Fun in Arkansas

Just wanted to share a few fun pictures of what we have been up to during Spring Break in Arkansas. It was a nice warm day yesterday, so we had to get out on the lake. No trip would be complete without a ride on Grandpa's boat. Can you believe he let the girls drive??

Kayaking was an adventure. The water was icy cold, but is it possible to kayak without getting wet.







We were also able to spend an afternoon in Springdale, Arkansas at the Jones center. A very generous couple has provided a wonderful facility for families (free!!) complete with ice skating and a pool! What a fun afternoon! Kerstin loved the big yellow waterslide the best! We even got Grandpa Gene out on the ice with us. Thanks for checking on us! Have a blessed day!

American idol??

Kerstin and McKinsey have been having fun singing Hannah Montana songs on Grandpa Gene's Karaoke machine here in Arkansas. The girls and I (Annie) have been having a nice spring break with Grandma and Grandpa. The weather has been lovely. More photos to come!

Birthday Muffins

Kerstin woke up to her family singing happy birthday and a tray full of muffins this morning.

7th Birthday Party

Kerstin doesn't actually turn 7 until Feb 28th, but she had her birthday party today at Valentinaland (Valentino's Pizza). Kerstin and 10 of her friends (including her sister) opened presents, ate cake and ice cream, played games, and picked out prizes for about an hour and a half. Everyone had a real good time.

Dr's Visit

Kerstin had her first doctor's visit last week since she stopped meds. With the exception of a runny nose that has been hanging on for about three weeks, Dr. G said everything is looking good. Kerstin's ANC was down to 900, but Dr. G wasn't concerned about it. He felt it was probably due to her recent ear infections and head cold.

Gone for Good (We Pray)

While we feel saddened that we couldn't turn the unused portion of Kerstin medications over to some other patient that needs them, we were happy to hold a ceremonial flushing of the meds to mark the occasion.

"No More Meds" Party

We had a surprise party for Kerstin tonight to celebrate her finishing one year of daily maintenance medications. There was cake, balloons, soda, and lots of playing. We would have loved to have everyone attend who was a part of our lives over the past 15 months. We can not give enough thanks to God and all of you that prayed for Kerstin and our family.

The News We Have Been Waiting For...

Dr. G called today to give us the good news: Kerstin's final test results came back negative! Her last dose of maintenance chemo medication is January 24th. So what's next you ask? Kerstin will still have monthly clinic visits with Dr. G for a year (which will include blood draws). Other than that, it's just a matter of keeping a vigilant eye on her health. She will still be immune compromised for a couple of months while her immune system recovers from all the meds.

It feels good, and strange, to be taking the next step in her treatment. Thank you again for all the prayers and support you have given Kerstin and our family.

American Cancer Society Gala

Last night we attended the American Cancer Society's "Celebration of Hope" Gala. Kerstin was one of the special guests of the event. She and another leukemia survivor got to help out with an auction and a raffle. It was somewhat of a formal event and the whole family got to dress up "real fancy like". Kerstin has been fighting a cold and an ear infection, but was well enough to attend. When we told her that she probably wouldn't be able to go because she was sick, she was so disappointed we think it was sheer will power that she was able to suppress her coughing and runny nose for the evening. We all enjoyed the evening and the opportunity to help out another wonderful organization in the fight against cancer.

More Good News

We heard back from Dr. G yesterday that Kerstin's morphology and flow studies came back normal. Now we just have to wait until next week to get results back from two more studies and we can hopefully discontinue her medications. Keep those prayers coming :)

Good News!

Kerstin had her bone marrow biopsy today and the preliminary results came back "a-ok". The doctors are sending some samples to another lab for some other studies and tests. Those results should be back in 1-2 weeks. If those results come back "a-ok", she will be able to stop taking all of her current meds.

Kerstin got the royal treatment from the staff at Children's Hospital. Here's a picture of her getting a wagon ride up to the clinic after her procedure.

We hope this post finds everyone doing well. We continue to pray for all of those who are still fighting these horrible diseases, and for the families whose fight is over.

Dinosaurs

After being couped up for a couple of days from the snow storm, we went in to Woodland Park where they have a Dinosaur Resource Center. In this picture, Kerstin is watching one of the "dinosaur dudes" work on a dinosaur head.

Snow Angel

While we were in Colorado visiting Kerstin's grandparents over the holidays, we had about 27 inches of snow dumped on us. Kerstin took advantage and practiced her snow angel skills.

Kerstin and her family wishes everyone a joyous and healthy holiday season! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Climbing the Walls (Literally)

Kerstin has been telling us how she can climb all the way to the top of the climbing wall at school. So Jeff went up one day to get photographic evidence. Kerstin had no problem scampering up the wall and didn't show an ounce of fear.

Busy Weekend

Kerstin kept very busy this weekend. Saturday morning she went to the Star City Parade in downtown Lincoln. She and some other Make-A-Wish families had reserved seats in the enclosed sidewalk that goes over O Street. What a view! After the parade it was off to the roller rink for some roller skating for the Girl Scout Cookie Kick-off. Yep - we now have 2 girls in Scouts. There is no photographic evidence, but rumor has it she can skate all by herself now.

Sunday afternoon Kerstin and her family attended the Make-A-Wish Christmas party. The girls had lots of fun playing all the games, making crafts, and meeting Santa and Mrs. Claus. Kerstin's burning question for Santa was, "How do the reindeer fly?" Santa had a brilliant magical answer.

We hope you all had a wonderful weekend also.

Good Checkup

Kerstin (and the family) went to Omaha today for her monthly checkup. It was nice to see all the clinic staff that we haven't seen for quite some time. Kerstin's lab came back with good numbers, and there was nothing abnormal with her exam. Kerstin's "maintenance" meds are scheduled to last to the end of January. Dr. G has scheduled a bone marrow biopsy for January 12th to ensure Kerstin's leukemia is still in remission. (By the way, Kerstin's one year remission anniversary is Nov 29th.) It's an odd feeling to think that we are approaching the end of this chapter in Kerstin's journey. A lot of people have asked, "What happens after January?" We honestly don't know. What we do know is that there is no way we would have made it this far without our faith in God and all of your prayers and support.

As always, we would ask that you continue to keep in your prayers all the children (and their families) affected by cancer that have come before us and who will come after us. God bless all the medical researchers and staff striving for a cure, and all the medical professionals who lovingly take care of our children.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We can't believe it's been 23 days since our last post. We wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't anyone checking in on Kerstin anymore :) We look at it as a good thing that Kerstin is staying well and there is not much to pass along. And we give thanks for that this Thanksgiving holiday.

Kerstin has been keeping busy. In addition to going to 1st grade, she attends Brownies on every other Tuesday, dance on every Thursday, and mid-week worship every Wednesday. The rest of her time is filled with playing, a little bit of homework, and other miscellaneous little girl stuff.

For the past ten months Kerstin has seen Dr. G for her checkups when he comes to Lincoln. For a change of pace, this Monday we are going to see Dr. G (and everyone else) at the clinic in Omaha. We are looking forward to seeing the other doctors, nurses, and patients that we have not seen for such a long time. It will be nice to get caught up on everyone.

Now that the holidays are back, we should have more pictures to post. So please check back often, and we wish everyone a blessed holiday season.

Happy Halloween

Little Bo Peep found her sheep :) Kerstin and her sister had a lot of fun this year dressing up and being a team for Halloween. It's hard to believe that last year at this time Kerstin was in the hospital receiving her first dose of chemo. We give thanks to God, and all our friends and family that she has "healed" as well as she has. Our prayers go out to all the children and their families who are dealing with these horrible diseases that rob them of childhood memories like these.

"Kiln Time" in Hastings!

We just wanted to give you all a quick update. Kerstin and Annie got to go to Hastings last weekend. We met up with Uncle Brian, Erica and Brenna. We had planned to go to Pumpkin Patch, but the weather did not cooperate. We ended up going to an Imax movie about Coral Reefs (very interesting - reminded us of Hawaii!). We also got to go to a pottery place where Brenna and Kerstin each chose a box to paint. Erica, Brian, and I got to help with the painting. We can't wait to see the final results!

Kerstin had a doctor's appointment last week and everything looks great! We are so blessed! It has been one year since Kerstin's diagnosis. Our lives have certainly changed in the last year. We hope to never take the little things for granted. We know that God has been so good to us. We are blessed to have so many wonderful friends! Say a prayer for all of those kids out there who are still struggling with this disease. Thank you for checking on us and have a blessed week!