Hello again!

We are into Week 3 of chemo and what a week it has already been. Our family is still fighting this tough cold virus that has us all coughing and a bit worn down. Combine that with some lack of sleep and a little chemotherapy and all of its side effects and it is quite the cocktail. BUT, we are not in the hospital and the sun is shining so we will make it to the other side of this!

Yesterday was our first time at St. Vincent's and it did the job. We are thankful to be able to be closer to home for weekly chemo but miss our Children's team. They are nothing short of excellent down there and exude a confidence that has earned the deepest trust from both David and myself.

Here is the big news...Madeline is now bald and beautiful and is saying that she "loves her bald head." Praise God for the optimism of this small child. She truly is an encouragement to all of us and as we have said before, God is doing something big with this girl even if we don't know what it is. What we do know is that she has handled every hurdle that her small physical body has handed her with grace and abundant joy. After she was pulling out handfuls of hair over the garbage can yesterday and giggling about it she decided she was ready for the big haircut. David did the honors on the back porch. Madeline is blessed to have one of the best fathers there is and she will tell you that he did a great job!

Chemo has not only taken its toll on Madeline's hair but is also beginning to rear its ugly head in the form of mouth sores. One canker sore is enough to debilitate a grown adult and I am looking at my sweet 4 year old with a mouthful of them. It really is the worst. We are trying to find things that she will eat that aren't irritating. In true Madeline fashion the only thing we have found is a bagel and cream cheese from Lox Stock n Bagel which she ate half of for lunch today. We may just become that stores biggest supporters over the next year of our lives.

There are the highs and lows of the past few days. As always it is a rollercoaster and we are thankful to have you beside us through all of this. Please pray for rest for all of us, for Madeline's mouth sores to disappear, and for her chemotherapy to be destroying the tumors inside her body. We want a very positive presurgery CT scan when the time comes!

We love you all.