Updates....

Tanner...pre-teen guy. Either he won't let us take his picture, or he'll just act really, really tough. Tanner is currently really into clothes, music, LOVES going to Young Men's, and not only uses axe body spray-but now cologne as well. Wow, what are we in for?

Ahhh...Christmas! My favorite holiday without a doubt. We are trying to live up every day this month owns because it always slips by too quickly.

We had fun decorating our tree last night. It's funny to note that the bottom half is quite barren when it comes to lights and ornaments. We have two reasons for this: Ben and the dog, Annabelle. Today we heard an enormous crash and Belles had decided to drink out of the tree water-leading to one toppled tree, water saturating the carpet, and many shattered ornaments. I am sure we will laugh about it...someday.

Eva, the designated tree topper of the year. Hello, my name is Ben. Poor kid has to deal with all of our antics we throw on him.

What a good sport! Ben has really bad asthma and when he gets even a tiny cold, he ends up unable to breathe. He still is a happy kid through it.

Tanner and Grace love Annabelle.

Here is a picture of Grace with her favorite nurse, Katie. Lenz Financial was kind enough to, again, make a donation to Doernbecher in Grace's name. Linda Smith, a dear friend and the kids' piano teacher started this idea and it has made a huge difference for the kids at Doernbecher. She is such a good woman and Grace was thrilled to take in the check and tons of dollars for "shot" bucks. Every time she had one poke from a needle she would get a dollar. Every time she had a poke and a spinal tap poke she got two. So, now the kids at the Oncology/Hematology department will have many more dollars as a reward for their bravery. Thank you SO much Lenz Financial and especially Linda!

Ben is in love with his monkey. Aunt KK and family gave it to him for his birthday and he never separates from it at nap or bedtime.

Eva is a die hard Grace fan. She will do ANYTHING Grace tells her to do, so when Grace said that Eva was her patient and had the swine flu and Cancer-Eva went right along with it. Oh, and she evidently had a broken arm, too. Tough break.

We are Thankful for ...... electricity?

We had a great and memorable Thanksgiving. After the Turkey came out of the oven and the sides were put in, our power went out. Kim's hardwork still paid off we just had to finish cooking the homemade rolls, green beens, and stuffing in the BBQ. We played flashlight charades and monopoly and ate by candlelight. As Kim was starting on the dishes and kids were finishing desert, the power came back on which led to a whipping cream mustache constest. We missed you all during this holiday and hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. We are grateful for too much to write, but most importantly we are grateful for our wonderful family and friends.

Omi's Visit, All I want for Christmas.....

Omi came to visit for Benjamin's birthday and we had so much fun with her on a long weekend. She was so helpful and fun. While she was here Grace had two very loose teeth that she was nervous about pulling out. Omi showed her how to use thread to wrap around her roots and then Grace tugged on the thread until 1 ....and then.... 2 teeth were out. She asked the toothfairy to spare taking her teeth so that she could show her class.

Happy Birthday Big Ben!

Dear Ben,

Yesterday you turned 1! What happened to that tiny premature baby that was in our arms? You are SUCH a big guy now! Ben, you came into our lives under the most challenging of circumstances. I remember feeling quite overwhelmed that I would never be able to give you the attention you deserved while taking care of a child with Cancer and caring for your other siblings. But, into the world you came- a full month early-as a tender reminder that we really aren't in charge in this life, but are graciously given to nonetheless. You are nothing short of a miracle and a gift from Heavenly Father. I honestly believe you were a little "reward" for some of the hardship. You are everything joyful, patient, calm, understated, and blissfull. You are like an answer to a question. Every member of our home relishes in you, Benny. From your chubby little toes to those weepy, but rather large eyes...you have totally STOLEN our hearts. We look forward to every little second we're lucky enough to spend with you. Thank you for being exactly what our family needed, without us even knowing it.

Here are some of your favorites at age 1:

-Books-you are such a book worm...hence the cake. You spend a HUGE amount of time each day perusing books, which I find fascinating. You have a large attention span for such a "little" guy.

-You LOVE to throw your food at meal time-and anyone sitting on your right side is really unfortunate. They end up with a facefull of food. But, you didn't throw one stitch of your birthday cake. You discovered a new love for sugar...oh my.

-You LOVE your siblings. Each one makes you light up. We love your reaction when they walk into the room.

-You love to roll a ball back and forth.

-You love pounding on the piano and will even sing along, but when we pull you away from it, you get ticked.

-You love rain and love being outside.

-You love animals...especially our dog, Annabelle-and feed her fistfulls of food at mealtime...so busted.

-You can say:

dog dog, dada, mama, ahh ohh when something falls, you make a tick tock sound for the clock, you impersonate lizards and giraffes with your tongue sticking out, and make lots more sounds!

-You are the cuddliest baby ever. You love to snuggle up and will just giggle and stare up at us as you cuddle. We A.D.O.R.E. you! Thank you for being in our family. Can't wait to see who you will be as you grow up!

Love,

Mom and Dad

In a few years time...

Can you believe how faded the old "Team Grace" bracelets are? JR snapped these photos of our bracelets versus a brand new one, just to see the change that two and a half years brought. Those bracelets have seen MANY long days of chemotherapy, and we're hoping one day we're brave enough to take them off and feel safety that there is no use for them any longer besides a cherished memory.