Day One Hundred Forty-nine

"Fear not, for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am the Lord your God, and I will give you help and strength. I will hold you by my righteous hand."  Isaiah 41:13

Well, I'll remember today through Mirjan's pictures, since I left for work before everyone was up and got home about 10pm and they were in bed.  They weren't quite asleep, so they all gave me big hugs and sweet kisses.  Emma got excited and did her happy feet dance.  I missed spending the regular time with them the past week.  I saw this note on the table, which made me smile.  His handwriting got really good over the past day. 

Mirjan and the kids went to a Great Escapes event, which was to start at 12:45.  At 2:00, Mirjan called me and asked me for the address again.  Wow!  That really is ELT. :)  She and the kids were walking downtown trying to find the address, so I'm sure that was fun.  Once she got there, the coordinator said others had a hard time finding it as well.

I love this picture of Ryan.  The picture of "cool." 

I'm sorry that I missed it, because they look like they had a wonderful time.  I'm glad that they could enjoy the day!  Sometime in the evening I was checking to see if they were watching tv by pausing and rewinding the tv from my cell phone.  Pretty cool technology.  I guess they were because within a minute, Mirjan called me.  :)

Father, thank you for blessing the children and Mirjan with a good day.  I thank you for blessing me with a wonderful family, and each day I'm so grateful for the kids and Mirjan.  Thank for wonderful organizations and volunteers that touch our hearts.  I ask that you continue to strengthen Ryan's body and lift his spirits.  Father, please continue to heal my little boy.  In Jesus' name I pray.  Amen.

Day One Hundred Twenty-eight

"From the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:48

Today was a good day.  A long day, but a good day.  Since it was so long, I will remember it in pictures:

Starlight Children's Foundation:  Great Escapes at Benihana's

After the event, we headed about 2 hours south to see Nana.  

After spending the rest of the day and evening with Nana, we headed home.  We stopped and rented a movie at a Redbox for the road.  The movie was a little longer than the remaining drive, so we sat in our driveway for about 10 minutes waiting for the movie to finish.   The kids were exhausted and went right to bed.  It was a good day!

Father, thank you for blessing Ryan with a good, healthy day.  Thank you for the love and caring of organizations like Great Escapes who provide events for entire families to forget about treatments for a day and enjoy something new and different.  Thank you for the love of grandmothers...so much that the kids always ask to see them.  Thank you for blessing us with a wonderful day together.  I ask that you strengthen Ryan's body, keep his immune system strong, and continue to heal my little boy.  In Jesus' name I pray.  Amen.

Day Ninety-four

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."  1 Chronicles 16:34

Today was a pretty good day for Ryan.  His mood deteriorated at the end of the day, but he had a long day and not a lot of food by that time.  One day at a time, one meal at a time, etc.

We went to the early service and arrived on ELT.  About half-way through Emma was asleep and snoring like her mother. :)  It was a good service with a good message.  I had referenced a story from that message a week or so ago in the blog, so it was fresh in my mind.

After the service, I took a nap and the others ran by subway to get Ryan's favorite food (ham and grated cheese sandwich).  Afterward, we got ready for the Starlight Children's Foundation Event at Soccer Zone.  The kids played soccer, jumped in the bounce houses, ate pizza, drank slushies, and engineered shelters so that eggs dropped from a ladder wouldn't break (Both Ryan's and Davianna's eggs didn't break!).

The egg dropping contest was the highlight of the afternoon, as the kids were very creative in building a protection barrier for the drop.  Emma just liked taking eggs and breaking them, which she did twice.   It was a good event and a good day.

Mirjan made some super-duper, homemade mac-n-cheese to supplement the pizza and slushies.  Then she pulled some cookies out of the freezer that Kenda had dropped off several days ago....yummm!

Father, thank you for blessing us with a good day!  Thank you for Great Escapes and all the volunteers who donated their time to bring smiles on the faces of the children.  Thank you for time today that we were able to share with one another.  I ask that you continue to comfort, strengthen, and heal my little boy.  In Jesus' name I pray.  Amen.

Day Sixty-five

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

Ryan had a good day today.  We went to the Starlight Children's Foundation Great Escapes Day.  It was really nice that they provide these activities for the entire family.  The people were so kind and caring...God's love displayed.  After a couple of hours, Ryan was extremely tired and looked like he was going to get sick, so we headed home.  But that wasn't before we had a lot of fun!

Here are some pictures and comments from the day:

We started the event off by eating pizza and watching some cartoons.  Then the kids drew pictures of what they think should be on the hospital gowns.  Their drawings will be entered in a contest.

Then it was off to the teacup.  The one ride that I absolutely do not like, but the kids enjoy it.

After that was the highlight of the day....go carts!  The kids took different approaches to the course.  Ryan was slow and steady and after a while loosened up and even waved to me while he was driving.  I think part of his challenge was actually reaching the pedals.  It was questionable if he was tall enough to ride them, but he made it.   Davianna was a different story.  As she drove by me, she would actually pose for the camera.  Then she thought that it would be fun to run into other cars.  As she passed people, she would rub paint, laugh, and keep going.  Eventually it caught up with her and she bump another kid and they both spun out. 
The funniest thing was when they tried to get all the kids back into the parking area.  They created a traffic jam and the guys had to physically move all the cars with the kids in them.  Once they got them straight, the ones in the front (including Davianna) decided that they were going to go for another lap, so they had to run up to the front, stop them and then push them back to the parking area. 

Here are some more pictures from the day.

When we got home, Ryan went straight to the bed for a nap.  I think everyone dozed off for a little while and then we watched some tv.  Mirjan painted Davianna's finger and toe nails.  I am amazed that she can create those designs on such little fingers. Another talent of hers.  Davianna was sooo happy!   After dinner, the kids and I went for a walk while Mirjan was cleaning the tile.  She is determined to make it shine and is doing a great job.  Then it was bath time, prayers, and bed.  Good day!

Father, thank you blessing us with a wonderful day for our family.  Thank you for Starlight and the loving, caring people that made the event such a fun afternoon.  I ask that you bless them and their families.  Father, I am grateful for the blessings that you provide and today was one of those beautiful blessings.  I ask that you keep Ryan's immune system strong, let his counts stay high, and continue to heal his little body.  In Jesus' name I pray.  Amen.