On the Road

Today the kids and I are headed to Jacksonville. Pray for a safe trip. Also, my father will be going on a mission trip, leaving this weekend for Mexico. He and others will be helping to build homes. Pray for a safe trip, good road conditions, for great weather, and for the peoples hearts to be open to hearing God's Word. My dad has never done this before, and here he is at 71 going. What a dad. Pray that the Lord protects him there.
God bless, and remember Em and my Mom will be home alone while we are all gone.

Resurrection Day Homegoing

After I posted last night I checked in on Amy and CHristian Showers. Christian went home to Jesus Easter Day afternoon. His mommy took pics of the boys last week cause she didn't know if he would be here on this earth for Easter. It seems that she must have felt in her heart of hearts that her baby boy would go meet his Savior on that day. Thank you to those who pray for these kids and their mommy and daddies. Every time Em and I read a blog of a little one who has passed on or is not doing well, we just hug Ivee and Em says, "Everyday is a gift." It truly is! Ivee is doing so well in comparison to other kids out there, and sometimes their stories would just sadden me deeper. I would anticipate the day when her cancer would return as it has done to all the other kids I follow that have her cancer. Then, a few weeks ago I found a boy who has only had the initial Ependymoma, and he has been tumor free for 5 years with no recurrences. God reminds me that every situation is different, and nothing is out of his hands. He will use Ivee and the others for his glory no matter how or when the story on earth may end. Everyday is a brand new beginning! Everyday he will renew our strength! So, today my heart is burdened for Christians' families lose, but I am not sad. For today is a new day with Brittney, Ethan and Ivee. I AM BLESSED!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from the Foley Family. It was a lovely day outside, wasn't it! Here is our crew after church and lunch. We had a great day at church, then lunch together, followed by a nap, supper with my parents, and then the movie "Enchanted." Below are our family pics. We will have to get some new ones done soon since our Ivee has a head full of hair, and she doesn't look chemo sick. I'll be leaving for Jacksonville this Thursday with the kids (by myself). Six hours in the car doesn't sound that bad...does it? Well be fine. Going to visit my sisters. I haven't been able to travel to see them for over a year since Ivee's journey began. So, we don't get to see much of each other anymore. Maybe Sonia will move back home soon...hint, hint. Pray for safe travel, that NO ONE gets sick, and that we just have a fun relaxing time with the 5 kids. Thanks for always checking in and remembering us.

By the way, Ivee is doing okay with her braces. She's not as bothered by them anymore. Now we just have to convince her to not be so lazy at the standing and taking steps. Scooting, as she does, she is convinced is the only and best form of transportation to her.

What a pretty, sunny day!
Daddy and his babies!
Mommy and her angel!
Mommy and all her angels!
My rotten little angels!

Someone is going to get in trouble...

Does someone look like trouble to you? To bad she's so darn cute.

Okay, but I had sympathy here. She really didn't want to wear her monkey mask. Can you see that hurt look of pain and complete despair?

But then yesterday we were back at it again. We learned to open the side table by the couch, and pull ourself up. Mommy will have to try to break that quick! I think she's gonna pull the table down on top of herself.

A word to the wise.

I have definitely come to a conclusion. As school is approaching the last part of the year, for anyone out there who is considering homeschooling, DO NOT use the Lifepacs from Alpha Omega. I like the idea of books being available to work in, but the curriculum is ridiculous to me. Em and I have been reading the math for Britt lately, and we believe it must have been written by a math idiot. I'm sorry, but when it tells you to round the the nearest period, something is wrong. There are no periods in math. Decimals, yes, but when it wants to you round to the closest millionth or billionth, it is not a period! And the Bible must have been written by a senior in seminary who needed a thesis. It is just not on the level of a 6th grader. I doubt even the greatest Bible scholar out there could tell some of the minor kings (all 2 thousand of them) in the Old Testament and which one did which. Plus, all their names sound the same! The subject matter in these books just never complete one thought before they are trying to move you on to some other law of American language arts.
I'm sorry, I just had to vent and try to persuade anyone out there from purchasing Lifepacs. Someone once told me they were the hardest curriculum. Yeah, it is cause NO ONE CAN UNDERSTAND IT!
So, I will be looking for other options for next year, if I continue down this road. Any suggestions from my Homeschooling parents out there, let me know! Thanks for listening (so to speak).

Ivee and her NEW DO!

We have finally been able to put Ivee's hair up...some. Below are some pics. Her braces came in today. I put them on her feet for a little while, and the only thing that really bothered her about them is that she couldn't get her socks off. That just made her mad!

Here is her hair after pulling out the first ponytail she had on top of her head. Then we tried something new.
Here she is with her pigtails. They lasted a little while. Today she had her hair up all day. I was happy that she wasn't obsessed with pulling stuff out of her hair.
This is her troll look after pulling out today's ponytail. Too Cute!

Just being silly

Ivee has just been so silly lately. You can definitely tell she has been feeling better. She is still slightly nauseated when eating, but it has improved. Her new medicine regime seems to have some positive effect. The congestion is still there, but she isn't gagging on the thick saliva that she was having. Hopefully the braces for her feet will be in soon, so she can have more support when standing and learning to walk. She is pretending to eat by mouth more and more. Sometimes we can actually get her to eat something (thin of course). Here are some pics of her being silly the other night in her highchair.

And also, even though this feels weird and I'll probably never do it again...here are pics of Em and I on our diet. This is for our friends and family who can't or don't see us in person often. The first pictureon the left is before, the middle picture is after 1 month, and the last picture on the right is after two months. Em has lost over 30 lbs, and I have lost over 30 lbs. He's lookin' good :) We measure as well since muscle weighs more than fat. One of my friends is discouraged cause she hasn't lost as many pounds, but she didn't measure herself. I told her too, cause visibly I can really see the difference. Don't want her to be discouraged! Okay, so here are the creepy pics. Em will probably kill me when he sees this on here. :) heehee

Sharing Knowledge is Power

Well, maybe or maybe not. BUT, I have learned alot about alot of things this past year. I'm going to share some of my knowledge with you moms out there with little ones in diapers. When Ivee under went chemo, she consistently had horrible, blistering diaper rashes. Now, I know her circumstances were unique, but everyone with a little one has to deal with diaper rashes. Desitin and Boudreaux's Butt Paste can do the job. But sometimes they don't work well enough, soon enough, or maybe even at all. In the hospital they made a concoction that I have tweaked a little at home. At this moment Ivee has a pretty bad rash and we tried both for a few days. It just got worse, so once again I made the quick fix. After just 1/2 a day of applying it is going away...finally. So, here is the mix. I think I'll just keep some made up and ready to use any time I need it.

You'll need the following...
1 tablespoon - Desitin
1 tablespoon - Boudreaux's Butt paste
1 teaspoon - Vaseline or Petroleum Jelly (Optional)
1 1/2 teaspoon - Liquid Mallox or Mylanta
Mix the Desitin, Butt Paste and Jelly together. Then add the Mallox or Mylanta. If it seems too thin, add more desitin and butt paste. If it is too thick, add more Mallox.

Honestly this will do the trick! The ointments help to sooth and make it stick, while the Mallox/Mylanta take care of the acids that cause the blistering. If you have any questions just email me. I hope this helps any of you who are looking for a good fix for that unpleasant problem.
Now if Nurse Hope can help with any other issues, just give me a shout :0)

We are waiting anxiously for Ivee's braces to come in for her feet. She's doing well with taking some steps with help, of course. But, her poor feet and ankles need support. Shoes are helping cause her ankles are so big. She'd have to wear clown shoes to get any to fit. That just won't work.
She is trying to mock everything we say now. Some words of course are easier than others. She has learned a new song. The Elephant Show song...or Sharon, Lois and Bram show song ..."I love You." She is so cute doing it. I'll try to get it on video, but as many parents know, once the camera goes on, everythign cuts off. Can't make a one year old cooperate when it comes to that I suppose.
I would ask in prayer right now that everyone remember little Christian (over in my links). He is going downhill rapidly, and his mommy and daddy are just trying to make him comfortable here in the end. You can tell their heart ache just in their comments. My thoughts are with them daily.
Hope everyone has a great week and REMEMBER. SUNDAY is Daylight savings. SO move your clock forward one hour.