Seriously...

Before I begin complaining about how horrible our evenings have been trying to adjust to the whole no nap in Kindergarten dilemma...I mean really, who knew a 1 hour nap could make that big of a difference...there is something much more important I must share. Paige, our fellow Leukemia fighter, had a routine bone marrow aspiration today and it came back with 40% blasts in her bone marrow. Meaning, she has relapsed for the 2nd time...from what we know, the plan is to get her back into remission and then do another stem cell transplant. Please send them all the prayers, good vibes & thoughts you can muster up to give them all the strength to fight this beast once again. Paige is a fighter, so we know she will have no problem kicking cancer's booty once again...3rd times a charm, right?!!!You think she's beautiful here...you should see those eyes in person!

Things here are trucking right along. Riley is adjusting to her new school schedule, slowly but surely. Our evenings prove to be tough with the combination of steroids and pure exhaustion...but we seem to manage. You know what - I truly feel like I have no right to complain about any of these trivial things right now, so we'll just leave it at that. Please keep the prayers coming for Riley, Paige, and all the other cancer cuties still fighting their battles. Cancer Sucks!!

First day of Kindergarten!!

Today was Riley's first day of Kindergarten, and she LOVED it!! She has been dreading it, and saying that she wasn't going...but once this morning got here, the excitement of it all changed her mind. We knew it would! Daddy took her for her first day, which saved this Mommy from having a minor mental breakdown...I'm still a little bit in denial that my daughter is old enough to be going to Kindergarten. It's all downhill from here!

After lunch, I picked Riley up for our monthly trip to Houston for her chemo and check-up. Her counts did come up, which was surprising to me since she is now battling one of those lovely summer colds. Her white count was 6,000 and her ANC was 3,000...amazing! We are currently waiting for her chemo, which they will give thru her port, and then we will go and brave the Houston traffic to head home. They gave the OK to start her home chemo meds back up after this 2 week break, due to low counts...but want us to wait a few days to let this cold run its course.

Thanks for all the prayers and good vibes during the scary days of neutropenia...luckily we made it through with our freedom still intact!! Now if we can just survive the week of steroids, along with the added extra fun of no naps in Kindergarten...should be fun for all!!!! Wish us luck!!

Update on counts

Riley had her blood rechecked today, and they are still low. Her ANC, however, has gone up from 40 to 108...so there is some progress. I won't lie, it makes me super nervous when her counts are all out of whack...but the Leukemia nurses assured me this is normal. Being that they are WAY more educated in this field than myself, I have no choice but to believe them. She acts and feels great, so they believe it is just some bug or her bone marrow has decided to be stubborn. We will go to clinic next week Monday to have them checked again, along with her monthly doctor visit. Next Monday is also her first day of Kindergarten, and being that her class will be small (there's a total of 8 kids that will be in her class...that is just crazy to me, coming from a graduating class of over 300 people) they gave the OK for her to go in the morning before heading to clinic.


So, once again please wish us luck in surviving the week...any sign of fever, and our winning streak will be gone!!!

Play time

I got a new camera about a month ago, and haven't really had time to sit down and figure all the settings out. Everything I have read says to be patient and take lots of pictures, and you will eventually end up with more good ones than bad. Last night I finally had a chance to sit down and experiment, and Hayden was my only willing participant. So, here's what we came out with. The silly little man figured out how to get the end of our "outside" broom off, and started filling it up with rocks...he thought it was the best thing ever. Eventually Riley got jealous and wanted to be in some, so there are a few of her also...

**UPDATE--we had Riley's counts checked today and I just heard back from the nurses...she is very neutropenic, meaning very susceptible to catching any type of bug. Her ANC, which should be over 500, is 40. Please join me and cross your fingers and toes, that she stays well until her counts come back up...any sign of fever over 101.7, and we are off to TCH. Ugh...

Frio Fun!

This past weekend we went with some friends and their family to the Frio River, and had a fun and relaxing time. In fact, we were busy having so much fun that I didn't get the chance to take many pictures. Here are the few I did take, though...

Rynna and Riley...cuties!

Cheers!!

They were trying to "freeze" Keith with their cold coke cans...

Hayden, Amy & Rylyn...Amy was Hayden's buddy, so she got an earful all weekend!

Sometimes, boring is good!

Sorry for the lack of updates, but there has been absolutely nothing worth writing about. Which in Riley's case, is a very good thing. We have been staying busy and going all over the place...last night we were finally able to spend an evening at home, which hasn't happened in a long while. But we are not complaining!! Riley starts Kindergarten on the 24th, so she is soaking up the last few days of her summer vacation. Can you believe it's already August?!

I did put pictures from Riley's birthday party up on our picasa web page, the link is over on the right. We had a small party at the place where Riley takes gymnastics...all the kids had a great time, and even some of the grown ups did too!!

Have a great weekend!!!