Friday, July 28, 2006

7/28/2006

TAYLORS WEBPAGE HTTP://WWW.TAYLORWATTS.ORG
Latest News 7/26/06
Photogallery
News Articles
View Guestbook
Sign Guestbook
How this all started


Taylor's Audio 7/24/06
Logan's Corner 7/4/06
Taylor's Art 7/4/06
Newsletter 7/6/06

July 26, 2006 Day +1,211 Day #909 off treatment


Two new articles added to Taylor's bulletin board. Update coming later tonight!
Today was a fair day. Taylor gets so wild at school. He will just scream out in the middle of a quiet time. I don't know if he is looking for attention or is trying to be the class clown, but it bugs me and I know it will bug a kindergarten teacher. Once we got home Taylor was okay. He ate goldfish and popcorn and watched cartoons. Logan took a long nap. He was trying to sleep at school which is very odd for him. He didn't act like he felt bad, but wasn't quite himself.
Gam maw and I made our run to Curves and to tan. Logan was mad that I was going to "turves", but he was over it quickly as he learned that daddy was going to take them outside. We have the gator and 4 wheeler here at home on charge. We also have plans to go to Guh's after school tomorrow to ride the motor and 4 wheeler over there. I haven't told them that yet as Logan will repeat it over and over and over until it happens and I don't want to hear it. I think I will tell Taylor and that should calm him down a bit. I had to get on him again about whinig and being mean to Logan. I asked him why he does the same things over and over every day to get in trouble and he said he didn't know. I know that all kids do it, I am a teacher, I see kids do it over and over, but when it is your kid and you can't stop it, it is hard to deal with. We have worked out a new deal. He wants to save his money to buy a blue power ranger. I told him on Friday nights we will give him $1 if his room is clean and he has been on green light at school all week. When he gets enough to buy the power ranger we will go buy it. I hope this is enough incentive to make him behave. For those of you that don't have small kids the green light system is what they use at school these days. It is a traffic light and all kids start on green light. When they get in trouble they move to yellow and if they are bad again they go to red. It is not good to be on red and most of the time it works. We used to have a red light in Taylor's room and it really did work for him. It kept falling off the wall, so we took it down, but I think we will put it back up if it seems to be working at school.
We recorded a special on the travel channel about the Disney cruise ship. We watched it tonight and Taylor was loving it. He is ready to see the water slide and pools. He also liked the ice cream that is available around the clock! 43 days and counting!!
Please continue to pray for Taylor and his success against NB. Pray for Avery who will get another MRI soon to see just where they stand. Pray for Christi who finished her new drug today. She also saw a ped. who said the new lump on her head is a swollen bug bite. Praises! Also, lets rejoice with Ralph who has finished treatment!!! http://www.caringbridge.org/al/ralphcook
Important legislation!!! Please contact Jeff Sessions (click on his name) and request he support this important legislation. He sits on the subcommittee that this bill currently sits in the Senate.
S.2393 Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2006 (Introduced in Senate)
Title: A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to advance medical research and treatments into pediatric cancers, ensure patients and families have access to the current treatments and information regarding pediatric cancers, establish a population-based national childhood cancer database, and promote public awareness of pediatric cancers. Latest Major Action: 3/9/2006 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Contact Jeff Sessions and request he support this legislation.
A new feature for Taylor's Website, Taylor's Bulletin Board! This is a place for open discussion on any topic. We have posted several interesting articles relating to childhood cancer. Feel free to start your own discussion or comment on the articles posted. You can also sign up for Taylor's Newsletter and automatically receive notification when new information is added to the website. To sign up, go to Taylor's Newsletter. Now on to the update.
Be sure to listen to Taylor's Red Cross commercial on WDJC 93.7. It is finally airing and several people have heard it. I think JIm put a link on the web site so you can listen on here if you are not local. I must say, it turned out good. Taylor's voice it priceless, it should bring in lots of donors! There is a link under What's new. It is the Taylor's audio link! Or click here.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Taylors Web Page Updates

You can visit Taylor's Website at http://www.taylorwatts.org

July 26, 2006 Day +1,211 Day #909 off treatment
Two new articles added to Taylor's bulletin board. Update coming later tonight!
July 25, 2006 Day +1,210 Day #908 off treatment
Hi all. I hate to start an update with bad news, but today I must. Our sweet friend, Avery. learned today that her cancer is back. She had a brain tumor at 10 months and her MRI today showed it was back, she is now 3 and the cutest thing you will ever know. She was supposed to get her trach out tomorrow, but I am not sure if that will happen now. Please stop by her page and offer her and her mom and dad some encouraging words and prayers. http://www.averyann.net
As for us, we had a good day. I must say this news puts a damper on it and you can imagine puts me in a funk. Taylor did pretty good at school today. He gets very wild and loud at times, but not really doing anything bad. He played outside for a bit this afternoon, but it is so hot. The kids didn't even want to go to the playground. You know it is hot when 5 year olds don't want to play outside. Logan was pretty good today. He didn't get in too much trouble. He and Taylor walked around like cwoboys all night. Taylor had a holster and a gun and Logan had his gun in his pocket. He didn't have a holster, but he could whip it out of that pocket in a hurry, it was getting it back in that caused him trouble. We played in the kiddie pool today. We only stayed out there about 30 minutes. They kept throwing buckets of water out of the pool and Taylor was picking weeds and then threw it in the pool, so I made them get out. We came in and had some dinner and then Jim took them out back for a while.
Taylor has started part of his new bed time routine. He has been having me read him a "bed night" story. I am not sure why he calls it that rather than bed time story, but it is cute. I read one every night. He has been going to bed earlier, but not getting up earlier. That is hard because that means I have to get up ealrier:) No, next week we will be on a full school time, bed time schedule and try to get him into the swing. He likes to be up an hour or so before eating, so he will have to get up early or go to school hungry.
I need to ask for more prayer requests. First off, pray that Taylor has indeed beaten NB. Pray that he doesn't have to fight it again. Pray that all those that are in remission or NED can remain that way. Pray that a cure is found very soon. Pray for Avery and her family as they start the journey again. Pray for Sarah as she does it again. Pray for Amber who is feeling very blue right now. http://www.caringbridge.org/al/amber Pray for Christi who has started a new drug and found new lumps on her head. Pray that these lumps are not signs or progression. http://www.christithomas.blogspot.com Pray for Bailey who has some more progression as well as other problems. He has a tumor on his heart that will cause his heart to stop if he is put to sleep yet he is inpacted and needs desparately to be cleaned out, but can not due to the tumor. He is in pain for both cancer and impaction. This disease is so mean and I hate it! Pray for Carter who does have a good bit of progression and does not want to do high dose chemo. They are talking with the Dr's in Philly. http://www.caringbridge.org/pa/carterfinger Pray for all the kids, there are too many to list. I could go on and on and on.... Jim will be adding all my links soon, so that you can follow them. for now check out http://www.sharethelove.org
Important legislation!!! Please contact Jeff Sessions (click on his name) and request he support this important legislation. He sits on the subcommittee that this bill currently sits in the Senate.
S.2393 Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2006 (Introduced in Senate)
Title: A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to advance medical research and treatments into pediatric cancers, ensure patients and families have access to the current treatments and information regarding pediatric cancers, establish a population-based national childhood cancer database, and promote public awareness of pediatric cancers. Latest Major Action: 3/9/2006 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Contact Jeff Sessions and request he support this legislation.
A new feature for Taylor's Website, Taylor's Bulletin Board! This is a place for open discussion on any topic. We have posted several interesting articles relating to childhood cancer. Feel free to start your own discussion or comment on the articles posted. You can also sign up for Taylor's Newsletter and automatically receive notification when new information is added to the website. To sign up, go to Taylor's Newsletter. Now on to the update.
Be sure to listen to Taylor's Red Cross commercial on WDJC 93.7. It is finally airing and several people have heard it. I think JIm put a link on the web site so you can listen on here if you are not local. I must say, it turned out good. Taylor's voice it priceless, it should bring in lots of donors! There is a link under What's new. It is the Taylor's audio link! Or click here.
July 24, 2006 Day +1,209 Day #907 off treatment
Here we are back to Monday. We have 45 days until our trip and 18 days until school starts. We have a huge calendar in the bathroom with all the "cool stuff" marked and Taylor puts an X on each day before bed. We are counting days until the trip, school, camp, Daddy's b'day. our anniversary, anything to count. He loves doing it.
We hung out all day until time to go to speech. Today was his last day. We were supposed to go next week, but I decided not to. It is his last full week of summer, so I thought we would do as much fun stuff as we could. Plus, why should she have to make all those notes and stuff on him when we are all leaving. He gave her a present and he got all shy. He still needs a lot of work, but she worked wonders with him. Thank you Katie!
We hng around at Nana's house and then I gave Jim the kids and Gammaw and I went to Curves and to tan. We had stand up beds, so it wasn't quite so heavenly this time, but it was still nice. The boys swam while we were gone. Did you have any doubt about what they were doing? We have 2 fish on our hands.
Please remmeber to pray for all the kids. Pray for Taylor's continued success. Stop by and wish Morgan a happy birthday tomorrow. http://www.caringbridge.org/nc/morganbarnes
July 23, 2006 Day +1,208 Day #906 off treatment
It was another busy day. We went to church where Taylor sang in the VBS program. It was very cute and he did great. He was on the front row, so we could see him and was singing and doing all the motions. He got a little rambunctious with his friend, butter cup, (I don't ask), but I caught his eye and mouthed. "do you want to go to Guh's" and he straightened up. After church both boys went with Guh to ride. The rest of us grabbed some lunch and went to the Galleria. We found some Disney stuff on sale and bought it. We plan to hide it in our luggage and lay it out for them at night and they will think they are getting treats and we will not have to spend big bucks for the same stuff at the store on the boat.
Jim and I left Gam maw and Paw Paw to go get the boys. They were both on the motorcycle since Logan wore the battery down on the 4 wheeler. It has a stripped gear and when he got stuck and just kept trying to go it would ware down faster. Taylor did a GREAT job of sharing. They rode together for a while and then took turns making a loop around the yard. Taylor got his gator for Christmas when he was almost 2 and by that summer he could drive like a pro. He never lets Logan ride, so I didn't think he would be able to drive the 4 wheeler. Wrong, he can drive and nail it between the slide and flower bed which is just enough room, however, he has a bad habit of not looking where he is going and crashing. They were so cute and we got tons of pictures, so I am sure they will be up soon.
We went swimming after we left Guh's. We have to bribe them with something to get them to leave. It was fun. Paw Paw and daddy were doing flips and hand stands which the boys thought was funny. Jim was flipping me off of my float which the boys thought was funny. Taylor tried to swim with no float, but he gets scared and wont listen to what you are saying I think we will do lessons next year.
Please keep Taylor in prayer. He has come so far and I pray he never again faces cancer. Pray for Bailey who has had more progression. Pray for Christi who has had progression. She started a new drug, but it holds little promise. www.christithomas.blogspot.com Pray for Sarah who started Fenretinide this week and is already feeling yuck. http://www.caringbridge.org/nc/sarahsmith Pray for Carter who also has some progression in his shoulders. http://www.caringbridge.org/pa/carterfinger Pray for all the kids out there who are fighting!!
July 22, 2006 Day +1,207 Day #905 off treatment
We had a family reunion to go to today. It was nice to see everyone again, you know how it is when families get big and spread out you never get to see each other. It was pouring down rain which was good for more than one reason. Guh called this morning and said that the directions for the motor said it HAD to charge for 24 hours and it has not been that long, so they couldn't come ride. Logan woke up saying, "I want to go to Guh's and ride my pour wheeler". I knew it would be ugly, but they can't argue with the rain. We went by Gam maw's house where they played with Daddy and us girls went shopping. We didn't buy much, but we got out for a while.
I brought the boys home and Logan fell asleep in his been bag chair. Guh came over to watch them while we went to play games at Gam maw's for a social for the sorority. It was fun. We didn't get home until after 11:00 and Guh was wore out. Logan was a pill all night and NIght Night was in my car, so Taylor was whiny. We all slept great with the storm that blew threw. It was raining so hard and thundering and lightening. I was sleeping like a rock!
July 21, 2006 Day +1,206 Day #904 off treatment
TGIF! I am glad it is Friday as we have a fun filled weekend planned, but my summer Fridays off are soon coming to an end. I a sad, but my pocket book will be glad to go back to work 5 days a week.
We hung out at home and cleaned house. We didn't do anything too wild and crazy today. We did go out and play in the baby pool for a while. They had fun. The were floating around in a small inter tube and it is only a little 3 ring pool. It was pretty funny. They had a game going that they loved, but made no since to me. They filled up a bucket of water and ran across the yard with screaming some crazy made up word then ran back to the pull and jumped in. They would fill up the bucket again and do it again. They did it for a long time. We went in and had lunch and put Logan to bed. He took a while to fall asleep, but he did go. I got all my Mary Kay prices together. I am having an open house/clearance sale on Saturday, July, 29th at 6:00. Feel free to come!!
We left home around 4:30 to go get Jim from work. We had plans to go the Baron's game, so there was no need for Gam maw to go get him. We got stuck in a major traffic jam and it took forever to get there. We finally got Jim and headed to Guh's. We got to the game about an hour before the game started. It was free jersey night and we wanted to be sure that the boys each got one. They both did get one and Taylor put his on. Logan didn't want his on. We had some dinner and then we settled in to watch the game. Actually, we wanted to go home before the first pitch was even thrown. It was so hot and sticky you couldn't enjoy it. However, Taylor was set on "finishing the game" We finally bribed him with Sonic and he agreed to leave, but that was after about 2 innings. Before we went to Sonic we made a stop at Wal mart to get a power wheels motorcycle. Logan had a little bitty 4 wheeler that he is now too heavy for. Taylor wanted a motor cycle, so he gave the big 4 wheeler to Logan and Guh got him a bike. It is for her house. We went back to her house and put it together. It is really cute. It has sound effects that sound like the engine revving and a radio. It is a fat back chopper and it has flames on it. They are going to go back to Guh's house tomorrow and ride it. They are so excited.
Logan had a bad night on the way home. He was so tired and he pitched a fit to turn the tv off. I turned it off and he pitched a fit to turn it back on. We wouldn't turn it back on, so he screamed all the way home. Once home he refused to walk into the house and I had my hands full, so I walked up the porch steps and dropped my stuff to go back and get him. I don't know why I put tennis shoes on him rather than sandals, but thank goodness I did and that they lit up. He was almost to the street running away and all I saw was little red flashing lights. He was not going in the house. I had to carry him in kicking and screaming! Needless to say he was asleep in a matter of minutes.
July 20, 2006 Day +1,205 Day #903 off treatment
We went back to school today. Taylor had a much better day today. He had to be reminded of our talk, but it seemed to calm him down, but even the things he did to make me remind him were not has wild as he usually is. Maybe we are making progress. Logan was being silly as usual. He told his teachers that he had poop and she said okay just stand real still. He stood still for a long time before he realized she was being silly. He just laughed at her and ran off. He had a pocket full of gum and when they were supposed to line up and head back to their class he got way at the other end of the gym and started eating his gum. I tell ya, I am in for it with this one. I just thought Taylor was hard to deal with, wrong!
We came home where once again Logan laid in bed all afternoon and never slept. He never did cry or ask to get out, but I felt bad for him after a while and got him up. Then the fighting begun. Do siblings ever get along? While I was looking in on some friends today I learned some news that I just about hit the the floor over. A little boy that I had in my class last year had surgery to remove a tumor from the base of his brain. They do not know yet it is benign or malignant, but please keep them in your prayers as they wait to find out. I called good ole Meredith and told her if she ran into them to send them my way. We are praying for you Hull family!
Taylor went to his last night of VBS. He has had a blast! I went to the last few minutes and watched them close and practice for Sunday's program. If anyone is interested it will be at 11:00AM at Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church. It is going to be so cute! Taylor had on a hat and he did not have on a hat when I dropped him off. I just laughed when he told me whose it was. It was Buttercups hat and he said he could wear it until time to go home. I had to go find Buttercup though I had no idea who that might be. Luckily, Taylor did and knew just where to find him. I am not sure who is, but he was an older boy that Taylor seemed to really like. I am glad that he had such fun. He learned a lot too. He has told me all about Jesus and sins etc. They made blankets and Spanish Bible books to send to Latin American children.
When Taylor and I got home Logan was sound asleep in the floor all curled up with his big dog. So cute! He is tired after not napping. He also bonked his bead really hard on the fire place. He was sitting in front of it and was going to lookup and say " oh gosh" because some pieces were gone from his toy, but he hit his head when he looked up. I know it hurt, but there was no bump or bleeding. I am sure he will be fine. Isn't it funny how I let that go, but had Taylor done it I would have paged half of Children's to get opinions.
Please pray that Taylor has beaten this beast for good and will not ever have to travel that road again. Pray for Cody who has finished his protocol. That is almost as scary as starting! Pray for madison who just got chemo and so far is feeling good still. Pray for Zach and his family as they await answers on his tumor. Pray for Christi as she starts Fenritnide, an oral chemo that doesn't hold a lot of promise, but could still be the answer she needs. Pray it at lease keeps her stable until she is eligible for something else. Pray for Sarah as she starts heavy doses of Accutane. I am sure you remember that in heavy doses it is an oral chemo. She did not show any disease in her marrow, sp pray that the "craputane" gets her back into NED status. Pray for all the others out there who are fighting at some stage of the game.
July 19, 2006 Day +1,204 Day #902 off treatment
Guh was off today and we all went to Alabama Adventure. It was hot, hot, hot! We thought it opened at 10:00, but it was 10:30. so we had to stan in line to get in for a while. It was okay. We hit the wave pool where we had a blast just floating and letting the waves carry us around. Taylor likes the shallow end where it is rougher. He loves to run and jump into the waves. He also took his swimmer off when the waves stopped and worked on swimming. He didn't learn to swim, but he is learning to go under and stay a little longer. He calls it swimming under water, but I call it falling under water for 15 seconds. He is so silly. We went over to the Lazy River and went around a few times then went to the kiddie part. Our school friend, Mary Grace was leaving, so we got her chair. We ran into our school friend Tucker and Taylor had a blast playing with him. We never looked at a watch, but once we decided to go we found out it was my usual 2 hour mark. We stopped and bought a pizza and went home to eat. I cleaned up and filled up their little pool and set it all up to play in after Logan's nap and it poured down rain. Go figure!
Gam maw and I went to the tanning bed and to curves. I went ahead and did my weigh in even though I haven't been going regularly. I had gained 4 pounds since April, but last 5 inches. I know a lot of it had to do with a different person doing it, but I still liked the look of the paper! I stopped in to get Taylor a few minutes early and watched them practice. He was actually being pretty good to be with a bunch of kids.
He was so tired after a day of fun in the sun and VBS. He climbed in our bed and fell asleep. He looks so sweet and innocent all curled up and cuddling Night Night. I have seen him like that 1,000's of times. I have moved him to his bed 1,000's of times. I always look in the mirror when I go by and look at us. Last night it was rather humorous. He wasn't the tiny, frail little thing I used to snatch up and cuddle down the hall. He was the long, lanky thing with a floppy head that I about took off with the door frame and the dangly feet that hit the other side of the door frame. I about lost him before I literally threw him in the bed. It was crazy! I don't think I will be moving him too many more times. It is kind of sad, but at the same time glorious.
So far our little talk seems to be working. He did have a few melt down moments and whined, but not huge episodes and a reminder of the ugly stick made him straighten up quickly. Pray we are hitting a crossroad and he will take the good boy side.
July 18, 2006 Day +1,203 Day #901 off treatment
We went to school today where Taylor stayed in trouble. He was so wild all day. He threw legos and dishes. He ran and jumped rather than walked, he jumped on people and screamed. I took him down the hall and talked to him and warned him that a spanking was in his future if he didn't calm down and follow directions. He did better, but not good until lunch. He had about 2 bites of chicken left and wanted ketchup and I told him no, not for 2 more bites. He threatened me with a "if you don't get me some now I will be bad" and then hit me on the butt that is very burn from last nights visit to the tanning bed. I was so mad, I took him to the bathroom and spanked him and then sent him back to eat. He did better from then on, but it was only 30 minutes. We had to run to the bank after school. If we park by the side walk I will tell him to stand on the sidewalk and not move. Well, today we were across the parking lot and I told him to stand by the car. He asked could he go to the sidewalk and I said no. Well. he went anyway and I had had enough. We went into the bank and did our business. We went home and he got a pop with the ugly stick. He was so upset. I told him it would happen every day until he learned to behave and follow directions no matter where we were. I hope he got it cause I feel real bad about it, but I don't want him to be the kid that people hate to see coming.
He went to VBS tonight with his friends. He had a blast. They were in the old building due to voting in the gym. The youth uses that building, so he thought he was hot stuff over in the youth area. I had a sorority baby shower to go to. It was fun. Logan and Jim hung out too for lack of anything better to do. Logan had a good time eating off everyone's plate. Taylor had some yummy cake once he got home. He has been a good boy since our little fiasco this afternoon. I think God is talking to him. He has a challenge every night when he comes home. He has to try and complete it before going back the next night. Sunday he was going to bring his mom or dad a snack, Monday we prayed for someone who needed God in their life. Well, today his challenge was to obey mom or dad on the first try. Hmmm.... I hope he listened to his Heavenly Father more than he does his Earthly parents!
July 17, 2006 Day +1,202 Day #900 off treatment
Welcome back to Monday! We went to speech today. He was so good! He was even excited that he was so good. I had already planned to tell Katie that we have to quite. I can not afford to send him anymore especially since he can get it at school free. I felt awful and didn't want to tell her. She made it easy for me by telling me that she took a new job with a school system so that she would have that school schedule when she has kids. She will only be there the next 2 weeks which is how much longer he would have gone to speech at South, so that worked out good. I have to call the board of Education to get him registered for that and I am dreading it since that was such a hassle last year. We hope this year will be smoother since he will actually be in the school system rather than a pre schooler. We shall see!
Guh came by Nana's and played with them for a while. We went to Wal mart and then rushed to VBS. We went by Gam maw's house to let Logan swim. We all went to San Antonio to eat dinner and it was yummy. We waited to pick up Taylor and let him eat too. He ate like a horse.
Please don't forget to pray for Taylor and his continued success against cancer. Pray for all our friends that are fighting this beast. Pray for a cure for childhood cancer, we need one soon!
July 16, 2006 Day +1,201 Day #899 off treatment
We were up bright and early today. We did group photos and pottery. This time Taylor got to use markers on his bowl and take it home today rather than wait to have it fired. Taylor colored the inside and Logan the outside. However, you must not be supposed to do the inside as Taylor's kind of faded away. I just didn't mention it and put it in the curio with all our other pottery pieces. Taylor is very tired and was extra grumpy! Our family photo shows him crying and refusing to smile. That earned him a trip to the bathroom. We did our closing rituals and then headed home. Taylor took a short nap. He was all balled up and his leg went to sleep, so he had a melt down. He has an awful blister on his heel and has been limping. Well, you know me, even though I can see the reason, my brain goes into over drive. HOwever, once home he showed he was more than fine. We stopped at Gam maw and Paw paw's and swam. He was having Jim throw him up in the air where he did a back flip (jim tossed him over) and landed in the water. He is braver than me! They did that a million times. Logan who was Mr. brave at came just wanted the hose on the deck. He did paddle around a little, but no dare devil stunts.
Tonight is the first night of VBS at our church. I dropped Taylor off with no tears or trying to go with me. He was sucking on his finger which is a sign of his anxiety and tiredness, but he never tried to stop me. What a big boy he is! I am so proud.
Well, it is almost time to go get Taylor. I also need to go un pack all our stuff and start the dreaded laundry. Thank you all so very much for continuing to follow Taylor and his friends. Please remember Sarah, Madison, Amber, Avery, Molly, Brock, Amy, Marley, Calvin, Morgan, Colette, Davis, Jake, and the so many more. Pray that those who are in remission/NED can remain that way. Pray for a cure. Pray for Bailey. He has 4 new tumors and does not have much time left. Pray for his comfort and for his family.
July 15, 2006 Day +1,200 Day #898 off treatment
We are at Camp today! We left home around 7:30 this morning. We stopped for some Don Don breakfast and kept on going. We were way ahead of schedule, so we swung into Wind Creek to check the prices of cabin rentals. Well, let me back up. The nearer we got to camp the louder the boys got. We told them to stop or we would go back home. We went past Wind Creek and decided to turn around and go back. When Jim turned around Logan flipped out and started screaming, "No, I don't want to go home." It was rather funny. We were still way early, but that was okay. We got all our stuff put away in our rooms. Taylor and Calvin have bunks that are end to end. I am glad their counselors will get to handle that. Jim, Logan and had a private room in concord. The boys immediately took off with their counselors. The parents sat around in any shade we could find and talked. It was so fun to sit and joke with parents and hospital staff. It was soon time for lunch. We ate great as always. Miss Terry who usually does games with the adults couldn't come. We pray that all is well for her and we will see her next time. She was certainly missed! Since our games were called off we went to do picture frames in an air conditioned cabin. The men had the option to do crafts or fish. Most of them did both. We all also got full body massages. Wow! We were all like a bunch of noodles when it was over. A few of us went on a pontoon boat ride after our massage. That was nice too. We looked at all the HUGE houses on Lake Martin.
While we did all that the kids were having some excitement of their own. They were in the pool until thunder and lightening made them get out. A huge rain storm came through, so they all went to watch Finding Nemo and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Taylor fell asleep! No, Logan didn't! As soon as they saw a peep of sun they were back in the pool. In the pool that Logan was sliding down the big curly slide and going under the water. He is getting brave!! He poor counselor had to catch him and lead him back up the ladder about 30 times. I think we have settled the idea of kids for several counselors! NO, I think they have fun, but Logan can ware them out! All of us "old" parents got tickled, none of us made a effort to keep up with out kids and see what they were up too. We could tell who was a first timer and was staying with the kids. by the end of the day we had them hooked and we all sat around and talked some more.
I must say it was wonderful to sit around with these people. Thought most of the kids did not have the same diseases nor treatments we all had a common bond. We could all talk and share the lingo without funny looks and questions. We could sympathize with the stories being told and truly rejoice with the good news. We had many heart felt and fun talks. We have laughed about everything from treatments to car trouble and vacations. You name it and we probably talked about it. We had a lot of down time with the rain and Miss Terry not being there, but it was nice to get to just vege out and talk. I think we all had a blast.
The kids came out of the pool just in time to go build a sand caste. Taylor had a blast. Logan didn't want the sand in his shoes. He ended up in the lake trying to clean his feet and got his spare clothes soaking wet. Oh well! Taylor went with his counselor to shower and clean up. I saw no reason to shower before dinner when we still had several hours of playtime afterwards. Our dear friend, Calvin's, dad is a manager at Jim N Nicks and he had dinner catered tonight. Can you say YUMMY! We all ate like pigs, it was so good. The kids went to make smores after dinner. All of us adults went right back to our chairs and talked more, we could not think about a smore!
9:00 came quick and it was lights out. I bathed Logan real quick and got him all tucked in his Thomas the Train sleeping bag. He usually rolls around and talks and tries to fight sleep. Not this time, he was out in about 2 minutes. I didn't sleep real well. We had the squeakiest bed in the world. You know when you have a squeaky bed you seem to need to move a lot more than normal and I could not get comfy for anything. I felt like the entire cabin could hear the bed. We were in the room next door last time and I never heard the bed, so they probably couldn't hear it, but I still worried. Plus, Logan had barged in on them. He just assumed he would go to the same room, he has had the room every time he has ever gone, so I guess it was smart on his part to go there, but it was embarrassing. Luckily, we were all there with young kids and no one minds having others amble in to visit. After all, we are all family.
Did you notice the number of days post transplant. Day 1200! Wow, he always hits the big milestone numbers at camp. What better way to hit those days, huh!
July 14, 2006 Day +1,199 Day #897 off treatment
Happy Friday! We went to Alabama Adventure today. We haven't been in about 2 weeks and they kids were having withdrawals! It was so very hot, but they had a great time and as usual ran into a lot of friends. We all donned our life vests and went into the deep water to ride the waves at the wave pool. We played in the sand for a few minutes, but it was just too hot not to be in the pool. We left around 1:00. Taylor got in trouble for whining and complaining as we left. I had to yell at him a few times. I always feel soooo bad after getting on to him, but at the same time I want him to be a normal child in every way. He was good the rest of the day. A friend at school asked him why he whined so much. I hope that he will see that even kids pick up on the whining and he will cool it. Guh came over for a while and they played outside as long as we could stand being out there.
Once Guh left we hit the showers and got all our last minute packing done and ready to head out to camp in the morning. They are so excited! I will update when we get back....
July 13, 2006 Day +1,198 Day #896 off treatment
We have had a pretty good day. Taylor was good at school today. Logan was silly at school. Please be in prayer for Sarah and her family. Her brother in law had stomach bi pass surgery and is having serious complications. There is nothing to tell today. We came home and Logan napped and Taylor played a Mr. Potato head video game. He went outside for a minute and came in because he was so hot. I can't blame him there. I cleaned up and packed for camp, so that we can go to Alabama Adventure tomorrow and not have chores looming.
Please pray for Taylor's continued success against NB. Pray for Sarah who is starting over after relapse. Praise with Carolyn who seems to have answers to her mystery spot and they are not NB. Pray for all the kids who are suffering. Pray for those who are NED to stay that way. Pray for those who are missing a loved one. Stop by Miss Presleigh's sight. Her mom and dad are shutting it down tomorrow. www.caringbridge.org/visit/presleighcooperisaminger.
July 12, 2006 Day +1,197 Day #895 off treatment
Another school day. We had another small group with only 2 boys this time and they made me rejoice in the fact that there is only 4 more weeks until they go to Kindergarten. Taylor was awful with his sparing partner. They have a love hate relationship!
Once again we had a surprise appointment. Children's makes dental appts for you rather than allowing you to make it yourself. They left me a message Monday that we had an appt. at 1:00 today. I work every other Wednesday until 1:00 and they make an appointment on the Wednesday I work for 12:30. I was not real pleased. Anyway, we left school early and headed that way only for me to realize that I had no insurance card. I have no idea why I had taken it out of my purse, but I did. Our dental is different than health, so I didn't know all the numbers on it and had to spend forever on the phone getting all the info to tell the clerk. We managed to get it all done, thank goodness. Taylor was called back at 1:30. By 2:00 he was out and grinning from ear to ear. He had gotten an airplane out of the treasure box. The hygienist cracked me up when she said he had no cavities. Where is he going to get a cavity, they are all capped and the two in the back that are not capped are filled. Anyway, he had a good report. There was no bleeding along the gums, so we are brushing really good around his caps. Hopefully, he will start losing baby teeth soon. He will be a little delayed due to the caps and he is already missing the front two, so I guess it will be a while still.
Logan fell asleep in the car and lucky for me stayed that way until nearly 5:00. Taylor had VBS again. He was so ready to go. They had a commencement tonight. I had all intentions of bringing the camera and just forgot and could have kicked myself. He did every hand motion and sang every word to the Arctic Edge. He was so good and followed directions. His teacher said he was the best in the class. Maybe there is hope after all! I asked him why he was so good there and not at home and he said, "cause I was the new kid". My kids are crazy! He showed us all his goodies and crafts before we left. He is all excited that Lu Lu will be going to VBS with him at out church next week.
July 11, 2006 Day +1,196 Day #894 off treatment
We went back to school today. We had a small class and Taylor was the only boy. I thought he could behave if he were the only boy, but I was wrong. We only had 6. but it felt like 30.
We came home after school where Logan sat in his bed and did anything but sleep. I expected him to sleep since he had gone to school, but nope! Taylor went outside to play with the new RC car. He had a blast.
Taylor was invited to go to VBS with Lu Lu, his girlfriend. He was a little nervous. He didn't see her when he got there and he told me he couldn't go. I told him if he was big enough to go to camp for a week, he could go to VBS for 2 hours. Once he saw Lu Lu he forgot I was around and took off running with her. I left him there and JIm and I and Logan went for dinner. Logan was a little concerned about Taylor, but he dealt with it. We went back to pick him up and he was so excited. He talked non stop about eating mud pies and making snow balls. I am so excited that he went.
July 10, 2006 Day +1,195 Day #893 off treatment
Today we had a stay at home day. I did the same old cleaning routine for the most part of the day. We had to leave around one to bring Logan to Nana's and get Taylor to speech. Taylor did pretty good as far as he speech went but his behavior was not so good. It was not near as bad as 2 weeks ago, but she still had to hold his hands and move his puzzle out of reach. I am getting fed up!
We went to pick up daddy from work and then went to have dinner at Guh's house. The boys played outside for a while and then we headed for home. We stopped at Pippy's house first and picked up the present he had for them. It is a HUGE remote control monster truck. They were very excited, but not real thrilled with having to charge the battery.
Taylor is thrilled to be going to school tomorrow. We only went one day last week due to the holiday and he was not real thrilled with that. He loves school and I hope he continues to love it when he gets to kindergarten. I think he will because he truly loves to learn.
July 9, 2006 Day +1,194 Day #892 off treatment
Guh and I slept in today with no kids to wake us. It was still a little after 8:00 when I got up. I hear it was closer to 10:00 for the guys around here. Why can't Logan do that on my off days? We didn't do much other than a few little shops on the way home. We were back at Guh's house by 4:15. I had to wait for the boys to come get me. They were swimming at Gam maw's and didn't want to leave.
Once we got home. I did laundry as usual, does that ever end? Logan has been clingy, he missed his momma. Taylor and I played some Guess Who. I am now ready to go learn how to use our new web site. Sorry this is so boring, but we are just average Joe's now, praise God.
July 8, 2006 Day +1,193 Day #891 off treatment
5:00 sure did come early this morning. I did not want to get up, but I did. We were showered and out the door by 5:00. It is so easy to pack and leave when it is just for me and not 2 kids and Jim. We got gas and wanted to stop at Don Don's but it didn't open until 6:00. That turned out to be a big tadoo. We pulled into a McDonald's at 5:51 hoping that a different one opened a little earlier, but it didn't. We waited patiently for it to open only to find out it was the worst McD in Alabama. They had no one working the drive through, so after waiting about 15 minutes we had to go in anyway. There we found out they didn't even have food cooked yet. People were waiting to get hash browns and coffee wasn't made. How can you not have at least some of the basics cooked and ready to go? Anyway after 30 minutes of wasted time we had food and coffee and were back on the road. We made it to the beach by 11:00. We stayed a while then went shopping and out to dinner.
As for the kids they went to Alabama Adventure with Gam maw. I can't get Taylor to talk to me about it, but I am sure they had a blast. They did both the water park and the rides, so I know they had fun. I herd from Jim that after all the fun Taylor still did not want to go to bed. He got in bed with Jim and was still up at 1:00 in the morning.
July 7, 2006 Day +1,192 Day #890 off treatment
We had a fun Friday. I cleaned up and finished all the laundry and stuff by about noon. We ran by Pippy's house, but he wasn't there. Paw Paw was just pulling up, so we stopped by there. He let the kids stay there and swim while I ran a few errands and then shopped for a bit. I went back to get them in a few hours. They were not ready to go, but they left when they learned they were going to Guh's house. Guh kept them while I went to get a hair cut. I didn't get anything fancy just a shorter version of what I had. I got my hair cut really short about this time last year and let it grow out. I am not a froo froo gal, so I just pull it up and go and don't really think about it. I got to really looking a t it the other day and realized I haven't had it cut since last year not even a trim. I feel much better now that it is cut shorter and is healthier.
I picked up Jim from work. He and Gam maw car pool and he forgot that he had to work late today and so I picked him up, so she didn't have to hang around 2 extra hours. He just brought me over to Guh's house. We are leaving at 5:00 tomorrow morning, so it worked out okay to do it this way anyway. The boys were not real thrilled when they left and I didn't go. Logan was upset because he is a big time momma's boy. Taylor was upset because he is not stupid and he knew where we were going on our "trip". I told them Guh and I were going on a little trip. I don't think he bought it.
Guh and I just hung out and watched TV and did nothing. We watched a video of Taylor's first year of ball. My, he was so tiny. His pants were all bunched up at his ankles. He was throwing his glove around and spinning around in the outfield. It was so funny to watch and see how far he has come since then. It was cute. It was funny to see Logan too. He was in the stands as a chubby little 5 month old. He was crying in one part of the video and he looked up from his toys and said, "what is that noise".
July 6, 2006 Day +1,191 Day #889 off treatment
We finally made it back to school. We had a good day. Logan went to school in under wear. He wet them and then put on a pull up. I was a little upset that they didn't keep him in the undies because I think he will get it better at school. However, I certainly understand the need to have him in a pull up with 10 others to keep up with and change, so I will let him do pull ups at school. Pull ups never really worked for Taylor, it was just a fancy diaper to him and he still wet just like always. Anyway, we are still working on it. We came home at our usual time and Logan slept great. He doesn't nap long if at all on the days we don't go to school. I love school since it tires him out some.
We went to dinner with Gam maw and Paw Paw and Ghen Ghen and Bob happened to be there. Ghen Ghen had some goodies for the boys. Taylor loved his new Cars lunch box and Logan loved his Cars wallet. The first thing he did was open and say, "they nothing in there". Too funny! Gam maw put a dollar in it for him and when he got home he put sticks of gum in it. He is a nut!
Please keep Sarah in prayer as she heads to Duke to scan and find out the status of her disease. Pray for Carolyn who is going to NYC tomorrow to scan and check on a strange spot. Pray that Carolyn's spot is nothing. Pray for Andrew who will enter the stem cell unit this weekend. Pray for all the cancer kids who are fighting. Pray for those who have reached NED status to remain that way. Pray for those families who are missing their babies.
Jim brought home some interesting research news from St. Jude. There is some promising things going on in the world of NB. I pray that Taylor never needs any of it, but it is nice to know that there is a lot on the horizon for this disease. I will work on getting a general summary of them for you. It is all very interesting once you get it in layman's terms and you can make heads or tells of it:)
July 5, 2006 Day +1,190 Day #888 off treatment
It is already Wednesday, wow. We didn't have school today, it just happened to fall that my off day was today, so we have been out of school since Thursday and Taylor is about to pop. He is so ready to go back. I am too just to stop doing laundry. Logan did okay with his potting today, but I have still had to wash about 6 pair of undies. Luckily, only one had poop. He seemed to click then, so maybe he will get it. I have tried and tried to explain only to go in the potty and he comes to me wet then sits down. He will even go by himself, but he is already wet. When he pooped and tried to take his pants off and made a mess. I told him that is why you put it in the potty and he looked at me and then went, "oh". Keep your fingers crossed that he will figure it out. We are going to try going to school tomorrow in undies and see if being with other kids will help. I hope his teachers don't kill me!
Taylor has been good today. He is playing with his cars and power rangers. He cracks me up talking to himself. Today we made a calendar of the 64 days until we leave for out cruise. He put a sticker of a suite case on the day we leave. He is ready to put an x on each day to count down. I think I am more ready to count down than him. We should be busy enough to make it through. Guh and I are going to go to the beach this weekend with no kids. We go to camp the next weekend and again in August plus school starting, it will be busy.
There is not too much to report here. Please pray that that is how it remains. Pray that Taylor has beaten his cancer for good. Pray for Sarah as she scans this week to see how involved her relapse is. www.caringbridge.org/nc/sarahsmith Pray for Carolyn who is rescanning to see about a strange spot on her last scan. www.caringbridge.org/va/carolyncoveney. Pray for Amber who is inpatient. www.caringbridge.org/al/amber Pray for Andrew who will be having a stem cell transplant very soon. www.caringbridge.org/al/andrewlong Pray for Colette who is in Disney World on her wish trip. www.caringbridge.org/al/colette There are so many more kids who need our prayers.
July 4, 2006 Day +1,189 Day #887 off treatment Happy 4th of July!
We slept late today. Yes, I said it. Logan was content in his bed until nearly 9:00. We got up and got ready for the day. We went to Pop's house and ate lunch and rode the golf cart. They boys loved that. They took turns driving all over the yard and up the hill. We played ball too. It started to rain and we had to move into the garage to play. The boys ended up riding the golf cart in the rain anyway. It has a roof, so they didn't care. They rode it until the battery died.
We left Pop's house and went to Guh's house to eat again. Taylor and Blake had a water gun fight and they played in the hose pipe for a while. The rest of us just sat on the deck and thought about how much food we ate.
We got home in time for the rain to start which was good, but they boys were disappointed that they couldn't see the fireworks that the neighbors were shooting. I finally agreed to let them go out in the rain to watch and the guys shooting them went in the house. Oh well. We just watched the ones on TV. Logan was so tired. He has had an odd day. He was so strange this morning. He finally seemed to get over it, but I am not sure what it is was all about.
July 3, 2006 Day +1,188 Day #886 off treatment
Hi all. It is just a lazy day here in the Watts house. We are doing nothing but washing wet undies. Logan has wet every pair today. I am not sure why he is not doing well today, he did great Friday. He has no interest what so ever today. He is killing me though, he comes running yelling, "I've got poop" He never does, but I get all ready for a mess.
Taylor has been playing and eating happily which is just what my eyes need to see today. I am still in shock over Sarah. They all hit hard, but we know her so well and that tends to make it harder. Please continue to pray for her, she has such a sweet and emotional side to her that I can not imagine her thoughts right now. She is 10 and that has to be so much harder to deal with than with a baby or young child that can not understand the reality of it all. Does that make since?
We have no plans for today. We have a busy day for tomorrow. We have to cook out all over town. That's okay, we are ready for the ea tin' and running' to start all over again.
Please, everyone have a safe 4th of July. Please keep all the kids and families in your prayers. Thank you for continuing to pray for Taylor and follow his story.
July 2, 2006 Day +1,187 Day #885 off treatment
Wow, we had a busy day. The boys and I went to church this morning. Taylor got a little more than he bargained for. They called the kids up and I thought it was for children's minute, so I made him get up and go. Oops, they were singing America the Beautiful in sign language. He had no idea what was going on. Most of the kids were not singing, so he didn't look too out of place on that. However, he was just moving his hands any oh way to do sign language. I was proud though that he hung in there and did it. He soon discovered his picture on the over head screen and paid more attention to that than singing. He wasn't so sure about going to the real children's minute after that, but he did.
After church Taylor and I decorated their bikes with flags, stars, bows and sparely horns. Logan thinks he has a new bike. I met Ghen Ghen and Gam maw for some shopping before we all met back up at the church for the fun. Fun is what we had. It was a huge turn out. We ate like pigs for the second day in a row, but my there was so much to choose from. The kids loved the parade. Logan was in heaven riding that bike around. When it was over he took off out the gym door and Jim had to go open the outside door before he hit it. It was soon time to get our seats for the fireworks which were great. Logan was scared to death and just sat barely peaking over baby to see them.
It was 9:00 before we got home and Logan was beat. He crawled right into bed. Mr. Taylor however, had other plans. It was nearing midnight before he even thought about getting tired. I was happy to see that after my heart breaking find last night. Sarah Smith has relapsed. She was right at about 3 1/2 yrs out from transplant just a few months more than Taylor. It was heartbreaking for me to read. Her labs and urine all looked normal, but her MIBG was not. She had had some fever and pain, so they moved up her testing. You know this sent me over the edge after Taylor talking about his leg lately which he has not mentioned again and as bad as I want too, I will not talk about it unless he does. Please be in prayer for this beautiful family and their precious Sarah. www.caringbridge.org/nc/sarahsmith
Please keep Taylor in your prayers. It is easy sometimes to get caught up in the normal flow of things and forget how scary this disease it. However, things like I read tonight snap you back into the reality that yes, my child did have cancer and could again at any moment. Please join us in praying that Taylor never has to fight that fight again. I know is selfish of me to ask that when so is every other cancer mom, but it is my wish. Please pray that those who are NED/remission can remain that way. Pray for those who are still fighting. Pray for those who are missing their babies.
July 1, 2006 Day +1,186 Day #884 off treatment
What a night we had last night. We dropped the boys off at Gam maw's and we went home. We didn't do anything but hang out at home. The boys went to visit Gam maw's sister for a while and then came back to her house. Taylor tried a new trick (not really, it was an accident) and fell out of the car. While Gam maw laid her stuff down to help him, Ernie, the neighbor's dog, took Logan's baby. Oh no! We brought him his extra one, but we were worried about our spare being gone. We had a flash light looking all over for it at 10:00 at night. I am glad the neighbors didn't try to shoot at us! We never did find it. Luckily, Ernie had brought it in the house with him and they didn't know whose it was, but knew it was important and they put it up, so he has both babies back now. He now thinks he has to have them both, but I will fix that. I am not keeping up with 2 of them! I tell ya, he or we are very blessed. That is the 2nd time baby has been rescued from the depths of the unknown. We need to wean him off of it except at bed time.
Logan did real well with his pottying yesterday. I plan to stay home on Monday and work more in it. I hope like heck this goes smoothly and quickly. What a break it would be to not change diapers anymore. I didn't think Taylor had been pooping and he informed me today that he does go he is just "wipes his own body" now. How funny! He is growing up!
As for this morning, I did something I haven't done in 2 months and I loved it!!! I went to Curves. Maybe now I will get back in the habit since I remembered that I do like it. However, just as expected, the body temperature change did make me break out, but only slightly and it went away quickly. I assume once this outbreak is over that will not happen since it never did before. I hope not! I then met everyone at Gam maw and Paw Paw's for out June/July birthday celebration and our 4th celebration. We did some swimming and some more Balderdash playing and oh my at the eating. The boys had a blast doing all kind of stuff. They got in the pool, in the sprinkler, they played cars, the yelled into a vacuum hose and much more. They do entertain themselves well.
It was after 9:00 before we got home. Logan fell asleep in the car and I took the extra baby and put it in the wash. I hope he forgets by morning that he thinks he needs both. Taylor is still up. He is playing in the playroom while I type. He will be mad when I say it is time for bed, but he will be out in no time. Well, there was a lot of excitement today, but it was your average family fun. I will be sure to fill you in later on the bike parade and fireworks. Until then......
Please be in pray for Bailey as he struggles. Be in pray for Taylor as he continues to win his battle, praise be to God. Praise God for keeping baby safe. Pray for all our friends.
To Continue the Journal, please visit the News Archives, with journal entries dating all the way back to October 2002.