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We got home Sat. night around 8 pm and I got lazy and didn't post anything. We went to church yesterday morning, Caleb and I hadn't been for the last three weeks. I am really glad we did, it was an awesome service. If you don't have a church family you don't know what you're missing. They wrap us in the warmth of their love and prayers and we appreciate them so very much. Caleb doesn't have an appetite right now. Last time he came home hungry as a horse this time he won't eat so I'm guessing it's the different treatments. He is sleeping right now so the house is very quiet. Jacob is at school, Scott is at work, so I am catching up on my to do list. Well I guess I better get busy, I get behind while we are away at the hospital. Caleb has school work to do when he get's up, so I need to have my stuff out of the way so I can stay on him. Have a very blessed day!!! Isaiah 40:31 But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Dreary day...

Well it's day 2, Caleb slept until about 1then got up and took a shower. They asked us if we would switch rooms about an hour ago. They are over booked this week so they moved us to the stem cell side. There is a day bed in this room for me, YEAH!!!! That is WAY better than the fold out chair!!! Caleb is doing really well this time around. We didn't know what to expect this time, this is the same treatment as his first one and he was really sick then so we were a little concerned, but he's doing great! It's really dreary out , it's been storming off and on all day, and sometime it's supposed to turn to snow. It should be interesting going home tomorrow. Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

We're back...

Well here we are back in the city again, we'll go home sometime Saturday evening, probably around 8. They started Caleb's chemo a little bit ago. We are in a little bitty room again but it shouldn't be to bad since we are only here until Sat. Caleb has a new homebound teacher and we are really excited about it!!! We've known her for years and love her and her family!!! And she made him do work and like it! Wow!!! Plus she brought chocolate chip cookies from Miss Pat the night before (yummy). He is supposed to read 5 pages a day plus do stuff on the computer. I think he can manage that just fine. Today our nurse is Gwen and we got to talking and we have people in common. She goes to the Assembly of God church in Mustang and our last youth pastors go there plus another couple that mean the world to me. (I sang their praises!!!) She also knows another couple that go to our church and has been friends with them for many years, so it really is a very small world. Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

Well Caleb went to get cbc's done yesterday and his counts are good so it's back to the Dr on Wed. in the city and back in the hospital Thursday morning for his third round of chemo. He went to school today. It is very hard for me to let him do that, I want to keep him home where he's safe. Psalm 16:1 Keep me safe O God, for in you I take refuge.

Sorry...

I'm sorry I haven't updated this past week, it's just been a busy crazy week. Caleb goes to the Dr. in the morning to get his next set of cbc's so I'll update tomorrow to let you know if we get to go back in on Thursday. Until then...

Counting down...

Well it's day four, Ben and Aimee brought Caleb his chicken yesterday, that made him really happy, Daniel and Erika came to visit last night and Daniel convinced him to walk to the vending machines with us. It was nice to have visitors. As far as I know we will get out of here sometime tomorrow. Caleb has done really well this time around, his blood pressure hasn't been high one time, no nausea at all, he hasn't had to have diuretics this time to make him go so he is doing really good!!! I feel the need to say some things here that are kind of out of character for me. If you know me then you know that I am a christian, however I don't preach or even talk much about it. I try to just walk the walk and if it comes up I'll talk but I really feel like I need to speak up now. I have lived life both ways, with Jesus and without. I can promise you living life having a relationship with Christ is so much better than without. Without that relationship there is an emptiness that you can't quite put your finger on. Everything in your life may be good but you feel like something is off or missing. I can tell you what that something is, it is Jesus. He makes everything so much more fulfilling. Look at my life right now, really stop and think for a second before you go on... How would you get through this? I can tell you, you would need Him! I cry out to Him, I get mad at Him, yeah, I do, He holds the world in the palm of his hand, right? Then he could have stopped this, right? Yes, and He could heal him in an instant ( and yes, I am still holding out for that). I believe that with every ounce of my being, but I also know that this is not a perfect world, He said we would have trials, and up until now my life has been really easy except for the things I brought on myself. And then there are all the good times, I rejoice in the blessings of our lives, up until this my kids have been healthy, all four of them. I am proud of them. Despite some really HUGE mistakes on my part my kids have turned out to be awesome!!! That is only by the grace of God! I was reading one of my devotionals this morning and and it ended with this "The answers you seek and the strength you need can be found only by feeding on God's word and fellowshipping with Him in prayer. I know this to be true. I believe God allows bad things to happen in our lives for different reasons. Right now, I don't know what that reason is, but someday it will be revealed to us and we will all understand then. For now, I trust God to see us through this and hold onto ALL of His promises and I have peace... Phil 4:6,7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Here is one more...Zec 4:6 "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the Lord almighty. I will leave you with this... Do you know Jesus? Do you feel an emptiness ? I promise you, He will fill that void, all you have to do is ask... He's waiting... Please, turn on your sound and listen to the words of this first song.

Day 3...

Caleb is counting down the days! Ben, Aimee & Grace are coming to visit today. Caleb is excited about this because they are bringing him bbq chicken from Wal-mart. It is his favorite thing to eat and just about the only thing we can get him to eat lately. We are on the 10th floor (everytime) and there is a big concrete ledge outside our room (this time) where the pigeons land so we set here and watch them play. It's gray and dreary out today. I haven't decided whether thats good or bad yet. Guess thats it for now. Luke 1:37 For nothing is impossible with God.

Day 2

Look at my boys! Are they not the best looking bald guys you've ever seen? Ok, so I may be a little bit partial. Well Caleb is doing so much better this time around! So far he has had no nausea, no pain from the port, he is eating and even drinking a little bit. Our nurse today looks so much like a girl we go to church with she could be her sister. She even kind of acts like her , even Caleb noticed it! He is getting really stir crazy, but he won't go out of the room at all. Five days is a really long time... Psalm 46:1o Be still and know that I am God...

Hi! This is Aimee again, here are some pictures of our beautiful bald boys. We think they are quite handsome :)


Ben, Caleb, and Daniel.

Caleb with his new Lego set.

Caleb with the police station he built.

We're here...

We are back in the hospital. We got here around 8:30 this AM and will be here 5 days. By the way, Ben and Daniel shaved their heads on Tuesday! They both look pretty cute. We took pictures but I will have to wait and let Jacob put them on for me. They gave Caleb medicine today to help his appetite. Well I think that's it for now, I'm sure I'll have more to tell you later.

Update

I talked to the Dr's office a few minutes ago and Caleb goes for a check-up and blood work tomorrow morning and then back in for chemo on Thursday morning. He will be in for 5 days this time. We have plenty of projects to work on while we are there this time, plus Caleb has a book to read for school so we shouldn't go too stir crazy. He got a new lego set today so he is building a police station right now. Well I need to get busy and get ready for our next big adventure!

Annoyed...

Well Caleb had his cbc's done this AM and they were really good but somehow only part of the results got faxed so we still don't know what we're doing next. No one let me know about this until 4 this afternoon and the Dr's office in the city closed at 4:30 so I don't know if they ever got what they needed. Since Caleb's counts were so good and he had been trapped inside for so long I let him go to school this afternoon. He is in a better frame of mind now so I am glad he got to go. No one picked on him for being bald and no one even tried to pull his hat off! So despite the mix up on his blood results it has been a good day. I guess we'll see what tomorrow holds. Until then ; Psalm 27:13&14 I am sill confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Going stir crazy...

Well Caleb is going a little stir crazy!!! If you know Caleb at all then you know he goes constantly, so this is very hard on him! It has been beautiful out and he want's to be outside playing soooo bad! He seems to have his appetite back to some degree, so that's good. We go in the morning for more cbc's, so please pray that his count's are good so we can get back on schedule. He look's like he has lost some weight but I would swear the kid has gotten taller over the last week and a half! By the way, I would like to thank everyone that has sent cards, gifts, called or come by. Unless you have gone through something like this you have no idea how much those little things mean. They are huge to us!!! I know that sometimes people think they shouldn't bother us, that we don't need to be bothered but sometimes it's nice to talk about trivial nonsense just to take my mind off of this. I guess that's it for now, I'll let you know tomorrow what the next step is. Until then keep praying and treasure every second that you have. Numbers 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

What a difference a day makes...

I woke up a little after 4 this morning and Caleb was standing in front of the mirror half bald. Wow! You know, you just are never prepared for this, no matter what, you just aren't prepared. A little while ago he was standing in front of the mirror making jokes, he doubled up his fist, scrunched up his face and played like a little old guy saying " those rotten kids", you just never know how he is going to react. He is sleeping right now, he didn't get much sleep last night. I asked if he wanted to go get what's left cut real short but he doesn't want to go out in public. He wanted to know why I couldn't do it, but I am afraid of cutting him. I guess the upside is that his leg doesn't hurt anymore. Well, I guess that's it for now, I just wanted to let everyone know, by the way his brothers (well, 2 of them) are going to shave their heads so he doesn't feel so alone. He said he didn't want them to but that was the first thing he said this morning, "you better call Ben and Daniel". Psalm 133; How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head...for there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life evermore.

One day at a time?

Well I thought I better let everyone know Caleb's blood counts are way down so he can't go for chemo on Monday. We will go back to the Dr. here on Monday to do CBC's (blood count's) again and if his counts are good then he will go in on Tuesday, I think. I'm having a real problem getting him to eat or drink anything, he has even quit drinking Dr. Pepper. He has a sore in his mouth (they warned us this might happen) and he had a nose bleed tonight. Most days I can handle this but right now I am having a moment. I told Caleb the other day that we have to take it one day at a time but then I told him that's not true, that I am taking it more like fifteen minutes at a time. If I make it through the next fifteen minutes... He's my baby and I want to be able to kiss it and make it all better... Sorry, I just needed to break down for a minute. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1,2

Hello

Hello everyone! Just thought I'd catch up on this. Caleb's math teacher will be coming over this afternoon to get him back on track with his school work. He is REALLY excited about this, not really. He misses school but it's the socializing that he misses. He has aways been very social and that has changed about him. He is rather quiet around people now. He does not like to talk about any of this at all. Some of his teachers from Union Elementary brought by a big gift basket, that really excited him, then his reading teacher from West brought by cards from his reading class and a chocolate shake. These things let him know he hasn't been forgotten, so I really appreciate that. It's hard to know what to do , I can't start spoiling him but he also needs alot of love and attention right now, it's really hard to strike a balance. Then there's Jake, I think he's feeling at odd's himself , so I have to work on that too. I think we all need extra attention these days!!! Tomorrow we go do blood work here and then it's back to the City on Friday for more blood work to make sure he is ok to go back in on Monday for more chemo. This time it's for five days. Caleb is just overjoyed about that whole 5 day thing (me too). Well I guess that's it for now. Psalm 34:19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones...