September 23 September 23, 2011

All the lady walkers!

Cutie Anna carried Ridgway’s survivor balloon. His brother was ill so he couldn’t make it.

Ajax, McKinley and Conrad

Laura took Makayla all evening….Thank YOU!

Our SURVIVOR!!!

Last night we had the privilege of participating in Light the Night Walk at Sawyer Point. We were all excited to be a part of this and are very thankful for those who have linked arms and helped us raise……$1,090 to date (total amount for team Ridgway*Ajax*McKinley)!!! Yay, yay, YAY!!! Our heart and prayer is for a cure so no other child will have to endure what our childrenhave.  Thank you to our friends, who made the trek downtown, paid for parking and walked the 2 mile walk with us!  We love you!!

Life has been quiet on the McKinley medical side, which is fantastic!! We have still had our share of Dr’s appointments as I finally got Makayla in for her 6 year check up, all of us received flu shots, I’m now goingweekly for OB visits and Scott has had a couple Dr’s appointments playing catch up as well.

Soccer has also invaded our lives. Two weekends in a row we hadpractice on Friday night and a soccer game on Saturday and Sunday. This week we have the entire weekend off from soccer AND Scott is NOT on call!!! So, is it really free?! Well, we intend to try to take some Sabbath time this weekend as we are all in need of it. We’ve also been prepping for Jr’s arrival and with homeschooling I do not have as much free day time to complete some of the tasks we, as a family, are use to me completing. But, I really think that homeschooling is a good fit for us thus far. Makayla is doing well and I haven’t completely lost it yet:) Is that a good sign?

McKinley had a Lumbar Puncture on Monday and IV Vincristine….she is on steroids this week, but is doing ok with them. I never say great, but will take, ok. It was a long day for both of us but we were most thankful that my parents were here to fill in the gap. They help juggle the girls while I, at least, get something to eat (since McKinley is not allowed food or drink prior to her LP). They help McKinley smile through the NPO morning and my mom helped get dinner ready…..not to mention my dad spent 2 hours doing school with Makayla. So, she didn’t miss a day from that appointment. She will not have another LP until December, but has her next clinic appointment on October 15…..the Friday before Jr is supposed to make his arrival!

I have found it quite challenging lately to discipline. Period. I, most certainly, want my girls to be disciplined and respectful and all the
other fantastic qualities that disciplining your children brings.   I have always thought of myself as a decent disciplinarian….at least before
cancer.

I’m guessing that most of my reservation is from seeing the pain from the past year and never, ever wanting McKinley or Makayla to have any pain or discomfort again.  This past year was enough pain to pocket for a lifetime.

Perhaps my protective nature has overtaken me.  I wanna cuddle my cubs and claw anything that comes near them.  I’m fully aware that
this is not the healthy way to raise children, even children/families fighting cancer.

The truth be told…..I know we live in a fallen world.  Sin exists and Satan is roaming around with freedom….so they are going to be hurt and face disappointments.  These hurts and disappointments will mold them, as long as they are following Jesus, to be more like Him.   I’m challenging myself to discipline in love and am asking God for wisdom in the “how to” after cancer.

I kinda wonder, too, if God’s heart feels this way toward us, but knows that discipline is necessary.

⁵ And have you completely forgotten this word of
encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My
son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he
rebukes you, ⁶ because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he
chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Hebrews 11:5-6

THANKFUL for being here today!  For the normalness of life that we are sort of experiencing….God is good and is alive and well and He
lives in me!

September already…..fall…. September 8, 2011

well, I’m sure it’ll heat back up a bit, but fall is definitely in the air.  I’m still trying to figure out where the summer went.

The great news is that we made our vacation!!  We left on Saturday (27th) and returned that Friday.  It was great to get away.  I will, however, not travel that far the day after her last steroid.  She was quite demanding and there isn’t much you can do about her demands when you are in a car and traveling.  We also found out how many pit (potty) stops a family consisting of a 6-year-old, a newly potty trained almost 3-year-old and a pregnant wife need to make.  If you are interested, just ask:)  We were prepared for many of them, though.

Makayla absolutely LOVED the ocean.  She didn’t want to miss a moment out there and was trying to figure out how we could move down there.  It took McKinley a few days to get use to the ocean, but she ended up really enjoying it.  Scott and I were glad for the break in our normally abnormal routine, but found that complete relaxation was not in the cards for us that week.  We were able to take naps, etc. and enjoy God’s water park and are simply thankful for the opportunity to get away.  Thankful that everyone stayed healthy and well.  That is a miracle in our eyes!  Yay God!!

I will have to say there were times when my heart was completely and utterly overwhelmed.  We went out to the Folly Pier one evening.  Not many people around, but a guy was playing his guitar and singing.  We walked to the end of the pier and then made our way back down to the head of the pier.  As soon as we arrived at the musician….McKinley and Makayla both started dancing around…..mind you, we are his only audience at this point.  Scott and I sat down and just watched them.  My heart was full of joy…..seeing her….actually, both of the girls ENJOY life.  My heart poured out thanks to God on several occasions for the experience of our girls seeing and enjoying life in a different place.  I hope and pray that I will always be able to see glimpses of God’s goodness and favor through my children.

I think we are finally back in the swing of things at home.  The past week has been filled with catching up at home, starting school back up and working on McKinley’s 3rd birthday party!!!  Makayla has soccer practice this Friday, a game Saturday and Sunday and we have the Survivor Picnic on Sunday that Cincinnati Children’s Hospital puts on at the zoo.  We were not able to make it last year, but are looking forward to it this year!!

I did want to say a HUGE thank you to all of you who have donated to the LIGHT THE NIGHT walk that we are participating in this year.  Our team McKinley has raised $675 to date, but would like to raise $1,500 as a team (45% there)….the funds raised go straight to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in efforts to find a cure.  The walk isn’t until Sept 22nd, so there is still time to donate if you’d like.  Here is our link:  http://pages.lightthenight.org/soh/Cinci11/SSpringer    Feel free to donate to Ridgway or Ajax as well.  We are in this as a team!!  http://pages.lightthenight.org/soh/Cinci11/JKnoechel    http://pages.lightthenight.org/soh/Cinci11/TMiller

McKinley has been doing really well at home this week.  She plays so good while Makayla and I have school.  I’m, actually, amazed at how well she plays around us.  She continues to make us laugh and seems to be feeling really good.  I have had a couple of people comment on how much personality she has…..they didn’t realize it while she was under intense treatment.  We’d see moments of her, but nothing like we see and are able to enjoy now.  She is doing well potty training too.  She went #2 on the potty yesterday, which was a first at home.  She did it three times while we were on vacation.  She has had an issue with figuring that one out, but we are not stressing over any of these things…..for she has fought hard the past 16 months and if her going #2 on the potty is the biggest concern we have for her then Yay GOD!!! Right?!

Her ANC was 660 on Tuesday, which is borderline low (anything below 500).  I’m so thankful that our Doctors let her remain on 50% chemo while we were gone.  We increased it one day to 75%, learned of her ANC and then decreased it back to 50%.  She will have labs again on Monday and they will evaluate where her chemo should be then.  Will have an LP and IV vincristine on Monday the 19th and start “roids” again that week.

Baby #3 is doing well.  We only have about 5 1/2 weeks before his arrival.  Still need to paint his room, but other than that, we are as ready as we can be.  Looking forward to meeting him……

Thank you for continuing to follow this journey with us.  It is far from over, but we feel as though we can breathe a little.

Please pray for:

Complete healing from cancer for her and all our pediatric cancer/BMT friends:

Allison, Ridgway, Bella,  Tillie, Blake, Max, Simon, Jameson-doing fantastic!!!, Trey–lost a kidney and had issues with his aorta during surgery about a month ago…..praying for a newprotocol for him, Evangelin, Elizabeth, Wright–he is inpatient again with unexplained fevers,  definitely pray for his body to heal from his BMT, Mackenzie–in remission!!!, Paige, Lach and Frannie.

Also pray for our family friends all with lung cancer:  Suella Slemons, Larry Hehmeyer and Roy Dunn (my bro-in-law’s father).