Thank you Lighthouse!

We just returned from another wonderful week at the beach with Lighthouse Family Retreat. This organization has been such an amazing blessing to our family. We get to spend the week being served and taken care of while spending time with other families that are going through childhood cancer. We are so thankful for this time together as a family. We are also so thankful for this partner family (above) that cared for our family for the week and all of the volunteers that serve so selflessly. We all had such a great time!

Today we got to celebrate Trent's 3rd birthday! Happy Birthday Trent! God has given us a huge blessing in you. He created you to fit perfectly within our family. You are the sunshine that brightens a day and you always bring smiles to our faces. Love you!

Grant has a clinic appointment tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. He will get a spinal tap, chemo in his port and start steroids. We appreciate your prayers as Grant continues to fight this battle.

That's not fair!

Tonight, while Grant was getting ready for bed, he looks at me and says, "Mom, it's not fair that I have to have leukemia and Trent doesn't." He had just taken about 11 pills and Trent went running by the bathroom laughing and playing with Rudy. He definitely realizes that not everyone has to do the yucky things he does. So, we talked about it and I told him he was right, it is not fair. It's a BIG "NOT FAIR". But, he is going to be so awesome b/c he can deal with all the things that are not fair in life. Then, he talked to Rudy about it and Rudy told him how tough this was making him. And that he was so tough for doing all the things he has to do and fighting leukemia. It broke our hearts to hear him talk like that. But, one thing he was sure of, he did NOT want Trent to have leukemia. Praying for a very special friendship between Grant & Trent.

Big Brave Boy

Today was a doctor day. First, Grant had a well visit with his pediatrician. Even though he cannot receive immunizations while he is on treatment, the oncologist suggested that we continue that relationship. All went well and he is perfectly "normal".
Then, we went to the clinic for his regular visit. Grant did an amazing job today. Not only did he not cry, he didn't even make a peep or flinch when he got his poke. When it was time to take it out, it was more of the same. He seemed so big and grown up today. It must be a 5 year old thing. I was so proud of him.
His counts finally came down this month, but they missed the "ideal" range. His ANC was 690. The target range is 750-1500, but it only has to be above 500 to continue treatment. No changes were made to his medications. He begins his 5 days of steroids this evening. He started with a cough on Saturday morning and it has gotten a little worse. Dr. Heym said he sounded clear when he listened to him breathe. Hopefully, he can fight off whatever little bug he may have.
We went to Kindergarten Round-up tonight. Grant is so excited about starting school. Mom is having a hard time for many reasons. Tonight we left b/c I was worried about him being around all those kids with low counts. Ahhh!
Thank you for continuing to keep up with our family. And, as always, we are so grateful for all of our prayer warriors. God answered prayer today!

Happy 5th Birthday Grant!

Yes, that's right, #5. Can you believe it's been 2 years since we started all of this? We had a great time celebrating Grant today. Birthdays have kinda become a big deal, especially for Grant, so it's not limited to one day. :) He was so excited to turn 5. He asked me about 3 times this morning if he looked taller.

I don't know if you caught the baseball theme?!? We made baseball cookies that Grant took to his class at school today. They were a hit...pun intended. Then, he had a baseball game, which they won, and gave out baseball cookies to his team. And then we topped it all off with a pizza party after the game. And this is just the beginning. We have more celebrating to do. :)

Of course I do a lot of reflecting in April and I will write more about that at another time. But, it's always so great to see Grant enjoying "normal" things in life. We have a very special little boy and God has been so good! Thank you all for your continued prayers! Happy Birthday Buddy!

Easter

Just wanted to post some pictures of Easter. We had a really fun time with family. The picture of our family was taken at our new church, Movement Church. God has led us to help with a church plant and Easter Sunday was our first Sunday morning worship service. We are having a lot of fun. God is Good!

Butterflies & Baseball

We got to have a really special day today. Grant participated in a fundraiser for the organization that sent us to Disney, a Wish With Wings. The theme was Butterflies & Baseball and Nolan Ryan was the chair for the event. Grant got to wear his personalized jersey and walk the runway. But, most importantly, he got to meet Nolan Ryan and get lots of autographs. There were 10 kids that participated and they are so wonderful to each one. Grant really had a great time. But I'm not sure who enjoyed it more....Grant or Dad? ;) http://www.awishwithwings.org/

More Meds

Grant had his regular clinic visit on Monday. On the way to school that morning he told me that he wanted me to tell dad that he did really good at clinic b/c he was going to laugh when he got his poke. I responded that I would fall over if he laughed when he got his poke. No need to worry....I did not have to fall over. He screamed and squirmed and made it miserable. But, when we took the "noodle" out, he did laugh. All this tells me is that he has full control and is choosing how he wants to behave. Anyway, we accomplished what we needed to accomplish. God is good! Grant's counts were still elevated above the optimum levels, so he got another increase in his chemo. He is taking A LOT of medication! Dr. Heym also increased his steroids. Grant has seemed to handle the increase pretty well. The only real struggle was at his baseball game. He got thrown out at first twice and that was just too much. The heartbreak coupled with steroids was not a good combination. He just cried...twice. So, of course, I cried. As normal as Rudy and I would like it to be that he is playing baseball, it's not normal. Did I say he is taking A LOT of meds? And then I reverted back to feelings I had at the beginning of wanting to explain him, not so much to the parents, but especially his teammates. I didn't want them to think Grant was a crybaby. They were so wonderful to him though, patting him on the back and telling him to get it next time. And God has given us some wonderful new friends whose son battled cancer. He is on Grant's team. It's so great to have someone living life with you that understands your feelings. God is good! Grant has had a few things happening that may or may not be side effects. We would just like you to pray for him. He has been getting some spots on his face that come and go. They come up in the same spots each time. Dr. Heym has looked at him and pictures of him when they are worse and does not seem concerned. I would just prefer he not have spots on his face! He is also having some leg pain, much like he did at the beginning of treatment. It usually happens in the car and is a pain behind his knees. Lastly, he has been waking up in the night frantic. He is screaming and sometimes running in our room. He goes to the bathroom and we have a fairly lengthy conversation (for 1 a.m.). He has described nightmares to me. The weirdest part is that he does not remember ANY of it in the morning. Nothing. I feel like I am constantly battling living in a state of fear. I know God is in control and holding each one of us in the palm of his hand. God is good!