Update in June

Hello!

Yesterday was a GREAT day! Nathan brought his dog Sydney over. She is such a sweet girl! He made sure she was up to date on her shots and had her groomed at All About Puppies so that she could come hang out with Dempsey. While they were here we took Sydney for a walk while Dempsey rode his trike. Sawyer got to see what it's like what a well-behaved dog... not too tough. After the walk "Uncle" Nathan played a few rounds of Mario Kart with the boys on the Wii. So much trash talking! It was glorious.

A little bit later I dropped the boys off at Granny & Granddad's house while I went and bought us a new pool! I found the 10 foot round pool at Big Lots after looking at WalMart and Target. I would have done Amazon but I didn't want to wait even the two days... IT'S TOO HOT. My parents brought the boys home when the pool was 2/3 full. Of course, the boys wanted to go in it right then... so, they had an exercise in patience. They DID get to go in it though. They "swam" for about 30 minutes in the 6 o'clock hour. Now comes the battle of finding a chlorine alternative because... well, chemicals suck.

Dempsey is doing fabulous. He's had an easy week- that means no chemo. He will have labs tomorrow morning. Please start praying for next week. Dempsey will have 4 days of infusions with Monday being a LONG day. We will be protecting his little body with prayer and nutrition. Meanwhile, he is happy, chatty, energetic, fun, competitive, feisty, strong, triking, running, laughing, swimming, yelling (at brother), helping, learning, growing, strong, loving, smart, insightful, aware, curious... he is a normal 4 year old. This week I have noticed that I start to forget he is REALLY sick. That is a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing to feel normal but it is a curse because we are not normal. Dempsey is SICK! Dempsey needs to be cared for because he is SICK. We just soak up the good times/ days and try to pack up those memories and hold onto them when we have tough times/ days.

Sawyer had baseball camp last week and loved it. It was such a blessing from some friends. Along with learning the ins and outs of baseball, he also learned a little bit about himself and problem solving with a troublesome peer. Thankfully everything was resolved and ended on good terms. He had a playdate on Tuesday and loved it. He's been wanting to have this playdate for awhile and it's so hard to wait for. We are so thankful for friends who will take him and love on him for a few hours. Sawyer starts Chess Camp today. Another blessing from some friends. It's one hour each Thursday for 8 weeks and I can't wait to see what he thinks about it. This morning Sawyer helped our friend Ellen transplant some chard plants (started from seed). He got to get his hands dirty and... he liked it. I told him "You may be a farmer yet, Sawyer."

Jake is back to working full time. This is good and bad, for me. I know it does him a world of good to be back at work. It gives him distraction and purpose and that helps him be better for us at home.  When he is at home with us he is such a wonderful participant in life with us. Life is better when Daddy is home. He is a fabulous life partner and father. I appreciate how he is able to do so many home improvement things and how he takes the time to research options and such. I don't have the patience for that kind of stuff and he actually enjoys it. He is great at DOING things with the boys. Going on bike rides, cooking, legos, board games, games in general, light sabers, etc. He takes care of me well, too. The boys and I are truly blessed to have him.

Me. Well, I'm learning how to be a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM). It's hard. It's even harder because I'm an extrovert and I can't be very extroverted... I mean, I can't take Dempsey out to tall the places I'd like to go. I can't do all the things I would like to do. I am not built for board games, art projects, or science experiments. I don't enjoy those things and thus it is hard to get excited about doing them. Dempsey's leukemia journey is full of growth for me. I am working to accept this season and learn to adapt/ grow into the role I am currently required to fill. I am learning to LOVE my home and treat it as a viable member of this family. Beyond the house, Jake works to encourage me to meet up with friends when he's home with the boys. He knows this fills my tank. I try to make it to WACC each Sunday with Sawyer while my boys watch Dempsey so I can connect with the largest part of our support network. Plus, it's just good to be in the Lord's house. I miss attending Eastside but there just isn't a way to do that right now.

Please don't forget to check out the PLEDGE. It's a big need we have for Dempsey as we work HARD to keep him strong through cancer treatment with nutrition. There is a link to the Pledge's form in my signature. Please share the Pledge with family, friends, social media, etc. You just never know who God is going to use and how.

Well, that's a good update from up for now... HOW ARE YOU? Please let us know how you're doing and how we can support you.

Cheers.

Prayer requests:

Pray for miraculous healing of Dempsey

Pray protection over his body- specifically chemo effected organs

Pray protection over his mind and spirit

Pray against nausea

Pray against negative side effects

Pray for wisdom for doctors

Pray for wisdom for us

Pray protection over Sawyer... this journey is harder on him than he lets on

Pray over our marriage

Pray for restful/ restorative sleep

Pray for wisdom in all the alternative health practices we employ

Pray for strength and diligence for us

Pray for our support structure... we can't do this without it (YOU)

Pray for the insurance side of things

Pray that the road ahead is smooth

Coral Kenagy

The Pledge: http://goo.gl/forms/3PNhk9ZozRLR4mK42
https://www.paypal.me/coralkenagy
http://dempseyupdates.blogspot.com/
1 John 4:19
"We love because HE first loved us."