This weekend is about being together with people we love, and celebrating our dear Dekkers eleventh birthday 💜 There is much fun to be had, much good food to eat, and so many memories to build!
Today, however, I remember Jamin 💙 We had such a short time together. There is trauma there, but I can say with honesty that his birth was a terribly important event, and with it, I learned so much and changed as a person. There is sorrow around his birth and death, and there are also many soft, warm memories. I will not forget that days details for a long, long time.
Thank you Lord for giving us Jamin. His life changed the course of mine. For him, I praise the Lord.
Brady has clocked enough MRIs in the last year and a half that I actually have to look back on the blog to know what number he’s on.
Monday held MRI #8. EIGHT. I think I say it every time, but it was SO hard to get that first scan, and now they give them out like candy! To Brady, anyway. I know not everyone is so fortunate. We are incredibly grateful for the level of care he has received, and that his spine is being diligently assessed, every four-ish months.
We are also incredibly grateful to have a family doctor who we can text, and she will ride e-health on Brady’s behalf, giving us his results the moment they become available.
Monday afternoon was Brady’s scan. And Tuesday morning, we heard from Dr. Guselle!
First, we had a GOOD laugh. It was noted that Brady has mad inflammation and a possible ear infection 😆 Yes, the ear infection and sickness he’s been battling for a month or more. We giggled that even the radiologist who interpreted Brady’s MRI was concerned about it. Aaaaanyway. That was a giggle. I’ll fill you in more on that as we know more. Two ENT appointments on the books. To be continued.
However, for the main event. Brady’s spine. Where his tumour was. Thats the whole point of these scans. We praise God for another report of a clear, tumour-free spine. As far as can be seen, nothing has regrown, and we celebrate yet another victory that is ALL God.
Do you remember that pesky spot that was watched so closely in all his scans? The one that the radiologist suggested might be gone at the last scan?
Its still gone 💜
Of course, because of Brady’s fairly severe malignancy diagnosis, they will continue to scan regularly, believing he will always battle sick cancer cells in this area of his body. We choose to anticipate God’s will being done, regardless of how that looks. Whether there are sick cancer cells in there or not, there is nothing to see, so we are very joyful about that! No matter what happens, we praise God, and we trust God!
Thank you, Lord, for bringing us through such bizarre, brutal, beautiful trials.
So this story comes from a couple of weeks ago, actually, but its too cute to not share with you all!
Wavy has made a very good friend this summer. Our sweet Dahlsjos dote on Wavy left, right, and centre, but she has taken a very strong liking to Sadie. And while it may be a different kind of “friendship” on Sadie’s end of things with the ten year age difference, I’m confident she is also very fond of Wavy!
As the summer has wore on, these two are quite attached at the hip. Its been really really sweet to witness, and I am so appreciative of Sadie’s patience and love for Wavy.
During the week where most kids were at camp, Wavy asked if she could sleep in Sadie’s camper. And they said she could! 💜 Wavy’s FIRST sleepover!!
Sadie was a total rockstar, helped her get ready for bed, got her all settled, and she was asleep before 9pm. The reports the next morning were my favorite parts 💜
Wavy woke up every couple of hours, giggled a little to herself, and then fell back to sleep 💜 She must’ve really loved waking up beside her closest friend!
But the midnight wakeup was the best one.
As the story goes, Wavy woke Sadie up, and sleepily told her “I love you so much.” Sadie told her she was sweet, and that she loved her, too. Wavy then asked her “If you have a dream where I tickle your ear, can you tell me?” A super odd request, but Sadie confirmed she would, in fact, tell Wavy if she had that very specific dream. Wavy thanked her profusely before falling back to sleep 💜
These two 💜💜 I can’t help but feel that Wavy might be a little lost without Sadie come September.
I have always felt very honoured when people who don’t have to invest in our children choose to. And she chooses to invest in our children, always teasing me a little as she reassures me that she wants to 💜
We love the entire Dahlsjo family dearly, and they love us, too. It is an incredibly special bond we’re growing. But this particular pair is important to single out 💜
Waverly’s first sleepover could not have been sweeter. Thank you, Sadie lady. We appreciate you 💜
We came home from the lake a day earlier than usual to make an appointment today. We used our extra time yesterday to get a bunch of impending doom stuff done. I put together a massive school supply list and ordered as much as I could online. And already this morning, it was ready for pickup!
So, while Brady lay in his eighth MRI 🤮 I went to Staples and picked up the massive order of supplies for the upcoming school year! Then, I moseyed on over to Walmart to try and find the rest of the items that were sold out at Staples.
Full disclosure. Walmart was FULL of people and EMPTY of absolutely everything else. I was very discouraged and overwhelmed in Walmart. To credit myself just a tad, normally I am quite stuck and numb during Brady’s scans. This was the first time I actually attempted to do something while he was in.
So I picked up at Staples.
I attempted Walmart.
I attempted Dollarama.
And then I decided I was grateful that I brought crocheting as a backup.
Its almost like I know me or something.
I enjoyed the last chunk of my time crocheting in my car, with happy music playing. And all of a sudden, Brady texted that he was out. I dumped my crocheting into the passengers seat and hauled out of there to go pick him up from St. Pauls Hospital.
Results are pending. Waiting is hard. But we pray with expectation that God will do His perfect will.
Not everyone woke up on the right side of the bed this morning.
Its ok, some did!
S’more breakfast is always a win! We sure missed our usual s’more monger (s’monger?) friends, but it was still fun and yummy 🙂
The weather was perfect today. Perfect. It was overcast, and and a teeeeeny bit threatening 😆 Brady and the kids loaded up to hit the beach, and I hung back to brew some coffee. But Brady called within a minute or two from the water, saying it was about to come down out there. So I abandoned coffee and ran – and I do mean sprinted – seriously – down to the lake.
The clouds were coming in quickly. It was dark. I loved it. My family can vouch, I was giddy, making videos and yelling in excitement. I LOVE storms.
The storm was worthy of my love. It started getting rowdy and lighteningy, so I took a few more pictures and videos before we hauled back up.
We made it back to our site in time to avoid being completely dumped on. Just well rained on, haha! Brady and I hung out with Wavy and Dekker on the deck for a good long while. It POURED. LOUDLY. We loved it.
Rowan joined once the storm started lifting.
Around noon, the rain had mostly quit, and we started getting lunch going. We ate, and then got on the job of getting things packed up from our weekend, and prepped for the next one! That means clothes brought home, fridge food packed up, dishes done, wood bin filled, water jugs filled, floor and deck swept, etc etc etc. Lucky for us, we’re seven people, and can work together!
When the bulk of the work was done, we were waiting for the kids to finish up the dishes, and I took that opportunity to run down to the water for a couple of post-storm pictures. I LOVE storms, but post-storm is also very beautiful 😍
I even found a wild raspberry! Don’t tell me something peed on it. I don’t even care. I ate it. And it was excellent.
We were about ten minutes shy of leaving when our dear friends showed up!!
It was both SO sad to only see them for ten minutes, but SO good that we got to see them at all! We love you, Dahlsjos!
We made a big waving, honking (or as Dekker would say, “horny”) scene when we left, saying goodbye to our people. You can always count on us for that kind of thing, lol!
Aaaaand then we drove home. We had music on, and that was the only sound to be heard. Our group was a tired one. Wavy slept in a power pose most of the way home.
All in all, it was an incredibly lovely day, with SO much rain and SO much refreshing. And then a peaceful ride home 💜
Tomorrow is a big day again, but we will have good rest between now and then. As our health finally begins looking up, life feels a little bit more hopeful, and I foolishly feel like I may again, soon, have *gasp* ENERGY!!!!
Have a lovely week, friends. School is approaching, and I hope you are all able to soak up these last couple of weeks!
The sky progressed all day and got more and more beautiful 😍
We did a lot of stone skipping, and at one point, we gathered up about 15 ish skipping rocks so Brady could come join.
It was Chers idea 💜
It got really wet, so Brady and Waverly traded duds.
The day wrapped up pretty pretty 😍
And praise God, it remained beautiful the next morning!
Rowan got back on a kayak, which felt victorious!
Wavy also showed us what she is made of and stood up on a paddleboard all on her own!
We enjoyed our morning as the clouds rolled in. At that point, we headed back for lunch.
Cher left in the mid afternoon, and as she drove home, we drove our newly improved golf cart! Brady built a platform on the back so the kids can ride along more easily, plus whatever we bring with us!
The afternoon and evening were filled with rain, thunder, and giant salads with chicken nuggets in them.
Its been a beautiful time here. It always is. One of our shortest weekends here but life must go on! We remain grateful 💜
We’re on our way back, celebrating another beautiful weekend to come at our oasis summer spot.
I’ve come to deeply love the drive to the lake. I crochet and sip coffee. We listen to good music. Dekker and Waverly snuggle and wrestle as best as they can in their car seats 😆
As the clouds got more and more beautiful, I knew we were getting closer 😍
Aaaaand I was right 💜
It is always good to be back here. I will deeply miss our lake when the season wraps. Thank you Lord for our spot.
I really love my mom. I am incredibly grateful for the relationship we’ve grown together. It is built on trust and love, and carries no guilt or manipulation. She will always be my mom and I will always be her daughter, but we are also very genuine friends. I am SO blessed to have this beautiful thing with my mom. It is not lost on me how precious and rare this is.
I am sad to say I have hardly seen my mom this summer. Not out of a lack of desire or even of time, but sickness and circumstance have kept us at arms length for many weeks. Truth be told, I miss her terribly. Yes, we have lots on the go at the lake, with appointments, etc., but she is a very important part of our life and there is a very real hole left when we have been apart so long.
Mom, if its unclear at this point, I love you dearly 💜 I appreciate how invested you are in us, even in such a busy season.
In the midst of all your own busyness, you still come to events when possible, take Dekker in to do his cans, and make birthday cakes.
Heck, you even decorate our entire home (with the lovely Cher and Laela alongside) to celebrate big moments in our lives.
With the way our season has been, we have barely any pictures together 💜 But you’ll have to take my word for it when I say that she is one of my closest friends.
I hope you know how loved you are, dear mama 💜 I am proud to know you and be close to you. You are a person I truly admire, and if my children can feel a fraction of the love from me that I feel from you, I will have done my job.
I love you, mom 💜 I hope you feel celebrated and adored today, because you are, and you are.
It was a day of work and play today. Both. A healthy balance.
Cher and I coffeed in the morning, and then Cher worked on Laelas hair while I kept laundry moving.
At lunch, the kids ate and settled in for quiet time, and the two of us ladies went downstairs to watch Bridesmaids, eat pancakes, colour, and crochet.
Post-naps, laundry and braids continued, and I packed the kids clothes for this coming weekend. I sent Brady a grocery list and he happily agreed to pick it up. He also called in some prescriptions to fill.
Brady came home from work with all the groceries, and a new work hat and shirt, looking so fly 😍goodness I’m proud of him! He LOVES his job!
The kids helped put groceries away, and I cooked up the gourmet meal of Kraft dinner 😆 (feels important to add that autocorrect changed “gourmet” to “garbage.”) I am so fortunate to have a family who is HAPPY to have a big pot of macaroni with some salty toppings on it once in a while. I know it’s not good for us, but it’s a good treat and a super easy supper. Everyone was happy.
Now, as the day winds up, Dekker is doing dishes, Cher is finishing up Laelas braids, and the others are playing.
Laundry is done for the day, and kids clothes are packed. Tomorrow will be adults clothes and getting veggies chopped. Tomorrow is also my birthday date! Friday will be loading the van up and Brady has a doctors appointment in the morning.
Lots of lead up to the weekend, but it’s always worth it!
Thank you, all, for your care and concern about Rowan’s scary moment at the lake during our last trip there. It was a very real shakedown and I’ll admit, I’m still quite rattled. I REALLY hope I can get some swimming lessons or something of the sort in the near future. For myself and the kids, ideally. Goodness it was just such a terrifying moment for all of us.
Unfortunately, that all happened during out last evening at camp. The next day, things were still fresh, and a few of us still felt unsettled. But it made sense, and we still got up, enjoyed the sky and the kids, and got our butts down to the beach!
That bug bite, though!
Understandably, not all of our kids felt super amped about getting in the water so shortly after Rowan’s scare, but the beach was still beautiful, and the weather really picked up! It was LOVELY.
Solly was suddenly CRAZY brave out of nowhere!!! It was AWESOME!
We beached as long as we could, but had to head back up to site around noon for lunch and packing up. Our loving friends decided we could go pack first, but that they would host us for lunch. It was SO fun!! Hard to leave, but always nice to know we’ll see them again next time 💜
A sleepy drive was good for the tired bodies, and we all snuggled in well at night.
If I said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times – We are SO fortunate to LOVE the lake and LOVE home. Thank you, Lord!
