Happy Birthday Sweet Abbey!

Once again I've been slacking with posting! We've been busy, busy and there is much to update you on.

Abbey turned 4 on August 9th. We had a party for her on the 12th with family and friends and we had a super fun day celebrating our girl. Her party was a teddy bear theme so we did some bear games, a bear craft and ended the day at Build a Bear. We kept the party fairly small because Abbey does not really like being the center of attention and is pretty shy, especially around crowds, but the days following her party, she couldn't stop talking about her party and how much fun she had.

It's hard to believe that she's 4 already. She was diagnosed less then 2 months after her 3rd birthday so in many ways this year has felt like a blur. She continues to do very well with her treatments. She just finished her 5 days of steroids and usually at the end of the five days we start to notice some side effects, but nothing too bad. She bounces back from them quickly. She is still getting her two shots a day and handling them as good as can be expected. Only about 5-6 weeks of them left so we're getting there.

Her numbers again were nice and high last Friday so we are enjoying our freedom from having to be isolated. During her last clinic visit she had to get her monthly vincristine and also have a spinal tap and have chemo put into her spine. She only has to get that once every three months now so it was nice to be able to walk out of there last Friday and know that we don't have to do that again for three months. We got this Friday off and don't have to go back until next Friday to check her numbers and see how her body is handling her oral chemo.

With summer coming to an end, we have many new changes coming this fall. Jacob will be starting kindergarten this Monday at a nearby Christian school. We spent much time these last two months praying about our decision for schooling for Jacob this coming school year. I have mentioned before that last year we decided to pull Jacob out of preschool right after Abbey was diagnosed and I began homeschooling him. I was doing a kindergarten curriculum with him and it was wonderful. We did not get through the whole year though so that's why he will be going into kindergarten. We feel good about the head start that he has with all that he learned last year. With our situation at this time in our lives with Abbey, we really felt like putting him into a school this coming year is the best choice and we are thankful for how clear God made this decision for us. We fell in love with a Christian school near our home and are excited to see all that God has in store for Jacob there. With Abbey's treatments and hospital visits continuing for the next year and a half , a new baby coming in early November and her fluctuating numbers that keeps us homebound at times, we feel that it will be so nice for Jacob to have some consistency with school and more consistent social interaction. We are also so thankful to be able to send him to a Christian school where we know that what we are teaching him at home will be reinforced every day at school.

And for extracurricular activities.... Abbey's summer dance class is coming to an end, but she will be starting up a class this fall once a week. She loved her class this summer and will get to be in the recital next summer, which she already talks about. Jacob is playing outdoor soccer. He has had a few practices already and tomorrow is his first game. We have had a wonderful summer, but are excited and ready to move into fall and have more routine.

Micah continues to keep us smiling :) He is talking a lot more these last couple weeks which has been so much fun. He is a very happy little guy and is a joy to be around. I am officially 30 weeks pregnant. With my past pregnancies I've always said that the last 10 weeks is the final stretch. I am feeling great and we are all getting excited for this new little guy to be here!

So that's what's new here :) Thanks for checking in on us! Hope you all have a great last weekend of summer :)!!