Sat-Mon July 2-4, 2011

This was by far the BEST 4th of July!! Not only did we spend the whole weekend with great people/family celebrating the 4th, we were also celebrating Blake having his port removed!! (It no longer worked) The unfortunate part of this was NO SWIMMING-due to fresh stitches!! However, it was just a small price to pay! It was seriously the best 4th of July we have had!! The previous 2 years we have spent the 4th away from home. 2009 we were inpatient at Children's Mercy, last year we were in Houston without Phil receiving Proton Therapy (radiation). A friend of a friend, heard that Blake hadn't been able to really celebrate for the past 2 years and so this very generous family donated a LOT of fireworks to us. I wish I had taken a picture before they were actually set off. Oops! I think you will get a good idea by looking at all the pictures. We started off our holiday weekend in Rich Hill, MO (my bff's mom's house). We ate delicious food, enjoyed great company and went swimming-Blake sat on a huge turtle raft and stayed dry! It was a great start. The next day we headed to Nevada, MO (bff's dad's) to enjoy a bbq, more great family and a firework show. We set off about half of the fireworks, our final one for the night was especailly given to us for Phil. A 16,000 Black Cat firecracker. It sounded and looked like a bomb went off. lol It was SO loud that Blake actually tried to use righty to cover his ears. lol I actually got a picture of it. I was pretty proud of him. After a great night we headed to Pomme de Terre Lake (Phils parents live there). We took his parents boat out, then had a bbq and more fireworks. It was great to be by the water and see all the fireworks going off around the lake. Blake truly had a BLAST!! Finally on Mon (the 4th) we headed back to Rich Hill. Phil had to head home since he had to work that night, so Blake, Christian(bff), and I stayed to celebrate with her mom in Rich Hill. We enjoyed her huge 4th party with more delicious food, swimming, and then went to the town fair and watched fireworks. It was the PERFECT holiday weekend. We feel so lucky to have such amazing family and friends. Here is a slide show of our weekend!! Enjoy!!

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June 29, 2011

Ready to go get his port out!!

Deb-Blake's favorite Interventional Radiology Nurse!

Today is a day worth celebrating!! Blake had his port removed!! His port stopped working, so weird because we have NEVER had any problem with it. It been in since Feb 2, 2010 and now June 29th its being removed! Its almost as though his body said "I dont need this anymore". His doctors are all ok with it being removed since all we have used it for lately is sedation for MRI's. They also let us know not to worry, that if God forbid we do need it again, it wont be difficult to do. We of course, are praying that we NEVER need it again! Blake officially has NO PORT and NO G-TUBE!! In a few weeks we will find out if his
tumor is stable...praying for good news!! I will keep you all posted once we get his results!!

Blake was spoiled by the nurses!! 5pk of HotWheels, coloring book, crayons, & Sponge Bob pen!



This is what Blake's port looked like. (not actually his)

Sat June 25, 2011

This is one of the pics I took for his invitations!

I have always loved birthday parties! There is something magical about them. For the past few months I have been gathering, sewing, painting, sewing, painting, and gathering. lol After many late nights and long days...I am ready for Blake's 4th Birthday Party!! Today is the day! And I am proud to say, all my hard work paid off! This was by far his BEST birthday party yet! Several months ago Blake told me he wanted a Batman Birthday. So I started planning a Superhero party...water grenades, Batman cake, superhero silly bands, water guns, comic books, capes, superhero game, masks, a king size sheet for a photo backdrop, clothes pin superheroes. Ya know just what every party needs! lol Blake was so excited! I recruited the help of some of my friends, assembling goody bags, cutting out stars for the capes, cutting felt masks, etc. When Blake woke up this morning he was pretty calm. I don't think he realized exactly what was in store. Everyone started arriving at 2pm. Blake decided he needed to guard his presents...not sure why. lol All the other kids were out side playing. My grandparents stayed in with him, until we finally convinced him it was ok to come outside. He is so silly sometimes. This was the first year he was excited for the presents, more than the party. He had a BLAST playing with all his friends. Seeing him smile just brightens my day! He is such a special kid. I am SO grateful for how well he is doing. All the kids played and jumped (we rented a bounce house) and then got a little wet from the water balloon fight. We came in to sing 'Happy Birthday' and have some cake and ice cream. Then everyone sat on towels outside eating cake while Blake started opening his presents. He was SO excited! He got a lot of really cool stuff. We really have amazing family and friends!! It was such a great birthday. Not sure if I will ever be able to top that one...but its worth a shot! Blake deserves it! Here is a slide show I put together since I wanted to share all the photos with you! I hope you enjoy!!

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