PTL--The doctor said Jon is doing GREAT this round.

First, I will give you an update on Jon.  So far, he has stayed out of the hospital.  He is Day +5.  Last round he was admitted to the hospital on Day +5.  So this is great news!  The doctor came in to check him today and said that he is doing so great this round.  We are very encouraged.  Basically last round his counts starting coming up on Thursday.  So he has a few more days of misery.  Don't get me wrong with saying he is doing great, he is in MISERY.  All he does is go to the clinic everyday and come home and lay in bed the rest of the night and fight off major nausea.  We are giving him more anti-nausea meds this time but we don't even know if they are working.  But in the very least he is not throwing up, he is able to drink, and eat a little.  Please pray for his upcoming scan!  We are very anxious about the results.  And pray that his white blood cells will mature and begin producing soon so that his body can recover!  If you have not taken time to listen to what Jon shared in church, please do!  It will be worth the 22 minutes!

Here is the link:

http://youtu.be/OjAFCcdBXNM

Here is our shopping trip to Kroger.  We are preparing a birthday party for Emily tomorrow (Monday)!  So here are the kids with their cake mix, icing, candles, ice cream, and of course I bribed them with chips!  Here are the kids coming out of the grocery store each with their own cart, but there is a story the pictures just do not tell!  We get out to the car and the car won't crank (7:30PM--Luke's bedtime).  Our battery had died!  This is how incredibly fantastic my husband is.  I call him (we left him at home in MISERY to go to the apple orchard and a hayride).  I tell him the battery is dead--we are 30 minutes away--and his quick response is, "I'll be there in a few minutes."  Please understand that when he drives to and from the hospital each day he feels very nauseated--it's 1 mile!  Of course I tell him NO, you are NOT coming!  He then remembers that he put jumper cables in the van in case something like this happened to us on this trip!  WOW, what an amazing man!  He is more than I could ever ask for!  Luckily for us, Emily and my mom find a woman that is willing to jump us off and Emily, thank goodness, knows how to do this!  Lucky for us, because my mom or I don't have a clue.  So Emily jumps us off and we are on our way back home.  Fun adventures in the city!

Apple orchard and pumpkin patch with Nanny!  

Hayride.  This was Ryan's favorite!  He LOVES tractors!

Here is sweet Emma Kate showing off her apple she picked!

One of our favorite activities is the zoo!  

Here are the kids enjoying the dolphins.

The next few weekends the zoo is hosting ZOO BOO!  The kids can dress up and get candy.  Here is Princess Rapunzel and Jake!  Ryan decided he did not want to dress up.  He was supposed to be Woody.  O well, not worth the fight.

Here are some of our favorite animals at the zoo!

 Here are the kids on the canal.  Another favorite is feeding the ducks!  All the ducks LOVE when the kids come down because they know they are going to get lots of bread!

I'll close with a few cute Luke stories.

I have been very concerned about Luke the past few days.  He was wheezing on Friday.  He also started with a cough which normally goes straight to his chest and ends up in wheezing and asthma.  So, Saturday night I was feeling like I needed to sleep with Jon and Luke.  So I brought Luke to our apartment and slept him on a little couch on the floor in Jon's room and I could literally keep my eyes and ears on BOTH!  So when Luke woke up in the morning, he evidently tried tapping my arm but I would not wake up.  So, he told me later that when he couldn't wake me up, he got back in his bed, folded his hands and prayed 2 prayers for daddy, one was short and one was long!  Yep!  I cried when he told me!  

Also, just Luke and I went over to the zoo the other day while the babies took a nap.  We were looking at the ugly warthog when a little 3 year old boy started talking to Luke.  He commented that Luke had 2 bracelets on.  Luke responded, "O yea, these are my GODSTRONG bracelets.  My daddy is sick, but he is going to get well soon!  He has boo boo's."  The little 3 year old was so mature and sweet.  He kept talking to Luke and repeating back what he said, asking questions like where are his boo boo's.  You know, a typical conversation between a 3 and 4 year old.  Luke told him all about Ryan and Emma Kate.  It was so cute, and of course I was crying again!  I'm sure the 3-yr old's parents were probably thinking this lady is a basket case, we gotta get out of here.  But it was just precious to hear Luke tell Jon's GODSTRONG story!  We all need to keep telling it!  You never know who needs to hear it!

We have opened up the shirts again for one week.  Just click on the link to the right if you still haven't gotten a chance to buy one.

Also, one last thing, our friends Sean and Mandy Chapman have put together a video of people in their shirts.  It is great and I love to see how God uses our abilities and talents to bless others.  Thanks guys, you have blessed Jon and I.  He watched it tonight and LOVED it!  Here is the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7LjPZlPbfw