She Leaves a Little Sparkle Wherever She Goes: September 2015

There was a lot of fear and anxiety leading up to the first day of school. I was geared up for tears, the need for sticker charts, bribery, stuffed animals, bribery, tears, bribery, etc. Calleigh was really nervous while attending 4K and we never could pinpoint the reason. After lots of reassurance, new outfits, and Mommy and Me bracelets in case she felt scared, August 17 finally arrived....with no tears. Calleigh absolutely loves school! She is reading, has made a few friends, and most importantly has been able to be a normal 5 year old for the most part. She has two amazing teachers who are her personal cheerleaders and encouragers everyday, in addition to a whole faculty and staff who cheer her on. How lucky are we??

We have been in school 4 weeks and she has not missed a day yet. She has won Art Student of the Day and received the first blue jewel on her clip for exceptional behavior. Some days it's easy to not think about the past 15 months every minute of the day. We're like everyone else, trying to get to soccer and dance, working around my grad school schedule and lots of meetings. And it has been awesome.

We've also moved into our new house and are loving it. All of the big stuff is done. It's the little details that are taking so long. We have great new neighbors who have welcomed us to the neighborhood. It has been an easy transition for us all. We are blessed.

Monday brings her last inpatient chemo for this protocol. In 30 days she will be done with chemo. It seems surreal. We won't be throwing a big party because honestly I'm afraid to "jinx" it. We're just going to go quietly back into our crazy lives where we have too much to do.

After her treatment ends I probably will not be updating frequently because we feel the need for a little distance from all of this. I'll still post pictures on my own site and update when big medical things come up, but we're ready to regain a since of normalcy with all we share with the public. It's really hit me lately how many people know Calleigh because we have had a LOT of strangers coming up and talking to us lately. This by no means indicates that we are not grateful everyday on our knees for your continued prayers, simply that when Calleigh is older, we don't want her to feel like she's grown up in a fishbowl.

Again, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for being our rock and support system. We're definitely not done. She has years of appointments, tests, and procedures ahead of her and we covet your continued prayers.

I refer back to what God spoke to me when this all started.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for He who promises is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

We give ALL the GLORY to GOD for our blessings.