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Today was a pretty uneventful and unproductive day. The boys played outside all morning and then the went to see a movie with Gam maw. I had good intentions of going to work on the yard sale stuff, but didn’t do it. The boys ended up staying at Gam maw and Paw Paw’s until about 8:30. Taylor was riding Gam maw’s big bike and Logan was trying to ride Taylor’s with no training wheels. If he would relax he would probably get it, but he is stiff as a log. He can go in a straight line though, but he can’t turn. He is trying!

I on the other hand only left the house when Jim and I had lunch and when we picked up the boys. I watched movies and all the tv shows that we had recorded all week long. Jim sat in the man hole watching and yelling at the tv. I tell ya, if the Auburn Tigers could hear him through the TV they would be the number one team in the nation. It was rather loud around here even though the two big mouths were gone:)

Well, it was not an exciting update, but that is a good thing. Taylor is taking his meds like a champ and back on nebs. He is coughing a lot and is hoarse. I assume it is just seasonal allergies doing what they do to normal people. I can deal with it though because he is not snotty and miserable. Pray that it stays that way!!!

Pray that Taylor never again has cancer in his little body. Pray that we can get this strep and allergies under control and keep it that way. Pray for all of our friends out there fighting illness and injury.

Today turned out to be a good day. I felt a twinge guilty that Taylor missed more school yet was outside playing, but what do you do? He has eaten like a horse and played fine. I know he is feeling better, but part of me wonders if the poor guy even knows what it is like to feel normal. He always has snot, coughing, or something going on. Poor guy! We washed everything and got new tooth brushes like the Dr. said too, so maybe he will get rid of it this time for good.

We hung out at home today and cleaned and got ready for out yard sale. I loaded up a ton of stuff and we headed over to Amy’s and started to set up. It was a lot of work, but we got a lot done. We have all week to get stuff done. The boys all played and drove us nuts wanting to go through all the stuff, but we managed without them keeping too much.

It was about 9:30 when we got home. I put two nasty boys in the tub and then in the bed. It wasn’t very long before they were out like a light.

Please be in prayer that Taylor feels better soon and that he never again has cancer in his body. Pray for Lorie, Bayleigh, Summer, Nic, James, Logan T and Logan W. Pray for all of our friends who are fighting illness and injury.

Don’t forget to get your oil changed or some service at Express oil change. $1 of every ticket goes to Children’s hem/onc dept. Scroll down for full details.

Taylor seemed to feel better as the day went on. He even went outside for a while. Shh, don’t tell the school. It is hard for me to keep him inside if he is feeling okay. He spent the first part of his life forced to stay in bed, so if he is able to get out then he will.

Anyway, as they wore on his headache wasn’t getting better and he said his throat felt funny. I looked in his mouth and his tonsils were nearly touching they were so big. So, off we went to the peds office. Sure enough he has strep. We do not know if he never got over it or got it again, but either way here we go again. He just finished the meds on Saturday night, so he got a 4 day break. Poor guy! He is on Omnicef this time. We were told to throw away his toothbrush and be sure all bedding and night night, frog etc are cleaned. When the Dr. came in (Dr. P was off) he thought maybe he was a carrier and his test just came up positive due to that, but when he opened his mouth, he said, nope, that is classic strep. Taylor had no fever the last time I checked at home, but at the Dr. it was 101.

He has eaten fine all day and really doesn’t seem to feel too bad right now. He will miss school again tomorrow, but at least there are no tests to be made up. He can go back Monday, but he is fine to go out this weekend after he has 24 hours of meds in him.

I hate that he is missing school and I hate that he feels bad, but I am so thankful that it is something easily fixed and normal. I can deal with that!

Please be in prayer for Taylor as he gets over strep, again. Pray that he is never again faced with cancer. Pray for Temps mom. She had a seizure last night and is in a deep coma. Things do not look good right now, please be in prayer for the family as they make decisions about her.

Whoa is me! It is another one of those “lets make mom nuttso” days. Taylor woke me up at 5am crying for drink and he couldn’t sleep and the TV wont come back on…… I snapped at him a little, after all, it was 5am and he was whining at me. He left my room to go get drink and I got up to go turn on his TV and he was in the hall throwing up. One plus, hard wood floors, easy clean up. Now, I know of 1 kid at his school who was out with this bug as well as his daddy and cousins. So, logic tells me that Taylor has a tummy bug, but that does not make it all that much easier to swallow.

I woke him up at 6:45 and he didn’t want to go to school. I got back in bed, but then I got to thinking that who does want to get up and go to school, so I thought maybe he was pulling my leg. So, I went back in their and really woke him up and made him sit up to talk to me. He said his tummy hurt a little and he didn’t want to go. He does not have tests this week, so I put him back to bed. Then it hit me that he has his inflatable party at school today for selling cookie dough. So, I got him up again and told him he would miss it and we talked about not missing just because we wanted to and that we couldn’t go if he was really sick. His answer, “I don’t care, I can jump on the trampoline here.” Well, alrighty then! I hate he had to miss it, but he must not feel well to not care. I certainly didn’t want to send him to school sick, but I did not want him to “trick” me into letting him stay home.

He is now up and watching cartoons. He is covered up and laying around. He had a 99.3 temp which is not fever in cancer land. He says his belly is okay now, but his head is hurting. I hate he missed school, but I think it is better he rests and gets over this. I pray he does not get sick anymore. He has not thrown up at all since 5am, so maybe whatever it is is a quick bug.

Pray that Taylor is okay and this passes quickly. Pray that he never again has cancer in his body. Pray for all of our friends.

Through out the month of October Express Oil changes in Central Alabama will donate $1 of every costumer transaction to the Hem/Onc dept. at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham.

How cool is that? I mean, everyone has to get an oil change and now you are also helping out a great cause. It does not matter what service you get, so if you are in need of an oil change, new brakes, tire rotation, new heat etc, go to your local Express Oil and help out Children’s too.

Wow! October, where does the time go? It just seems crazy to me that in 9 days we will be 6 years from diagnosis. Praise God!!!

Taylor brought home graded papers today. Way to go Taylor!!! He made a 92 and a 85 on his reading tests. He made a 100 and a 100 on his spelling tests. He made a 90 on his math test. I am so proud! I would be proud anyway, but for the Dr’s to say he should be struggling and he doesn’t seem to be. Yes, it takes him a little longer and more explanation to get it, but he gets it and that is what is important. I still do not think that anything he has missed on his reading tests are things that he would have gotten right even had the test been given orally. He missed vocabulary questions on both tests, but his reading comprehension seems to be okay. His math test looks to me like he rushed or lost focus. He put that 12+12=23 and he can do doubles in his sleep. He put that 6+4+5=14, just got confused. Those are the only w he missed. I did get tickled on his spelling tests. One he wrote on the paper upside down. Goof ball! The other one he spelled directions wrong. They have to write a sentence that she reads to them. It said, We will stop at the Aladama state line and ask for dearesen. Silly boy! If you look at his phonetic spelling you can really see his speech and hearing issues come out. That is okay though, we are thrilled with these grades. Keep up the good work Taylor!

The boys are outside playing in this fabulous weather. I hear a lot of banging where they are dragging stuff out of the garage, but I don’t hear fighting and that is a good thing.

Please be in prayer for Taylor. Pray he never again faces cancer. Pray for Lorie, Virginia, Bayleigh, Carly and all our other friends fighting illness and injury.

Where has the month gone? These last few months have just flown by.

Today we had ball practice which is always fun. The weather is just perfect, so it is a great week to have no homework.

Logan got hit in the head when he walked between two 12 year olds playing football. He cried and cried, but he is okay. He did good at practice. He hit off the machine and got a few hits. You do not play machine pitch until 7-8 ball, so he is a little ahead of the game. Taylor is getting better. He needs to pump iron, he just has no arm strength and can’t get the bat around quick enough.

That is about the extent of our day. Nothing really to tell you. Please be in prayer for Taylor as he continues to thrive. Pray for Lorie as she continues to fight this battle. Pray for Bayleigh as she finds out what caused her scare last week. Pray for Carly who has scans this week. Pray for Temp’s mom. Pray for all of those battling illness and injury.

Happy Monday to you all. It was a pretty good day for us other than it was just Monday and no one really wanted to get going this morning.

Taylor was happy to find $2 under his pillow. Isn’t it funny how the tooth fairy knew that he wanted coins because he is into rolling money right now. I am sure it has nothing to do with she didn’t have any dollars (wink).

We hung out at home today and helped daddy bake a Regions cake for a bake off at work. They don’t know their boss is a cake decorator:) It was cute and the boys thought it was fun to have all the extra cake to eat. Jim only makes their birthday cakes, so they were curious who was having a birthday.

I got a pleasant surprise this afternoon. I am not sure who is more excited me or Taylor. I noticed that he did not have a folder or a reading book, so we parked to go in and get it and I noticed a note that said no homework and no tests this week. Yahoo!

I have an urgent prayer request. My best friend, Temperance, mom had brain surgery and is in ICU and not doing well. She also has cancer and is about to start tx for that. Please be in prayer for Virginia as she heals and pray for the family as they go through this journey with her. We love you all!

Today we were very lazy. The boys were not here, so we stayed in bed half the morning. Once we did get up, we were very slow moving. We finally were ready to leave by about 12:30. We went to get the boys and we had some lunch before going to the ball park.

Logan played first. He did okay. He got a pretty good hit, but he stops his swing as soon has he make contact, so he has to work on that. He was playing in the dirt when he was playing in the field. He got out several times, but the guy caught the ball and tagged him, he had no choice. He had fun and they did good.

Taylor played next. He used a different bat and did not hit very well. He had 3 at bats and struck out twice and got a pretty good hit. He made a good catch at 2nd and got it to Blake on 1st and they got an out. Way to go!

After the ballgames they played on the playground for a while. We went to the Miller’s and grilled for dinner. The boys had a ball playing. They play very well together now that they have not seen each other every day like they were in the summer.

We had to head for home and do some stuff. Taylor had to read a book for his reading log. We had to get a head light and change it out on my car. We had baths to get and lunches to pack. Just normal, everyday things.

Taylor has a loose tooth and it is hanging by a thread, literally. I really don’t know how it is even hanging on at all. Taylor did not want it pulled, but it had to go. He could hardly eat or drink and complained that it hurt to run. I guess it did feel funny to have it just flopping around. He cried and carried on about pulling it, so Jim tied dental floss to it and when he pulled the ends to tighten the loop it just popped that root off and the tooth fell out. He screamed and cried, but he didn’t even know it was out until he saw it. It didn’t even bleed, there was nothing to bleed. He was excited then and ready to put it under his pillow.

Be in prayer for Taylor. Pray for Lorie. Pray for all of those who are fighting illness and injury.

Today was another good day in Watts World. We all slept late after such a late night at the fair. When we got up we just hung around the house. Gam maw called and we met them at the Olive Garden. It was very yummy. Taylor was thrilled to find out that we could get chocolate lasagna again. Yum! After lunch the boys all went home for football and Gam maw and I went shopping.

Once we got home the boys went to the yard where they have been staying since the weather has been so nice. They talked Gam maw and Paw Paw into letting them spend the night with them. Jim stayed in the man hole and watched football and I cleaned house.

Not a very exciting day, but that is okay, it was a day full of fun, family and good health.

Please be in prayer for Taylor as he continues to win this battle. Pray for Lorie who did not get the best of news this week and has put the transplant on hold. She is on a new chemo. Pray, pray, pray that this works and she can get to the transplant and get this behind her. Pray for all of our cancer friends and those who are fighting injury.

Today was a great day. Taylor was so excited to put the Auburn flags on the car this morning. He has wanted to have flags on the car for the longest time now and we didn’t have any.  finally broke down and bought some, so he was excited.

We all had great days at school. The boys have both had a bit of an attitude lately. It is getting pretty bad. They are so bossy to each other and it is getting them in a lot of trouble and at one point today I was afraid we would be missing the fair.

They pulled through it and made it to the fair and we had a great time. I feel bad that Taylor didn’t get to slide on the big slide. We went in and was going to make the loop and by the time we got back around it was closed do to the dew getting it too wet. However, he never complained. There was so much fun stuff to do that he was okay. We did everything that they were big enough for. Taylor was not thrilled with the roller coaster. He was on the verge of tears in line when we saw Ben and Jacob from school and he got all cool. (smile) We did the swings next and I was about to have a heart attack on that. Logan BARELY made the 42 inches limit and every time that thing tilted I was so scared. He said he wasn’t scared and that he liked it, but I could see his hands shaking he was gripping so hard. Taylor on the other hand was in the swing behind me hootin and hollerin. He loved it! I would have loved it had Logan been on the ground. We did the maze of glass and we got stuck a few times and Taylor slammed into the wall. It was funny. I stayed behind while they all went in the fun house that the stairs moved, floor shook, spun etc. It was so funny watching them come out the spinning tunnel. They all loved the tilt a whirl the best! We tried to ride it again before we left, but someone had thrown up and we decided to hit the road on that note. The boys were SO good! They listened and took turns picking what to ride. The weather was perfect and the location was great. We ran into half of McCalla. It was a great night!

Praise God Bayleigh got good news from her MRI. www.caringbridge.org/visit/bayleighphillips Stop in and visit Amelia who was named homecoming queen at her school. Congrats Amelia. www.caringbridge.org/visit/ameliawoo Pray for all of our cancer friends.

Taylor had his popcorn party at school today for selling cookie dough. That was a fun distraction for them. We also had karate this afternoon. This will be his last karate class. He did not like it on the first day, but I made him finish out the month since it is paid for and hoped that he would grow to like it. He does have fun with the karate, but there are so many kids in there and they do one on one and the rest are left sitting there doing nothing for most of the class. Today the teacher was so adamant that they be quiet that they spent more time sitting with their arms straight out than doing karate. I know that karate is about discipline, but with 40 boys in there and so much one on one time, I feel that is asking too much. He wants to try it at the studio with a more structured group. I do not feel that this is the type class that Dr. Madin Swain was talking about helping him.

We were able to get home long enough to do spelling words and then we headed out to practice and a pizza dinner with several families. It was a fun night for all.

Taylor’s tooth is dangling by a thread and it is rather nasty looking. He just pushes it around with his tongue and it flops over his lips when he closes his mouth. Ha!

Be in prayer for Bayleigh. She will have an MRI at 8:00 tonight. www.caringbridge.org/visit/bayleighphillips

Another milestone! 1700 days off treatment. Praise God!

Today was a pretty good day. We had a pretty routine day around here. Taylor had a good dat at school as did Logan. I have leverage this week. We are going to the fair this weekend, so he has to be good.

We had ball practice this afternoon. The boys love games, but are really not interested in practice. After ball we had our weekly dinner with the Miller’s. Fun as always!

We had some excitement around here this evening. Excitement that did not involve Taylor! Jim always sets the home alarm at night and I set it when I leave in the mornings. I set it tonight and by habit set it for the away function rather than the stay. That means the motion detectors were on. Jim got up at about 9:30 and it set the alarm off. Oops! We get a phone call from the Jefferson county sheriff’s dept. and then had to call and cancel the ADT people. Well, some how 2 reps from ADT got the call and when our line was busy due to me being on the the phone with them already they called Guh. So, it was a big mess! However, we are safe and no one was intruding, thank goodness! It was rather funny. I am not so sure Guh thought it was funny since she got woke up, but it was still funny.

Happy Tuesday! Today Taylor woke up just as happy and gas free as could be! He ate a slow breakfast, so slow that we were nearly late leaving for school. He was thrilled to go today since it was the first field trip of second grade. They went to Children’s theatre to see Rapunzel. He still gets so tickled that I know the story when he gets home. He can’t figure out how I know if I didn’t see the play. I guess we all thought we were the first to sing a song or hear a nursery rhyme.

After school we came home and got homework out of the way. He did pretty good with spelling again tonight. He took 17 min. to do his timed math sheet. It is usually about a 12 min. thing, but it was dealing with 12 and he was quick to point out that he didn’t have 12 fingers, so that was the problem. Silly boy!

We had dinner with gam maw and Paw paw before Gammaw and I went to play bunko. I didn’t win any money, but we had fun. It was late when I got home and the boys were in bed asleep. I was so tired, but I just had to stay awake to see 90210 and House. I will be tired tomorrow!

Please be in prayer for Taylor. Pray he continues to beat this beast and never again has cancer in his body. Pray for Bayleigh who is having some problems right now and is going to have a MRI Thursday. www.caringbridge.org/visit/bayleighphillips Remember, she JUST finished treatment about 3 weeks ago, so this is a scary time for them. Pray for Logan and his mom who also just had surgery. www.caringbridge.org/visit/loganwhitehead

Envision balloons and confetti falling and party horns blowing. Yes, it is time to celebrate. We are at day +2000. That means is has been 2000 days since his stem cell transplant. Wow! Praise God! I remember thinking that the 100 days of confinement would be pure torture and they flew by and look at us now!

Oh, and happy fall too!

Taylor went back to school today feeling fine. He made up his spelling test I know, but I am not sure if he did reading or not. He said they had a fun day and he was glad to be back. He forgot his reader again today. He had been doing real good, so that is a plus. We did have to go back and get it, but that we because he got upset that he lost it. He was so sure that he put it in his back pack, but it was not there. He had his library book, so I thought maybe he got that instead, but he was so sure he had it and it fell out. Well, I know that these are brand new books and it Mr. J would have us both if it were lost, so we went back to the school to be on the safe side. Just as I figured, it was in his desk safe and sound, but better safe than sorry. We ran into Mrs. Harmon (his 1st grade teacher) who suggested a reminder note on his folder, so we will try that.

We came home and did spelling words in which he seems to get this week. He struggled with whiskers, wish and and patch, but otherwise did great. It is so nice outside that I told him to go outside and we wold read later, out the went. I called them in at 5:45 to eat dinner. We had fish sticks, but I told them it was chicken. I was not sure how that was going to go over. We sat down and Taylor took a bite and said, “what is this?” I told him chicken. He says, “it tastes like catfish.” I don’t know where he came up with that because he has never eaten fish. I thought he was about to tell me it was gross, but instead he said, “this is yummy cat fish chicken” and ate every bite. Both boys ate in a matter of minutes in order to get back outside. They stayed outside until about 6:45. They came in and got in the bath tub. While in the tub Taylor kept looking at his belly real funny. When he got out of the tub he just doubled over in pain and was crying that it hurt right on his tumor scar. Hold up, stop the car, what the crap!!!! I was a nervous wreck! I rubbed his belly and felt around (like I knew what I was feeling!) and he screamed and cried. I tried to ignore it and we went on and did his reading. He would be reading and just start to cry. I was on pins and needles. Finally, we finished the reading and he said it still hurt, but it hurt a little higher up now. So, we were thinking it was gas. He couldn’t toot, so I told him to lay on his belly and I would pat him like a baby. I beat on him like a drum, I rolled him around, I massaged him, anything to keep him laughing and hopefully move the bubble. All of a sudden he burps this un human burp that came from his toes and then he looks at me (note I am flushed, tearful, having a mini heart attack and 59 gray hairs have sprouted) and says, “I’m good now!” and off he RUNS down the hall to play. As much as I would have liked to strangle him at that point, I was just so glad that we had a simple fix. I have said it before and I will say it again, cancer kids should not get the normal aches and pains and illnesses. It is just too much for me!