Weekend Ramblings

Good Morning from Camp Robinson! I am home this morning with three kiddos while Mike went to church. Kyle has an upset stomach so we did not brave church. I think Kyle is okay, but he has such a sensitive stomach. I also think it is interesting that his last belly ache happened before we had to go to UVA for an inpatient stay. Kyle has wowed me so much with the maturity that he has shown lately. His siblings are quite demanding of his time and he is usually patient and kind to them. He does not mind changing pull-ups, spoon-feeding David to get him to eat, or fixing the x-box one last time for David. God bless him.

Kyle has also helped organize a pop tab collection at school to benefit the Ronald McDonald house in Charlottesville. One day we are going to let him come with us for a day trip to Charlottesville, so he can personally give the RMH the pop tabs and take some pictures of it to take back to school. When we were initially at UVA back in November, Kyle stayed there several nights with us so he has experienced it first hand. Keep collecting those pop tabs and feel free to drop them on our porch or drop them off at the school board office for Mike.

I was blessed with a fun girls night out last night with some dear friends. We went to Mellow Mushroom to eat some salads and pizza and then we were suppose to hit a movie. We talked too much and the restaurant was so crowded that we missed our movie. We instead did a little shopping and then got some dessert at Sweet Frogs before heading back to our husbands and kiddos. It was so nice to get out. We are so blessed with some amazing friendships that have been such a blessing to us throughout the nightmare. It was fun to laugh and be silly with some ladies that know me pretty well and still choose to associate with me!

I am starting to get in organization mode to start packing for another inpatient stay at UVA this week and getting my house in order for Mike's Mom who is coming Tuesday night. We will leave town Wednesday night in order to get to clinic by 9 a.m. Thursday to start David's pre-chemo fluids while we wait for a hem/onc bed to open up on the floor. Hematology/oncology patients must have a private room with these special HEPA filters. We just hope that we are near Haley so they can play together.

I must brag on the Rock Star this morning. He has felt so well and eaten so awesome the last few days. You can tell that he is well and that he has had a break from chemo because he has asked for food and eaten!!! We have also started adding Benecalorie to his food to pack on calories and protein. I heard about this from my cousin, Donna and it has helped so much. Yesterday for example he ate Easy Mac and Cheese for lunch. Instead of making it with water, I made it with whole milk. Then I added an entire package of Benecalorie to it and he ate it all! We guesstimate that his lunch yesterday was 600 calories between the Benecalorie and whole milk! Whoo hoo!! Benecalorie is a white milky liquid that is tasteless and odorless, but packs on a whopping 330 calories!! I also add it to his morning oatmeal for additional calories. I cannot wait to weigh him this Thursday because I am optimistic that he will have put on weight.

I am reading a new book on my Kindle now called Crazy Love by Frances Chan. I love it and I am obsessed with it. I really should be organizing and cleaning, but I cannot put this book down. I have learned so much and it has given me such an amazing perspective on the crazy love that Jesus showers on us even when we are apathetic, self-absorbed, christians. I will blog more on it later when I finish, but I kept driving Mike crazy yesterday reading him sections of it that were so profound. I pray that my Jesus sees that despite my flaws, sin, pride, and self-abosorption that I am crazy in love with Him. Check it out if you have never heard of Frances Chan or this book. I have read lots of bible studies and christian books, but none have inspired me or stepped on my toes like this one has.

Thank you for reading my ramblings this morning and for being such faithful prayer warriors for our family. I dread this upcoming stay because I know that all his counts will be wiped out again and we will have to start the dreaded G shots again and he will lose weight, but we have relished this time at home where he has felt well and eaten well. Of course I also know that every step we take we are one step closer to finishing and that God is with us each step of the way. Happy Sunday!