Thank Heavens for Hope Kids!

Things are going well right now. It feels a little bit precarious, but so far, there hasn't been a problem. Matthew didn't get Allison's cold, or Alaina's stomach bug, which I'm really pleased by. That means my kids are doing a good job keeping things very sanitary in our house. Matthew's ANC was pretty low last week, 700 last Monday, and I'm nervous about what they'll be this Thursday at his appointment. I feel a little bit like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

We were invited by Hope Kids to go to Bear Lake this weekend, and stay at the KOA. They do a dinner on Friday night, and another family is doing a breakfast on Saturday morning, but it's a whole weekend for us. We signed up for a waiting list so we could have a cabin, because we sold our camping trailer a few weeks ago. The cabins only sleep 4, so we need 2 of them, and we totally didn't expect to be pulled off the waiting list, but we were! We're so excited that we get to take our family to go and do something cool like this. My kids can meet other kids who are going through the same things.

Plus, our summer was pretty rough. I got really sick with my gallbladder in May, and had to go to bed after lunch pretty much every day. As soon as I ate each day, I got sick. It was so frustrating. Then, finally on June 13th, I had my gallbladder out, but June 12th is when Matthew's infection started in his cheek, which ultimately led to his diagnosis on July 13th. That was such a time of crisis, we were lucky if we found the time to go to church, let alone a fun family weekend! Besides, who can justify the cost of something like that when so many people are helping us just to get by?

The thing is, we only have so many years left where our entire family will live in one house. By the time Matthew is done with treatment, Alaina will be in her second year of college, Allison will be in 11th grade, and Mikey will be in 8th grade. If we want to enjoy time as a family, now's the moment - there is no more putting off the vacations, and family outings. So, we're going to have to learn to work it in with cancer in the mix. That beast has already taken enough from us, and I am determined to enjoy the few years we have left before our girls are on their own.

So, thank heavens for organizations like Hope Kids! They will allow us to do things like this with our family at no cost to us. I wish that I could express what an important gift that is for us. Words will never be enough to explain it.

Those of you who pray, please include Matthew this week. If his counts get too low, they may want to hospitalize him, and then Justin and the kids will be camping without Matthew and I.