Tuesday, November 28th

Hi everyone! Wow, it is almost December! How did that happen? We had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving with our family from San Francisco! Alex and Zoe absolutely adored having two seven year old boys in the house to play with them. We ate turkey, went to a local arcade, did some bowling, had spa treatments, sled down mountains, went shopping; built-a-bears, and had pictures taken with Santa Claus! It was a lot of fun packed into five days. The house seems so very quiet since they left yesterday. Hopefully, we will all be together again in March.

During the Thanksgiving weekend, the Starlight Starbright Foundation gave us tickets to go see "A Christmas Carole". It was a wonderful show and being the "bowl full of mush" that Steve says I am; I cried during the show. For some reason, the message really hit home this year. Don't ask me why! =0)

I can't tell you how great the Starlight Starbright Foundation has been to us. They seem to have events every week that Alex can attend. The next big one is "Disney On Ice". I'll wait to tell Alex about it but I know he and Zoe will love it. In addition, the Make-A-Wish folks are setting up a shopping center for Alex and other children this Friday at the hospital. A volunteer will take him through with $7 and let him shop for the family. Everything in the shop costs $1. Alex will have a blast I know. Make-A-Wish has also granted Alex's wish to go to Disney World in March, 2007. I know this will be a trip of a lifetime. I really am excited to get out of town and have some fun.

Finally, Robbie's Friends has offered to do the Christmas shopping for our family. It really is remarkable how wonderful the community support is for our family and others like us. I can't recommend these organizations enough for your support and charitable contributions. They really have made a difference in our lives.

Alex is doing well and we are about one third of the way through the chemo schedule! Alex is getting stronger and his sweet nature shines through most of the time. Zoe seems to grow smarter every day. I adore my children so much. I really do not know how I got along for so long without them!

I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season. This year has changed our lives and allowed me to appreciate the gifts in every soul. I hope each of you experience the joy, gratitude and beauty the holidays can bring.

God Bless!
g

Tuesday, November 14th

Good Morning. Alex is home and doing well. His blood/ox levels rose around midnight last Tuesday and he was sent home Wednesday afternoon. I kept him out of school Thursday and Friday was a school holiday. Needless to say, life has been hectic around here. I think I am still catching up on the night's rest lost in the hospital. It is just impossible to be comfortable and sleep through all the nurse visits.

Steve and I were able to go on a date Saturday night and had a blast. We had a very good time but were exhausted by the end of the evening. Getting old has its downfalls!

I think that is it. I apologize for not updating the blog sooner. Hopefully, this week will go smoothly. Hope yours is a good one.

God bless.
G

Thursday, November 9th

Alex came home yesterday. Around midnight Tuesday night his blood/ox levels returned to the mid 90's so they let him come home. YEAH! We had an ugly meltdown last night at bedtime but both kids were sawing logs before the bedroom door was shut.

I kept Alex out of school today just to give him some more time to get better. Steve and I are discussing the possibility of taking him out of school since this all started with a pink eye outbreak. There are many pros and cons to a decision like this and we have decided to speak to the doctors about it before we finalize our decision.

I was so exhausted last night that I did not hear Zoe cry for her lost binky at 3:30AM, so Steve got up to help her. He did not fall back asleep and sounds like the living dead on the phone. Everyone here just woke up from a one to three hour nap. We all needed it, I guess.

Okay, well that is about it. Hope your day is a good one.

God bless.
G

Tuesday, November 7th

Real quick. Alex became very hoarse and started coughing after an outing to the park, about 5:30PM. The night was absolutely horrible. He was coughing, choking, coughing, choking all night. Needless to say noone got any rest last night except for Zoe. Alex did not have a fever all night so at 6 AM we were up and calling the hospital to find out when Oncology opened. We arrived at Oncology at 8:10AM and Alex was admitted to the hospital around 1PM. I left at 5:30PM and will be returning to spend the night with Alex.

He is being treated for Croup with antibiotics and steroids. He is staying at the hospital so his blood/oxygen levels can be monitored. They are running pretty low. He is absolutely miserable. When I ask him if he is scared, he nods "yes". He cried about going to the hospital, asked several times when we were leaving and cried about going to his room. This is absolutely tearing Steve and me up. We hate to see our little boy so unhappy. Again, I miss his smile.

I know Alex will be better but this feels like retraumatizing. Please pray for his peace and speedy recovery.

God bless.
G

Tuesday, November 11th

Happy November everyone! Can you believe it? November already! I apologize for not updating the blog recently, it was a very busy couple of weeks getting ready for Alexander's 4th birthday party. The party was a smashing success, I must say! SuzeQ the Clown did a magic show with a live dove and rabbit. Then she painted all of the kids' faces wonderfully. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

As of yesterday at 5pm, I had the house back in order and was ready for some Halloween fun. We did not have as many trick-or-treaters this year as in the past, but we still ran out of candy by 7:15pm.

Everyone here is having a difficult transition off daylight savings time. Steve and I are in bed so early we have to laugh at ourselves. Then Steve gets up at an ungodly hour of the morning. I try to sleep in but I have been awake at 5am the last two days. AUGHH.

So except for some fatigue everything else is going pretty well. Alex loved seeing all of his friends at the party and has been in good spirits the last few weeks. Zoe had a fever yesterday that I attibute to the four vaccinations she received Monday. Knock on wood, we are generally in good health.

Thank you all for your support and I hope your day is a good one. Please vote this year, it seems to be an especially significant election year. God bless.

G