The results are in...

...and they are GOOD! Last Wednesday, the 23rd, was Riley's final bone marrow aspiration and spinal tap...and Monday evening we got the call that everything was free and clear of any cancer cells!!!!!!!!! Hallelujah! Not that there was any indication that they may find something, but there's always that nagging feeling in the back of your mind. So, Miss Riley is officially considered Off Treatment!! I don't think I could use enough exclamation marks to display to you the joy our family is feeling. We could not be any prouder of our brave little princess...she kicked Cancer's boo-tay and came out smiling!!!!

This is Dana, one of the many awesome Child Life Specialists employed by the Cancer Clinic. She knows every child by name, and is always so happy and energetic. Dana surprised Riley with some toys and a banner to celebrate her Off Treatment visit, and Riley was of course in Heaven to be the center of attention.

This was Riley's banner...Dr. Dreyer and some of our favorite nurses signed it with special messages for our Princess.

Our little survivor!!

While it does feel great for Riley to be finished with all of her medicine, I must admit it's also a little scary. I wasn't sure how her body would react going full force, to nothing...cold turkey. Dr. Dreyer assured me she would be just fine, and she has. It's like the last 2 years never even existed...just a figment of our imagination. And it's only been a week!!

Riley will still return to Houston once a month for the next year, for blood counts and a check-up. Then the next year we'll go every 3 months, then the next year we'll go every ?? months...I honestly can't remember what they told me after the 3 month thing. But I do remember that after 5 years of being off treatment, she will get to start visiting the Long-term survivor clinic instead of the Cancer Clinic. What a milestone that will be!!

Remember me telling you about Kevin Kline, the guy running from Dallas to Houston in less than 2 weeks. Well last night he spent the night in Hallettsville...how crazy is that?! What's even crazier is the he stopped in Blase's Place, a little family owned grocery store/beer joint, that is less than 2 miles from our house. What's a little crazier for me, is that I have become so familiar with the route Kevin will be running to get to Houston from our little spot on the earth. It's a drive I could do with my eyes closed. It's a drive that takes us almost 2 hours, from our door to the door of Texas Children's Hospital. And Kevin is going to be running that exact same route in 2 days...kind of puts things into perspective. This man is enduring so much pain and exhaustion, just to raise money for Childhood Cancer. A disease that sadly does not get a lot of recognition. Everyone knows that Pink ribbons are for Breast cancer awareness, and hopefully by now many of you will recognize the Orange ribbons for Leukemia awareness...but do you know what the Gold ribbons are for? Childhood Cancer. Thankfully Riley ( and Paige!!) are survivors, but too many children are not.

Okay, I'm off my soap box. We hope all of you had a Very Merry Christmas, because we sure did. We had 4 days of non-stop celebrating, and a ton of pictures to prove it. I will be working on getting those up, so keep checking back!!

She's a big star...

Tonight Channel 2 news in Houston ran a story about Kevin Kline...and you can even catch a glimpse of our very own Riley-bee. Click here to check it out...Riley shows up around the 1:30 mark, don't blink or you may miss her! It's an amazing story, so go check it out.

Riley, Daddy and I are hanging out at the hotel tonight preparing for her final bone marrow aspirate and spinal tap in the morning. She will then be considered "off treatment"!!

Can.Not.Wait!!!!!

Ah-mazing!

Yesterday, this precious girl received her last intravenous chemo. Unbelievable! They won't technically classify her as "Off Treatment" until after her final bone marrow aspirate and spinal tap, which she will receive next Wednesday...but to us, we're as good as done!! Well, as long as we all survive the next 5 days of steroids.
We had a long, but fun day in clinic yesterday. Riley was able to write a story, with a little help from the author, that will be included in his next publishing...it's titled "Ode to Barbie". It turned out pretty darn cute...I wish I had thought to write it down, but naturally I didn't. She was also interviewed for a part in a documentary being made about Kevin Kline, a radio DJ out of Houston. Kevin started the Snowdrop Foundation, a wonderful organization that raises money for Texas Children's Cancer Center. This Sunday Kevin will begin a 481 mile ultra-marathon...he will be running from Dallas through Austin & San Antonio, ending at the steps of Texas Children's Hospital on January 1st. Yes, in 13 days he will run almost 500 miles...just to raise money for these kids. Ah-mazing! Check out Strides Across Texas if you want to learn more, or maybe even donate to the cause. Riley was even invited to run the last block with Kevin and other cancer cuties on the 1st...although, when Kevin asked her if she wanted to join him - she flat out told him NO. She finally agreed that maybe she would come and walk with him, but she wasn't going to run...like mother like daughter!!

This, my friends, is the woman to whom we owe the world. This is Dr. ZoAnn Dreyer, Riley's oncologist...an amazing and intelligent woman with a heart the size of Texas. She cares for all of her patients like they are her own children, and in turn they all look up to her and love her like she is their family. Love, love this woman!!

This is the moment we have long anticipated. This is Riley's final chemo being pushed into her port. It took a whole 10 seconds, but it very well may have been the best 10 seconds of our life. AH-MAZING!!

So, how did we celebrate this monumental occasion?

Why, with mani's and pedi's of course!! A perfect way to end a perfect day!!

The little ladies working the nail salon instantly fell in love with Riley. One of them kept sitting by her and holding her hand, telling her how cute she was. Can't really blame them...I'm a little partial to her myself!!

Jeepers creepers...

...where'd you get those peepers?!

These butterflies are her favorite part

Cutie Pie!!!

We are currently at the clinic in Houston waiting for our turn, and being entertained by a choir of carolers. Fun times!!

Can you believe...

that tomorrow is Riley's very last chemo treatment EVER!!!!!!

We are all very excited and beyond ready for this chapter of our lives to come to an end. But what about Riley, you may be asking...all she is worried about is missing the appointment to pick up her glasses. I don't think she really "gets" that her Journey is coming to an end...sadly, it has just become Life to her. Well, my dear princess...your life is about to become even better!!!!!

Do you floss?

Riley had her first visit to the dentist this week, and they did a great job of enforcing all the teeth brushing rules we have always harped on. For some reason it has a much greater impact coming from someone else. So, now we get to enjoy a lesson in flossing every morning and night from Riley...hopefully a habit that will last forever!

Dewberry Farms

I am way behind on posting pictures from many of our recent outings, but better late than never!
Almost a month ago the kids and I met up with some friends at Dewberry Farms in Waller. This was our second year to meet there, and we always have so much fun...we are already looking forward to next year!! The weather was a little iffy on the day we went, but luckily the rain held off allowing the kids to explore and play.

Riley and Hayden at the top of the Fort

Riley, Addison, and Avery riding the train

Hayden and Avery bouncing on the giant "pillow"

The crew - Avery, Dawson, Riley, Hayden, & Addison

Time for a hayride!!

Hayden driving the Cool Bus!

4 eyes are better than 2!!

Last week it was suggested to me, by Riley's school nurse (also known as Aunt Carol), to make her an eye appointment. Carol does just the basic exam to check their eyes, and Riley did not fare too well...which is no surprise to me being that I am close to legally blind without my contacts or glasses. Yesterday was the big day, and wouldn't you know - Riley needs glasses! According to Josh, she was a little hesitant at first...but once the nurse walked her into the room to pick out her glasses, she quickly changed her mind. She is now the proud owner of her very own pair of pink glasses, complete with butterflies and all. They will take a week or so to come in, but rest assured I will take plenty of pics to share with you all...she really does look adorable in them. She calls them her "reading" glasses, because both Nana and Nani have a pair of "cheaters" that the kids like to wear as reading glasses, but she will need to wear them all the time. Fun times ahead, people...fun times!!
In addition to all of that fun - she then came to get her blood checked, and was finally able to get her flu shots...which she was not too happy about. She received both the seasonal and the H1N1, so I'm sure you can only imagine the drama. Which is funny to me, because the girl can handle the needle stick needed for her blood draws like a seasoned professional...so you would think she would do fine with shots. But, oh no, apparently they are very different in her eyes. Either way, she survived and was even able to pick out a few surprises from our hospital's gift shop. And won't she be surprised when she has to return in a month for the 2nd installment of her H1N1 vaccine...like I said before - Fun times ahead, people!!

Bundle up and stay warm!! Pictures to come soon, I promise!!

T minus 1...

One more chemo visit, that is!! Friday was Riley's monthly clinic visit and chemo...and now she only has 1 more to go!! Very exciting!!

Fridays visit went well. All of her blood counts were good, and her ANC was a little high at 3,400. They would normally want to adjust the amount of her nightly chemo pill to adjust this, but given her history of her counts bottoming out when they try this...they decided to just leave well enough alone. We then had a chance to discuss what happens from here. Riley will have her normal clinic and chemo visit in 4 weeks...and then 5 days later we will return for her final spinal tap and bone marrow aspirate. Once we get the all clear on the bone marrow results, we can schedule the surgery to remove her port!! I was, however, under the impression that once we made it thru December's visit we would be able to take a little "vacation" from our monthly trips into the medical center...but I was wrong. She will still have monthly check ups and blood counts for the first year, and then every 3 months for the next year...and so on. But I'm okay with that, because there will be no more chemo and better yet - NO MORE STEROIDS!!!!! That, in itself, is reason to celebrate!!!

Happy Birthday Hayden!!

Today our sweet little cowboy turns 3 years old!! Even though we spend most of our days wishing your mouth had an off switch, we love your sense of humor and WE LOVE YOU!! Hope you enjoy your day, my sweet little man!!!!!

We even had a surprise appearance from Wedding Barbie Riley!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Today was Josh's birthday, and because he is SO good to us...he cooked us a fabulous dinner of fried chicken to celebrate. We love you, and hope you had a great birthday!! Thank you for being the best Daddy and husband we could EVER ask for.

We also want to say Thank you to all the Veterans out there. We appreciate all you do for us!!

Are you...?

• Are you ready to start Christmas shopping? Well, I may just be able to help. Starting Thursday (Nov. 12th) thru Sunday (Nov. 15th) Gap is having their Give & Get promotion...meaning you can download your coupon here and save 30% at any of the Gap stores - Gap, Gap Outlet, Banana Republic, or Old Navy (online or in-store). The best part is they will donate 5% of all sales to The Leukemia & Lymphona Society...well, there's actually a couple of charities you could choose from, but this is the one that happens to stand near and dear to my heart. So, happy shopping!!

• Are you registered to be a bone marrow donor? If not, please PLEASE consider joining the registry. It is SO easy to register, and you could possibly be saving someones life. There is an 18 year old young man, Jonathan, that I keep up with thru his carepage...he was diagnosed with AML (acute mylocytic leukemia) and recently relapsed. The original plan was to get him back into remission with chemo and do a bone marrow transplant. Everything was going as planned, until they were (and still are) unable to find a bone marrow match. The best the registry could come up with is a 50% match, and that is just not good enough. Jonathan is about to start another round of chemo, to keep the leukemia cells at bay while they continue the search...but it is only a matter of time before the leukemia cells become resistant to the chemo he is being given. You could be the match that could save Jonathan's life...so PLEASE consider doing this, if you haven't already. Just click here to learn all you need to know...BE THE MATCH!!

Halloween - part 2

After the party Saturday morning, we headed home for a much needed nap...and started the fun back over again!! In all honesty, I am so thankful Halloween is only a 1 day event...it's exhausting!!

Our first stop was to Ms. Vicki & Bob's house, which could have very easily been our last stop because their bags were already overflowing when we left!!

Then we went to see Granny & Grandaddy...where we stocked up on my personal favorite, swiss cake rolls!! Who needs candy when you can have Little Debbie...not me, that's for sure!!

Our little Sugar-loving Spider, checking out his goods...the boy loves all things sugar!!

Our next stop was the Fall Festival, where the kids played lots of games and won lots of prizes.

This was easily their favorite part of the festival...these kids love animals, especially puppies!!

Now, anyone have any ideas on whay my kids should be for Halloween next year? I seriously need to start working on it, or else it will be the night before like always. All suggestions welcome!!

Halloween - part 1

Halloween morning we got to go to a costume party for Dawson's birthday. There were a lot of fun games for the kids, and they all had a blast. It was a great way to kick off Halloween 2009!!

They had a train to ride

and, of course, there was cake!!

I think Brady likes the cake!!

The pretty little Mermaid, Avery.

Jackson was proud of his new rat toy

Hayden, Riley, Avery, Brady, Jackson & Dawson...the cutest little Motley Crew EVER!!

**Just for fun, here is the same little Motley Crew at my friend Loralyn's baby shower back in March of 2007...minus Brady - he was still just a twinkle in his mommy's eye!!

Avery, Hayden, Riley, Jackson & Dawson

I have always loved the way Dawson is looking at Riley in this picture...I would love to know what was going through his mind.

Once upon a time...

there was a flower,

a beautiful
and unique flower.

All of a sudden, she saw a spider...

"Aaahhh...a spider" the flower yelled.

A big,

scary looking spider!!

"don't worry, pretty flower..." said the spider

"I'm a nice spider!!"

And they all lived happily ever after!!!

**Just to clarify on the pumpkin carving story below...we used the good ol' $4 carving kit from Wal-Mart for the designs. I wish I were able to say that we free-handed those, but I would be lying!! The kits are well worth the $$, so be sure and try it for yourself next year!!