Wonderful Weekend

The days seem to go by so fast, and yet so slow. Friday night I got to do a Stampin' Up! Party for a friend. (By the way...if anyone wants me to do a Stampin' Up! party...I am ready and willing to do it!) I just love doing parties. It gives me a reason to stamp some cards and to get out of the house. We got to hang out with friends later that night...until all hours of the evening. Tegan and Kelby will go to sleep at our friend's house, so that makes it really easy.

The weather has been absolutely beautiful. That means we were outside a lot on Saturday. Trooper likes us to hang outside with him! Kelby keeps saying, "I love you Trooper." I built a picnic table, so now we can have people over for a BBQ! Anyone interested? I have a lot more work to do in the yard, so that's where the girl's and I will be this week.

I have to get thinking about a birthday party for Tegan. She will be one year on May 8th! I can't believe that she is that old already. She still isn't taking steps, but she likes to stand all the time. She'll be walking in no time.

Kelby's next scans are scheduled for May 28th. Then, we'll see how everything is doing inside her little body. She seems to be doing great. I am very thankful for every moment that she is feeling good. She has done well all a long compared to other children with the same disease. There is always something to be thankful for!

As I mention thankfulness, I have to mention some of the wonderful people around us that have been such a blessing! We have been so blessed by our neighbors. What a wonderful little neighborhood we have. One neighbor across the street also goes to our church. She sent a letter around to everyone on the block that had some pictures of Kelby and told a little of our story. She had people light a candle in the window while Kelby was getting her treatments. She also collected some money for our expenses. Another neighbor, that is a dear friend, had a garage sale with her mom in honor of Kelby. They collected so much money for us, it was unbelievable. She brought the money and gifts on Friday. A MOPS group in Concrete sent us a check for $100. A wonderful Anesthesiologist from the University of Washington sent a check to go towards expenses for our new puppy. Many have been blessing us anonymously. Everyone has been so kind and generous. We do have extra expenses, and will have even more after today. Our insurance changes next month and will be considerably more expensive (though we should be fine) when we need to do treatments. Our insurance before was really something to be thankful for and had to be a God thing. Mike switched jobs just about 2 months before Kelby was diagnosed. His new employer didn't have insurance set up yet because it was a brand new company that he was starting. He offered to pay the Cobra on our insurance from the Anacortes School District which was wonderful coverage because it was from the state. Up until tomorrow, all we had to pay was five to ten dollar copays on everything that we went through! Can you believe that even Kelby's radiation treatments were done before that insurance switched over? I know that is more than a coincidence. I think that God is using others to provide for us, and we thank them dearly for being used. I am learning that I want to be thoughtful and giving too. Someday I will be doing my best to give to others in the same way that we have been blessed.

Hey something else to be thankful for...our car sold this weekend. It has been for sale since September, so that was pretty exciting. I'm so glad to have that finally done. Now Mike will be driving a little Ford Festiva, but it gets really good gas mileage. Someday he'll get something a little nicer, but it is good enough for now.

So far, there's still no word on the contest. I am pretty sure that we will be the winners after eveyone has rallied together and voted so often. What a wonderful thing...to go to Disneyland again! Now that's another thing for which to be thankful. There's always something good in the midst of hard times. Thank you to God for all those blessings and for using all of you in those blessings too! Kelby thinks about Disneyland all the time, so she'll be pretty excited when she gets to go. It will be hard to decide when to go. The summer will be really busy and hot, so September would be the best, but who knows what Kelby's health will be like in four months.

I just wanted to get an update up, so I'll wait to put some pictures up later. Thanks for checking in! God bless.

Some Funny Stories

I just wanted to tell you all a couple cute stories about Kelby. She is so funny sometimes. The other day as I was looking at her, I told her she has green eyes...just like Mommy. Then for a few days after that, whenever she looked up into my eyes, she said, "I have green eyeballs." Once she said, "I have gorgeous green eyeballs." Then she says, "Can I go see um in the mirror?" Well, it is safe to say she likes her eyes.

Yesterday I heard Kelby scolding Tegan by saying, "Tegan Ann!" It is so funny because Ann is actually Kelby's middle name. The funniest part is later when we were outside with Trooper, I heard her scold him saying, "Trooper Ann!" I guess she understands the meaning behind adding the middle name!

Kelby is doing great. She plays a lot and just LOVES Trooper! She always wants to play with him. I am really glad we have him...although he wakes us up at 5:30 every morning. Also, he really likes to nip at everything. Does anybody have any tips on training a puppy not to bite? Still, he's worth the work!

I am feeling a lot of pressure to make every moment count. I feel guilty when I take time to do my dishes, laundry or cook dinner. I have to find a balance because I still have to get those things done. Is it okay for me to do fun things too, like stamping and scrapbooking? I guess I have to find ways to involve Kelby in those things and make if fun for both of us. I am definately feeling that emotional rollercoaster these days.

Thank you for your continued prayers and for voting! I am excited about maybe winning that trip to Disneyland! I want the second prize too...it is that Compaq Ipaq...the little PDA...but you can't have everything. Kelby will definately like the trip to Disneyland best! She talks about it all the time. The other day she was convinced that we were going to be going there that day. "Okay, let's go to Dismeyland." She says the "n" like an "m". It's really cute!

Trooper's Here!

Good Tuesday morning everyone! We had a wonderful weekend. Thanks to everyone for voting more...we sure pulled ahead in just the last few days. It sure has been fun having mom here. I have gotten so much done. Of course, Mom and I have done some shopping. We always find the best deals when she's with me. I built a little pen for Trooper and a loft to store stuff in the garage. We got to bring Trooper home early, so I had to get ready for him. Mom watched the kids overnight for us on Saturday night, so Mike and I got to get away. We went down to Seattle and had a great time. It was wonderful, though I still missed the girls.

On our way home we got to pick up our puppy! He is just so sweet. He has been a good little boy. Kelby just loves him. Trooper is going to take up some time, but we are going to love it. I am so glad to have the distraction. Once my Mom leaves tomorrow, we'll be back to a "normal" life...and I'll need to keep busy. The most exciting part about getting Trooper was that the breeders decided to give him to us! We just couldn't believe it. They are nice couple. I think they just loved Kelby. We had visited on Thursday and while Kelby played with the puppies, I told them about Kelby. I told them how I had just decided that I was ready for a puppy for Kelby when their litter showed up in the paper the very next day! I had always wanted a Springer Spaniel! So, it was meant to be. They said that they wanted Trooper to be Kelby's wish dog! Isn't that wonderful.

Kelby seems to be doing really well. The sore in her mouth is getting better. She still has some whiney, cranky times, but we aren't sure if something is bothering her or if she's just used to getting her way all the time. It will be interesting to see if we can get back to normal. It is easy to give her anything she wants, but I don't think it is good for her.

Gramma Dee Dee wanted me to tell you how Kelby is so cute. She asked Kelby if she wanted to go see Grampa in Billings and swim in his pool. Kelby says, "Oh, dat would be fun." You just have to hear her voice to understand how cute it is. She says that a lot. She also pretends to read sometimes and she always says, "Once upon a time...sittin' by the door." I really don't know from where that one came. Someone must have read her a book like that...it isn't in any of our books.

Just so she doens't feel left out, I should tell you about Tegan too. She is standing up all the time now! It is so weird to see such a little girl up on her feet. She hasn't taken any steps yet. But I bet she'll be walking by her first birthday on May 8.

Thank you again for checking in on us. We'll spend our next few days getting back to normal. I'll try to keep you all updated on my girl when she says and does cute things. Keep thinking of her whenever you see a happy face! Kelby just got a happy face bean bag chair, volleyball, and lamp! She just loves those happy faces. I have some many around my house that I can't help but smile!

God bless you all!
 

 

This is when we went to visit Trooper at the breeder's house.

Don't forget to vote!

Hello there everyone! I just voted today and we are tied for the Grand Prize. We need you guys to vote to give Kelby another trip to Disneyland.

Visit...http://familyfun.go.com/yourtime/relationships/feature/connections_contest_vote to vote.

We are all done with our treatment now! Our last treatment was on Tuesday. The doctors and nurses at the University of Washington made it special. They gave Kelby some balloons...one was even a gigantic Minnie Mouse...a present, and a little certificate! She was very excited as she woke up from her "nap" and found all the excitement. Everybody was so wonderful down there. I will miss them...but not our daily trips.

Oh No! Now I am going to have to cook for myself again. What will I do. I don't even remember how to cook. We had all the leftovers last night...so I better get busy. I don't even have any food in the refrigerator at all. Good thing Mom is here!

We already got some work done in the yard. It feels so good. I am so excited for the Spring time. There is a Tulip Festival here this weekend that we'll have to check out. The weather is pretty nice today. Hopefully we'll get some great pictures of our little princess.

We get to have our puppy even sooner than I thought. I am so excited. We can bring him home on Sunday. Now I really have to get busy and build him a little spot in the garage. That is one of the projects that I get to do while my Mommy is here.

Kelby is doing really great! You can't even tell she went through any radiation...except the occasional upset from the sores in her mouth...though they must not hurt too much. She is loving Gramma Dee Dee. We'll have a lot of fun while she is here.

Please continue to check in on us. I'll share all our happy little moments as we just wait to see what will happen next. We need to appreciate every day....so we'll share that with all of you. Hopefully that will help everyone to appreciate their own days. God bless to you all.

PS. Don't forget to vote. :)

Only One More Day to Go

Monday, April 15, 2002

We only have one more treatment to go. I can't believe that we are almost done. Now that it is almost over, it doesn't feel like it was that bad. Kelby might even miss our daily trips down there.

Kelby has gotten a few sores in her mouth now. She was complaining about them on Friday, but they must have gotten better over the weekend. Today they bothered her again. They are especially bothered by acidy stuff. Other than that she hasn't had any other side effects. They had thought that her skin would be affected, but it looks just fine. For some reason her digestive system isn't working too great...but it hasn't been for quite some time...even before the radiation. I have been giving her Senekot to get her flowing. She complains of a "tummy ache" whenever she needs to go poop. Our doctor doesn't think that it has anything to do with her cancer. I hope that she starts feeling better with that soon.

Now the hard part comes; We have to wait for a month now before they do another set of scans. Hopefully the radiation will stop the tumor in her jaw. It doesn't seem to be getting any bigger at this point. If the cancer hasn't spread anywhere else in her body, she may have quite some time before she has any other symptoms. Who knows...she may even be healed. She will be on the Accutane again. That's a pill twice a day for two weeks, then she rests for two weeks. The Accutane is really hard on her skin, but it is supposed to work on her whole system against the cancer.

This will be a difficult time for us emotionally. As we enjoy every moment, we'll always be wondering in the back of our minds when this cancer will strike again. We are all in this position really...not knowing the number of our days. Most of us take our days for granted, assuming that we have plenty. At least we can make the most of every one of Kelby's days. It is just hard to not know what is going to happen. I will have my ups and downs, I'm sure. We can only work on making memories. That is why I am so excited to get our new puppy!

The puppy doesn't get to come home for another week and a half. We haven't gone to visit him again yet, so no pictures. His name is Trooper after Kelby's stuffed frog. The frog was named Trooper by a nurse because Kelby was being such a "trooper" during a procedure.

Gramma Dee Dee will be coming here on Wednesday. Kelby is pretty excited! It will be nice to have her. Maybe she'll help me get my yard into shape. She does have a green thumb after all...which I did not inherit.

Well, good night for now. God bless you all!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Thursday, April 11, 2002
Thank you Becky for your quote: "You can't be pitiful and powerful at the same time". I'm a sucker for quotes and that is a great one!

Well, it has been a while since I updated everyone. Sorry about that. It has really been a pretty good week. Kelby is doing really well through this treatment. I had expected her to get really fatigued as before with chemotherapy, but it hasn't done anything to her. They thought maybe her skin in the treatment area might be affected, but it hasn't changed yet. She is a little more tired than usual, but so am I...from the long drive everyday.

Everyday as we are driving down to the hospital she explains to me about the medicine going into her tube and the nap she gets to take. Once we are in the parking garage she gets excited for the "moving stairs" that we get to go up...there's an escalator on the way in. Inside the radiology center, we check in and she checks out the "pretty fishies." There is a huge, beautiful, salt-water aquarium there with a clown fish which she calls the "happy face" fish!) After we check in, we meander back to the radiation treatment waiting room. There is another fish tank there that she likes to visit. She is always being silly and making everyone in the waiting room smile. I am always so proud of her. She likes to "play the game" that's there. It is a Nintendo game that I play and she thinks she's playing. As we wait she says in an excited voice every few minutes, "They gonna check me." We never have to wait too long anymore. The Anesthesiologist comes to get her and we go back to the treatment room. She shows them her tube so they can give her the "medicine" that puts her to sleep. She goes under almost immediately and I leave the room to wait for her to be finished. It takes about 15 minutes. They bring her out to me still sleeping so she can wake up in my arms. Now she wakes up pretty happy and asks for her "circle" sandwich...I have been cutting her peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a special cutter and she seems pretty impressed with that. She always wants to eat right away since they make her starve until after the treatment. Then we are on the way home for the day. It is another long drive and we get home a little more worn, but at least we have the afternoons to rest! I just found out today that we get to finish treatment on Tuesday instead of Thursday. We are almost done! It hasn't been as hard as I had imagined. I am very thankful for those daily dinners by my dear friends from MOPS. It helps to not have to think about anything once we get home. We have time to goof around this way.

On Tuesday, we met our Make-A-Wish Volunteers at Red Robin in Redmond after our treatment. They wanted to take us out to lunch. Normally they have a send off party before your trip, but we just went too fast that they never got the chance. It turned out to be a really great time. I don't think that even the volunteers expected it, but the Red Robin manager really treated us great. We were telling Keith about our wonderful trip to Disneyland when Kelby announced that she wanted a balloon. (She remember the balloon from a previous trip to the same restaurant - smart kid!) Keith went to ask the manager if we could get some balloons and that just got the ball rolling. They brought out a bunch of seven balloons which just thrilled her. We had a delicious lunch. Then, they brought out the big mascot "Red." He brought even more balloons and a huge ice cream sundae. They whole staff came over. They asked if they could sing her their version of the "Happy Birthday" song even though it wasn't her birthday, but just to make her feel special (That is the only song they all knew.) She just loved it. Keith and Sydney (our wonderful volunteers) took all kinds of cute pictures of us and the wait staff. Then, to top it all off, the restaurant's manager said he wouldn't bring out the bill because they didn't want the Make-A-Wish to have to pay...not even a tip. Wow, that was really special! Mike was so disappointed that he hadn't been there. Kelby and I had a great time! Thanks so much to Make-A-Wish and Red Robin!!! '

Yesterday was pretty uneventful I guess. I can't seem to remember anything to tell you about it anyways. I did find out that my mommy gets to come and visit next week. That will be fun! I have just been hanging out and relaxing in the evenings.

Today I called about and ad in the paper for some Springer Spaniel puppies! We went to go see them after dinner...and YES we are going to get one. We picked out a cute little boy! Kelby just loves him. We can't take him home until around the 24th of this month...which will give us time to finish Kelby's treatment and get the house ready for him. I am just so excited. He is so adorable. I look forward to having a great time with him this summer. It will give me and the girls a really good reason to play outside. I know that it will be a lot of work, but it was just really important to me...to build even more good memories. We decided that a Springer Spaniel would be a really good sized dog for us. It is big enough to be fun for Michael for camping and stuff...and little enough to be an inside dog for me! He is the real deal with papers and everything...which means he's more expensive, but I wanted him bad enough to pay. It is going to be really hard to wait for him. The owner said that would could go visit though. I'll take a picture next time to post. I'm so mad that I didn't remember to take a picture tonight...I even had the camera with me.

Okay, so all-in-all we are doing really well. I am thankful for that! Every day is a great day. Kelby continually has that happy smile. That must be due to all the prayers going up for her.
God Bless!

 

Kelby’s wearing Tegan’s shirt as a hat!

Back Down to Seattle We Go

We had a wonderful weekend. I went down to Seattle for a neat little Stampin' Up! conference. It was a great time and just a chance to think about something else. I got really inspired to make some beautiful cards and of course sell stamps! I just needed the distraction. Michael had the girls the entire day! I think they did just fine.

On Sunday morning we went to church and, as you can read from Jill's dear entry in the guestbook, Kelby had a wonderful time. She loves children's church. We have wonderful support from our church family.

Sadly, after just one day with our dear little mice, I had to pack them up on Sunday afternoon and take them back to the store. I was so sad to see them go, but I was allergic to them. It was either the mice or their bedding that got to me. Being in the same room as their cage made my throat start to get tight. Seeing how much joy those little mice gave to Kelby made it really hard to take them back...but we might start seriously thinking about getting a dog. I just think it would be fun for her to have a pet. I would get a kitty, but I am allergic to them. I know I'm not allergic to dogs though, so that will have to be it...assuming we can find one that isn't too wild.

Last week was a little hard on me and I just have to share with you my own little revelation. Hearing about Kelby's recurrence may have made many of you sad, as it did me, but maybe this will help you to let yourself feel happy again. I was getting really down last week. This was something more than just the cancer being back that made me feel so down. My heart just felt so heavy. When I thought the cancer might be back, I had several days that I was just very sad. The strange thing was when we found out that the cancer had for sure returned, I felt an amazing bubble of peace around me. I didn't cry. I was strong, but that was only from God. Oddly, I even felt bad that I wasn't more sad than I was. I am Kelby's mommy; I should be devastated. But last week, as I wore down a bit, I did begin to feel the heavy sadness. I was making myself stay in the place that was sad. It is, after all, my duty to be sad, right? What made me realize that this was an unhealthy place to be? I'm not sure where or when it came to me, but I am sure it was the Lord lifting me up. I remembered the verse that says, "Be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thess. 5:16-18) It is okay for me to still be happy. In fact, it is the best thing for me and my family...and all of you as well. I think that I have even been afraid to pray for Kelby's healing...fearing that it might not be God's plan for Kelby. But now I see that I need to continue to pray for Kelby as Jesus prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." It is okay...not to mention...necessary, for me to see the joy in each moment and to be thankful for all that is good in each and everyday. There is something to be thankful for in every circumstance.

Since I was in high school I have had a life-statement that I call my "Smile on Your Heart Theory." I remember renewing my devotion to God in those difficult teenage years when I realized that I will always have something to be happy about in Jesus. Jesus died for me and saved me...and no matter what else happens in this life, I will always have the hope in heaven to give me the "Smile On My Heart." I recognized even then that I wouldn't always have a smile on my face...because times can be hard...but I will always have the smile on my heart to return to for refreshing. Now, is it just a coincidence that my darling Kelby is fully in love with any "Happy Face" she sees? I really don't think so. Thank you Lord for the reminder we have in every happy face we see (and we see a lot in this household) that we can be joyful in You in every situation. So, you all have permission to still be joyful in every moment with us as we watch Kelby. We don't know what is ahead, but none of us really does. God Bless.

PS. Thank you for being my therapy. Writing here helps me so much. I am thankful that so many people love us and check in on our family. It means the world to me...and it is one more thing that gives me a smile on my face! Love to you all.

We Get A Break

Hello there everyone! Thank you all for checking in on us. I am just so absolutely blessed by the wonderful guestbook entries. We just love it. I have to let you all know that Michael is also a faithful, wonderful man of God and only together are we able to stay strong. I am thankful in everything that we have gone through that we have had each other. I just thought I'd add that since he hasn't gotten a chance to write lately. PS...this website is really his idea and creation from the beginning. I am so thankful that he put it together.
Kelby is doing really well. She went in for a radiation treatment and a CT scan today. That meant that she was under anesthesia for longer. She was almost excited to go into the treatment. She said, "I want to go in there (as she's pointing at the radiation treatment room) and take a nap on you." The nurses said that was a first that any child has been excited for their treatment. So, at least she is getting used to that process. The only problem today was that the anesthesiologist let her wake up too much before they gave her to me, so she got pretty upset again. It is an awful feeling as she hits and yells at me. It is like she has a little demon because she definitely isn't herself. She really wanted to leave afterward, as did I. So finally she calmed down and they let us go. She was fine on the way home after she got to eat a hotdog and some french fries. She is always starving after the treatments because they don't let her eat anything before hand.
They were checking the stability of the tumor with the CT scans to see if it was growing or not. I was surprised, but happy to hear that it didn't look like it had grown too much. That is great because we won't have to go down for treatments over the weekend. Thank You Lord! We need the break. I myself thought that the tumor had grown a bit, but maybe it is just some swelling in the area or something. I am always glad to be wrong in those situations!
I have been trying to keep the afternoons relaxing which is pretty easy since both girls have been needing naps. Tomorrow I get to take the afternoon to do something just for me, so I am pretty excited about that. It has been so wonderful to have meals because I don't have to worry about fixing meals...not to mention go grocery shopping! We have even been getting a great variety! Thanks so much to those MOPS moms (everything has been delicious!)
For some reason I have been really longing to get Kelby some kind of pet. I am allergic to cats and don't want to clean up my backyard after a puppy...yet anyways...so for some reason I decided I wanted to get her a mouse. I know you'll all think I am crazy, but you would have loved to see the look on her face when we put our two new mousies in their new cage. She just loves them! We haven't named them yet, but we'll keep you posted. Even Tegan was excited about them. I hope they survive. I have been trying to fill our days with positive little experiences, so I think this will be fun. Kelby and I planted some seeds yesterday, so that is our other little project. It will be fun to watch them grow.
I just have to tell you this little sweet story about Kelby. A couple weeks ago, the little kids were learning about Jesus in Sunday school and about the empty tomb...of course around Easter time. We were sent home with a "Parent Page." It gave a little recipe to make a biscuit that after cooked was hollow inside...like the tomb. So, I was showing Kelby this little trick the day before yesterday and explaining about Jesus as we went along. You see, you take the store bought refrigerated biscuits and roll one out into a 3 inch circle. You take a big marshmallow...which represents Jesus and wrap it up in the biscuit. That is the tomb. You bake it for about 10 minutes and when you open it, there is an empty spot where the marshmallow used to be. Kelby was very excited. I know she didn't quite grasp the concept, but we had a lot of fun. Especially after I had made the second one...but had forgotten about it...and she came running around the corner yelling, "I want to eat the tomb!" That was pretty silly, but then yesterday I had taken a cheese stick and wrapped it in a piece of ham...and she pointed at the cheese and said, "Is that Jesus?" I wish I could write in the details of the expressions on her face, because that just makes it that much sweeter.
There are always things to be thankful for in our days. I am just so thankful for the opportunity to have our website available on the FamilyFun.com through this contest! It is neat to see people visit our site and leave messages. Kelby's little life gets to touch so many people. I think that our precious Lord has had His hands on us! Good Night!

Thank You for the Poem

Thank to whomever posted this sweet poem in the guestbook. I did a little search and found out that the author's name is Edgar A. Guest. I wanted to post it in an update so that later it will not be lost amongst the guestbook entries.

To All Parents
"I'll lend you for a little time a child of mine," He said,
"For you to love the while she lives and mourn for when she's dead.
It may be six or seven years, or twenty-two or three,
But will you, till I call her back, take care of her for me?
She'll bring her charms to gladden you, and should her stay be brief,
You'll have her lovely memories as solace for your grief.
"I can't promise she will stay, since all from earth return,
But there are lessons taught down there I want this child to learn.
I've looked the wide world over in My search for teachers true
And from the throngs that crowd life's lanes I have selected you.
Now will you give her all your love, nor think the labor vain
Nor hate me when I come to call to take her back again?
"I fancied that I heard them say, 'Dear Lord, Thy will be done!
For all the joy Thy child shall bring, the risk of grief we'll run.
We'll shelter her with tenderness, we'll love her while we may,
And for the happiness we've known, forever grateful stay.
But should the angels call for her much sooner than we've planned,
We'll brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand.'"
This poem does bring tears to my eyes, but they are tears that are good to shed; I must not keep them in. We try to be thankful for every moment we have with this precious girl.
We have been doing pretty good. Kelby has been doing much better these last two days. The new anesthesiologist let her sleep until she got into my arms, so she can wake up there. She does much better. The treatment doesn't seem to be bothering her at all. I think she looks a little puffy, but they don't think that is from the treatment. I am not sure, but it seems like the tumor is still growing. Hopefully that radiation will start affecting it soon. We will be going down for another regular treatment, but on Friday we will be getting a treatment and another CT. They want to make sure that they are getting the entire tumor in their treatment site. They had done the calculations before we went to Disneyland and the tumor had grown since then. If they don't think they are getting the response that they would like by Friday, we might be going down for treatments on Saturday and Sunday as well. They said that they would prefer doing that over giving her two treatments in one day. They just don't like to anesthetize the kids more than once a day unless they have too. She is still an incredibly happy girl. This isn't phasing her at all anymore. She still doesn't quite like the guys in the blue scrubs, but she gets over it pretty quick. She explains to us, "They just gonna put medicine in my tube and I take a nap."
We have been getting home around noon. Kelby is pretty tired by then and has been taking long naps. I am a little rough around the edges myself. At least I have been getting to bed a little earlier. Plus it is so nice to not have to make any meals. Mike seems to be hanging in there. Tegan has been left behind each day with others...which doesn't seem to phase her...except that her schedule is a little off. I miss her a lot.
I talked to Kelby's Oncologist today. He said that Kelby's bone marrow biopsy came back clean. She also had another blood test done that shows levels of something that indicate cancer, but those levels are normal too. These are both really good news. This means that her cancer is fairly localized right now. Hopefully the radiation will keep this under control. If it does react well, we should have quite some time with our little angel. Thanks for continuing to pray! I know that I and our families need more strength and endurance and your prayers make a difference. God Bless!

Our First Radiation Treatment

Thanks again to everyone that has emailed and posted in the guestbook. I look forward to checking every time. It just helps so much to know so many people are checking in on our little family. I hope that everyone had a happy Easter! We sure did. My Mom and Dad got the girls little matching Easter dresses, so we took them to church to get some ohhhhs and ahhhhs! They were so adorable. We had a fun time over at Gramma and Grampa Wright's house for brunch and an Easter Egg hunt. Riley and Emma were there too and the girls had a wonderful time searching, running and finding eggs. The girls just had a fun time together the whole day.

 
Last Friday Kelby got a new catheter put in. Her original central line was taken out in December because it broke. We had been hoping we wouldn't ever need one again. They put a new one in so she could get the anesthesia everyday during her radiation treatments without having to poke her. I knew she was at least thankful for no more pokes because she said, "They not gonna poke me." Today we headed down to the University of Washington for Kelby's first radiation treatment. We'll be driving down every day for about the next 3 weeks. It is an hour and a half drive each way, so that will take a lot out of us. It will be worth the drive to be home each night. Today was a little rough. Kelby was really scared of the anesthesiologist. I think it was a bad experience on Friday when she got her tube put in that bothered her. I took her into the room where they give her a shot of stuff that puts her to sleep. They kept her for about 20 minutes, though the rest of the treatments should only take 10 minutes. Then she gets to wake up and go home. She woke up really cranky today. Hopefully it will get easier as we continue. Then, it's another drive home. We did make it home at lunch time, but it was a hard morning.
I am so appreciative of the MOPS moms that have signed up to bring our family dinners during this time! It will help so much. Fixing dinner is just the last thing on my mind right now, so this will be so nice. Thanks too for wearing the happy face pins! It really is so encouraging to see you wearing Kelby's little mascot. She loves to see those pins.

Kelby seems to be doing okay. She is a little more cranky and tired these days, but we still get happy smiley times! Hopefully these treatment will stop the lump in her jaw from growing. It had grown a quite a bit while we were gone at Disneyland. If it continues to grow she'll have to get two treatments each day instead of one. They said they'd reevaluate on Wednesday.

I had a hard time today when I changed Kelby's dressing over her new catheter site. She was so upset with me as I pulled the adhesive off, but I think that she thought she was in trouble because she said through her tears, "I'm so sorry Mommy." I felt so bad. This is a little bit harder now because she understands, remembers and says more.

It is so hard to know how to feel right now. The emotions go up and down on a roller coaster. There was a guestbook message that said, "Don't give up hope," and I just wanted to explain that we will never give up hope. My hope is for Kelby to be all better. I do believe with all my heart that God is capable of giving us a miracle in her. I pray for that with all my might. I also believe with all my heart that Kelby will be all better in heaven too. So honestly, Kelby will be doing great no matter what, but we will miss her dearly if her place is in heaven. I am just amazed at the peace I feel knowing that God is in control. I don't want the responsibility on my shoulders, because I'm not strong enough to bear it. The prayers and encouragment from all of you is really helping us to get through this. Thank you!

She loves the slide at McDonalds!

Tegan was so cute in her dress, but a little tired.

What a good big sister.

 

The cousins.

 

The girls all loved to look at themselves in their hats.

 

Kelby's lookin' for her eggs.

There she is with Grampa Wright.

Kelby and Daddy got really tired!

She loves those Minnie Ears!