Yippee!

MRI was clear!  No issues!

Time for an MRI

Aly is scheduled for an MRI tomorrow.  Please include her in your prayers today and tomorrow that the MRI will, once again, be clear.

Knock on wood...things have been good.  The spring/summer season for the swim team has started and Aly is back swimming.  She's almost making it through the whole practice and seems to make it a little longer each time.  It is an unbelievable turn around from just a few short months ago.  We have also been amazed at how well she's been eating.  I can't explain what an amazing difference we've seen.  Aly has caught Kevin and I, a few times, looking at each other, smiling, shaking our heads at the dinner table.  She'll say, "What?"  It is just awesome to see her interested in food again.  She's gotten to the point where she is trying new things and now likes many things she didn't ever like before.  She also makes suggestions on what to fix for dinner or where to go if we are eating out.  I just can't get over this "new" Aly.  She has also started golfing with us.  She decided she wanted to try golfing, not only because the rest of her family plays, but because her physical activities are limited due to her vision constraints.   We all went to play 9 holes yesterday afternoon and I think the rest of us will have some strong competition in a couple of years.  Aly hit the ball really well!  She's decided she likes golf!  Yeah!  She asked for some golf lessons for her birthday, believe it or not, so that is on her docket as well.

Her facial episodes are still happening occasionally, but seem to be slowly decreasing in frequency.  I have to knock on wood again, because every time I say that, they seem to increase again.  I asked her, at breakfast time, the other day if she's had any jaw locks lately because she hadn't mentioned any for a few days.  Her answer was, "no, I haven't."  Well, just a few minutes later she had one while eating.  Kevin called me a jinx!

Aly has been mentioning, for weeks, that she wants to go visit her teachers at Big Woods.  It is hard because their school hours start and finish before the Middle School.  She likes her sleep, so it is also difficult to get her out of bed earlier in the morning too!  We decided that tomorrow would be a good day.  We thought we'd head that way before we go to Minneapolis for her appointments.

Other than that, we are still waiting on the pool install.  It was supposed to happen last week, but the rain had delayed things.  They are now telling us Thursday of this week (of course it is supposed to rain Wednesday), we'll see!  We need the warm weather back, again, so we can enjoy it once it is in.
   

prayers

Please say prayers for Gage and his family.  Gage is a young boy who's  inoperable brain tumor has spread throughout his brain and he is on hospice care.  A high school friend told me about him a few months ago.  He lives in Hutchinson, MN.  Please pray that the good Lord will take his pain away and give strength to his family.

Please continue to pray for all kids fighting cancer.  May is Brain Cancer Awareness Month...

Oh to be a kid again!

Oh to be a kid again and be so excited about being one year older!  Aly cannot stop talking about her birthday being tomorrow (11th).  She has said, several times today, "when I wake up tomorrow I'm going to be 11!  This is also a special birthday for MANY reasons.  It is her golden birthday as she will be 11 on the 11th.  A couple of weeks ago we were talking about what she wanted for her birthday and what she wanted to do.  At some point during that conversation she said, "this is the perfect year for me to have my golden birthday because I am cancer free!"  She is just an amazing girl.  She already seems so much older than 11 and her life experiences, this past year, have contributed even more to that.  I don't want to remember what it was like just one year ago.  The year has flown by, yet seemed to stand still all at the same time.  I often wonder how much Aly thinks about where she was one year ago.  I'm afraid to bring up the subject as I get sad just thinking about it myself.  She was stuck in the hospital.  Thinking it would only be 5 days and she'd be out before her birthday.  Five days turned into 15.  Not only did she have to celebrate her birthday in the hospital, she ended up with Influenza B and by the end of her stay her hair was falling out from the chemo treatment.  We are so very thankful, everyday, that those days are in the past.  Hopefully they will stay in the past forever!
I'd say this is a golden birthday!  She deserves to have a golden day and so much more.  I thought the golden 11 balloons were a fitting start.  I loved her happy face when Kevin brought them home with him after work.  She is happy.  I hope she has a happy day tomorrow.