I do have an update on life, but today will be about Ike.

A week ago I received the travel dates for our Make-A-Wish.

When planning this trip, we decided to hold off until Ike's Chemo was done.  (And we wanted to go last year, but had a surprise baby instead!)

When we decided this, the trip seemed SO.FAR.AWAY.

And, here it is.  5 months away.

I can hardly believe it.  

This last clinic appointment was surreal for me.

Ike had a spinal, so we had to be there early.  His IV was in with one poke, and we waited to go down and get his sleepy medicine.

After his spinal.  I began to think.  Only one more.  That's it.  One more scheduled spinal.  I sat and chatted with Ms. Jen in the play room about a possible "no more chemo" party.  And found my mind wondering to thoughts like, "Is this really happening?"   "Am I really talking about this?"  When Ike was diagnosed at a 1 1/2, I thought, "He is going to be in SCHOOL, for heavens sake, when this is over!"  And here it is.

I had to talk to Ike's pre-school teacher about steroid week and chemo. Leukemia has just been our life for so long, it was really weird to talk to "new" people about this journey.  Childhood cancer is awful, but I forgot what it feels like to not be living this way everyday.  I had to remind myself how I felt when a friend we knew whose child was diagnosed with cancer, how DEVASTATED I was!  (This all before we knew ANYTHING about Ike!)  That this really is such an awful thing to have happen to your child. 

Just another reminder of the journey.  We do our best to not talk about Leukemia because we want Ike to be treated like everyone else.  We don't want cancer to have any power over our family.  We try to keep things as normal as possible, and his teacher is right on board with us.  She mentioned it may be hard, but she wants what we want.  Since he is at Tri-Unity which is a christian school, she asked if she could bring him up at prayer time.  I jumped at that with a "Yes, please!"

There are never enough prayers if you ask me!  Especially with treatment ending in January.  We sit and watch to see if all the years of medicine has tricked his body into not making any more cancer cells, and if the ones that were in his blood are gone.  That is a post for another day.

Yesterday when picking Laney up from school, I was talking to Laney's teacher for just a second.  (Keep in mind, what I am about to write is supposed to be funny.  I really think I need to write a sitcom based on my family.  It would be a comedy of course.)  I asked her if the teachers talked to each other.  Mostly because Laney can be a little tricky.  Mrs. T said she did talk to Mrs. G and that we go to her church.  So, nonchalantly, I said, "Oh good, so she told you about Laney's brother."  She looked puzzled.  So I said, "Oh, that he is in treatment for Leukemia."  As I said this, craziness ensued with car-pooling, and I was pulled away saying "Oh, well, he is fine!"  As she sat there as if a bomb just went off in her face.  Of course that is how it happened.  I have yet to email her the whole story.  I am sure she thinks I am a lunatic.  So is life. 

I am not used to moments like this any more.  I am not really sure how to handle these situations.  Do you say something or not?

We are doing our best to navigate this new season.  Working out the kinks, and seeing what Ike can handle.  He did come home from school today because his legs were tired.  But most days were without incident.  And Ike LOVES school.

I'm excited to think that next year, (the Lord willing) Steroids and Leukemia will be a thing of the past.  I'm not trying to wish time away, and yet, I kind of am.

That is my update.  And stay tuned!  I might have a guest blogger, (Ahem! Jacob!) on here!

That is all!

Adios!

Whew.

Last week was SO BUSY!

This school every day is a new thing for me.  And it is EXHAUSTING!

But, before I begin the school posts.  I want to start with Renee's visit!

If you are new to my blog, Renee is my sister who lives in the state of Wyoming.  We haven't physically seen her in over a year!  To say my kids were excited is an understatement!

Renee flew in on Wednesday at 10:15 at night.  I had Ike and Laney go with me to greet her when she got off the plane.  They were crazy of course!

Renee loves penguins.  She sent this to Gabby for Christmas.  Laney had it waiting at the door for when Aunt Ne-Ne arrived.

 Making faces in the airport bathroom.  That's how we roll!

My dad grilled out and had the whole family over.  I only got one picture.  But an important and sentimental one for me.  My Grandma and Grandpa DeLano took care of me for 9 months while Jamie was in treatment for Leukemia.  At the time, Helen Devos did not exist.  So Jamie was treated in Ann Arbor.

Jordyn and MY papa.

We then went to the North Shore beach!  It was perfect!

Gabby is fearless.  She jumped into every single wave.  And even when they smacked her and threw her down, she jumped up and dove in again!

 

Renee brought bags of skittles.  Enough said.

 

Although the water was warm, I only went in for a second.  I'm still nursing if any of y'all can relate.  Being cold is not cool.

Renee was also here for Laney and Ike's first day of school!

Ike is at Triunity with Mrs. Smith and Laney is still at Byron Center Charter.  More on that later....

While Laney was at her first day of school, the other three kids, Jamie, Renee, and I headed to the Children's Museum.  Part of their birthday present was a membership renewal from Aunt Renee!  We love it there!

 For whatever reason, I love this picture of Jordyn!  Such a world of possibilites.  Or maybe trying to escape?!

Gabby was SO determined to get that bubble up around her!

 

Then it was time to leave.  :(

My dad took Renee to the airport.  So we snapped a few more pictures before she left.

Her trip here went by in a flash!  When she is here, it is as if she never left.  But, oh how my heart aches when she leaves.  The day after is the worst.  Waking up knowing she isn't here anymore just sucks.

We miss you!

And on to school.

The first day for Laney was a big 'ol flop.

She hated it.

I had to fill out a survey of questions that Laney had to answer.

It went something like this:

Who brought you to school?  Mom and Dad

What did you wear?  A kitty shirt and polka dot pants

Who did you play with?  The girl with brown skin. I don't know her name

How did you feel when it was time to go home?  VERY VERY HAPPY!

Why?  BECAUSE I HATE SCHOOL

What will you do tomorrow?  GO TO SCHOOL AND HATE IT!

Oh, Laney.

 

The second day went MUCH better

 

She got to play with her cousin Ava at recess as well as her friend from pre-school, Alysson.

Lydia is the girl with brown skin, and Laney ADORES her.  She told me Lydia was adopted and Laney thinks that is totally RAD!  They play with Ava at recess. And everything in the world is wonderful again.

Now, Laney loves school.  Such an answer to prayer.  And Lydia is an answer to prayer.  She sits at Laney's table.  And every time I see Lydia, she is singing some song and talking away with Laney about what they are going to do at recess.  I love it.

While Laney is away, Ike rules the roost.  He loves to set up "movie theaters" in my house.  Jordyn is crawling, so she joins in as well.

And when Ike and Laney are BOTH gone, I get some special time with Gabs!  I love it so much!  I never really got much time with her alone considering she was 3 weeks old when Ike was diagnosed.

We have been doing "school."  Which consists of flash cards to work on her speech, and writing.  This girl has some crazy good fine motor skills!  She is not even 3 and working on drawing people?!  Maybe this is normal. but Laney never did this!

The biggest person is Laney.  Then Gabby drew a horse and everyone in our family.  I never have worked on this with her, nor even showed her how to hold a pencil!  Gabby is my artistic, mercy child.  I love that about her!

So, that is about as up to date as I can get! 

Here is to new routines!  I pray we can continue!

Adios!

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