The girls are back!

 

Ellie, Nana and myself rolled into Memphis Thursday afternoon. We had a very easy, uneventful 13 hour drive! Only two stops...we deserve a big ol pat on the back!  Right before we got to the Grizzly House, my phone rang with a message from Habitat for Hope, they had an apartment for us! I may have squealed really loud, or cried, I'm not sure...let's just say I was really happy! We would now have our own space, away from hospital life, to be as normal as possible, cook our own dinners, snuggle on our own couch, and of course have time out in our own room :)

As we headed into the hospital Friday, Ellie proclaimed "I love St. Jude" I couldn't have said it better myself! As hard as it is to be so far away from Richard, Noah and SG, there is no other place I could imagine going. After getting her blood work done we headed to meet the radiation team. Once again Ellie fell in love with the toys in the play room, and ended up bringing one of the babies into her appointment with her. We finalized our decisions, answered the last of our questions, and headed to E Clinic. In true E Clinic fashion, they called her back and she then disappeared into the doctors and nurses office, and Mom and I were sent to a room to wait on her.  She returned with stickers and Mrs. Andrea...oh it feels good to be back with them to start this new battle.

Friday evening we headed to somewhere I haven't been in years...a high school football game! Two rival high schools had a fundraising competition for Habitat for Hope. We got to go be part of the unveiling to see which school one.  Ellie fell in love with the cheerleaders...shocker! It helped they had pink pom poms.  

The two high schools raised over $10,000 for Habitat for Hope...and when the kids heard how much they had raised they cried...what huge hearts these teenagers had.  I think back to my high school years, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't that passionate about anything. After the presentation we headed out, but not before stopping by the pink fire truck that was there to meet some more Pink Heals members.  Another wonderful group of people The Lord has brought into our lives.

 

This weekend was spent moving into our new apartment, grocery shopping and just enjoying the beautiful weather today...and maybe a little Toys R Us spoiling...that gift card is coming in handy :) For the first time during all of this, Ellie has started to realize this isn't home.  A few times I have said we are going home, and we pull into the apartment, and Ellie lets us know, this isn't home. My heart breaks a little for her.  She has started the power control battle with me, it's almost like she senses that she is about to be in control of nothing that happens to her.  That's a lot for a 2 year old.

 

Tomorrow Ellie will be sedated for a CT scan which will map out her body and be used for positioning every time she goes into radiation. I'm so anxious for all of this to start, I can't help but imagining those little cancer cells in her brain multiplying and growing...I'm sure this isn't the case...but some days my imagination gets the best of me! I do know it's not my imagination that some wonderful people surround us every day.  Our family continues to support us with love and prayers, friends continually send emails and messages just to say they love us and are thinking of us, meals will soon start arriving at the house for Richard and the kids.  Noah's new school has provided nothing but love and support. The only word I can use to describe our family is blessed. 

 

 

If you are interested in Habitat for Hope and the amazing work they do to assist families in their most difficult times, please visit their website http://www.habitatforhope.org/. 

 

But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

  Jeremiah 17:7-8

Prayers, Praise and Pink

~Carly