For the love of...! Sleep, child, sleep!

We have had quite the little battle going on with James. Currently, our child doesn't seem to sleep more than 3-hour bursts. We tried just letting him sleep in our bed, but man, you would think James is break-dancing all night long! So, we have been taking turns working to keep him in his bed during the night. We will stay the course with this one! He has shown in the past that he can sleep through the night. It's been 6 days and he has improved by resisting less and staying in his bed after being put back. This is just one of those things where we hope that we are doing the right thing. So far, we have received 35 different opinions on how to address sleep issues.

We are thankful that James continues to respond well to his treatments and continues to have a great prognosis. He will be finished with treatment Sept. 2010, and your prayers are appreciated through Sept. 2012, as this is the time when he would be deemed "cured." Our little fella is talking so much and ready to share his independence with us at a moment's notice. For example, the other day, James had to go to time out for some forgettable reason, and on his way to time out he was telling Joy, "That is not a good choice, Mommy!" Another time, when being corrected and being requested to respond to the correction (by saying "yes, sir."), James trumped my lesson by saying, "No more 'Yes Sir'" (Translation: "Stop your blabbering. I'm gonna do it my way."). Oh, it's hard not to laugh. The funny thing is that Adrianne is right on his heels with her own brand of independence. For instance, while sitting at breakfast this morning, she was firing "Stop that" comments toward anyone that was talking. I guess we were interrupting the princess' morning meal. We have learned that we have to have a sense of humor and to extend ourselves and our children grace everyday. Bottom line...we are far from perfect parents and are constantly reminded about our need for the Lord's strength to make it through each day. Please pray for Joy and I to have patience, understanding, and continued consistency with our kids.

Go Team

Wow what a crazy week. James went to the clinic on Wednesday and everything looked great. He started his 5 days of steroids and I am thankful to say that we gave him his last dose tonight. Today was also a special day because 6.5 months of training came down to today. I ran the half marathon today with Team in Training. It was an emotional, awesome, yet exhausting day. I just want to say thank you to all of you who supported me and gave money to my fundraising campaign. To date, I raised 2800 dollars and that is due to your generous support. I have pictures from the day so I hope you enjoy....

This picture is the night before the race at the Pasta Party

I am coming across the finish line...tired!!!!!

My awesome cheering section!

My hero and my motivation!

I decorated the back of my shirt in honor of James. I was also running for my cousin Tim who has Lymphoma and is doing great!

Our family after the race! Go team!

Funny Story

We were on the way home from church last night asking James about his class. One of his most favorite things to do at church and school is sing. It is nothing for him to break out into song wherever we are. So we are in the car last night talking and he starts to sing

"Jesus woves me this I know
For the Bibllll tels me so
Wittle ones to him bewong
They are weak but he is strong"

Yes..It's the Mickey Mouse clubhouse
Come inside it's fun inside....

Greg and I were cracking up. I guess we should work on the song a little more:)

James is scheduled to go to MDA this Wednesday for blood counts, vincristine, antibiotics, and to see the doctor. He will also start steroids. As always we covet your prayers through this very difficult time of the month.

Also if you would say a prayer for me, I am running the half marathon on Sunday. It has been a very rewarding experience to train with Team in training but I have to admit I am probably hanging up the running shoes after this race. I could use your prayers to help me finish and I promise to post pics after the event. Thank you to all of you who have supported me through prayer and giving financially to me in honor of James.

Home Sweet Home

While we had a great time with our Tennessee family over Christmas, it was nice returning home to rest and recover. Thank you for your prayers for safe travel. We returned intact and had a great weekend. James has been saying, "I wanna go to 'chool" since Saturday. He is ready to see his friends!

While we have had numerous challenges in 2008, there were many bright spots as well. One bright spot of 2008...James' hair continues to grow wildly out of control and we love it! I am actually quite envious of his Koppelesque do. We want it to keep growing until he's a 28 pound boy with 2 pounds of hair. A real bright spot is that God has blessed us with access to excellent medical care (no matter TN or TX), we have been challenged in our faith and continue to learn more about what it means to "walk by faith, not by sight." We have cried a little less, laughed a little more, and been surrounded by people who love us all the while. 2009 brings promise of the same and likely better. Thank you for staying on this journey with us. Your encouragement keeps us strong and hopeful more than you know.

Revolving Door

We have been through the ringer this Christmas vacation! Of course, you know about the trip to Vanderbilt on Monday. Well, prior to that was a couple of days of sickness for me (stomach bug and late night toilet hugging). Just today, the fateful stomach bug claimed its 6th and 7th victim at the Lambert house. Joy was among the "fallen" today and has been out of commission in bed most of the day today. She is quite fatigued and saddened that time with her family is ending this way. While I have been doing my best to tend to Joy, the Lambert family has been phenoms helping with James and Adrianne. Much to our chagrin, James starting looking lethargic, felt warm, etc., etc. around 2:45 p.m. His temperature was 101.8, prompting an immediate call to Vanderbilt. They advised an ER visit to view his blood counts, do a blood culture (checking for infection in his line), and get him more IV antibiotics. My wonderful Tennessee mom went with me and James to Vandy. James was an absolute PRO! He sat perfectly still for all the time needed. He was quite the model patient. As I write this at 11:45 at night (we just returned from the ER visit about 15 minutes ago), I am thankful that James is okay and thankful that we have such loving family. PLEASE pray that Joy begins to rebound and that she and the rest of us are able to fly back home tomorrow. Also, on a personal note, pray that God help me see his blessing amidst the barrage of trials and feel his mercy and grace in the middle of it all. Honestly, that is very hard to do at times.