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I find it crazy to think the last time I did one of these posts, it was right after we got home from Spring Break! We definitely hit the ground running, but I wouldn’t change any of it. It is crazy to think that it was only about 2 months ago that I really started to get my energy back and started to reintroduce “life” back into the schedule. Even though I was done with leukemia treatments in February, I had missed several months of “normal” life, so to speak, and so it took that much longer to get back into the swing of things.

I would say one of the hardest parts of the cancer journey was not being able to be with people. For six months, my ability to see people face-to-face was extremely limited. I felt I lived either in Ann Arbor or at the local doctor’s office/transfusion center. It was a lot. Everyone’s lives continued to move forward and I feel I have so much to catch up on! But it’s been an utter joy to step back into seeing people again and learning where God has taken other folks on their journeys too. He is always at work!

As for a cancer update, I go back next week to get some more blood work done. We are hoping my platelet levels rise a bit, as they have been below normal the past 2 blood draws, but we are thinking it’s because of a virus I’ve had since the end of March. Hence my glasses in the picture below, thanks to pink eye. And since I still couldn’t get rid of whatever I had, I was put on an antibiotic to help with the sinus infection. But all of these factors have effected my cancer numbers, so we are hoping that this next draw shows a bit more stability. When I see my platelets off, I right away think the cancer is back, but I can’t go there and plus, all of my other “cancer” numbers are relatively normal.

My oncologist said that this next year or two is going to be very trying. Waiting and waiting to see if the leukemia comes back, causes major anxiety in many. So much so that often people are put on anxiety meds because of it. It is such an intense treatment plan and then all of a sudden, it’s done, and then patients are left to process what had just happened and to now wonder if it’ll come back. That wait and see process hasn’t always been easy, but it has forced me to put my sole trust in my Savior, knowing He holds my future and that there is literally NOTHING I can do right now, to help prevent it from coming back. NOTHING. So we wait. We pray. We hope. And we trust.

What a beautiful Easter morning!

Mazy LOVES egg hunts! I hope she’s never too old for them!

As you can tell by Mazy’s winter coat, it was a tad chilly to be playing ball, but this girl is ready!

We will be spending many days at Dutch Village again this year…this is just one of many!

Family fun night at school! Not many pictures were taken because I was doing face painting, but this was Mazy’s favorite part anyways!

Celebrating 17 years of marriage! Couldn’t imagine walking this life with anyone else. It’s been quite a year, but we are humbled to be celebrating yet another year.

Mazy’s class went to Boulder Ridge for a field trip this week, and what a perfect day! Mazy reminded me that this was the first field trip that I’ve been able to go on her with and that it meant so much to her. She reminded me often, “Mom, this is the first time you are doing this with me!” Either I’ve been in the hospital or had a major doctor’s appointment and wasn’t able to attend. Dan of course was able to, but I will say, there sure was something special about being able to do this TOGETHER. I had no idea how much it would mean to her!

I just love this picture…gazing up at the beauty of what God has made!

We weren’t quite sure about feeding the birds, especially when they came diving at ya, but we sure had lots of giggles!

My parents are kindly letting us use their land for a garden once again, and we have it all planted! Last year it all came to an abrupt halt when I never came home from my heart ablation and ended up having cancer, requiring immediate treatment. Needless to say, my parents put in plenty of time harvesting what was left. So thankful for them! Hopefully this year will go a bit more smoothly! There is something about a garden that I just LOVE. Relying on God to grow it, watching him do the work as things grow, and then enjoying what he cultivated around the dinner table.

HEART UPDATE: I am still feeling good heart-wise, so we just continue to pray that God would continue to help my body regulate itself. We know it’s up to our Great Physician. He knows best and we just keep entrusting each day into his hands.