It's Easter

It's Easter.

A time for lots of chocolate and family. On Friday we will join Nanna, Grandad and Oliver in Busselton (they're going down tomorrow). Oliver's first chocolate filled, chemo free Easter. Easter egg hunts, time with Nanna and Grandad, walks on the beach, and we might even get him to eat some icecream. Soon all of his firsts will be over as we head towards 1 year from his end-of-treatment.

It's Easter.

A time to remember redemption through sacrifice and pain. Our little man has known it, and we will celebrate our vibrant, strong little boy. It is a time of hope and joy.

It's Easter.

On Saturday our beautiful little friend Imogen will celebrate her 6th birthday a few weeks early. Imogen will tell you it's her 13th birthday, so she can be older than her brother. Her parents prayer? - that Imogen will be free of pain and tiredness for the 2 hours of her birthday party - from 10-12 on Saturday.

It's Easter.

While we will be enjoying our time with our healthy and happy little boy, Immie will hopefully be enjoying her Easter aswell. Our hope is that the easter bunny, or someone, will give her back her sparkle; and that Immie's angel days are far, far away.

It's Easter.

I hope.

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Roebuck's Reporting For Duty

I can't believe it's been over 3 months since I have written. SO many good intentions, so little follow through. But I'm here to make good and let you know how our little family is getting on.

Painting with mum.

So much has happened over the last few months - so much happens over a week.

Since Oliver's birthday over 4 months ago our little baby boy has become more of a little boy and less of a baby. He can tell you want he wants, what he can see, what he likes, and even that he loves you. He can even tell his daddy to go away. He has begun to better coordinate his movements to get a bit of a run going, and is more than capable of climbing a ladder and sliding down a slide with skill. We've even been kite flying.

As you can see, we have introduced him to paint, and we have a number of lovely pictures as a result. This week was Oliver's second week at playgroup and from all reports he is fitting in great and loving it. Though not the tallest, Karli tells me his definitely the biggest one there - I'd like to think he is the gentle giant of sorts. It will be interesting to watch him as he gets more familiar and gains more confidence with the other kids. Oliver has also been going to creche during church, so he is slowly getting the hang of playing with others - though not always that keen if mum and dad aren't around.

Tonight he is at Nanna and Grandad's. The last couple of times I've dropped him off he hasn't been happy for me to leave - which is unusual. We think it might have something to do with the fact that I see him less now that I am back at uni. It's both heartbreaking and heartwarming to know that he doesn't want me to go, since he is so fond of telling me to go away whenever he wants his mum.

As I said, I am back at uni again. It is going to be a busy 18 months ahead with few breaks. Mix in to that a couple of fundraising activities I have become involved in (more on those later) and life is a little hectic at the moment. What can you do?

With Mark & Lisa

Over Christmas we had a visit from some friends from Mark & Lisa, some friends from Red Deer, Alberta in Canada. We haven't seen them since leaving Calgary in late 2005, and they haven't changed a bit. I hope we can get back to them before Mark retires from his job - he's a fireman and so works with some very big trucks that I know our little man would love to see them. I can just hear him now - "WOW!"

Pulling out the pea plants.

Holiday in Queensland.

We headed east for 2 weeks in January to attend a friends wedding and visit Uncle Gordon, Aunty Tarn, Tyran and Jyden. It was a very relaxing time, though Oliver wasn't all that keen to go down for a sleep whenever it was time. By the end of our break he was starting to lose his voice as a result of the protests he made. He flew very well. 5ish hours on a plane make anyone a bit fidgety. We spent our time watching Hi-5, colouring in, playing with playdough, and re-reading the same story. We were hoping he would fall asleep on the flight home, but no such luck - until we touched down in Perth where he proceeded to go straight to sleep before we got off the plane.

Almost forgot to fill you in on the other important stuff. A new set of scans were done in January - 6 months post treatment. PET scan, CT scan and a chest xray. Although there were a couple of areas that piqued Dr Angela's interest, the commencement of his immunisations the week before and the closeness of the scans explained everything that caused her any concern. He certainly doesn't seem any worse for wear. Next week will be the first time we have gone in for a check-up since those scans. We are slowly able to increase the time we can spend away from PMH. SAdly, some of our friends have spent increasing amounts of time back on the ward, and we have also met the dad of a new battler.

There's more to fill you in on, but for now I will bid you farewell, and pledge to write again within the next few days. Here are some more photo's of our rapidly growing little boy.

Cool.

The End.