Countdown to breaks, school, & flying!

I can't believe another week has flown by! Things outside of home & family have been insane this week: long hours at work, both vehicles being in the shop, and the list goes on. Thankfully, there have been people around reminding me of what's most important: my two sweet boys at home. Brayden had a great Oncology appt Monday. His counts had dipped a bit but he was still in a good range to still get chemo. I'm really curious if he'll hold and make counts Monday. But, one week at a time, right?

So for this week, he's doing great. He can't stop talking about the school countdown. He'll be on steroids the week that school starts, so we're hopeful he'll be able to return back with his friends. He's been packing, un-packing & re-packing his backpack! He's so excited about his teacher and we're excited for a strong, male influence this year who is great at instilling a little bit of healthy fear into the students! Brayden's the perfect age to have this impact so Mom & Dad are very excited about 5th grade!!

We're hopeful for a fun break coming up - more to follow as we count it down. We all need a chance to re-charge our batteries together. This week, Mom enjoyed a birthday. My silly boy has realized I'm not 29 anymore and is having TOO MUCH FUN reminding everyone else, too. Brayden loved getting to visit with his cousins and enjoy their time together. We've gotten to enjoy the Farmer's Market, trip to Lowe's, snow cone treats, FUN, FUN, FUN!! Summer has flown by so quickly with too many weeks in isolation, so hopefully we can make the most of the weeks coming.

Brayden was nominated by his Social Worker at ACH to participate in a VERY EXCITING program! He will be going to Little Rock Air Force Base and be a pilot for a day! He will have a custom-made flight suit, participate in a flight simulation, many other events and finish out the insanely awesome day with graduation. He's SO pumped! We were so grateful and so honored that Brayden was nominated and will be able to have something so exciting to look forward to. What 10-yr-old boy wouldn't want to do this? It couldn't be more perfect!!

We're continuing to hold our breath to see if Brayden's counts hold up for the 6 weeks we're watching. At that point, his chemo dosage will be increased to keep pace with his growth spurt the prior 3 months. Even though we're not looking forward to it, we know that to keep him healthy, safe, and moving forward to full remission, this is what has to happen. We're praying his bone marrow remain strong & producing healthy cells while his liver continues to stay strong in filtering out all the toxicity. And, we'll keep counting down but remembering to enjoy the moments in between and focusing on what's most important!!