Dear Friends, Every time I get on the blog and see the pictures on the left side I stare at each one and remember each instance in which they were taken. I thought I'd share with you about each picture. The first one of our family on the bluff overlooking the ocean was taken in Maui over this past Spring Break. It was our first time to go to Hawaii and we had a really nice family vacation together. It was full of lots of fun and many, many happy memories. I am so happy and feel so blessed, and am extremely grateful to God that we were able to have that time together and see such a beautiful part of his creation that we'd not seen before. The best part is that we were in Maui over Jerry's 41st birthday. His birthday was March 28. As a birthday present to himself, he rented a bike and biked up the Haleakala which is a dormant volcano. It has a summit of just over 10,000 feet and when at the summit there is a 3,000' deep crater that you can peer down into which is 7 miles long, 2 miles wide and 21 miles in circumference. Jerry was able to make it up the Haleakala to 7,000 feet before turning around and biking back down. Another guy was also biking up the Haleakala that day celebrating his 35th birthday which was the day before Jerry's, March 27. This guy's wife and her parents were driving a "support car" following her husband and they stopped and talked to Jerry. The wife took 2 pictures of Jerry biking up the volcano that day and e-mailed them to him later. I so cherish these pictures now and am so happy that someone stopped and did that for him that day. The next picture of Natalie and Jerry was taken at the American Girl Store in LA. We had surprised Natalie with a visit to that store for her 11th birthday. Jerry was helping her shop for doll clothes! Such a sweet memory now and I hope Natalie can always remember that day when she looks at this picture. Batman and Robin is, of course, Jerry and Joshua! They wore these costumes to a Halloween party last October 2007. Joshua already had his "Robin" costume and Jerry surprised us by finding the "Batman" costume for himself so they could go as a "team". I didn't even know Jerry knew how to shop by himself? !! The last picture of Jerry and I was taken at his surprise 40th birthday party! We were on a catamaran in the Santa Barbara Channel. It was a lot of fun. Hope you don't mind me sharing my memories with you that surround these pictures! Praying Boldly for God's Guidance, Candy

Carving Pumpkins

Dear Friends, The kids carved their pumpkins tonight and did a great job. It was sad for me knowing that Jerry wasn't sitting in his leather recliner watching TV as the pumpkins were being carved. He was always so very proud of the kids and always had funny comments and made us laugh. Natalie and Joshua were talking tonight and were sharing with each other a memory they had of daddy while we were on a family vacation last year before school started. We had been to the San Diego Zoo. Both kids had these animal buckets that their lunch was served in at the zoo. They were both flinging these buckets back and forth to each other in the seats behind Jerry and I...just playing like kids do when you're on a road trip. Well, evidently it was beginning to get on Jerry's nerves and he had had enough. He very calmly asked to see the buckets and when they handed them to him he flung both buckets to the back of our SUV...while driving! I even remember it was silent for a second, then we all started laughing. We had a good chuckle again tonight remembering this. Praying boldly for God's guidance! Candy

Dear Friends, I'm just going to share some sweet memories I have and a laugh or two that occured within my family after Jerry passed away, not that they were funny at the moment though! Immediately after Jerry died I went on "auto-pilot." I have read where this is very normal, and now I can truly see and understand that this is exactly what one does. My mind was in such a fog that I immediately just went through the motions of all the planning and preparations that one must do after a loved one dies. However, I am ever so grateful for my 4 siblings that came out to California to be with me and help me through this process (along with my parents). I have 3 brothers who accompanied me to the mortuary (along with my Dad). My brothers also went to the florist shop with me to pick out flowers for Jerry's casket. I was so indecisive on everything because my grief and disbelief was so heavy, and they were really sweet to help and we had several laughs along the way. Once again, my 3 brothers followed me to Macy's to pick out clothing for Jerry (none of his suits in our closet would fit). I don't think I could have done it without them. I let them mix and match everything and they pieced it all together for me. It was really funny watching them go at it. Then, knowing that I had said that I needed a dress for Jerry's services as well, they encouraged me to go ahead and try to find something. Besides, we were already in Macy's anyway, and it's not like I had a lot of time to shop in the near future. So over to the women's department we go. I'm sure we looked like a 3-ring circus...me and 3 men in the women's clothing at Macy's Department Store, and they are all trying to help me shop! I did find a dress...and they all agreed on it! I'm just really fond of these memories with them, and the way they loved me. Thank you brothers! The next day, my mother, Natalie and I head off to Nordstrom's to shop for a dress for Natalie. She found a dress on the 3rd floor and we ended up carrying it down to the 1st floor to try and find shoes. Unable to find shoes, we decide we need to look elsewhere and we needed to hurry, the stores were about to close. We leave Nordstrom's and enter another store. While looking around, Natalie suddenly announces, "Mom"...and I turn to her and see that she is holding the dress from Nordstrom, still on its hanger and draped over her arm. In our haste we had left the store without paying for the dress. I grabbed the dress and took off running, all the while thinking, "Great, we've stolen a dress and I'll be arrested and have to be bailed out of jail to attend Jerry's Memorial Service!" Long story short, I re-entered Nordstrom, told them what I had done, paid for the dress and was not arrested! Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008 - Jerry's Memorial Service. I get dressed and as I'm walking out of my bedroom, my brother Tracy comes up the stairs. He told me I looked nice and I asked him if I had gotten all the tags cut off. His reply, "Yes...everything but that security button on your jacket!" You know, the one that will explode ink everywhere if you try to remove it yourself. Mind you, we are leaving for Jerry's service in 20 minutes. All I could say was, "Run, Tracy, run. Run to Macy's and get this tag off." Tracy said, "I don't remember how to get to Macy's." And, I replied, "Then run to the Rennick's and have them take you!" God love our neighbors! They have all done so much for me...and once again they came to the rescue. (Tracy later meets me in the parking lot of the church and I put my jacket on!) Thank you God, for sweet memories, funny moments, laughter and life! Praying boldly for God's direction and guidance! Candy

Hello Dear Friends, I have so many thoughts throughout the day and have so much I want to say, but it is nearly impossible to find the time right now to sit down and blog (but I love doing it when I get the chance). I am somewhat overwhelmed with the responsibility that I have been left with knowing that I am a single mother now and don't have Jerry to help with anything regarding the kids, home, finances, family decisions, etc. Many of you have commented that this blog has been an "inspiration" to you, and I just want each of you to know that my strength only comes from God and He is what sustains me. I am still human too! I still feel the sting of pain and I definitely have my share of heartaches, but my hope remains in the fact that I can still call upon HIS name. I certainly don't claim to be holier than thou! I'm just a simple sinner who has received God's good grace, somehow! I am grieving the loss of Jerry very heavily and am just so extremely sad. EVERYTHING reminds me of him right now. Many of you have asked to help and I know that each of you would in any way possible, and truly the only thing that you can do right now is to continue to love my family and pray for us. And, please know that I welcome and cherish memories you have of Jerry. Several of you have shared even simple little memories that you have of even Jerry interacting with your children perhaps on the ball field, etc. Also, I want you to know that it is not a taboo to say his name! Please, feel free to talk about him when you talk to me and refer to him by name! I think back to Jerry's Memorial Services (both the one in CA and AR) and am still truly humbled by the outpouring of love and support. Even in the beginning, both Jerry and I were so moved by the love that was shown to us when we first found out that he had cancer. We kept looking at each other and would cry and just say, "Lord, who are WE that people would care so much about US?" There are so many of you that traveled a great distance just to attend his service in Little Rock. I am still in shock. There was family and/or friends that came from Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Minnesota, North and South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Tennessee and perhaps others. On top of this, there are many friends of Jerry's parents and my parents that traveled from Batesville and Jonesboro out of love and support of our parents in their time of need. Thank you, dear friends, thank you for honoring Jerry's memory and honoring me with your presence at his service. And thank you too Steve & Patti and Craig for attending his CA service from Napa and San Francisco. I know it wasn't easy - especially considering his CA service was on a Tuesday and that is a 5+ hour drive. I really appreciate all you dear friends, and I sincerely hope that you know that I mean it! I have more to say, but it will have to be at a later time. And, I still have some sweet and funny things to share that occured when my family and siblings were in California with me helping after Jerry's death...so stay tuned! 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. !!! Praying boldly in Him! Candy

Dear Friends, Just some of my revelations from this week and today. When we arrived home this past Monday evening from Arkansas our little neighbor, Ryan, brought our mail over to me that his family collected while we were gone. While thumbing through it I came across a piece of mail for Jerry. A Jury Summons! Jerry had been summoned for jury duty. My first thought was cynical (grief was heavy at the moment since we had just arrived back home...alone) and I thought, "what a way to get out of jury duty Jerry." I laid the summons on the counter and for some reason found myself picking it up ever so often when I would pass by and see it. I would look at it, re-read it, and just kind of hold it questioningly? I have thought about that jury summons a lot this past week. I've even had to call the Courthouse to let them know that Jerry would definitely not be showing up at his appointed time......And, then God speaks....."Candy, Jerry has been summoned alright, but he has been served a summons to appear before the most sovereign Supreme Court Judge there is! And, yes, he did appear at his appointed time." Today was our first day back to church since Jerry's illness began. It was not easy going to church without him. But guess what the chorus was to one of the songs we sang this morning? Better is one day in your courts Better is one day in your house Better is one day in your courts Than a thousand elsewhere The chorus is taken from Psalm 84:10 "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked." And God speaks..... Love, Candy

Dear Friends,

It has been 2 weeks today since Jerry passed away. I will not say that it has been easy. Lord Jesus, still my grief with awareness of the glory that Jerry is now enjoying in your presence. In our "earthly" sorrow tears have flown frequently for we are all very heartbroken and heavy with grief and sadness. I read today that our Creator who made us and knows our needs gave us tears as an outlet for sadness. It is comforting to realize that God notices our tears. In Psalm 56:8-9 the psalmist said, "Put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?" God records our tears in His book of remembrance, as though He were saying, "I have seen your sorrow and I have provided comfort that is greater than your grief."

Washington Irving quoted "There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the marks of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love." So please don't ever be ashamed of your tears or afraid to shed them for Jerry, myself, Natalie and Joshua. Please know that we welcome them!

I am also reminded that it is in times of grief and great sadness that our Heavenly Father grants us the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit even intercedes for us on our behalf! Romans 8:26-27 "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."

There are many remembrances of Jerry throughout the day that result in a puddle of tears. Mornings and evenings can be particularly painful. Since moving to CA, Jerry always walked Natalie and Joshua to school. It is now such a sweet memory for me knowing that he loved doing this and the kids enjoyed him being a part of their morning! It is hard in the late afternoon as well knowing that he will not be coming through the door to greet us as he always did. His seat is empty at the dinner table, and our conversation seems lacking. I welcomed little Joshua as he asked if he could sleep with me last night and sense that both he and Natalie are beginning to really realize the hole in our family. It was also difficult for me as I opened Jerry's top dresser drawer one morning while looking for something and saw his wallet and wedding ring inside. I often find myself now going to that drawer just to hold his ring and feel and smell the leather of his wallet.

I find that posting to this blog is therapeutic for me. It has become my "journal" so to speak, and I enjoy sharing with you all, knowing that you love our family and are concerned about us. I plan on blogging more, so if you're interested, please feel free to check it ever so often. In fact, I have several more things I want to share, but don't want to overwhelm everyone with a novel of information on this posting. I have some really funny things to share that occurred over the course of the last two weeks, so stay tuned for those! I enjoy humor and it's great to be able to laugh...and I know that Jerry has been laughing from above as he has looked down on everything!

I am ever so grateful for our Precious Savior and the hope I have in Him. My faith in Christ not only lifts me up, but honors HIS name as well. I do not have all the answers, nor do I understand what has happened, but I know someone who does!

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelation 21:4

I pray that each of you will draw closer to your family and loved ones. Cherish your life! It's a marvelous thing!

Continue to pray boldly for the Anderson 3!

Love,

Candy, Natalie and Joshua

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Psalm 116-15 Jerry's service today in Santa Barbara was beautiful. The most beautiful picture that I keep seeing in my mind is when Natalie and Joshua participated in the releasing of the doves and watching them circle around in the sky with the mountains in the background. It was such a picturesque scene and so very touching. I thank each of you who attended to honor Jerry's memory. I am truly touched by the number of individuals in attendance. My family is still so amazed by the outpouring of love, care and concern that we have received these last few weeks. They just keep saying over and over and over..."If we didn't know better, we would have thought that you had lived here for 20 years." Thank you to all our Santa Barbara friends! We love you! We love you! Candy, Natalie and Joshua

Dear Friends,

Today is my sweet Jerry's Memorial Service in California. I'm asking that you pray for me, Natalie and Joshua, along with my parents, sister and 3 brothers that are here with me. The sun is shining bright and it is a truly beautiful day in Santa Barbara. Our hearts are extremely saddened and very heavy with grief at the moment. Please pray that as his wife, I can serve Jerry today, and serve him well, and that his memory will truly be honored. When our precious God looks down upon me today, it is my prayer that He is able to say "Well done, well done thy good and faithful servant."

Praying boldly for God's grace and strength for this day, along with a peace that passes all understanding,

Candy

Dear Friends,

Listed are the details for Jerry's service in Little Rock, Arkansas:

Friday, October 10, 2008
Visitation with Family and Friends
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Roller Chenal Funeral Home
13801 Chenal Parkway
Little Rock, Arkansas
501-224-8300

Saturday, October 11, 2008
Memorial Service
2:oo pm
Second Baptist Church
222 East 8th Street
Little Rock, Arkansas
501-374-9284

Graveside Service following Memorial:
Roselawn Memorial Park

Love,

Candy

Dear Friends,

Here are the details for the memorial service for Jerry in California:

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

1:00 pm (individuals wishing to offer words of encouragement to the family are invited to visit with them at this time)

2:00 pm Memorial Service

Santa Barbara Community Church, 1002 Cieneguitas Road, Santa Barbara, CA

Love,

Candy, Natalie and Joshua

Everyone:

Candy asked me to update the blog about a couple of things:

-Funeral arrangements are not final yet but she will update the site as soon as possible.

-She also wanted me to say to everyone that she will update and correspond through this blog for the foreseeable future until she makes mention that's it's her last update.

In Him,
-Scott

Dear Friends,

As you now know, my sweet Jerry passed away this afternoon around 4:25 pm Pacific Time. He fought strong until the end and I never left his side. I think I kissed every inch of his body! I want each of you to know that I believed, even until his very last breath, that God was in total control. We serve such a gracious and loving God, and Jerry has met him face to face...imagine that! I can picture him now bicycling down streets of gold and singing and shouting praises to God.

I praise God I was awarded the gift of marriage to Jerry for 18 wonderful years. He was a good man. A faithful husband. A wonderful Daddy. An excellent provider. He always went above and beyond and had such a generous heart and kind spirit. I am proud myself and honored to be able to say that EVERYONE ALWAYS LIKED JERRY! He was always well respected in all areas of his life. Even I always noticed that and was so very happy that he was my man! Thank you God for the gift of Jerry.

I hope that each of you who has followed Jerry's health news the last few weeks have found your faith in God strengthened beyond measure. God is still good! And if you don't know the God that we serve, please know that HIS grace is sufficient and covers all. If you call unto him, he will meet you where you are.

"For it is by grace you are saved, through faith - and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, least any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Jerry can honestly say:
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

I love you Jerry ~ Candy
We love you Daddy ~ Natalie and Joshua

FYI There will be a service in California for all our loving friends God has surrounded us with these past 2 years and a service in Little Rock, AR for all our loving friends and family that God surrounded us with for 16 years of our married life. Details later.

Everyone:

Jerry passed away about 6:30pm central time. Candy was by his side.

Continue to pray diligently and BOLDLY.

In Him
-Scott

Everyone:

Candy asked me to update the blog this afternoon and ask for everyone's prayers. The second round of chemo for Jerry has not been effective and the doctors have said his organs are beginning to shut down. The doctors have recommended that Jerry not be resuscitated allowing him to go peacefully when it comes to that.

Please pray to the Lord that He covers Candy, Natalie and Joshua with a peace and comfort that only He can provide. And pray that when it is time, that He takes Jerry peacefully and without pain.

In Him,
-Scott Philbrick

Dears Friends,

Today has been an exhausting day; however, when I left the hospital at 7:00 pm tonight I felt such peace! I learned how to be a good advocate of health care for Jerry today and am actually feeling quite proud of myself right now (although I did have a lot of help from my brother Tracy who is in the medical field, so Tracy you get some credit too!) It was decided that Jerry needed an arterial line inserted today that will allow for a more constant and more accurate reading of his blood pressure, and it can be used to draw blood for "blood gases" that are taken quite frequently to check the level of oxygen in his blood. Actually it can be used for all lab and blood draws that are needed and he won't have to be poked with needles anymore. It is very tricky to do and I've heard can be quite painful. After more than an hour of two young resident doctors trying to get this line inserted I was beside myself. I had to sign a form for this procedure to be done and I was beginning to question whether or not I had made the right decision, and I felt like I was putting Jerry through agony? So, I called Tracy and asked what my "plan of action" should be. He knew exactly what to tell me, what to ask for, and most importantly how to go about asking. I immediately called the CCU charge nurse (the one from Heber Springs, AR) and within 15 minutes I had an anesthesiologist in full scrubs beside Jerry's bed and he had the arterial line finished in 10 minutes! Jerry, I'm learning how to fight the best fight for you. Hang in there, I'm just a little slow at this process...so sorry.

He had his second day of chemo and seems to be tolerating it well. The Pulmonologist said there is some fluid in one of his lungs, that is presumed to be pneumonia. I'll let you know the results of his lab work when I find out. Pray that his body will be strong against infections. Now that he is having chemo his white blood cell count will drop again in a few days and he'll be susceptible to infections easily again.

It's 10:15 pm now and I just spoke with his night nurse and he is resting very well and comfortably and all vital signs were stable. She told me she anticipated him having a good night. Good news!

"For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone" (Psalm 91:11-12)

(Now for some funnies! The weather has been awesome in Santa Barbara the last several days. It got up in the high 80's today/low 90's and was hot! For those of you unaware of our California weather, it cools down in the evenings and the nights are quite cool. Although we do have an air conditioner, we never use it - we sleep with windows open which is quite nice. Lots of homes in Santa Barbara do not have air conditioning at all. Jerry is a strict stickler about not using the air (OK Dinah, Tamey & Ashley - stop laughing). Natalie begs all the time to turn the air on and Jerry won't budge. Well, it was 83 degrees upstairs at bedtime and both of my kids came downstairs and got ice packs for their foreheads so they could go to sleep! I made my biggest executive decision ever tonight. We're sleeping with the air on Jerry!)

Praying boldly,

Candy