IVIG and golf.… Day 539 07MAY10

Joshua spent his morning hooked up to an IV pump getting his IVIG treatment. He did just fine with no side effects or any complications.

After a little rest Renee and the kids headed off to the Zach Tucker Golf Tournament an annual event that benefits Giving Hope Through Faith. A wonderful organization who helps out families with cancer. They helped us tremendously and we are honored to be able to continue to help support their efforts. Joshua and Jarrod had a great time and Joshua got to drive a golf cart around for a bit. He loves driving!

When they got home they were greeted by me and Miss Allie who came over to spend the night so Jamie and Christian could go out and celebrate her 21st birthday. She was a little fussy but finally calmed down and went to sleep. She has reached that age where she realized after a little while that mommy and daddy were gone :)

Tomorrow will be a busy day filled with lots of activities and lots of road miles. We have three different events to attend: A first communion; a birthday party; and a fund raising dinner. Should be exciting.

Birthday and bowling.… Day 538 06MAY10

Renee's birthday was today! She is one year older although she doesn't look it at all :)

Joshua started off today with his teacher and schoolwork. He had a good morning and it was a fog free meeting which is great. As soon as he was finished Renee and the kids packed up and headed over to Wojtek's house for a play date. They had a great time playing with LEGO and hanging out. I crossed paths with the family at the local meat market on my way to work. Renee had stopped to pick up a few things and I stopped by to help choose stuff. The rest of my day was spent at work. Renee and the kids however got to go bowling at Splitsville in Tampa. It was a fundraising event for Man and Woman of the Year for LLS. Our friends the Cavanaughs were also in attendance and everybody was bowling up a storm.  Jarrod loves to bowl and from what I hear he had a couple of really good games. I am glad that they got to do something fun on Renee's birthday!

Tomorrow is another IVIG treatment for Joshua which means half the day hooked up to an IV pump. We had hoped we were done with the IVIG treatments but his numbers are still a bit on the low side so they will continue for now.

Cinco de Mayo.… Day 537 05MAY10

Today as everyone knows is Cinco de Mayo which also happens to be the birthday of two very special people. One is Renee's mom Mary Ann and the other is our daughter in law Jamie. A very Happy Birthday to you! We love you both!

Joshua started off his day with a celebrity appearance on the Morning Show at Apollo Beach Elementary which is his old school. He even signed autographs afterwards! I had no idea he was so famous at his old school but apparently he is. I think the kids really respond to his positive attitude and his bravery facing cancer every day.

The rest of the day was much less dramatic and was spent doing homework and getting some play time in at home.

Social butterfly.… Day 536 04MAY10

Joshua started off today with his teacher and did his spelling test first thing. He got 19 out of 20 right and I was thrilled. He managed to retain what we worked on and do well on his test. As soon as we were done with school we went with Renee's mom to get Jarrod some new shorts because his old shorts have mysteriously shrunk… We were also looking for some new Crocs for Joshua but could not find any in his size and choice of color. We will keep looking.

This afternoon it was off to the Children's Cancer Center for tutoring. Joshua worked on his spelling homework and did well. He seems to really like the tutoring so far which is great. Next we had to attend to his social engagements for the evening starting with drinks ands appetizers on the 42nd floor of the Bank of America building in the Tampa Club. It was an event sponsored by Max who is one of the candidates for Man of the Year. It was the highest that either of the boys have ever been outside of an airplane and the elevator ride up had both their eyes big. The view was exceptional and although Jarrod is a little afraid of heights he enjoyed looking at the "ant" people down below.

Madison and her mom were also in attendance both the kids helped MAx draw tickets for the raffle prizes of the evening. Next was a pretty good jaunt north to Odessa to support Erin's event at the International Beer Garten. If you like beer this place is totally beer heaven. Erin is a candidate for Woman of the Year. Joshua had pizza and then helped Erin draw tickets out for all the cool prizes she was raffling off.

He also got to listen to Julie Black who is a nationally known blues singer do her thing. In between sets he got an autographed copy of her latest album. After the evening's fun it was a pretty long drive back home but we were really glad that we could help support the candidates and be a part of their fund raising efforts.

Finger sticks and hockey sticks.… Day 535 03MAY10

We all headed in for clinic this morning so Joshua could get his finger stick for counts. His ANC came back at 1400 and everything else is cruising along just fine. We got to hang out with several of our good friends while we waited for his labs to come back. Tiffany was there with Preston and Hannah and Ania was there with Wojtek who was getting an LP today. The kids ran around and general had a great although rather loud play session. As soon as we had his counts we left to go to the LLS offices because Miss Julie had received a special present for Joshua, an autographed hockey stick from his favorite Lightning player #91 Steven Stamkos. Joshua was very excited and refused to let go of the stick until we got to the car. He has wanted a stick for quite a while and Julie made it happen. Joshua would like to say thanks to Steven for sending him a stick, we are going to hang it up along with some of the other things he has gotten from Steven.

Next stop was my dad's house for a quick bite of lunch and a little visit with him. After that we trundled on back home for an afternoon filled with school work. The boys got to take last week off so it was time to get back into the swing of things. Joshua and I worked on his spelling words and eventually he got 20 out of 20 right. Hopefully he will be able to repeat that performance tomorrow when he actually takes the spelling test.

Cannon balls.… Day 534 02MAY10

Joshua got a chance to sleep in a little this morning. Renee and Jarrod left for church early and I stayed very quiet around the house so Joshua could get a little extra sleep in. He has been going at it pretty hard the last week or so and I know he needs the extra rest. Later on after lunch we attended Carly's birthday party. She is one of Joshua's oldest and best friends and they are always glad to see each other. The party was a lot of fun with lots of food and the kids having fun in the pool. Joshua had a cannon ball contest with one of the other boys and after several jumps Carly ultimately declared him the winner.

The boys were pretty tuckered out when we got back so they took it easy of the rest of the evening. My dad came out to have dinner with us and spend some time with the boys. He is doing pretty good all things considered and it was nice to have him at the house. He even brought us a great home made key lime pie! We are going to go over to his house tomorrow for lunch after clinic.

Back home from the beach.… Day 533 01MAY10

We came home from the beach this morning :( After getting up early we cleaned up and packed before loading up the cars. Thank goodness we took both cars over or we would have never managed to get Joshua's new bike or the new TV home. As it was they were both pretty well packed to seams bursting. The boys took one last dip in the pool before we hit the road for home. The trip was pretty short, we only live about 40 minutes from the beach we were staying at. The rest of the day was pretty slow and easy. We unpacked all of our stuff and got everything put away or in the washer. After a few minor adjustments to his new bike Joshua was off and rolling. He really likes his new bike a lot! I know it will provide him with many hours of fun this summer and finally allow him to keep up with his older brother.
I must admit we were sad to leave the beach, it was a wonderful place to be for the last few days. We all had a chance to relax and get some much needed rest and work on our tans. The timing was nothing short of remarkably perfect considering the events of the previous weeks. Our thanks go out to the wonderful lady who donated her condo to us, it was a magnificent gift! Wish we could have stayed forever...