Going Alien....

Ian and grandpa, notice the watch and his phone. They're always with him.
Bryce and his watch.... can't play on the computer without it. By the way nice hair Bryce. LOL!

Bryce watching Ben 10, he's preparing to go Alien.
A nap isn't a nap unless you have THE watch.

So Bryce and Ian are HUGE fans of a cartoon called Ben 10. One guess who got them hooked on this one, Mike of course. We don't have Direct TV anymore (thank goodness), however, Mike was able to track down 5 seasons of Ben 10 on disc at Toys R Us. The last couple months have been one never ending watch - a - thon of Ben 10.
So what is Ben 10 you may ask, briefly, it's about a boy named Ben who comes across a watch that allows him to become 10 different super hero aliens. The watch is permanently attatched to his wrist and along with his cousin and grandpa they save the day from bad guys and other aliens. There is also some small lesson to be learned. It isn't a bad cartoon, although if you don't want your kids watching a cartoon about alien heros, then this is definitely not the one to watch.
The point of my sharing all of this with you is because Mike found Ben 10 watches at Toys R Us and now Bryce and Ian are the proud owners of their very own Ben 10 watch. The funny part is that both boys eat, sleep, and play with these watches. The only time they take them off, is with bath time and then I have to talk them into it. The good part is that if they are being naughty, then all I have to do is threaten to take away their watch and suddenly they are better, at least for about 5 minutes. We have actually taken their watches from them and you would have thought the world had come to an end. Anyway, I took a couple of pics with the boys and their beloved super alien watches.

SURPRISE!!!!

We got the biggest surprise today. Ian got to come home two days earlier than expected. We are so happy to have him home finally. Just knowing that we don't have anymore scheduled hospitalizations makes us so happy! Of course if Ian should get seriously ill, then he will have to be hospitalized again. In the mean time, Ian will have to be seen at the Oncology/Bone Marrow Transplant clinic weekly for the next hundred days. After that, he will be followed closely but will have less frequent visits to the clinic. We have officially entered the wait and see phase of Ian's treatment. I wish everything could just go back to "normal" today.... but I'm not sure if I know what "normal" is anymore. Ian still requires nutrition assistance, he isn't getting TPN (IV nutrition anymore), but he does have an NG tube (tube down his nose to his stomach) through which he will be receiving nutrition. They say it could be as much as two months with an NG tube, also if things don't go well with the NG tube feeds, then they will have to start TPN again. I pray and hope that Ian's appetite will return sooner than later and that his mouth, throat and belly will heal sooner than later. The doctor said that Ian will have to relearn what it means to be hungry and feel full. At this point, I would rather be dealing with teaching Ian how to eat again, rather than dealing with a malignant brain tumor. It's interesting how my perspective has changed most things just aren't that scary anymore or even difficult!
I just want to thank all of you who have prayed and fasted for our family and for Ian. I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. Please continue to remember Ian in your prayers. He still has a long way to go before he is completely healed. We love you all!

A Ghost....

On Halloween, grandpa Jackson stayed with Ian at the hospital so that Mike, grandma Jackson and I could spend Halloween with Bryce and Spencer. I took Bryce to Wal-Mart earlier in the day to pick up some candy for the ward trunk or treat and also look for a costume. I asked him, "What do you want to be for Halloween?" and he replied "A ghost!!!!" Well that should be easy enough I thought, white sheets were expensive and so I just bought white table cloth and trimmed away the excess material and cut out some eye holes. Bryce was thrilled to pieces! Every door he trick or treated at knew exactly what he was. This year was so much fun with Bryce, he really got into the whole experience! What FUN!!!! Spencer was not amused with his crab costume! We had Ian wear that costume last year and funny enough Ian didn't like it either. LOL! We also visited Ian up at the hospital and brought him a Halloween gift bag, with some of his favorite activities, like wooden puzzles and a Ben 10 Sticker book. He wasn't interested in candy, mostly because his mouth is so tender and also because everything tastes so funny!

Our Biker Boy....

So just before Spencer was born, Mike, Bryce and Ian made a trip the Harley Davidson store in Boise and purchased this cute outfit for Spencer. He is finally big enough to wear it. We think he is adorable.....

Tagged Again.... this time a little different....

I am: a daughter of God, a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend, an individual, a return missionary, a student, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints....
I know: that all will be well if we follow the prophet....
I want: too many things...LOL! On a serious note I want my boys to be safe, love the gospel of
Jesus Christ, for them to be faithful, and to know how much their mommy and daddy
love them and how grateful we are to be their parents.
I have: a wonderful family and amazing friends!
I dislike: anything that makes Satan happy!
I miss: Mt Home 3rd Ward, my extended family who live in other states....
I feel: hopeful and happy. Occassionally I feel overwhelmed and disappointed....
I hear: Bryce and Ian laughing and enjoying eachother's company after being apart for days...
I smell: the scent of freshly laundered clothes and a clean house....
I crave: Chinese Food....
I search: for lost toys, new gadgets to add to this blog, and the scriptures to find peace....
I wonder: about a lot of things!!!!
I regret: not being kinder, more patient, more forgiving, more understanding, a better mom, a
better wife, a better friend.... so much to work on!
I love: the gospel, my Savior, my family, traveling, being with friends and family, scrapbooking,
journaling, and sewing....
I care: about family and friends....
I worry: about Ian's cancer coming back.... even though I know the Lord has promised to heal
him. I need to show forth more faith...
I remember: when all I had to worry about on my mission was teaching the gospel of Jesus
Christ. Oh to be worry and distraction free.......
I dance: around the house with Bryce and Ian .... cheek to cheek to the tunes of Brad Paisley...
the boys love it!
I argue: with Mike... more often than I would like to admit, mostly because I am opionated and
bossy....
I write: on this blog and in my journal and sometimes an email....
I win: most games of Boggle I play with most everyone.....
I lose: most games of Monopoly I play with my sister Chloe...
I wish: Ian was home, there wasn't so much hate in the world, I wasn't in debt, I could go back
school, I had more time to sew.....
I listen: to episode after episode of Ben 10 and Scoobie Doo, sometimes my I-pod when I do
housework or when I am driving to Primary Children's Hospital....
I can usually be found: at the hospital taking care of Ian and Spencer.... at home I am
usually found cleaning, playing with Bryce or on the computer.....
I am scared: of evil, and of Ian suffering....
I need: more sleep, more hours in a day, more routine, more patience, more faith.....
I forget: stuff at home that I need to take to the hospital.....
I am happy: when I am doing what Heavenly Father wants me to do...when I am with my
family....
I tag: whoever wants to be tagged.....

It is done........

This is Ian after the transplant playing with his new front end loader. He likes to put his candy in it and dump it.

Here is Fred. For those of you who don't know, Ian has named his IV pole and pumps "Fred" and his central line is named "Gertrude"...... here is Fred with the stem cells....

Me, Ian and his nurse Joan. This is the moment when his nurse is connecting him to do the stem cell infusion. It's much like a blood or platelet transfusion, only it goes much faster. I think the transplant took all of 15 minutes. The Thomoas the Train blanket was a gift from the Bone Marrow Transplant team for Ian's Third Bone Marrow Transplant Birthday. The Doctors and the nurses come in and sing to him and give him some presents.

Ian was sleeping just before the transplant. They have to give him some premeds (Benadryl and a steroid) before transplant just in case he has a reaction to the preservative used to store the stem cells. The preservative smells like cream corn. The funny thing is that Ian wreaks of cream corn for about two or three days after transplant.

This is the container that holds Ian's stem cells on dry ice. Ian had enough stem cells harvested in one day to do six transplants. Isn't the human body amazing!

Ian is officially done with his cancer treatments. As of yesterday he had his last transplant. His last chemo was administered last Monday and Tueseday. I have such mixed emotions about it. Of course I am so glad that Ian doesn't have to ever have chemo again and endure the side effects of it and yet somehow there is this weird safe feeling of being in treatment. In other words, our family is now entering the wait and see space of this challenge. Though I know Ian will be cured, it's hard knowing that the doctors won't give me that assurance for some years to come. It is truly the time when we must put our trust in the Lord and His promises to Ian and our family! The reality is, I can't imagine how any cancer cell could possibly have survived the chemo Ian recieved and the dose in which it was administered. All will be well, it is in the Lord's hands now.

Guess Who Likes Pickles...???

It's as if he's saying " Who me?" The rest of the food stuff on him were cookies. He loves big people food and refuses to eat baby food. I guess that's a good thing, we just offer him most everything we are eating these days. I only wish he had some teeth to eat with. No teeth yet....

Hmmmmmm Yummy Pickle......

I dare you to take it away from me......

So, we discovered last Sunday that Spencer loves pickles. We had a blast watching him suck all the juice out of a whole pickle. I let him work on it for about a half hour and when I finally took it away from him, he was not a happy baby. It sure cracked us up. Sweet baby!