tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89708191555179392872024-03-07T19:03:17.606-05:00Brew Crewa day in the life of our family of sixJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.comBlogger176125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-11767183517984794892012-02-08T07:59:00.000-05:002012-02-08T08:00:30.819-05:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1zyPguApHbLm3rf4gEOR-xBUnonDJ0FFxAa5Em-WBwiUp4wtsWBmiqJxkOast36v35pssHRcXyw03bGujSuYqAOcx3G410vUanvGy2r2K8jQ48EGLHCig5EqHzbygbM8CryXxgPJt2g/s1600/Sarah+Brewer+22.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1zyPguApHbLm3rf4gEOR-xBUnonDJ0FFxAa5Em-WBwiUp4wtsWBmiqJxkOast36v35pssHRcXyw03bGujSuYqAOcx3G410vUanvGy2r2K8jQ48EGLHCig5EqHzbygbM8CryXxgPJt2g/s200/Sarah+Brewer+22.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706748855155184946" /></a><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody" ft="{"type":3}">Four years ago today, our lives changed forever. It is a day I will never forget. As Charles Spurgeon says, "In losses, crosses, and troubles, you realize God's presence more conspicuously than ever. The Bible does not say that when you walk along the flowery path or rest on the soft green bank, "I will be with you." It does not say that when you walk on the close cut grass, which feels like carp<span class="text_exposed_show">et under your feet, "I will be with you." I do not remember reading a Scripture promise like that. But God does say, "When you pass through the waters I will be with you" Isaiah 43:2 He gives a special promise for a special time of trial. To meet the doubts of His troubled child, He says, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine."<br /><br />How true we have found this to be. God has been with us through every up and down over these last four years. Four years later, though still daily battling a muscle disorder and getting monthly treatments at Hopkins, Sarah is a healthy and active little 5 yr old girl. She brings tons of happiness, trouble, and love to our family and friends.<br /><br />Deuteronomy 33:25-27<br />...and as your days, so shall your strength be. There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty. The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.</span></span></h6>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-82381612738822405532011-03-24T08:08:00.005-05:002011-03-24T08:26:32.695-05:00Long Overdue<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4zi7g73DXyDm2FSem0Rc9MOLDr81O_WhSABv8WJJm_ky8QazWawInNs-JgSh9ws-L6gdpUm5FdElt3p8XkwYCuxeju62kw0aMNKJCwSXPrlip_XqtWle_Qbfd73Ylb3aCi6D6vcmag/s1600/IMG_0038.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-4zi7g73DXyDm2FSem0Rc9MOLDr81O_WhSABv8WJJm_ky8QazWawInNs-JgSh9ws-L6gdpUm5FdElt3p8XkwYCuxeju62kw0aMNKJCwSXPrlip_XqtWle_Qbfd73Ylb3aCi6D6vcmag/s200/IMG_0038.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587636215327854290" /></a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>lunch date with mom at chick fil a<div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuj9FlO4_sZl0wwsDDSlWGflnYe1sFEYM8kgH0BxYOslYtTWPigZIP59G_JK1lzWYccMWGpfWUdXmMs546eFBFXals-F5LTNaTkxOVWyHQCcFpDHfV12vnbD544285FRw9-wmlxQh9Wg/s1600/IMG_0022.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuj9FlO4_sZl0wwsDDSlWGflnYe1sFEYM8kgH0BxYOslYtTWPigZIP59G_JK1lzWYccMWGpfWUdXmMs546eFBFXals-F5LTNaTkxOVWyHQCcFpDHfV12vnbD544285FRw9-wmlxQh9Wg/s200/IMG_0022.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587636210045937874" /></a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>circle time at school<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family:Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;"> </span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;">This update is definitely long overdue. Facebook has certainly become the easier way to communicate and keep in touch with people, but we decided it was probably time to give a more detailed update on what’s been happening with Sarah on the blog (realizing there are some that don’t use facebook).</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;"> </span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;">This past Feb 8 was the 3 year anniversary of when we got the news that Sarah had cancer. We spent the evening of Feb 8 remembering all the details of that day…the weather, order of events, our first and second phones calls after the news came, where our other kids were, etc. It was a good experience for us, reminding us that God is still God and he is still good, even in the difficult times. He has brought Sarah through so much in her short little life.</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;"> </span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;">Sarah continues to improve physically. The OMA disorder still affects her balance and coordination daily, but she is improving nonetheless. She still goes to Hopkins once a month for a 4-5 hour infusion of IVIG. We have found that this drug helps keep her immune system stable, thus making her symptoms less severe. This allows her to focus on other things other than her physical needs.</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;"> </span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;">This school year Sarah has been enrolled in PEP (pre-school Education Program) in Montgomery County Public Schools. This has been a wonderful experience for both Sarah and for us. She is learning so much and we are seeing improvement in many areas, especially speech. For example, at the beginning of the school year, Sarah was only using 1 and 2 syllable words, and not putting sentences together. Now, after 6 months of this class, her speech has improved drastically. We can’t get her to stop talking at times! Her class is made up of only 2 girls and 5 boys, which has allowed her the opportunity to make her own friends. She has a “very best friend” (as she would say) with a boy named Theo, and they are too cute together!<span style="line-height: 24px; "> </span></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;"> </span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;">Another symptom of her OMA are her frequent irrational angry outbursts. We have noticed that her outbursts have become more frequent and more irrational, so we asked the doctor about it. He gave us a long and helpful explanation. We know that Sarah’s cerebellum was indirectly affected by the cancer. The cerebellum controls muscle coordination and balance, which is why she has the physical challenges she does, but it is also involved in the ability to concentrate, and control emotions and behaviors. I was discussing Sarah’s tendency to be fine one minute and then be angry for an irrational reason the next. He explained that they would see this kind of behavior in people with cerebellum injuries or tumors. He also told us that Sarah will always have academic challenges. He is really happy that she is doing well in school because he wants her to have the feeling of success now so that she likes school, so when it becomes hard she won’t give up. I think this talk with the doctor was the first time that it really hit me that these symptoms may never change. We’ve heard that before, but in the back of my mind I think I’ve always thought she would outgrow these kinds of behaviors. The reality is, we just don’t know, but the doctor reminded us once again that these are going to be life issues for Sarah, and they aren’t going to go away. It was good to get direction about her future, but discouraging at the same time. I trust you understand those emotions.</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;"> </span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;">Thank you for carrying us on your hearts these last three years. I was talking with the nurses yesterday and we were remembering when we first brought Sarah to Hopkins (the date of her diagnosis…Feb 8, 2008). At that time, she had completely lost her ability run, walk, and was not even able to sit up on her own. Those were dark days, but God has brought us through. We are so grateful for modern medicine and for all the doctors, therapists, teachers, and nurses that the Lord has provided for Sarah these last three years.</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;"> </span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;">There’s a lot we don’t know suffering. But there is far more that we DO know about God. We chose to remember what we DO know. God is still God, and God is still good.</span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;"> </span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0px; font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt;"><span style="line-height: 24px; font-size:14pt;">Thanks for your prayers and friendship. </span></p></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVdj81wCBYtOky5ghdomTJBq7cobPj1UmecveYIyIhhrf_Js3TRUe7zFY8Jpn6F1T8UP-UaJbtjrYCr7OtquMO-12QI_5CHEYqW0Lsum5BZf05Z8SXA6AZD5iWfWgmYWaCmoAxogD5A/s1600/GetAttachment-6.aspx.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 120px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVdj81wCBYtOky5ghdomTJBq7cobPj1UmecveYIyIhhrf_Js3TRUe7zFY8Jpn6F1T8UP-UaJbtjrYCr7OtquMO-12QI_5CHEYqW0Lsum5BZf05Z8SXA6AZD5iWfWgmYWaCmoAxogD5A/s320/GetAttachment-6.aspx.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587635466241546578" /></a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>silly faces with daddy</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKkycspn69X61SsmZuUUmr9v8a0LA3ra6f0pvh_ekJ8aszCsv8o3gQR6dnlbNQ2xX46KydplWdOdefw9mA_lO8uKjoIh9an48hj-7G0RDq-uuySGywpoNSIhL8hIsE6IlBiZnGAdLVA/s1600/GetAttachment-5.aspx.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 119px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKkycspn69X61SsmZuUUmr9v8a0LA3ra6f0pvh_ekJ8aszCsv8o3gQR6dnlbNQ2xX46KydplWdOdefw9mA_lO8uKjoIh9an48hj-7G0RDq-uuySGywpoNSIhL8hIsE6IlBiZnGAdLVA/s320/GetAttachment-5.aspx.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587635465293649362" /></a></div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>happy to be riding in daddy's truckJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-49020537289100197172010-10-14T19:15:00.000-05:002010-10-14T19:16:04.695-05:00Tinkerbell<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">After watching the Tinkerbell movie, the kids are talking about wanting to be able to fly. Caleb and Mikaela really want to fly so they can go talk to Jesus. Caleb wants to ask Him if he can have candy for dinner. Love it!</span>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-91750323293681854992010-10-12T12:03:00.003-05:002010-10-12T12:07:14.768-05:00School days<div><br /></div><div>Everyone's first day of school!</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjUhYmbuYfeOLJkaWMVv4ESd9lRwHHKgjb5MksT0h_h0p1sXF4mA2kEQlvep3Hcz0kSTpTl5Vbs9ivt3Nqgc19d6vlyxu_nwPiujDZOoUx8101-W4LZdDAsBYISeO29g5y-6K2dY_5QA/s1600/IMG_7795.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjUhYmbuYfeOLJkaWMVv4ESd9lRwHHKgjb5MksT0h_h0p1sXF4mA2kEQlvep3Hcz0kSTpTl5Vbs9ivt3Nqgc19d6vlyxu_nwPiujDZOoUx8101-W4LZdDAsBYISeO29g5y-6K2dY_5QA/s320/IMG_7795.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527206704302705234" /></a><br /><div>Alethea- 3rd grade<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTBipF75MJvn1J0MtTXDAqA1RKuJ9fY6FfSkzJUR4ZUXEcymtElYSTjITV0yMLP8jPtWRYb9SkbMJ0NyJzkaDbh_yC39nhk9rgFWskw1DXXtLMq31HA5blv6A4bvR1uzqpMGtUGq4nCA/s1600/IMG_7806.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTBipF75MJvn1J0MtTXDAqA1RKuJ9fY6FfSkzJUR4ZUXEcymtElYSTjITV0yMLP8jPtWRYb9SkbMJ0NyJzkaDbh_yC39nhk9rgFWskw1DXXtLMq31HA5blv6A4bvR1uzqpMGtUGq4nCA/s320/IMG_7806.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527206700921110818" /></a><br /></div><div>Mikaela- 2nd grade<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzp0IHZDyT2Uy18ZgDNnXYxYPMgJhaWHwYA4WIhiqs-4Ir5DlE_vniELS_H09bU1er-mOcObqDOvOo0AR4TI2MveMJBdcI_1vy7JAxm0cMzvqKtgyCe7A-qKKYjFPCItez-XQXb0jMg/s1600/IMG_7801.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzp0IHZDyT2Uy18ZgDNnXYxYPMgJhaWHwYA4WIhiqs-4Ir5DlE_vniELS_H09bU1er-mOcObqDOvOo0AR4TI2MveMJBdcI_1vy7JAxm0cMzvqKtgyCe7A-qKKYjFPCItez-XQXb0jMg/s320/IMG_7801.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527206695524825826" /></a><br /></div><div>Caleb- kindergarten<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcOKnMOuLG3bquqEXEIwipT-8Ql4JmwFJ4hcGuTU9hgqsPpgDr5i8AAlXkbgnrgq-2PheSZ8cSPBrR2ZH_njkp0rfoc-c66rXxodFXd8sR4wfVH9W_rdUTvz2b7x44EbHgwljsBOjBbg/s1600/IMG_7798.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcOKnMOuLG3bquqEXEIwipT-8Ql4JmwFJ4hcGuTU9hgqsPpgDr5i8AAlXkbgnrgq-2PheSZ8cSPBrR2ZH_njkp0rfoc-c66rXxodFXd8sR4wfVH9W_rdUTvz2b7x44EbHgwljsBOjBbg/s320/IMG_7798.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527206689720658690" /></a><br /></div><div>Sarah- preschool<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirjxtHi9-w5wPqBfrZYXaijXpGNFVR2SDQlcf0LTTT0b2A1IHZVKeKdIoibXFO04SbAyiXTXUoIvW3ppPQkgMOSAwj4MLcduIbsZh1fDU8ObwHm5YVvY1yRd9jsE9UsFu5XW-NSKfPdw/s1600/IMG_7810.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirjxtHi9-w5wPqBfrZYXaijXpGNFVR2SDQlcf0LTTT0b2A1IHZVKeKdIoibXFO04SbAyiXTXUoIvW3ppPQkgMOSAwj4MLcduIbsZh1fDU8ObwHm5YVvY1yRd9jsE9UsFu5XW-NSKfPdw/s320/IMG_7810.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527206686122954818" /></a><br /></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-41613455158602494822010-09-21T08:38:00.005-05:002010-09-21T08:49:34.848-05:00Anyone out there?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7g63U6GnhVLFmaSKbMEkZyiq8VuW-2Sas61vMWakuXJX_7bn6sx_BflyaFoz-n9WeYlK36DU4QBZ5B0CzPFZd5-WiigT8RH77s9nxwytGo87RfC6KPmepWEjQ10u0MV2HjeEJ2jRoKg/s1600/IMG_7014.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7g63U6GnhVLFmaSKbMEkZyiq8VuW-2Sas61vMWakuXJX_7bn6sx_BflyaFoz-n9WeYlK36DU4QBZ5B0CzPFZd5-WiigT8RH77s9nxwytGo87RfC6KPmepWEjQ10u0MV2HjeEJ2jRoKg/s320/IMG_7014.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519363246721397346" /></a><br /><br />Well, it's been 7 months since I've posted. (Thanks Helen and Ang for the reminders) I know it's hard to believe but I really do have a good reason. Back in February we bought a new home. Pretty much all our free time went into totally redoing this house. Actually I should say all of Dave's free time. If we could have picked the perfect home for our family, this would be it. We are so grateful to the Lord for providing this home for us. A lot of land, minimal stairs for Sarah, close to church, and friends. It is the perfect house, but needed a lot of updating. Hence the lack of posts. I was just trying to keep my head above water. I have lots of before shots, but unfortunately our camera is not working right now so I can't take any after shots. I promise I'll try to post more, and if I don't, feel free to keep bugging me! There should be plenty to blog about with four kids in school!Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-59495400362066042632010-02-18T09:40:00.004-05:002010-02-18T09:49:26.067-05:00It's that time again!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKgz3S96KP5Kz12ZPjl6GT5xfYvh5Ai1VQhTLX6lw9b_IISlOAXvVB-xfW2MPER2JHhLQpyn6NMA4WcvuIppkIp1lwuaYLnxOxs4FwLz7BMutK_pTxhyphenhyphenv7_HwDcU-HQPZlU3xonleRw/s1600-h/P2F102.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 195px; height: 142px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKgz3S96KP5Kz12ZPjl6GT5xfYvh5Ai1VQhTLX6lw9b_IISlOAXvVB-xfW2MPER2JHhLQpyn6NMA4WcvuIppkIp1lwuaYLnxOxs4FwLz7BMutK_pTxhyphenhyphenv7_HwDcU-HQPZlU3xonleRw/s200/P2F102.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439594635030994530" /></a><br />We would love to have you join our team for the Believe in Tomorrow Port to Fort Walk. Check out <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica, fantasy;font-size:12px;"><a id="link" href="http://www.firstgiving.com/jenbrewer"> this</a></span> link for more details.Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-90244549196486252832010-02-08T17:28:00.003-05:002010-02-08T17:41:41.090-05:002 year anniversary<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbjSqo1PAHBT04yXeu_zL5c3i7hNXzyvKHH0OyCFsBOPVQCRoypcRpexuVfZtOZCEzEEgZ2M_puwTFIivmG-9v7H1T_lRe9Ogh0_FmZ4p7jGODRXUIrL7EZp5wlzPZTnsL82UAM6tyLA/s1600-h/IMG_2657.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 228px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbjSqo1PAHBT04yXeu_zL5c3i7hNXzyvKHH0OyCFsBOPVQCRoypcRpexuVfZtOZCEzEEgZ2M_puwTFIivmG-9v7H1T_lRe9Ogh0_FmZ4p7jGODRXUIrL7EZp5wlzPZTnsL82UAM6tyLA/s320/IMG_2657.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436005001272336274" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Above: Sarah exactly two yrs ago<br /></div><br />Two years ago today was the worst day of our lives, the day when we were given the results from the MRI indicating the presence of a tumor near the spine of our little girl. Its been a remarkable two years, one filled with tons of emotions, God's nearness, great friends and amazing family. Two years ago, I wrote the following entry:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Some of this news you may already know, and some you may just be hearing of. Jen, Sarah and I just returned from Pediatric Oncology at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. We were referred there immediately after an MRI at Shady Grove Adventist hospital revealed 2 tumors in Sarah. We went to SG earlier this week because Sarah was showing symptoms of digression in her motor skills, like walking and balance. We went right from SGAH to JHU. The doctors at JHU are some of the finest in the world. And despite being in high demand, we sat at length this evening with three doctors who specialize in pediatric oncology and they showed absolutely no sense of hurry, making us feel like we were the only cancer patients in the whole place. We left very grateful to God for the gift of medicine and very grateful for the oncology department at JHU.<br /><br />It is most likely that our little girl has cancer, a form known as neuroblastoma. This is cancer of the peripheral nervous system. One of the tumors is right next to her spinal cord, which is why she is experiencing the odd side affects she has been experiencing. From the MRI readings they received from SGH, they were not able to detect the second tumor near the liver and at this time are limiting it to the one tumor near the spinal cord. They will do further MRIs to confirm this.<br /><br />We will be home for the weekend for some much needed family time, and on Monday at 1pm, we will return to Hopkins to begin days of more testing: blood, urine, bone marrow, bone scan, another MRI and CT scans, all designed to learn more about the tumor before surgery can occur. The doctors are trying to get the surgery done by the end of next week. After surgery, we will begin treatment of some sort. The type and length of the treatment will be determined by what they find during surgery.<br /><br />At this point, we have been told by our doctors to be preparing ourselves for the likelihood of a treatment and recovery process that will take no less than six months.<br /><br />Please pray that the tumor is not intertwined with the spinal cord. If it is, we will have to have a neurosurgeon do the surgery with oncology surgeons. And please pray for a full healing from her all cancer and ataxia.<br /><br />Jen and I are so grateful for your friendship and ongoing prayers. We have been carried along by them. We are also being very well cared for by our care group and family, from visits in the hospital to simply being there with us in the down times. We are grieving a lot, but we are aware of God’s grace. He loves our little girl more than we do, and we trust him." </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihw_xULevnHPeWo-nQz6j5LDHyhHBxGdF678_MlaZqiBubPTQ-Mj0tmwz9lyqKnywu4kx1W_VzVuWa3mVfMXqwZAFem6skfy0vp5VBAiCctqwBF1gF8_vndUc2jZ6e786gMKQNm-dpWQ/s1600-h/716250105_brewer+%2883+of+160%29_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihw_xULevnHPeWo-nQz6j5LDHyhHBxGdF678_MlaZqiBubPTQ-Mj0tmwz9lyqKnywu4kx1W_VzVuWa3mVfMXqwZAFem6skfy0vp5VBAiCctqwBF1gF8_vndUc2jZ6e786gMKQNm-dpWQ/s320/716250105_brewer+%2883+of+160%29_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436005010076972578" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Above: Sarah two yrs later<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Thank you to all who have walked with us over the last two years! We wouldn't be where we are today without you all!<br /></div></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-45840582209881547832010-01-28T12:55:00.007-05:002010-01-28T13:33:28.917-05:00Basketball and Bull RidingWe signed the girls up for basketball this season. Let me tell you, it is such a flashback to my childhood. I love watching how cute they are as they learn to play. When they played soccer, I would just yell for fun. I know nothing about soccer so it was not informed yelling! But since I grew up playing, I'm yelling a bit more now. Dave says I'm one of those "crazy moms". Oh well, I think I'm enjoying this as much as the girls are. Now tell me they don't look adorable!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJ1Q8T371a0fLWmwyAEmNfKlMWsK1VDsp7mIOHJlyabe0Hovaci321hIOim_jr4ZHiuzNrkoZMY_ucPHHh59ZqZZaVX13UmAsNaepghB6wIAaqxNL7HIL3SPkBpik-mR0-trMakhFdQ/s1600-h/18561_289455380730_502375730_5036026_7587976_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJ1Q8T371a0fLWmwyAEmNfKlMWsK1VDsp7mIOHJlyabe0Hovaci321hIOim_jr4ZHiuzNrkoZMY_ucPHHh59ZqZZaVX13UmAsNaepghB6wIAaqxNL7HIL3SPkBpik-mR0-trMakhFdQ/s320/18561_289455380730_502375730_5036026_7587976_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431860280062746754" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynbdeRb7pdY_rnQK7H6jYsZdqiVJ2jwBXnD4b194gvJAI48Vuqy-488Q6GSgPfslOPJAXQ6Lk_WO5-KyjgjaMz5nzHeAxjZBZl3cHKLo7GWPemGoX5Bpa5ZC6p1I3q3dk-jdVe8XBJA/s1600-h/18561_289455475730_502375730_5036037_130845_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjynbdeRb7pdY_rnQK7H6jYsZdqiVJ2jwBXnD4b194gvJAI48Vuqy-488Q6GSgPfslOPJAXQ6Lk_WO5-KyjgjaMz5nzHeAxjZBZl3cHKLo7GWPemGoX5Bpa5ZC6p1I3q3dk-jdVe8XBJA/s320/18561_289455475730_502375730_5036037_130845_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431859971520535394" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrqGh0zvwDf87aJwEIprqz4SSiWURfAg0yzrRFiYolwo36e6fiArqxztFmALJUQj9iSl_JpszquNkD_AhVs01BCZVeIFJf0I27WfwryPxWaIzpdudR1N0nYLd0DFQx6IJkVtn-x6u_nA/s1600-h/18561_289455425730_502375730_5036029_1121971_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrqGh0zvwDf87aJwEIprqz4SSiWURfAg0yzrRFiYolwo36e6fiArqxztFmALJUQj9iSl_JpszquNkD_AhVs01BCZVeIFJf0I27WfwryPxWaIzpdudR1N0nYLd0DFQx6IJkVtn-x6u_nA/s320/18561_289455425730_502375730_5036029_1121971_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431859967910896482" /></a><br />Once again Believe in Tomorrow gave us an amazing opportunity. We got to attend a Professional Bull Riders Event. Not just attend the event but sit in the front row! I'm not typically into that kind of stuff, but it was so fun!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8JmKkYGPhavUTZp1mI6TCafXp1qfvsIwjZXynms5_ebeLTmhDNVzdNjeEbdFypktS_QN01ilUqvJMJwG-KHo497BN1brjJ6i2X9SCHUXXdCQcIbxQkvRsc96J5KhXqWYDmtw0LaxmgA/s1600-h/18561_265724865730_502375730_4910414_7032648_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8JmKkYGPhavUTZp1mI6TCafXp1qfvsIwjZXynms5_ebeLTmhDNVzdNjeEbdFypktS_QN01ilUqvJMJwG-KHo497BN1brjJ6i2X9SCHUXXdCQcIbxQkvRsc96J5KhXqWYDmtw0LaxmgA/s320/18561_265724865730_502375730_4910414_7032648_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431851133785666002" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu0RGO_xLUA-3zoTVnut41xRCp1tJ5q2X1IV9mAhza-S3IrAKknHlsZ6mPl5_TbWdLgo0m0qTXmeWCzCnulpkWNY3i5zQt6g3qvx5yimu-2z4wwzSWiIPct8WIHYQfqLkRQrz8EQFZQA/s1600-h/18561_265724830730_502375730_4910411_916746_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu0RGO_xLUA-3zoTVnut41xRCp1tJ5q2X1IV9mAhza-S3IrAKknHlsZ6mPl5_TbWdLgo0m0qTXmeWCzCnulpkWNY3i5zQt6g3qvx5yimu-2z4wwzSWiIPct8WIHYQfqLkRQrz8EQFZQA/s320/18561_265724830730_502375730_4910411_916746_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431851124314273970" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDAiwk28l1umrcvSnRYHthd8vz0UtbEYuNwE8i0WCVmoc329PufjLDyJBGbq74gyi2IDsfY81bdqC0k5P91z5kNZ4qOL7bEdhrsjKksrRjZuokxgxDvIYMu0pf44jMlVFG1VKsHxBY9g/s1600-h/18561_265724825730_502375730_4910410_8287825_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDAiwk28l1umrcvSnRYHthd8vz0UtbEYuNwE8i0WCVmoc329PufjLDyJBGbq74gyi2IDsfY81bdqC0k5P91z5kNZ4qOL7bEdhrsjKksrRjZuokxgxDvIYMu0pf44jMlVFG1VKsHxBY9g/s320/18561_265724825730_502375730_4910410_8287825_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431851119797840402" /></a>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-42682290544794154342009-12-29T21:49:00.004-05:002009-12-29T21:59:01.876-05:00The Best Christmas Gift Ever!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvbeeWDVnIukgBTbjXBOrKB0HC5W769hN-0hugiRTWIpaQMHpz1f9T6WLFjJ26AyRFfQ_lyLeK4vpx8sq7vgoptWeBTCnXtADFvhBz_PcHd3v3agpnxcpvaDmaFY6NMYUYLfiJUls-1A/s1600-h/716246108_t822j-M.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvbeeWDVnIukgBTbjXBOrKB0HC5W769hN-0hugiRTWIpaQMHpz1f9T6WLFjJ26AyRFfQ_lyLeK4vpx8sq7vgoptWeBTCnXtADFvhBz_PcHd3v3agpnxcpvaDmaFY6NMYUYLfiJUls-1A/s320/716246108_t822j-M.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420857335881390994" /></a><br />This year for Christmas, Dave gave me the most amazing gift ever. He created a book from our blog recounting Sarah's early battle with cancer. It is over 100 pages! There were <i>many</i> tears as I paged through this book. What a treasure to have all the memories in book form. So grateful that my hubby knew how much this would mean to me. Can't wait to show everyone!Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-2718147793836219152009-11-10T18:06:00.003-05:002009-11-10T18:23:46.015-05:00Alethea's Christmas cards!!Believe In Tomorrow is an organization that provides exceptional hospital and respite housing services to critically ill children and their families. They do this because they believe in keeping families together during a child’s medical crisis, because being together as a family is critical in the healing process for the sick child. We support this great organization, not because they have given to us, but because they do great things for families who really need help.<br /><br />This past summer, they did a contest open for all the kids in their program, which includes our kids because of Sarah's sickness. The contest was a drawing contest, in which the winner's picture would be selected to sell as fundraising Christmas cards for BIT. Well, much to our surprise and delight, TWO of Alethea's pictures won the contest. They are the images below:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF48sPKZE75KXsBTrC4I-_VUDIX_nt21zg9m50sq_ctPRl41wxYOPXBkYSsU2YUc2J9_XgZQlG1qp1n5ahylCbPlIYZEb0UiYjdeYmPqOZYHkCfEWBv_Fq5XKeM2NihHxOVoi8Iz-i0Q/s1600-h/peace_ol.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF48sPKZE75KXsBTrC4I-_VUDIX_nt21zg9m50sq_ctPRl41wxYOPXBkYSsU2YUc2J9_XgZQlG1qp1n5ahylCbPlIYZEb0UiYjdeYmPqOZYHkCfEWBv_Fq5XKeM2NihHxOVoi8Iz-i0Q/s320/peace_ol.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402615354986443394" border="0" /></a>(note: they added the calligraphy)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaLxYeNbZAFWCLtqvCYwLhfqyORQX2mvY9ZeYSE8SDzqchrQd3UX7dG9JljlmGxmaUPLMyGxCNyWD6QEOikdjHIdV8cQc47RvO0Okm6mf-fLaO98PkOoM52iO1UZONDr79NY1N702XVA/s1600-h/manger.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaLxYeNbZAFWCLtqvCYwLhfqyORQX2mvY9ZeYSE8SDzqchrQd3UX7dG9JljlmGxmaUPLMyGxCNyWD6QEOikdjHIdV8cQc47RvO0Okm6mf-fLaO98PkOoM52iO1UZONDr79NY1N702XVA/s320/manger.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402615354529195362" border="0" /></a><br /><br />These images were put on a Christmas card's, to be sold by Believe in Tomorrow, with all proceeds going directly to support BIT. On the back of the cards it gives acknowledgment to Alethea, age 7, for the drawing. Pretty cool.<br /><br />Click here to buy some cards of your own if you are interested. Like I said, all proceeds got directly to this great organization. <a id="link" href="https://secure.cybergroup.com/bitstore/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=3&CFID=5715274&CFTOKEN=34555102"> Click here if you want to see them or order some for yourself. </a>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-83094415074261371402009-09-29T12:55:00.006-05:002009-09-29T13:13:13.312-05:00Alethea turns 8!I can't believe we have an 8 year old! We had such a wonderful time celebrating Alethea's birthday this year. We did many things together as a family and also had a birthday party with some friends as well. I have to say, we had a blast. The girls decorated picture frames, ate pizza, had their nails painted, made ice cream sundaes, had a dance party, and created their own restaurant. It was so fun to watch them all have such a great time together. What a joy it was to celebrate the blessing Alethea is to our family!<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2dAPQkpGz4M5sGGAv0_LAhxcBnhW2HdIR_NDpwRNpddiMKPXhJCafh_aOlHKJabvaTmzuoYAizTuFqA2hmlWKYnJIp40MW-T2H5e6WP3Y7kiFscrDoq4ao9U3AC1TuODiVN6UIct0wA/s1600-h/IMG_6226.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2dAPQkpGz4M5sGGAv0_LAhxcBnhW2HdIR_NDpwRNpddiMKPXhJCafh_aOlHKJabvaTmzuoYAizTuFqA2hmlWKYnJIp40MW-T2H5e6WP3Y7kiFscrDoq4ao9U3AC1TuODiVN6UIct0wA/s320/IMG_6226.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386951684373882930" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>Sarah getting in on the nail painting. Lauren was such blessing as she came to help me paint all the girls nails.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilbpX4J8lnyWrNrLfsez0VG5xH26eVzQ4KlzwOlonb0UXOMedKwD5au-6p3d8u295vNMU-6k1L2ppsrp3NLQE321gIbGrezIEKobSt2XwhkbWGzNkG1n1ix-vVAq2p-_YRwn_2dwf0hw/s1600-h/IMG_6233.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilbpX4J8lnyWrNrLfsez0VG5xH26eVzQ4KlzwOlonb0UXOMedKwD5au-6p3d8u295vNMU-6k1L2ppsrp3NLQE321gIbGrezIEKobSt2XwhkbWGzNkG1n1ix-vVAq2p-_YRwn_2dwf0hw/s320/IMG_6233.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386951582485617394" /></a><br /><div>Nail salon on the kitchen floor. Each girl girl got her nails painted and had polka dots put on as well. They loved it!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgis1qBwirZZ0CLftznidHNPPETHByzt0yc_t5rNRnjBXUp-51CT5EmZRP72olZ6AWQl3Za288NX9P5ZeKpGhgRYX1-Q89pT5NoeVDl5IHSB-d6rSuigFEo6NOMgALu18sPOoDVkfqAkg/s1600-h/IMG_6235.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgis1qBwirZZ0CLftznidHNPPETHByzt0yc_t5rNRnjBXUp-51CT5EmZRP72olZ6AWQl3Za288NX9P5ZeKpGhgRYX1-Q89pT5NoeVDl5IHSB-d6rSuigFEo6NOMgALu18sPOoDVkfqAkg/s320/IMG_6235.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386951575092790802" /></a><br /></div><div>Finished picture frame with the group shot we took at the beginning of the party. Can't wait to show them when they're older. Such a blessing to have such a wonderful group of friends.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXaeaZQRMcqXozKNQG-cfWNqdKAx9CsSPNA89L0Jpc4-MXpy7vKnb9wpwIkKhrLQmA9OCJDBFmTPe1rOuTc0_eHEu7ywwUaPG9oeYFvJ_ZL0DO4MTFJMMLD4wMAzg8jhyphenhyphen5OxIjEJqzGA/s1600-h/IMG_6239.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXaeaZQRMcqXozKNQG-cfWNqdKAx9CsSPNA89L0Jpc4-MXpy7vKnb9wpwIkKhrLQmA9OCJDBFmTPe1rOuTc0_eHEu7ywwUaPG9oeYFvJ_ZL0DO4MTFJMMLD4wMAzg8jhyphenhyphen5OxIjEJqzGA/s320/IMG_6239.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386951565299126962" /></a><br /></div><div>Making ice cream sundaes. Alethea's favorite!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_e1egdASVJV7amCb00GgMledIkB6T8pp4YHDkqPsQBAmJTx7WEe5jomYoqSEm2IRsCoD8eJcQdad-1cKTgH8Wi4PAHSuP5n0ZLQSE5icrrjS4jUv1tcn-MCwyyIUTubW4Ws1osC3ibQ/s1600-h/IMG_6255.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_e1egdASVJV7amCb00GgMledIkB6T8pp4YHDkqPsQBAmJTx7WEe5jomYoqSEm2IRsCoD8eJcQdad-1cKTgH8Wi4PAHSuP5n0ZLQSE5icrrjS4jUv1tcn-MCwyyIUTubW4Ws1osC3ibQ/s320/IMG_6255.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386951555646520898" /></a><br /></div><div>DANCE PARTY!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVsJ5b-gqjvVds72YAjA59QXfqcmm86tB2gJtghfZXjdRFGswaSNWSkLoG4MJQcrVtx6oS4pO5fTAsWXU3hpamScqQf6PhND_a2QYaq0XKOPSV86yhKqqmuQAW5lXekVusrD1MYuJnTg/s1600-h/IMG_6281.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVsJ5b-gqjvVds72YAjA59QXfqcmm86tB2gJtghfZXjdRFGswaSNWSkLoG4MJQcrVtx6oS4pO5fTAsWXU3hpamScqQf6PhND_a2QYaq0XKOPSV86yhKqqmuQAW5lXekVusrD1MYuJnTg/s320/IMG_6281.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386951548655639138" /></a><br /><br /><br /></div></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-62785703672558144762009-09-24T18:11:00.003-05:002009-09-24T18:15:12.404-05:00Back to School<div>We're back into the school routine again. Both girls have done amazingly well with the school schedule. Going to bed and getting up early is never easy after summer. The girls both love school and their teachers. Here are some pictures from the first day. They both look so grown up. Alethea is in second grade and Mikaela is in first grade this year. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjH3ED3FPc5-ridKzn4w6ZnMdWOGMWkXIPVYYJ_1qdQ4UqC1jlAuOQHAaIe7Ult-_j1H4K9TXMcKUE_F20KzA5vWw3TmTkZ_vTHu15YJma0bxec2wVGfcbAHMPr1_jwufHRTrhZ6JPlw/s1600-h/IMG_6219.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjH3ED3FPc5-ridKzn4w6ZnMdWOGMWkXIPVYYJ_1qdQ4UqC1jlAuOQHAaIe7Ult-_j1H4K9TXMcKUE_F20KzA5vWw3TmTkZ_vTHu15YJma0bxec2wVGfcbAHMPr1_jwufHRTrhZ6JPlw/s320/IMG_6219.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385175893922563698" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzhqcKOQjns_13EViyIy4X5rHoNIPIuBrJAdZTkkL0zijMO_fWXDaBtyz7lRHYGdyzaGC6g6-xyjhdzTP493enyvGmrg0g2JX6odWzwO-CWvUuzabFgtFLphpoakRiyY1opPBgiYerw/s1600-h/IMG_6217.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzhqcKOQjns_13EViyIy4X5rHoNIPIuBrJAdZTkkL0zijMO_fWXDaBtyz7lRHYGdyzaGC6g6-xyjhdzTP493enyvGmrg0g2JX6odWzwO-CWvUuzabFgtFLphpoakRiyY1opPBgiYerw/s320/IMG_6217.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385175884375484882" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKGSW6DYadCd16xyaC-FfcWfLYPyfTTtozxSfqORARVXACW0NKUFgZ92ehfsE3Lsl1PKvuNwcrRup-GG7uk-4zVrP-yCPDkOHUDAvxNvetqsTFwyU2QBGX2-iKCqhka1rfMKOFyoFmGg/s1600-h/IMG_6215.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKGSW6DYadCd16xyaC-FfcWfLYPyfTTtozxSfqORARVXACW0NKUFgZ92ehfsE3Lsl1PKvuNwcrRup-GG7uk-4zVrP-yCPDkOHUDAvxNvetqsTFwyU2QBGX2-iKCqhka1rfMKOFyoFmGg/s320/IMG_6215.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385175877378722178" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTIoTFf3GIFHBmZkQIgMktt9t2xLso1xE2WO6cIpshNaitq4ztaMIKLl8DiYICpa1A_ih9i_4Qxig96thglMvWbWlFOL8vG6qN_zca9dPBfN_3nUo-Bg8DL4pyhk30zCRRfKNIJmdN0Q/s1600-h/IMG_6210.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTIoTFf3GIFHBmZkQIgMktt9t2xLso1xE2WO6cIpshNaitq4ztaMIKLl8DiYICpa1A_ih9i_4Qxig96thglMvWbWlFOL8vG6qN_zca9dPBfN_3nUo-Bg8DL4pyhk30zCRRfKNIJmdN0Q/s320/IMG_6210.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385175867083624338" /></a>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-5197658339337929352009-09-13T12:54:00.006-05:002009-09-13T13:19:08.551-05:00Happy Birthday Sarah!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOGv_wNqFCmoOhDEGrDAfRCvQoG2McPamifjnib3tuwK-WW7xvzHI_OX9Eni66xIeXTOMvZgkiXP7NYfeoz45atjYT_6cQC20t3hMC-Jk4OkT8ElBNarMSDCXT_wksQywFvNTYNG35Q/s1600-h/IMG_6211.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhOGv_wNqFCmoOhDEGrDAfRCvQoG2McPamifjnib3tuwK-WW7xvzHI_OX9Eni66xIeXTOMvZgkiXP7NYfeoz45atjYT_6cQC20t3hMC-Jk4OkT8ElBNarMSDCXT_wksQywFvNTYNG35Q/s320/IMG_6211.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381018226436190754" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidPgAIUNgNhIJJiD5Cp2s2TZB4YXRtiP5QDN-jsuhqQZ4kJULCJXWXNueL8SGUCXbkaIpauQ8D59K9KOejiWh2kqq6-mrHMH4IlH23pD-qZx1uG2D5DLOmiuQ-OSli8Cqtw5Olg6lNQ/s1600-h/of=50,332,442.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidPgAIUNgNhIJJiD5Cp2s2TZB4YXRtiP5QDN-jsuhqQZ4kJULCJXWXNueL8SGUCXbkaIpauQ8D59K9KOejiWh2kqq6-mrHMH4IlH23pD-qZx1uG2D5DLOmiuQ-OSli8Cqtw5Olg6lNQ/s320/of=50,332,442.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381012565233399074" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>So, I'm way late on this, but Sarah celebrated her 3rd birthday on August 22. We have had multiple parties for her. She's been a pretty blessed little girl. It's so fun to see her enjoying life!<div><br /></div><div>Here is the amazing cake that Dave made for Sarah. Yes, Dave. Sarah loves Minnie Mouse and he was determined to bless his girlie. Added to that, he loves watching Ace of Cakes and was loving the idea of trying this for Sarah.<br /><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_lTYuTrkdSPOuyxwiNi3zjwtehHkBUDxRrjuersjaPqVjENxVGT2U9a6ZL7N4ONEYWR-jzh65jHv6vOrOipS0gd4ngAVwlmZ8tZSPD8B9rCRFytLxaws5FxenOJc322Jnl1rrFKkHw/s1600-h/IMG_6201.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_lTYuTrkdSPOuyxwiNi3zjwtehHkBUDxRrjuersjaPqVjENxVGT2U9a6ZL7N4ONEYWR-jzh65jHv6vOrOipS0gd4ngAVwlmZ8tZSPD8B9rCRFytLxaws5FxenOJc322Jnl1rrFKkHw/s320/IMG_6201.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381013334518519122" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Her new scooter from Grandma and Grandpa Garlick. Not that she can ride it, but she really wants to be doing what the big kids are doing. You've got to love her determination. </div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7caPQdFa6FxDrRhFRls3mRDwClywBa2JM0eUVEJa3ERo7gglcuDYgg3lBCWQs6ZKXIBAuwxZCWbsjwE27DDVUykMGxUIjWd90kvSK3ibmCwIt4BtRxYa6aiDxG_uCzgu1ZiDxDsAPZA/s1600-h/IMG_5909.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7caPQdFa6FxDrRhFRls3mRDwClywBa2JM0eUVEJa3ERo7gglcuDYgg3lBCWQs6ZKXIBAuwxZCWbsjwE27DDVUykMGxUIjWd90kvSK3ibmCwIt4BtRxYa6aiDxG_uCzgu1ZiDxDsAPZA/s320/IMG_5909.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381013330163826882" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Shopping cart from Aunt Jess. Notice her taking care of baby in the front seat. So cute!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3nanXH7PsG52hPCzSx-rFgoJxIpcZHCITALSggL0D2wg0rlgbnVi0y0_MtaDKhMnrbxUwiE16pUwpETa0FPsgrstDxmYwj33_aaa03ISwJi0g6Eoy0sTRafsYJpLnY2IPwG1e5_20Aw/s1600-h/IMG_5901.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3nanXH7PsG52hPCzSx-rFgoJxIpcZHCITALSggL0D2wg0rlgbnVi0y0_MtaDKhMnrbxUwiE16pUwpETa0FPsgrstDxmYwj33_aaa03ISwJi0g6Eoy0sTRafsYJpLnY2IPwG1e5_20Aw/s320/IMG_5901.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381013322174444466" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Opening gifts from the other kids. They all had very specific ideas of what they wanted to get her.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsP1XpJVKuIVAr-BytY5BsEPtEyV_qn9LCp1VmPUIY9RTm9rvJnvVAskeOEbfxfrVXORdnC5GdlrJ7t6gnRdMzxVkhdNaesBB6rIrJTWVEPHTjXAg5eF-4Tz4ua7Rn6HDekuFp0aX45g/s1600-h/IMG_5845.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsP1XpJVKuIVAr-BytY5BsEPtEyV_qn9LCp1VmPUIY9RTm9rvJnvVAskeOEbfxfrVXORdnC5GdlrJ7t6gnRdMzxVkhdNaesBB6rIrJTWVEPHTjXAg5eF-4Tz4ua7Rn6HDekuFp0aX45g/s320/IMG_5845.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381013312560636418" /></a><br /></div><div>Enjoying her Elmo cake at Grandma and Grandpa Brewer's house.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEV2EuYKTkmX9Rv9xWBeDBeyBhKd5X32Ug9sOQOqJY-4lSKMRao5hCVnBTMb6gsbFcQtSZ9B47GL0SbOWBSoQA0Zu4D1HXhKrPTEtIpUT02vXOd-A9a2kY7Hr9fgELnpNNiVslwujWfw/s1600-h/IMG_5859.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEV2EuYKTkmX9Rv9xWBeDBeyBhKd5X32Ug9sOQOqJY-4lSKMRao5hCVnBTMb6gsbFcQtSZ9B47GL0SbOWBSoQA0Zu4D1HXhKrPTEtIpUT02vXOd-A9a2kY7Hr9fgELnpNNiVslwujWfw/s320/IMG_5859.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381013310729923746" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Just a quick update on her health. Sarah continues to get treatment at Hopkins once a month. This typically really seems to help her. Unfortunately this last week, she got a virus that set her back considerably in her ability to walk. We had to make an extra trip to Hopkins this last week, and will possibly go back this week as well. These extra treatments just help her get through the time that she is sick with the virus. They really seem to help. There has also been some talk of trying some other drugs in the coming months, but we will see. </div></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-57660923248430345052009-07-19T17:29:00.003-05:002009-07-20T06:38:02.792-05:00IEP<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7fSFDOAvgOHcbQL9BiEoyi1XgxTgrYLz371Lij98SReJGgxWjAjjtvh-pN4JAsM6wqNkrBG6d1OicZwHTqJ3BSbQnkMp-COSHEauMNKLTIHNnVL3E9N5Wl-A1BEEa7Hmkhgc_HXc9Q/s1600-h/IMG_5561.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD7fSFDOAvgOHcbQL9BiEoyi1XgxTgrYLz371Lij98SReJGgxWjAjjtvh-pN4JAsM6wqNkrBG6d1OicZwHTqJ3BSbQnkMp-COSHEauMNKLTIHNnVL3E9N5Wl-A1BEEa7Hmkhgc_HXc9Q/s320/IMG_5561.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360302737228471330" border="0" /></a><br />This past Thursday we had our first IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting with the Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) system. Sarah is a part of MD Infants and Toddlers, which is a division of the Special Education services of the MD Department of Education. This is the program special education are involved with prior to pre-school.<br /><br />The meeting went great, and each lady that was a part of the meeting was fantastic. Sarah's oncology doctor had written a letter to the board requesting special treatment for Sarah because of her suppressed immune system and susceptability to sickness. The school system agreed, and therefore agreed to have all Sarah's therapy be in-home!! This is really good news, because otherwise, Jen would have to take Sarah to a school for her therapy up to 3 times a week. Not fun. However, now all the therapists will come to our house and work in our own living room!<br /><br />We are off to Hilton Head, SC for vacation on Tuesday. We are hoping Sarah does well at the beach and enjoys playing in the sand!Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-60804284780897522452009-07-17T13:44:00.002-05:002009-07-17T13:45:05.651-05:00I love him!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9q9JBm00f6dGiu0_2uc-1NkRf7NtjmvIjweeH1fCLdsyt-pD_7bjyToqx0Ds50eoj7fDa2fVm36NjTXGg88fWwOHUixNI1y8Y_dPsZdi5R9mXNFD10gUfIXp7LpEvb_bweHnepp2aFw/s1600-h/IMG_5245.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9q9JBm00f6dGiu0_2uc-1NkRf7NtjmvIjweeH1fCLdsyt-pD_7bjyToqx0Ds50eoj7fDa2fVm36NjTXGg88fWwOHUixNI1y8Y_dPsZdi5R9mXNFD10gUfIXp7LpEvb_bweHnepp2aFw/s320/IMG_5245.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359501972330480530" /></a>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-28637265794551218032009-07-07T20:11:00.003-05:002009-07-07T20:24:36.626-05:00Ag Farm<div>Today we went to a class at the Ag Farm. What an amazing place! We had such a fun time. The girls were able to participate in so many activities. Tug of war, looking for insects in a stream, a water filled relay race, egg toss, and a potato sack race. The most hilarious part of the day was that each team was responsible for taking care of two young goats for the two hours we were at the farm. The kids loved it! Basically we walked the goat on a leash going from each activity, and if we were up for it we could let the goat off the leash and let him run. Since we only had three moms in our group, I had responsibility for one of the goats most of the time. If you know me at all, this was a site! My friend Mieke took a picture, so when I get it I'll be sure to prove that I really did it. We all had an amazing time. I hope since we live so close we'll be able to take advantage of more programs and classes at the farm. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9d5_yPx4kFB_n-vV2s1PirD0g3pa6weobBxdk8Rg1foWMT77MEFHJfpYSo4P7FkpYzzciWcEHSI12YrP4RD8CdJoRUvxVOCQ9k1D0U1cJMiI_7X1zVgaAoUOD_GHZGGZ9P1L8FNk1w/s1600-h/IMG_5637.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9d5_yPx4kFB_n-vV2s1PirD0g3pa6weobBxdk8Rg1foWMT77MEFHJfpYSo4P7FkpYzzciWcEHSI12YrP4RD8CdJoRUvxVOCQ9k1D0U1cJMiI_7X1zVgaAoUOD_GHZGGZ9P1L8FNk1w/s320/IMG_5637.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355891485624949634" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsgQwa6KQe28a_KOGV2X4HENiDI7FFAKvHyCs1ulNVdBIJmnjnd2pQMd3EGxTV68jEodn0FkQXm-FeaoKtxsoxU39sf7EQwbdzldxKu_ahz56ZTnAXSaxhgPOxPRzYCKVghuXsb77nA/s1600-h/IMG_5630.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsgQwa6KQe28a_KOGV2X4HENiDI7FFAKvHyCs1ulNVdBIJmnjnd2pQMd3EGxTV68jEodn0FkQXm-FeaoKtxsoxU39sf7EQwbdzldxKu_ahz56ZTnAXSaxhgPOxPRzYCKVghuXsb77nA/s320/IMG_5630.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355891477686032674" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVH4E5LkAcVDZ_X9C8ssmv2gYmxUbFdQPmDI414oag5nkOvuBXLjOsf9cHpWqSfxUWJEB9Gv1I4Ki3DQCa4sAuJATd6Pq30pe_MFc9ceIKmRqmC0YWVQcjJlZxG7kRLuYgb1XHEEnScg/s1600-h/IMG_5626.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVH4E5LkAcVDZ_X9C8ssmv2gYmxUbFdQPmDI414oag5nkOvuBXLjOsf9cHpWqSfxUWJEB9Gv1I4Ki3DQCa4sAuJATd6Pq30pe_MFc9ceIKmRqmC0YWVQcjJlZxG7kRLuYgb1XHEEnScg/s320/IMG_5626.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355891470882040098" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDNGBl9qR_qFpKiK4yXJ1RewYmsSkTCzN9gqVj7ge6F97tkrDyp92desPHLJdl18oITKLUYeppEt8R15GlS_0bh3ywVw7-uwzJ8uYYcpJIDC-OMqRP5DEL0nbQRr8kr1NHYRgtEcjxw/s1600-h/IMG_5609.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZDNGBl9qR_qFpKiK4yXJ1RewYmsSkTCzN9gqVj7ge6F97tkrDyp92desPHLJdl18oITKLUYeppEt8R15GlS_0bh3ywVw7-uwzJ8uYYcpJIDC-OMqRP5DEL0nbQRr8kr1NHYRgtEcjxw/s320/IMG_5609.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355891468700464034" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJzZgs9v8ySm-ghNGkxTX9ln_BM37psgQv1V5jrECDX0KF8KfvWE0V3hVPpMWcee9V7_gnFzGIxg3jztrahZKi_3hsfaW08gN60IuDbR81qWnmc4lvJQYtyDJ_J_m6wb3TEnOJfKayDw/s1600-h/IMG_5602.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJzZgs9v8ySm-ghNGkxTX9ln_BM37psgQv1V5jrECDX0KF8KfvWE0V3hVPpMWcee9V7_gnFzGIxg3jztrahZKi_3hsfaW08gN60IuDbR81qWnmc4lvJQYtyDJ_J_m6wb3TEnOJfKayDw/s320/IMG_5602.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355891273799016146" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpEQty7TaZ1c_jCmLTzVKMN-sj70_A3b2GAnUlInRbyO_gvDnIKAFPGa2J7CBl15r4IjnreGMw6E6ATtnzPrqbd1e87FvwB9240m5ONvKDz7UuYkrwbTvhvd9iEVHTZDVr5kfbVQ1iyg/s1600-h/IMG_5601.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpEQty7TaZ1c_jCmLTzVKMN-sj70_A3b2GAnUlInRbyO_gvDnIKAFPGa2J7CBl15r4IjnreGMw6E6ATtnzPrqbd1e87FvwB9240m5ONvKDz7UuYkrwbTvhvd9iEVHTZDVr5kfbVQ1iyg/s320/IMG_5601.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355891269824113938" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07ZjNvr_TIFgZ5DoALcDlIBJSaqj4-LKEghsheVpKkcmfwvZLx067AhMxh1GuPRpklFiosy6rlS8mI0quzxw7JYY9reyQwHadwaRzv9fEBRq3a6F8ikZrc1SzP5LVkhy2KxOuL9FWVQ/s1600-h/IMG_5599.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07ZjNvr_TIFgZ5DoALcDlIBJSaqj4-LKEghsheVpKkcmfwvZLx067AhMxh1GuPRpklFiosy6rlS8mI0quzxw7JYY9reyQwHadwaRzv9fEBRq3a6F8ikZrc1SzP5LVkhy2KxOuL9FWVQ/s320/IMG_5599.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355891265803072610" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UdvXYKQtASkBl8DYS_uustojvuVtYhInfcjOf0CVxx4GHz6lrIL6ww-RW3WYZsvwctuu4HgXqzeFQSWkuADDogZ6iro9cJMm-GuI5w95G0BDWUSO6pZR-0GB4yKOB4_lv8efUjH0IA/s1600-h/IMG_5597.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UdvXYKQtASkBl8DYS_uustojvuVtYhInfcjOf0CVxx4GHz6lrIL6ww-RW3WYZsvwctuu4HgXqzeFQSWkuADDogZ6iro9cJMm-GuI5w95G0BDWUSO6pZR-0GB4yKOB4_lv8efUjH0IA/s320/IMG_5597.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355891262528975138" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6yHZfGi6w_aVk-Z7a_-6XeYPLQtiWuVf0CiCGnWEQDbE7brjolMChCfVSfILjM1HwLGeg6O7ohe_DEDDZ9K9nyZgNeZg3gUjLnVv_XxVYyt7bV5I8eAGnkR8XIap3sBlBwmP7zvP5Jg/s1600-h/IMG_5596.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6yHZfGi6w_aVk-Z7a_-6XeYPLQtiWuVf0CiCGnWEQDbE7brjolMChCfVSfILjM1HwLGeg6O7ohe_DEDDZ9K9nyZgNeZg3gUjLnVv_XxVYyt7bV5I8eAGnkR8XIap3sBlBwmP7zvP5Jg/s320/IMG_5596.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355891027476319154" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnwa5aN9_2nLHp-DfnSkfikKiVsJ6bvNICJFN9JpeEGm6LBa4Iljk71clT5g_oT9YEQXA4eNVmZroFEPMzOq_jJQtt4K6LHgFuwxg2jbcePsqvBKxY3y_muqSbfu2hyphenhyphenjIsx3UBsY9tA/s1600-h/IMG_5593.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnwa5aN9_2nLHp-DfnSkfikKiVsJ6bvNICJFN9JpeEGm6LBa4Iljk71clT5g_oT9YEQXA4eNVmZroFEPMzOq_jJQtt4K6LHgFuwxg2jbcePsqvBKxY3y_muqSbfu2hyphenhyphenjIsx3UBsY9tA/s320/IMG_5593.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355891019203860706" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOS3bnngDW98OUmLOJa05Rhj0Ekz24C9ytaCS1d7YIcKJnC3J3Hdth3DLqPV0WT_VawTUSXzbNpq057IN1i6kotlVeiIDFCVjEJRsLYLXyTc3vpdAC7GTso2S0YLEpXKf3-bUFqxGkqA/s1600-h/IMG_5582.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOS3bnngDW98OUmLOJa05Rhj0Ekz24C9ytaCS1d7YIcKJnC3J3Hdth3DLqPV0WT_VawTUSXzbNpq057IN1i6kotlVeiIDFCVjEJRsLYLXyTc3vpdAC7GTso2S0YLEpXKf3-bUFqxGkqA/s320/IMG_5582.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355891015583148770" /></a>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-31548067893263416552009-06-30T22:09:00.007-05:002009-07-01T11:18:48.121-05:0034 - Happy birthday!!I always remind Jen that she will always be older than me...and, I like to remind her of that often.<br /><br />This past year has been a bumpy ride for our family, and it is true to say that this year has hit Jen harder than anyone else in our family. Jen is the one who is at home all day with Sarah, working with OTs, PTs, and all kinds of other therapists. Jen is the one who has to patiently deal with Sarah all day, through all of her irrational behavior. Jen is the one who primarily takes Sarah to Hopkins for her all day infusions. Jen is also the one who takes care of the 3 other kids we have all day, while I'm at work. Considering what Jen does all day long, I look at work like its a vacation. She works much harder than I do!<br /><br />The kids are SO excited about blessing mom on her birthday. They are literally counting down the days til her birthday. This is just a picture into how much they love their mom!<br /><br />In asking what we should get mom for her birthday, they each had their own suggestion...which ironically, really identifies something of their personality as well. Caleb was easy...he wanted to get mom candy. I'm sure there is a secret ploy for him to be able to eat the candy himself, but nonetheless, we still got mom her favorite candy (chewy, fruity anything...in this case, swedish fish and chewy jolly ranchers). Mikaela picked an outfit. She walked all over Target and was sizing everything up. She ended up with something nice. Alethea, very thoughtfully, remembered that Jen looked for a book last time they were at the library, but it was checked out. She had the idea of going to Borders to get the book. So we went and bought "My sister's keeper" for Jen to read. I ended up getting her tickets to the American Idol tour at the Verizon Center. Jen's hooked on that show big time.<br /><br />The kids also wanted to make Jen a cake. I think this was partially motivated by one of our favorite shows called "Ace of Cakes". They were inspired and off we went. All three agreed that mom's favorite colors were green and orange. Then Alethea drew up the master plans for the cake.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXLSVNwYD44TYCkzh3PFulPXuTRre0wlW-21bMqXgCFCv0NqDYPFNo5YWarEoL9IHAm0c5375mySgmD2WS-A-TtkxQdvFJJLvibaEgnbtXODhPECPKrk6MGobcGV3T2VQV_3Mw31oiA/s1600-h/IMG_5574.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXLSVNwYD44TYCkzh3PFulPXuTRre0wlW-21bMqXgCFCv0NqDYPFNo5YWarEoL9IHAm0c5375mySgmD2WS-A-TtkxQdvFJJLvibaEgnbtXODhPECPKrk6MGobcGV3T2VQV_3Mw31oiA/s320/IMG_5574.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353328340194769890" border="0" /></a><br />So, this was our goal. We scaled it back a bit to 3 tiers, and went for it...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQ1Bn29xoavfpBuIwT0fmevgXyOr7kXc8yLpsCVi_WPe22756kJVGl0F7FtT2K4aVxKMnynRE2MgEuKggtB22WmjySN8if6HOxdJcPArk8z_uyNpKk7XmEs4drIdMD2dJlbHqiqYtMQ/s1600-h/IMG_5569.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzQ1Bn29xoavfpBuIwT0fmevgXyOr7kXc8yLpsCVi_WPe22756kJVGl0F7FtT2K4aVxKMnynRE2MgEuKggtB22WmjySN8if6HOxdJcPArk8z_uyNpKk7XmEs4drIdMD2dJlbHqiqYtMQ/s320/IMG_5569.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353328933506222130" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZAD-_t7jnZSUq7Vk_-goZWGut7X70u9W5kVN9P6SGMSnmXqQL5pjmGGmE9-PzeBPJWP2mwsz6VC-OPwXzO1KblUE7Sxg1t6wjB96dN5SHiwVJFj1e07iX1fuWLYgynLZgbbHaYVMHg/s1600-h/IMG_5568.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZAD-_t7jnZSUq7Vk_-goZWGut7X70u9W5kVN9P6SGMSnmXqQL5pjmGGmE9-PzeBPJWP2mwsz6VC-OPwXzO1KblUE7Sxg1t6wjB96dN5SHiwVJFj1e07iX1fuWLYgynLZgbbHaYVMHg/s320/IMG_5568.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353328929169467602" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinciWq0mwMvOmjqsCzSiW8aB5xlFGlYWOLO-fL5zA9bs5u4Bbmb0Nk5YRi-CRorzwh9jiyy4202nGap7bZnYfI9cxNqaoeEwDOyEY7y7Ulp8rfp6QtuG581WzHeL_SnLnnKkImP3kZIQ/s1600-h/IMG_5567.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinciWq0mwMvOmjqsCzSiW8aB5xlFGlYWOLO-fL5zA9bs5u4Bbmb0Nk5YRi-CRorzwh9jiyy4202nGap7bZnYfI9cxNqaoeEwDOyEY7y7Ulp8rfp6QtuG581WzHeL_SnLnnKkImP3kZIQ/s320/IMG_5567.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353328925240179330" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Caleb was pretty much good for nothing but licking the bowl of icing. That kid is a total goof ball.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTDuX8iMclVylPUyvfFnIinxiBdPVf5IdWDwWY4JsNPbxnMVBg1vL_YVyPsTW9gO6fbyEraK5QPZIrSdyQ1lMVDAkbwauzL_0TmhkikxScB5g7R6hB71oB335JDgqeecWbgxUW2YDuw/s1600-h/IMG_5570.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTDuX8iMclVylPUyvfFnIinxiBdPVf5IdWDwWY4JsNPbxnMVBg1vL_YVyPsTW9gO6fbyEraK5QPZIrSdyQ1lMVDAkbwauzL_0TmhkikxScB5g7R6hB71oB335JDgqeecWbgxUW2YDuw/s320/IMG_5570.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353328939317621842" border="0" /></a><br />...in the end, we achieved our goal close enough.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_QV1dk2M_ijjKPcg8aW3TtPhI9gcPdVzHyGapZpQzjPPhXQoNfKRMWhrhBwTpBJFYYSdD2_E8dWt14XcjWNNI56_XYRuDYvBkTNuTHbSRl4q6wrqX1mcD3HyPzuT0EKp2EkmzwJ6fUQ/s1600-h/IMG_5575.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_QV1dk2M_ijjKPcg8aW3TtPhI9gcPdVzHyGapZpQzjPPhXQoNfKRMWhrhBwTpBJFYYSdD2_E8dWt14XcjWNNI56_XYRuDYvBkTNuTHbSRl4q6wrqX1mcD3HyPzuT0EKp2EkmzwJ6fUQ/s320/IMG_5575.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353329593573496546" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41BVzFGexj2avKZDJMEKHGy00fFyaoCt1pMUp5PHB09kaFEXzQs7wwnlzF44Evhk0OkPj6D9vKRz1F4Nl1V6mLxsByhp2m3-dqUTZUt8Q9dAKy2QMyCjlYQ2_iAS26deXZmg09-v3iw/s1600-h/IMG_5573.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41BVzFGexj2avKZDJMEKHGy00fFyaoCt1pMUp5PHB09kaFEXzQs7wwnlzF44Evhk0OkPj6D9vKRz1F4Nl1V6mLxsByhp2m3-dqUTZUt8Q9dAKy2QMyCjlYQ2_iAS26deXZmg09-v3iw/s320/IMG_5573.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353329595871342610" border="0" /></a><br />On the morning of her birthday, she'll wake up to this cake, her presents, and her favorite breakfast.<br /><br />Happy birthday babe! I love you, the kids love you, and we are grateful for everything you do for our family!<br /><br />DaveJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-39844964628616844762009-06-21T20:25:00.005-05:002009-06-21T20:48:22.165-05:00Happy Father's Day!<div><br /></div><div> I don't even know where to begin. Dave is such an amazing father! The way he balances loving, caring, training, and correcting is provoking. I want to be more like him. He totally has our kids hearts. They run to him the minute he walks in the door. They just love to be with him. And who wouldn't? He is so much fun!! The guy can make any regular activity seem like it's the best thing ever. Most importantly though, he instills in them a love for God and the church. For that, I am grateful. </div><div> I never would have guessed what the last year and a half would hold for us. I can say this though. I am so grateful that I get to walk through this trial with Dave by my side. He listens to me, cries with me, challenges me, and loves me. And oh boy, does he love Sarah. The way he cares for her is so sweet to watch. She and all the kids are so blessed to have a Dad like him. Here's just a glimpse of all the fun things Daddy does...</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU81Z7DtGOBhnQ-u4BrEzhy2U082mOUpZ4HAiETlpYwXDx8o9k4n4DSl7Rgg1wSEHTgJ6wcwJwmRK1_OIv0stIWqPqaCY54MExg_X8rB4fXkFR43F-x9EXDGmXznljkCZawbILSMxS-w/s1600-h/IMG_3834.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU81Z7DtGOBhnQ-u4BrEzhy2U082mOUpZ4HAiETlpYwXDx8o9k4n4DSl7Rgg1wSEHTgJ6wcwJwmRK1_OIv0stIWqPqaCY54MExg_X8rB4fXkFR43F-x9EXDGmXznljkCZawbILSMxS-w/s320/IMG_3834.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349960697970535970" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYeeeVE6QAXjD7fcKzbOy5dIwElXu1Xa3_v6VEoLDnGrvcN4w8buN6gWdtE9hNq4voaGA03dDlzTw5uLFEKsvCzeV1zxBsIRtTJPdRhv2C3hXNPIoxwXrhV-k_Ehoj6gfarFupZYBgA/s1600-h/IMG_2874.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmYeeeVE6QAXjD7fcKzbOy5dIwElXu1Xa3_v6VEoLDnGrvcN4w8buN6gWdtE9hNq4voaGA03dDlzTw5uLFEKsvCzeV1zxBsIRtTJPdRhv2C3hXNPIoxwXrhV-k_Ehoj6gfarFupZYBgA/s320/IMG_2874.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349960626436057938" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRqNEBmi2ipYv5fW6KU43AZRHb5FK4S98OtrhH08lkPTTD37Li9ef_C1ypKftSZ80bqZmT2qkU0rpPBxUtQWsW52u1wLUfOLp7ASU7VfsTDCVf00ZuVrUryTu-shwhFqZ3CyFgxCh8w/s1600-h/IMG_2654.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRqNEBmi2ipYv5fW6KU43AZRHb5FK4S98OtrhH08lkPTTD37Li9ef_C1ypKftSZ80bqZmT2qkU0rpPBxUtQWsW52u1wLUfOLp7ASU7VfsTDCVf00ZuVrUryTu-shwhFqZ3CyFgxCh8w/s320/IMG_2654.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349960621399561922" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4yXKvNSDAPEUOMzOLI762UHe1TgAd7KehSbmLMtzPe8C99d6GwJI2zs37_wV6QvzFSAhM8MxUcG4bIvyLTZWkay9faX3BovLmUYc4o6WwYkb7bKxjZLy9lKUoILxajCgj_cXcLT_Tsg/s1600-h/IMG_1404_2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4yXKvNSDAPEUOMzOLI762UHe1TgAd7KehSbmLMtzPe8C99d6GwJI2zs37_wV6QvzFSAhM8MxUcG4bIvyLTZWkay9faX3BovLmUYc4o6WwYkb7bKxjZLy9lKUoILxajCgj_cXcLT_Tsg/s320/IMG_1404_2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349960620636066146" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66M9vCXbTnFyE1tYZPEv2hw9p01ls87XjZGw7Jy0iJZy7uzsxYpXsn3GM0VsJnOTsNR56k6MEEvEy93pDrBt8Hep0d99JEZPwXIY1feTo6QVLNzharauUl56eaSrQyvZgKmUROQam-w/s1600-h/IMG_0858.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj66M9vCXbTnFyE1tYZPEv2hw9p01ls87XjZGw7Jy0iJZy7uzsxYpXsn3GM0VsJnOTsNR56k6MEEvEy93pDrBt8Hep0d99JEZPwXIY1feTo6QVLNzharauUl56eaSrQyvZgKmUROQam-w/s320/IMG_0858.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349960615013970562" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdPwY1VjQlDN9xYVmDEUtZBW0mJ-rcH5MigyfSaBYh9zWTIW1JF9HhE8oAtXrHHooOXJ6ggsZJzzJSrP5TR0x2IVmGJlbR8XtRYFJ4Pj-d3Im99j2KokTcghRN_v5i_cGODJiZCX7pA/s1600-h/DSC_0119.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikdPwY1VjQlDN9xYVmDEUtZBW0mJ-rcH5MigyfSaBYh9zWTIW1JF9HhE8oAtXrHHooOXJ6ggsZJzzJSrP5TR0x2IVmGJlbR8XtRYFJ4Pj-d3Im99j2KokTcghRN_v5i_cGODJiZCX7pA/s320/DSC_0119.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349960606661806274" /></a>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-48753892583005065812009-06-20T07:22:00.004-05:002009-06-20T07:49:06.628-05:00Living your childhood through your kidsIts pretty funny how that works, how your kids end up liking and doing the same things that you did when you were little. Its probably because we buy them things (and do things) that we loved so much when we were kids. I think I like some of these things more than my own kids do!<br /><br />Here's a couple examples:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCOF0TtPoS790HBkZeDu6Beu78KFeQlf2rXWLM1HmE6YQ8lYO0s6OCG8QgHtsS_yr3P9f9Gr9jRufoG-WhbNl9s93Ksj7X3IMoh-UkMx6hCWZ2fz01kOxMz7lT0sc_7RwXM0tFzIvwg/s1600-h/DSC_0263.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCOF0TtPoS790HBkZeDu6Beu78KFeQlf2rXWLM1HmE6YQ8lYO0s6OCG8QgHtsS_yr3P9f9Gr9jRufoG-WhbNl9s93Ksj7X3IMoh-UkMx6hCWZ2fz01kOxMz7lT0sc_7RwXM0tFzIvwg/s320/DSC_0263.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349385599183333666" border="0" /></a>Caleb's love for baseball and for the O's! I must admit, I've trained him hard in this. Notice the jacket in this picture? It was mine when I was his age. My mom kept it all these years, and now I've passed it on to him.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDR1KhBkdiXBRzOW91qtDWoRgXXC5ELXSjYHuytafsqF2hWLFebjtLOkCRwEqjXOxHNImFXvw89SKJexIyQfqZC0HsXiG9GjIt7aGnSE_C9AfQk0Pg7ZQPkPQLV68F4RQirj7euDV6g/s1600-h/IMG_5309.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDR1KhBkdiXBRzOW91qtDWoRgXXC5ELXSjYHuytafsqF2hWLFebjtLOkCRwEqjXOxHNImFXvw89SKJexIyQfqZC0HsXiG9GjIt7aGnSE_C9AfQk0Pg7ZQPkPQLV68F4RQirj7euDV6g/s320/IMG_5309.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349385412952275394" border="0" /></a><br />Big wheels! Man, our neighborhood big wheel crew terrorized our street with big wheels. My mom got one for Caleb, and he loves it. Brings back tons of memories for me.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tOIhs23dDlHoMXsHsryzdATfz3qG0sogg9syLq3yzNzlzC5TUqRY045m_lRWRGSRddPxGd3E4HkllJ_5SFL9rEnt9JhblwJm87Nq4V2jKpedV3A_IypNT5f9QMGQYbj9886koqJM4Q/s1600-h/IMG_5293.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tOIhs23dDlHoMXsHsryzdATfz3qG0sogg9syLq3yzNzlzC5TUqRY045m_lRWRGSRddPxGd3E4HkllJ_5SFL9rEnt9JhblwJm87Nq4V2jKpedV3A_IypNT5f9QMGQYbj9886koqJM4Q/s320/IMG_5293.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349385405096289538" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTjVN8WiVdEJP2fG-cbZDxIFG4JMDYbOptsb9-0YIT0rpKfF02mi098YJiuLO2Kfpkd_bu9A2gKqGG9b4KfmtPmYK5shhVrIa2VYAxrGRQuuyQ6mk1QikqPuZEZ-P_sQ9WyyjLSHs3uQ/s1600-h/IMG_5292.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTjVN8WiVdEJP2fG-cbZDxIFG4JMDYbOptsb9-0YIT0rpKfF02mi098YJiuLO2Kfpkd_bu9A2gKqGG9b4KfmtPmYK5shhVrIa2VYAxrGRQuuyQ6mk1QikqPuZEZ-P_sQ9WyyjLSHs3uQ/s320/IMG_5292.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349384587783133826" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimdGdQW09jUnW4kIt9trsKvGNoCwJHat3W5CkIBEoQM8brGr9tcBKmZJfWCYpYIN-FviPauA_fZ4dknLF0hdeRWxD8lAHRWLEhSOtEeI86PYoHyFyt_ymuew-xSHb8vFyQalWBEY7vlg/s1600-h/IMG_5230.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimdGdQW09jUnW4kIt9trsKvGNoCwJHat3W5CkIBEoQM8brGr9tcBKmZJfWCYpYIN-FviPauA_fZ4dknLF0hdeRWxD8lAHRWLEhSOtEeI86PYoHyFyt_ymuew-xSHb8vFyQalWBEY7vlg/s320/IMG_5230.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349384572605875474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHrXbDoOcGcBYRo5-SBYBIsCv4aSB30H7qyPNboe8R7q1NwCEdaxXqAdcoeEeccH_XpZsURpjqskJSZeRpnJRPM2xIqnhKsL79_kRjBuaCyW7XlZbZxfI7ouxpB6ccZe6rSmUmcAZdSg/s1600-h/IMG_5225.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHrXbDoOcGcBYRo5-SBYBIsCv4aSB30H7qyPNboe8R7q1NwCEdaxXqAdcoeEeccH_XpZsURpjqskJSZeRpnJRPM2xIqnhKsL79_kRjBuaCyW7XlZbZxfI7ouxpB6ccZe6rSmUmcAZdSg/s320/IMG_5225.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349384568485567394" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4t3IjQEANeO0go4OvVBv-LKfv77qwCMlwt2TtnkA-RCWM4jqz7t7MjAb4l91NuBUsfBM9sB37wMnkLgPV9sUK2R1gfgk2DCaulUEkmFLKD1Cl09ejnqUggeYfI-Ag08A4_2gVRxBt9A/s1600-h/IMG_5211.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4t3IjQEANeO0go4OvVBv-LKfv77qwCMlwt2TtnkA-RCWM4jqz7t7MjAb4l91NuBUsfBM9sB37wMnkLgPV9sUK2R1gfgk2DCaulUEkmFLKD1Cl09ejnqUggeYfI-Ag08A4_2gVRxBt9A/s320/IMG_5211.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349384560937153762" border="0" /></a><br />The girls just finished up another year of soccer. They did really great and loved it. Their team color was orange, which reminded me of when I played, because my team color for "Kings Contrivance" was always purple. Its funny the things I remember, like my team color, and all the practices with Mr. Holmes and Mr. Pollock at Atholton ES.<br />There are lots of other childhood things we've passed on to our kids...matchbox cars and tracks, peanut butter play dough...<br /><br />Sarah update:<br />Sarah recently finished up a new protocol for a drug called Rituximab (as Jen mentioned in an earlier post) and is now back to receiving IVIG. This is the drug that helps her movement the best. She still shakes a lot, but is a fighter in every sense of the word. She hasn't ever let her muscle tremors stop her from doing anything she wants!<br /><br />She is starting to talk a little bit more too. The muscle disorder effects her speech a bit. She is putting 3-4-5 word sentences together, which is really cool to watch develop!<br /><br />Jen continues to be an amazing mom to Sarah and the other kids. Sarah needs oversight and watching pretty much 24/7...which makes it pretty hard to do stuff during the day. But, somehow, she makes it all work and manages to go on walks, go to the pool, go strawberry picking, etc...<br />No wonder Jen wants to go to bed at 8pm every night!Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-48835872361359890562009-06-13T19:44:00.008-05:002009-06-14T13:47:48.252-05:00A Wedding<div>A few weekends ago, we had the wonderful opportunity to see some of our dear friends get married. We have known Garrett and Elise since they were in high school. We have become good friends with both of them and their families. They also serve on Dave's admin team, Elise is Dave's secretary, and Elise has been one of our babysitters for years now. Elise also has a special place in her heart for Sarah. When she came to me when they got engaged and asked if Sarah could be a flower girl in her wedding, it brought tears to my eyes just thinking that she was willing to sacrifice a "perfect" wedding to have Sarah be a part, and literally stumble down the aisle. As months went on, I was very nervous about letting Sarah do this, but Elise was always quick to tell me that she didn't care what happened she just wanted to honor Sarah. Well, all that to say, I'm grateful she had that attitude because as you can see in this series of pictures, she didn't make it down the aisle. Poor girlie tried so hard. Wasn't she cute though!</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8lxVLceO8eo1RsqrBDuSbL5LfKb4VgxMOed4oXFYad6QiaynbbgCG0FhP1f-Lq8bgV7wO1fNhzp7k8uLrLJ0qlKFFga1VyUoXXDOIFdNkuRU6iZnEfFAJTIXNQ_QAcANLhZrcII1FQ/s1600-h/4428_86057823476_531718476_1818115_2989468_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-8lxVLceO8eo1RsqrBDuSbL5LfKb4VgxMOed4oXFYad6QiaynbbgCG0FhP1f-Lq8bgV7wO1fNhzp7k8uLrLJ0qlKFFga1VyUoXXDOIFdNkuRU6iZnEfFAJTIXNQ_QAcANLhZrcII1FQ/s320/4428_86057823476_531718476_1818115_2989468_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346978185165236306" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zTOMWuSrDjR4IsyTAYxlMfxjuK0xIxjV1AhSATrUgeowjp_rNOsQLGyXl67s3cPYQ8ObLa_TfcwDirpxVW0vP2q0BOlmRqDy_szt4DWetEYxygE4qNDVPYYvMats8yEbcfNcC6Ea6g/s1600-h/4428_86057828476_531718476_1818116_6294518_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zTOMWuSrDjR4IsyTAYxlMfxjuK0xIxjV1AhSATrUgeowjp_rNOsQLGyXl67s3cPYQ8ObLa_TfcwDirpxVW0vP2q0BOlmRqDy_szt4DWetEYxygE4qNDVPYYvMats8yEbcfNcC6Ea6g/s320/4428_86057828476_531718476_1818116_6294518_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346978182637137282" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNs3ozdyEYULFtYpuO-3kWMwdMU7sES51s0-lchFRyj5fYMof60CWuaFoLoDfzjngybWQVYSv7dQBZ9icg4FKhskJpf7bRFakkQ5a-xeCldlaJ1_qMwZG63gjuc5hVhWZinywDmfEaQ/s1600-h/4428_86057833476_531718476_1818117_678314_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNs3ozdyEYULFtYpuO-3kWMwdMU7sES51s0-lchFRyj5fYMof60CWuaFoLoDfzjngybWQVYSv7dQBZ9icg4FKhskJpf7bRFakkQ5a-xeCldlaJ1_qMwZG63gjuc5hVhWZinywDmfEaQ/s320/4428_86057833476_531718476_1818117_678314_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346978177281967586" /></a><div>Elise also asked the older girls if they would help hand out programs. They were so excited and were able to get special dresses for the occasion. Dave also had the privilege of being a groomsman as well. It was such a wonderful day! Here is a family shot. Five out of six isn't bad as far as looking at the camera. We'll take what we can get!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8tmgbOYvk_QV0YJO4RZPoBeFzOhr7QIm9S1cFae2gW3flHHgWm34gEXikjZS6qyfyCvo4DWsV6PHMHCatHVaQdFiRPenFOz_WHbbiG0yZ23_iZMapQ877-eSdMfVCzsjkBIOv5XnUw/s1600-h/IMG_5409.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8tmgbOYvk_QV0YJO4RZPoBeFzOhr7QIm9S1cFae2gW3flHHgWm34gEXikjZS6qyfyCvo4DWsV6PHMHCatHVaQdFiRPenFOz_WHbbiG0yZ23_iZMapQ877-eSdMfVCzsjkBIOv5XnUw/s320/IMG_5409.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346977999029205122" /></a></div><div>They had a candy reception at church before their dinner reception. The kids kept making sure they were invited to this reception. They didn't want to be left out of the fun! </div><div><br /></div><div>Caleb and Daddy, with some chocolate covered pretzels.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTI4zHnD1QLI4USPvuXrcNMSkFrlDzsla7_aH8zecHWMGfFEta5YhfO8jA98YIjovCWU2aQUVDezMVpsHTAaLHSsVaeFyEbGGZZsENjGzoEQ7_swU8VezaaMjmsSVzyZ5RUNaGa2cIg/s1600-h/IMG_5413.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTI4zHnD1QLI4USPvuXrcNMSkFrlDzsla7_aH8zecHWMGfFEta5YhfO8jA98YIjovCWU2aQUVDezMVpsHTAaLHSsVaeFyEbGGZZsENjGzoEQ7_swU8VezaaMjmsSVzyZ5RUNaGa2cIg/s320/IMG_5413.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346977996526002002" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Alethea and Daddy, with a huge lollipop.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRHEENtfE3bLb11a2QYQGcz7y2VU5RIWqE2ws9giqDAK7Yod6H4V-5Xnof_zJcTBbs6kKwEZxsYPQKsP4WENAP9E6VyheZlUCRR7klvVg0o771LNdJfilaS__PuKh1awAJBXBusGuiLQ/s1600-h/IMG_5415.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRHEENtfE3bLb11a2QYQGcz7y2VU5RIWqE2ws9giqDAK7Yod6H4V-5Xnof_zJcTBbs6kKwEZxsYPQKsP4WENAP9E6VyheZlUCRR7klvVg0o771LNdJfilaS__PuKh1awAJBXBusGuiLQ/s320/IMG_5415.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346977991040430146" /></a><br /></div><div>Mikaela and Daddy<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVAk62ZG9Y_xZm27ZCilsQP9PknCfRD63bYI7k1IPdypiZwal_OeIF1mSBHcWJHKN5B6WnsQTo7T_6_UNRzCQKjRBuOHeWjxR8r37oI4HbtfD7VtsD_R3hbZZ8HU_vWQf1tgyr3GhPw/s1600-h/IMG_5416.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVAk62ZG9Y_xZm27ZCilsQP9PknCfRD63bYI7k1IPdypiZwal_OeIF1mSBHcWJHKN5B6WnsQTo7T_6_UNRzCQKjRBuOHeWjxR8r37oI4HbtfD7VtsD_R3hbZZ8HU_vWQf1tgyr3GhPw/s320/IMG_5416.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346977987035449554" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>These next few pictures are taken by our dear friend Kristen. Glad I have some professional pictures to remember the day as well.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDGxw1QhKoyA27tIlLE5ODrOdaddS-rv78b5SpIA8NSxb4Fd7ASDSV3zpXqwEZSs21qiVFE1Z0eh506FGh5dGA6WbW5nlCR3YwQTyvPdZxHKlaznpGJD0IpBUtzYkbdkzsiG6PKGBJA/s1600-h/559793542_ZRTsh-M.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDGxw1QhKoyA27tIlLE5ODrOdaddS-rv78b5SpIA8NSxb4Fd7ASDSV3zpXqwEZSs21qiVFE1Z0eh506FGh5dGA6WbW5nlCR3YwQTyvPdZxHKlaznpGJD0IpBUtzYkbdkzsiG6PKGBJA/s320/559793542_ZRTsh-M.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347255962276532578" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw_u0F3-TBvczOvIjup-Rl5gKxrKL494aYXSCn9_mGgOSUiChC2uHDkbxbo0uu6Y8KOD3vAmakozy8sA5a6_o9jR9rhP22J6oOk-GOSSFs4pL6I6fpeMesM8f8Fra1mh5PX76KOibsX1M/s1600-h/559792730_ZndMH-M.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw_u0F3-TBvczOvIjup-Rl5gKxrKL494aYXSCn9_mGgOSUiChC2uHDkbxbo0uu6Y8KOD3vAmakozy8sA5a6_o9jR9rhP22J6oOk-GOSSFs4pL6I6fpeMesM8f8Fra1mh5PX76KOibsX1M/s320/559792730_ZndMH-M.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347255958399154354" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAUfABi48kbC-50JO-knYkBTUaVO3lW-HH7OmOLqVskz5DFsmbXAnrV7aDI7HmLKVkPlLwT9MWvgspo-onM6h88EYc0YbQOiyypVFkRbUntxvT94usfgUp-1es9_KBvgjBAWW3fMyn8w/s1600-h/559792328_vFDiD-M.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAUfABi48kbC-50JO-knYkBTUaVO3lW-HH7OmOLqVskz5DFsmbXAnrV7aDI7HmLKVkPlLwT9MWvgspo-onM6h88EYc0YbQOiyypVFkRbUntxvT94usfgUp-1es9_KBvgjBAWW3fMyn8w/s320/559792328_vFDiD-M.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347255951854673122" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9qpMUq6BSWPaD16GoeUNVIXC8AfETbDSyRZiKqUeQ-chDJ9NdpOUJ17PLKDg9_cLnVnRBAPIG61Z3nRv5uRcIE_ZygQi5JaoGwHFokn6_AvvDwOc4NYdYjZnaPM7BcRExFI89bbvjFQ/s1600-h/559791165_BKQxR-M.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9qpMUq6BSWPaD16GoeUNVIXC8AfETbDSyRZiKqUeQ-chDJ9NdpOUJ17PLKDg9_cLnVnRBAPIG61Z3nRv5uRcIE_ZygQi5JaoGwHFokn6_AvvDwOc4NYdYjZnaPM7BcRExFI89bbvjFQ/s320/559791165_BKQxR-M.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347255948563458594" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrUEohV8xPSe1k_VvDG1QooEGvYQNf6qT4DruWaitlocph3QRIsvkKMGsEEUdd3mcUNTkJrUByRzE8pgRwzCcv3vocmS4g5erufP48_-stEV4N5QlnASEnBjBY_xeNIhFYykDmc3sdA/s1600-h/559789699_E6Zkh-M.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrUEohV8xPSe1k_VvDG1QooEGvYQNf6qT4DruWaitlocph3QRIsvkKMGsEEUdd3mcUNTkJrUByRzE8pgRwzCcv3vocmS4g5erufP48_-stEV4N5QlnASEnBjBY_xeNIhFYykDmc3sdA/s320/559789699_E6Zkh-M.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347255943040454178" /></a></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-67947368083013508632009-06-11T13:43:00.006-05:002009-06-11T14:20:15.523-05:00What's Up?<div>Things have been very busy around here. With the end of school, and all Sarah's additional treatments, the poor blog has been neglected. Dave asked me this morning if I could please do an update. I'll try and give a quick update, and then try to do some more posts with some bigger events that have taken place. Here are some pictures that capture what's been going on...<div><br /></div><div>the three older kids played soccer this Spring</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDbX-838ypO8OXMVE4f_xd3KOHfjt0G1NJDrBYGIYikLCT_NOEQRyTNI6Od2oMUxjrDI3ZYqUom6yzvDJC7ldzb0GxVE7abwp7u89JKzKT6GsO6R89s02TKWboCHvliy3gLcIfHdmMA/s1600-h/IMG_5291.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDbX-838ypO8OXMVE4f_xd3KOHfjt0G1NJDrBYGIYikLCT_NOEQRyTNI6Od2oMUxjrDI3ZYqUom6yzvDJC7ldzb0GxVE7abwp7u89JKzKT6GsO6R89s02TKWboCHvliy3gLcIfHdmMA/s200/IMG_5291.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346148316590231602" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuwEAofAgUpelFdGpW9aEhIZOYSigIWumxtMLpqm3IdUkCfv9R10aYgvxNY_cnWFyp7bURvoEqmbTgEvxDvjDcFfSBMSw-4ZEppAQFmqJDBe6b8mJ_UPY1Mdg_1QRKdcxlbSKF6ZSVA/s1600-h/IMG_5225.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuwEAofAgUpelFdGpW9aEhIZOYSigIWumxtMLpqm3IdUkCfv9R10aYgvxNY_cnWFyp7bURvoEqmbTgEvxDvjDcFfSBMSw-4ZEppAQFmqJDBe6b8mJ_UPY1Mdg_1QRKdcxlbSKF6ZSVA/s200/IMG_5225.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346148311357585938" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyW94-9K19kwpdk6Hht7QshKS705Wz35tQluNAv4L5oLLBI-TtgWGnd9XwMWezmQZV5IO_XAB49B6LoqgyuVuxVTTddblTdZygQqHP4cQvfOKC568jv6H_xfPPOUTkgWl_nDNsUGWPag/s1600-h/IMG_5229.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyW94-9K19kwpdk6Hht7QshKS705Wz35tQluNAv4L5oLLBI-TtgWGnd9XwMWezmQZV5IO_XAB49B6LoqgyuVuxVTTddblTdZygQqHP4cQvfOKC568jv6H_xfPPOUTkgWl_nDNsUGWPag/s200/IMG_5229.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346148307360810306" /></a><br /><div>the girls had their first piano recital</div><div><br /><div><br /></div></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OelH_CO3TbkXi6tG7sie3CThaiZKhScC3jDZl8WmRdJqT3HZT3PFxAYYrS8VhK7AN3eE9QLLgx-H5Hq0jyRCN8e4J1sIrZKmgTHFabzJyvZGjk1a3YHs0m9U-PG4xPJWgto329AUVQ/s1600-h/IMG_5332.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3OelH_CO3TbkXi6tG7sie3CThaiZKhScC3jDZl8WmRdJqT3HZT3PFxAYYrS8VhK7AN3eE9QLLgx-H5Hq0jyRCN8e4J1sIrZKmgTHFabzJyvZGjk1a3YHs0m9U-PG4xPJWgto329AUVQ/s200/IMG_5332.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346148929153562034" /></a><br /><div>The girls and Dave did a 5K run at Covenant Life School</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJLGTdtEnCGQwDJHnJiQ3rDIYxIizZLH0zAZ9UqAfk2UphbJreTmzC2E2nZbQ4ekj6IwlXOQKm-sxJmdyrYoeyr8eMzUq3sKHXVYY6FCzXQFjdOTXSvz6nVxhAGljPpDs0Vsv3IMsLtw/s1600-h/IMG_5364.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJLGTdtEnCGQwDJHnJiQ3rDIYxIizZLH0zAZ9UqAfk2UphbJreTmzC2E2nZbQ4ekj6IwlXOQKm-sxJmdyrYoeyr8eMzUq3sKHXVYY6FCzXQFjdOTXSvz6nVxhAGljPpDs0Vsv3IMsLtw/s200/IMG_5364.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346149733647045890" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG30Qu0q1cKzQRtA_FQ2kLqqMYJ81JGVbhkYyUmKMmpXlSXhWVqKXCJIg2kROfhyUus-tSc-qn6uGwHvjJWViLXYXysxu9jj8nToNDLiar_JmPoaEHySoZDyHsyBGEEI0ORhYsugWGWg/s1600-h/IMG_5354.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG30Qu0q1cKzQRtA_FQ2kLqqMYJ81JGVbhkYyUmKMmpXlSXhWVqKXCJIg2kROfhyUus-tSc-qn6uGwHvjJWViLXYXysxu9jj8nToNDLiar_JmPoaEHySoZDyHsyBGEEI0ORhYsugWGWg/s200/IMG_5354.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346149730218374066" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Sarah continues to do well. She just finished a 5 week round of treatment where we were at Hopkins once a week. Although we didn't see the kind of results we hoped for, we learned some good information about what drug really does help her the most. We that information, we will continue on with her getting IVIG once a month, with the hope that at some point we can space it out a little more. </div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgScSlMxskRqSNnXHD_H0sCGv-Fb69VT5homJ3x_Gts4ZUJw23_XeTo_qkHHGv-gcE44KauCmhZEvKL8Kvp-VZgI6mxsmVC5kHMnhvrhfFC3Cqvqj6CDRQchWKypLlLP2e4lwcWUCttpw/s1600-h/IMG_5370.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgScSlMxskRqSNnXHD_H0sCGv-Fb69VT5homJ3x_Gts4ZUJw23_XeTo_qkHHGv-gcE44KauCmhZEvKL8Kvp-VZgI6mxsmVC5kHMnhvrhfFC3Cqvqj6CDRQchWKypLlLP2e4lwcWUCttpw/s200/IMG_5370.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346151515768608322" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmAs0pDOjVZRQSymwkvDTPD4q5o_LUjhnKy9r0ZJN0PmzVLTvuA-83cTtY8mTU32n8refkXudD1rIM0UOuV6dbZMD4kDbEsvgEZSchjDkOQQ9VbNlBtUjmMhfda7_lBI732isZhMB-Ew/s1600-h/IMG_5295.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmAs0pDOjVZRQSymwkvDTPD4q5o_LUjhnKy9r0ZJN0PmzVLTvuA-83cTtY8mTU32n8refkXudD1rIM0UOuV6dbZMD4kDbEsvgEZSchjDkOQQ9VbNlBtUjmMhfda7_lBI732isZhMB-Ew/s200/IMG_5295.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346151511490829250" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtckQNafNzbS6eBlhJ-WwFBghhMherrx2MiGlCPNJKfgPziVIcpaLef6YGbtSv__j0r7qVuDydks36KDa4CGDgjxhr7bXyudumIAp2EBVjc4HIpKpmI_wfuxwzqiWSaX9ah3d8tSc2nw/s1600-h/IMG_5294.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtckQNafNzbS6eBlhJ-WwFBghhMherrx2MiGlCPNJKfgPziVIcpaLef6YGbtSv__j0r7qVuDydks36KDa4CGDgjxhr7bXyudumIAp2EBVjc4HIpKpmI_wfuxwzqiWSaX9ah3d8tSc2nw/s200/IMG_5294.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346151511377108514" /></a><br /><div>Up next... a wedding, a baby, and the last day of school!</div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-2304196469711633842009-05-10T07:26:00.008-05:002009-05-10T07:45:41.473-05:00Happy Mother's Day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tyckLZF22PuFhd0IbC7rjcS4j0bWF_rPuFMcPBFBY8OxLg0eo60txQOVlmfgGZKnSUMmB1f3s1ZWULuTZszFIcxAwdJXlof41-nNmm04XO4Tf-wGOEDxS2V8rJWrlnBETKeS-n2N9w/s1600-h/IMG_4812.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EIzCKucEqnJivnDxztV388xUNNy-XTlPKtNFbPNzJIztb9sLox0V4IfepmYF-4w-VF2wZlzWcutCnXsQnTQbs0GviuwNG5oXHpNvwnvwE-8utg7xcVTHzDR9U0sRbAvlpH60jDbTAw/s200/IMG_3767.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334172573911027058" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijMEyLEUyVfPTsrfd7J-HT7cZgFmQvqDBrbYPtoHVw8ApZWnBhktH515hBcI2fHNXL4uwPN3FtYotsp_rHOrc_D7yhIRNfydF6zW2k3vNYKciz3Hk7A7dUbxq7TSr8mR6rlr8Jwbaujw/s1600-h/IMG_2661.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijMEyLEUyVfPTsrfd7J-HT7cZgFmQvqDBrbYPtoHVw8ApZWnBhktH515hBcI2fHNXL4uwPN3FtYotsp_rHOrc_D7yhIRNfydF6zW2k3vNYKciz3Hk7A7dUbxq7TSr8mR6rlr8Jwbaujw/s200/IMG_2661.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334172566653139858" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMa-M4YWffImwjhQ-o0Idp9G6iCnHUdykVmAhyztIyxsPQ3XFWGNGBebjETCKMgreoPWPDdLBeFiQbAH3PzUpkoku_ghXAIXVL-YDkcDlqyX6LtUDFHJTLcfv7jQVA2s2etcyx1lXecw/s1600-h/IMG_2453.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMa-M4YWffImwjhQ-o0Idp9G6iCnHUdykVmAhyztIyxsPQ3XFWGNGBebjETCKMgreoPWPDdLBeFiQbAH3PzUpkoku_ghXAIXVL-YDkcDlqyX6LtUDFHJTLcfv7jQVA2s2etcyx1lXecw/s200/IMG_2453.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334172565381653298" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuv2UR2vWb9Ai_1uuDIMLSwoFCHSaltX3wmBYtFJLbJ9iwMhhHulvXcer2dZG2oz-fgE6lCf_ELc7unjZnz8ukWOFJhnxZUbAxTrZ5KY-PMEra2OW0jgGtZBMKkQ2pFsw_9hGKFZ0x1Q/s1600-h/IMG_2408.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuv2UR2vWb9Ai_1uuDIMLSwoFCHSaltX3wmBYtFJLbJ9iwMhhHulvXcer2dZG2oz-fgE6lCf_ELc7unjZnz8ukWOFJhnxZUbAxTrZ5KY-PMEra2OW0jgGtZBMKkQ2pFsw_9hGKFZ0x1Q/s200/IMG_2408.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334172563717931442" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8VEre_6F0IwVRrU8RL4RmB0IeNGHcu5mjXnjpzMiB0D5ZD-Hylis3NWIFHLUAK6b0uHAY-voAGqPMSZuAxLEiYk1EqYwxTEma0PCYMYprqgR9bUuqcsEVOnFhC2vOguo6Fs8QsvJDfg/s1600-h/IMG_2106.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8VEre_6F0IwVRrU8RL4RmB0IeNGHcu5mjXnjpzMiB0D5ZD-Hylis3NWIFHLUAK6b0uHAY-voAGqPMSZuAxLEiYk1EqYwxTEma0PCYMYprqgR9bUuqcsEVOnFhC2vOguo6Fs8QsvJDfg/s200/IMG_2106.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334172558691179714" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahUnnJ_mdcFHd6NDe4mBkhwhcB_AaolnUWVH3xKcT9ui0Vl4CAvw56l4c_aeYT7RO35t4_HSIHR4bg5AY1yQW4tSgh2OuDhGKLL4hzxSwt3GYaHQGHFfrISRpQL89bYJOcfiUHB6Q2g/s1600-h/IMG_0193.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahUnnJ_mdcFHd6NDe4mBkhwhcB_AaolnUWVH3xKcT9ui0Vl4CAvw56l4c_aeYT7RO35t4_HSIHR4bg5AY1yQW4tSgh2OuDhGKLL4hzxSwt3GYaHQGHFfrISRpQL89bYJOcfiUHB6Q2g/s200/IMG_0193.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334172201044609938" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs81sHqrhDucq3RB1R0AcAW4Qq2FFg3Sk-60vhByyvIL2A5iaDCF8dsrqppOypjOCyHXxOZkzGulDj2KFF2pqwKH-4pHYpAl3ea0pQ12bVgNhdSMMvCjkHrlgdehof9TuX73EqjAR1Ew/s1600-h/IMG_0162.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs81sHqrhDucq3RB1R0AcAW4Qq2FFg3Sk-60vhByyvIL2A5iaDCF8dsrqppOypjOCyHXxOZkzGulDj2KFF2pqwKH-4pHYpAl3ea0pQ12bVgNhdSMMvCjkHrlgdehof9TuX73EqjAR1Ew/s200/IMG_0162.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334172190940677842" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSINAT4aJoj14m7n9PQxFXmIZuJ3QxnJdEXYD1KoXwfjXwuG1OYE5n98y5K79pWPXKAnZAuQ1D4z95oG46ONuVMiUOHqlazOnJ-gVjcSWq1J54KPADFHMFjuxL_G_-PYoEzIQSQrotQQ/s1600-h/IMG_0160.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSINAT4aJoj14m7n9PQxFXmIZuJ3QxnJdEXYD1KoXwfjXwuG1OYE5n98y5K79pWPXKAnZAuQ1D4z95oG46ONuVMiUOHqlazOnJ-gVjcSWq1J54KPADFHMFjuxL_G_-PYoEzIQSQrotQQ/s200/IMG_0160.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334172189055421266" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoSgK850mYezgafna1JYx7_4mifthI2ZIdx09yLYCnFttwGDaUz4xzkKEOr9PT6SXvfX1cPolt63-dpp1PsI6LK9pabHrjzmrzdi8ZJrrd3bC7YwZumNAiNvKNjO6WiVdWhlYMGNTxg/s1600-h/IMG_4812.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWoSgK850mYezgafna1JYx7_4mifthI2ZIdx09yLYCnFttwGDaUz4xzkKEOr9PT6SXvfX1cPolt63-dpp1PsI6LK9pabHrjzmrzdi8ZJrrd3bC7YwZumNAiNvKNjO6WiVdWhlYMGNTxg/s200/IMG_4812.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334172182004060994" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />My kids have the best mom in the world. I'm convinced of that. Having 4 kids (some would argue 5 including me) is a challenge in an of itself...especially since those 4 kids are packed close together from ages 7-2. On top of this, this past year has stretched Jen in unbelievable ways, as she is the one primarily tasked with caring for Sarah during the day. This job is physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausting. Life has changed for us, but what I really appreciate about Jen is the way she is able to continue caring for the other kids as well. Jen has a great relationship with each of her 4 children, and each one loves their momma in a unique way. Its pretty cool to see, and its a sign of her love for them.<br /><br />Babe, thanks for being the best mom in the world to our kids! I love you so much, and I know the kids do as well!<br /><br />DaveJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-53545968762836487492009-05-01T06:18:00.001-05:002009-05-01T06:20:19.496-05:00One more thing...One thing that we should have added to the last post was the good news we received from the doctor. He feels that since Sarah has been cancer free for a year now, we can stop having regular MRI's. We are grateful to God for this good news!Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-41607829921896497112009-04-30T19:09:00.002-05:002009-04-30T19:12:29.631-05:00Update<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_zEBPhXfib5Qa-qGBBS-tpG4hIV8zbcwDTPoyJY7dTABkB6YqcHRjwsR3FWifGhTJPRmt0dTYYYc8Z-qn8bR0Y-wXnaaA7yd4G9g_71M60vHMDTj7KgwAO7k6l3K6ktB1Kizz3VRjw/s1600-h/IMG_5294.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_zEBPhXfib5Qa-qGBBS-tpG4hIV8zbcwDTPoyJY7dTABkB6YqcHRjwsR3FWifGhTJPRmt0dTYYYc8Z-qn8bR0Y-wXnaaA7yd4G9g_71M60vHMDTj7KgwAO7k6l3K6ktB1Kizz3VRjw/s200/IMG_5294.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330641622881670962" /></a><br />Here is an email that Dave sent to the pastoral team the other day. Just wanted to fill the rest of you in.....<br /><br />I haven’t updated you all in a while about Sarah’s progress, partly because there hasn’t been a lot to update on. However, there have been some recent developments that I want to bring you all up on.<br /><br />At Sarah’s last IVIG Hopkins treatment (Intravenous immune globulin – 1x/mo), Sarah’s primary oncology doctor came to see her and was not happy with Sarah’s lack of progress in battling the effects of Opsoclonus-Myoclonus-Ataxia (OMA) as seen in her muscle coordination, walking, speech, etc. He asked us to consider a more aggressive protocol for treatment, pretty much going back to the way things were right after her surgery. Jen and I are in faith for this, and we hope this brings some good results for Sarah.<br /><br />So, in addition to the IVIG, Sarah will now get a port-administered weekly dose of Rituximab every Wednesday for the next month. In addition, Sarah will be getting a 5 day pulse of oral steroids to try to jump start her body in overcoming some of the negative side effects. She will then have to begin the oral meds to counteract the effects of the steroids as well.<br /><br />Last time we did this, the effect was noticeable on Sarah. She will be at Hopkins for all day infusions 5x over the next month, and the steroids also really affect her behavior and mood swings.<br /><br />In addition, we learned something else. As a result of the location of the tumor, and the surgery to remove it, Sarah has something called Horner syndrome. It isn’t really serious or life threatening, it more just explains the symptoms we see in Sarah. The tumor (and surgery) caused a break in her sympathetic chain ganglia, which are nerves that connect the sympathetic nervous system to the head and the arm. The result is nerve loss input from the sympathetic ganglia. The result of this break is that Sarah’s pupil on one side is smaller than the other, her eyelid is lower on one side as well, the temperature on one side of her body is different than the other side (resulting in a flushed face), and poor circulation on her left side resulting in a cold left hand and a warm right hand. In addition, as a result of Horner syndrome, Sarah has two different colored eyes (which I’ve noticed before but never understood why) because the left side of this nerve system effected the pigmentation of her left eye. Its all pretty fascinating stuff really...we learned all this and Jen’s response was “wow, God is so amazing in how he made the human body!” Horner syndrome isn’t anything to be really alarmed by, it just more explains the symptoms we are seeing.<br /><br />The plan is to begin these treatments in the next week. We will start the steroids as soon as we get the prescription, and Jen will take Sarah to Hopkins on May 13th for her 1st (of 4) Rituximab treatments. We’d love your prayers for Sarah and for Jen. We pray these drugs help Sarah in overcoming the effects of OMA. Please also be praying for Jen, as spending 8-10 hrs in a children’s cancer ward, holding your daughter the whole time, can be pretty exhausting.<br /><br />Thanks for your continued support of our family. Jen and I are doing well in our souls, trusting God for the step that is right in front of us.<br /><br />DaveJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970819155517939287.post-27739343855498043332009-04-27T19:51:00.002-05:002009-04-27T20:14:00.310-05:00Port to Fort<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg959Nu10HvmDQ80ZhYfDVczQFtMJsH3kTuAcd3fI8xF2CDlV6fto1SgHWOH3gDGOTULxzPI-X798I2DoC0q-mvenKB3c4aDuNRINRH5Ol1_hovEgbXTuG14xyY4hnvCWo_e0FcMx3dVg/s1600-h/IMG_5334.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg959Nu10HvmDQ80ZhYfDVczQFtMJsH3kTuAcd3fI8xF2CDlV6fto1SgHWOH3gDGOTULxzPI-X798I2DoC0q-mvenKB3c4aDuNRINRH5Ol1_hovEgbXTuG14xyY4hnvCWo_e0FcMx3dVg/s320/IMG_5334.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329538847912389778" /></a><br /><br />Yesterday was the Believe in Tomorrow's Port to Fort 6K. We had been fundraising and getting our team together for months. We ended up having about 30 people on our team and being the top fundraising team! We also had "team" shirts made that said Sarah's Brew Crew. Thanks to everyone who supported us by either giving money, walking with us, or just cheering us on! We had such a great time. We definitely want to make this a yearly tradition. We are so grateful to be able to give back to this wonderful organization. Check out the newlsetter from last month. They interviewed Dave for a <a id="link" href="http://www.believeintomorrow.org/enews.html#spotlight_respite"> little story</a>.Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676006952546745267noreply@blogger.com1