snowfall

On Saturday we had our first snow in St. Louis. All day Ethan kept asking me when it would snow. All. Day. Now mom? Okay, now? I told him that it wasn't supposed to snow until supper time and so once we sat down for supper - Mom? Why isn't it snowing? Where is the snow? It was hard to explain to my precious 4 year old that unfortunately, snow can't just be "scheduled."

But then, maybe an hour after supper, the flakes began to fall from the sky. And oh, the delight!

All day he had waited for the snow and when it came, it didn't disappoint in the slightest. We bundled up and sat on our front porch and watched it come to the ground. Ethan wanted to build a snowman and go sledding, but of course there wasn't enough snow falling to make that happen. So we smiled and sat and watched and sang (Let it Snow, naturally). I even busted out with a little Snow! from White Christmas (my kids don't know this one yet, but they will, all in good time. :) )

It was a moment to drink in really. And cherish. And also a reminder of where we are - the blessing of where we are. At the beginning of this whole thing, I wondered if we would have excitement again, delight. Would we enjoy the holidays, dance, sing!? In the smog of the first few months it was hard to see beyond the turmoil to think there would be joy beyond all of this.

Ethan is 10 months into treatment now. 10 months. With 2.5 years to go. We've been blessed to turn a corner and be in this less intensive stage of Maintenance now. And it's been just as his team said it would be - so much better. We made it through the first month of Maintenance without any ER visits or issues and Ethan went to preschool pretty much every day of this last month. He just had his second monthly chemo visit this past Wednesday and things look good. His counts are up, and he feels good and stronger.

The delight of that first snow on Saturday night was such a joy to all of our hearts. A reminder of the blessing of remission - that we get to experience precious moments like this. That the cancer is gone. The chemo is working. Ethan's joy and exuberance are still present. And sweet Eloise is as precious as ever. God has carried us from the darkness of winter - where this all began last January, to the beauty of this new winter season. There are still challenges and pain in this, to be sure, but what a blessing to be able to take a moment and just revel in the beauty of His creation and His provision.

Thank you Jesus, for SNOW.