Happy Birthday Jerad!

Today we celebrated Jerad's 37th birthday. He felt really great when Evan informed him that he was almost 40. Ally was not feeling like doing much again today, but I did get her to do a few things for her Daddy. We all made him a big chocolate chip cookie for his "birthday cake". He has asked for that every year since I have known him. Look at what a mess it makes when you let the kiddlings make the cake.
I also had her help wrap all of the presents and make her Daddy a card. I know it doesn't sound like much, but I push her all the time to try to do stuff. Otherwise, we end up with a day full of TV. I am thinking that she hasn't read a book since sometime mid-May, and that bothers me. We are in the process of getting her set up with an in-home instructor....our neighbor and friend who is also a retired school teacher, Judy Brower. Ally will get an hour of instruction for every day that she misses school. Which I don't know what the next six weeks will bring, but she does not seem ready to be able to handle a school day yet.

Our babysitter Jackie came and stayed with the kids tonight so that we could go out to eat with our friends for Jerad's birthday. What a treat that was for the both of us. Just to get out of the house is really a treat for me. I am feeling increasingly more trapped and like these walls are closing in on me. It is summer and I don't think I ever stepped outside all day until we went to dinner. That gets to me. The kids did fine for Jackie, which also made me really happy. We came back and had presents and cake. Here is proud Daddy with his three biggest fans... (and thank you Lisa Bauer for that Wisconsin hat for Ally, which Carly promptly stole)

And thank you Mr Booher for helping Ally to take her oral chemo medicine tonight. Every night we find a different way to get her to take it. Medicine taking is not so easy in this house. Lots of people have had their turn doing a shot of something out of a syringe with Ally. Brave Mr Booher wins the award for doing a syringe full of Fricker's Buffalo Wing Sauce tonight, without hesitation I might add.

Here's a little wish from me that the Barnetts get some sleep tonight. Last night did not see much rest in our house. Ally ended up crashing on our bed for the night. So I slept in Ally's twin bed. Jerad on the floor next to me. Evan woke up and was already getting upset about us going to the hospital so he ended up sleeping in the twin bed with me. Carly was the only one who spent the night in her own room. Weird. Not to mention that Jerad's parents called at 6:25 am!! to wish him a happy birthday. They get earlier and earlier every year. Note to Anne and John: Jerad said next year he will be unplugging the phone on the night of July 8th.

Tomorrow is treatment day. She gets another (another!) spinal tap....I think she has at least three more this month. They will also start her ARA-C chemo...this is just a push into her port and doesn't take very long. They will keep her accessed and we will have the home health care coming on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday for the daily chemo. I am thinking we may only be there a half day, but as soon as I say that she will need a bag of blood. Evan will be quite happy if we are home early though. He has really come to dread Fridays, poor little guy. For me, on the other hand, they end up being one of the easier days of the week because so many people are taking care of her. And the responsibility is not resting solely on my shoulders and weighing me down.

Please pray that Ally's doctors know exactly what to do to make our little girl better and with the most minimal of side effects. Please pray that God will take this disease away from us, never to return. Please pray that we all have the strength to climb this mountain and get to the other side, where normal days will await us.