MOVING DAY

Today was another very busy day, but most importantly it was the day we were able to move into our larger apartment!!! We have moved into the beautiful Target House (yes, sponsored by the store Target). When we first arrived we went through orientation. There is so much to see here it took us almost 2 hours to hear all about their policies and procedures, and also about the special events they hold here. At least once a week they have a dinner, they offer baby sitting services, they have bingo nights, and on and on. After hearing about the great features of living here we toured the property. They have 2 buildings with a total of 98 apartments. They have many themed rooms sponsored by different celebrities or companies. There is a Dreamworks room that is all movie themed and also a Brad Paisley lounge, and Amy Grant music room just to name a few. It’s amazing to walk the halls and see all the celebrities and athletes that have donated things here to make it all possible. There is also a huge playground and an indoor playroom. The dining room has breakfast every morning and dinner hosted one to two times a week. The dining room was designed by Chip and Joanna Gaines (Yes, from Fixer Upper) and it is GORGEOUS!!!

I still can’t believe we are here, and honestly I’d rather not be here. I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t longing to live in our large house we are building instead of sharing ONE bathroom with 3 boys until July. BUT, this is the best place for our family right now and I’m very grateful for it. I have never been so happy to walk in and see a bed for each of my boys, a full size refrigerator, and an oven to cook in. These were things I took for granted before, and once you don’t have them you really miss them!

As if moving into our new apartment didn’t make for a busy enough day, Grandma and Bruce came into town today! Grandma was a little emotional arriving at St. Jude, but she made it just in time to see Caleb wake up from his second day of radiation treatments. Grandma and Bruce also were able to take a tour of the Radiation department which really gave them an idea of all that goes into planning and executing Caleb’s treatments. A Dosimetrist (person who plans radiation treatments) explained to us how they target the Proton beam down to a millimeter. She was able to show us Caleb’s radiation mapping and I am going to get printouts of it all so I can share soon. It once again made me realize why we are at St. Jude, because the knowledge and care that these people have is amazing! Caleb woke up from his second day of radiation to see Grandma waiting in the recovery room. Even though he was very sleepy he was very happy to see her!

And to top off today, Tyler had his first soccer practice after school. So we hauled the whole family out to the field to watch him. He did so well and I’m so proud of him! He’s very athletic and loves soccer! Caleb was a little grumpy in the early evening from the anesthesia wearing off, but once he came out of it he bounced back and was playing and laughing. He didn’t complain of any pain or nausea tonight, so day 2 is down with no side effects so far!

We ended the day with dinner, and then came back to show the boys our apartment. They were SO excited and said they wanted to go to bed like big boys tonight in their new beds. I’m so glad this is all exciting for them. No matter what we go through here we try to give them great memories and experiences. I hope that we are able to look back on this time with some fond memories even through the hard times!