Back to Reality!

The summer vacations are over and sadly - it's time to face reality once again. June was the "fun month" and July will be the "medical month." We wanted to give Brooke one month of nothing medical-related. A chance to have fun and just be a kid! She's had a blast so far!!! Mike and I just go back from our 4-day retreat and we had a good time. It's always nice to get away and spend time together. Brooke did well with the grandparents. She talked to me on the first day and then proceeded to pucker up and cry when I hung up. She didn't speak to me again until we were on our way home. She likes to "punish us" for leaving her. Ha. The dog (Brandi) did much better this time though...she got to stay home instead of being kenneled. No more doggie institutions for my baby!!

Three summer's ago we took a weekend trip to Bristol, TN to attend our first NASCAR race. My dad had been diagnosed with terminal cancer a couple of months prior. I can remember sitting on the plane and crying while looking out the window. I saw such peace and beauty in the clouds and I had never noticed that before. They seemed so serene and mystical and all I could think of was heaven and it's beauty. Now, every time I fly I feel so much closer to my dad. I know the beauty that I see doesn't even compare to what he must see every day. I told my mom on our flight to Orlando that "if it's this pretty from our view - think of how spectacular it must be for dad looking down?" What a comforting thought! How can anyone see God's beauty and not believe?

What a sad week. My heart goes out to Farrah Fawcett's family. Her dad lost his wife, then his daughter Linda to cancer and now his baby Farrah. And to Redmond...for the bad choices he's made and having to sit in a jail cell while mourning the loss of his mom. And to Ryan O'Neill...not sure what to say? And for Michael Jackson. I hope he has finally found whatever it was he was missing on this earth and is finally at peace. I pray for his children. That they don't become the vicitims of whatever possible fights that might arise. Money nor fame make people who they are...without God and a loving family nothing else matters. I wouldn't trade my life for anything. I am blessed.

Wednesday is the big day for us. Brooke see's the Immunologist at 9:00 for her yearly checkup and bloodwork. The PET scan and more blood work is scheduled for 11:00. Please pray that this test goes as planned. I know it will have to be adapated for Brooke and that is always challenging. There's no way she will drink the thick chaulkey stuff so I'm hoping they can thin it and run it through her veins while she's semi-sedated. Thursday we see Dr. Libby, the Hematologist. Hopefully, he will have the test results so we won't have to play the waiting game again. I don't want the PET scan to show anything...I want no red or blue to show up! NO SIGNS OF CANCER! I've been praying that the blood issue is gone. That all of the poisons from the past year are out of her system and that she is as good as new. And that the lymth node that was a little enlarged, is now small and out of sight!

Brooke continues to be happy and healthy. No sickness since January! In fact, we go see Dr. Luu tomorrow for two physicals and it's our first trip to see him in 2009! How is that possible for such a sick child? None of this makes any sense? Ask God to continue to bless Brooke with good health and laughter. Ask him to to continue to wrap his loving and protective arms around her now and for always. Pray that the upcoming dental surgery on July 15th goes as planned and that Brooke's recovery is infection-free and as painless as possible. Ask him to guide Mike and I as we continue to care for Brooke. And most especially...thank him for giving her to us. She is such a blessing in our lives.

Love you all. Please keep the prayers coming our way!