Brain MRI

Our amazing little boy IAN

Just a quick update... Ian had his Brain MRI completed on Friday. All went well and the doctor was able to report back on the results... Ian is still in remission. We are so grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who answers prayers, who protects and heals. Thank you to all of you for your thoughts and prayers on behalf of our little boy and our family! This coming Tuesday, Ian will have an MRI of his spine. We are confident that those scans will also come back clean! Of course it will be another year and half before we can truly relax a bit more...They have told us that if the cancer doesn't come back within two years post resection of the tumor, it is highly unlikely to come back... Nevertheless it will be several years before anyone will consider him cured, if they can ever say that! At this point we are just so over joyed that his cancer remains in remission!

Temple Square

Mike had the day off today so we took a field trip down to Temple Square. We went to the Visitors Center and then to the Church Museum. What fun! Mike and I have plans to go back to the Church Museum some time without the kids. There is so much to see and the kids are not patient enough to let us look at everything. Anyhow, a very nice sister missionary took our picture. It was difficult to get the boys to look at the camera at the same time. LOL! Stinkers! I'm just grateful that we were able to get a picture.

Ian Update

Just a little update. Ian had an appointment with his BMT (bone marrow transplant) doctors. He had blood drawn for labs and also some snot taken to make sure he doesn't have RSV or influenza. The labs came back looking good and he doesn't have RSV or influenza. He does have a small cold. I am so frustrated about the cold, especially after all I do to keep him safe. The doctor assured me that some times despite our best efforts kids can catch a cold. Anyway, he seems to be fighting it fine and it will soon run its course. Ian has grown taller since his last appointment in December and he has gained a whole pound, he now weighs 35 pounds. YAY! I am just so pleased at the progress Ian is making and I hope that he continues do well. We were told today that Ian should be able to return to church and be able to stop wearing his mask at 6 months post transplant. So that means sometime this May. He will still have to wait till the year mark for his immunizations. The doctor reassured us that each day that we get further and further from Ian's transplant is a day that he gets stronger and stronger. Ian has his next appointment on January 30 and it is to do an MRI of his brain and also to do a hearing test. Then on February 3 he will have another MRI done of his spine. On both occassions they will have to sedate Ian which always makes me a little nervous. Not to mention the fact that Ian is always such a grump after he's been knocked out! I pray and hope that his scans come back clean. Nevertheless, I know Heavenly Father keeps his promises!

Underwear Model...

So.... Ian has been asking to wear big boy undies like Bryce.... A few days ago I decided to put some on him and I explained to him that if he was going to start wearing big boy undies he had to go potty in the toilet. Well he seemed to understand what I was saying and so I let him lose around the house with undies. It didn't last long because he hasn't been able to get to the bathroom fast enough and even though he shows interest he is still not waking up dry in the morning or after naps. So we might just give it another month before we try again. So this is a pic I took of him and he looks like he is posing for a magazine add. It cracks me up!

Scooby Snacks....

I just had to share this funny story about Bryce and Ian. These two are thick as thieves. When they aren't fighting eachother that is. Usually, Bryce will try to get Ian to do something he knows Mike and I don't want them doing. For example screaming! They scream when they are happy, they scream when they are sad or frustrated. They scream to drive Mike and me NUTS!!! It's that shrill screeching high pitched scream that makes your ears hurt. Anyhow we have begged pleaded and even threatened to take toys or put them in time out if they don't stop. NOTHING has worked! Short of removing their vocal chords, which I'm sure would not be humane, we are at a loss as to how to get them to stop the behavior. Anyway, the point of me sharing all this is to share a funny story..... So the other day I put the boys down for a nap and I could hear Bryce in the room asking Ian " Would you do it for Oooonnnne Scooby Snack?" and Ian would say "no..." and then Bryce would say " How about Twoooo Scooby Snacks?" Then I would hear Ian scream a high pitched screeching sound for a couple seconds and then the two of them would crack up laughing! And this went on and on until finally I had to ask them nicely to stop. Clearly Bryce and Ian have seen one too many episodes of Scooby Doo. I notice more often now, how Bryce uses this little game to entice Ian to do something he knows is naughty. Things he knows he would get in trouble for, but somehow thinks Ian won't. The sad thing is that it works more often than not and Bryce isn't even handing out REAL Scooby Snacks, just make believe ones. LOL!

Happy 1st Birthday Spencer.....

Spencer getting some kisses from momma
Spencer's just about had enough cake at this point.

Spencer's birthday cake.

Spencer officially one year old.

Here are some pictures of Spencer's 1st Birthday. I can hardly believe he is a year old. I suppose I could have made his day a little more special if I had scheduled his one year well baby appointment for another day. Instead he had three shots and some blood drawn. Poor kid! Nevertheless the day turned out good! We celebrated as a family and had a great time!

New Year Ramblings.....

So I was hoping that 2009 was going to be a little nicer to me than 2008 was... it's already starting out rough. What gives???? The check engine light came on a few days ago in our car and Mike took the car to have the car hooked up to the computer to see what code came up. It was the variable valve timing sensor that was setting it off... no big deal... Mike bought the part and fixed it himself. Alls well right????...... WRONG the check engine light came on again and so this time we had to take it into Toyota because the only other problem that could be tripping the sensor was a part on the car that Mike can't repair since we don't own a lift and all the gear required to do the repair. Anyhow, the piece that went bad, is so rusted that all of the mechanic were shocked because this part never goes bad and especially on a car that only has 44,000 miles on it and has a perfect maintenance record! Turns out Alaska winter/spring weather was a little rough on the car. I am grateful that the problem can be fixed, I am just disappointed that we have to fork over A LOT of money to have it fixed!

On a brighter note, Spencer is now walking and it is so cute to watch. He turns one on Monday and I can't believe how fast his first year went by. He still crawls on occassion, I think it has more to do with self preservation when Bryce and Ian are around because they can be awfully rough with him. I keep having to explain to them that he is a baby and that he probably isn't interested in wrestling yet. Nevertheless Spencer is pretty patient and tolerates quite a bit of bullying by them. I'm sure he will grow up to be pretty tough!

It is my hope that all who read this blog are able to meet all of their goals for this coming year and that all of Heavenly Father's choicest blessing will be yours as you seek His will and ask Him for those blessings. I'm so grateful for all the blessing He has given me, they are too numerous to count and yet I know that all the good that comes into my life is because of His love and mercy toward me. Happy New Year to you all!