Staying Positive

Despite feeling run down most of the time and very out of sync adjusting to a new phase of life, expressing gratitude fuels my optimism. And I have good reason to try and stay positive.

Amanda's birthday is coming up. Need I say more. What an honor it is to have it granted to us again. She is of course very excited. She is also feeling better once again. I continue to be amazed at how quickly she bounces back. She is scheduled to finish chemotherapy treatment in July of 2011, so long as the cancer doesn't relapse (which she is low risk for). I originally thought it was November 2011. I was so excited to hear an earlier end date to her treatment. Although she still has 16 more months of treatment and five more years of close monitoring, there is now a light at the end of a very dark tunnel.


Erin tested negative for her food allergies. You wouldn't think that garlic and coconut would be that hard to work around, but I can assure you that they derive into about three pages worth of chemical compounds that exist in just about everything processed and cosmetic. She will always have various allergies and intolerance's, but her doctor is optimistic that these two are behind us. I still can't figure out what to feed her. She's rather leery of her newly expanded diet. But she can finally eat the salsa and Spaghetti'os that she has longed for. And I no longer have to banish Amanda to her bedroom to eat forbidden food.


Will is doing great. His blood clot is almost completely gone. One more follow-up visit in the summer should end this medical chapter of his life. Our hopes of getting him to weight one pound and make it to 26 weeks gestation are becoming a fading memory replaced by a happy and active five month old. Much to the surprise of his doctors he is doing everything a baby his age should just at half the size. He is adored by our family and the majority of the time is a delight to take care of. He continues to bring much needed joy into our home!