Summer is here!

I am having the best summer so far! My mommy is making sure that each day is filled with lots of great things for me to do. I've been able to go swimming bunches of times, I've gone to the zoo, to the park, to several parties and to the ice cream shoppe down the street for my very own cone (I ate almost half of it).

I asked my mommy this morning if I could go to the zoo again. It is one of my favorite places to go. I LOVE seeing the big "So-Saurs" (dinosaurs). Maybe next time I go I can take my daddy or my friend Hannah and her mommy Becky.

Here are some pictures of me at the dinosaur exhibit and at the fossil dig. If you like dinosaur's you should go check it out!

This weekend will be a lot of fun. I am going to a swimming party at my Grandma and Papa's house on Saturday. I can't wait to see everyone. Mom said she will take lots of pictures and put them up on my blog as soon as she can. On Sunday, I am going to my friend Lilly's 1st birthday party on Belle Isle. I've never been there, but I think it will be lots of fun. I went shopping for her gift today and I picked out a bubble lawn mower. It is pink, but I made sure mom knew that they had a blue one that would be good for my birthday :-).

Oh, I forgot to mention that I went to my Aunna's house this week and met a bunch of her friends from her old job. I was really shy at first and I actually ended up falling asleep on my mom (she LOVED it). But, when I woke up I had some lunch, walked through my Aunna's beautiful garden, and talked to some of the people (only a little bit). One of my Aunna's friends gave me a very nice blessing. She gave me a five dollar bill. Mom put it in my pocket, but as soon as I got home I ran to my room to put it in my piggy bank. Thank you Betty!!!! That was sooo nice of you!!!

Well, I will write more after mom takes pictures this weekend. For now, I am just going to enjoy being silly with my mommy and my daddy. Thank you Jesus that you have given me a happy heart and a blessed home!

In my world

Hi Everyone,

Wow! I just returned from yet another fun-filled day at the zoo. I've been asking my mommy to take me to see the dinosaurs again for about a week or so. She finally took me. My Aunna came with us and we had so much fun. I also got to ride the train for the first time and mom let me pick out a T-Rex to bring home with me. It was a great day!

Tomorrow I am going to the park with my mom and my playgroup. Then we will pick up Nick and go swimming at my grandma and papa's house. Mom is making ham and cheesy potato's for dinner at their house...yummy! On Wednesday we are staying home for most of the day. Mom said she would fill up my pool so I can swim and then we might go to the mall so I can get a new "Tigger" for my crocs.

I'm still praying for my daddy to feel better. He has had a rough week and the dr's think he has a virus. He sleeps a lot. He did get to have a nice Father's Day. We went to his sister's house and had fun with the whole family. I got to go swimming in their pool. It was nice and warm. I also played with my cousins and had a lot of fun. When we left their house we stopped to see my papa so that mommy could wish him a happy Father's Day. I'm praying for my Papa also because he had surgery on his knee. He has a big "boo-boo," but mom says it will get all better soon.

Well, I have to go take a nap now. Have a nice day!

I love Summer!

Hi Everyone,

Joshua has been super busy enjoying the gorgeous weather we've had the past couple of days. We've gone to several graduation open house parties, celebrated Father's day with "Papa," played on the swingset, splashed in the pool and celebrated mommy's birthday all in one short week. Summer is the best!

Joshua is growing so quickly. He repeats everything we say and has been putting words together at a rapid pace. The other day we were downstairs playing and he set up his Little People house. He immediately told me that they were hungry for lunch and he fed them french fries, apples, pickles, chicken, peas, and bananas. As he fave the Little People the food he would say, "There you go daddy, there you go mommy, there you go baby." It was adorable!

He is also in love with the water (just like his mom). We spent the entire day outside on Monday and had a blast. He loves getting me all wet and chasing me around with a bucket of water saying, "I go get you!"

Joshua is also helping to plan for his 2nd birthday party. He wants to have Pooh Bear plates, a lot of balloons, cake and bubbles. He is even working on his dance to the Happy Birthday song!

We are also excited to get to know some new people this summer. We've joined up with a MOPS group in the area and are looking forward to Tuesdays at various local parks. It seems to be the perfect fit for both Joshua and his mommy as we get used to having our time together as daddy heads back to work.

Anyway, that's all for now. We have to work on making a memorial stone for sweet little Molly. She was Aunna and Uncle Chuck's "doggy" and she passed away last week. We will all miss her so much.

Have a great week everyone...we'll post again soon!

~Joshua and his mommy

Getting things back to normal

Hi everyone,

I'm not sure how many people are still reading the blog page, but I thought I would keep it as up to date as possible just in case.

Randy went back to work on Monday for a half day. It was a rather odd day for us in our home because I also went back to work on Monday morning. I was asked to come in for a meeting on Monday morning and boy did it feel strange waking up at the crack of dawn and putting on "work" clothes. Randy had a great first day back and has continued to do well. He has taken a nap each afternoon in order to regain his lost energy.

Joshua and I have are having a wonderful time together. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday enjoying every second together at home....ahhh...how nice! Today we made a meal plan, gathered our coupons, and headed to the grocery store. He LOVES putting the food in the cart and then putting it all on the belt at checkout.

Unfortunately, Joshua is missing his "Aunna." My aunt is normally at our house M-F for a few hours during the day to hang out with Joshua. Sadly, her dog has taken ill and she hasn't been able to come over to see us. Joshua misses her, but he prays for their dog each morning and talks about his "Aunna" while he waters the flowers outside. He can't wait to see her this weekend at her garden party!!!!

We are all enjoying the more "normal" side of life these days. God has blessed our family in a very mighty way and we rejoice in that blessing each day. Every day, every moment - we are thankful for the precious gift of life.

Love,
Randy, Rachel and Joshua

p.s.
Mocha is doing well also. She had a vet appt. today and has a bit of an infection, but we have her on antibiotics and we are praying for her full recovery!

The Results Are In!!!!! MIRACLES ARE REAL!!!

Hi Everyone,

Well, we just returned from Dr. Pieper's office and here are a few quotes directly from the dr's mouth: "Terrific!" "This looks wonderful" "I don't see anything" "Everything looks pheneomenal!"

Yeah God!!!! Randy is officially tumor free! The doctor is very pleased with how things look and has given Randy the go ahead to drive and return to work part time next week (June 1st). As far as his tastebuds go...they will return...just no time frame at this point. We are thrilled with all of the wonderful news!

Randy will have another MRI on December 9th and 6 months after that. He will have MRI's for the remainder of his life, however there will be less frequency as the yeard progress. The doctor also indicated that should this tumor return (which we believe will never be the case) the MRI will catch it before any symptoms would be manifested.

So, thank you for all of your support and prayers. God is soooo powerful and sooooo awesome! He has had us cradled gently in His very capable hands through this entire journey and we know He will continue to do so.

We are so blessed to have experienced God's grace and power through so many miraculous events. Our prayer is that this journey - God's power and might - has blessed you and has either encouraged you to dedicate your life to Christ, renew a relationship with Christ, or blessed you in knowing that the God that you serve really is working in a real and powerful way everyday!

Love,
Randy, Rachel and Joshua

Long Weekend

Hi Everyone,

We just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone and safe Memorial Day weekend. Take a moment to reflect on all that God has given us. Freedom is something that many only dream of. Thank you to all of the men and women that have sacrificed as they served our nation. Thank you to all of the husbands, wives, sons, daughters, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, friends, etc. that have bravely held their loved ones memory in their hearts.

Randy and I plan on enjoying the beautiful weather this weekend - finishing up some yard work and spending tons of time outside with Joshua. We will write a detailed post next week after Randy's appt. with his doctor (he had his MRI last week, no results yet).

Love to you all,
Randy, Rachel and Joshua

Moving along

Hi Everyone,

Well, it's been almost 2 weeks since radiation ended. I just buzzed Randy's hair again because you can now clearly see all of the hair loss post radiation. It just looks a bit less dramatic when it is all buzzed. Randy is also still struggling with his taste buds. He is now drinking Ensure to help him get all of the vitamins and nutrients he needs as food just doesn't taste all that great these days. He is able to taste several sweet things although that is getting to be touch and go as well. Hopefully, his doctor will be able to assess this better when we meet with him on the 27th.

Randy is doing really well all in all. He has lost a lot of his strength through this whole process and still experiences episodes of total exhaustion. We just take it one day at a time. He has also been battling a cold (Joshua has an ear infection and I have a sore throat) which hasn't helped in the recovery process. I also think that the whole "brain tumor" thing has finally started to set in for him. It is a very surreal thing and its us both in different ways at different times. However, the awesome part of the whole thing is that whether we are praying that this never returns, rejoicing in how God has already worked, looking ahead to his follow up MRI's, or whatever the case may be we know that God's hand is holding us close and will never let go of us! How great is that?!?!?!

Anyway, please keep us in your prayers as we do go for his post radiation MRI on Wednesday (we won't have any results until the 27th). Also, pray that Randy is able to experience an increase in strength daily as he looks to his return to work in early June...oh, also pray that his doctor will let him drive in the very near future.

Thanks again for everything....we continue to press on -
Love,
Randy, Rachel and Joshua

DONE

Hi Everyone,

Well, we are officially done with radiation. We are soooo happy! Randy went to see "Wolverine" at the theater this morning to celebrate. :-) I will enjoy it more next week when things aren't quite so busy. I've added a few photo's for you to check out of Randy's radiation mask. Enjoy!

Rachel

Day 29...one more remaining

Hi Everyone,

Well Randy is looking forward to his last radiation treatment tomorrow. Things have been really going well and we are praying that all continues to run smoothly. Randy does have a bit of stubborn yeast build up (radiation does a number on your mouth) and so they are switching meds and giving him something stronger (he'll start that tonight). We are really praying that his tastebuds return to normal quickly following radiation (maybe from radiation, maybe from the yeast). He lost 7 lbs. in one week as a result of not enjoying the taste of food :-(

Anyway, we also found out that Randy isn't allowed to drive for at least another month. Dr. Pieper (neurosurgeon) will re-evaluate this on May 27th...Randy was pretty bummed out about that news. So...I will continue to drive him around to all of the wonderful places he wants to go. It does get exhausting at times, however I am soooooooooo thankful that he is here with me for me to be able to do the driving!!! :-)

He will have a follow up appointment with Dr. Chan (radiation oncologist) in 4 weeks and that is the fist of several. We will be professional waiting room folks by the time this is all said and done :-)

We are doing great...we can't wait for radiation to end tomorrow. I'll be taking Randy to the movie theater on Wednesday for his celebratory viewing of "Wolverine." He thought he could drive himself there...oh well...he'll still get to see it :-)

We will continue to keep you posted.

Much Love,
Randy, Rachel and Joshua

p.s.
did you know that May is National Brain Tumor Month??? Thanks Aunt Joan for the tip!!! How cool!!!

Wrapping it up

Hi Everyone!!!

Well, Randy and I are on the count down. Only 2 more radiation treatments left (Monday and Tuesday). We are thrilled! God has really poured out His blessings to us during this time. Randy's side effects haven't been horrible and he is just now starting to notice more hair loss...at the end...how cool! He is still struggling with his taste buds so we are praying that his taste returns shortly after treatment ends. God really is an awesome God!!!

The impact of what happened and what could have been (although we know the "could haves" were never in Gods plans) is just starting to settle in for Randy a bit. He truly sees how delicate life really is and how intricate the brain is...in the same sense we both realize that God is the creator of life and He has so delicately orchestrated our every breath!!!! Yeah God.

We will keep you posted as we celebrate the last 2 days of treatment. Please pray with us as we look forward to a post radiation MRI...we want the best results possible. We are also asking for prayer for a friend of ours. We just recently found out that our friends son (Doug) has been diagnosed with malignant tumors in his spine. He is 15 years old and is at Beaumont recovering from surgery, undergoing physical therapy, and preparing for radiation. Please pray with us for complete healing in his body and for strength and peace for the entire family!!! We know that God is the Great Physician and we are believing for more miracles!

Thanks again everyone...until we chat again,

Randy, Rachel and Joshua