Beautiful Spring

We have been having a wonderful week with Mike's parents visiting. We've been able to play outside in the sunshine and last night we even went to baseball practice with Braden and Mike! It was fun to meet some new friends - the girls love playing with the other little sisters on the team. Tuesday, Brooklyn and Grandpa even planted some new flowers in the front of the house. We have kept busy, but it's all been so much fun. It was also great this week that Brooklyn didn't have to go in for a spinal tap! It was the first week without a surgery all month. She has been feeling pretty well, still not eating much at all, but full of energy. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings she threw up, but it is so hard to know why. She didn't seem sick at all, and both mornings after she did, she was fine for the rest of the day. I don't know if it is just her chemo making her nautious or if she just swallowed wrong or what. She hasn't said she has a tummy ache or that she isn't feeling good, so we haven't given her the anti-nausea medicine very often, but I don't know if it comes on suddenly so she doesn't have time to warn us, or if she just doesn't know how to describe how she's feeling. Luckily since she isn't eating much, the few times haven't been too messy. :)  She is also allergic to the tape that we had been using to cover her broviak site, so now we have a new kind, but we have to change it 3 times a week. She has been doing pretty well with it so far, so that is good. She is so tough. She makes me laugh all the time - this afternoon she saw the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer movie on the counter and got a little confused with her songs & started singing - "Who build the ark? Rudolph Rudolph!" :) We are so blessed every day to have such happy little kids.

Join the "Brooklyn Frank Fan Club"

Hello All!  My name is Susan Coolbaugh and I am Mike Coolbaugh's sister in law...As you are well aware, Mike and Kristin have been instrumental in organizing and creating an annual golf tournament for Mandy and the kids in honor of Mike.  It is when true friends step forward and make a difference that the world is a better place and Mike and Kristin are those people.  They have been so giving to the Coolbaugh family and we wanted to do something for them in return.    I have purchased rubber bracelets that are "pink" and glow in the dark inscribed "BFF" and the other side says, "Brooklyn Frank Fanclub".  Please support the Frank family by purchasing a bracelet in Brooklyn's name for a small $5 donation or more if you want.  You can mail me a check made payable to Brooklyn Frank Foundation in the amount of $5 increments for the number of bracelets you want and I will mail them to you promptly.  My mailing address is:  Susan Coolbaugh 6708 Carriage Lane, Colleyville, Texas  76034.  

On behalf of the entire Coolbaugh family and the Frank family, thanks so much for your support and love for Brooklyn and her journey.....these tokens will be a reminder to continue to pray for Brooklyn's healing and praying daily that God protects her and her family during this difficult time and helping us to all remember the little things in life and how precious they are.

God Bless, Susan 

Happy Days

We had a good weekend. It was rainy, but we liked playing Mr. Fox, Ring Around the Rosie, and Tag over and over and over again. We watched movies of course too! We were really excited to have Grandma and Grandpa come to town last night to stay with us for the week. The kids have been counting down the days and were so happy when they got here. We had a nice, relaxing day at home with Grandma and Grandpa today and enjoyed playing outside in the sunshine this afternoon! Our home nurse came over this morning to take Brooklyn's blood counts and we got the call this afternoon that they were good again! We can see that she is feeling good, but it is so good to have that confirmed and know that the chemo is working how it should be and that she is getting better and better each day.  It is funny because when our nurse was here this morning, I was asking her about what we can and can't do now. In my head, technically the leukemia is mostly gone, so I was wondering if we can do more stuff in public and around other people now. When we drove to church yesterday and Brooklyn had to stay in the car to go back home, she was crying and holding on to Mike and me because she wanted to go inside and be in her class and play with her friends. It was so sad. Wendi (our nurse) told me that Brooklyn's immune system is still weaker than it should be, so if she does get sick, she may be sick for longer than we would be, and if her counts were low then she could get really sick. I know that of course, but it is good to have a professional remind me. She does have Leukemia after all. It is just hard to remember that when I see her feeling so good every day but we still have to make sure that she isn't exposed to germs or put her in situations where she would likely get sick. I guess if you think about it, it is like anything else you do with your kids. You make them go to bed because you know they need rest, you don't let them eat candy all day long because you know they will get a tummy ache and it isn't healthy. Now, for Brooklyn, we just have to be extra cautious with exposing her to germs, even when she wants to go out and it is hard for us to say no - because we know it is the best thing for her. No one said parenting was easy right? But when you see those smiles and get those hugs & kisses, there is nothing else like it.

Family & Friend Fun

We have had a good few days! We've had a lot of time to hang out together and have fun indoor time since the weather has been so terrible! It is great to see the kids playing together and having such a good time. That is what I have always wanted for them, to be close to eachother and be not only siblings, but also friends. In fact, today Brooklyn even said, "Braden, you my boytend." :) We had an awesome day today because Brooklyn got to go to her little friend's birthday party! She was so happy when I told her that we were going. When we pulled up in front of the house, she said, "I'm so extited!" She hasn't had much chance to play with her friends for a couple months, so it was so great for her to be able to go and just play. Even when she was pouting because she didn't get the toy she wanted, you could tell she was so happy to be there. When we were leaving, I told her to hug the birthday boy, so she did, and then she said, "Me go inside and hug all the other people?" It was the sweetest thing ever. So, of course we went back in for hugs all around. Was I nervous about germs? Of course, but all of the kids seemed to be healthy and her blood counts are good, so we went for it. It was great for me to get to see my friends and chat with them too.  Most often, we are just passing in cars or the hallways in between pick up and drop off times at school. I am so thankful for today and that Brooklyn got to have a little bit of normal back in her life. I was talking with Mike the other night about how weird it is that it has been 2 months now since we found out about the leukemia, and how wild it is how dramatically our life has changed in that time. That first week was crazy - such a shock, we didn't have a clue what was happening, or why, how our lives would change and what would happen with Brooklyn. Now, two months later, it is like our lives are just normal again, except it is a new normal. We are used to making sure we give her her medicine every night and flush her Broviak. We are used to having our home nurse come over every week to draw blood. It is even normal to go to the hospital for spinal taps! Who would've thought that could be a "normal" thing?! We know that she can't go out and be in super busy, public places because we have to protect her from getting sick, but we have found ways to do what we need to do.  It is truly funny how God can guide you through a time where your world is rocked to the core, to the time when everything is kind of okay again. We still have to be super careful, and of course we will have more hospital visits in our future I'm sure, but we know we can get through it together.

Little things

Brooklyn woke up in a good mood this morning, even though it was early. I got her dressed and brushed her teeth and she picked flowers to go in her hair to match her outfit. We had a nice ride to the hospital and she convinced me that I should carry her since we didn't have Kelsey with us. She is a good negotiator. :) We were the second people there because it was so early, so we got our pick of toys and games. We read some books and then Megan the music therapist got there. We were super happy to play music and sing songs again with her and Brooklyn even got to play the guitar this time! I am sad though because she got accepted to a school in Chicago to get her post-graduate degree, so she won't be at UC Davis anymore. All of the nurses loved the flowers Brooklyn had picked to wear and she loved to show them off. The last few times we have gone in for her surgeries, they had these little flashlight animals that make noise and she plays with them as she is being put to sleep. But when she wakes up, all she wants it to have the animals back. The animals are just in the surgery room, not in the recovery room, so she is always sad when she wakes up and can't have them. So, last week, I found 3 of the little animals at Bed, Bath & Beyond and so it was great to have them with us today - she got to play with them before she fell asleep and after she woke up! She did great during the surgery and felt good when she got home too. We have appreciated so tremendously the way people have reached out and been so supportive to us during this time. The meals and gifts and prayers have all been so amazing. And also the nurses, volunteers and music therapists (like Megan) who work to make our time in the hospital as comfortable as possible - I am so grateful. About a month ago when we had to go in for chemo & a blood transfusion, we had a little break so Brooklyn & I walked to the Starbucks in the hotel next door. It was when she was still on steroids and so, of course, she wanted pizza. But obviously, at 8:30 in the morning - the hotel wasn't making pizza yet. However, the guy working at the Starbucks counter said he had thought of an idea for her, so he cut a bagel in half and went into the kitchen and got cheese and peperoni and baked it so she could have a pizza. It was so touching and I thanked him for being so kind, but it absolutely made my day. When someone goes out of their way like that, it can mean so much to someone else. He had no idea that she has Leukemia or any of what we were going through, or that having pizza was all that was going to make her happy then, but he did it for us anyway. Just the little things can make such a difference in someone else's day. I hope I can help others in that way and teach my children to have that same desire.

Rain Rain Go Away

It was a cold and rainy weekend here. Everyone in our house is healthy & feeling good, but it is hard to not go outside to play at all. Braden's last basketball game was Saturday, and we had some family in town that got to go with us to the game, so that was really nice. My aunt stayed home with Brooklyn and Kelsey so that we could go to the game and the end of season party afterward. We had a mellow night after that which was nice after a busy week. When we drove to church today, Brooklyn wanted to show her teacher her new headband she was wearing and her sunglasses. We told her that we probably wouldn't see her teacher since she wasn't going inside. It is hard because she definitely feels good enough to go to her class and play, but we just don't want to expose her to so many germs, especially during the winter months. So, my parents took her back home and they had fun here. Today after church, Mike went to Napa for work and I just stayed home with the kids & tried to hang up some more pictures. We played a game with the kids tonight after dinner and that was really fun. I appreciate slow, rainy, mellow days now much more than I used to. Partly because we are generally so busy and partly because I am just thankful to not have to be going to the hospital. Since I like being busy, it is good to remember to slow down and rest sometimes. It says in the Bible that even God rested on the 7th day, and He has a lot more going on than we do! It is supposed to rain more this week, but I know we will find plenty of fun things to do inside. Just hearing Brooklyn laughing & giggling again is fun for me!

The Luck O' the Irish

Yesterday was my birthday. Yup, St. Patrick's Day. So, every year I get to wear green on my birthday! It's actually great because everyone wants to celebrate on that day, so that is fun. My friend texted me from San Francisco that everyone there was celebrating my birthday - they even had a few streets roped off. :) I had a great day. I don't know if it was the luck of the Irish, or just God smiling down and giving us some nice weather, but it was beautiful. My parents came over in the morning and Mike and I went out for breakfast and then went golfing. He's trying to claim that he let me win for my birthday, but we all know the truth! We ran home then to give Brooklyn her medicine, flush her Broviak and feed the baby and then went out and got new phones for my birthday and then dinner. My parents made cupcakes with the kids so when we came home, they sang for me and we all had delicious cupcakes topped with lots of frosting, sprinkles and skittles! I was pretty excited because it was our first Thursday in 3 weeks that we didn't have to go to the hospital for Brooklyn having a fever! It wouldn't have been quite as fun to celebrate there. Today was another good day. Brooklyn is feeling better and better it seems and ran all around the house playing with us this afternoon. It was really fun. I am so thankful for the best gifts I have ever received - my four precious children.

My Rock Star

Today was a good day. After a slow morning at home, on our way to pick up Kayla from school, Brooklyn had on a new hat she got for her birthday and her sunglasses and she was singing along with a CD that we were playing in the car and all of a sudden she said, "Mommy, me look like a rock 'tar." :) Apparently a hat and glasses make you a rock star! She is so sweet & was excited to go in and pick up Kayla and show off her new hat. We went and got a new gate at Babies R Us and although I didn't get much else done today, the gate is up and I'm no longer chasing Kelsey up the stairs all day long! We had a nice afternoon, Brooklyn took a good nap, but I think partially because she hadn't eaten anything, so she didn't have much energy. After her bath, I changed her dressing and did the new cleaning method, and she did great with it. It was good to see her feeling so good again and she made me laugh so many times today, it was fun! She kept saying, "Me not going to the doctor anymore, me teeling better." That makes us all feel better. :)

Busy Days

We've had a good start to our week. Monday was pretty much filled with taking kids to school, picking them back up and Kayla had her first swim lesson of the season and did great! Brooklyn is feeling really pretty good, up and moving around just fine and having quite a bit of energy for the minuscule appetite that she has. Mike figured out that if he mixes her new pill with his chocolate protein shake, she likes it & takes it without a problem, so that is great! It looks like she is having some kind of skin reaction to either the cleaning product we use to clean her Broviak site or the tape that covers it, so we are going to have to start using different stuff to clean it. The down side of the new method is it also means we have to change her dressing 3 times a week rather than once because the cleaning product isn't as strong as the other kind, so it doesn't last as long. Hopefully it won't bother her as much though. Her surgery went well this morning. It is funny because we wanted to have the morning appointments so desperately so she wouldn't have to fast as long, and now she isn't ever hungry anyway! Megan the music therapist was there again so we played some songs with her and did a puzzle while we waited for her appointment. She did great with the anesthesia again and the doctor got her spinal fluid out really quickly. I asked him about her getting the fevers and he said that it could be a side effect from the chemo, so that made me feel better - that it isn't necessarily because we have gone out a couple times and that has caused her fevers. Hopefully we won't have a trip to the hospital again this week! We are going to have to make a trip to the store tomorrow to buy a gate to block the stairs since our sweet little Kelsey has learned quickly how to climb them! It's always busy around here for sure! But that's how we like it. :)

Weekend relaxing

We had a really nice weekend. Brooklyn felt good all weekend, had lots of energy and her fever never came back. I took Braden and Kayla to a birthday party, and it was fun to just relax and have fun talking to other parents, especially since I don't get to do it that much anymore. Then I got to spend the afternoon with my mom and aunt, celebrating their birthday, and our wonderful husbands made dinner for us when we got home. It was great. Brooklyn is definitely still feisty, but her appetite is nearly nonexistent. She went from eating non-stop, to not eating anything. Our good friends Mason and Jen stopped by tonight on their way home from Tahoe and the kids were so excited to see them, running around and jumping off the furniture and tackling Mason. It was great to see them and hang out for awhile. I have had a tough time the last few days just coming to the realization again of how much our life has to be different now. I really love when I am hanging out with my friends and our kids are all running around having fun together. It doesn't stress me out, the craziness is fun for me and them! I love taking care of friends' kids and just having a house full or car full, it makes me happy. It is hard for me now because I can't do those things anymore. I feel like this disease has changed who I can be, but I know it is just changing how we are living right now, not who we are inside. It is crazy to think that God knew that Brooklyn was going to get cancer even before she was born. I know it must be hard for Him to see her going through this time too because He is her Father and loves her even more that we do. I know that even though it seems hard and I wish we could do things like we always have in the past, that God is using this time in our lives to shape us and make us stronger and into the people that He knows we can be. It's exciting to know that He's working on us, but it's certainly not always easy. :)

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside...

So our day started out pretty normally. Thursday is our day at home so it is nice to be able to not be on too much of a schedule & just relax. My good friend came over to watch the girls so I could do our taxes - fun fun! It was great though to get that stuff done. Then I took some time to cuddle with Brooklyn on the couch as she finished watching Nemo, and then Brooklyn & Kayla played together for a couple hours. They were having such a great time pretending & being silly. Brooklyn said she didn't feel great and wanted to lay down again. She hadn't eaten hardly anything all day, so I thought maybe she was just hungry, but I felt her head and she felt warm so I took her temperature and she had a fever. It was such a bummer. I had to work out who could watch the other kids, cancel Kayla going to gym class, make sure Mike could go to the Kindergarten orientation at school & take Braden's friend home on our way to the hospital. Oh, and I found out tonight that Mike's car got broken into today. Whoo hoo! The hits just keep on comin! Thankfully, all the people took were his mints, napkins and registration. I'm thinking that the registration must've been a mistake. Seriously? Who takes mints?! His GPS & all the little league gear was still there, so that was good at least. Crazy. Anyway, I kind of went through a whirlwind of emotions on our drive to the hospital. I felt like I was okay with it all because I felt like she was fine & I wasn't worried about her, but then I was mad that we had to be going in again just because of a fever, and then I was sad that this is what our life is like now. Does it mean that I really can't take her out anywhere since I did yesterday and she got a fever today? Our nurses and doctors have told us to try to keep things as normal as possible and when her blood counts are good, we should go out and do things because there will be plenty of times when we have to stay home. But it seems like she always gets sick after we do that. When we got to the hospital, they gave her tylenol right away and she felt totally fine. I have decided that it must be better to go to the hospital in the middle of the night because when we did last week, we got much more attention. Granted, I absolutely want the nurses and doctors to take care of the kids that have emergencies or more serious situations going on before they take care of us because Brooklyn was really doing fine. In fact, we played good/bad guy, made a fort house out of the curtains, cleaned stuff with the alcohol wipes, sang itsy bitsy spider 100 times, played doctor, played with Gumby and Pokey, drew with her scribble & write, had snacks & planned a sleepover party all before they even drew her blood! It was pretty frustrating because no one seemed to be in any kind of hurry to help us and all we wanted to do was go home! Mike got there about 8:30 with food for us (thankfully) and we finally got her antibiotic and got to leave to go home at 10:00pm. It was exhausting, but good that she was fine & we got to leave. I actually really loved my time alone with her singing and playing in the room, it was not where I would choose to spend one-on-one time with Brooklyn, but we had fun together anyway. We have lots of questions for her doctor about fevers and medications, so hopefully we will get those answered tomorrow. Time for sleep!

Feisty but fun!

It is great to see Brooklyn feeling so good again. We took Kayla to school today and Brooklyn wanted to go inside when I checked Kayla in. I haven't been bringing her in & she hasn't wanted to go, but today she did. She always used to like to play in her big sister's class a little while before we left, and today was just like old times. Kayla's teacher let Brooklyn paint a rainbow, just like Kayla & her friend were doing and then played with the blocks & cars. She loved it and you could see that she was thriving just being around the other kids. We went to Old Navy then and she was just darling - the mannequins were right inside the door and she went right up to the little girl one and wanted me to take her picture. So funny! She actually took a little nap when we got home, I think all the activity in the morning, after a month of pretty much just resting & laying on the couch, wore her out! She has her feisty little attitude back now too. She was mad at me when I wouldn't do something that she wanted today and threw some good fits as well as some toys - and she's got her daddy's arm for sure! It's funny because since she's not on the steroids anymore, I don't think that I can call them 'roid rages anymore, so maybe it's just being 3. It's such a fun age. :) She is good at turning the sweetness back on though. She was trying to convince me tonight that she should have a cookie even after she brushed her teeth because she would drink water and then "all the tugar will go in my tummy, not my teeth." Her appetite is way down - she hardly ate anything today, it is weird after she was so hungry so often. She still goes to her favorites though when she wants something - pizza and cheetos would make her happy all the time - but they would make most of us happy I suppose. :) We are still trying to figure out the best way to give her her new medication. It is in pill form, so last night we crushed it and added juice and put it in her syringe, tonight we crushed it and added sugar on a spoon. We were hoping she would just swallow it, but she didn't like it when we tried that way this afternoon. It is encouraging to see her feeling so well. I know it won't last forever because the chemo will wipe her out and bring her blood counts down again, so we are enjoying it while it lasts! I'll take feisty and playing over fatigue and feeling sick every time!

It's good to be 3

We had a great day Monday for Brooklyn's birthday. Our home nurse came over to draw blood & she changed her dressing, so I was happy I didn't have to do it myself! Then we picked up Kayla from school and went out for pizza (of course!) It was a nice afternoon & the kids had fun playing outside and running around. We had more cake at home to celebrate again and opened some fun presents. I was so happy to see her happy and laughing and enjoying her day. This morning we got up and out early to go to the hospital for Brookie's spinal tap. She slept right up until we had to leave, so it made it much easier to avoid eating. When we got there, we were so excited to see Megan in the waiting room. Megan is an intern at the hospital that was working up on the children's floor the week we were in the hospital. She organized a music time each day in the playroom for the kids, but we never felt quite up to going, so she would always come to our room and sing songs with Brooklyn & let her play the drums or piano or some other fun instrument. She said she was finishing her internship and was spending this last part in the children's surgery center. We were so happy about it because it took our minds off waiting since we have to get there an hour and a half before the scheduled surgery time. We played some fun songs with Megan and a couple other kids that were waiting to be called back for their surgeries and then played Chutes and Ladders. Her spinal tap went really well, we had a different doctor today and it was the fastest we've ever been in and out. After we were done with that, we had to go to the infusion lab and get her chemo. She did a great job there too and we got back home about 1:00. Celebrating her birthday while going through so much pain and tough times has made me truly appreciate every day that we have with our children. There are definitely some that are more difficult than others, but I feel so blessed to have such wonderful little people filling my every day with joy.

Party time!

Monday is Brooklyn's 3rd birthday. Back in January, I was thinking this weekend would be the weekend we would have her party. I love celebrating birthdays. I always try to make them super special for our family, not necessarily with gifts, but with making the whole day fun & making sure the birthday person has a great time and knows how much they are loved. Since the last month has changed our lives so drastically, we obviously couldn't have a big party this weekend, we just couldn't risk being around too many people and exposing her to new germs. I told Mike Friday night that I wished that I was just stressed out because we were throwing a party, not sad or depressed or mad because of everything happening now. I was having a hard time because I feel like I'm ready to be done with all of this. I wish it was already two years from now and she was better. It has only been a month! She is doing really well & feeling good and things are going fine, but I wish that we were just back to our old "normal" craziness. We decided to have a little family party on Saturday to celebrate her birthday. Our good friends, the Mullanes, came up from Walnut Creek to celebrate with us. They have 4 kids too and they are the same ages and order as ours - boy, girl, girl, girl - so it is a perfect fit for playtime! We had a really relaxing afternoon. The kids played pin the tail on the donkey, we played baseball in the backyard, and I got a pinata for them to bust into. Brooklyn kept going back & forth between walking normally and then walking on her toes again - but it didn't seem to slow her down at all. She had a fun time having some other kids around and opening presents and of course eating cake! We had a great night tonight, we all watched a movie & had popcorn together. Braden's class & the class next to his made Brooklyn get well/birthday cards and the teachers made us a movie bucket complete with popcorn, candy and movie gift card. It was so sweet and Brooklyn loved looking at all the cards & pictures. Looking forward to celebrating again as our darling girl turning 3 tomorrow.

Walking again

We had a much better day today. Brooklyn slept well and got up and was happy. She was walking like normal again this morning, so that was great. She will still fall over sometimes just because she is not used to walking around with her new body shape and I think because she didn't do much at all that first month so her legs are a little tired and not used to moving around. She is so cute, whenever she tips over, she says, "help me up pease". I bought the kids those big beach balls from Target and they were loving playing with them in the house, but she would try to run after hers and fall down. She is so strong, she never cried or complained, even when she would fall straight down on her knees. She helped clean the house a little today and was loving wearing gloves and spraying the spray bottle. Our walls and doors from about 2 1/2 feet down are really clean. :) She was pretty tired tonight and wasn't as happy during dinner or when it was time to go to bed, but hopefully that means she will sleep through the night again. It is so good to see her moving around so much more & laughing and singing and dancing. It is a long, tiring road, but our little Brookie's sweet spirit is still shining through.

Four Hours

Our day was filled with increments of four hours for some reason. I went to bed around 11:00 last night and at 3:30am, heard Brooklyn yelling that she wanted water. I went in to check on her & felt her head and she was burning up. I went to get her some water and the thermometer and her temperature was 103. The rule for kids with Leukemia is that if they have a fever of 100.4 three times within 24 hours or if they reach 101.4,  you basically have to go to the hospital right away. They worry that the kids might not be able to fight off infection since their blood is not as strong as it should be and they could get very sick very fast. We had no idea what to expect, so both Mike and I wanted to be able to go to the hospital so we called our good friend Jesse and he came over to stay at our house with the other kids. You have to be a really good friend to come over at 4:00am! My mom came over at about 6:00 to relieve him and get Braden off to school. We went to the ER and got taken into the triage area pretty quickly. They gave her tylenol to bring her fever down and then did a chest xray to make sure her lungs were clear. She had blood tests run and everything seemed to be okay so they gave her an antiobiotic in her IV and then let us go home. So much went on that it was all kind of a blur and we were only at the hospital about four hours! My mom came to pick us up and take us back home because Mike had to go to work for a meeting. Brooklyn took a good nap once we were home because she was so exhausted from being up all morning. It is so funny because when we were in the hospital a month ago, as we were getting discharged, someone said, "We will probably see you again, most kids get admitted back into the hospital at least once during their treatment time." And although I am sure that is true, I kind of thought in the back of my head, maybe we'll be the one family that never has to come back. Maybe she will just be healthy the whole time (besides being knocked out from the chemo) and we won't have to come back. I was laughing to myself this morning as we were in the ER, thinking - well, it's only been a month and we're back - guess I was wrong! And really, how could we not be? I bet even kids that have no other siblings in the house probably get sick and have to go back to the hospital and we have 3 other kids here bringing germs and yuck in. We have been super diligent about hand washing and keeping stuff clean, but I don't know, I guess just the littlest thing can cause it to happen. None of the rest of us have had a fever, so I don't know where it came from, especially since she's been feeling so well all week. The afternoon was better and after her four hour nap, we played outside in the backyard for awhile. It was fun to see her enjoying the sunshine. Her legs are still hurting her, but she seemed to be walking a little better when we were playing outside. One awesome thing about our hospital experience was our nurse. Her godson had been diagnosed with ALL when he was about Brooklyn's age, (he is 6 now) so she was very familiar with everything that Brooklyn has already gone through - the steroids and puffiness, eating and roid rages, to what is next in her treatment process. She knew about the leg tenderness and was so amazingly comforting and helpful during a time when we were worried and unsure. It is amazing to see where God puts people to help you in times when you need it the most.

Park time fun

We had a pretty mellow morning. It is good that Brooklyn is starting to sleep through the night & not waking up to eat anymore and it is crazy because I can already see her body changing. Her cheeks are still definitely big, but they were bursting at the seems before, and I can tell that they are already going down. And her belly has already changed too. She is still hungry during the day, but not as hungry as before & we are mixing in some more fruits and veggies now! For some reason Brooklyn couldn't put her heals down flat today. It hurt her so much she would cry. So, while we were at home, I would hold her hands and she would walk on her toes, I called her a ballerina :) or I would carry her. After we picked up Braden, we went to a park we hadn't gone to before and it was so much fun. It was a little harder at the park because I had to switch off holding her and pushing Kelsey in the stroller or carrying both of them. It worked just fine though and we all had a great time playing on the play structures and staying away from the "sharks" in the bark. It was fun to play all together and enjoy the sunshine. Looking forward to another fun day tomorrow!