tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53496185336854336062012-01-26T21:11:14.557-05:00Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.comBlogger3591100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-75771542648041537792012-01-25T21:59:00.006-05:002012-01-25T22:46:24.585-05:00

First, thank you for the suggestions for a blog designer to help in hopefully giving my blog a makeover at some point! I have decided to put it on hold for a bit, as I am hoping to get some good family pictures and pictures of the kids this spring. I want to be able to put recent pictures on here as a header and outside pictures always seem to come out so much better then inside. So for that

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-31166550626818601012012-01-19T22:09:00.002-05:002012-01-19T22:20:24.476-05:00

So not bad, eh? 3 posts in just a few days :). I am getting excited about my blog again and I am feeling like I desperately am in need of a blog makeover! A good while back, a reader had offered to give my blog a facelift. At the time we were really busy and I never got back to her with the info that she needed to get started. It may have been during our move or possibly when Caleb was first

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-24174084270796769032012-01-18T08:46:00.010-05:002012-01-18T11:54:00.950-05:00

December started out with the birth of my new nephew :). My sister Stacey and brother-in-law Joey welcomed their 4th child, Andrew James into the world on December 2nd at 3:20p.m., weighing in at 7lbs. 9ozs. I had the privilege of being in the room when he was born and it was an amazing experience! They didn't know the sex of the baby, so it was so exciting to be there the second they found

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-37716137495861360332012-01-17T22:04:00.004-05:002012-01-17T22:38:55.194-05:00

I know I've been beyond bad at this lately. If you're still reading you deserve an award for being loyal to us :). I really am going to start posting again on my blog though. I think about doing it often, but then when I have the chance to sit down while the kids are sleeping I always end up watching '24'. If you've watched that series, you know, it's totally addicting!! We have been

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-23259174065642984602011-12-07T08:57:00.008-05:002011-12-07T11:48:02.092-05:00

It has been almost 3 months since I've posted anything on my blog. So much about this blog reminds me of Abbey's leukemia so I have gone back and forth with whether or not to continue using it since we have done our best to move past that chapter in our lives. These past several weeks have been crazy though and I wanted to update about all that has happened as I know we have family and friends

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-89287825347120395942011-09-13T21:23:00.013-04:002011-09-15T23:09:01.679-04:00

So to say that I've been bad at keeping up with my blog would be an understatement! Life has been passing by so quickly these days and I don't want to miss all the memorable things that have happened with our crew so as overwhelming as it seems to "catch up" on here, I'm going to try my best to share what's been going on in our lives.Here we all are in our Eagles gear :)! Jim moved here to

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-76562023951269884382011-08-09T09:21:00.005-04:002011-08-09T09:38:10.794-04:00

6 years ago today, we welcomed our Abbey into our lives. Never could we have imagined that her little life would change all of ours. She brings our family unending joy and she has blessed our lives so much. We love you Abbey Rae :)!! A few pics of her opening her presents from us this morning. Her party is this Saturday and we will be sure to take lots of pics and share them soon :)!

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-40969192534837938562011-08-04T22:56:00.005-04:002011-08-04T23:21:44.694-04:00

Abbey and Micah are both taking swimming lessons in our developments pool. It is a two week session, every weekday morning. They are 1 week into it and they are both enjoying it very much! The progress that Abbey has made in this first week has been very exciting for her and I. She is getting much more confident swimming by herself! Micah too is doing well and getting more comfortable with

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-79727974518302258972011-07-30T23:15:00.000-04:002011-07-30T23:55:10.132-04:00

Since I am not finding much time to post this summer, I figured I'd at least get on here to put some pictures up. Here's a handful of the things we've been up to :)...Jacob's 8th birthday party :)Several hikes on the paths through our development (we're loving our new home and new neighborhood!)Fun family timesBon fire for my birthday. Smores and this new neat creation below over the fire. Yum

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-86996596927344665822011-07-11T21:38:00.003-04:002011-07-11T22:00:02.213-04:00

Abbey has a new do! Doesn't she look adorable :)?!!!BeforeDuringAnd After :)The last few months that Abbey was in treatment, her hair started thinning again. Her chemo was upped and as a result her hair started coming out some again. We weren't too worried about it because we knew it was the very final stretch and in no time she would be done with it for good! When her treatment was over in

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-23589622732689340462011-07-05T22:37:00.001-04:002011-07-06T08:30:52.368-04:00

Lots of swinging and slidingCelebrating cousin Joey's 4th birthdayVacation Bible SchoolLots of playing outsideNew lego creationsGetting sooo bigScooter ridingGood clinic visit for AbbeyDaddy's softball gamesFun filled 4th of JulyIt has been a wonderful summer! Don't have much time these days to update, but I thought I'd at least post some pics of some of the things we've been up to :). Hope you

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-17627420696335101222011-06-15T21:30:00.001-04:002011-06-16T10:35:51.882-04:00

Abbey had her dance recital this past weekend. It was so much fun and she is still talking about every detail from the weekend! She was beautiful in her costume and her smile lit up the stage and our hearts as we watched her dance. We love our little princess so much and we are thankful beyond what we can even express to have been able to see her healthy little self dance in her recital :).

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-68274336285822936892011-06-01T22:10:00.002-04:002011-06-01T22:27:51.907-04:00

popsicles & ice cream bars :)!

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-43872166594221909852011-05-31T22:56:00.003-04:002011-05-31T23:24:39.356-04:00

Summer is here in the Colbert home.... well almost :)! Jacob has 2 1/2 days of school left and then it will officially be here, but these last few days have really felt like summer!!There is a pool in our new development which we have gone to the past couple days. Last night we closed out the pool at 8 and as we sat poolside and ate dinner during the last break of the day, we talked about how it

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-85669477276228097412011-05-23T21:30:00.002-04:002011-05-23T23:00:51.385-04:00

Friday night was the Grand Finale Gala for "The Man and Woman of the Year". Overall it was a very lovely evening although our sweet little Abbey wasn't feeling good. Definitely put a damper on things. Here's what the days leading up to Friday looked like...My in laws came into town on Tuesday. They always bring much excitement when they come as the kids look forward to their visit for weeks (

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-88229496505003036812011-05-15T22:25:00.007-04:002011-05-15T23:57:12.503-04:00

So life here has been pretty busy. I mentioned a while back about Abbey being the girl of the year for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society's biggest fundraising event called Man & Woman of the Year. The 9 candidates have been very hard at work as they are all campaigning and doing fundraisers to raise funds and awareness for blood cancers. Abbey's sweet little smile and her courageous story have

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-41030481616784046922011-05-08T22:02:00.012-04:002011-05-10T23:55:19.138-04:00

A couple days late,.... but Happy Mothers Day :)!I love my mom! She is so special to me and I feel blessed to be her daughter. So much of who I am and where I am today is because of her love and guidance in my life. She has always been my biggest fan and encourages me like no one else. She is one of the hardest workers I know. You will always see her jumping in and helping me out whether

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-26388345436479239492011-04-26T21:18:00.006-04:002011-04-26T22:11:57.247-04:00

I was just looking at the pictures that I took of the kids on Easter Sunday and had to laugh out loud when scrolling through them! Here's just a preview of the fun shoot that we did!It usually takes Jake a few tries to get a good smile going. We start with this and then I call Jim in to do some silly dancing or jokes to get the kids laughing. We always place Jake & Abbey first since they're

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-1207620122939479152011-04-22T22:55:00.002-04:002011-04-22T22:58:17.729-04:00

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-35729188105032069132011-04-06T22:00:00.001-04:002011-04-07T08:44:22.823-04:00

I realized yesterday as I was thinking about what to post on here that I don't have much to update about other than just updating on everyday life. Life has been pretty uneventful lately. After a couple very not normal years, it feels really good to be able to say that things are going along pretty smoothly right now with not much to report :).So I am just going to do an overall update of life

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-45463933036196789342011-04-04T09:34:00.006-04:002011-04-04T10:51:49.599-04:00

Jim and I had a wonderful time on our trip away! It was refreshing and relaxing! Our cabin was beautiful as was the area that it was in. We were able to do some hiking during the days and some shopping and eating out in the evenings. Jim had printed out some games for us to play during meals and while driving. They were so much fun and kept us laughing and our conversation flowing about

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-39685972456910414652011-03-21T09:19:00.007-04:002011-03-21T11:28:45.634-04:00

A little blast from the past....At a dance our Senior year of College - Dating daysJim and I on the day we graduated from College. May of 2000 (just a couple months before we got married)At our wedding showerOur wedding day - July 1st, 2000Our honeymoon (above and below)And baby #1#2#3#4And now :)These 10+ years have gone fast! God truly has blessed Jim and I with each other. Our life and

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-44318884460430032242011-03-11T08:56:00.005-05:002011-03-11T19:14:38.893-05:00

Abbey had her monthly clinic visit a couple days ago. We will now go monthly for her to have blood work and an exam. It's so awesome going to clinic just for a checkup and not for chemo! Her blood looked awesome this past visit. Her white blood cell count was almost in normal kid range, platelets have never been so high (since she was diagnosed) and overall everything looked beautiful. I

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-45714573290025087842011-03-09T21:55:00.006-05:002011-03-09T23:06:32.004-05:00

Hi :). So sorry it's been a while again since I did any updates on here. Up until this past Monday night, I had been using most of my free time after the kids were in bed to work on a talk that I gave Monday night. Let me explain. We have been connected with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS) for quite some time. They have been a wealth of knowledge for us since Abbey was first diagnosed.

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-34501207663647905212011-02-18T21:43:00.007-05:002011-02-18T22:12:29.546-05:00

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-60476181186077453792011-02-17T21:13:00.006-05:002011-02-17T22:36:23.731-05:00

Winters in Northeast Ohio can be pretty brutal. Most winters are cold and snowy, but this winter has been especially white. I shouldn't be complaining about it because I love having all 4 seasons and we really do have beautiful winters (and springs falls and summers too :), but after a while we really start getting spring fever! Every year around this time (especially since we've had kids) we

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-88059590317611658722011-02-16T22:24:00.002-05:002011-02-17T00:15:47.962-05:00

Hi :)! I think we have the very best people following our story and loving us in the whole wide world! I have gotten several comments and emails over the past few days asking if everything is o.k. since I haven't updated in a while. I can't tell you how much that means to me, to know that so many of you are still keeping up with us and caring about us. Thank you, thank you, thank you for

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-78538624883104538692011-02-04T23:32:00.014-05:002011-02-06T01:27:32.141-05:00

Where to begin... These last few days have been pretty crazy! On Wednesday, I was literally sitting on the couch writing a post about Abbey feeling better and how nice it was to be home from the hospital when the phone rang and on the other end was her nurse telling me that we needed to pack our bags and get to the hospital immediately. I was even going to add this picture (below) of her

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-31321083008754185662011-02-02T23:00:00.002-05:002011-02-02T23:12:42.759-05:00

From Jim:Shelley asked me to do a quick post because her computer's power cord broke and now she can't use her computer. Anyway, Abbey is back in the hospital after a day at home. Her nurse called Shelley this morning and said that the blood culture that they took yesterday came back positive for a bacterial infection. Therefore, we needed to bring Abbey in right away. So, Shelley and her

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-68157205778345591802011-01-31T09:10:00.005-05:002011-01-31T10:02:10.206-05:00

Yes, you read it right... Abbey is in the hospital. We're as surprised as you are. Yesterday morning she woke up with a fever and if you've been following our story, you know that whenever she gets a fever we immediately need to bring her to the hospital. Even though she's done with treatment you ask? Yes. For now. Abbey still has her port in her chest and until that comes out, they always

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-70381400162139695532011-01-26T21:00:00.008-05:002011-01-26T22:03:52.628-05:00

So I totally said I'd do a post with thoughts to follow my last post and haven't yet! I will... very soon :)! To sum things up though... we are wonderful! Abbey is doing awesome! Feeling great and we are thankful beyond words to be where we are today!!I wanted to get on here really quick to add this video of Abbey from yesterday. Jacob learns Bible verses each week for school and Abbey

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-58289692504859234162011-01-10T20:59:00.006-05:002011-01-10T22:28:59.583-05:00

Pictures from Abbey's last oral chemo and last day of treatment :)!!! Happy beyond words! A post with thoughts to follow soon, but I wanted to share our joy through these pictures!

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-83443914656537937062011-01-06T23:02:00.004-05:002011-01-07T00:15:24.765-05:00

Micah the day he was born... January 4th, 2008Micah at 9 months oldHis 1st Birthday :)His 2nd BirthdayHappy 3rd Birthday Micah :)His unique way of telling us he's three :)!You are such a joy to have in our family Micah! You totally keep us laughing with your incredibly sensitive sense of smell and your ability to play every sport well at age three. Your dreamy eyes melt my heart everyday and

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-58125757186097362482010-12-30T22:51:00.013-05:002010-12-31T22:49:44.708-05:00

Has it really been over 2 weeks since I posted?! Time is flying!! We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! It was definitely one of our best ever (I actually think it was our BEST)! The kids ages just get funner each year at Christmas and not only seeing them anticipate Christmas morning, but more importantly really grasping God's greatest gift to us... His son Jesus :)! So much to be

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-26269172907216245342010-12-10T08:16:00.003-05:002010-12-10T09:24:26.426-05:00

First I want to say thank you for holding us up in prayer yesterday. It's amazing how much this blog has been an encouragement to us through this whole ordeal!It has been a while since I've felt like I did yesterday. The doctors told us recently that the second most anxiety inducing time for parents is once their child stops treatment. First of course being the diagnosis, but when a child with

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-62808397688177370392010-12-09T09:00:00.002-05:002010-12-09T09:10:44.222-05:00

Please pray for our Abbey today. She has been "off" for a few days and this morning woke up with a fever. She has been very tired and falling asleep at odd times over the past few days. Her eyes just look sick to me and I can't totally pinpoint what else, but she's just not acting herself. We are heading out the door in a few minutes to go to clinic for them to check her blood and check her

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-86842174575574240672010-12-05T22:49:00.003-05:002010-12-05T22:57:26.399-05:00

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-6146407189118628252010-12-02T11:00:00.000-05:002010-12-03T11:15:25.008-05:00

A couple posts ago I shared with you all about the company Shutterfly and how we got our Christmas cards made through them this year. They tuned out just beautiful and we couldn't be happier with them.... not to mention, they were free! If you are a blogger, and would like to receive 50 free Christmas cards yourself, you can do what I did and advertise for them on your blog (see details HERE).

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-5627472268129918542010-11-29T20:19:00.006-05:002010-11-29T21:17:28.475-05:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a lovely day with family and we sure do have much to be thankful for this year!!! Unfortunately I took no pictures that day, but I have lots of pictures to share below. You will see that we are totally in the Christmas spirit in our home :)!These past couple weeks have been so much fun! We are making lots of wonderful memories in our new home

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-32675812790668197152010-11-24T00:39:00.002-05:002010-11-24T01:06:43.833-05:00

We have been very much enjoying these last couple weeks as the holidays are quickly approaching! It sure is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is in a couple days and that Christmas is right around the corner. We have yet to start shopping, but our decorating is in full swing and I just started working on our annual Christmas cards. This year I have chosen to make our cards through Shutterfly.

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-49806106367445092072010-11-16T23:42:00.006-05:002010-11-17T00:39:43.087-05:00

From fall festivalsto enjoying some beautiful weatherto Caleb's 1st birthdayto making memories as a familyto our first snowto painting projectsto enjoying our new hometo loving on each otherto Abbey doing amazingly welllife has been great :)!Some updates to come soon, but I wanted to share some pics of what we've been up to lately. Thanks for checking in on our gang :). Love to you all!

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-13731773864288670582010-10-21T10:03:00.006-04:002010-10-21T11:18:34.377-04:00

Abbey's last spinal is OVER :)!!! The day went as good as can be expected. It was an emotional day for me as my mind was flooded with thoughts and memories over all that she has gone through these past 2 years, but most of what I was feeling was thankfulness for how far we have come and where we are now. Jacob came with us (we let him stay home from school that day) and it was so good to have

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-14383938537365133722010-10-14T22:33:00.004-04:002010-10-14T23:25:38.552-04:00

Tomorrow is a big day for us! Abbey has had countless spinal taps and chemo injections in her spine since she was diagnosed. At first it was weekly, then there were parts of her treatment where it was monthly, and since Maintenance Cycle it has been every three months. Needless to say, she has had many. Well, tomorrow is her last one!! We're pretty excited to say the least :)!! We will have

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-61599635774594791712010-10-05T22:57:00.002-04:002010-10-05T23:04:58.851-04:00

Just wanted to share his dimples with you :)

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-32540886215750944322010-10-02T00:05:00.003-04:002010-10-02T01:16:05.654-04:00

October 2nd, 2008 is a day that will be etched in our minds forever. 2 years ago today, we found out that our precious Abbey has Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. This journey that we have been on has been the hardest of our lives, yet I know and see everyday that God is using it for good. I would never want to go back even a day, but to know and see where we've come from is an amazing thing. We

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-60731687338643358242010-09-29T21:50:00.009-04:002010-09-30T23:53:50.067-04:00

Some long overdue updates... :)Our move went as good as can be expected. We had lots of help and I said more than once that day that I'm really glad I'm not a guy! They worked so hard, carrying heavy stuff up and down steps and in and out of the truck and houses. It was exhausting just watching them! Everything went smoothly, but it was a long, overwhelming day. I don't think I realized how

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-2093321029303460462010-09-21T16:22:00.003-04:002010-09-21T16:50:23.670-04:00

*Be sure to pause the blog music*Western Reserve - Grace Church1066 East Aurora Rd.Macdonia, OhioSaturday, September 25th - 5:30 pmSunday, September 26th - 9:30 am & 11:15 amThis weekend our church is doing a documentary on our journey through Abbey's leukemia. Our Pastor (Pastor Jason Haymaker) is doing a series called "Our of the Ashes" and it's about pain and suffering and why bad things

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-15700091426653794362010-09-13T23:19:00.005-04:002010-09-14T23:20:28.646-04:00

By about 10 p.m., I have been hitting a brick wall and have been too tired to do one more thing. I should be packing right now, but I'd much rather sit here and veg while the kids all sleep peacefully in their beds and I wait for Jim to get home from work. We have gotten a lot done, but there is still a lot to do. Last time we moved, was 8 years ago and it was just Jim and I moving from a tiny

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-39373793666198056662010-09-09T21:24:00.009-04:002010-09-10T00:36:40.077-04:00

So all of you guessers were right! Yes, we're moving!!! We are giddy with excitement here!Jim and I bought our first home 8 years ago and it has been a wonderful little house for us. We started as 2, then a year later went to 3 and now eight years later we have filled this 1300 sq. ft. home to the max with the 6 of us. We have had a couple go's at trying to sell this house over the past few

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-22504114695089304832010-08-31T23:48:00.004-04:002010-09-01T00:00:46.695-04:00

Have you ever felt like you're a chicken with your head cut off? That's kind of how I have felt lately!BUT.... we have some wonderful news to share soon! Here's a hint for you while you wait... can you guess where we're standing? Details to come soon :)!

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-35889359924289221622010-08-21T10:09:00.006-04:002010-08-21T23:27:57.548-04:00

Abbey's birthday party was a blast :)! The girls had a great time and got to do everything from getting their hair and nails done, to doing crafts, playing games and they even had a fashion show on the red carpet :)!!Each girl got to pick out a princess dress right when we got there.They did craftsGot their hair doneGot manicuresPlayed gamesWon prizesDid a fashion showAnd we ended the day with

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-86486594289716615992010-08-12T01:20:00.002-04:002010-08-12T23:24:40.979-04:00

On August 9th, our princess turned 5! We had a family party for her on that day, which was just lovely :). In a couple days, Abbey along with 4 of her closest girlfriends are going to a kid hair salon for a mini spa day. I will be sure to post pics of their up-do's and manicures after her party. How amazing it is that just one short year ago, Abbey had hardly any hair and here we are this

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-71015159540561070262010-07-27T00:05:00.002-04:002010-07-27T00:10:01.037-04:00

Caleb is 9 months old already! Seems like we just had him, but then again we totally can't imagine life without him :). I am so very crazy about this baby and just thinking about him makes me smile. His dimples melt my heart and his laugh brings instant happiness. He has brought so much joy since the day I found out we were going to have another baby and in the midst of this cancer journey

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-30204238474368665442010-07-25T23:47:00.004-04:002010-07-26T00:17:33.860-04:00

Friday was Abbey's clinic day and all went well. Her numbers were good and her visit was fine overall. Her normal nurse and nurse practitioner were both on vacation and the doctor that we deal with the most was not in clinic while we were there so we dealt with all different people, which was kind of weird. They are all very knowledgeable and they all know what they're doing, but it's amazing

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-2282717777222531302010-07-17T22:52:00.004-04:002010-07-17T23:06:05.272-04:00

This Friday, we will go to clinic for Abbey's chemo in her port, spinal tap and spinal chemo. At this point she only gets an lp done once every 3 months, where at the beginning this was weekly. She will be put under sedation for the procedure and won't be able to eat until it's over. For as many times as we've done this, you'd think it would get easier, but sometimes I feel like it gets harder.

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-91736765750837976312010-07-17T18:24:00.007-04:002010-07-17T22:51:25.077-04:00

We have spent lots of time at our local pool this summer. Jacob and Abbey are currently taking swimming lessons Monday-Friday for a 3 week session and they are loving it. Jacob has really strived in his class and just got moved up after mastering all the skills in the class that he was placed in. He's swimming so hard that by bedtime, he's out the second his head hits the pillow :)Micah

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-67104549175907467072010-07-12T22:47:00.013-04:002010-07-13T00:02:22.679-04:00

Life here has been good! On July 7th we celebrated Jacob's 7th Birthday (his actual birthday is the 8th) and it was a super fun day! He invited 14 of his closest buddies to come spend the day at a place called Fun n Stuff and they jumped in inflatables, played video games, did eurobungy, played mini golf and ate pizza and cake. I truly cannot believe that we have a 7 year old already! Jacob

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-13388859296931715752010-07-01T01:10:00.004-04:002010-07-01T09:23:17.556-04:00

Today Jim and I celebrate 10 years of marriage :)! It has been an amazing adventure so far! From our first year in Philly in our first tiny apartment, to our big move to Ohio, to Jim getting his dream job as a Police Officer, to buying our first house, to baby, after baby, after baby, after baby, to cancer, to lay offs, to good times and bad, it has been an amazing 10 years! There's no one

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-58687480333349317972010-06-30T00:12:00.002-04:002010-06-30T00:19:49.524-04:00

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-53631212942770265002010-06-25T22:00:00.003-04:002010-06-26T00:08:28.517-04:00

In pictures :)Cleveland Zoo (thanks Make A Wish for the free tickets :)Bedford PoolPlaying Outside (and finding potato bugs to name Marsha and have for pets :)Relay for Life :)The survivor lap(I'm crying and Abbey's smiling :).. She's always been the brave one!)The many survivors that were thereAbbey's Dance RecitalIndians Game(thanks Leukemia Society for the free tickets!)Batting practice before

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-76490413909238317202010-06-20T23:13:00.002-04:002010-06-20T23:37:15.369-04:00

Hope you all had a wonderful day celebrating the dads in your lives :)! We sure enjoyed our day! As you can see, Jim is very loved by all of his peanuts (and by the lady behind the camera too :)!Before we call it a night, I had to share some very exciting news with you all! I actually have been wanting to share it for the past several days, but we have been busy, busy, busy. Today is a great

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-32334188254246183082010-06-08T23:47:00.006-04:002010-06-09T00:23:59.050-04:00

A few pics from Jacob's Kindergarten graduation this past Thursday. It was a wonderful night! Jacob received the reading award for his class and we are very proud of his hard work this year. We are walking away from his first year of school with wonderful memories and feeling confident that we have him in the right place. It is so nice to have 1 year under our belts with his schooling. Next

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-61477737917511539532010-06-03T08:59:00.006-04:002010-06-03T10:12:40.767-04:00

We have lots to look forward to here! Tomorrow will officially kick off summer in our home as Jacob's last day of school is today :)! Tonight he will be graduating from kindergarten. It's so hard to believe that our firstborn is already done with kindergarten.... I have my tissues ready to go! It's amazing how fast this year has flown by and we are so very proud of Jacob for his hard work

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-36215128584985876112010-05-30T00:45:00.002-04:002010-05-30T00:54:36.720-04:00

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-89893537890395322952010-05-22T23:50:00.014-04:002010-05-24T23:04:30.696-04:00

A few new things to report on Jim and his job situation and lots of ways that God has been providing...The city that he is currently laid off from recently decided how they are going to put the levy on the ballot for August (it has been up in the air for a while) and it looks like there's a good chance of it passing as it's a smaller tax increase for the residents then they initially were talking

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-25678544310897322672010-05-17T22:42:00.002-04:002010-05-17T23:02:55.881-04:00

we were here.Now, we are here. So, so happy to be where we are today... even with everything else going on. Sure helps put things into perspective.I promise to do an update soon on what has been going on here. For now, I hope Princess Aurora above puts a smile on your face. She does ours! :)

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-73686978821489398352010-05-09T20:23:00.002-04:002010-05-09T20:27:44.295-04:00

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-4027870590548708692010-05-07T22:28:00.005-04:002010-05-08T15:48:14.828-04:00

That about sums up how we're feeling. This past week has been a roller coaster of emotions. We have had some really high times where we have been so excited about the way in which God is setting things up for us to be perfectly provided for, yet we have also had some times where we can't catch our breath from the pain we are feeling.I don't know if I can explain this ache that I have in my

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-14740733915409959302010-05-03T21:40:00.010-04:002010-05-04T09:42:23.442-04:00

Our prayer for today...Lord, our faith is in You and You alone. Apart from you, we can do nothing; with you, we can do all things. We choose to walk by faith and not by sight. We will not be afraid of man or anxious about the future; for you are going with us throughout this day. Whatever we encounter, Your grace will be sufficient. You have promised victory to those who walk in agreement

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-90703211585278929482010-04-28T12:51:00.010-04:002010-04-29T00:46:52.164-04:00

Our vacation was a blast :)! Below are some of our favorite pictures from the week so you can get a glimpse of some of our most memorable times. We took tons of pictures so I will post more soon with some details of what we did. For now, we are trying to get back to normal here at home and catch up on some much needed sleep :)! Thanks for checking in!

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-71762550900673949312010-04-20T14:55:00.002-04:002010-04-20T15:16:10.935-04:00

We went to clinic this morning to check Abbey's numbers once more before heading off to Disney World. They are better. Still low, but slowly rising. Her ANC was 600 and again all cell lines were up a little from Friday. Her oral chemo is still on hold until her ANC reaches 750 so on the way home today, Jim and I were talking about how this really ends up being a blessing in disguise. Since

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-50550052199239565402010-04-18T00:28:00.004-04:002010-04-18T00:42:02.758-04:00

Wanted to do a quick post to update you on Abbey's numbers. Her numbers were still low as of Friday, but they are up a little from last week. Her ANC is around 450 and all her cell lines were up a little so they seem like they are trending up and will continue to rise. Her platelets were up a good amount so we were very encouraged by that. We will go back on Tuesday (the day before we leave

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-52466777544941938802010-04-15T23:10:00.005-04:002010-04-15T23:58:58.715-04:00

Thank you so very much for your love and kind words after my last post. Each comment was an encouragement to us and we are so blessed to have many who pray for us and care about us!This week has been filled with much of the same. The ups and the downs continue. We are still waiting to see what is going to happen with Jim's job. I would by lying if I didn't say that the waiting and stress

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-23943031444135559182010-04-09T16:09:00.013-04:002010-04-10T18:13:01.469-04:00

Where to begin...We had a wonderful Easter. Probably my very favorite Easter that I can ever remember. I don't know why it was so special to me, but the day was just good. The food was good, the weather was beautiful, the kids were all feeling good and having fun, Abbey looked like a picture of health, the company was great and it was just fun. Celebrating the resurrection of our Saviour with

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-2195632481855487052010-03-21T23:14:00.002-04:002010-03-21T23:24:02.215-04:00

Caleb is so tickelish! When we change his diaper and get him dressed he laughs just because we're touching him. And there's nothing better than a babies laugh :)!

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-81236910745962781032010-03-19T23:09:00.006-04:002010-03-21T23:08:34.529-04:00

So tomorrow turned into a week. Sorry :)! Here's more pics from the event. Abbey's two main doctors are the two men getting their heads shaved. We think the world of them and seeing them up there was so cool! And the girl is a nurse on the oncology floor. Isn't she awesome?! She shaves her head every year! It was a really neat day, but a little crazy too! Next year, Jim and I will most

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-64168007488680367462010-03-17T23:57:00.002-04:002010-03-18T00:01:43.336-04:00

We are off to bed, but I wanted to post this picture really quick of Jim and Abbey at the St. Baldrick's event today. Details and more pics to come tomorrow :).

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-73429827350141068372010-03-17T01:16:00.002-04:002010-03-17T01:20:57.930-04:00

http://www.stbaldricks.org/kids/mypage/kidid/2910Abbey is one of the 'Honored Children' for the St. Baldrick's event :)! Check out the link above to see.

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-61488234070061005392010-03-16T23:50:00.004-04:002010-03-17T00:48:25.241-04:00

Abbey loves playing hospital stuff. We often make believe that a sick animal comes into be treated at her hospital and she is the nurse. It's really good for her to be able to be in control of situations like this since she usually has no control over all that she goes through. I usually am the owner of these sick animals and she gives me instructions on how to play :). It always

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-38961705588533367942010-03-16T23:16:00.004-04:002010-03-16T23:41:13.925-04:00

Just a few pictures from the last couple weeks. The weather here has been warming up, which has been wonderful! We have been spending as much time as possible outside! As you can see in some of the pics, we had some days where there is still a lot of snow, yet the weather was warm. It has finally all melted. We get some crazy weather days here in Cleveland!Jim teaching Jacob how to ride his new

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-29973826784112138152010-03-14T12:17:00.007-04:002010-03-14T13:08:51.944-04:00

We wanted to share with you a really neat opportunity that is coming up for us to help in the efforts of raising money for childhood cancer research. It's called St. Baldricks! It happens once a year, on St. Patricks Day and it's a day where thousands shave their heads for donations. The St. Baldricks Foundation funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-16172538418646342892010-03-05T22:52:00.003-05:002010-03-05T23:25:38.354-05:00

Today was Abbey's chemo day at clinic. Everything went smoothly. Her numbers were right on and the day went without incident. I took my camera along to get some pictures of her while we were there. In a way, it's our second home and you can see how comfortable she is. We are all very well taken care of when we go. In a weird way, it's really nice to be there. Knowing that they are

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-4499116015886390422010-03-01T16:47:00.002-05:002010-03-01T17:03:46.782-05:00

This Video was shot just about a year ago during our admission when we found out Abbey had the blood clot in her brain. Hard to watch, but a reminder of how far we've come! Her smile and laugh always gets us through the tough stuff. Our brave little warrior! Be sure to pause the music :)

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-24672532127083262082010-02-27T22:02:00.006-05:002010-02-27T22:59:07.462-05:00

Changing diapers, clinic visits, cooking, giving medicine, kissing boo boos, washing hands, taking temperatures, giving hugs, cleaning up, giving baths, snuggling, washing clothes, dancing, staying warm, nursing, cutting nails, reading, folding clothes, praying, taking pictures, cleaning, watching olympics, kissing cheeks, coloring, tickling, rock band, carpooling, make believing, laughing, and

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-24701310903506712662010-02-15T20:33:00.002-05:002010-02-16T08:22:56.527-05:00

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-63098444308634322252010-02-12T08:55:00.009-05:002010-02-13T12:33:07.264-05:00

This week sure flew by (which is a good thing when you have a little girl on steroids for much of it)! Last Friday went fine at clinic. It was a long day, but Abbey was a trooper. We got to clinic at 10:30. Her blood looked good and her ANC was nice and high. Her oral chemo that she gets at home daily has been at 75% dose for a while now. Once a child's ANC drops below a certain number two

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-41389287442632603392010-02-04T17:07:00.004-05:002010-02-04T17:26:29.037-05:00

Tomorrow (Friday) is Abbey's chemo day. She was supposed to have it last Friday, but because of her fever and sickness last week it was pushed back to tomorrow. We have to be at clinic at 10:30 for her to get checked out and accessed. She then will get vinicristine in her port. Her sedation time is for 1:30 so after we are done with everything at clinic we will head over to the sedation unit.

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-71040437792048635272010-02-01T21:04:00.006-05:002010-02-02T13:41:17.553-05:00

Three posts in a week... can you believe it?! I'm on a roll!!Yesterday we all wore yellow for a little girl named Avalon. She is a leukemia survivor who has had many bad, lasting side effects from her chemo. Yellow is Avalon's favorite color and her mom had asked for people to do something with yellow and take a picture of it and send them to her. I was trying to get on here yesterday to post

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-15245049685629110512010-01-31T22:49:00.007-05:002010-02-01T21:02:36.824-05:00

My husband is a police officer and has rotating shifts. For the month of January he was on afternoon shift which is 3pm-11pm. So for dinner, baths and bedtime, Jim is at work. At times it can be challenging to be "husbandless" in the evening (especially since my husband is a HUGE help and very "hands on" with the kids and things around the house), but one thing that I have seen so much since

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-50954994893937894642010-01-30T18:12:00.015-05:002010-01-31T13:14:48.372-05:00

It's a good thing that Abbey got better so fast, because yesterday morning Mitchel and VDC presented us and the Leukemia Society with the money that they raised at the "Praying for Abbey Show"! I really wanted Abbey to be able to be there so we could get some pictures and like always, she pulled through!! I often find myself daydreaming of her being all grown up and healthy, and showing her all

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-58803948132916939482010-01-30T13:29:00.004-05:002010-01-30T14:21:48.008-05:00

Abbey bounced back quickly and is feeling so much better! Aren't kids so amazingly resilient! One day they're throwing up with a high fever and bad cold, and two days later, they are as good as new (well almost :), but definitely much better)! We did have to go back to clinic yesterday for them to check her out before the weekend, but she checked out great! Her nurse and doctors were all

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-40194193922016892132010-01-29T00:29:00.004-05:002010-01-29T00:52:44.538-05:00

We've had a couple rough days here. Wednesday afternoon, Abbey got a fever. She felt warm when she woke up, but was acting pretty normal so I waited about an hour to take her temperature in hopes that she was just warm from being bundled in her bed that morning. Sure enough, by lunch time she had a fever or over 101 which meant a call to the doctor and a trip to the hospital. On Tuesday night

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-80529539509164195642010-01-21T23:05:00.011-05:002010-01-22T23:51:22.586-05:00

It has been a while since I've done an update on Abbey and other things here. We had a couple busy weeks so I haven't had much time to spend on the computer, but things have settled down some so I wanted to let you know what's new :). The craziness began with us putting our house on the market. We have lived in our house for 7 years now and have most definitely grown out of it! When we moved

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-47240444878140973152010-01-18T22:52:00.018-05:002010-01-20T17:17:27.846-05:00

So sorry for the long delay since my last post. Everything here is just fine (thanks Cindy for your concern :). We had a very busy week and I've been trying to get caught up on my life the last couple days.As I mentioned before, the show was amazing! There truly are no words to give justice to what an unforgettable day it was! The hard work that went into every detail of this show was so

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-74730093305587187122010-01-11T22:28:00.004-05:002010-01-11T22:34:10.725-05:00

The show was AMAZING!! Details to come soon, but tonight I just wanted to share this picture of Abbey with Mitchel Federan (founder of VDC), Stepp Stewart (MC of the day), Jewel & Blair (special guest singers) and Quest Crew :)!

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-56709658543627916742010-01-08T00:51:00.004-05:002010-01-08T01:33:49.502-05:00

Wanna know why Caleb is soooo excited???Because the "Praying For Abbey" show is just 2 days away :)!!!Today my sister and I went out the Canton Palace Theatre. To say that we are excited about the show is an understatement! We can't wait!! As we drove up I got goosebumps as I thought about what is to come on Sunday. I know it will be a day that we will remember for the rest of our lives. A

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-21119555314053965042010-01-06T21:47:00.006-05:002010-01-06T22:28:10.605-05:00

Abbey went back to dance class for this first time in a very long time this past Tuesday! Her numbers were high at clinic last visit and I knew they were starting their recital dance after Christmas break so we decided to start taking her back. We're praying for her to stay healthy as we start to venture out a little more. She LOVED her class! About half way through she had to go potty and

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-16202748377134106782010-01-04T22:46:00.006-05:002010-01-05T00:04:09.584-05:00

Two years ago today, our sweet Micah joined our family :)! We had a fun day today celebrating him. All 6 of us were home all day (and snowed in) as Jim was off work and Jacob had a snow day. We spent some time playing in the 12 + inches of snow, had cake and Micah opened his presents. Next week we are having a family birthday party for him when grandmom and grandpop are here from Philly :).

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-29994733083101296632010-01-01T22:06:00.012-05:002010-01-01T23:16:04.415-05:00

Happy New Year!Hope you all had a great New Years Day :)! We had our traditional pork, sauerkraut and dumplings dinner at my parents house and it is most definitely my favorite meal of the year! My mom (pictured with the pork) is a great cook and makes the very best ps&d dinner around... hands down! The cousins had a great time together and we all really enjoyed our day. We woke up to lots of

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5349618533685433606.post-54263951373242662562009-12-28T15:50:00.009-05:002009-12-28T23:34:30.178-05:00

Hi! My name is Stacey and I'm Shelley's sister (Abbey's Aunt). My sister is giving me the opportunity to take over her blog for the day :). First, let me say thank you so much to you all for being an incredible support to my sister and her family as they've gone through this difficult time in their lives. I know I can speak for many when I say that watching the Colberts journey through their

Colbert Familynoreply@blogger.com9