I love my family...part 2

This is a post one hopes and prays that they would never have to repeat. I wrote the original I love my family post on May 29, 2007. On that date, I posted this photo
and asked for prayers for Heidi, Justin, Benjamin & Alexis while Heidi was going through the battle for her life after the initial chemotherapy for her Hodgkin's lymphoma failed and she then went through intensive chemo and a stem cell transplant. When a few bad cells remained she went through a full round of radiation and has now been cancer free for 3 years - YEAH!

I know my regular readers recognize Benjamin and Alexis, I love them like they are my grandchildren instead of my brothers. Remember Alexis dancing here...
and here?
Do you remember that until allergies forced me to quit getting "real" Christmas trees, the only ones that graced our home were the ones Benjamin picked out and helped cut down...
and attending his piano recitals was showcased on the blog?
Back to the reason for the part 2 to the "I love my family" posts. As you may have seen on my sidebar for the last several weeks, this family is going through the unimaginable. My nephew, Justin, was diagnosed in October with a rare and aggressive cancer, peritoneal mucinous carcinomatosis, and currently is fighting his own battle for his life. They travel 4 hours (one way) every other week to seek the best medical care they can at the Mayo Clinic which is one of the best in the world. The first four rounds of chemo did not bring the results everyone was praying for so he has begun a different chemo regiment and will have another scan after 4 treatments. Please pray for him and the doctors so that the right treatment will be found.

Through all of these trials they have kept such positive attitudes. In a recent conversation with Justin he said if you don't keep positive and have faith it would be impossible to get through this. Look at their smiling faces at our extended family calendar shoot in December.
This weekend, I will be taking a break from blogging while my family does all they can to help put on the benefit for Justin and his family. You can read the details of the benefit on my sidebar. Everyone has heard the saying "it takes a village to raise a child" but you cannot imagine the support our small rural communities have come forth with to "raise this family with emotional and financial support". We have received many donations of food and labor to put on this benefit as well as over 200 items to be auctioned at the silent auction.

One of the items on the auction will be a old fashioned garden tea party for six in Marsha's Garden. I couldn't find the photos of my later parties where the treats got much more elaborate but here is a collage of the first one I ever did.
If you live in driving distance of my garden and would like to bid, please do so. You can attend the benefit to bid or if you email me by Saturday evening (click on the icon on the sidebar), I will be happy to put a bid in for you.

We hope to see many people at the benefit on Sunday and are hoping our Minnesota weather cooperates. I'll be one of the many clad in green t-shirts.
To read more about Justin & Heidi's battles with cancer, read this article from the local paper written by John White.