We Are Still Home!!!

Sorry for the lack of posts. I think it is mainly due to the fact that my camera isn't really working anymore and usually my motivation for a post has to do with my having a cute picture that I want to post. I am afraid that I will have to suck it up and buy a new camera, I sure wish it was in our budget!! As you will see from the pictures below, the quality has gotten really poor and it won't take any pictures using the flash which of course is all pictures taken in the house.

Yes, we are still home. Ella's blood counts still weren't high enough as of our visit to the outpatient clinic last Wednesday. There is a certain number they look at called the ANC (absolute neutrophil count) which has to do with the immune system. That number is suppose to be 1000 for us to start the next round of chemo. She has gone from 534 when we left the hospital to 764 four days later and then down to 595 another four days later and then finally this past Wednesday when it was 525. So basically she is just bouncing around all over the place. According to Heather (Zoey's mom) this isn't unusual for our kiddos. And I really can't complain because it has given us an extra week at home already. I am suppose to get her blood drawn again tomorrow (monday) and if her numbers are high enough, then we will go back in the hospital either tuesday or wednesday. The good thing is that all of her other counts such as platelets and hemoglobin have looked great so thankfully we haven't needed any transfusions or anything.

Today, I put my older girls on a plane to Dallas, TX by themselves. We have tried to plan a lot of things over the summer to keep them occupied so we aren't having to stress about who has them each day. Since we used to live in TX (and love visiting whenever we can) I thought it would be fun for the girls to spend some time there visiting old friends. I was doing fine with them boarding the plane but it was watching the plane take off and rise up into the air that actually got to me. It was the strangest thing to know that my kids were up in the air without me. Thankfully they arrived safely into the arms of one of my oldest childhood friends, Michelle. Another mom of the year moment.....after borrowing my sisters camera so I could capture this first solo flight, the camera stayed conveniently in the bottom of my purse the whole time. Bummer!!

As for Ella.....the child is a human tornado!!! Seriously. She was at my mom's house last night while I took the girl's out to dinner and did a little last minute shopping. When we got back to my mom's, it truly looked like a tornado had struck. Then, today, while I took Abbey and Emma to the airport, she stayed with my sister.....same story, different address!! So, you can imagine what my house looks like daily. But, alas, I tell myself that none of this matters...be thankful that she is SOOOO full of energy.

You may be wondering why I have not mentioned anything about Father's Day today. Well, we kind of celebrated on Friday because daddy had to work today and the girls were leaving. So today was just another day for us. But Happy Father's Day to all the great Daddy's out there.

Here are a few (crummy) pictures of Dr. Ella. She got to bring her stethescope home from the hospital and the child seriously cruises around the house all day with it around her neck. It drags on the floor but she doesn't seem to mind.

And finally, a video taken by Abbey of Emma showing Ella how to do some karate moves. My favorite is the kick at the end.

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