counts are headed south

Well Brian went in for his normal blood count check today...counts are dropping but he was able to hold out on getting blood today. It is pretty obvious that we can expect another transfusion on Thursday at the next check. Brian can now recognize signs that his counts are getting low: jaw pain, tooth pain, bone pain...it doesn't help that his neupogen shots also cause bone pain so that is doubled. He spent most of the day on the couch resting/napping/watching 'lets make a deal', 'Who wants to be a millionaire', and 'jeopardy'. While he was resting i snuck a 30 min. nap in then hit the books. I have been so tired lately that it seems as if I could sleep for 48 hours straight (that sounds glorious right now), I'm still catching up from a few weeks ago when Brian was having a few bad nights in a row. I'm still camped out on our living room floor, surprisingly more comfortable then you would think. At this point we could rent out our bedroom because we haven't been in it for over a month.

It is hard for Brian to do much because he tires easily but he likes to do small projects such as cooking. However, cooking an entire meal is exhausting for him so I do most and he helps out. Last week I made a huge batch a mini meatloafs and froze them so he could warm them up easily and he would only have to cook a vegetable. Tonight we made vegetable stuffed mancotti (BRIAN LOVES VEGGIES...not). However, he helped me by shredding some carrots while I cooked the shells, spinach, and mixed the stuffing part. Then he took a break for a bit and returned to stuffed the shells. He said it feels nice to do something since he sleeps most of the day.

While we cooked dinner we were surprised with this sweet treat!

My parents sent us a cookie bouquet...one cookie for Al Pal's first day of work, a get well soon for Brian, and to brighten my day one for me (perhaps laced with caffeine). What a nice treat after supper. It got devoured...Brian was craving sweets.

Keep saying prayers that this chemo does the trick and we can move onto the next phase.

Last night Al and I went to church and were very encouraged by the message. Sometimes God just speaks out to us!

We pray nightly how thankful we are God put all of you in our life to help us through this time. Thanks for the encouragement!

P.S. we received some pretty cool cards from some second graders this weekend that made Brian's day. Especially the 'American Hawkeye' one, "love it or leave it". Thank you some much Mrs. Smith's class!!!!