Can I Be Picky?

So I got a random voice mail on my cell phone from Sloan today. They have never called my cell before, so it was strange. The message told us that Brady's scans have been scheduled for August 10th and 11th. Wow! Unfortunately, we just can't do those dates. I feel slightly bad for being so picky, but hey, this is summer and we have plans! My sister and her family will be here that week and we only see them twice a year. That week is just not an option. I called them back and thanked them for their timeliness, but asked them to please reschedule us for either of the next two weeks in August. They need to coordinate with anesthesia and MRI again, so they will get back to me. I guess I figured I would be in on the discussion regarding when the scans were, but they probably don't have a lot of parents telling them no! Either way we will be squeezing in our trip sometime after the Brady Bash and before our Lemonade Stand!

All 6 of us took a fantastic walk after dinner tonight. We got ice cream at our favorite spot (Santinos...remember my love for their pizza? Well they added ice cream a few years ago...pitter patter goes my heart!) Then we walked over to the new park in the village. It is just a paved path through a small wooded lot, but it is lovely. We let the kids run around and explore. Matt and I sat in awe and fell even more in love with our kids:)
A few things I learned on our walk....

Eli takes the longest to eat ice cream (by about 10 minutes).

Brady can climb in and out of the wagon now all by himself...AMAZING!

Cara has no shame about singing Twinkle Twinkle at the top of her lungs as we stroll through town, completely monotone of course.

Allie likes ice cream! She got her first taste tonight!

Eli likes to hold mommy's hand as he rides in the wagon.

Brady can kill a tiny caterpillar with his bare hands. He also will cry after he does so, and at his mommy's request, say to the caterpillar, "Sorry caterpillar. Feel better." And then blow it a kiss...

Cara likes to look at bugs, but only at a safe distance.

My children are truly amazing creatures to just sit back and observe...they take my breath away!

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Don't forget! You are invited to our Brady Bash! Saturday August 15 at 4pm. Please come to our house and join us as we celebrate Brady's journey and his life! We want to join together to say thank you to our friends, family, and community for all of their support!!! Please email me and let me know if you can come mwilliams91@rochester.rr.com
ALL ARE INVITED!

As many of you remember, the Ronald McDonald house provided us with lodging both at Strong Hospital in Rochester and in NYC during both of Brady's surgeries. We have never forgotten how invaluable being able to stay so close to Brady was during those touch and go times. At the Brady Bash, we would like to collect food items to donate to the Ronald Mc Donald House at Strong. Several people have offered to bring something to the party. In lieu of bringing a dish to pass, please consider helping us collect items for the RMH! I have contacted a friend who is on the board at the RMH and she told me that they are in most need of small packs of snacks, convenience food items, and anything that can be quickly grabbed and eaten in a hospital room. Ideas: boxes of granola bars, animal crackers, pkgs of cheese or pj crackers, chips, trail mix, cans of tuna, soup.

If you are coming to the party, would you please consider bringing one or more items to donate to this VERY worthy cause. We are going to collect the items and deliver them along with a letter thanking the RMH for being there for the Williams family! Thank you for helping us give back to this amazing organization!!!

You are Invited!

For a while now we have had the idea of having a big celebration to mark the end of Brady's treatment! I remember during the really tough times in NYC, Matt and I would look at each other and say, "When this is all over, we are going to have a huge BRADY BASH!" Well, we are ready to celebrate!

We would like to invite you, yes YOU, to our home to help us celebrate Brady's journey, his life, and the miracles God has done for him. Matt and I also want to share a time of celebration with our family, friends, and community as a way to say THANK YOU to all who have stood by us in the last 6 months. What better way to put chemotherapy and two major surgeries behind us then to have a BIG PARTY!

Here are the details:
WHEN: Saturday August 15th 4pm until ?

WHERE: Our house (most of you know where we live, if you don't please email me and I'll give you directions:)

WHO: We want to include as many of "Brady's supporters" as possible! If you are reading this, YOU ARE INVITED!! I would love to send out invites to every single person who has supported, us, prayed for us, or donated to our cause, but it just isn't possible!

DETAILS: Come for dinner, dessert, and to have a great time! Some great friends of ours have donated the use of a huge bounce house and we will have many other fun activities for kids!

HOW TO RSVP: Please send me an email at mwilliams91@rochester.rr.com to RSVP. I do need somewhat of a count so that I can plan for food!

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No news from Sloan today. I'm hoping to hear from them by the end of the week. Our summer schedule is pretty busy, so it will be interesting to see how a trip to NYC fits in. Hopefully it will be just a 2 day trip.

Please pray for Cara as we go to the new eye specialist tomorrow regarding her head tilting. This is our "second opinion" doctor, and I'm really praying that he hears my concerns and can help us solve this mystery! Our appointment is at 8am in Rochester.

More Great Pictures to Share

I raided my mom and my mother in law's camera cards today and saved a bunch of pictures that I just have to share! Before I do I should tell you that I spoke with two secretaries at Sloan today. Both are forwarding our request to do scans in August on to the Neuroblastoma team who needs to "ok" it in order to start the scheduling process. Before anyone gets upset at August versus July, remember that these things take time. Remember how long it took to get us there in the first place? Brady needs anesthesia for his MRI so there is a lot of coordination that needs to happen. We also have to make travel and other arrangements. So although August seems forever away, Matt and I think it is reasonable. After all, the NB team recommended November, so we will see if they agree to doing it early. If not, we will schedule here at Strong.
Now the fun stuff!!

Allison Elizabeth...couldn't love her more!

Sunny days make Brady silly!

The Williams Family Harmonica Band!

A rare snuggle with Eli who is always on the move!

We had a Choo Choo Wagon Wash day!

My sweet pea!

While they do this they say, "Teeter-totter, teeter-totter!"

Home run Brady!

We Have An Appointment

At 4:15 today we got the call we have been waiting for! Sloan called with both a consult appointment and a surgery date. The pit in my stomach hit an all new level as I wrote the dates down on my calendar. We will meet with the oncology team and the surgeon Dr. Laquaglia on Wednesday April 1st (also a meeting with a neurosurgeon either Wed or Thurs). Brady's surgery will be Monday April 6th. Our plan right now is to fly down Tues March 31st and hopefully get a room at the Ronald (we will find out about that next week). Wednesday will be a day of appointments and possibly one appointment on Thursday. Then we will fly back Thursday later in the day. We thought it will be worthwhile to be home Friday and Saturday. Then Sunday later in the day we will fly back and be there for surgery Monday. From that point we will take it day by day. Matt and I plan on being there while Brady is recovering in intensive care. After that, one of us will fly home for a few days and then we will switch. Whoever stays with Brady will have to stay in the hospital until the other person returns.

So there is the plan. I'm going to work on researching some flights tonight. There are a ton of details to work out...what to bring, what not to bring. Several of my online triplet mommy friends have told me that people don't use car seats when traveling by taxi in the city!!??! I'm not sure if that applies to rides to and from the airport as well...it seems crazy! If that is the case we won't have to bring one. Of course we will have the stroller and everything Brady will need for 3 weeks or so.

Obviously there are many areas for prayer right now. My soul can find peace when I think of all of our friends and family faithfully lifting our names up to the Lord. Please continue to pray:
1. For Dr. Laquaglia the surgeon who will be performing this very serious surgery. He is the best there is, but we know who will be guiding his hands as he operates on our precious boy.

2. For Brady as he enjoys a few weeks at home and then a few scary weeks once we are in NYC. We continually pray for his complete healing. We continually pray for God to bring him comfort and security even when he hurts.

3. For Matt and I as we make plans to split our family. This situation saddens me so greatly...please pray for peace in this area.

4. For our parents, family, and friends who will be helping care of Eli, Cara, and Allie when we are away.

I also wanted to let you know that the Brady Bracelets are in! If you would like to sell some at your place of work, church, or community event, please email my brother Andy at stepsforbrady@gmail.com