I don't want to re-live yesterday

Deep thoughts about life? How about deep thoughts about food. These were Caleb's words today while selecting just what he should be eating at one of his many meals through the day. "I had peanut butter on crackers yesterday. I don't want to re-live yesterday."

It's steroids week again!  This week seems much like the others: Caleb is tired, cries and is sad for little reason, loses his temper over simple tasks, and is HUNGRY yet extremely picky about food.  He's doing great.  Only one more day, and then withdrawal, and then hopefully everything can return to new normal for a while.  After the last round, with the flu and all, we're hoping for a more ordinary round this time.  We've had no more flu since the intitial bout last week, although we've had to go in isolation when we go to clinic, just in case.  Hopefully next week we can interact with our friends again!

Caleb threw up from chemo this week, which wasn't fun at all, but we realize that some people are sick every time, and multiple times.  We must count our blessings.  The nurses were not concerned, likely because they see it all the time!  Caleb also has a rash around his port, but it's not concerning either.  Except that it's frustrating to me: it's from when we removed the "sticky" that the Emerg nurses put over Caleb's port to keep him accessed.  I asked (twice) for "adhesive remover" to help pull off the very sticky window bandage but was told that alcohol wipes would be sufficient.  They weren't.  Caleb's skin is healing, and the rash doesn't bother him physically.  It just reminds me to stick to my guns a little stronger!

Big changes in Brand-land this week: I returned to full time work and Tim is settling into being a stay-at-home-dad!  Over Christmas, Tim and I realized that we needed to make a change in how we do things.  Looking at another season of long landscaping days and seasonal work was daunting, and we discovered how exhausted we both were.  After a conversation with a friend over New Year's eve, we realized that the best option for our family for right now would be for me to find work and Tim to stay home with the kids most days.  God completely opened doors for us in this circumstance; it would be hard to ignore His leading in how everything has fallen into place!  I'm working weekdays, flexible days with some evenings, and Tim is home.  The schedule for me is such that I can continue to take Caleb on clinic trips, and Tim and I can share more of the responsibility for care than we used to.  We are so thankful for this opportunity!

Oh, and if you're interested in learning more about chemo and cancer in an interactive and exciting way, click on Captain Chemo for some games!