It's a Wonderful Life!

Radiation Days 2 & 3 went well for Brayden. We played Hangman in the waiting room since they were running 30 minutes behind schedule. I finally remembered to bring my camera and got some good shots...but I can't hook up my camera until I get back home to share them with you :-( Did I mention on here how they made him an adorable calendar? It has his name across the top and the month of December on it. It's filled with Christmas stickers and colors. For each day he's done with treatment, he gets a sticker to help count-down his days. SO NICE!! He said he got the yucky taste again but not for as long. He's been SO tired...wanting to go to bed at 7:30 tired. His appetite has diminished but he's still getting some healthy things. Other than that, no sickness!

Friday afternoon we were counting down - literally! - the hours until Dad got here. It perked both of us up again getting to see him. I didn't realize how we might have been dragging a bit until he got here and we were both pumped up! I haven't seen Brayden that clingy with his Dad in forever! It was great to see them playing, wrestling, but mostly hugging on each other.

Yesterday I got to sneak out and re-stock groceries before Bryan leaves. While out, I surprised Brayden and got a mini Christmas tree on clearance! We're talking the 1 1/2 ft kind. It's so cute! So I found a couple of clearance ornaments to throw on there to help spruce up our hotel room. He was so excited to see them! We had a lot of fun decorating it. Sure, there weren't that many branches to decorate. But it was still fun! I was proud of myself for being creative and using our little ice chest with a hand towel over the top as a tree stand and skirt to put the mini tree on!! Simplicity definitely helps you appreciate the little things.

Last night we had a fun time. After the tree was decorated and we had dinner, we played some games and got to watch "It's a Wonderful Life!" Bryan and I were both saying we've never seen it all the way through from beginning to end. It seems like I always catch the last 30 minutes. We were both saying "Oh!" Now it makes sense! What a neat story. Brayden enjoyed watching it too while we colored and played. It was such a nice family time. Now today we're trying NOT to count down the hours until Dad goes back home. It's going to be a long 5 days before we get to go back. Brayden's missing Hershey and we're just ready to be home.

Monday we'll get an update on Brayden's counts and possibly Friday as well. If his counts are high enough, he'll return on Monday the 21st to begin Maintenance. Wow...it's amazing to think how far he's come. The 21st will mark 8 months since that dreadful night in the ER and life flight to Children's. So in other ways it's been so long already. But we keep focused on how he's finally past all the high-risk aggressive chemo regimen! Even though he has 2 1/2 yrs left, it's not like what he's been through! We're praying his counts rebound, he stays strong through Radiation with no sickness and secondary effects. We pray for protection for him from all the other effects of Radiation. We pray safe travels for Dad and protection for us this week. We continue to pray for Hannah's sweet family in the coming days and weeks. Our hearts break with them...