boat launch

 a sunny, spring day filled with fun down by the waterside.  perfect in every way.  followed by an afternoon swim and otter pops.

remember this game?

its back and its all the rave in the first grade.  luke brought it home to show me what 'all the kids are doing'.  good old school fun, i missed it more then i thought.  

good results

i have literally been sitting on the edge of my seat for days.

since lily's pet scan and mri i have been having migraines, loss of appetite, nausea... never before has stress and anxiety caused me so many physical aliments.

the news is good.  the chemo is working.  the tumor is shrinking.  it is less metabolically active then before. since we were unable to biopsy there was a bit of uncertainty as to the type of tumor.  however, we now know that it is in fact a glioma (as suspected). and better yet, a low grade glioma.

we are far from out of the woods, but i am relieved that we are tip toein' in the right direction.  treating the right thing with the right medication and it is working.  it. is. working.

every one of you has played a part.  all your love, prayers and thoughts.  you have surrounded us with so much.  she feels it, how could she not?  it has strengthened her little body to fight.

thank you.

tonight i am all smiles.

silence

my sense of hearing has become supersonic since becoming a mom.  i can hear it the moment they fall asleep in the back of the car, although i can't see them, i can hear it, or feel it.  its a sixth sense, part of being a parent.

so, the majority of the time i simply block out all the load bangs, hoot and howls coming from my upstairs play room.  i do this because i know what each noise is and that everything is going to be okay.  i can hear the voices and play change when i need to intervene.

the most frightening sound around here is one of silence.  when i hear no one, i know there is something going on.  this is what i stumbled upon today after i heard the sound of silence.  he is the first one to do it.  i knew it was just a matter of time...

one long day for this mama.  lily had her 4th mri and pet scan.  she did amazingly well.  honestly the difficult part was starving her beforehand.  nothing to eat or drink after 7:30. she was so overtired and hungry when they finally got started.

i loved her nurse and doctor for the day.  all the other times, they have peeled her from my arms and off i went to the waiting room to sit anxiously on the end of my seat.  today, they had me carry her back to the pet scan machine.  i laid her down and they blew some gas over her sweet little face and off to dreamland she went.  it was peaceful, i could have stood there all day.  then they gently reminded me it was time to leave the room.

when i got to go back and see her, she was happily drinking a huge bottle of apple juice.  i was amazed, my little breast fed baby, with a bottle? juice?  its the first bottle she has ever had.  we went straight to a sippy cup.  and she was loving the juice.  that was a special treat as well.  i will be picking her up some more juice, especially for the long days when she is getting her chemo treatment.

it was a day i can only describe as life.  the ups and downs of emotions.  it was oddly a happy day.

break

lily is about half way through with her chemo 'break' and each day i feel her evolving back into herself. she really has tolerated all of this with such ease.

she has energy.  an appetite.  color in her cheeks.  her eyes are opening.

i do not miss our weekly chemo trips one bit.

however, tomorrow we are scheduled for another mri and pet scan.  please keep us in your prayers...

posing

we love our child's pose around here.  oohhmm...

carnival

last night on the way home from our early dinner, we came upon a surprise.  there was a little carnival at a church.  the boys were so excited.  it was not crowded, no waiting in lines.  the best part was that we crossed paths with several families we have not seen for awhile.  love moments like these, the unexpected with good company.

just playin'

planting time

my boys have been busy little bee's.  it started out as a quest to pick up some seeds and planters for luke's science fair project.  luke was not feeling well (just a cold/ allergies) but the other ones sure had fun.

they carefully selected the plants and filled my planter in the front yard.  i am not sure how long the plants will last.  hopefully we can keep them happy for a few months.  nothing here seems to make it past june.  that hot sun seems to dry up everything, no matter how hard i try.