LindseyAnn.net

 September 15th, 2008

AFP Results

 After a long weekend the phone rings at a little after 8 this morning.  I pause for a minute and listen to it ring.  I know who is on the other end.  It is someone who's words can could change my life for ever.  I better pick it up before the answering machine gets it.  I say "Hello".  The voice is just who I thought it would be.  He says "Lindsey's AFP is in and everything looks GREAT!!"  Thank you God!!  Lindsey's AFP is 3.5.  Lindsey is homefree for another 4 months.  Each test that comes back showing no signs of cancer, is one step closer to our goal of hearing the word "Cured".  Thank you for all your continued prayers.  Thank you God for trusting me with one of your most precious children!  She is beautiful.

Please remember it is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month!  Please do all you can to spread awareness!  Please support me on my Virtual walk if you can!  Thank you

Also, I just had some Shirts Made with the Gold Cancer Ribbon and Lindsey's Website.  If anyone is interested in ordering one, then let me know.  Here is a picture of the shirt, and a close up of the Ribbon.  This is a nice black collard shirt.  The Gold Ribbon will look good on a dark colored shirt, it does not have to be black.  You can also get it put on a T-Shirt or Sweatshirt, or even a duffle bag.  Please email me if you are interested.  Thanks

 September 11th, 2008

Tests, Tests and more tests

Well yesterday was a very busy day.  Jeff had surgery for a kidney stone, so I had to drop him at one hospital, then take Lindsey to another hospital.  Lindsey was sedated for her hearing test.  I asked them to do the x-ray as well while she was sedated.  She was starting to wake up, but they were able to get the hearing test and the X-ray done.  She did very well.  She had a Pablo Balloon and 2 new Webkinz waiting for her when she woke up.  She was very excited!  Then we went to pick Jeff up.  His surgery didn't go so well.  They were not able to get the stone. They had to put a stent in, so he will have that for 2 weeks, then off to surgery again.  Keep him in your prayers as well.  

Today we head back to the hospital for Lindsey's blood work and an ultra sound.  She is a pro, let me tell you.  She got up on the ultra sound table and pulled her shirt up and was ready to go.  It is sad that she knows exactly what to do.  She did very good and thought it was really neat to see inside her belly.  We then headed back up to the Clinic to see the doctor.  We will have to wait until Monday for the AFP results.  Everything else looked fine.  The hearing test was normal.  The x-ray and ultra sound were all clear.  Now we just wait for the AFP.  We are still on a 4 month check up.  So we will go back in January.  Then if Lindsey passes again, we get to graduate to 6 month check ups.  Wow!  We are just going to do an ultra sound in January 09, and skip the x-ray.  So I think that is abou it for now.  Thank you for the added prayers. I will post updates as soon as I get them.  Until then...

 September 6th, 2008

Summer Update

I am going to try something I have not done before.  I am going to try to put a slide show of all the pictures from our trips this summer.  Hope it works.

Summer 2008

Well I guess it is about time I sit down and post and update.  I want to do it before tomorrow.  Tomorrow marks 2 years ago when this whole journey began.  2 years ago tomorrow we knew there was someting wrong with our precious little princess.  Then on September 8th, we hear the word cancer and our journey began.  It is very hard to think about those days.  I went back and read some of those posts from the first days, boy that is a hard thing to do.  Those emotions come back very quick.  There is a commercial on TV.  I don't know if you have seen it, but it tears at my heart everytime I hear it.  I don't even know what it is for, but one of the first few lines is "I'm a princess and princesses don't get sick."  My princess did get sick, but she is better now!  Hopefully forever!  It is little things like that, that get to you.  Oh my.  Well I don't want to get started about all of that, so on to something happy!  We had a wonderful, fabulous, exciting, happy, joyful, incredible summer!  I don't even know where to begin.  My last post was on June 9th.  That was the day before we went to Pennsylvania to visit with Friends and Family, some of whom met Lindsey for the very 1st time.  We stayed with Grammy and Grampy.  Grampy took Lindsey fishing for the very first and second time.  She had a ball.  Grampy was very impressed with Lindsey playing with all the worms and even holding the fish.  Lindsey and Grampy caught 7 fish, Casey caught 10, Brodey caught 6, Riley caught 12 and I caught 6.  Check out the pictures.  These fish were HUGE!!  (Compared to an ant maybe.)  We had lots of fun.  Then on June 14th we went to Relay for Linfe in Mercer Pa.  It was a great day.  We met another Hepatoblastoma patient.  Her name is Lexi.  Lindsey and Lexi got to do the survivor lap together.  It was perfect.  We went to the pool on the 16th with some of our friends and had a great time.  On June 18th we went fishing again and this time the fish were even bigger!  check out the photos!  Lindsey and Grampy caught 6 fish, Casey caught 6, Brodey caught 5, Riley caught 4 and I was the winner for the day, with 14 big catches!  It was great!  Lindsey got to meet her other Grandma Carol for the 1st time.  It was a wonderful trip. We then went to the Rocky Grove Fair and saw quite a few friends and even ran into Uncle Rodney.  We were sad to leave PA as we were having a great time.  We were going to head home, but Auntie Shel talked us into driving to North Carolina.  We then got in the car and drove 10+ hours and met up with Grandma, Grandpa, Betty, Uncle Toby, Aunt Toni and Cousin CJ at Auntie's house.  Boy was it a houseful.  We attended Uncle Matt's retirement ceremony from the Army on June 24th.  Then on June 25th we went to Fantasy Lake Water Park.  We swam, went down water slides, did paddle boats, tarzan swings and lots more.  It was a great day in the sun!  Then we got back in the car for another 6 + hour drive home.  We went to Dollywood on June 28th and had lots of fun!  We spent July 4th out at Grandmas. We went on the boat, had a BBQ and watched lots of Fireworks.  Lindsey actually watched some of them, but still did not care too much for the loud noise.  We were home for less than 2 weeks and it was time to pack our bags again.  This time we were California Bound!  June 9th we headed to California for a month in the sun with family and friends.  We flew into San Francisco, California.  We then drove to Salinas and visited with friends and family.  On the 14th we headed to Bakersfield to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Keenan and visit with Aunt Julie, Auntie Barbara and Family.  On July 20th we headed to Bass Lake for a week of camping and Grandma's 60th Bday and a family reunion.  It was a great week and we had so much fun!  We spent every minute we could in the lake.  Lindsey would have slept in the lake if I would have let her.  She loved it!  She had so much fun camping!  We all did.  Then on July 28th we headed back to Bakersfield but made a little side trip to Yosemite.  We hiked up to the "Grizzly Giant" tree.  It was awesome!  On August 2nd we went to Six Flags and had a great time.  Lindsey loved all the rides.  Casey, Jessica, Riley and I went on the best roller coaster I have ever been on.  It was called X2 and oh my.. It was awesome!  We waited in line for 2 1/2 hours.  I have never waited in a line that long before.  The park closed at 11 and we got in line at 10pm.  We didn't even get on the ride until 12:30am.  They still let us ride, even though the park was closed.  It was well worth the wait!  On August 4th We headed back to Salinas.  Then on August 5th we spent the day in San Francisco.  We went to Pier 39 and saw the Sea Lions.  We rode the Trolly Cars, we went down Lombard Street and we went across the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was lots of fun. 

Then on the 6th we headed back home.  It is good to be home.  It was a long summer and there is lots to catch up on.  Lindsey had a nice suprise when we got home.  It was Spinoza the Bear provided to her by Knoxville Women of the Moose.  Thank you so much!  Be sure to check out the pictures of Lindsey and Spinoza!  You can learn more about Spinoza at Please take a minute to read about Spinoza.  Maybe you, or someone you know could sponser a child to receive Spinoza.  We applied probably about a year and a half ago.  This goes to show you that they need support.  Spinoza is so cute, and Lindsey just loves it!  Thank you again Knoxville WOTM! 

Brodey and Riley started school on the 11th.  On August 14th Lindsey got to meet Elmo at Sprout Studio.  She actually let me take a picture of just her and Elmo, I didn't have to be in it!  Guess she is getting use to having all these characters around her!  Whew... So I think that about covers our summer.  I wont even go into all the catching up we have had to do, plus the fact that we have a big whole in our bedroom ceiling from something leaking in the attic, and having to break down and replace the air conditioners.  That is another story!  So now I will update the pictures and we should be all caught up!  Keep Lindsey in your prayers on September 10th as she goes in for her hearing test.  Then on September 11th when she has her 4 month check up.  We pray for acurate results letting us know she is still Cancer Free!!  Thanks for checking in! 

 September 3rd, 2008

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

 I know it has been awhile.  We have lots of stuff to update on.  We had a wonderful summer and as soon as I get the pictures together I will post them and post an update. 

Here is an email that I sent out.  It is about supporting Childhood Cancer Awareness.  Please (Virtually) Walk with me in Honor of Lindsey Ann! 

Thanks again for your support!

Going to try to attach the Cure Search Video Here.  Looks like the best I can do is link you to the Youtube video.

 June 9th, 2008

 May 30th, 2008

Our baby is 3!

Happy 3rd Birthday to our beautiful little Princess! 

 May 19th, 2008

Results are in!

Well it has been a very busy couple weeks!  This past week was wonderful!  On Monday Lindsey and I went to sprout studio to meet the Backyardigans.  We waited for a couple hours and were 4th in line to get our picture taken with them, only to find out there was a mix up and they were not going to be there until Tuesday.  So we were right back there on Tuesday morning.  This time we were 66th in line, but that was ok with us.  Lindsey got to meet Pablo and Uniqua.  She was not too sure about them.  She didn't want to walk up on her own, but was ok if I went with her.  Then on Tuesday night we went to the Tennessee Theatre to see the Backyardigans Live Show.  It was awesome!  She had so much fun.  This is the first time I have taken her to a show, I didn't know how well she would do.  She loved it!  There was a lot of crowd interaction and she was enjoying every minute of it.  She was laughing and smiling the entire time.  Then on Wednesday we picked up Aunt Michelle from the airport.  Thursday morning was testing bright and early for Lindsey.  We checked in at 8:15 am.  She had an ultra sound and a check x-ray.  I have no idea what they are looking at on those machines.  I always think I am pretty prepared for these tests, then I get in there and every little thing makes your heart skip a beat and your stomach start doing flips.  They had Lindsey flip over on to her belly and did part of the ultra sound on her back.  They have never done that before so of course that makes me wonder why.  Then we go to the chest x-ray from ultra sound and they do that different then they have before so I am thinking they have found something.  Oh it is just an awful feeling.  Then from x-ray we are back up to the clinic for some blood work.  Lindsey did pretty good.  She was blowing bubbles as they drew her blood.  She just cried for a minute.  Then the doctor came in and said the x-ray and ultra sound look fine.  We will have to wait until Monday for the AFP results.  We have been pretty busy this week so it helps keep my mind off the tests and the upcoming results.  I can't change them anyway.  I just pray for true and accurate results.  I do pray that it is God's will that she is forever healed. 

Then on to Thursday night.  It was Casey's graduation.  I have had a hard time believing that Casey is graduating.  Boy does time fly.  It was wonderful.  Only a couple times did I get teary eyed.  My little boy is growing up.  It is ever harder to believe that he will be 18 in just a few short months.  Wow! 

Happy Anniversary to Jeff and I today.  We spent the day at our Church Carnival.  Lindsey had a blast.  She enjoyed the bounce house, the games, the food and most of all the music.  She was out there dancing away.  We ran into Lindsey's oncologist.  He said it was nice to see Lindsey running around laughing and talking, and having a good time.  She usually doesn't have a very big smile on when we are in the clinic.  Lol. Hopefully this upcoming week is not as busy and I will get a chance to post some new pictures.  Have a great weekend and I will update with the AFP results as soon as I hear something. 

 May 2nd, 2008

Another allergic reaction

Well it has been awhile hasn't it.  Sorry about that.  Last time I updated I was talking about how we "lost" Lindseys pacifier.  I am happy to report that we are "nuker" free.  It worked out great!  Lindsey did so much better than the boys did as far as no longer having a pacifier.  We also got Lindsey a toddler bed. It is a princess bed and has a canopy. It is so cute.  I thought maybe she would sleep in the pretty bed.  No such luck.  Other than that, little miss is just keeping us on our toes like usual.  Last weekend on Saturday she woke up and said her ear hurt and complained a little.  Jeff ended up taking her to an urgent care and she had a very bad ear infection.  The doctor was asking how long she had been complaining and Jeff told him just a couple hours, he told Jeff that her ear was pretty bad.  So they prescribed some antibiotics and suggested we take her in to her doctor towards the end of the week to make sure it was all clear.  He said that many kids that have been through what she has, have a higher tolerance for pain. I guess this could be a good and bad thing, it was bad in this case since her ear was so bad.  Poor little girl.  So I took her in yesterday and her ear is clear.  She went in a 1:00 pm.  We were at Riley's baseball game and I took her in to go to the bathroom at about 7:30 pm and as I was pulling her pants back on I noticed a red mark on her left cheek on her bottom.  We were in a port a potty so I stepped outside for better lighting.  Her entire left cheek was one huge hive.  So I picked her up and ran to the car.  I took her to Jeff and we looked her over, she just had a couple other small hives.  I called the doctors office and got the after hours and left a message.  They called me right back and said to watch her breathing for 2 hours and make sure she did not have any breathing problems and make sure the hives did not keep spreading or change in color.  We could also give her some benedryl and should take her to her doctor in the morning to have them check her.  (I woke up and thought about when I was taking her to the bathroom at the baseball game.  I have some Dora seat covers that I attach to the potty and I remembered that I did not even take it off the seat before I ran off.  So to whoever used that bathroom after us, I am soooo sorry!)  So when Lindsey woke up this mornign the hives were all over from head to toe.  (They told us not to give the benedryl first thing this morning so the doctor could see the hives.)  So off to the doctors office again.  We determined that she had another drug allergy.  So we can now add zithromax to the list of drug allergies.  So she is taking benedryl and steroids to help her.  She is doing pretty good with it but is very tired and itchy.  Other than that, she is doing great.  We are getting ready for her upcoming tests on May 15th, I promise to post results as soon as I get them! 

I guess I didn't reallize that it had been so long since I updated.  I have not even put an Easter pictures up.  Wow.  I will have to find those and put them on here.  Lindsey had so much fun coloring eggs and hunting for eggs.  She looked so pretty in her Easter Dress.  The Easter Vigil at Church was awesome!  Jeff was baptized, received his first communion and confirmation!  I will have to post some pictures of that as well.  I was also confirmed.  It was a wonderful day. 

We made our first trip of the season to Dollywood.  It was a beautiful day and Lindsey and the kids had so much fun.  Aunt Michelle, cousin Matthew and cousin Melissa also went with us.   What else have we done in almost the 2 months since my last update?  We have been pretty busy with Casey's soccer games, Riley's baseball practice and baseball games and getting ready for Casey's graduation.  I can not believe that Casey will be graduating in less that 2 weeks.  That really blows my mind.  We are also getting ready for Lindsey's 3rd birthday.  I can not believe that either.  Wow.  So as you can see we are staying pretty busy.  We also started a group through our church called "Renew" and we meet at our house once a week.  It is pretty awesome! 

I will close with my favorite verse for Lindsey.  I have said it before, but I wanted to share something with you.  One of my weekly goals for my Renew class was to memorize Matt 7:7.  So as I was trying to remember if Knock or ask or seek came first I found a way to help me remember.  I took the first letter of each word in the order they came, first is ask so I said A, next is Seek so I said S, then it is Knock so I said the letter K.  If you take all 3 of those you get A.S.K.  How cool is that!  So my new saying is going to be along the lines of Nike's "Just Do It", mine is going to be "Just A.S.K. (Ask, Seek, Knock.).  Hope that makes sense.  Sometimes it is pretty hard to put thoughts into writing.  Matthew 7:7 Ask and it will be given to you, Seek and you will find, Knock and the door will be opened to you.

Please keep Lindsey in your thoughts and prayers as we overcome this newest allergic reaction.  Also please think of her and say and extra prayer on the morning of May 15th when we go in for her 4 month check up.  Also if you can keep Casey in your thoughts and prayers and he finished up the last couple weeks of High School and prepares for the next step of his life, college.  Thank you all so much!

 March 11, 2008

Life is Good!

Lindsey is doing wonderful!  Enjoying life and making up for lost time!  She never ceases to amaze me.  She is always such a happy little girl and can always bring a smile to my face.  She has a mind like a steel trap.  She always comes up with the funniest things.  I have to tell you about the other night.  She was in my room and looked at my bed and said "Ma ma, remember when I went BLAT BLAT (how do you type a vomiting noise? lol) in your bed, I'm Sorry!  She just kept saying it over and over.  It was pretty funny.  She was talking about a couple weeks prior when she got sick and got it all over my bed.  She ended up with an ear infection but luckily it was not the flu.  She is feeling great now.  She has a heart of gold.  She is starting to talk so much and her hair is growing more and more every day.  It is in her eyes now and I am trying to use this to my advantage, but it is not working too well.  I tell her that I can use a clip and get it out of her eyes, nothing doing!!  I think our record is maybe a whole hour with a clip in.  We are working on it.  Last night we "lost" her pacifier and can not find it anywhere in the house.  Papa said that mama is mean and that we should "find" it and give it back. She went to sleep last night with out it. When she asked for it, I told her that we lost it.  She just said ok and picked up a toy off the floor and said that would be her "nuker" (her word for pacifier).  I was shocked!  No screaming?  Throwing a fit?  Keeping me up all night?  We really could not find one last night, but I decided since she was so easy going it might just be "lost" for good.  Knock on wood.  I might be speaking too soon.  We will see.  Other than that we are doing great and waiting for some warm days to we can go play outside!  Thanks for checking in on Little Miss. 

I hope that our anonymous donor checks Lindsey website.  We received a wonderful gift yesterday and want to say THANK YOU! You know who you are and we just want to send out a great big thank you!  You are too kind and one day we hope to be in a position to "pay it forward".  Thank you for reaching out to our family.  Hugs and kisses from all of us to you and your family!  We will speak a hugh prayer of thanks to our Father, as he is the only other that knows your name.  Thank you from the bottom of our heart! 

A little note: There is a link on the links page to the scrapbook stuff that I starting selling.  If you are a scrapbooker be sure to check it out.  The company I am an independent consultant for is Top Line Creations.  It is awesome.  Right now it is only $20 to sign up to be an independent consultant, and you get a $20 coupon and a 10% off coupon.  It is almost like paying you to sign up.  Your only requirement to stay active is to place one $25 order in a 6 month period, if you are a scrapbooker, you can do that without blinking an eye!  Plus you get all sorts of benefits.  They encourage hobbyists as well as business builders.  Plus this month they are giving consultants an extra 10% off.  (This is on top of your consultant discount.)  You can sign up right on my website, or you can contact me for more information.  The website is www.topline-creations.com/scrapnow  This is a great month to sign up!   

I will close with Jeff's wonderful words.  Jeff wrote this March 10th, 2008 and I wanted to share it with everyone.

KNOCKED TO MY KNEES

You love me so, that you humbled me
Knowing weakness you knocked me to my knees
I came crawling back so that I could plead
And I knew at once you'd be there for me

I knew that, come what may, your love is true
In my time of need, you'd see me through
I knew that in your arms I would find
Your sweet embrace and your words so kind

Into your outstretched arms I go
And you carry me through the pain and woe
Like the love, of groom and bride
We sail arm and arm through the raging tide

You place my feet back on the ground
And mother earth keeps spinning round
Now I walk again and I have so far to go
But you are there and this I know

My faith renewed that you are there
To carry me through my dark despair
Your love is there to light my way
Though I truly hope to never stray

If I lose the path I have no doubt
That you'll be there to help me out
And if those signs, I don't understand
I pray I'm knocked to my knees again.

--Jeff Long--

 February 18th, 2008

A Busy Month!  1 Year Anniversary for Lindsey!

 Well I don't even know where to begin.  As you can tell we have been pretty busy.  It usually doesn't take me this many days to post an update, especially since we just celebrated 1 year in Remission.  Actually I do know where to start.  February 14th, 2008 marks one year since Lindsey went into remission.  I have to start by pointing you back to a post I made on November 25th 2007 about trying to find the perfect picture to go over our fire place.  I will quote that day here so you don't have to search for it.

From November 25th 2007 post:

"One more thing before I say goodnight.  I have to tell you about this picture I found.  First I will tell you that Jeff and I have been looking for a picture to go over the mantle in the living room.  We have seen quite a few and think they are nice but we know they are just not the "one".  I keep telling Jeff that we will know when we find the one.  Well I found it on Friday.  I went to the Christian Book store looking for a Veggie Tales movie for Lindsey.  When I walked in I glanced at the pictures on the wall.  My eye caught one, so I went to get a closer look.  When I saw it, I started to cry.  Really!  I don't just mean a tear ran down my cheek, I mean full tears.  Wow.  I don't even know how to explain it.  But when it caused that much emotion I knew this was the picture.  I sent Jeff a picture of it with my cell phone.  He really liked it too.  It is a picture of a little girl, she is about maybe 4 years old or so.  She is holding a doll by the arm and is standing at a great big door with her hand on the handle, and peeking in a window on the door.  It says "Seek and ye shall find, Knock and it shall be opened" Matt 7:7.  When I saw this right away it made me think of Lindsey standing at God's door during the last year.  It just touched my heart.  I know the people at the store probably thought I had lost my mind.  I explained to the cashier how much this picture meant to me, she understood.  She also took all Lindsey's information down and said at their store meeting in the morning she would talk about Lindsey and they would pray for her.  How awesome is that!  By the way, the Veggie Tales Movie was sold out, but I don't think that was what I was doing there anyway.  Our God is awesome!"

With that being said.  Lindsey and I started off her Remission Celebration on February 14th at morning mass.  Well guess what the gospel reading was for Lindsey's anniversary?  You guessed it Matthew 7

Matthew 7: 7 - 12
7 "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
9 Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
12 So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

I can't even begin to explain how I felt when I heard the gospel reading that day.  I had to share with everyone at mass.  Everyone was so touched by how this all tied together.  Father Michael gathered us all together and gave an extra special prayer in thanks of Lindsey's one year Anniversary and for our wonderful faith.  It was amazing.  Purely Amazing!

So to me that was the best part of the day!  So after mass Lindsey and I headed to the hospital to hand out Valentines.  Lindsey had fun giving all the candy out.  We got to see all of our wonderul friends.  After the hospital we met Papa for lunch at Ruby Tuesday's.  Yum Yum.  Then it was off to one of Lindsey's favorite places.  I think it is becoming a little tradition on Lindsey's anniversaries.  That's right, we were off to Build A Bear.  Lindsey got a new puppy and she insisted on naming it Lindsey.  So I just added a few words to it and it's "registered" name is Lindsey's 1 Year Anniversary.  We had decided to go out to dinner, considering it was Valentines Day we thought most restraunts would be pretty full. So we decided on Chuck E Cheese, I mean who wants to spend Valentines Day at Chuck E Cheese?  Apparantley half of Knoxville!  It was pretty busy, but that was ok, Lindsey still had a blast.  I think her favorite part was giving away free games.  Well I doubt she knew that was what she was doing, but she just enjoyed walking around putting tokens in all the games.  Grandma made Lindsey a very special Remission Cake, it was a beautiful butterfly.  Lindsey then opened her presents and then we headed home after an exhausting day.  It was wonderful to say the least. What a great milestone, 1 year down, and 4 to go until we can say Lindsey is CURED!   

While we were handing out the valentines at the hospital there was a little girl in the waiting room, she was 16 months old.  I could not believe that Lindsey was that small when she was diagnosed with cancer.  It seems like yesterday, but a lifetime ago.  We must be having fun, because time is just flying by. 

Then on February 15th it was off to the Ronald Mcdonal House to serve dinner.  Grandma worked very hard on the main dish and I think I got the easy part.  We served Chicken Mexican Casserole, Salad, Corn, Cupcakes, Cookies and Fudge.  This RMH is definitely smaller than the one in Cincinnati.  It was a little different than the one in Cinci.  I guess maybe because the one up there was so much bigger and had so many families they did things a little different.  In Cinci we had a set time to eat and the people serving had to do all the clean up.  We expected to serve most the families, but I guess most were still at the hospital so we really just had to set up all the food and they would come and eat when they had the chance, then someone at the RMH would put everything away.  So now we know!  It was still a great night and we did meet a couple families.  We hope to do it again soon.  It is a wonderful experience, and if you have a RMH in your area you should think about getting a group together and doing it. 

Well I think that about sums it up.  Oh wait, I guess I never posted about some other exciting news!  We got a call from Mr Buck at the Lighthouse Family Retreat.  We have been accepted to return to the Lighthouse in June!  We are so excited and we are all looking forward to it!  (By the way I did add some photos from the last week - Be sure to check out the new photos Lindsey received a beautiful outfit from Sue & Wendee - Thank you so much!  Wendee's website is SeaminglySweet.Etsy.Com)  Until next time! 

 Just a quick update.  We had to answer a question recently about what it has been like for our family living through childhood cancer.  Jeff as we all know is the writer, so I left it to him.  We have had many people ask us if they could post this on thier webpages as well.  He did such an excellent job that I thought it deserved it's own page.  Please see the new page Titled "It's like a tornado."  We would love to hear your feedback on it.  For those going through childhood cancer, I think they can relate, for those not in this position, I think it can give you a pretty good picture.

In 13 short days we will be celebrating Lindsey's 1 year in remission!  Wow. 

I am finally posting some new pictures.  Check them out under "More photos", and our new family Picture under the link "About Us".

Today is 11 months since Lindsey went into remission.  Happy Anniversary Lindsey! 

Yesterday was  a lot of fun.  We went to lunch and then went bowling.  Lindsey had so much fun bowling.  I will have to put some pictures up from that.  All in all Brodey had a wonderful Birthday. 

I finally called to get the results of the AFP test.  My heart sank when I called and the nurse said they are in but she will have to have the Doctor call me with the results.  I thought that meant bad news.  I told her that since he is out of town he told me that someone would give me the results.  She said she would check with one of the other doctors.  They gave her to ok to give me the results.  Lindsey's last AFP was 1.5.  Today it is at 3.1.  That is perfect and Lindsey is still in remission!  Yippeee!  Thank you God and all our wonderful prayer warriors!  We are now going to sail by that 1 year mark and her chances of relapse will go down!  Thank you again!  I will get some new pictures posted soon. 

 First we have to say Happy 12th Birthday to Brodey!  We are going to have a fun day celebrating.  He wants to go Ice Skating and wants to have lunch at Quaker Steak and Lube.  Happy Birthday Brodey!

As I said on Thursday I could have called Friday to see if the AFP results were in. I wanted to, but I didn't want to.  I really thought I would give in and call.  I probably would have been if we had not been so busy running around finishing up applying for a college scholarship for Casey that was due on Friday.  It is really setting in that I am going to have a son graduating from High School.  Wow.  It seems like I was just in High School.  Well back to the AFP. I realized at about 5pm that I had not called.  It was too late by then.  We are having a great weekend and we are not even going to worry about the AFP.  Her last AFP was so low that I don't know if we will get one that low again.  I know if it goes up at all, even if it is still in normal range, I will want to talk to her doctor and not anyone else.  Have a great weekend!  I know we will.  I will post when we have the results. 

I also wanted to add that Lindsey was so excited about the new Veggie Tales movie on Friday.  I thought there was an early show, so her and I were going to go.  I guess since it was the first day in theaters, they didn't have any early shows.  I had told her we were going, before I realized this.  She talked about "The Pirates who don't do Anything" all day and to anyone that would listen.  She had to wear her Larrybob shirt. (Yep, that is what she calls Veggie Tales - Larrybob)  Finally the movie started at 7:10pm.  She also talked about pop pop all day.  (Popcorn - she knows you can't watch a movie without popcorn!)  She loved it!!  It was so cute.  Hopefully not to ruin the movie for you, but the princess is taken away and the pirates try to rescue her. When she was taken Lindsey said "Poor Princess, get her pirates."  It was so cute.  Then they got her back and Lindsey clapped her hands for about 5 minutes and kept repeating "Good Job Pirates, good job."  Then at the end of the movie it was more clapping and her repeating over and over "That was a good movie.  I like that movie."  It was too cute!  Thats all for now!  Thank you for your continued prayers!   

 January 9th 2008

Testing Day