Home

We got home last night from our vacation and as good as it was to get away, it was equally as good to get home. We broke the trip up into two days on the way home and stayed an overnight in Virginia at friends of ours. Our drive yesterday was long and we didn't get home until 10:30 last night so we were all exhausted and ready to sleep in our own beds.

Our vacation was wonderful and we made lots of great memories last week. I wouldn't have changed a thing about the whole trip (except maybe the 12 hour drive :). The last couple days the kids really started getting brave and more comfortable in the water. Jacob was like a little fish and most of the last two days he was underwater. He came up for quick breaths, but loved his new found talent of being completely submerged. He also loved jumping in and doing canon balls off the side of the pool.

Abbey too got much more comfortable in the water as the week went on. She realized that she could stand in the 3 feet part of the pool and she was so proud of herself that she could be in that deep without being held. She also loved jumping in from the side (with one of us catching her) and of course being held and snuggled in the pool.

And in Micah's own timing, he too loved the water. The first few days, each time we'd put him in the water he would get very concerned and would point to the side of the pool wanting to get out, but by the end of the week he was jumping in to whoever would catch him.

We also enjoyed a good amount of time on the beach, we went to a minor league baseball game and we went to this really cool Alligator Adventure place where there were hundreds of alligators, snakes and other cool animals to see.

This morning we were back to reality as we had to take Abbey back to clinic bright and early for her blood to be checked again to see where her numbers are now. Once she's accessed and her blood is drawn, it usually takes about 10-15 minutes to get back her numbers and as we sat there today I felt so burdened by the possibility of her numbers still being very low. I don't know if I've mentioned this in past posts, but the lowest they want her ANC to go at this point is 750 and the last two weeks it was right around 100 so it was very low. As we sat and painted together in her exam room today my mind was wandering and it was hard not to be scared that they would again be so low. Our nurse Kathy came in with a big smile on her face and immediately I felt this huge weight come off my shoulders. Her ANC was up to 1790 today and all I could do was grab Abbey and squeeze her tight! We are so thankful that she did so beautifully on our trip with no fevers or sickness and that her immunity is back up!

We are back on track with her medications and she started her oral chemo again today. We will be going back Friday for her spinal tap and vincristine through her port so of course it's a bitter sweet as she is back on all her meds, but to know that her blood is looking good and she continues to be in remission and back on track in her treatment is a breath of fresh air for all of us.

One of our favorite songs right now is 'You Reign' by Hillsong United (the new song that I just added on the blog) and as Jim and I belted it out in the van many times on the way home we were reminded of God's faithfulness and goodness to us. He Reigns over everything and oh what a wonderful reminder that is in both good times and bad! Listen to the words and be encouraged today that whatever you are going through, God is in control and His love for us is amazing.