Summer!!!!

The girls have begun their summer and it is off to a great start. This week they have been going to "Camp" at gymnastics. They go to the pool, play in the gym, take a gymnastics class, do crafts, and just have fun. They were exhausted after their first day yesterday, but they hopped out of bed ready to go this morning. Karlee is keeping up with the pace and glad to be included in a "normal" activity with no special treatment.

Karlee looks great and feels great!!! Her hair is returning and she has put on a little weight. It is so pleasurable to see her riding a bike, swimming, and laughing with delight.

Kitts is growing up way too fast. She continues to be the mother to Karlee when they are away from us at camp or wherever. She steps in whenever Karlee will allow her to do so.

Kassidy is enjoying the fact that Karlee no longer needs quite as much attention. Her and Karlee are learning to get along again. Karlee has actually moved back into Kassidy's room and they are now playing together more instead of fighting for our attention.

So many new lessons for us as parents everyday.

It has been awhile since I posted on her blog. She is now in the Long-term maintenance phase of treatment. She goes to clinic once a month, and has her blood drawn locally between clinic visits. She takes a lot of oral medication, but can now swallow pills so it isn't too bad. Wow, has she grown since October. Wow....have we grown since October.

Life has been a roller coaster for our family. It speeds up and slows down but doesn't stop. As a family we have good days and not so good days. As individuals we have good days and not so good days. We have learned how important it is for us to be there for each other, and how to trust and depend on each other.

We would NEVER choose Leukemia, but Leukemia did choose us. Since it chose us, we are learning as much as we can from this process. We have learned to trust each other, how to say what we need, and to focus on what is important. Our house is not always clean, the laundry is never all done, and my car is a huge mess, but it is not nearly as important as it used to be.

So...we have begun our summer and we are doing okay. Some days we are great and others we are not. Different emotions hit at different times for different reasons, but we are learning more and more each day about how to make this a lesson that we can grow from. We are learning to trust!!!!