Ex-Haus-Ted!

Summer + 3 toddlers + 1 baby + lots of fun= tired! We just got home, tucked our four little ones in bed, and are trying to wrap up this weekend. Of course that means unpacking bags, doing a few loads of laundry, taking out garbage...These summer weekends are proving to be a lot of fun. What a difference a year makes. Last year Brady wasn't walking, so every outing became quite difficult. He had to be carried everywhere, or we had to allow him to crawl around. I was pregnant and not always a lot of help. This year we are all mobile and have a very easy-tempered baby tagging along on all of our adventures. Not that it is easy (trust me, it's NOT) but once we get where we are going, we find that we have a great time!

Today we went to church, had a quick lunch at church, then got back in the car and drove 1 1/2 hours to visit Grandma and Grandpa at their lake cottage. The kids just loved walking near the water and throwing stones, and sand! We had a nice dinner outside and more time for play. Last year the kids didn't nearly as dirty at the lake. This year, a different story. They were covered head to toe with sand. Matt stuck them each in the shower and then we put their pjs on. Then we were on the road home. Sorry no pictures tonight...I didn't bring my camera:(

Matt and I have been discussing our game plan for Brady all weekend. We are actually changing our plan a bit. We are going to contact Strong and get his scans, blood work, and urine testing scheduled for there later this month. We are going to insist on the anesthesia medication that we are comfortable with and only using the MRI instead of both CT and MRI to reduce Brady's exposure to radiation. From there, we will send the scans and reports to Sloan for their review. If anything seems out of the ordinary we will defer to Sloan for a treatment plan. Right now we are praying for peace with this plan and that our doctor here will understand our need to step up communication and have someone in charge of things.

As always, we appreciate your prayers for our family. Life is so complicated right now. We are enjoying our wonderful family and all the fun that this age brings. However, since cancer entered our lives, there is always this dark cloud hanging around threatening our security. Please pray that we would not doubt God's hand at work in our lives for even a second!