So thankful, So healthy!

 

 

Bella took her very last dose of Chemo on Friday!!!  It seems so strange.  She’s been sick ever since she was placed with us – for the last (almost) two years, all we have known is hospital visits, tons of medication, and E.R. trips.  What is this life with no Chemo?  We can hardly remember!

Saturday we had a party to celebrate our sweet girl being a SURVIVOR!  We invited our family and friends who have played such a crucial role in helping our family through this trial.  Through prayer, meals, babysitting, encouragement – we couldn’t have done it without them.

At Bella’s last hospital appointment while still on treatment!

 

Bella with her doctor and her primary nurse.  After so much time at the hospital, these people practically feel like family!

 

 

We had the party at a frozen custard shop near our house.  Everyone enjoyed frozen custard and cake, and it was so great to get to celebrate with everyone.  I was overwhelmed at having all of these people together who have done so much to love our family and love our daughter over the last two years.

Of course, at the end of March, in only makes sense that there would be a big snowstorm during the party…

 

Photos of Bella from the time she came to us to today.  She looks like a completely different child.  She looks so healthy and happy now!

 

 

 

Nana and Grandpa

 

Ms. Chris, or Grandma Chris as the girls call her.

 

Reading books with Grandpa Richard.

 

 

Bella with our family worker.  She is wonderful!

 

It was a wonderful celebration!  I wish we had taken more pictures, but we were busy soaking up the moment.  We are so thankful, so relieved, so joyful that we are through this trial!  Although we’ll still be making a lot of follow up visits – no more yucky meds, no more lumbar punctures.  Our brave girl made it through!

Always an adventure.

  Sylvia’s had quite the crash course in sharing these past few weeks – but I think that she’s getting the hang of it, and I think we’re all settling into a new normal.  Which is good, because it seems Bella will be with us for a while.

 

She really enjoys stealing my iPhone and taking pictures.

 

  Brian and I had no peace about asking her to move, but we just weren’t sure what to do.  The situation really seemed pretty impossible given our family’s life stage right now.  The medical side of things is just so intense, and we couldn’t figure out how to make it work with two other little ones.  But like I said, we had no peace. 

 

  We prayed about it.  A lot.  We weren’t sure how we were going to do it, but we were pretty sure that saying no was not the right answer.  We decided to try to make it work, and see what God had in mind in telling us not to give up.

 

I find pictures like this on it all. the. time.

 

  The very next day we got a call from the hospital telling us that they could set us up with a home health nurse who could come to our house to do all of her labs.

  We also have a resource family worker that is willing to do almost anything to provide us with support.  She’s really great.

  On top of all of that we were (finally) given a solid outline of her treatment schedule from here on out.  She has treatment every ten days until the beginning of September – and then she only has it once per month!  Doable.  She has one or two labs between each treatment, but those can be done at our house.

  Last, but not least, the caseworker set up visits for treatment days, so a family member will be there for her treatments – I take her and pick her up.

 

Obedience.  Provision.  God is good.

 

 

  So, little Bella is a part of our family for some unknown amount of time.  Things have been crazy, but also very blessed.  For every challenge there is a blessing, and we will only linger on the latter.

 

  I pray so intensely that she can go home safely and in a timely manner.  She is homesick like no child I’ve ever seen – which is probably significant.

 

Until then, a family of five we will be.

 

PoppSecret #2

  I can’t claim the fame on that name. (Whoah.  Just call me Dr. Seuss.)  Our friend Matt called Sylvie PoppSecret before she was born (since we don’t share names prior to the big introduction) and it stuck.

  Anyway, so I’m on my way to being 31 weeks pregnant.  I’m really not sure how that happened – this pregnancy has flown.  I hear it’s because of Sylvia, but we had kids 6 out of the 9 months of my last pregnancy and it didn’t go this fast!  The belly is definitely making it’s presence known in the way of running into unsuspecting passers by who underestimate it’s giganticness (probably not a word.) and by moving around violently like someone inside is doing the cha-cha.  I thought Sylvie was active in utero – but this child’s got her beat for sure.

We could be in trouble folks.

Not feeling gigantic, just, you know, 30 weeks pregnant.  After looking at comparison pics from the last pregnancy, I don’t feel too off the charts.  We’ll see, I have an appointment with my midwife on Friday where I will hopefully be told that the baby is petite like her mama.

Giving the baby kisses.

Sylvia points at my belly all the time and says, “baby?”  Of course, she also points to her own belly all the time and says the same thing.  She might be confused.  We’ve been reading lots of books about babies and talking about her baby sister, but I’m pretty sure she’s got no clue what’s coming.

 

Huugggss.

 

  After some of our good friends had a very scary experience with their little girl, Sylvie’s BF, this weekend – I spent Valentines Day so incredibly thankful for the loves that I’ve been blessed with.  It always sounds so cliché to talk about how things can change so quickly, but I will treasure every second.  Husbands don’t come any more valiantly on white horses than mine, and motherhood has been, by far, the greatest blessing in my life.

  Being a parent, the joy in it, is beyond my explanation.  Before Sylvie was born, my brother said, “It’s kind of like this huge party that you’ve always heard about, but have never been invited to.  And then you become a parent and you’re like, ‘holy cow, no wonder everyone shows up!’”  It’s like this secret that you can’t know until you find yourself holding your child – however they may come to you – and you think, how could I have not known this love before?  Incredible.

 

  Little baby in my belly, I cannot wait to meet you.  I cannot wait to see what changes you hold for our family.  I cannot wait to see what you look like.  Soon you will be here, and I will think, how could I have not known this love before?  We are anxiously anticipating your arrival.

                           Love you, love you, love you,

                                                              Mama