The Love of Children

MOM: Oh, I'm sorry guys, but we can't go to the pool today. Remember I have stitches.
KID: No, mom. We didn't mean YOU play in the pool. You can just sit there and watch.

HALLELUJAH! For Real!

PRAISE GOD! Such a GOOD report today!

We arrived at the Children's Place eeearly this morning for a follow-up round of ultrasounds + CT scans mixed in with our usual lab work. The ultrasound always goes pretty well since it's a nice quiet room with a TV + VCR to play kid videos while Samuel's laying covered up on the exam table + Trinity sits diligently by his side. And, sure I'll say it, I mean he's a boy getting his goods massaged for 10-15 minutes = win-win, haa!

waiting for the day to begin...

comfy in bed :)

watching Blues Clues w/ Trinity, waiting to see if we need any more images

Daddy power napping (teehee)

Immediately after the ultrasound, we picked up the contrast (dye) Samuel has to drink for his abdominal CT scans. It's decent tasting stuff since it's mixed with fruit punch; it's just an awful lot of sugar, so by the third cupful it's a wee bit more challenging to encourage a toddler he needs to drink it - like, drink it NOW + drink it FAST otherwise we have to do this all over again! Samuel of course performed wonderfully and didn't even fuss about chugging his container of stuff right on schedule. It helped that Daddy + Trinity supported him by chugging a bit of it themselves :)

mmm...chemicals + sugar...lol

motivating by example, ha

still chugging away...

In between picking up the contrast (which is consumed at scheduled intervals over the next 2 hours) and waiting for his CT scans later in the morning, we headed upstairs to the clinic to get his port accessed and have lab work done. All went well there, too - thank God! Our nurse today was Sarah who is a childhood leukemia survivor, and she has been able to draw from her personal experiences in making the whole process as smooooooth + easy as possible - she's amazing! She has all kinds of little "tricks" to improve upon the procedure, and we love it. We've implemented the "Sarah Method" w/ all our nurses - who agree that it rocks!

yes, that is actually a look of anxiety - he was freaking out a little bit here :(

this is Daddy's "I'm ticked off" face because Samuel decided Dad wasn't allowed to help Nurse Eileen remove the bandage...Daddy wanted to document the moment :)

Trinity busy at work on the play table...

One of Trinity's FAVORITE toys - a magnetic dress up doll, loves this one :)

We met with Dr. Setty (who is about a month away from giving birth to her first baby! a boy! we're so excited for her!), and after verifying that Samuel's blood counts are good - rather exceptional on several fronts, actually - we headed back downstairs to Radiology for CT scans. After the scans, back upstairs so our favorite nurses in the hospital could take Samuel's IV out (we're verrrry protective about who gets to do this now whenever we have a choice!).

Ultimately, as we have known by faith, EVERY SINGLE test/scan/image came back to show that Samuel's blessed healthy body is 100% CANCER-FREE...to the Glory of GOD. We are beyond grateful for His Hand, His healing...wow. I know this was a long post, but I'm pretty much speechless when it comes right down to the GOODNESS of God and His loving careful attention of each + every single one of us. What a good Father we have watching over us! WOW! wow.......

THANK YOU, all of you, thank you thank you for your wonderful prayers + agreement with us knowing that Samuel's body is as healthy as his precious spirit + positive attitude. THANK YOU. His entire, long, prosperous, bountiful life will forever be a testimony to your love + support. xo

Future Pros...and their children, too (haa!)

Another day of tennis "lessons"....court time is turning out to be some seriously fun family bonding - except when someone has to lose ;) Besides Samuel + Trinity fighting (constantly) over who gets to use which color racquet and Mom + Dad's competitive fervor regressing the otherwise pleasant rallies into feverishly intense to-the-death points.... besides all that, it was pure FUN!

our ball girl :)

ooh, check out the form, haha

grasshopper + master - ha!

check out Daddy clearing the net!

attitudes are brewing.....

Trinity did NOT get the racquet she wanted! LOL

We're still working on "losing" with as much grace + class as when we win :)

Cooling off at the pool afterward....well deserved after a hard workout

Daddy's Day

So, in our humble (but accurate) opinion we have the world's absolute most amazing Dad for us in the history of all mankind! THANK YOU, DADDEE, FOR ALL YOU ARE + ALL YOU DO...xo

We were so very happy to spend the afternoon at Mawmaw + Papa Don's house with Daddy + the family. The children LOVE spending time with their wild little cousins, and it's nothing short of hilarious for us to watch. Mawmaw cooked yummy spaghetti + meatballs with mmm dessert treats, too. The sun was shining, the kiddie pool was inflated + filled, and we moms (Aunt Kate, Star + me) enjoyed the entertainment as the kiddos downed popsicles + splashed around. Moments like these, we most sincerely pause and give thanks to our HEAVENLY FATHER who makes it all possible, and purposeful, and beautiful. THANK YOU, LORD...xo

and, he who started it all......we love you Pawpaw..... one of the all-time greatest Dads.

Sun Day :)

Thursday was spent outside getting some much needed sunlight and burning off tons of toddler energy. The YMCA near our home is looking to be the most "sanitary" outlet for us to cool off during these 85 degree humid Ohio summer days. I have met with the Aquatics Director, Jessica, who is very accommodating + informative when it comes to chlorine/chemical levels in each of their pools + splashpad fountain. They are so helpful and have offered anything they can to make sure Samuel has the safest environment for water fun. The setup there sure beats a little blow up pool in our backyard!

cheeeeeeez

mmm...pool snacks

I don't even know what was going on here, lol

Samuel's photo shoot :)

Mom + her lil' warrior chick

 

Samuel NEVER stops taking pictures... there are COUNTLESS pictures of lounge chairs, feet, pool toys, and many many many more of us all, too! I finally had to confiscate the camera and force him back in the water. He really is quite the photographer :) Will be fostering this passion as he gets older, that's for sure!

*Make-a-Wish!*

Exciting things in the works! This morning we talked with a lovely young lady named Megan, Director for Central Ohio's branch of the Make-a-Wish Foundation; and we are very excited about the ball now officially rolling for Samuel to have an awesome life experience :)

Tops on the wish list is a "Mickey boat trip" (Disney cruise) to go see bald eagles (in Alaska). Samuel absolutely adores bald eagles, and pretty much every other flying, walking, stalking creature in North America. They really like to "not like" bears, too, which are also pretty prevalent in the Alaskan wild. I've told him stories about how the bald eagles are everywhere up there, especially in Juneau where they're tantamount to pigeons in NYC. Needless to say, he's downright giddy about getting to see that many of them all in one place! Of course, they are both VERY excited about the "Mickey boat trip" (which I've assured Trinity does include Minnie, lol)! Everything about a boat trip is thrilling to them, and I am soooo confident this will be an adventure they never forget - especially since we fully intend to make the absolute most of it!

So, we'll see what ends up happening, but in the meantime.... YEEEAAAAAY for the incredible wonderful blessing of a truly amazing foundation that is committed to bringing joy to as many beautiful young people as possible. Please check out their site if you never have, this is a GOOD cause to support if you're ever looking. We are so very grateful.....

www.wish.org

PS. worth noting the other "top" wish items were a dog and a cat, NEITHER of which are options until given the green light by our doctors...and neither of which do Mom or Dad want to deal with until the children are slightly more able to shoulder at least SOME of the responsibility :)

Good Times

GREAT MONDAY! 

developing on her chess skills?

 feeling good, heading home...

new "prize" toys in hand :)

All went swimmingly with treatment. Relatively uneventful (which means GREAT!). He got to pick a toy from the "prize bin" for handling everything SO well yesterday in light of last week's much more unpleasant episode. Trinity also got to pick a prize for being such a good little sister and being so well behaved while Mom tended to big brother. Amazing the smiles generated by mini frisbees + weird foam bouncy airplane things (yeah, I don't know).

Samuel received his dose of Actinomycin, so he's finishing up taking anti-nausea drugs tonight to prevent puking episodes. The Zofram (anti-nausea) is not at all yummy tasting like the antibiotic he takes every weekend, so we always make sure to have a chaser of something sweet to wash it down :) All-in-all, he has felt really good for the past couple days. A little on the tired side, which for toddlers of course manifests in general lethargy marked by random bursts of delirious excitability (ie, HILARIOUS). Right now as I type, Samuel + Trinity have engaged in a full-blown MMA event in the middle of the living room floor, complete with rear naked choke holds and ...OMG! A HANGER?!?! wait one, please!!!... yeah. Well, that was, umm, interesting. Now they're doing the "why are you hitting yourself? why are you hitting yourself?" game, thank you very much, DAD. They are definitely healthy energetic little people :)

yeeeah, little sister is really under there somewhere (see the hair? ha)

....8.....9.....10, pinned!

They are getting frighteningly good at the combatives moves Daddy has taught them. I say frightening because I actually woke up one morning to the "little princess" attempting to put me in an arm bar (ie., break my arm). Yeah, TRUE STORY. I can't make this stuff up. Dad is VERY proud ;)

Developing Strength Through Adversity

So while Samuel has certainly faced a few "rough" moments in treatment, it seems that all of these are steadily building up a reserve of strength for this amazing little warrior. The latest + greatest happened this past Monday when Samuel was the unfortunate "guinea pig" for a new nurse at the clinic. She is a wonderful girl, and of course, the best learning comes through practice... however, her attempt to insert the IV needle into Samuel's port was unsuccessful.

The IV needle did not fully enter the port's valve so the saline solution was injected instead directly into his skin surrounding the port. Needless to say, just like when the catheter leaked into his shoulder area... OUCH. It took a couple minutes of trying to "fix" the access before the needle was removed, and the whole process had to be started over. Happy to say the second attempt went great, and Samuel recovered well - although he was pretty shaken up by the intense burning sensation from the solution (and general needle trauma). In the future, we sure hope we can avoid port accessing challenges, but at least we know we can get through it :|

Tomorrow is another day, and it will be a GOOD one! Samuel will get anti-nausea medication in addition to Actinomycin, so we're prepping for a mellow afternoon - I see arts & crafts on the horizon for sure :)

He always keeps such a great attitude, but he has definitely developed a dread of going to the Children's Place. We are determined to remedy that anxiety and get back on a better path with less worry involved for him. Your prayers + support are so very greatly appreciated. We know that Samuel has been spared even greater trauma because of your loving prayers + positive words spoken over him. THANK YOU always....

For Posterity...

Well, the "babies" are finally taking a more concerted interest in the whole computer/online thing...oh boy, haha! What they really enjoy is seeing pics on this blog of themselves and people (not to mention TOYS, etc.) they love. We know this will be a pretty invaluable treasure for posterity's sake, something they can both look back to as they grow up and move on to have amazing lives and families of their own.

That being said, I must proffer a teeeeeeny tiny iddy bitty request to any of you who may occasionally check us out......IF it is not a great inconvenience, would you please add yourself to "follow" the blog so that Samuel + Trinity will know all the loving people who followed along, shared in, and prayed through this awesome adventure with them...? Kind of like signing a "guest book", just so they'll know who cared enough to stop in.  

THANK YOU. Your support - even just by reading + knowing what we're overcoming - is a very real blessing, and we appreciate you.