Some Oldies but Goodies

Elizabeth was learning to use the stethascope on her Boo.

I can't believe how young she looks! Crazy how time goes by!

Elizabeth and her four legged cousin Lucy. :) Remember when she wouldn't come out of the cage Sarah? Funny girl!

Trip to the Aquarium

Elizabeth was so proud of herself when she found this bench. She was running away from mommy but got out of trouble because she looked so cute! UGH.

Dancing on Free Willy!

My little eightlegged Elizabeth

I'm not sure if she enjoyed climbing the rocks or touching the star fish more. But she loved it. When she ran away we always found her at the rocks.

Yuanhan, xu

Our little friend Henry from China wrote out their name in Chinese for us. Don't remember how to pronounce it but that's what it would look like. This picture was taken a year ago today.

More Birthday Pics

Some birthday presents...a John Deere Blanket from G&G Miner, some clothes from Granny Annie and a few very noisy toys from Mom...what was Ithinking!

Elizabeth really really enjoyed the frosting!

Andrew and Isaiah had just as much fun eating their cupcakes I guess!! :) They are the sweetest little boys!

Birthday Party!

We had some cupcakes with a few of our friends at the RonDon. The Boys are Andrew(Henry's right), Isaiah (0n the left), and the other Henry who is from China. They are the sweetest boys ever! Henry definately loved the cupcakes. After he smooshed his and got most the frosting he went after Isaiah's and Andrew's. :) Elizabeth also did a great job of licking the cupcakes clean of frosting, they looked like fresh baked cupcakes again. I believe Henry downed three cupcakes... not sure lost count! Such fun!

One Year!!!!!!

At 1:17am Henry celebrated his one year mark!!!! Look how much he's grown!!!! He was beautiful then and he's so cute and handsome now! I'm so excited he's one year old! We keep wishing him many many more. I think we're going to the Zoo or the Aquarium. And making cupcakes can't wait!!!!

Sharing

Henry's new trick is to share with Mommy, whatever he's eating he puts his hand out like that and then when I reach for it, he quickly puts it back into his mouth! I think he learned that from his big sister. But it makes him laugh and I love it.

Playing with Mommy

Elizabeth loves to slide down my legs, or she sits on my foot and I'm suppose to lift her higher...she slides off at the top and falls to the floor as you can tell she loves it. We played for quite a while.. good leg work out.. not really... just hurts the knees. But that's alright. We had a good time. She loves to have mommy play with her. The other day I was starting to do something and she walked up to me and said "mommy want to play with me?" I couldn't resist whatever it was wasn't as important. I've been able to spend more time with Elizabeth and that's good for both of us.. she brightens any mood. I love my Elizabeth!

Not Always Sleeping

First one is a snack break and then back to playing. I had to put some pics on here that showed my kids still alive. :) I mean that most of my pics of them together are always pics of them sleeping. So I wanted to show some of them playing. The little brown table was made for Henry by one of the Volunteers through the Occupational Therapy clinic. It helps him reach his toys and play with out having to lean over and hurt his back more. And the ladies at the front desk at the RonDon told us to go through the toy room so we could find some toys for Henry that would help with his therapy. We did and found some great things for him. He loves the tin barn. And so does Elizabeth. We saved a few for his birthday but he's really enjoyed them.

So Beautiful!

I can't believe how old she looks some times! And how fast she is growing. No one believes me when I tell them she's only 2 and a half. What a sweet heart. The second pictures shows her friend Dora. We went to DI for my birthday shopping spree and found Dora in the stuffed animal section and she wouldn't part with her. She doesn't play with her at all really but oh well. She helped Dora put on some of mommy's chapstick. And yesterday while mom and I were talking on the phone Elizabeth was playing with her three teddy bears. They were hugging and playing and then mommy showed her how to have a tea party and she loved that idea too. She's so great at entertaining herself sometimes its adorable to watch.

St Patricks Day

Getting ready for St. Patty's Day. They always have the greatest cookies here. Henry was really loving them too. He's too cute. He gets so excited to look on top of the TV for more treats... that's where our box of goodies is stored. Too cute to resist. He thoroughly enjoyed his cookie.

So Serious

Little man Henry can be so serious. He grabbed onto my book and wouldn't let it go. He must also like mystery books. Such a cute little guy. At the last visit Henry weighed 8.11kg. YEAH! He gained weight. I know doesn't seem like much going from 8.02 to 8.11 but it's a big deal for me at least. He'll have the NG tube in until he reaches 9.5 kg. Last night he was acting like a typical little boy, throwing everything he could reach and getting into everything. It was so fun! I haven't seen Henry act like this in a long time. He even smiled at the Doctors yesterday which was great. Today we're in the clinic again getting blood and platelets. The Chemo dropped his platelets down to 14.. which is really low. They usually transfuse at 11 but since he got chemo yesterday they went ahead and transfused. Even though the chemo dropped his counts they are continuing with treatment because the vinblastine and 6mp keep his LCH under control. His body really responds well to the chemo which is great. So they gave him a few ml less than his normal dose so it wouldn't obliterate his numbers. His body is fighting hard! He got rid of a virus on his own, and has been able to get his numbers more stable which is great!
I think the one thing that helps me from breaking down constantly is witnessing other families and young ones go through so much more. One of the girls we met here recently is going through 5 different chemo's and another family is going through a clinical trial that may or may not work, it's their last attempt to fight the disease. So much sadness, and yet most of the kids are still so happy. And to see Henry especially start to grow and react to things around him and act like a "normal" kid sometimes is all I need for a boost. He's enduring this so much better than I am, and he's the one going through it. Funny how that works sometimes. It's all about perspective.
Reading in my journal from a few months ago, I found a scripture I had written down in Mosiah 3:19 about being meek and submissive, willing to submit ourselves to everything that the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon us. In my journal I wrote in parentheses "like contaminated water." The biggest thing I had to deal with at that point in my life was contaminated water. If only that was all. The Lord has a plan for each of us and we don't always know what's in store but he prepares us for it, I have always been able to look back and understand why things happened the way they did. What a great blessing the gospel is! To know the purpose of life and to know that the Lord is always watching over us and guiding us and helping us through. What peace it has blessed me with to know that this life isn't the end. No matter what happens to us in this life, we can be sealed to our families and be together for eternity.
Thank you for all the prayers and support. May the Lord bless and enrich your lives for your kindness and love.

Ronald McDonald's Back!

So I don't have any good pics of the event, but we had a big celebration at the RonDon welcoming the statue back. A family donated the statue so the driver and crew from the race boat pictured above, came and a ton of clowns. One of them gave Elizabeth this ring. She didn't really care for it. She was enjoying the loads of cookies. She did get to climb into the race boat, and enjoyed climbing up but didn't like sitting in the boat. They asked me if I wanted to I said no thank you! Too small for big me. But it was really fun. The other exciting part of the celebration was being interviewed. The radio station interviewed me and so did the News station. However, the RonDon was doing a test of the Generator, and the power went out at 9pm. Right before the news, so I didn't get to see it. We're still searching the internet for a clip. Oh well.

Fishing for Rocks

I love this pic and the way the water sparkles. Elizabeth was having so much fun in the water. First she would load up her bucket with rocks and then get as close to the water as she coud, and dump the rocks in. Then she was trying to fill up the bucket with water with out getting wet. It was cute. Finally she found this stick and started fishing around in the water for rocks. Can't wait till the water is warm enough to play in. :) Summer's coming!!

Runaway!

A little carried away with getting a cute picture! LOL

Just kidding.. the stollers brakes were on, we just thought it would be a funny pic. :)

Bird Friends

Elizabeth was so excited to see the Ducks. They are not afraid of people at all... so she walked up to them and wanted to play. They were smart and walked away! :)

Day at the Beach

Yesterday was beautiful! The sun was shinning and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! We went to Magnuson Park for a few hours to play. Elizabeth was so excited to collect things in her bucket, mostly just rocks.

Play Time

Elizabeth loves to show Henry how to use his toys, and always wants to have what Henry is playing with. Greener pastures! :) But she's such a good big sister. She was telling Henry the other day that he was her friend and she really liked him. It was so sweet.

Baby Steps

We had our Doctor visit today, Henry has dropped weight again. I thought for sure that he was gaining weight and it hit me pretty hard. It seems like such a small thing I know, it just kind of took me off guard. I wasn't mentally or emotionally prepared to have him lose weight. They are worried that he's failing to thrive. Which I would understand except that yesterday we were playing and he was laughing. He was smiling and we got his table today, for him to put his toys on and play. It helps him stay sitting up right so he doesn't damage his back any more. He really just enjoys throwing toys off of it, but still likes it.
Sometimes when we go through trials we think the big things feel like a roller coaster, when really it's the small ups and downs and the twists that catch you off guard that are really harder to handle. If that makes any sense.
On the plus side Henry is responding really well with the Vinblastine. His rash is getting better, and his organs are shrinking again. So that's a good sign. I usually do well at focusing on the good things that he's doing and the small steps forward, but today I wasn't prepared for bad news. Like a punch to the stomach when you're not looking. Really if you saw him you wouldn't think he was sick, minus the tube in his nose... We're making progress it's just slower than we hope.
Mom and I have been doing research on LCH and specialists in the US. Turns out there are only 4. One of them is at Vanderbilt Children's in Tenessee, not sure where the other ones are but we're working with the Histiocytosis Foundation to get some more answers. More information on LCH if we can. We'll let you all know what we find out.
Thanks to all of you that keep Henry in your prayers, we really appreciate it. And I pray that the Lord will bless your lives for your love and support.

Henry's Back!

The last few weeks have been kind of a low for Henry. Once we figured out the allergy thing, and got him on a good formula and got his nausea under control he is smiling and happy and active Henry again! I pray frequently that Henry will be able to over come all the small stuff that bothers his body so that he can just focus on fighting the big disease. However, I do believe that sometimes the small things help us and the Doctors to better understand the big problems. Yet through it all Henry always has a smile! What a trooper! He took a bath yesterday and was actually happy and splashing around. He hasn't done that in months!! I was so excited I took video of it... don't worry only showed his face and arms. :) I am thinking that since he won't do any weight bearing on his legs that getting him into the pool will help him strengthen his arms and legs. He loves to splash and thinks it's really funny to splash Granny and Mommy.

We went to Costco yesterday and found a really cute pj for Henry, it's size 9months, but he fits it. He is gaining weight though and growing. It's hard sometimes to believe that he's gonna be one. He acts and moves more like a 6 month old. But at least there is progress.

Tomorrow we have to do another blood test to see if he has the CMV virus still. His body hasn't shown any of the symptoms of the virus but it's still there. So they are thinking that his body has been doing a good job of fighting it off, and are hoping it's gone so they don't have to treat him. The antibiotic or treatment for CMV is a lot like the RSV he had before, and it really knocks his counts out. So we're praying for the virus to be gone. We'll keep you updated. HUGS!

Daddy Daughter time

Elizabeth was soooo excited to see her daddy! She wouldn't leave his side when he got here. He wanted to go get his pj's on and Elizabeth followed him to the bathroom. Joel told her he had to go to the bathroom and she wanted to go with him. It was so cute. Then they cuddled all night every night. She loves her Daddy sooo much! Vivian, one of the ladies that works here, asked Elizabeth tonight where her daddy went, she said Alaska. With out my telling her. I only told her that Daddy had to go home to work. Pretty smart girl.

Henry had a rough day today, seemed to be in a bit of pain and nothing was making him feel better. But this evening he's feeling much better and happier. He was pulling himself out of the stroller, well trying to get out on his own it was a bit scary. He hasn't thrown up at all today which is great. Hopefully he'll start gaining weight quickly. He's already up to 8.24 kg. He needs to be at 9.5kg for them to take the NG tube out, not sure if they will at that point but we'll see. I'm afraid he won't want to eat anymore. However, he is enjoying a cookie right now.

Henry has his favorite blanket and two pacifires whenever he's grumpy. He loves that blanket, and he gets so excited when it comes out of the wash all clean. Such a cute boy.

Mom was doing some research about LCH and found a study done in Sydney, that says fractures in the bone are common and that they heal on their own. But because of the fractures they stop putting pressure on their legs. So while we've been worried about his loss of strength and mobility. With LCH it may be natural. The study also said something about five year prognosis... I don't think we'll be here for five years.. but you never know. The Lord has blessed us so much and Henry was given a blessing that said he would over come this disease and he would grow to be a young man, and serve a mission. I have faith that the promise will be fulfilled, whether it's in this life or the next. I'm holding out faith that it's this life. That we will see him grow and serve the Lord and teach others about the gospel. What a great blessing that would be. He so tender hearted, and sensative. I have to be careful how I talk to him, because if I raise my voice at all it makes him cry. :) I can't tease him either. But he's doing well, he's a fighter.

We all miss Daddy! Wish he could stay with us. Thanks for feeding him Laci! You're the greatest! Much love to all our friends and family.