Ol' Clem decided to remain faithful to the one who always remained faithful to him.  

There is a lot to learn from the life of a good ol' dog.

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Cook Children's Hospital has redone many of the tests that were done in the Czech Republic.  So far the results have been the same and they believe the tumor is growing towards the lungs.  It is very important that we stop the growth of this 'thing' before it reaches the lungs.  Payton goes in this Thursday (July 5) to begin chemotherapy.  He will be there for 3-4 days and then be allowed to return home before the next treatment.  Please pray that all goes well this weekend and that the treatments are extremely effective.

We have graciously been loaned a vehicle large enough for us to use (even after the baby is here) over the next several months. Thanks for the prayers and offers.

Thanks for your faithfulness, encouragement, love, hugs, smiles and concern.  We can never thank each of you enough.