It is so good to be home...

Hi everyone, yes, we have been home for almost a week now, and I just thought I should let you all know that we are doing well.  Noah is feeling fine and eating a lot (he just weighed himself and he is up to 32 kg, or 64 lbs) so that is good.  He says, " I don't know why, but whenever I am here I have a craving for Salami and cheese sandwiches!" I don't know why either, but I don't care - eat up!  It is good to see. 
His counts are ok, I think, so he will spend a bit of time at school this week. Yesterday he presented his Science project to his classmates, and it went well.  I was quite relieved, to say the least.  This week is Grandparent's Day, and he will be able to participate in a play his class is putting on, which makes him very happy. 
The time here is always so full;  the girls are involved in a lot of different activities, like hockey, piano, dance, basketball, and GEMS. It is so busy, the time goes by really quickly. 
I try hard to enjoy it, but honestly, I have a hard time switching gears from being the (pampered) mother of one extremely obedient child (he does everything I ask him to pretty well right away) to the wife and mother of four children (not exactly disobedient, but they are used to having a lot of freedom while I am away).  I suddenly have to do all the cooking, laundry and driving that I used to do -and also the listening- that I am no longer used to doing. For example, I really love Alyson a lot, but she has a lot of energy and needs a lot of attention, and it takes me a bit to get used to her again.  AND she is extremely messy!!!  Sorry sweetie, but.... : ) I have said it many times, it is a good thing for her that she is so cute, lol!
We were able to go to Houston to watch Emily play basketball on Saturday which was great - she is really quite good- and this weekend the play day is in Terrace, so if the roads are ok, we will be heading there to watch her play against my old school, Skeena.  It should be a lot of fun.  For those of you who are not northerners, we don`t have games during the week, all the teams go to a different town each weekend for a playday to play against all the other teams.  It is basically a tournament every weekend. Last weekend BVCS played Smithers Secondary and Houston Secondary, and this week in Terrace there will be teams from Terrace, Hazelton, Smithers and Prince Rupert. It makes for a busy season, but can be a lot of fun.
We have quite a long break now ( 16 days!); we arrived in Smithers last week Wednesday evening, and Noah doesn`t have any appointments until next week Friday! Of course, it is dependent on his Feb 1st blood work, but I really can`t see his counts being too low. I guess you never know...
When he does go back, he will begin the last `heavy`round of treatment.  He will get Doxorubicin and the dreaded Dexamethasone.  The Dex I am not looking forward to.  The Doxo nausea is usually manageable, but the emotional rollercoaster of the Dex is so draining.  I hope it won`t be as bad as last time....  Please pray that his emotions will be fairly constant during that time.  I just feel so bad for him when he feels sad and there is nothing anyone can do to help.
Oh and while you are praying - our friends` 2 yr old daughter is in dire need of prayer. She has a viral Encephalitis and has had a lot of seizures and very high fevers. Basically a virus is attacking her brain.  Her name is Keira, and her parents Clint and Sharon used to live in Smithers and teach at our school. They are now living in Indonesia, but Keira has now been transferred to Singapore to receive care and she is in ICU there.  This is very serious and could have long term implications.  Right now they are asking for a miracle.  Please join me in praying to our loving, able God, for whom nothing is impossible that she would be completely restored to full health.  Thank you.