Hans is Holding His Own...

Hi Everyone -

I know I haven't posted in a while... Hans seems to be holding his own on the half dose of Accutane. I'm trying to find out if we can stop him tomorrow or not. That would be Day 14, but I'm not sure if our 4 days off count? With Tropical Storm Humberto coming in, I'm not sure if we'll hear back from the clinic tomorrow? We'll probably be just fine up here in The Woodlands, but the local news is saying 10 - 15 inches of rain and possible flooding is expected. Kevin's work let everyone go home at about 3pm today - to prepare their houses for the storm.

Elle had her first soccer game on Saturday. It was so hot that Hans only lasted about 10 minutes on the sidelines. The parents were estimating that it was about 110 degrees out there. But the good news was that Coach Brad and the other parents were really good at taking care of the girls and making them drink, and providing shade with an umbrella! It was rough. Quite different than my experience playing soccer in September as a kid in Seattle!

Elle also started Girl Scouts back up. I was the troop leader up until diagnosis last year. I truly appreciate the way Debbie Conlon and Laurie Miller have taken the whole thing over. There are twelve girls in the troop. Last night I was struck by the fact that six of them are going on their fourth year with this troop! I think it's great. The girls will take their first camping trip this October!

Elle is a participant in the upcoming 'Making a Mark' Art Show at Texas Children's. She did a painting called The Right White Rose. It's pretty! We're all planning on going down for the opening this Sunday. All participants are children whose lives have been affected by Pediatric Cancer. For some reason we didn't think to submit one of Hans' paintings. I think at the time that they were promoting the event, Hans must have been just post transplant, and not too interested.

Those are the highlights this week - we were able to spend some time with Leigh Ann, Serenity's "adoptive" mom, over the weekend. She is doing great! She really hits it off with Elle, and she finally got Hans to come around.

Hans has rediscovered all of his old toys. He pulls out as many as he can everyday. I think he plays with almost all of them. He colors and draws (and yes, watches his shows too). It seems like he's just thrilled to be able to stay put. I tried to enroll him in a Kindermusik class because I thought that a mommy and me music or art class would be restorative for him. He wouldn't even step through the door of the trial class. I think he's telling me what he needs for the next few months. He is happy to explore right here at home with lots of frequent bike rides, trips to the park, play dates, and for some reason his most favorite thing to do is to go to H.E.B. (a Texas Grocery Store). All the workers love him up there, and at our little Exxon convenience store, too. The sweet ladies up there never let him pay for his Icee. In return he gives each one of them a hug with his special pat.

I thought I should post an update now. With a big storm coming there's always a risk that we lose power or internet for a bit. But, I truly hope the saying's right, lightning doesn't strike twice!

Lara