Conversations with Ethan 3

I couldn't make this stuff up...

Ethan:"We each get 10!" (crackers, last night)

Me:" You each get some."

Ethan:"Yeah or else a DORK would come by and say 'Fancy Nancy! Fancy Nancy!"

I remember long, long ago not being able to wait for Friday night. It was the highlight of the entire week. I would get dressed up and go out with my friends and enjoy the freedom and excitement of youth. We would drive around for hours doing exactly nothing, just listening to music and talking. It was great.

But I have to admit, this is great too. We are watching Peter Pan tonight.

I hope you are having a great Friday night as well, whatever you are doing.

***

Here is an update on Jude, from Thursday:

Thursday, January 21, 2010 5:37 PM, CST
HEAVENLY FATHER HAS BEGUN TO ANSWER OUR PRAYERS!!!!!So we weren't supposed to find out any of the results from yesterday's CT scan or today's MRI but Dr. Lewing's nurse practioner, Jill, called me this evening because she just "had to" and here is why:The CT scan, which was checking for the cancer they found in his lungs, stomach, kidney, and pancreas, came back CANCER FREE except one small nodule in his lung!!!!!!!! AND...the MRI was to check the progress of the tumor in his head - they typically hope to see at least a 20% reduction. They saw a 75% REDUCTION!!!! Yes folks, you read it correct 7 - 5, as in seventy-five percent!!! And this is only with the first treatment that was a "whiff"!!!!We are stunned - but for a good way this time!!! Plainly put, Clint and I feel that this is nothing shy of a miracle! Thank you God!!!! As far as if this changes anything, we don't know. We will meet with Dr. Lewing in the morning and I will journal as soon as I can. We love you all and are very very grateful for all of your support, love, and prayers. But remember, we've won this battle, but the war is not over yet!Love,Sarah

Conversations With Ethan 2

Ethan: "Why do we have toys?"

Me:" So you can have something to play with. Did you know some kids don't have any toys?"

Ethan:"Oh wow. Because their parents are bad and won't let them have any. We need to get some toys for them so they can have some. We need to put some under the Christmas tree for them."

Me:"Sometimes they just don't have any money for toys. Some people don't even have houses."

Ethan:"Yeah the people need to get them a house! So they're not just, you know, staring up at the clouds or at the wall."

There's No Man Like A Snowman

We made a snowman this weekend.

"We" being the kids, Liz and Kevin, and the uncles. Being not me because, after all, there was snow on the ground. Yours truly spent most of the weekend wrapped in a blanket eating doughnuts and wishing June would happen already.

Work a little.

Play a little.

"Wow. That was hard work getting one big snowball rolled up. Let's take another break."

I wonder how anything gets done at work...

Meanwhile, back at the farm...

"Here boys, let me show you how it's done!"

Haha Matthew. You are lucky-LUCKY that there was this window between you and me. And the fact that I didn't feel like unwrapping the blanket and getting out of my slippers and putting down my magazine and coming out there. 'Cause you would have been in some serious trouble, punk.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." Psalm 46:1-3

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It's been a rough week. I'm glad for a break to crawl in my little bubble and not think about anything other than doughnuts, church, and sleeping in. I hope everyone can do the same and rest up and recharge their batteries.

May God bless each and everyone of you with peace, hope in Him and his eternal gift of salvation. There is nothing on earth more important than knowing Christ, and after the emotionally overwhelming week it's been, I pray you all find rest in our Glorious Savior, and have a wonderful weekend.

Jude

My little cousin Jude needs lots of prayers right now, as do his parents. I don't think Sarah will mind me posting this, as everyone will know just what to pray for. This was the journal entry she had posted on their website this morning.

* * *

Hello everyone. Well we had quite a day, to say the least. Most of you are probably wondering about what the staging is so I'll get right to that. He is stage 4. I know that is probably extremely shocking to say the least, but know this - Clint, Jude, and I are all doing okay. For those who don't know, they stage cancer based on A LOT of criteria, and it means how progressive it is. 1 is the best and 4 not the best. But if you remember nothing else from this shocking entry, please remember this - WE WILL NEVER EVER GIVE UP FIGHTING THIS! Now, please read on because we both feel like we have some encouraging parts to share with you. And remember, still even at stage 4 there is 70-75% survival rate. But as Clint and I say, we don't care about stats right now because they didn't all have our kick butt doctor! And if I ever learned anything from sports it was this that I actually have remembered all throughout my life - "On any given day, anybody can be anybody" - or anything in our case. First I'll get to the medical stuff about how we got to stage 4. They have narrowed it down to Burkitt's Lymphoma, which is a super fast growing cancer. Dr. Lewing said that it can double within HOURS! That blows my mind! And makes me soooooo glad that I was persistant. But on the flip side, fast growing tumors react very well to chemo - which is good. Initially the tumor was just pushing against a small portion of his brain and not involving the brain, but considering how fast the tumor is growing the needed to do another MRI today to make sure it hasn't penetrated the outermost layer of the brain. The results were not very clear to Dr. Lewing and the other doctors that she consulted. Some thought it looked like it has, and some thought it didn't look like it had. So awesome Dr. Lewing emailed all of the Jude's info and scans to the doctor in New York who she said is the best in the nation when it comes to Burkitt's and that when you mention Burkitt's this doctor is who is synonomus with it. Also, this doctor has been doing clinical studies on a drug specific to Burkitt's - the data is not all in on it yet since it hasn't been long enough but they do know that the medicine can identify Burkitt's cells and can attack only them - which to Dr. Lewing makes sense that it would work - but with anything there is a lot more to look at, especially since the clinical studies are not complete - we will keep this up for consideration when the time comes. So the doctor in New York got back to her asap and said that it's a close call so he would go ahead and stage this a "conservative 4, group C", meaning stage 4 (group C is a subcategory that my brain can't explain right now). As far as the new meds he said it is up to Dr. Lewing, which we agreed we'd take as it came. There is another part to this, though. They did do a CT on his abdomen, pelvis and lungs and found it in all of those areas. Now this was hard for us to hear, but as Dr. Lewing has told us many times since yesterday, fast growing tumors like these seem to "melt away" pretty quickly (like we'll see a difference in his face I THINK she said in a couple of weeks) and so this just means that our treatment will probably be longer (approx 8 months) and more intense. We don't know yet if it's in his bone marrow, and so far they haven't found it in his spinal fluid. Not sure if we find out about the bone marrow tomorrow or Monday - but regardless the first chemo treatment is the same for every kid that has cancer. Our first nurse of the evening told us that she's worked here for 4 years now and they haven't lost a Burkitt's kid yet! VERY ENCOURAGING! This is still treatable!!!! She also said that Burkitt's kids tend to get really sick really fast, which was also hard to hear. But if it's the means to the end of this cancer then by gosh, we can do it! I'm kinda trying to relate it to Deal or No Deal (I know, corny) but in order to see if you hold the million dollar case you have to go thru all of the other cases, which sometimes are low numbers which is good and then others that are high, which is difficult to endure, but in order to succeed you have to go thru both. So he got his first dose of chemo today, and then they'll watch his labs extremely close and if in a few days his numbers look good then we can go home before starting treatment #2 next Friday. I know this is overload. Believe me, our brains are about to bust. But we are hanging in there for sure. I have a ton more to write about (not health status or anything like that) but am E-X-H-A-U-S-T-E-D!I'll write more tomorrow, promise.I love you all and KEEP PRAYING!!!Love,Sarah

Conversations with Ethan

Me: "So, do you know what you would do if you got lost?"

Ethan: "Yeah-I guess I'd find a robot. Like a good robot that would help me and I'd say "Robot I'm lost, will you take me home?' And he would!"

Me: "Oh. Or maybe another mommy with some kids? You could ask her to help you."

Ethan: "Yeah, and I would tell her I was nervous. I would say,"I made an Indian teepee,' and she would say,"Well you'll have to park it outside 'cause it's too big.' and I'd say, 'no- an activity one."

R-E-S-P-O-N-S-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y

Last week I told Ethan if he got all the stars on his Chore Chart he could have a super special surprise on Friday.

And after a few squabbles

and a teensy amount of whining

He got all his stars. All the stars possible to get on his whole chore chart, he got them.

And so...

He picked this to make.

He's only 3( well, almost 4) but he loves his chore chart. He likes knowing what he has to do everyday, and putting his stars on it when he's completed each task.

He has to make his bed and get dressed, eat most, or at least try, his lunch and dinner, pick up his toys without whining, and listen and do what we tell him.

With An Uncle Like This, Who Needs Friends?

Danny is leaving for Bahrain today. Please pray for his safety. He will be gone about 2 weeks.

Update: My cousin Jude is getting a biopsy on the tumor today. It is not in his brain, and is not in his eye, which is a huge blessing. It seems that in the summer he fell down some stairs and fractured part of his skull on the concrete floor. The tumor was apparently already there, but no one knew, and when the bone opened up, it pushed through and made itself known. So hopefully they will be able to tell what kind it is, and form a plan of attack. Otherwise, they say he is acting as normal as any other 4 year old. They are at Children's Mercy, which I know from Charlotte's seizure last Spring, is a great hospital to be at. Please continue to pray for him today as they will have to put him out to do the biopsy, and then as they wait for the results. Thanks!

My Kids Are Weird...

They went to bed Ethan and Charlotte,

And woke up "George" and "Abbey."

Where do they come up with this stuff?

* * *

And as an aside, I know a lot of you pray, so please pray for my little cousin Jude. He is at Childrens Mercy now with a tumor in his head. He is around Ethan's age.

Why do we never have clean laundry in this house?

It's because we watch too many superhero movies, that's why.

Well, that's one reason.

I can probably think of a few others.

But let's not dwell on those. ok?

Dreaming...

I know how you feel little man.

I wish I could fall asleep just any ol' where.

I bet it wouldn't be as cute if it were me laying there snoring though. And drooling.

Someone might take it the wrong way.

The paramedics might get called.
And then where would we be?

Who would do the laundry and fix lunch and clean up everyone's messes and...

hmmm...

on second thought, that doesn't sound so bad.

*

Speaking of not getting things done, here is my list of New Year's Resolutions:

1. Start school with Ethan. This is important. The probability of accomplishing this one is, oh, 97%.

2. Start Spring Cleaning early. Probability: 85%

3. Get photos printed off cds and put into albums. Ha.

4. Cook more from scratch, or at least, from home. Probably this one will work out.

5. Go through all the kids clothes, our closets, and the laundry room and see what we don't need and get organized for once. 90%

6. This is looking more like a to-do list. Hmm.

7. Eat healthier so I won't feel obligated to work out. 99%. I hate working out.

8. Think of others first more, instead of myself. That's a good one.

9.Share Christ with people. That's important too. 99%

10. Blog everyday. 95-98%

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So there you have it. Hold me accountable please. I will need all the help I can get.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!

Part 2: Christmas Day and Our Weekend at the Bricker's

After opening presents, Ethan went around collecting the trash. I thought he was just being a good helper,and I had one of those "oh everyone look what my kid is doing" kind of moments, but no. He was collecting ammo. He hid the paper balls behind his chair for easy access.

Watching Night at the Museum 2

Of course...

Oh the anticipation...

It's hard to tell who enjoys these things more. They are pretty fun.

When this was unwrapped, I actually thought to myself,"That thing won't last long."

And I thought it would take a few days at least.

But they must not make them like they used to, because I just can't figure out

how it could have broken

in less than 2 hours. Mind boggling.

And if anyone with long, beautiful hair and a weird sense of humor-say, someone who eats oranges like this:

is ever at your house, don't let her near your baby.

It's really for the best.

Really.