The streak is over. Jennings was back in a doctor’s office after several months off. He went to clinic last week to have labs drawn as part of the RESOLVE trial. Coincidentally, about two days before the appointment, he said his ear was hurting. We waited it out and played the old two-for-one at clinic. Sure enough, he had another ear infection. His CBC, on the other hand, looked great. This was his first blood draw since May. We won’t get a chimerism or any further results from this one though and will have to wait for the next trip to St. Jude in November for that.

Lauren took the whole gang after school. I think it’s probably the first time ever that they’ve all gone with him to an appointment, mostly due to COVID restrictions. L said he had his best poke ever - didn’t show fear, cry, scream, or have to be restrained. Something about looking tough in front of the siblings, I think. We’ll take it though.

It’s officially fall now, actually starting to feel like it occasionally, and we are definitely fully immersed. Here’s a few from the last month 👇

Clockwise from top left: Caroline has instituted “baking Sunday” where she tries a new recipe each week - daddy is a big fan; 80s prom to support Wren’s Village - the higher the hair, the closer to God…and I’m always looking for an excuse to wear a cummerbund; repping A Kid Again in the first Great Pumpkin Fest Parade of the season at Carowinds; one of us in this picture was celebrating a birthday. Not a big milestone or anything, just… *cough* forty…uh, excuse me…just another birthday.

Speaking of milestones, we are in a season of them. September 17th marked two years since Jennings got his RESOLVE cells. We are praying daily that they are still there and effective, destroying the first thing they find with a marker of an AML cell. It’s been a while, but I’ve mentioned before that Jennings relapsed on Day +950 after his first transplant. On October 17th, he will hit Day +950 following his second transplant. On October 18th, he will have lived longer, cancer-free, than he ever has since his diagnosis. Later in the year, we’ll mark the actual dates that he relapsed (3 years ago) and was originally diagnosed (6 years ago).

We are aware of them all and are letting the thoughts & feelings in and processing them as they come. An example? Sure. Lauren cleaned out his medical drawer last week. We haven’t (fortunately) used any of that stuff in a while, but we’ve kept it - random leftover prescriptions, syringes, wraps to secure a central line, etc. She called me beforehand to make sure I was good with it, honoring the significance of an otherwise seemingly mundane action. It’s funny sometimes what holds significance in life.

As we walk through these milestones, we look back and can see & remember God’s faithfulness. I’ve been so struck by that this year as I’ve spent time in the Word…the importance of remembering. If we could just remember to remember. The very picture it brings to mind is a turning back. God is always there with grace and mercy for us when we turn back.

Lauren has made sure over the years that we are intentional about capturing our family in photographs. We all moan and complain when we have to get dressed up and do what we’re told. And then we are so so thankful when we have them to look back on later and remember. Thanks to @morgan.amanda.photography for capturing our kids so well.

Please pray with us that we can celebrate these milestones annually for a lifetime’s worth of years.

“Remember the wondrous works that he has done,

his miracles, and the judgements he uttered,

O offspring of Abraham, his servant,

children of Jacob, his chosen ones!”

That’s v. 5-6 from Psalm 105, which is an entire psalm looking back and remembering God’s faithfulness to Israel throughout the generations of Genesis and Exodus.

#allinforjennings