Happy 7th Birthday Allie!!!

Wow, Allie is already 7 years old that means I am getting older and older. Oh Crap! I will just keep telling people that I am only 25! For her Birthday, Allie wanted to go the Utah Children's Museum at the Discovery Gateway. So Jake took the day off and we took Allie out of school and went down to Salt Lake City. We figured since it wasn't the weekend that there would only be a few people there. Boy, were we wrong! Three schools were there on a field trip, so it was really busy. But I think the girls had fun! Since there was so many kids there, we left for an early lunch to McDonald's. After we went back to the Museum and it wasn't so crowded then. Then we went to Build a Bear to pick out new outfits for the girl's Bunnies. I also had a coupon for a free animal, so Jake and I got us a puppy since the girls already have tons of stuffed animals. Then we went to Toys r us, and then to dinner at Golden Corral. All in all it was a pretty fun day. Allie said it was the best birthday ever. For her birthday Allie got a craft kit, a new horse shirt, a High School Musical doll, a diary, and two outfits for her Build-a- bear bunny. More good news, apparently Caitlin's hearing loss was only temporary, so as of right now she does not need a hearing aid. Also her leg braces have been cut down so they only cover her feet now. She is doing really good with walking and in preschool.

Good news!

Sorry that it again has taken me so long to post but when I explain what we have been up to, you will understand. Caitlin's line was removed on Tuesday February 9, she did very well and it only required about one stitch. After she woke up she was pretty good, but soon she was crying and wanted to leave the hospital. I don't blame her the poor girl has spent most of her little life in the hospital. It is so nice to have her line out, she loves being able to splash around in the bathtub. I have gone back to work part time, I like that I can still be home most of the time for Caitlin and Allie. I am working nights, so that is a little hard for me to get use to. Allie is still doing well in school. Caitlin started preschool on Monday, we decided it would be good for her to learn to be around other kids and other adults. Since her immune system has been low she hasn't been around other people, so she has been shy. But I was really proud of her, she did very good at preschool, we only had a problem when we had to go home, and she didn't want to leave a toy. Caitlin has a hearing test on Thursday, to gauge her hearing loss and to be fitted for a hearing aid. Other than these things we have just been watching the Olympics and working. Trying to get life back to normal.

At Last!

Well the day is finally here, on Tuesday January 26th Caitlin had her last dose of her 21 at home oral chemo, which means she is totally done with all her chemo. I want to cry tears of joy, but I am also afraid because Caitlin will not be considered cancer free until five years from now, and then still for her it will be a lifetime of worrying if we really have beat this thing. Also she will have to deal with the side effects of chemo for the rest of her life. One of these will be that she will have hearing aids. I am so glad this trial is over, I am hoping we get a little break before our next trial comes along. I am sure Jesus's arms need a break from carrying me this long throughout this whole ordeal. Her hair is slowly growing back we are not really sure what color it will be yet, or if it will be curly or straight, and she is finally walking more and more on her own. Because of her hearing loss we still have a few trips down to Primary Childrens in the near future. We are hoping to get her tube out next week or the week following, we will also continue to have MRIs about every 3 months to check for new or regrowth of the cancer. Since Caitlin is in the Up to 3 program they offer sign language classes, which we are going to attend to learn a little sign language in case her hearing continues to worsen. That for me is going to be a challenge. I couldn't even learn Spanish in high school. Hopefully for this I will be more motivated. Since Caitlin is done with chemo we are trying to get our lives back to normal, I am hoping to return back to work at least part time, and maybe I will try to start to take some classes with Bridgerland to work toward getting my associates degree in accounting. That is between running Allie to school, and all the programs Caitlin is in to help her continue to recover and work on her gross motor skills. We also have the challenge of potty training Caitlin, wish us luck. We are also hoping to add another member to our family, preferably a boy. Jake says he is already surrounded by enough girls.
I want to thank everyone who has left comments and prayed and supported our family through all this. We have greatly appreciated it. Hopefully now only happy and exciting news will appear in my future posts.

The end is almost here!!!!

Let me explain by the end I mean that Caitlin is almost finished with her chemotherapy treatments. On Tuesday we picked up the 21 days of oral at home medicine for Caitlin. We also had an appointment with the ENT doctor to clean out Caitlin's ear wax, for a little girl she sure has a lot of it, and because we don't want to cause an infection we have to be careful with almost everything. After our chemo appointment we went and got another hearing test done since this time we knew for sure that she didn't have much or any ear wax plugging her ears. Unfortunately this test still show that Caitlin seems to have a little bit of a hearing loss from her chemotherapy, so the next step is for another sedated hearing test in mid March and then she would be fitted for some hearing aids. I am a little bummed about that, but we figured we would have to deal with some of the side effects from chemotherapy and radiation. Allie is back in school, thank goodness, she was so bored at the house, some days she is a really silly girl. Jake is now on his January shift which means he has to work everyday, which sucks but the overtime money is nice. Thank goodness, he is also working day shift, so we have him home at nights with us. I am ready for the new year to start, I have made some goals for myself, and for our family. Hopefully we can stick to them, one of my goals is to drink less pop, and to exercise, I have been doing pretty good so far. I also received my first letter from my little brother, Elder Hugie. I am also hoping that I can be a good letter writer to him, another goal. Thanks to all who have prayed for our little angel. We are so looking forward for her to be healthy and done with chemo, and for her hair to grow back in. I have really missed her hair!