More hospital happenings

Well, guess what! We are home from the hospital. It came as a shock to us also, that we'd have to go back so soon, but sure enough. . . It seems like we can't get enough drama in our lives, but really and truly, I'd love some boring, ho-hum, "nothing new" kind of times. Ryan, yes our sweet little guy- who is now in the 7 pound range after 4 weeks of life- decided that his body wasn't going to work correctly and ended up with a problem called pyloric stenosis. Basically, the area that connects his stomach and intestines was closed off, which meant A LOT of vomiting on our end. He had to have surgery to fix it, and while they were in there, he had a hernia fixed. Apparently Ryan's tiny little body couldn't handle the 4 days of vomiting leading up to the surgery and tried to pop out part of his intestine. Hey, at least he only had to undergo anesthesia and healing once. (so far). It feels like we should knock on wood several times a day, but we know that life sometimes contains unpleasant surprises, and are dealing. Anyways, he did great, and is healing well, and we love the not vomiting part of post-surgery life. He came home after a day and a half and we got a little sleep inbetween, so on with the crazy life of a new parent again.
Oh, and by the way, for those of you who were waiting for news on me: all of my scans were clear!!! Sorry to keep you all waiting so long. As you can see, we've been kind of busy lately, not a lot of time for computers. But yes, I am very relieved to know that my cancer is at bay. I'll finish my chemo and radiation (you never know what microscopic cancer cells are floating around) and then hopefully be in remission. I really don't know why I wouldn't be. Like I said, the scans show nothing at all, and really, I knew they wouldn't. Remember how awesome our God is? Well, I do. And all of your prayers have been heard and answered. I feel so blessed in so many ways and am humbled by the grace God gives me every day. I just hope that I'm learning the lesson that God's trying to teach me, if that's what these trials are for. Or maybe it's something completely not about me at all. Ah, too much to ponder with so little sleep. Anyways, I think I'll just rely on God some more and trust that His plans are greater than I could ever know. AKA= peace that passes understanding. :)

New happenings with Julie

So, now that I'm totally involved with our new son, I feel that I've left you all uninformed about my cancer situation. Sorry! I successfully (and quite easily) finished my first round of chemotherapy just in time! Whew!! Did you all realize that I got dose #4 of 4 on Friday the 23rd. By the way, my water broke on Saturday the 24th at 6:30am. I was praying that I could complete the 4 doses without interruption, and boy does God have a sense of humor. OK, Julie. You can finish all four treatments, but then get ready for baby-RIGHT after. Well, I'm not complaining, and in fact am so thankful for the timing. Now I can start my next cycle of chemo right away! I was going to have to wait a month until I had Ryan, then another 3 weeks to heal from the birth/surgery. This impecable timing has given me the opportunity to only wait the 3 weeks to heal from the c-section, and then move on with more chemo. It's like I'm jump starting the whole thing by a month! Which is a good thing- with the main goal here to kill the cancer as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Starting tomorrow I get to have a million scans- ok not really a million, but it feels like a lot. I had to wait on them until I had Ryan, considering that they don't like for the baby to have radiation or contrast or anything that the scans require. But now that it's just me in there, I get to have all the scans that most people get when they are first diagnosed with cancer. I get an ultrasound, mammogram, and MRI tomorrow and then a PET scan the next day. THEN, I get to start my next round of chemo on Friday. Yes, THIS Friday! It's a different type of chemo, and an aggressive approach to the cancer treatment, but my cancer is aggressive, so I say fight fire with better fire! Just like the first round, I'll get 4 treatments, each one three weeks apart. Then I'll get a 3 week break and on to 6 weeks of radiation. I thought I'd be in treatment until Thanksgiving, but now with the baby already here, I'll be done sometime in October! Yeah! I thought it was very considerate of God and of Ryan to work together with me on the whole treatment schedule. You must all know how much I like my plans and schedules!
In all honesty, I do feel very spoiled and blessed. I have a beautiful, healthy baby, and am getting the treatment I need even sooner. It's amazing to me, how God reminds me every day of His love and provision. Even in things that don't necessarily seem to be His acts of lovingkindness from an outsider's perspective. I know without a doubt that my God is loving and kind and generous and good. And I thank Him for those daily reminders and renewed peace.

You want more pictures?

I don't know about all of you, but I can't get enough of Ryan- So here are some more fun pictures!