Family Easter Weekend

We have had a glorious weekend with the family in PA. This is one of my favorite things about spring, for so many reasons.

The kids love the time playing with their cousins. My parents' backyard is one of their favorite places in the world to be and it's easy to see why...

 Grandpa had four of them on the tire swing....

The centerpiece of the yard is its huge tree- any child's dream!

And not only is it perfect for climbing and swinging, it is also beautiful. Every spring it is completely covered in the most intricate pink blossoms...

On Saturday afternoon, the ladies had a very special appointment. My sister said, "Yes." to a very important question and that afternoon, she said "Yes." to the dress!We had a great time watching her try on dresses. She looked stunning in all of them, but found just the right one for their special day. Sorry, no sneak peeks till the big day.

Then it was time for the activities to begin. We have a project/craft/art loving crowd with these kiddos and this weekend was right up their alley. We started by decorating egg-shaped sugar cookies. Love the new Flavor Creations icing mixes- so yummy and beautiful colors!

Logan, working hard. I think his tongue knew what was coming...

Julia and her bunny creation...

Zach getting a taste test. "That's okay, right?!"

Two artists creating masterful stripes. Julia and Mammy (great grandma)...

Anderson, our resident Martha Stewart and master crafter, ready to eat his yummy creation...

Brooke enjoying one of her many pretty cookies...

Carter had dibs on the mint chocolate chip bowl...

After dinner and a full day of outside fun, we had the kids dye eggs. They were very serious about their endeavors and did a really good job on their own.

I love the egg spinner. We have used it ever since Carter was a toddler. (They still sell the same one.) It is so easy to use, just like a toy. It spins the egg to cover it in dye. We have never cracked an egg, no matter how enthusiastically we pump the spinner. And if you help with the process, they can actually come out with clean hands never having to touch the dye.

Sunday morning we were up bright and early. The kids loved the surprises in their Easter baskets.

Apparently when Mimi stayed with them a few weeks ago, she asked them what kind of surprise they might like for Easter and their answers were Star Wars costumes...

The one day a year when candy is an acceptable breakfast food...

The kids were all excited to be going to church together. Our family is growing and we now take up two pews! They all did great.

The service had a really good message about the hope and peace we can find in death in our own lives because of the hope offered at the cross. The power of the Easter message is never more real than when we find ourselves saying goodbye to someone we love or facing our own mortality. But it is not just there. The cross brings hope to suffering, injustice, human sin, failures, and to every seemingly hopeless, moment of despair. In all its mystery and impossibility, it brings the fullness of life when this world has nothing left to offer. Hallelujah, He is risen!!

Grandpa, Mimi, and their munchkins...

Beth and Erik with Anderson, Brooke, and Zach...

 

While we got everything ready for Easter dinner with our extended family, the kids decided to make tiaras and crowns...

Queen Amadala hard at work...

The royal court...

Some baseball practice out back...

Then it was time for another project- painting figurines....

Carter and Grandpa took a break to watch the Masters (Way to go, Bubba! We loved it! Here's a great article about his win and his faith)...

Julia checking out the lamb butter before we feast...

Uncle Mike carving the lamb...

A delicious feast- spinach salad, ham, roasted lamb, cranberry gastrique, brussel sprouts, scalloped potatoes, sweet potatoes, pineapple casserole, scalloped tomatoes, and homemade bread.

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And just in case you were still hungry after that, don't worry, we have dessert- homemade candy (dark chocolate covered coconut eggs and PB eggs), chocolate kahlua ganache cake, pineapple trifle, fruit streudel, PB balls,

fun marshmallow pops...

and these adorable pretzel candies...

The weather was beautiful all weekend and we had a fun afternoon together outside.  Nicole and Echo...

Kyle playing basketball with the kiddos...

The egg hunt is an annual tradition. This year the kids eggs were color coded. Each child was assigned a color and that had 20 eggs to search for. This works great because the hiders can tailor the difficulty to each one and no one feels the pressure to race.  Carter found himself up a tree retrieving a few of his...

Alex and Justin getting in on the fun...

Great Gramma K watching all the fun...

Looking back on this weekend the blessings just overflow... Julia's clean scans, Beth and Erik's engagement, our 10 year wedding anniversary, Kyle and Echo's coming baby, the gift of four generations of family under one roof, abundant food, good health, the joy of cousins, endless playtime, shared laughter, the joy of family, and the true peace and hope of our Savior!

Happy Easter from our family to yours!

Scan Day

This is the longest we have ever gone in between scan days. Six months feels like forever. In some ways it is good because it gives us more opportunities to live in the middle, where the time is far enough away that you can try to forget. The doubt creeps in at times making you wonder, "what if.." and "has it been too long?" Sometimes you just wish our kids came with a read out strip that gave us the info we needed anytime. The past few weeks have been so hectic it has given us very little time to think about it. This past weekend I found out that power washing is a great outlet for scanxiety. For my hubby, it's mountain biking. He clearly wins on the calorie burn for this one, but I'm enjoying the cleanliness. If only I could use it inside the house... I digress.

Julia, Carter, and I headed to Brenner's this morning for her scan day. She decided to take Kourage with her for the day.

The clinic was hopping when we arrived. The kids saw Ms. Betsey and made a bee line to the art table. As she ran off Julia declared she wanted her blood drawn first so it was over and she didn't have to think about it. I checked in and went to wait in line at the lab. An hour later our turn had not come, but it was time to head downstairs for ultrasound and x-rays. We left Carter happily crafting away and went down to radiology. Kourage found a happy perch on the desk.

I needed a little courage paying Julia's portion of her deductible today in full. For as much as our insurance premiums continue to go up, it's crazy how much more we are asked to pay out of pocket, too. While those getting free care are still required to pay nothing?! I better stop, before I get riled up again. Maybe I should join Kourage in the chairs and do some deep breathing. Julia spent a good while getting her to sit "criss-cross-applesauce". She was very frustrated by Kourage's lack of knees.

As I lamented the amount of money we just handed over, one of our favorite people walked out- Calista. As soon as she saw us she said hi to Julia and told us she was going back to set up and would be doing her scan- yipee! I feel so much better knowing she is in such capable hands. Apparently Julia does, too...

When the ultrasound was done, we waited for her x-rays, but they were never ordered. So funny to me how we can do the same routine every time, but parts still get left out often.

They were quick to get it ordered and make it happen and we were back upstairs. Julia went back to art and I headed in to find Nurse Pat to work on getting her labs done. Julia was surprisingly agreeable. Pat warmed up her hand before sticking her and she sprouted blood like a fountain. I was so proud of her for not flinching, resisting, or shedding a tear.

By the time we got back out to the waiting room, it was completely full. I was happy to see Haley and her mom Donna. We had fun catching up, I got to hear Haley sing and play with her beautiful new hair, and watched a few you tube videos of her recent adventures. Here's one of my favorites in the clinic- classic Haley- bringing joy to those around here right where she is. Soon it was Julia's turn. Nurse Diane was excited to see us and could not believe how much Julia had grown. She is a giant compared to the 2 year old who started this journey three years ago. She was happy with how great she seemed to be doing and had to laugh as Julia was devouring food from her lunch box while we talked- happy that her NPO time was over.

Her physical went great and we were given the clear to leave, just waiting on her scan reports from radiology. We decided to wait in the playroom and I was thrilled to see Rima sitting at the table with Ms. Stacy. This is the first time we have seen her since the stroke in January. She was rushed back from rehab because of brain pressure and then again for cochlear implant surgery when they discovered the stroke had taken her hearing. To see her playing and getting around just took my breath away. She is a living testimony to God's power.

We also had a chance to catch up with Stacy. She had been looking forward to talking to us about sharing Julia's story with the Beads of Courage organization. As Brenner's celebrates their one year anniversary of the program she is sharing patient testimonials of the power of this program. It was such a powerful force in her recovery last spring and continues to help her talk about her journey and heal. We are so thankful to give back.

As we hung out in the playroom, the kids started doing projects at the table with a new friend, Sofie. We hadn't met before, but the kids were playing happily. An hour or so later Sofie's mom arrived and I knew instantly who she was... Sofie is a current Wilms' patient on the floor. I knew their names, but had yet to connect with them. The majority of childhood cancers are leukemia and lymphomas. The solid tumor cases are much rarer and when you divide them into the 20 different types, you greatly reduce the number of each type at each hospital. With Wilms', our kids are usually the only one at any given time. In an instant we connected on so many levels and began chatting a mile a minute like old friends. We had so much to share and so much common ground. I am so thankful for this new friendship and blessed that God orchestrated it to happen. By this time it was close to 2:30 and we were still waiting on results, but God so faithfully used our time waiting and filled it with so many friends- old and new. We finally got the reports around 3pm and are thrilled to say JULIA IS N.E.D.!!!! Thanking God for this undeserved gift and blessing. We will embrace it and celebrate every day. 

Beautiful artwork from a joy-filled day....