Highlight Reels

It's been a tough week around here.  Carter is still struggling to beat this sinus infection.  The low energy, headaches, nighttime fever, and all night cough bought us a trip to the pediatrician.  They were wonderful and went out of their way to protect Julia while we were there.  I was actually really excited about talking to adults :) He does indeed have a nasty infection (fortunately those aren't contagious) and is now on zithromax.  We are very grateful for the cough medicine with codeine.  He was coughing all night long and no one was getting any sleep.  Now he is able to sleep in 6 hour increments before he needs more.  Hopefully he will turn the corner soon.

Julia continues to struggle this week.  It has really caught us all off guard how rough this last round has been on her.  It has by far been one of her worst.  She is still struggling with nausea and vomiting and is dependent on the zofran. She has sores in her mouth, digestive tract issues, and pain.  Several times during the day she just cries.  Fortunately she usually settles down as long as I lay and hold her.  It is so hard to watch her suffer.  She is still waking around 5am from the pain and nausea.  Carter has been so sweet with her.  They seem to have their own little language and play routines they go trough every day.  He is bringing her a level of joy and comfort that only a brother can.  He's been helping me put her to bed and always tells me he just needs to stay with her.  He's so attentive- setting up her bed, arranging her things- it touches my heart so deeply.

So all that said, we are all feeling sleep-deprived around here.  The past 3 nights Billy and I have been up pretty much all night, with someone, and our days start before the sun.  It has made me realize just how dependent we are on how we feel each day.  How often to we respond to our kids out of exhaustion, frustration, illness, and stress? I want to give them my best in each moment and be understanding.  I feel so bad for Julia.  It makes me feel so guilty at times.  She is the one going through chemo after all, but its tough when you're running on empty and there's no gas station in sight.  There are no quick fixes.  So its a moment by moment effort and lots of prayer.  We do the best we can with what we've got.

There has been some happy fun in the past few days.  So here's our highlight reel...

Julia and Daddy made up a fun game with tennis balls (something like marbles)...

She thought it would be fun to play with Carter.  Well, not so much.  You see Carter watches too many sports.  He has built a play review station on the couch with blankets and pillows (complete with headphones).  When you play a game with him, he constantly runs to the booth to review the play and challenge the call.

Carter, you are a nut!! If playing sports doesn't work out, he has a future in referreeing or commentating.  (At least his has a Plan B.)



I had started doing music class with our playgroup last year and decided that would be the perfect outlet and distraction.  I still have all the supplies handy and the playlists on the ipod, so we had our own music class.  They really had fun.  Here they are pretending to be birds...

I also got out the handbells.  This is a passion of mine.  I was in handbell choirs in middle school, high school, and college.  I did solo ringing in college and then went on to teach youth choirs and camps.  It is something I really miss doing and it was such fun to pass on that experience.  Carter actually learned to play 3 songs!

 

..and Julia was doing it, too.

 

Today we went to the farmer's market for some fresh fall produce.  We were greeted by such a wealth of colors, it actually took my breath away.  Did you know peppers come in purple? I had no idea!

 

The kids were most excited about hugs from dear friends...

 

Priceless.

 

So we've made it through another week on this cancer road.  It has definitely been filled with high-highs and low-lows, but in the end all is well.  We have had some really tender moments between each of us.  (And Julia ate 3 pieces of pizza tonight! Pizza continues to be her chemo food of choice.) We hug a little tighter, linger a little longer, sing one more song, and just soak it all in.  Life is a precious, precious gift- even when it's messy.

The kids finished off the night with some ice cream.

Now they are happily off to dreamland and we are hopeful that tonight we may finally sleep...

 

Carter is so excited to be sleeping in his tent.  On Friday nights they can sleep somewhere fun if they want.  We started this a few weeks ago while Daddy was traveling and they were begging to sleep on the couch.  I finally gave in because it doesn't really matter when you think about it.  I tucked them in and told them they needed to go right to sleep... and they did.  I was shocked.  No talking or anything.  So the privilege remains.  And Carter is sleeping soundly in his tent...