My Husband – for a godly man who loves me and our children and desires to point us all to Christ. I’m thankful for all the time Josh spends with our family. I’m thankful that he makes us priority and not just an obligation. I’m thankful for the gift God has given to me in my best friend – my man. (And I’m thankful for the popcorn Josh makes us several nights a week!)

Becca  – for our precious little girl who was born three Thanksgivings ago. We’re thankful she has no negative effects from her premature birth. We’re thankful for her sense of humor, love for books, and energy.  We’re thankful that Becca is  healthy and cancer-free.

God’s work in Becca’s cancer –  we’re so thankful Becca’s neuroblastoma was caught early and that the doctor was able to remove the tumor (containing all traces of cancer) during the surgery. We’re thankful for a complete recovery. We’re thankful for a wonderful hospital system; thankful that every morning I drove to the hospital (in Fort Worth) I was headed west instead of east into the rising sun; thankful every morning that the traffic was all headed to Dallas while I breezed into to Fort Worth; thankful that Becca never developed a fear of hospitals; thankful for Children’s Medicaid; and thankful for the many people who prayed and ministered to our family. (The picture on the right is Becca with her surgeon, Dr. Miller.)

Isaiah –  we’re thankful for our delightful baby boy. We’re thankful for my safe pregnancy and his safe birth. We’re thankful for Isaiah’s sweet happy spirit. We’re thankful for a boy who sleeps through the nights, eats well, and loves social interaction.

Arlington Presbyterian Church – we’re thankful for our new church family who has been so kind in welcoming us into their body.  We’re thankful that the church is only 5 minutes from our home.

My two boys spending some quality time on the couch. When Josh told Becca what Isaiah’s shirt said, she disagreed with a “no – girls rule!” Isaiah continues to be a very easy, very happy boy. He does cry and get upset, but those times are usually associated with being hungry or wanting to be in his bed for sleep.

Several weeks ago I noticed that Isaiah was having the same trouble Becca had with processing milk proteins in my milk. I’m now off milk products (fortunately, he seems to handle soy) . . . oh ice cream and cheese, we shall be friends again someday.

Several weeks ago Becca and I talked about saying bye-bye to her bottle nipple. I got the calendar and let Becca choose and circle the date – Becca chose November 4th. We had a little ceremony and Becca did a great job throwing her bottle nipple away (in the photo above she’s kissing it goodbye). She still drinks her morning and evening milk – now from a cup (not as enjoyable as her bottle).

In October Becca received a “party” dress from her Uncle Jon and Aunt Ashleigh. I was surprised how much she enjoyed wearing it, so I got out my party dress and we had a lovely tea party. And as everybody knows, tea parties always include dancing! (Let me add that all our tea party pictures were taken by me – I’m pretty pleased with our action dancing shots.)

A few other random shots: 1) Our garden – Josh pulled up most of our summer crops and planted lettuce. 2) Tent time with popcorn. 3) Becca’s birthday countdown calendar. Each day she gets to remove a sticker for a special birthday treat.

I saw a picture of my older brother, Sam, when he was a baby (4 weeks) and decided to try the same thing with Isaiah. Once Isaiah was inside the pumpkin, he really enjoyed sucking on the pumpkin. Getting him out was a bit of a challenge.

We carved our pumpkin October 31st. This year we let Becca stay up and help.

We were able to see Dad J during his layover in Dallas on Wednesday. It’s nice that we’re only about 30 minutes from the airport.

Last weekend Josh and I took a vacation to San Antonio (half a day’s drive). Typically our vacations are holiday visits to family, which means less time together as a couple (and with our kids), because we’re visiting with everyone else. When we finally go to bed at night our conversation starts something like: “Hi, how are you? What did you do today?” It was really nice to get away for two nights and have lots of time to spend together as a couple. Becca stayed with the Ishams and had a wonderful time. Isaiah was a great baby and didn’t mind the sightseeing or all our talking.

The idea for our vacation sprouted when Josh realized that I (and we as a couple) needed a break after all that’s happened the past 5 months. After I thought about it for a while I asked if we could go to San Antonio to see The Alamo. I was a bit reluctant about leaving Becca for two nights (my girl!), but I knew she was in good hands. We really enjoyed seeing The Alamo, and we were able to get a lot of family shots (sorry Becca), since people were all over The Alamo taking pictures — all we had to do was offer to take a photo of another family, then they would return the favor.

We enjoyed some local Mexican food and a morning stroll on the Riverwalk. We attempted the Riverwalk at night, but after trying to maneuver in the crowded night atmosphere, we decided to try again in the morning. The morning proved to be less crowded and more relaxing. Josh and Isaiah posed under the statue of Saint Anthony.

On our way back to Arlington, we stopped at Natural Bridge Cavern and went on a 70-minute tour. On the tour we saw the largest cavern in Texas – beautiful. When we told Becca about the cave she seemed glad she got to stay at the Ishams and not go into the “creepy crawly cave” – as she calls them per Patch the Pirate in the Jungle.

We had a lovely vacation. It was nice to be able to spend time with Josh and just enjoy each other. It was a treat to have extra time to talk. Sure – we talk every night, but with our schedule (and Becca!) there’s not a lot of time for quality talking. We missed Becca and were very glad to get her back Sunday night.

Thanks Josh for spending the weekend with me and for being my wonderful husband!

Mom Jensen was able to visit us on Monday during her flight back from Uruguay. We enjoyed having her for the day, and we made a trip to the Fort Worth Science Museum.

Saturday we went to a free family festival held by a local church.

The last photos are from making challah bread.

(I’m swapping posts this week – tomorrow will be our normal blog post.)

Hard to believe that 5 months ago our little man entered the world. He’s such a sweet and happy little boy, and we’re so thankful for our precious gift from God. Isaiah had his first solids this week – sweet potatoes. Nothing official, just some tasting from a spoon.

Becca continues to interact more with Isaiah as time goes on. The other day I was washing out a diaper and asked Becca to go make Isaiah happy. I was very pleased to come out and find her doing a puppet show for Isaiah who was eating up every minute of the show and laughing at his sister – a moment that simply melts a mommy’s heart.

A few weeks ago we started Isaiah in cloth diapers. I’ve been delaying since we don’t have a washer or dryer. So far it’s working to wash the diapers by hand every day – with the help of our diaper sprayer (thanks Jon & Ashleigh!).

We’re so thankful for the precious children God has given us – happy 5-month birthday, Sai-Zai!

The other day I realized that Isaiah is right about the size Becca was at her first birthday!

Last weekend we made our annual trip to Hall’s Pumpkin Farm. Becca really enjoyed the corn maze (she led us) until we came to a dead end. “No, we can’t go that way,” we said, “It’s a dead end.” She got really upset and wanted to get out after that. We decided she was scared by the “dead” part. We tried to explain what a dead end is (no death!) and she did better.

Anna & Adam Martin joined the kids and me at the zoo last week. It was the boys’ (Isaiah’s and Adam’s) first time at the zoo. Not sure they were that impressed! Becca’s goals were to see the gorillas and ride the train.

Becca’s oncologist, Dr. Meaghan Granger, said Becca’s scans from her MRI “look great.” We’re thankful for the good report. Her next MRI and MIBG will be scheduled for early January.

Isaiah continues to be a sweet baby. He is full of laughing and loves attention. This week he started laughing at Becca – it’s so cute.

Becca’s MRI went well yesterday. We ended up having to wait until 11:10 for Becca to be put to sleep (we arrived at the hospital at 8:30). It was a long wait for two girls who didn’t have breakfast and couldn’t eat or drink anything, but Becca did great (and Mommy survived!). When we arrived home, Becca decided Isaiah needed a MRI too.

Last weekend we went to a town festival about 45 minutes from our home – Celebrate Roanoke. It was great and we all had a blast. The festival and activities (even parking) were free, and the only thing we had to pay for was the hamburgers for supper.

Isaiah’s main interest was Becca’s pinwheel – see photo collage on the left. He was always trying to get his hands on it.

At the festival Becca had some cotton candy. It was her first time to actually eat cotton candy. Her previous association with it is the nice smell that puts her to sleep at the hospital.

This morning (Thursday) Becca has an MRI to check on her abdominal area. She gets to smell cotton candy again.

This week Isaiah found his thumb. It’s really cute to walk into our room and see him sucking away on it. So far it’s been helping him take longer naps and fall asleep faster. Happy 19-weeks little man!

My youngest brother was in Dallas last week for work training (at Deloitte University), and he was able to spend some time with us at the end of his week. Becca had a good time with her Uncle Joey. When she went to bed Friday night she was concerned: “Is Uncle Joey leaving when I go to bed or will he be here tomorrow?”

Joey’s flight was cancelled, so he got to stay a few extra hours with us. We spent some time at the Fort Worth Science Museum (thank you Ishams for the membership). One nice plus from having Joey with us is that we were able to get more pictures than normal. Joey took tons of photos during his time here.

Becca had a great time in the museum and Isaiah did really well. The last thing we saw was a laser show in the planetarium. The picture below will show how the laser show kept the attention of our kids. Thanks, Uncle Joey for taking all the pictures!

Today marks Becca’s 150-week birthday! She’s made a great recovery from her surgery and currently loves doing surgery on Hop (a stuffed bunny that has a removable “bump” for warming in the microwave). Becca first routine MRI is scheduled for next Thursday.

Another brother & sister photo shoot!

Now that the weather is a bit cooler, we’ve been enjoying walking around campus. Becca loves racing Flopsie in her stroller against Isaiah in his. She’s a pretty vicious racer and regularly cuts her opponent off during the race.

This week Becca asked to go to school, so we’ve been packing up her backpack (crayons, scissors, glue, and snack) and sending her out the door each morning for school. She walks to the end of the sidewalk, turns around, and and comes back to knock on our door for school. She’s very good at role playing and separating me as the “teacher” and me as “mommy.” If I mention having to do something to Isaiah she’ll say, “but I thought you were my teacher.” Currently we’re working on shapes and numbers.

The “teacher” asked Becca to describe her mommy. Becca said “she’s happy.” When I asked about her eye and hair color Becca said, “she has black hair and black eyes….but she is a sinner!” It’s amazing what teachers find out from their students about parents.

We’re thankful for the sweet little boy God has given us. What a little treasure. (Just looking at these pictures makes me want to wake him up and cuddle him, but I’ll resist.) We’re celebrating Isaiah’s 4-month birthday by taking him to his 4-month well-check. I’m not sure he’ll be too thrilled with the shots! I’ll post his stats later this afternoon.

Update with stats: Isaiah had a good well check this morning. His size is just about average: Weight 15lbs 10oz (54%); Length 25in (43%); Head Circumference 42cm (62%).

The top picture shows just some of the many cards Becca received this past month. Thank you to all who have been praying for Becca and our family. Becca is doing great and one would never guess she had surgery 2 weeks ago.

Last Thursday the Rylands joined us for a very yummy dinner — provided by them. They also gave Becca a collection of early Berenstein Bear stories with some of Becca’s favorites.

Saturday Morning: One of the things we love about living in Arlington is all the free activities the city offers. The city’s Ecofest had some fun children’s activities (bounce house, petting zoo, crafts, etc). Becca especially enjoyed being in the petting zoo and (later) decorating a pot.

Even though the Ecofest was on the first day of fall, it was still hot in Texas! We let Becca play in the fountains. I was hoping we could keep her from getting too wet (surgery site), but how can you keep a little girl from getting completely soaked!

Sunday Evening: The weekend before Becca’s surgery we went to a free outdoor concert. The next day Becca asked if we could go again to hear the beautiful music. Arlington offers free outdoor concerts during the months of June and September. The concert we attended a couple weeks ago was solo piano music. This past Sunday evening’s concert featured Bryon Stripling and the UTA Jazz Orchestra.  I wasn’t sure what Becca would think, but once Stripling came out and starting playing the trumpet, Becca loved it, and she danced during the entire concert (Isaiah was not impressed!).

On Monday we made a fall decoration for our front door. The leaves from the tree are Becca’s hands and Isaiah’s feet. In honor of fall, Becca ate an ice-pop while I, with sweat on my brow, was putting our tree up on the door! No blog post tomorrow…I’m waiting for Monday to celebrate Isaiah’s 4-month birthday!

Our happy little man!

Pathology Results
This morning we met with Becca’s oncologist for pathology results and future treatment/observation plan. The bone marrow came back clean: no evidence of cancer in her bones. The tumor itself, removed in Friday’s surgery, was differentiated: mostly benign (ganglioneuroma), with pockets of malignancy (neuroblastoma). The cancer is classified as Stage 1. So this is good news.

[Update: Today we heard back that there is no N-myc amplification – good news as well.]

Prognosis and Plan
Becca’s prognosis looks good; since the tumor was completely removed, Becca requires observation (MRI’s) but no further treatment (chemotherapy, radiation, etc). In 3 weeks Becca will go in for another MRI, then again after 2 more months. After that she’ll get an MRI every 3 months, indefinitely. [If N-myc had been amplified in the range of 6-10x, the oncologist would have done mIBG scans in addition to the MRI’s.]

Surgery Recovery
Becca’s doing great from her surgery. After we got home, she would only take her pain medication a few times. She’s sleeping on her tummy again, and she’s doing all her normal activities, except when we tell her to slow down.

We’re encouraged by the news we got today, and again we thank the Lord for giving us grace during this time and guarding Becca from anything more serious. Thank you all for your concern and prayers. (Do please pray for Amy, who has a bad cold, probably as a result of inadequate rest over the weekend.) When we hear about the N-myc results, we’ll update you on that.

Josh & Amy

More on N-myc Amplification
(The following is a layman’s explanation of N-myc amplification that we received from a radiologist friend. It’s clearer than what I read online, so I’m sharing it here.)

N-myc is a normal gene in our DNA which plays an important role is normal cell division. Other genes play the opposite role, namely inhibiting cell division. Normally there is a healthy balance. Some cancers are characterized by mutations that prevent certain genes from doing their normal function of inhibiting cell division, thus facilitating uncontrolled cell division.

In the case of neuroblastoma, the N-myc gene may be amplified. This means that there are very many copies of the same gene, which has the effect of overstimulating cell division. This is obviously not a good situation. Not all neuroblastoma cases have this. Prognosis is more favorable if there is no n-myc amplification.

(This morning we have an appointment with oncology to find out Becca’s test results. I’ll  try to post later this afternoon with what we find out.)

Thursday Evening: Thursday night we prepared for Becca’s surgery. Josh took Becca to Daddy Story Time (No Mommies Allowed!) at one of our libraries while I stayed home and packed. I did Becca’s hair that evening, so it wouldn’t be in the way during the surgery or recovery. Originally Becca was scheduled to arrive at the hospital at 6:30am, but late Thursday afternoon we received a call that her arrival time had been moved to 8AM. Our biggest concern with this was Becca having to fast before the surgery.

Friday: We’re very grateful that Becca slept until we left at 7AM. We’re also very thankful to Karen Isham who came to the hospital to watch Isaiah so Josh and I could be with Becca before her surgery. Karen also came with gifts for Becca. The bunny slippers were a hit! Becca had her pre-surgery assessment and then we were sent to a playroom to wait. Becca enjoyed playing until about 10:15 when she realized she was thirsty! We then asked how much longer the wait would be, and they immediately took Becca and me into the medication room so she could have her “giggle juice” to relax her for the surgery. Unlike the other procedures, I could not go back with Becca to where they would administer the anesthesia, so the “giggle juice” helped relax her so they could wheel her away without Mommy. She did great!

Becca’s surgery started around 11:30 am, and less than an hour later the surgeon came out to meet with us and tell us that the tumor popped right out — a very easy removal, all done laparoscopically. After surgery they did the marrow aspiration, and then we were called into the recovery room with Becca, who was sound asleep from the morphine. We had to wait for an in-patient room to open up for Becca. Isaiah was allowed to be with us in the recovery room – which worked great for nursing him. (The picture to the left is how Becca looked when we first saw her after surgery.)

Becca slept until about 5:30 pm – and then wanted to be held. She was pretty grumpy the rest of the day and we held her until 11PM. We had decided that Josh would spend the night in the hospital and I would take Isaiah home. I figured it would be better for me to get some sleep. However, when we told Becca, she said “but I need you!”. What can a mommy do? So I spent the night in the hospital with Becca. She said it was special to stay in the hospital because Mommy could sleep in her bed (though I didn’t get too much sleep that night).

Saturday: After getting a few hours’ sleep Friday night, Becca woke up in the morning at 5 or 5:30 in much better spirits. I was exhausted, so we watched Finding Nemo while we waited for Josh and Isaiah to arrive. After breakfast Becca and Josh went down to the hospital playground on the 1st floor, Becca quite happy in her wagon. She got out and walked around and played quite a bit, and then she wanted to go back upstairs to show mommy she could walk. she came up and said, “look Mommy, I learned how to walk! I can walk!”

For most of the rest of the morning, she insisted on pulling the wagon rather than sitting in it. Karen Isham had given Beca a Build A Bear gift card, so we went down to the hospital store and Becca choose (and named) “Monkey Monk” as her new friend. We left after lunch, and Becca cried when she got to the car — she was exhausted (and sad to leave the great play areas behind). After we arrived home Becca slept from 1:30 to 6:30 (the rest of us also took long naps).

Sunday: We had a rough start Sunday morning, but after that she did well. Sunday afternoon Becca woke up from her nap and was feeling well, so we made it to the end of the NICU reunion to see the nurses while they were cleaning up. It was good to see many of Becca’s nurses. Sunday afternoon Mrs. Krager (the wife of Josh’s dissertation committee member from GIAL) came to visit. She brought Becca two books – the one about Madeline was appropriate, since Madeline also had surgery on her tummy.

Becca has made a great recovery. She did not want to take pain medication – tough girl. We are very grateful for all the people who have been praying for Becca. The surgery could not have gone smoother. We thank the Lord for all His grace to us these past few weeks.