Swimming Lessons

The kids have been taking swimming lessons for the past two weeks from our friend Kendra Nelson. Through the lessons Savannah has overcome her fear of diving off the diving board as well as being in the deep water by herself. Savannah can also tread water for just over a minute. I was so impressed with how well she did. Payton really liked Kendra as well and would talk about her everyday wondering when we would get to see his swim teacher next. I just loved Kendra’s creative way of teaching Payton. Payton is not always an easy boy to teach, but she would sing songs to him and find different techniques to help relate to him. I was so impressed with the kid’s progress.

Summer Sleepovers

Savannah had her best friends Carly and Aleeya sleep over this past week. I’m amazed at how these three can entertain themselves for literally hours. The girls spent time dressing each other up with; makeup, clothes, scarfs, nail painting and doing each other’s hair. They also spent time watching movies, eating snacks and playing with barbie’s. Funny thing is the only time that Savannah will play with her barbie’s is when the girls come over. Hooray for good friends and fun summer sleepovers!

Payton's Results...

GREAT NEWS! Payton's MRI and CT Scans both showed up clean with no evidence of disease. What a great feeling that is. I really had a good feeling, but there is always that doubt that goes through your head. Our clinic appointment went well and it's a great feeling to have another scan and appointment down. Now we can resume on with life for another 3 months. Thanks for all your prayers and kind words. I am so grateful that we have our little guy here with us. We love you Payton and are so proud of the brave little boy that you are.

Payton's 15 month scans...

What a completely crazy week. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to attend my Grandfathers funeral. My Grandpa is such a special person to me and it was an honor to be able to be there. I will miss his laugh, his special hand written thoughtful cards on every Birthday and his unconditional love that he always showed. It was so great to see my family and to be able to spend time with them. The kids loved spending time with their cousins and especially loved spending time with their Grandparents. We also got the chance to see my new niece and attend her blessing before Chad flew out on Sunday.

We arrived home safely after two crazy flight delays Wednesday evening. We were exhausted and glad to get home just before some crazy storms hit North Texas. This morning we got up and headed to Cook’s for Payton’s scans. We were told that if Payton could do his CT scan without sedation then they could get us in earlier. We arrived for Payton’s scan and he started to get really scared. We told him that he needed to hold still for a picture. Payton was really scared when they strapped him to the bed. Chad and I held his hand as they put him into the CT machine and I prayed so hard that he wouldn’t freak out. He did such a great job and I am once again reminded of the power of prayer. That is actually the first time that Chad has seen Payton do his CT scan. Usually I’m the one that is in there with him. Everything went great today and Payton did an amazing job with his sedation for his MRI. I was such a proud mom. Every time I go to Cooks and look around at all the kids I am again reminded of how grateful I am that Payton is doing as well as he is and I am reminded about what a crazy couple of years that it has been. We have a clinic appointment tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. and I am really anxious to receive the results.

My sister finally got her moving truck loaded and headed out Wednesday morning, the same morning we flew to Utah. It was extremely hard saying good bye to her and I will truly miss her. I will be heading to Phoenix Thursday for her wedding. Is life ever going to slow down?

Here are a couple pictures of Payton today. I will post his results as soon as I get home tomorrow.

A few pictures from my trip to Utah...

My three brothers...
My two sisters and three sister-in-laws

Payton loves Grandpa's Garden. First thing Payton said when he arrived was "Grandpa, show me where your carrots are."

Cousins Savannah and Jason playing Basketball with Grandpa.

Me, Jeremy and Jennifer

Grandpa Martindale

I received a call from my Dad Tuesday morning saying that my Grandpa had passed away. Chad, Savannah, Payton and I quickly purchased airline tickets on Tuesday and left for SLC first thing Wednesday morning. We wanted to be here for the funeral since my family has always had such a close relationship with my Grandfather. The viewing was on Thursday evening and the funeral Friday morning. It was so neat to see all my 5 brothers and sisters attend from their various locations. It’s hard for me to believe that my Grandpa is gone; I have always had such a close bond with him. My Grandpa was always so supportive to me in my life. I have such fond memories of him and he will be deeply missed. Chad flew back home today and I will be returning on Wednesday.

Catching up....

I can hardly believe that it’s been just over a month since my last post. Life is going by so fast. It’s crazy to think that summer is just around the corner. Savannah is so excited to be out for summer break and I am ready to sleep in. I am ready to go visit family this summer even though Chad will not be able to go with us. The past month has been chaotic like always. Chad is trying to wrap up Grad School by August and has been under a lot of stress. I have had my hands full with Payton, he has been busy as usual; his latest favorites are watching Dora the Explorer and putting together puzzles. Payton likes to be at home and complains anytime we run errands. He is getting so big and I am still totally amazed at his quick recovery this past year. Sometimes I wonder if Payton is so strong willed because he had to put up such a fight with his cancer. I can hardly believe that Payton’s 15 month scans are next month (June 12th). Again, where does the time go? As for me, I have been walking in the mornings to try and get more energy. I also had a really successful garage sale last weekend. I was thrilled we had such a great turn out. The biggest reason for the garage sale was to help my sister sell off some things before she gets ready to move. Yes, my sister got engaged and will be moving to Phoenix in 3 weeks and getting married on June the 19th. I have such mixed emotions about this. I am truly excited for her that she has finally found someone and that she can find happiness that she truly deserves and yet she is the only family that we have here and over the past a 6 years, we have grown extremely close. She has been such a great sister and friend to me and I will miss her a lot. It’s hard to believe that just 6 short years ago my little family, which at the time consisted of Chad, myself, and Savannah (just before her 2nd Birthday) moved from Indiana to Texas. I remember we arrived in Texas just two days before Christmas and moved in with my sister and her family to give us enough time to settle in and find a place. If somebody would have told me the events that would occur in the next six year of our life, I never would have believed them. Who would have guessed that my sister and I would be pregnant at the same time; our babies born 6 weeks apart? I would have a boy that would later on be diagnosed with cancer just after his 2nd Birthday. My sister’s husband would then walk out and leave her and her 3 kids. My sister would then go through her year of trials and then later find someone and move herself and her kids to Phoenix to be married. I mean really, did this all just happen? It seems like such a blur. If I would have heard all this as we pulled into Texas, six years ago, I just might have turned around. What a challenging, incredibly faith building, chaotic 6 years it has been. I am really hopeful that life will settle down. I am really excited for the future. I am really looking forward to Chad graduating and am nervous but hopeful that he will find a job. I am looking forward to not working for a bit (hopefully soon) and not having to see Chad just in passing, but I am realistic and know that life will always be busy. I am looking forward to finally being in a home of our own. We have been married for 11 years and I am really ready. We are still plugging away in the meantime and are making the best out of each moment we have. Here are a few recent pictures of the kids.