And I found myself stopping to take pictures. Almost giddy, really, to actually be running in this place.
Pictures of this.
And this.
And this.
Because you guys, we got to go to Minnesota. MINNESOTA! Can you feel my joy through the computer screen? These are pictures of the road that leads to what was once my dad and step mom's house but is now my sister and brother in law's house. And this was the first time we traveled to Minnesota in over 18 months. Eighteen months.
Our last trip to Minnesota was at Christmas in December 2013, about a month before Ethan's diagnosis. And so the last time I was in my sweet home state of Minnesota in the summer was two years ago. Two whole years and a whole different world.
It was probably one of the first laments I had when Ethan was diagnosed. That we wouldn't get to go to Minnesota for such a long time - especially to that country road all the way in rural, northern Minnesota where my dad lives. At the start of all of this I didn't see how the heck we would ever feel comfortable traveling anywhere really, but especially to northern Minnesota where sure, there are hospitals, but not like what we have here with the blessing of our Children's hospital.
And yet you guys, this summer our world got a whole lot bigger.
You see, when Ethan was first diagnosed with leukemia 18 months ago, the world as we knew it got incredibly focused on one thing - Ethan's cancer and Ethan's treatment. Most things revolved around that - the treatment, the hospital, the side effects, the risks. It was all that we could really focus on, understandably. And little by little, as the months have gone on, we've slowly taken steps and seen how the world has gotten bigger. Some have been pretty small steps (that have felt pretty big) - like going home from the hospital for the first time, or trying a restaurant for the first time, going to church. Others have been big steps - Ethan getting to go to preschool for most of this past school year, getting to take our first weekend away in January to Kansas City, spending another weekend away in Omaha with our Bethel hockey family in May. And then in June, getting to go to Minnesota and visit family that we have missed so much --- it was like the exclamation point on how much our world has expanded. And oh, what a BLESSING.
And what's funny, but not funny - maybe ironic? - is that our time in Minnesota actually didn't go as planned. Our plan was to spend a night in Minneapolis, then head up north for 4 days, then back to Minneapolis for 3 days or so before heading home. If you can believe it, we spent 2 of our 4 days up north in the ER with Ethan because he spiked a fever with a virus that he picked up (We haven't had to go to the ER since January, hence the irony). And then we rushed our time in Minneapolis by a day or so because we wanted to get back home to rest up for the following week's scheduled big chemo and sedation for intrathecal chemo.
And so, it didn't go as planned. And to be honest, I cried a lot of our drive home to St. Louis (because it's one thing to miss your family but another to experience your family and then have to leave again). And yet, thankfully, the lasting impression that has been stuck on my heart since we've been back from our trip has just been an abundant sense of joy. Such joy that we actually got to go to Minnesota.
And it's sort of stuck as the overwhelming impression of summer this year:
Joy.
That we are having a summer. Going to the pool. Playing at the park. Eating ice cream. Running through the sprinkler. Today, the 4th of July parade. It is such a delight and joy to do these things you guys, and to make these memories with my babes. I find myself wanting to just cherish and soak up every last second.
Here are some pictures to prove my point. A photo journal, if you will, of the last couple of months.
We went to Omaha for a long weekend with friends.
Eloise turned 3! on May 28th.
We had a super fun pool birthday party with friends.
Grandma Sheila came to visit for two whole weeks!
An afternoon baseball game, which went as you might expect it did - but making it 3 whole innings was actually pretty great! :)
Lots of "racing" these days in front of our house.
And then, Minnesota. I didn't even get pictures with everyone we got to see - but here are some highlights.
And today, we enjoyed the 4th of July parade here in St. Louis.
As for treatment, that's continuing too, of course. Ethan started his 4th cycle of Maintenance last week (he will likely have 12-13 cycles total), which included a sedation for intrathecal chemo as well, and all went well. This cycle will last another 84 days and then we'll begin the next cycle in September. I'm also in the midst of a small outbreak of shingles which has thankfully not been too terrible, but of course, has added some concern for Ethan, as we don't want him to get the chicken pox. Thankfully it seems like I'm on the upswing, but your prayers for protection over Ethan are welcomed. :)
In summary, my friends: We are LOVING summer, and so very thankful for it. Just so very, very thankful. God has sure been so very good to us.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;[a]
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 100
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