Our week

Has been rather easy to say the least, even though I have had a rough time with this summer cold!

Aislinn cut her sixth tooth, finally! it was a doozy, on Wednesday! Her seventh on the bottom is right behind it.

Teagan had yet another fun time at dance class and asks all the time when does she get to go back! Her friend Macey was there as well as her friend Kate too! Wasn't hard to talk her into it! ;-) They were adorable!

Riordan is still loving school! You know it really says a lot about Ms. Angela. I mean every day Riordan was to go to school last year he cried and I would practically have to threatened him to get him in the car to leave. Then he wouldn't get out of the car. Then I would have to take him in instead of him walking in. I hardly ever get a hug and kiss from him now! He's excited, he smiles, he talks about it all day long when he gets home! Today a little emotional for him, he didn't get his hug and kiss and he could hear me outside and as I walked away he started to cry! Broke my heart! He said he didn't get his hug and kisses, so I wrapped my arms around him and gave him big kisses and he stopped crying and was ready to go on about his day! He is just such a different child than a year ago! Where now he strikes up conversations on his own, plays jokes, and is a cuddle bunny. Last year, no eye contact, no smiles, and God forbid if you wanted to give him a hug or kiss! I don't know what happened, but I am so grateful to see such a happy, fun-loving boy that I knew he could be!

Caden is having a hard time with after school. He is so overstimulated, over tired, and starving and is making it hard to enjoy him in the afternoon. I think he's about to make our sitter Leah quit! It's obviously so hard on her that he doesn't mind and is hyper, cranky, and just down right disobedient. It's easier for me to handle because he knows what buttons are being pushed to far. But with Leah, it's making it so hard on her on Wednesday's. When he starts doing things he shouldn't then Riordan does. So my newest suggestion is to just let him eat whatever healthy snack he wants and make it more of a meal than a snack. He eats at 10:55 for lunch! So early and then a light snack in the afternoon at school, where usually we eat little meals all day long. Plus he is just so tired, so if he needs to go have some downtime in our room with some tv then whatever works! I pray that he shows the fun, non-cranky, mindful child we have been so proud of this weekend for her while we take 24 hours to reenergize ourselves and have some good adult conversations without constant interruptions. I honestly don't know what else to do for him other than that. And thankfully I'm not in this boat alone. My friends who have children that just started full day Kindergarten this year are having some big issues as well with acting out of character.

So last and certainly not least, I get to share with you about my sister Jennifer. She is 15 weeks this week! But for almost two months now she has dealt with the diagnosis of cancer. It's a blood cancer that presents itself in the skin. It is an extremely rare cancer that only 1500 people a year are diagnosed with. It is called Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma. She will always have it for the rest of her life. There is no cure, but there is remission. 

It is THE slowest growing cancer however. They, the cancer specialist in Atlanta, are very confident that it is in early stages. With her being pregnant she is limited to treatment, but a topical cream is allowed and keeps it from spreading and keeps it from staying inflammed and swollen. It's an interesting cancer none the less. She can keep using the cream and it won't be visible anymore, but it will still be there! Obviously because it's a blood cancer and most blood cancers you can't see physically! LOL She has been treating it for 8 years and only just recently decided to have a dermatoligist diagnos it because she was pregnant. It was then that she had a biopsy done and they came back with cancer, which flipped her world upside down immediately! And then of course as much as I was trying to be her support I found myself not sleeping at night and just thinking, why nnow?! Why now when she has been given this gift of her heart's desire to have another baby!

Thankfully, it's not in a serious stage so more aggressive treatment, if needed, can wait till after the baby is born. They did do three more biopsy's of the area yesterday and drew blood. She goes back in 2 weeks to get more results, her exact stage and where and what they need to do after. She will keep seeing the specialist as well, especially since she is pregnant. She is so much more relaxed now that she has answers, and knows that so far it's not life threatning.  She is of course now at higher risk for other cancers and will be seen on a regular basis for it, I think! That's one of my  questions!! She was lucky to catch it so early because it presented itself on her skin!

Please keep her and her baby in your prayers for good health! She finds out in 4 weeks what she's having! Oh I can't wait! I have been buying clothes already! Awful I know! But I'm just so darn excited for her!

So that brings me to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Walk! Oct 18th our family is walking in it with a lot of our friends in honor of my friend Rena who beat Leukemia this year. In fact, it marks that date of her one year anniversary of her bone marrow transplant from her brother! 

I have two reasons now to walk, Rena and my sister!! 

I am raising money for the walk and in lieu of birthday gifts for Aislinn this year, we would rather have monetary donations in honor of her Aunt Jennifer and good friend Rena! We are so wonderfully blessed with a million gazillion toys, clothing, and books. We seriously have no more room for them and what better use for your money and to donate it to LLS so they can find cures and better treatments!

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DONATE ANY AMOUNT YOU CAN!