First, I want to give a shout out to my Grandpa Oxford!  Who is a FAITHFUL reader of my blog, and is such an encouragement to me!  Thanks for all your kind words!  It means so much to me!

Alright friends!

Are you ready to be blown away?!  I have a VERY long update!

What have we been up to?  Swimming, playdates, learning to sit, eating solid food, CRAWLING, and family camp.

OOH, I am so excited!  So here goes!

Joyful Jordyn.

Yup.

That is her name.

She brings me SUCH joy!

I swear. This kid started eating food, learned to sit, and is now army crawling.  All in two weeks!  She giggles, and is always babbling something.  I could not have hand picked a more perfect baby.  

Jordyn LOVES food.  I am still pumping rather than formula.  I have tried to quit, but she is not a super huge fan of formula.  And being my last one..... and she is so good.....I just give in.  I want her to stay exactly as she is.

Scrappy doo and Ike are still very much into break dancing.  I have Ike enrolled in gymnastics in the fall, but am looking for a break dancing class for both of them!  They are ALWAYS practicing!

And Laney.  Wow, lots of changes!  She will be starting first grade this year!  First time she will be gone 5 days.  Bittersweet, huh moms?!  And the biggest change....SHE CUT HER HAIR!  She cried, begged, and pleaded for it to be cut.  Jacob was the one vetoing it at first, but after explaining the hour that would be saved in the time it takes me to brush it (!) he conceded.

We all love it.

Ike has been digging listening to music.  His current fave is Toby Mac, #3.  That is his break dancing song.  I don't have any pictures.  But most days, you will find Ike with headphones on jamming to music.

And the best part of this post.

STARLITE SHORES FAMILY CAMP.

Friends, family, everyone, this is something I believe in.  This camp is something we enjoyed to the fullest!  If there is any cause that is close to our hearts, it is this.  I am not sure what our future holds, but wow.  Talk about one of the GREATEST gifts our family has ever received.  I pray my words do it justice.

Ya see, this is no ordinary family camp.  This camp is for families who have a child that has/had cancer.  

Let me tell you about our experience with the pictures.

We arrived to all the volunteers waiting at the entrance of Camp Geneva to help our family move in for the week.

We arrived and our "family" was there to help us.  Who is that?  Well, part of the gift we were given is a family volunteered their entire week to come and SERVE my family!  Help at meal times.  Helping with kids.  Taking them into groups so the parents could meet with each other.  Cleaning our cabin and just listening to us!  Let me introduce you to our family.  The Holland-Anderson family.

 Ms. Christa

Mr. Kip  (Can we say Modern Family?!)

Martha, Henry, and Chloe.

The craziest thing is that I had met Christa years ago at sibling night at Helen Devos!  Her little Chloe had cancer!  They have walked through chemo and radiation.  They also have check-ups and scans still!  We were blessed to have someone who REALLY knew what we had been through!  Also, Kip and Christa are TEACHERS!  So, I was super thankful considering Laney can be a little challenging.  They were such a blessing!  Their kids were wonderful!  Henry and Ike were "boys" together.  Laney and Chloe are one day apart in age, and Martha was the "mama" who took care of Gabs.

Once our family helped us move in to our cabin, we headed to the food hall for introductions.  Laney of course grabbed the microphone right away!

That was the beginning of a really great week!  Where to begin?  They took all the parents out to dinner at the Alpen Rose.  We were picked up in Hummer limos.

 

(Our friends Fawnda and Andrew)

The kids had an ice cream party while we were gone.

There was a lady spa day, the men went charter fishing, the kids put on a talent show!  And the best part?!  NO COOKING, NO DISHES, NO MEAL PLANNING, HELP WITH MY KIDS, ADULT CONVERSATION!

This was an investment in my FAMILY!  I support the American Cancer Society, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and everything else that is in the "cancer" circle.  But if I were to raise money FOR ANYTHING, it would be this camp.  You see, my family was invested in.  All my kids were given "special" treatment.  Siblings of children with cancer is a passion of mine.  And you know what, that is exactly what Starlite Shores did for us.

Here are more pictures of the wonderful time we had!

 My kids were TOAST every night!  It was AWESOME!

 Martha, I am sending you hugs again!  You were such a big help!  You are going to be a great Mom!

 Yia-Yia took Jordyn for us so we could focus on the older kids, which was amazing!  Thank you!  We did grab her for a day so everyone could meet her!  Thanks again Martha!

Every morning, Ike started the day with a cup of Jo.  Yup, Ike is obsessed with coffee. Especially Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino.

This is Wes.  He was the worship leader for the week. I got a chance to talk to his wife, who was also Laney's teacher.  Becky and Wes are doing amazing things!  They started a church in Atlanta, and their goal is to take ALL the tithe and invest it in the community!  They sell coffee beans, which Wes roasts himself, for income!  He also uses this to raise money for Starlite Shores!  So, you buy coffee, and support the camp!

Fawnda, I stole this from you.  This is my favorite picture.  Ike and Isaac.  The both have ALL (leukemia).  When Ike was first diagnosed, the docs would always get these two confused.  Isaac finishes his oral chemo in about 2 weeks, but had his LAST CLINIC appointment was TODAY!  We are rejoicing with the Walker family!  Isaac and Ike got along amazingly!  My heart just sings with the thought of another kiddo making it through 3 1/2 years of pokes and icky medicine!

This camp changed our lives.  Their goal and slogan was for us to be renewed and restored.  And you know what?   We were!

Jacob and I returned home with our hearts full and tears in our eyes.  Jacob said, "You know, I am excited to go to Disney World for Ike's Make A Wish.  But this camp provided us with so much more!  An opportunity to talk with other parents about their and our child with cancer."  I also loved that my children were exposed to other kids that were "different".  Handicapped children, down syndrome, and learning disabilities.  They all played together.  And in my childrens' eyes, no one was "different."  This also was such a gift.  We learned so much, and enjoyed relating to other families.

Thank you to all the volunteers, and Carmen and Kevin Diekevers.  Carmen and Kevin had a dream to do this, and they did it.  I am in awe!  And so humbly grateful.  I pray that this post portrays the magnitude of our gratitude.

And that is it for now.

More to come soon!

Linda

I get the question a lot of how Ike is doing.  I truly never mind answering this question.  And I don't mind if you ask. But I thought I should post an update pertaining to what life has been like in Leukemia land.

We had clinic today.

His body is still showing no signs of Leukemia.  When he gets a "count check" they are checking to see how his body is responding to all the different drugs the docs have him taking. They want his good white blood cell count to be in a certain range.  Not too high, because that means he is not getting enough meds to kill any remaining leukemia cells.  If the cell count is too low, then it usually means they need to back off on some meds.  So when I say his counts are good, it means his body is responding to treatment as it should be.

So, his counts were good today.

But the day, well that kind of sucked.

Five pokes, and his veins blew every time.

They even tried his foot.

This meant lots of tears, sweat, and another return appointment to try again on Thursday.

This is the life of cancer.  Mostly good days, and some really tough ones.

Tonight, while putting Ike to bed he asked me if he had to go back to the hospital and get more shots.

I told him he did.

He cried.  A lot. And asked why he has "lookenia".  And why he still has to get shots.  And why it won't go away.  I wish I had all the answers, but no one does.

But the Lord, faithful as always, helped me once again.  God dropped in my heart a great illustration. About how these bad cells hide in his body, and the shots inject him with SUPER ninjas.  And they hunt out the leukemia and wham, slam, bam the bad guys.  The story was much more detailed.  This calmed Ike down, and we began to talk about people that don't have super ninja medicine like him.  Another tough conversation.  I hate that part.  But I feel his heart and mine were in a better place after that.

You see, certain parts of this journey have gotten easier and others much harder.  Jacob and I try to laugh about most things.  (Like how at Unity fest the person on main stage was asking if anyone was going through anything, like cancer.  And Laney shouts out, "Hey, Isaac has cancer!" Oh the stares I get when she does this!). But having to talk about death, and explaining why I keep taking him to a place that hurts him.  This is not fun people!

And we will be done with all chemotherapy in January.  Which is super exciting.  But am I ever really done with cancer?  They monitor Ike for the rest of his life.  There is always that chance. Plus, you know too much!  I don't say that out of fear.  Or trying to be pessimistic.  You choose to walk and trust God, but I feel it is a choice I will have to make.  And although time does make things easier, you don't ever forget.  And in some ways, that is not a bad things.  I will forever have a heart for parents whose child is or has suffered.  Or even something as simple as taking your child in for blood work!  I know how awful that can be!  And Mama, my heart hurts with you!

I am thankful in so many ways.  For his icky medicine.  The wonderful nurses.  Seeing my Aunt Kris at every visit.  That my son will live and not die, and declare God's goodness.  I am thankful.  Truly..

The best part is that in meeting Ike.  You would never know he is in treatment for cancer.  Jacob and I do our best never to mention it.  We don't want anyone to feel awkward and really what do you say to somebody when they drop that kind of bomb on you?  Although Laney always has a way of bringing it up.  To everyone.  Even strangers.  Oh, my life with Laney....

So, Ike is doing great.  The Quists' hate cancer.  We hate shots. This will never change.

So, onto the good stuff!  The happenings around here....

The EVIL caterpillar..

Do not let your children play with these guys!  Gabby broke out in a rash all over and was SCREAMING that her hands hurt!  I had another friend that the same thing happened to their child.  STAY AWAY.  We now hate most caterpillars.

Baby Owen came to visit again!  We just love him!  

It is VERY exhausting being at Aunt Linda's house.

And Laney.  I could just shake her sometimes!  She is CONSTANTLY picking Jordyn up and swinging her all over the place.  I told her that she had to keep Jordyn on her butt, or I would spank her.  What does Laney do?  The second I walk away, she picks Jordyn up and places her on her chest.  I come flying back in yelling, "Laney!  I told YOU!  KEEP. JORDYN. ON. HER. BUTT!"

What does Laney say?

"She is Mom!"

I did not specify butt on the FLOOR!  Sigh.  Oh, Laney.

 They really do love each other though

This is the new thing in my house.  Gabby LOVES the way Laney's blankie smells?  I will never understand this.

At the Grandville Library a few weeks ago, they had the critter barn come.  Gabby almost killed the chicks.  I had a lot of mom's giving me the evil eye.  I tried to stop her!  But Gabby is so determined!  And I had ALL FOUR of my kids there!  None died, thank goodness!

Some random day, we used beads and pipe cleaners to make necklaces and things.  This is the princess and her king.

 

And Jordyn.  Sweet, wonderful, snuggly, fat, now sitting Jordyn.  Her hair is SO LONG!  I am constantly un-sticking it from her neck.  This also means LOTS of pigtails.  Hence the wild hair!

My sister Jamie bought tickets for the kids and I to go to Unity fest for my birthday.

People.  Let me tell you.  Talk about a CHEAP fun thing to do with your kids!

If you get the tickets early, they are $10.  Worth every penny!  Everything is free once you get in!  They had a little carnival. Face painting.  Rock climbing.  Barrel rides.  The food was CHEAP and GOOD!  Great music.  And even a park and swings behind the stage.  So you can still hear the music while your kids played!  Jamie and I had a good time! My sister in law Jess watched Jordyn.  But by 8 p.m. my kids were toast.  So, we couldn't stay for Hillsong.  But the kids LOVED their first music festival!

Whew. Finally the end.

You are now up to date on life with the Quists!  Until next time!