Baker Family

The Baker family is precious for so many reasons and to a whole bunch of people. And this Christmas will be a particularly special one, so it was an absolute joy for me to meet their sweet children and have some fun taking these photos. You see, Wade Baker has battled cancer for nine long years and this past summer he was told he would likely only have a short time left. I think to say it best, I'll take from his wife's recent blog explaining their situation:

"At the end of June, Wade went to the doctor for his usual 2 month appointment. When he went, they found the tumors had grown a bit. He had to make the decision to either do a chemo in the form of a pill or some other clinical trial. Unfortunately, they are unable to do any type of surgery to remove the tumors because of their location. They are all wrapped up in blood vessels and are very close to his heart. Okay, no big deal. He will do some more chemo and shrink those bad boys and we will move on as we always have.

July 13th...Wade goes in because he's coughing up some blood. We don't really think to much about it. They go in to try to cauterize what's bleeding, but they were unsuccessful. Still not thinking too much about it. They tell us they are going to try another procedure that is a bit riskier. We're optimistic and are up for anything. However, Wade was running a fever but was no longer coughing up blood. They decided the risks of doing the procedure were too great so we'd wait it out. That afternoon, we're happy the bleeding has stopped and we're looking forward to hopefully going home. However, the news we've dreaded for nine years. I will never ever forget it. Three people walk in...they have a funny look on their faces. Now, think, we're sitting back relaxing, relieved he didn't have to have the "risky" procedure. Then the news..."it's about time to start getting things in order." What does that even mean?!?! It didn't even seem real. They went on and on for what seemed like an eternity. All I could think was "This is it. How can I live without him. The kids. Oh the kids. How will they ever understand? How will we explain it to them?" A million things are running through my head. I'm no longer hearing the babble coming from these people. I no longer hear that it's time to research Hospice, ways to talk to your kids about death, signing a DNR, getting papers in order...no more! All I could do was tell Wade over and over and over how much I loved him. I didn't want to leave his side. It was like a crazy dream that I couldn't wake up from.

And now here we are. The doctors never gave us a timeline. The day they were going to, the kids walked in to the hospital room and the conversation was never completed. For that I am thankful. It's not in our time, it's in HIS time! I remember sitting in the hospital room thinking, "Please God, let him be there for Kaden's first day of kindergarten." Prayer answered. "Please God, let him see Kaden's first T-ball game." Prayer answered. "Please God, let him be here for Kaden's 6th birthday". Prayer answered. God is truly amazing. We've had a few scares here and there. A few times of chest pain, fever, coughing up blood. But we're taking it a day at a time."

As tears well up in my eyes, I realize now {and I hope any of you reading as well} just how important family photos can be. None of us ever know how long we may have with our loved ones or what God's plan in our lives may be, but photos capture a happy time that can be cherished forever. If you would like to make a donation to the Baker family to help support Wade's battle, you can send a check to Prayers for Wade at 507 Hearthstone Court in Spring, 77386 or send an e-mail for information on how to donate via PayPal.