July 2011

Sorry I haven't uploaded any pictures and this one was in my email box! I'll have to load summer pics soon. Here's our day boating.

Sorry to all of our friend and family following this! We have hardly been home this past month. We've had cousins visiting and are truly enjoying our summer. We've been to amusement parks, boating, camping, DRIVING (a lot!), and swimming. Lots of fun. Mitchell is doing really well despite getting much less sleep than he was used to during the spring. We're often out past bedtime and he's missed a lot of naps. His behavior was pretty bad for a stretch. It was very concerning, because behavior changes are a sign of tumor growth. It really could be a wide awray of contributing factors, however, so we've tried to not let ourselves get too worried. He took a neuro-cognitive test at the end of June. His knowledge base/skills are average for his age-group, so he is supposed to be fine for preschool. Of course his fine motor skills are lacking. His verbal/word usage was really high. In short, his weakness is in abstract reasoning, which will eventually become math skills/problem solving.

We've made it through 6 months of chemo, which is the bare minimum, so anything after this is great. We had some rough spots, but we made it through. Mitchell is a champ. He had his first opthamology appointment since November 8th (two days before we discovered his tumor had tripled), and although a bit awkward, we made it through smiling. The dr said his eyesight has improved from patching (yay) and when reviewing Mitchell's scans he said, "With the size of his tumor I can't believe he's doing this well!" Uhhh...what are we supposed to say to that?

I want to share a quote I found the other day and loved by Elder Scott from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: "May I share some suggestions with you who face...the testing that a wise Heavenly Father determines is needed even when you are living a worthy, righteous life and are obedient to His commandments. Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benfit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain."

Chad and I are reading a book called, "The Price We Paid" about the handcart pioneers who crossed America in 1856. It has been eye opening on so many levels, but I've found myself comparing trials/experiences with them. The trial doesn't matter, but there seems to be the same fundamental principles in trials that we all must learn. I am so grateful because I CAN see that I'm learning them and while I still have a LONG way to go I feel so grateful the Lord has blessed me with enough knowledge for it to make some sense.

I have a beautifully talented penpal mother I'm corresponding with whose son is also battling brain cancer and she recently wrote this on her blog: "[As we celebrate our anniversary I realize] there's a shadow there that has changed us forever. It hasn't all been bad change. A lot of good change, actually, but still some very real heartache that we didn't anticipate years ago. " Chad and I just celebrated our anniversary too and I agree. I never imagined I'd experience this kind of trial and this much heartache, but from such intense pain CAN come overwhelming joy. I have a better understanding of what an eternal marriage "through thick and thin" means and I am completely devoted to my sweetheart no matter what. I also understand how incredibly blessed I am to be a mother and entrusted with these little precious angels. I have truly savored every second my little Eden Joy is awake and I didn't always do that before with the boys. I just feel so blessed. I don't know what's around the corner, but I know at least part of it will be really great.