Just a Quick Update

WHEW! The beginning of our school year has been absolutely bonkers around here! My children are finally settled into their new schedules, I'm caught up on laundry, and for some reason the kids aren't clamoring for attention at this very moment, so I'll give you a quick update (with a promise to post some fantastic pics and stories within the next day or so!)

School ... It feels wonderful being back on a regular routine. Our summer was wonderful, but I really do enjoy the relaxation that comes after the last bus drives away at 8:30! Isaac is the only kiddo who has brought home his progress report. For some reason the others are either cleverly hiding them, or the schools are behind on processing them. WOW! My middle child is a smart cookie! He's always struggled with spelling, but all of his other grades are very high A's and B's! He is also running for "Assistant Secretary" on the Student Council. It's so exciting to have a child who is interested in community service and politics. When I attended his school 30 years ago, I was the president of the Student Council! I'm looking forward to being at the school for the election (posters, speeches, campaigning, the whole bit!) and hopefully to see Isaac revel in his victory! The other day he told me that if he didn't win the office he was hoping for, he'd "act like a gentleman and congratulate the winner." How cool is he?

Anita and Nathan are adjusting well to Middle School. Nita had a tough first week. She kept getting lost in the building, forgetting where her locker was, and trying to figure out which lunch line she needed to be in. Fortunately she's made some new friends that have the same class schedule, so she's got people to follow! Yesterday she even went out for her first trip to the mall without me! Her new friend, Kate, invited her to see "Alpha and Omega" (an animated movie) at a local outlet mall. I'm overprotective, but was so pleased to know that Kate's parents would be accompanying the girls to the mall. Anita had a blast! My baby girl left the house with her cute little outfit on, hair done up like the big girls do, and a purse that had enough money to buy her tickets and a snack. Oh ya, I also made her write all of our family phone numbers down "just in case" they got lost! I'm sure that this will get easier over the next 5-6 years. Right? Please tell me so!

Nathan absolutely LOVES middle school! His teacher is amazing. She's a strong teacher and has high expectations for her students. I love that. She's also very compassionate and warm. She "gets" Nathan's sense of humor, which warms my heart. He's so happy when he talks about his day at school. Get this ... he's learning FRENCH! Seriously! Nathan is also changing physically. My baby boy's voice is cracking all over the place! He startles me when he starts talking and a man's voice comes out of his mouth! It's so weird to hear such a low baritone sound coming out of such a little guy. He's a 12 year old, in the body of an 8-year-old with the voice of a man. Too funny!

Allie has turned her kindergarten classroom upside down. She really can be a challenge to handle. I think her teachers were expecting the "typical" sweet and gentle kiddo with down syndrome, but what they got was Tornado Allie! Sadly, she's not potty trained anymore since going back to school, but I'm hoping that she will resume her potty habits once she gets into the school routine. Last week I cut her hair in a cute little bob. It fits her so perfectly! She's growing up to be a beautiful little girl who wants nothing more than to make the people around her happy.

Brandon had a tough start to the school year. Because of multiple adults dropping the ball, he wasn't able to ride the bus for the first 4 weeks of school. This upset him ... he wanted to ride the bus "like my bruvers and stisturs do!" He's now on the bus and is a happy camper all over again! His big achievement over the last week was becoming "a big boy" and "wearing big boy underwear all of da time!" If we can get Allie back into the swing of things I will have gone from being a mother of 3 children in pull-ups to no more pull-ups in 3 month's time! What will I do with all of the extra money? Oh ya, my stupid health insurance premium went up 33% this year. Goodbye extra money! GRR! Which is a nice segue into ...

Medical stuff ... The kids all had physicals at the end of the summer. They're all perfectly healthy and growing very well. We have an incredible pediatrician who actually takes the time to sit down and answer questions and address any concerns that I may have about each individual child. She even has conversations with the kids too! She has the patience of a saint. I'm sure she gives us more of her time than she allots on her schedule. It's very unique to find such a stellar pediatrician in our area. After a few vaccinations for each kiddo, and some pouting faces (but no tears!) the kids and I went out for lunch before heading back to school to finish out the day.

Nathan's audiology report was good, and this December he'll be receiving a new pair of hearing aids. He was given a choice of colors and designs for the "ear molds" (the soft plastic part that goes into his ear.) I'm cool with the clear molds ... no need to coordinate clothes to hearing aids (I'm neurotic about my kids being dressed so that all things match.) Well, Nathan decided that red ear molds with glittery sparkles would be "fun" this time around. I simply smiled while my brain was yelling "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I guess I'm not the one who has to wear them ... so he's going to be rocking those hearing aids! Allie and Brandon passed their audiology evaluations with flying colors! Both of them have had some hearing loss in the past, and I anticipated having to buy two more pairs of aids this time around.

Pet stuff ... Andre has really enjoyed our trips out to the family cabin. He loves to wander around the 15 acres, find a nice warm sunny spot and flop down for a snooze. Our new family member, Connor (our Ragdoll kitten) has settled in very nicely. He's a lover! He's got one intense purr that you can hear through a closed door! We are so happy that we made the decision to bring him home. Only a couple of weeks after Connor came home, I got a call from his breeder asking if we'd be interested in adopting one of her cats that had been purchased by another family 5 years ago. Sadly, her owner died in a terrible car accident and the family notified the breeder before taking him (the cat) to the local pound. My father decided to adopt the cat, Sunshine! We all piled into the van and drove down to Farmington, MO to pick him up. WOW! This cat is HUGE! He weighs 25+ pounds and is one big hairball! He's absolutely lovely and we all adore him. He's taking his own time to get used to his new surroundings, but when it's just Sunshine and Dad, he follows Dad all over the house. We've started calling him "Shadow" because of it! I'll post pictures of our new fur ball family members very soon.

Now for my boring stuff ... I have completed my radiostatic radiation treatment. I was so fortunate to have almost immediate relief from the incredible pain that I've had for a long time. I'm sure that the tumor in my spine took a good beating when it was zapped by the radiation beams! Sadly, my left kidney was whacked pretty hard too. We'll find out in a couple of weeks if it is functioning at all. The CT scan should also show us if that spinal tumor was affected.

Two weeks ago I started chemo again, this time with Doxil instead of the Gemzar. My CA-125 will be taken again in a couple of weeks. Hopefully we'll see it turn itself around and start heading back down into single digits again. The last time it jumped from a 17 to 61. I remain so happy with my treatment at The Siteman Center for Advanced Medicine. It was hard, and scary, to change doctors last year, but my life has been so dramatically more fulfilling and happy since making that decision. I have a doctor that I trust completely, nurses that truly care about me, and new friends who are going through the same thing I am dealing with. I continue to put my faith in God, that His Will be done. I am not planning my death, but planning for my future. Yes, I'm still scared of leaving my children behind, but knowing that God's Plan for me also includes His plan for them brings me a peace that when I go home to Jesus, they will be OK here. They really are incredible children and so so strong. They know how sick I am, yet they remain positive throughout it all. They are my cheerleaders in life.

Well, that 10 minutes of quiet gave me a chance to update ya'll a bit more than I originally intended. The kids are now hanging over my shoulder, not interrupting my typing because they know it's not allowed, but making sure that I know I can hear them breathing. I suppose they are going to ask me when I'm going to make lunch. LOL ... they all yelled "We're hungry!" when I typed that! I'll go feed my crew. Thank you all for being patient with my lack of communication lately! Check back in a day or two for some really great photos from the end of our summer!

Love to you all,
Kathy