Beginning of the Anniversaries

A friend, who is a professional family photographer, brought her camera to her son's soccer game the other week.  Luckily for me, her son's team was not only playing Noah's team - her son was Noah's counterpart.  Because of that, I got some awesome action shots!  Noah loves soccer and it's delightful to watch him play.

 Anna in full-grin mode on a carousel at Lambs Farm

Noah got a much needed haircut at 18|8 in Barrington.  It's a fancy men's barber shop, and Noah's hair cut began with a shampoo.  They didn't leave anything to chance, and his whole haircut took a little over an hour!!

The boys on the same carousel as Anna.  This is Jonah's first amusement park ride since his diagnosis last summer.  He handled it like a champ and we were all very excited!

Our friend, Tiffany, is fighting her own cancer battle.  She has recently started chemo and finds that wearing her #teamjonahgoodall shirt connects and encourages her.  The cancer community does that - supports and encourages in obvious and less obvious ways.

It seems a little early for the start of the anniversaries, but they're upon us nonetheless.  The Willow trip to Malawi is a few weeks earlier this year and we leave for Avalon later this week.  It was a year ago that we thought that Jonah's eosinophilic esophagitis was our biggest challenge and we were just starting our wheat, eggs, dairy, nut, fish & soy free diet.  It was in Avalon that I commented to a friend that Jonah looked a little thin.  It was while I was in Malawi that Jonah started throwing up with more regularity - the early signs of the tumor and the hydrocephulos - symptoms that we chalked up to the diet not going well.  

I've been so busy trying to mentally prepare for "the" anniversary - July 22 - the day of diagnosis - that I didn't even see these anniversaries.   It wasn't until today a church - when I thought about the fact that this years Willow Malawi team was missing the debut of a new worship leader - that it hit me.  A year ago, small signs were starting to show themselves - we didn't see them for what they were because who suspects a brain tumor - but they were there.

A year later, we are cautiously optimistic, warily eyeing the MRI on June 28 - praying for a summer vastly different than the one we experienced last year.  No matter how this summer plays out however, we are beginning the anniversary walk and pray for strength, peace and the ability to redeem some memories - to celebrate the moment we've been given.  It is in that spirit, that we're saying "yes" to our annual vacations and buying lots of sunscreen.