Gotta Love It!

Well, I returned from Texas with a stomach bug that held on for an entire week. I wasn't alone, though, as my mom brought a stomach bug of her very own back as well. We've both been sick since last Sunday, and although I'm feeling much better, as of last night, she is not. Hopefully a real "day of rest" will do us both some good.

This week, Levi celebrated his 6th birthday! I am so pleased with the sweet little boy he is still. He loves to make us laugh, he loves to read, he loves anything with wheels, he has begun to collect baseball cards, and he joins his brothers in wanting....really, really wanting...even longing for...a dog! (We have no fenced yard, and we're not the indoor pet type people, so we settle for buddying up with our friends' pets, and keep hoping for a farm of our own...)We celebrated Levi's day with a trip to Jump Mania (a room full of inflatables) with the Parker family and the Glenn family. Big time fun. Then we had dinner, and came home to birthday cake and presents. Levi is still recovering from staying up til nearly 9 o'clock! Party animal!

The weather is much cooler here this weekend. We giggled with excitement as we watched the first few snow flurries float to the ground yesterday. The boys are aching with anticipation to use their barely used sleds that Santa brought them 2 years ago. This was also opening weekend for deer hunting here in Missouri, so we've all enjoyed hearing the updates from our friends and relatives as they bring home their bounty (or lack thereof).

I have some good news on the medical front. I have found an oncologist a bit closer to home where I can receive my "every three week" (tri-weekly?) doseage of Herceptin. This oncologist was actually recommended to me by my Dr. at MD Anderson as a physician he has worked with before, so hopefully everything will transition smoothly. I am still scheduled to be back in TX in January for more tests and treatments as well as reconstructive surgery.

I am looking forward to being close to home during the holidays, though, and we are all enjoying the holiday preparations. This past week, we enjoyed attending Owen's school Thanksgiving program, where they sang songs with titles of "Give Thanks" and "Count Your Blessings", themes very near and dear to our family. This coming week, Levi has his Thanksgiving program, as well as a "Friendship Feast" in his classroom. Sounds like a party to me! Then, next week, Owen has his "multi-cultural, non-denominational, can't call it Thanksgiving" feast in his school, and then we're all off for the Thanksgiving break! YEAH!

Thank you for checking in on us still. We are very appreciative of your prayers and your notes of encouragement. Thanks for all you've done to help me in the past year. What a whirlwind that was! You have no idea how wonderful this Thanksgiving/Christmas season is and will be to me and my family, and it's because you kept us in your prayers. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Have a wonderful week, and I'll write again soon!

Love,
Leslie