Round 4 This and That

Couldn't they be sisters???? The top picture is Ella and the second one is little Arina/Makayla who is being adopted as we speak from across the ocean in the Ukraine. This picture of Ella doesn't show her eyes as well but I had to use this one because of the matching hats. But both girls have the same eye color and skin tone. Oh we can't wait to meet her when the Rugg family gets back with her!!

Today is day 17 in the hospital for this round and we were really hoping to match the last round and go home at 17 days but no such luck. Ella's numbers are low but she hasn't hit that turn around spot yet so it looks like it will still be a few days. We are hanging in there though. The truth is that Ella doesn't seem to mind terribly being there. It is a constant social hour for her.

I found that this was the round that I really started getting to know other families. Some that we have been seeing around the last few rounds and some new ones. This is really an eye opening experience as we learn about so many different types of cancer. It is also yet another chance to show me how truly fortunate we are. Again, I know this sounds strange when we are battling leukemia, but thankfully, with Ella, we haven't seen the true evil that cancer can cause. But some of these other kiddos are SOOO sick and have tumors in their heads that have caused a complete loss of abilities OR caused a disfigurement in the face OR caused the kids to be so sick that they can barely get out of bed. Yes, we have joined yet another club that we never thought we would join. However, this one, unlike the Down syndrome club, is not one that I am glad we have joined. But it is what it is and every day I see patients going about their day the best they can. The other day I saw two teen girls meet up in the hallway and one of them asked the other if they wanted to go hang out in the teen room. As I watched them walk in the door, both of them with IV poles tagging along beside them, it really hit me that we are all definitely in a club together (The IV pole gang). Again, I am so thankful for how well Ella is doing and I truly do see why the nurses say she is the bright spot on the floor. I just pray (and I hope you all will too) that this will continue until the end of our treatment!!

Here are a bunch more pics from the last few days.

Just hanging around....

Trying to run???

Picking up friends in the hallway..I don't think

that her "friend" is too sure about this though

Just being Ella...but check out the new pink

high tops!! They come in purple too (as you will

see in another picture) and can be found at

Babies' R Us

Feeding therapy.....nothing new to report here!

I just took this picture because Ella matches the

train perfectly AND it shows off her purple

high tops!!

Aren't these shoes the cutest? I just ordered them thanks to this post from Laura at Anne and Whitney

Of course after reading her post in which she talks about the great sale that Bugaboo shoes are having, I had to order a couple pair for Ella.

***I am not sure if it is the current wallpaper that I have on my blog or what, but for some reason, when I link things for you to refer to, they don't highlight on my blog. However, if you put your cursor on them, they will show up as an underlined link. Has anyone else ever had this problem?