Told You There Was a Post Percolating!

After scrolling back over the last few months' worth of posts, I can see that it's been a long time since I've done a real update.  Pictures here and there, but no extensive writing about what's going on over here in our day to day lives.  It's not that I haven't thought about doing an update - I've certainly done enough thinking.  It is true that things are busy, especially now in the summer with Peter home from school.  I often do work on my blog during the kids' naptime or when Mike is out at night at cadets or other meetings, and I haven't had that time the last few months.  We've also been busy working on the basement, camping, weddings and visiting - how is it that our time gets so filled up? 
But it's not just that time is busy - we've also been dealing with some serious health concerns within the family, and I haven't been sure how to write about that.  I don't feel like telling you the sweet and happy details about our lives when there is an undercurrent of grief and anxiety swirling around in the background.  This is a big part of our lives right now and to keep this blog as an honest account, a family diary if you will, I must write about the good as well as the bad.
You may remember that back in March I wrote that doctors had diagnosed Dad VD with leukemia in February.  It was knock-you-to-the-floor news, yet we were pretty confident at that point that the type of leukemia was one which is quite treatable and comes with a relatively normal life expectancy.  Still cancer, but if you had to choose, it was one of the better types.
However, in April after further testing, Dad received a more accurate diagnosis - no longer the treatable CML, but a more rare blood cancer with a grim prognosis and limited treatment options beyond a bone marrow transplant.  This was extremely hard news to hear and adjust to.  How quickly life can change!  What a comfort to know at the same time that we are not alone in our trials, and truly the Word of God is a salve to broken hearts.  "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7)
Over the next few months, we gratefully learned that Dad's brother is a compatible bone marrow match, and the doctors put together a plan for going ahead with a transplant.  He will be admitted to the hospital on September 10, and after a brutal regimen of chemotherapy, the transplant will take place on September 18.  The months following will require strict isolation to avoid any chance of infection for Dad's severely compromised immune system while waiting to see if the transplant takes hold.  While we know that we can "cast [our] cares on the Lord and He will sustain [us, and] He will never let the righteous be shaken"(Psalm 55:22), it is hard not to be anxious about what the future holds.  We know that He is with us through all things, and He will continue to be our refuge and fortress - it is our challenge to DWELL in His shelter and to REST in His shadow (Psalm 91:1-2).  We covet your prayers for peace in the weeks and days ahead as the transplant looms, and especially in the weeks and months following the procedure that our God, the Great Physician who is strong and mighty to save would use this transplant to bring healing to Dad, and that through everything we may give all glory and honour to His name.

"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.  I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.  Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord" Lamentations 3:19-26

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen."  Ephesians 3:20-21

There are so many things to catch up on, I have no doubt I will miss some details that I had quite intended to write about when they happened.  I'll have to rely on my somewhat unreliable memory and picture-taking habits to fill in all the blank spots!
The first week of summer Peter and Aaron attended Vacation Bible School, and they both had a great time there learning about the Bible in a classroom setting and interacting with other kids.  Aaron especially was very happy to have a teacher and be in a classroom just like Peter.  Getting the Bible story out of them after every morning was like pulling teeth out of a toothless person, but they were quick to tell me that they liked snacktime.  Mike and I enjoyed watching them sing in the closing program at the end of the week. 
The second week of summer we went up to Grundy Lake with friends of ours, and I've already posted pictures and anecdotes about that trip. 
The third and fourth weeks the two older boys were enrolled in their first round of swimming lessons.  I started them in the youngest class which didn't require a parent in the pool, and although neither of them passed either week, they learned some beginning skills and enjoyed their time in the water.  We don't have endless opportunities to go swimming over the course of the summer, so I don't expect them to be able to swim endless laps but I'd like them to be able to doggy-paddle their way to the edge of a pool if they fall in.  They're not there yet, but all three kids are becoming more comfortable in the water, both in a pool and at the beach.
The fifth week of summer (I'm starting to sound like a Christmas song I think - On The Fifth Week Of Summer My True Love Gave To Me...) had a few at-home days of preparing for the coming weekend - Dave and Bethany's wedding, which took place in Trenton.  We went up on Friday morning with my parents, who helped me out during the weekend taking care of the kids since Mike was busy with his groomsmanly duties.  I was so thankful to have a hand with them while we were away from home and trying to stick to a tight schedule.  Nathaniel was the ring-bearer along with Robert the bell-ringer, and although he wasn't very cooperative during rehearsal, he did a fantastic job during the ceremony.  The day was beautiful, went by quite smoothly and was an enjoyable time.  The weather was very hot, something like 36 degrees, feeling like 44 with the humidity, so we were very thankful for air conditioning in the church and the reception hall.  I took a total of NO pictures, having my hands full with the kids, but the happy couple looked wonderful!  Congratulations Dave and Bethany on your marriage, and we pray that God will bless you richly in the life He has planned out for you.
The following week AW (After Wedding) involved some recovery time, a visit to Lauren in Cayuga, dentist appointments, a wedding-invitation evening with Danielle, Mom, Lauren & Carina, 4 millimeters of rain, and the last day of framing work for Mike.  I didn't even mention that he was working!  Mike spent a number of weeks framing this summer - what a hot summer for working outside.  I am so thankful for my hard-working and handsome hunky husband!  I think the teacher in him will appreciate that alliteration, haha.  The four mm of rain was also an event to be thankful for, bringing the total rain in our backyard since summer vacation started to 20 mm.  Yikes!  It's been a very dry summer, and all the lawns out here are looking pretty brown.  We've had a little bit more rain since then, but not enough to revive much of the grass in our yard unfortunately.  Of course, we only have grass and gardens to worry about - we don't have crops withering in the fields like so many farmers this summer. 
The next week Monday through Wednesday we went camping at Rock Point with Mom and Dad VD and Karen, who came up on Tuesday morning.  It was a blessing to spend this time with them, and although it rained - poured - for a while on Tuesday, we managed to fit in some good camping in those short days.  We did some hiking and biking, played some games, enjoyed some campfires, ate some good camping food, and spent some time at the beach before we left.  Aaron especially enjoyed "marshing" by the campfire - his term for roasting marshmallows for s'mores.  The kids had a grand old time riding their bikes and Peter gained enough confidence with his riding that we took the training wheels off his bike when we got home, and he's officially riding a two-wheeler now!  Way to go Pete! 
We did a lot of work in the basement in the rest of the week, finishing up installing the shower, flooring, toilet, vanity, mirror and lights in the bathroom, and painting the trim, doors, and first coat on the walls.  Mom and Dad M and Danielle came one day to help us with a lot of the painting.  We've got hopefully one more coat to do on the walls, and this stage of painting will be done.  It'll be a while before we finish up the flooring and the rest of the trim down there - a little out of our budget for now - but it'll be a very useable space for the kids to play in during the winter, which was our goal at the beginning of the summer.
Alright, I'm up to this week now.  Mike's been back in the classroom preparing for school for a few days, and he reminded me on Sunday that there are only two weeks until school starts!  Whaaaat?  That just added a few things to my to-do list as far as getting Peter ready for Kindergarten.  We made a "school countdown" paper chain this week, and we've been tearing a link off every day.  We're at 15 days left today, and he's looking forward to climbing on the bus on Sept 5.  We just received bus route information and I am thankful that we'll be able to walk to his bus stop, and that his ride will only be about 20 minutes. 
And there we are!  But no, I'm not quite caught up yet.  There are funny little stories and habits from the kids that get missed in a timeline-type of update, and I don't want to forget about them. 
*Peter, as I mentioned, has learned how to ride his bike without training wheels, and he is very proud of his accomplishment!  He asks to go for a bike ride every day now, and as a result we've ended up at the park a little more often lately. 
*Peter made us laugh the other day walking around with one of those sparkly yellow party hats strapped to his bum - he kept turning around and "stinging" us because he was a bee.
*This next story is perhaps borderline inappropriate but we did have a good laugh from it.  The other day we found Peter walking around the house with a leftover nickel in his mouth from our trip to the Port Dalhousie carousel.  We explained to him that money is dirty and should never go in your mouth - and then Daddy went on to explain that some people are afraid that their money will get stolen so they hide it in their bum.  I knew right away that this was WAY too much detail for our kids to handle, and that it would come up again in some embarrassing situation.  Anyways, a couple of days later Peter was sitting on the couch with a psalter hymnal singing to himself, and I could overhear him singing, "♫♪♫Some people don't want to lose their money so they put it in their bum, and there's poop on it, and that's groooooossss♪♫♪."  Yeah.  At least I can be pretty sure that I won't find him chewing on nickels anymore. 
*We had a good chuckle from Aaron the other day when he was doing "peppersalts" on the couch.  A logical three-year-old alternative word for summersaults, I suppose! 
*Aaron has always loved singing, and he has taken to the music from The Jungle Book.  He keeps walking around the house with this big stuffed snake the kids have, singing "Trust in me, just in me, close your eyes...", along with "Look for the Bears and Sesames." ("Look For the Bare Necessities")  He and Peter also often banter back and forth, "What do you want to do?" "I dunno, what do you want to do", and so forth. 
*Nate is very much "monkey see, monkey do" these days - he wants to copy everything his older brothers do, and perhaps do it a little more dangerously.  He is VERY quick to defend himself with screaming and hitting, which has been a bit of a challenge but somewhat understandable I suppose, having to stick up for himself with two older brothers who like to play games like "Shoot Nate With Our Sticks" or "Nato Bato the Stinky Guy".  Not that it's always the older two against Nate, but they usually play best in twos.  Two's company, three's a crowd they say, and it's often true.  He's added a few words to his repertoire, but he still is far behind where Peter and Aaron were at his age - I think Peter was singing the alphabet song before he was two, and Nate has only a handful of words and sounds.  His favourites are Go Away and more recently, My.  He's got All Done, Amen, Mommy, Aaron, and a few other obscure words down, and he communicates his needs and desires very effectively.  He refuses to say Daddy or Peter, and will instead smirk and say Mommy or Aaron.  He very readily gives us kisses when asked, but I've been trying to teach him to kiss with his mouth closed as he insists on opening his mouth up as wide as possible when he kisses.. that's okay for Mom and Dad, but I don't know how much the Aunts and Uncles want that kind of kiss from their nephew! 
Well.  That was quite a lot of writing!  If that doesn't satisfy your need for a blog update, I don't know what will, and I suggest you start writing updates FOR me since I've spent most of my morning typing at the computer in between fight moderation, a few games of What Time is it Mr Wolf, laundry basket boats and lunchtime.  Till next time!

A sight I often find - three boys reading books on the couch

 On our way up to Trenton for the wedding, Peter rode in Mom and Dad M's van and we took Aaron and Nate.  This is how they drove for part of the way - how sweet! 

 Since I didn't take any pictures at the wedding, here's a peek at what the boys looked like - Mom VD made suits for all seven little boys and they looked SO handsome! 

 On the week after the wedding I took the boys to Happy Rolph's petting zoo for the morning

 We brought some old bread to feed the ducks on our walk

 Some stranger took a fuzzy picture of us

When we were camping, we hooked the bike trailer up to the tricycle and the kids had a hoot pulling each other around

 Enjoying a s'more

 Peter doing his best not to get sticky from the marshmallows

 "Marshing" with Grandma by the campfire

 What a trooper!  He cranked the trailer up and down by himself!!

 Spending some time in the waves of Lake Erie

 Doing the back float with Grandpa

 Can't spend time at the beach without building a castle or bridge of some kind

 He's an expert at looking very sad - at one point he flopped himself flat out on the rainy ground because of some injustice or another. 

 Waving to the camera

 Trucks and sand, always a hit

 Flying a kite with Aunt Karen

 Gaining confidence on the camp road

 And the training wheels are off! 

 Playing at the park

 Cutie!

 Just like his older brother

 Ahh!  There's a bee in the house!

 Making our Kindergarten Countdown chain

 Can't wait for school to start!