Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! Can you believe that it's the end of November already? It's amazing to me how quickly time passes.

I decided something this morning. What was it, you ask? Sit down for this one... I think I'm one step closer to being all grown up. I was thinking this morning about what I'm the most thankful for, and that's when my exciting decision was made. Three years ago, if you would have asked what I was thankful for, I would have said things like a good job, a running car, or a trip that I had just been on. Don't get me wrong... I'm still thankful for those things. But I think that one step to growing up is realizing that some of the things that I'm the most thankful for aren't "things" at all. Here are some of the things that I'm the most thankful for:

- A God who loves me so much that it hurts

- My 3 boys

- Family (Immediate and Extended)

- Karter learning to give bear hugs

- That moment when Brent said, "We have another boy."

- Brody and the way we can feel his love for us

- Memories (like the way Dad would shake his finger at Karter and say, "There's my buddy." Oh, how I treasure memories!)

- Those moments when Karter kisses Brody, even though he doesn't know I'm watching

- The feeling when you look at your husband and wonder how it's possible that you love him more and more every day

- The feeling when you know he's thinking the same thing

- Prayers, and the power that they have

- Having a home that keeps us warm

- Brent (I know I mentioned him in #2, but you guys don't know how great of a husband I have!)

- Friends (whether close or distant, I appreciate you all)

I could go on and on, but I think you'd all get pretty bored. I really just want each of you to know how much you mean to me! With all that's going on in our lives right now, we're trying not to take anything for granted. We appreciate every prayer that has been offered up on our behalf. Trust us, we feel them.

Brent, I want you to know how much I love and appreciate you! You are so much more than I could ever have asked for in a husband and best friend. We're going to get through this, even through the tough times. It will make us stronger. Thank you for being the person you are!

Last, but not least, we appreciate our favorite photographer. Let me show you a little sample of why...

May you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving Day!

Thankfully,

Kelli

Update on Brent

Hey everyone. I just wanted to update after Brent's doctor appointment today. Unfortunately, there's not a lot to say. Basically, all they said is that the bone marrow test proved medically that he does have leukemia (CML is the type he has). I asked if it showed what stage he was in. He said that CML doesn't have stages. Either you have it or you don't. At least it wasn't worse than what we were thinking.

Next week Wednesday we have to go back to Sioux City for more tests. After that they'll know when the treatments (pills) will start. It will most likely be the first week of December.

Sorry to be short, but I hear sleep calling my name. Thanks for all the prayers! Please know how much we appreciate each one of them!

Kelli

Here's What We Give Thanks For...

Yeah! I am actually posting a few pictures! We gave Brody his first "big" bath tonight. Up until tonight it's been all sponge baths for him. He loved his bath, so that made it lots of fun! Here's a few pictures... The first picture was right before his bath.

I love his cheeks in this next one...

Here's a silly picture of Karter. He loves this hat for some reason. Today he even tried to put it on Brody. Needless to say, it was a bit big for Brody (or Bro-Bro, as Karter calls him).

I must say, though, this is my favorite for the night. I just love it when they're fresh out of the tub and in their snuggly jammies. And it melts my heart when Karter holds Brody. He is so good with him, and he just loves him to pieces. I tried to get a picture of Karter giving Brody a kiss, but he was too quick for me.



Thanks for checking in! Sorry that it's been so long since I've posted pictures! I'll try do a better job of getting that done more often! Have a great rest of the week!

Kelli

This Week's Appointments...

Hello everyone. I just thought I'd update you on what's going on in our family for this week. As far as we know, we should only have two doctor appointments this week. One is today, and that one is for Karter. I have to take him for his 18 month checkup and shots. Yeah, you read that correctly... we're getting his 18 month shots even though he's 22 months. Apparently, I'm not one of those organized kinds of moms who does things "on time" and all that jazz. Anyway, I'm sure it won't be a fun appt, because in addition to the normal shots, I think Karter and I will also be getting flu shots. We need to make sure to do everything we can to keep the flu out of our house and away from Brent (and the kids, for that matter). He got his shot at work, so I suppose we better get ours, too.

Then on Friday, we have another appointment with Dr Wender. This time the appt is in Sioux Center. This is the appt where we find out the results from the bone marrow test and EKG. I'm assuming we will also find out when Brent will be starting his pills. I must say, I just wish this appt were over with. I'm scared for B to start these pills. As with every form of treatment, you take the bad with the good... in other words, there will be side effects. I'm not looking forward to finding out how this affects B, and I just wish I could take these pills for him. In fact, I wish I could go through all of this for him. Better yet, I wish they'd just find a stinkin' cure so no one would have to go through this ever again!

Please pray for us as we go into this. Please let us trust God and His plan.

Also, I promise I'll post some pictures of the boys very soon. Sorry that I haven't been better at that! We just had their pictures taken last Friday, so I'm really looking forward to getting those back!

Hope you all have a great week and are enjoying the weather!

Kelli

Life Changed in the Last Five Days

Just when we were starting to settle into somewhat of a routine... our lives were changed in an instant. Last week Wednesday, after a standard cholesterol screening at work, Brent was told to see our family doctor. After more blood tests our doctor called a doctor in Sioux City and discussed the results with him. The very next day we met with that doctor in Sioux City... Dr Wender at the Cancer Center. Brent was diagnosed with Leukemia. It's bad enough to hear yourself say that your 25 year-old husband has Leukemia, but personally I find it harder to say that he has a form of cancer. To say the least, that scares the crap out of me!

Dr Wender was my Dad's doctor, and our family really trusts him. He's one of those doctors that does not sugar-coat anything. He feels very confident that Brent won't have any problems kicking this thing! He won't be doing any chemo or radiation. Instead, his treatment will be in pill form.

Yesterday we went back to Sioux City. Brent had to have an EKG at the Cancer Center. Apparently, this pill can sometimes affect the heart. The EKG was just so they had a picture of what his hear looked like before he started treatments. After that we had to go over to Mercy Hospital and have a bone marrow test. We were a little nervous about that. We had heard that it was quite painful. Brent did really well. He was sore by the time we got home, but he handled it really well. Today he said it's feeling better. He stayed home today because he couldn't do any heavy lifting. He'll be going back to work tomorrow.

We have another appt with Dr Wender on Nov 21st. We'll find out all the results at that point, and hopefully Brent will be starting his pills after that.

Please pray for Brent. This is hard information to accept. Please also pray for the rest of us, that we may give him whatever kind of support he needs.

I'll try keep this blog updated, so feel free to check back and see how everything is going. We will have our hands full, between a (soon to be) 2 year-old, a newborn and Brent's treatments and appointments.

Thanks in advance for all of your support!

Kelli

21 Month Old Experiments with Pot

Oops! I meant to say that Karter experimented with pots... not pot. Sorry about that. :-) Karter's new favorite past time is playing the drums using my pots and pans. Luckily he is OK with plastic spoons, because they're not nearly as loud as other spoons. I like to say that he's taking after his mom, since I played percussion in high school. But Brent says that can't be, since I only played the cymbals in marching band.


Here's our little Monkey on Halloween. We went a few places to Trick or Treat, but I got tired pretty early... so we went home. Brody had a onesie that said "This is my costume". He looked good in orange, which is good... since that's one of Sioux Center's school color.

And then here's just a few extra pictures that I thought you might enjoy. Doesn't Karter look huge?

Sorry it's a short post, but Karter is trying to push buttons while I'm typing. I guess at least that way I can blame any mis-spelled words on him, right?