a summer saturday

A few birthday shout outs...to Erin, who turned 31 on Thursday and also to my brother-in-law Greg who has a birthday on Monday. Happy birthday loved ones!

We are headed to the farmer's market in short order, but wanted to quickly post these photos and also news about my dad. He went to MD Anderson in Houston this week, and they determined that his tumors have grown, so it's back on the chemo. This chemo is called ifosfamide, and he will have to be in-hospital for the 4 days and nights when it's administered, beginning Monday. Then he will have the following two weeks "off" though he's expected to not feel very well for one of them. In early September he will go back to MD, but they think he will be on this for about 6 cycles (18 weeks). This chemo is expected to have stronger side effects than the last chemo he was on, physically and mentally. It affects every patient differently, so we will just have to wait and see how it will affect my dad. All of this is hard news. My dad has such a positive spirit, but we are all frustrated with this disease and disheartened sometimes by all that's required of him and my mom to stave it off. Please pray for my folks in this time of transition as my dad begins a new chemo with regular hospital stays.

It's hard to move from that news to a positive note, but I thought the photo of Myles helping with the laundry was worth a smile. He is such a helper. This weekend we bought a potty for him, but so far all he wants to do is take it apart and put it back together again. Signing off for now.