Happy Mother's Day

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 it's watching our kids, folding mounds of clean clothes or cleaning up my kitchen. She is a friend who I laugh with and cry with and whatever life throws at us I always know my mom is praying us through it. She is one of the easiest people to talk to and always who I call when I need someone to talk to. She is patient, kind and caring. My mom is precious to me and I hope she knows today and everyday that I treasure her. I love you mom!

I love my mother-in-law. I couldn't have created a better mother-in-law if I tried. She is one of the sweetest people I know. Her heart is kind and and her spirit is gentle. She is compassionate, caring and a very special friend of mine. Her life is an example to me of what it looks like to love God and others. I value the time that we get to spend together and am thankful to have her in my life. She too is precious to me and I hope she also knows that I treasure her. I love you mom Colbert!

And I love being a mommy! There is nothing that brings me more joy than my children. They each fill my heart to overflowing.

I love the way that Jacob loves people. He cares about everyone and is kind and sees the best in people. I love the way that Abbey loves to snuggle. She needs countless hugs throughout the day and when she's falling asleep at night she always wants to hold my hand. I love the way that Micah has to wave goodbye to whoever is leaving till they are completely out of sight. He yells bye till they are a mile away. And I love Caleb's face each time I walk into his room after a nap or in the morning. He smiles so big it's like it's the happiest moment of his life.

They are each precious to me and it's a privilege to be their mommy! I love you Jacob, Abbey, Micah & Caleb!!

Hope you had a wonderful Mothers Day, celebrating the moms in your life and if you're a mom, celebrating the blessing of being a mommy :)!

Easter Pictures :)

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 the oldest and can sit and smile the longest! Micah is playing hard to get at this point.

We talked Micah into coming in closer, but he obviously isn't ready to smile yet. Jacob and Abbey are thinking daddy is pretty funny!

Wait! Now where did Micah go?? But Caleb is now sitting still and kind of smiling. We're loosing Abbey a bit, but we're getting closer!

Now Micah is on board for the picture, but something on the ceiling caught Abbey's attention and Jacob is thinking that his patience can only last a little longer! Caleb sat nice for the previous shot and now he has just about had it.

And finally, a decent one of them all looking and kind of smiling :)! Pictures are always so much fun when you have 4 little kids! Ask Jim - it's his favorite part of holidays :)!!

That's My King!

Update

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 here :).

Jacob is doing really well. He has done great in school this year and it has been a joy to watch him grow in so many ways! The other day he asked Jim which he likes better, the Old Testament or the New Testament. He starts really neat conversations and he knows what he believes and enjoys talking about it. A while back we had our old neighbor over for dinner and at the table he was asking her so many thoughtful questions about how she was doing and specific things that he remembered about her life. It was like having another adult at the table. I just smiled inside as I listened to him.

He still loves little legos and his creativity in building them is pretty amazing to me. Below are some pics of his recent creations.

Abbey continues to feel great. There are times when we look at her and feel like she's a totally different kid since being off treatment. You can tell that she just feels so much better, having all of the medication out of her system. If you look in the pictures you will see that it looks like she has bangs. Since stopping treatment, a ton of new hair is coming in. The last several months of treatment her hair started

thinning again from them upping the dose of her chemos, but we didn't realize how much hair she had lost again till it started coming back. I never take for granted her beautiful blonde hair :).

Of all the kids she has had the hardest adjustment with our move. She has had a hard time falling asleep in her room by herself and she's having some

fears with being alone in the house. We went from a tiny bungalow to a much bigger space. We were used to living on top of each other where now we have much more room. Wonderful, but also an adjustment. She has been through so much and has accepted all that she's been through with such grace. Since the first day of her diagnosis we have been amazed at how well she has handled all that she's gone through so we know with time and patience on our part that this too shall pass. We have seen improvement since we've been here, but still working with her everyday on trusting God with her fears and anxieties over this.

We are starting to prepare her for kindergarten in the fall, which will be a huge adjustment (mostly for me :). She's excited and I'm nervous. We know she's ready... don't know if I am.

She goes back to clinic the middle of this month and we feel confident that her blood with continue to look good. I'm ready to go back and get her checked. I haven't had any major concerns, but four weeks feels like a long time to go without her being looked at so the reassurance that things look good will be much needed.

Micah seems to be getting so much older quickly. He used to seem more like Caleb's age, but these past few months he is playing more with the big kids and keeping up with all they are doing. He loves balls and sports and I can't wait to get him outside more so he can run and throw and expel some of his energy. He plays hard all day and sleeps like a log at night. The second his head hits the pillow he is out!

And Caleb is growing so fast! Almost 18 months already! Hard to believe that he's hardly a baby anymore. He loves to snuggle and you rarely see him without his favorite blankie. When I'm washing/drying it, he stands by the washer/dryer and watches it till it's done :). His smile melts our hearts and at times I wish I could freeze him right now because it's going too fast.

And as far as Jim and I.... we are both doing well. Jim is staying busy with work. He has been picking up overtime whenever it comes his way which makes for some long days, but we are more than thankful for his job. He has some projects that he's itching to do once the weather gets nicer, the biggest one being putting a deck on the back of our house. He is hoping to do it with his dad when his parents are here in May.

He's always got a few things going around the house and we've done a lot to make it our own over the past 7 months that we've been here (isn't it crazy that it's already been 7 months?!). Below are a couple before and after pictures of our dining room. We really like how everything is coming together :).

And as for me, I just got a job that will be starting in June :). I will be nannying a little girl in our home 5 days a week and I'm super excited! In the fall Jacob and Abbey will both be in school. Once we moved into our new home and new community we were planning on possibly switching to the public school district, but we really love the Christian school that Jacob is in and have recently decided that if at all possible we would really like to send all of our children through the school (it's k-6). So, by me taking on this new job, it will help in our desire to have the kids at a Christian school. And, starting the end of August I would have had only Micah and Caleb home (which of course I am used to a house full of kids) so we thought this would be a wonderful way to supplement our income while me still being able to be home with our children doing what we normally do. We really feel like God laid this opportunity in my lap and we feel that the little girl that I will be watching will be a perfect addition to our days :). God's continual provision for our family has been amazing to us!

And I wanted to end by telling you about 2 of our very favorite children's books that we love and use often. Abbey and I are reading "Sammy and His Shepherd" for the second time around. The book leads us through Psalm 23, one verse at a time while sharing a story about a sheep named Sammy and the perfect care that he is given from his shepherd. At the end of each chapter there are questions to discuss, which point us to our Shepherds great love and care for us.

And probably my most favorite children's book since we've had our kids.... The Jesus Storybook Bible. We've had this book since 2007 and for as many times as we've read it, it never gets old. I guess that's why the Bible is the living word! Every time we read it we learn something new and God speaks to us in a different way. Every story ties in Jesus and shows how He is the center of God's whole plan. If you have small children or grandchildren, I really encourage you to get it. And if you don't get a chance to do devotions somedays, you will do them while reading this to your kids :)! Let me know what you think!

Our Getaway :)

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 things that we normally wouldn't have talked about. Go here http://marriedlifeonline.com/greatdate/ to print them out for your next date!

Below are some pictures from our hiking. It was almost 70 degrees that day so the weather couldn't have been more beautiful.

And a post to follow soon about updates on everything else :)! Thanks for checking in!

Get Away :)

A little blast from the past....

At a dance our Senior year of College - Dating days

Jim and I on the day we graduated from College. May of 2000 (just a couple months before we got married)

At our wedding shower

Our wedding day - July 1st, 2000

Our honeymoon (above and below)

And baby #1

#2

#3

#4

And now :)

These 10+ years have gone fast! God truly has blessed Jim and I with each other. Our life and marriage hasn't always been easy or by any means perfect, but we are committed to loving each other for the long haul and making our marriage good. And by God's grace, our marriage is stronger than it's ever been. We've just come out of the hardest two+ years that we've ever gone through together, yet God has sustained and strengthened us through it. Everyone who has small children knows that it can be hard to pour into each other. With the busyness of life... work, caring for a home, meals and taking care of lots of little people (to name a few things), life can get stressful and crazy.

Last time Jim and I got away by ourselves was in 2006 for a friends wedding so I think we're a little overdue :)! Well all that said, Jim and I are getting away this week for 3 days/2 nights just the two of us to recharge and spend time together (and to celebrate Jim's birthday) with no distractions. We are very blessed that my mom and step-dad (thank you both!!!) will be coming to our home to stay with our crew to give us a break. We are so excited for the time away! Last week Jim told me that he's never been so excited for anything in his whole life. I'm so thankful for a husband that loves to spend time with me!

Below are some pictures that were sent to us from the place that we are staying. It is a beautiful little cabin and area so we plan on doing some hiking through the woods and soaking in our hot tub in the evenings. We are so excited to eat out, sleep in and just be together :)!

Clinic

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 almost cried (happy tears) when our nurse gave me the paper with her numbers on it. The days of no immunity are over and I can't tell you how amazing that feels!

She did good with her blood draw. She got nervous for a minute, but after a quick pep talk she handed her arm over to her nurse and got it over with. I am so proud of her!

I have been doing much better than I thought I would with her being off treatment and the anxiety that we were told could come with that. I have only had one night so far where I was googling (leukemia relapse) and have overall felt very confident that she is good. When I see a bruise or anything that brings me back to those first days, it's natural for my mind to want to go back to the beginning, but I have to say that I'm really thankful for the way that I've been feeling as I know God has been giving me a peace so we can all go on with our lives.

Thank you for your continued love. God is so good and we are so blessed!

Abbey playing Candy Land with a Child Life Specialist

And braiding a bracelet :)

Man & Woman of the Year

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. They have helped in Abbey's medication co-pays and have treated us to tickets for lots of events such as CAVS games, Indians games, the zoo and The Polar Express. We have been very blessed by the support that they have given us over these past couple years.

Well a couple of months ago we were contacted by them to tell us that Abbey had been chosen to be "The Girl of the Year" for their big fundraising event called Man & Woman of the Year. There are 2 children picked each year, a girl and a boy who are both blood cancer survivors. They are in a way the motivation and poster children of the campaign.

This is how it works.... There are 9 candidates and each candidate has 10 weeks to raise as much money as they can over that time. The candidates are all outstanding citizens in our community. They are hard working, goal-oriented, compassionate people. Their relentless efforts are focused on making life better for hundreds of thousands of patients battling blood cancers. They will use our story (and Eric Reising's story who is the Boy of the Year) as they do many events over the 10 week period to raise as much money as possible for LLS. I was just looking at Todd Stuart's blog (he's one of the candidates) and his goal is to raise $100,000! Pretty amazing how hard these individuals work!

Well Monday evening was the Kickoff event for the fundraiser to begin. It was a wonderful evening! It was at a beautiful country club where we were treated to dinner and then us and the Reisings had the opportunity to share our journeys through leukemia. I was overwhelmed by the response that we received after our talks as people were so motivated and excited to get out there and start their campaigns. We got to meet all the candidates and lots of pictures were taken of Abbey, Eric and the candidates and their teams.

We are so thankful for the way in which God continues to allow our story to be heard and for it to be used for good. Just when I think things are settling down, another opportunity falls into our laps! When we left the kickoff on Monday night, my heart was so full as so many people were impacted and excited to get out there to raise money for blood cancer awareness and funds to further in the research. We are so honored to be a part of this!

Today a candidate came over and told us of all the plans that his team of 15 people have for their campaign. He shot a video of me again sharing our story and took some video of Abbey. The ideas that these people are coming up with are so unique, fun and amazing! From auctions to runs to black tie events to battle of the bands! We can't wait to see all the places that our story will go over these next 10 weeks.

On May 20th is the grande finale. We were told that when you walk in this final event, you can just feel the energy in the room. There will be about 400 people there and it sounds like an evening that we will never forget. Everything from a live band to a silent and live auction to fabulous food and cocktails, it will be a night to remember. And they will be doing a slideshow of Abbey and Eric's journeys along with our families given the opportunity to share. That evening, one of the candidates will be crowned Man or Woman of the Year! We will keep you updated on all that will be happening over these next 10 weeks :). Below are some pictures from kickoff.

My mom and Abbey :)

The Boy & Girl of the Year! Both leukemia survivors :)!!!

Sharing our story

Abbey, Eric and some of the candidates

Abbey and Eric giving the candidates their gift bags

Abbey and one of the teams

What a night!

For more information about Man and Woman of the Year, click here. And to see Abbey and Eric on LLS's website, click here :).