A Little Christmas Miracle

After having Spencer at home for a whole wonderful week, the kids and I drove him back to Harrisonburg this afternoon.   Before dropping him off at his apartment, we stopped by the Harrisonburg Walmart that is right by campus, so we could get his cupboards and fridge restocked.   It had been a long drive there and by the time we got to Walmart, I was more than a little antsy to get back on the road, so we could be home by dark.

We filled the cart with all sorts of overpriced convenience foods that I only rarely buy for our family, but are ideal for a busy college student who doesn't have time to cook.   Half an hour later we wheeled our way to the long lines at the front of the store.   We  eventually found a checkout stand where it appeared that an order was just finishing up and we started unloading our cart onto the belt.   It didn't take long to realize though, that there was some sort of dispute going on with the cashier and the customer.  It was a young hispanic couple with a brand new baby.  The tiny infant didn't look like he was more than a few weeks old.  The young parents, speaking in barely understandable English, were trying to explain to the cashier that they thought that the cost of the baby swing they were purchasing was $40 cheaper than what it was ringing up for.   I, in my haste to get home, quickly removed my items from the belt and moved to the next register over.

A few minutes later,  as we were finishing checking out,  I got to witness a little Christmas miracle…right there in the checkout stands of a small-town Walmart.    By this time, the cashier had gotten louder and more argumentative with the young couple and was quite rudely telling them that there was no way that Walmart would ever mismark a price that drastically.  Then when a manager came back and confirmed that the price was indeed $149 (and not the $109 that they thought), the cashier only a little too gleefully started in on an "I-told-you-so" retort to the family.   The couple looked stricken and told the cashier, "Never mind," on buying the swing and started to walk dejectedly away.

That's when a ponytailed woman in sweats, three kids in tow, swooped in and paid for the swing with her own money.  She did it quickly, gave the young mom a quick hug, wished them "Merry Christmas," and walked out just like that.

It was a beautiful scene that I will remember always.

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spontaneity

What do you get when you cross a hungry college boy with empty cupboards
and a homeschooling mama with Fridays set aside as field trip day?

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…

…

…

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You get a spontaneous family trek to Harrisonburg to surprise Spence.   

He didn't know we were coming, but I daresay that, despite us interrupting his afternoon plans,  he was pleased when I told him that our mission was solely to take him  grocery shopping and out to dinner.   

We loved being able to spend the afternoon with him and his girlfriend Erin

and I loved knowing that,  although I can't cook homemade food for him while he's away, that at least his cupboards are now properly full!  

We stopped at our favorite H-burg pet store on the way out of town

and eventually arrived back home satisfied that our mission to prevent a case of no-money-college- onset-malnutrition in Spence was properly satisfied!

We love you Spence!

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1-1/2 Year Check-Up!

Happy early Thanksgiving to us!

Spencer had his 18-month check-up today at the cancer center in Harrisonburg
and we are thrilled that all is still good.

It was interesting to hear while the new oncologist was reviewing his file with him, that she kept mentioning how aggressive his treatment protocol had been.  Finally I asked and she informed me that adults with AML are not treated as aggressively as pediatric patients, because their older bodies can't handle the damage the chemo does to their organs.  I had no idea!

After his appointment, we piled back into the car for some Grilled Cheese Mania (our favorite H-burg restaurant) and met the owner for the first time.  After the delicious dinner (I got the Mama Mania sandwich--which was a perfectly spicy, pesto, tomato, and fresh mozzarella panini) we took the two hour drive back home, wherein I finally gave way to Cami's begging and let her drive the last 20 miles or so. 

Now we are all back under one roof again for the first time in nearly three months. It is an amazingly comforting feeling and my heart is nearly bursting to think that we've got a blessed ten days together!



Clinic Stats:  
Weight:  73 kg    WBC: 7.5    RBC: 4.53  Platelets:  162   Hgb:  15.3



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Glen's Facebook update this evening:
 I believe in miracles. I've seen too many of them in my life to deny. My 18-year old son just had his 18-month check up to see how he's doing in his battle against Leukemia. Well, Spencer remains cancer free! First of all, congrats Spence - we love you!!! Second, there's a story in the "Good Book" about 10 lepers that had contracted a hideous, degrading, embarrassing, ostracizing and life shortening disease. As Christ passed by them, he was filled with compassion and physically healed all 10 of them. Only one of them returned to thank Jesus for restoring his life back to him. Christ told that one individual that his gratitude allowed him to be healed spiritually in addition to being healed physically. Today, I say thank you to my God for the miracle of healing my son and helping him remain cancer free for these past 18 months. The odds were not pretty when we started this journey, and to see Spencer healthy, in college and cancer-free, well, to me is an amazing miracle. What a great way to head into Thanksgiving to have this (and so many other things) to be grateful for!

Remission NUMB3RS

500+ miles of driving from NoVA to Harrisonburg, then back to NoVA, then back to Harrisonburg and back home again all in one day

3  siblings who skipped school for the opportunity to spend a little time with their big brother  (I'm counting my two homeschooled kids in that number)

10 minutes total we spent in Harrisonburg

2 hours total Spence spent in Northern Virginia

20 minutes of which were spent at Spence's favorite NoVA restaurant, Cava Mezze

1 mom, happy to see her son, but tired from all the driving around and determined to find him an oncologist in Harrisonburg for future appointments.

16 months of being cancer free!!!

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Clinic Stats:
Weight=69.5 kg, WBC=11,000 (high, but within the realm of normal for someone with a cold), Platelets=168, Hgb=15.2, ANC=7750

Day Trip to Harrisonburg

A couple of weeks ago Spencer had a day-long orientation at JMU, which is about 2 hours from our home.  We thought of having him ride up with a friend, but then decided that it would be fun to tagalong with him, so we could finally see JMU for ourselves and explore Harrisonburg as well!

I did a little research before leaving, so I had a handy dandy list of places to go, restaurants to visit,  and things to do.  Since his orientation started early, we ended up driving to Harrisonburg the night before and using our hotel reward points to stay for the night.  We woke up bright and early (hours earlier than Spence's normal summer wake-up time) and dropped him off at campus.

JMU campus is nestled right in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains and is actually quite a lovely campus.

photo source: 

Our first order of business after dropping him off was heading to the Edith Johnson Carrier Arboretum, which is part of JMU campus.   

It was a lovely place laced with walking trails and garden "rooms".  We strolled around, enjoying nature,  for almost 2 hours.  Their favorites were the duck pond...

and the rock labyrinth,

which kept them active and busy for over 20 minutes as they ran the course over and over again.

Next we headed to the on-campus bookstore, so we could outfit our family in some JMU Duke gear.  It was there in the bookstore that I became keenly aware that while  JMU is a beautiful campus filled with friendly people, it is no BYU.  I had to avert the kids' eyes away from some of the garbage they sold there.  

Next we tried to go to the on-campus mineral museum.  Too bad the website neglected to mention one minor detail:  

Oh well.  Off to lunch we went next.  We read rave reviews of this place called Grilled Cheese Mania that intrigued us.  I was a little surprised when we pulled up to the listed address to discover that it's literally a food truck with a permanent address.  Smallness of it notwithstanding, the sandwiches were tasty...

and the kids enjoyed trying out their famous limeade.  

After lunch we drove about 7 miles outside of Harrisonburg to a working lavender farm (White Oaks Lavender Farm).  We were all quite excited about taking a tour and walking through the fields.  

Too bad that the second we pulled into the parking lot was the very second that it started pouring rain.  

Although the rain was very heavy, we still tried to enjoy it the best we could by taking pictures out of the car window...

and venturing out a little....

so we could go into the lavender gift shop.    We had high hopes that the rain would pass while we were in the gift shop and that we would eventually be able to take the tour, but no such luck.   On the bright side, Ellie is enamored with the lavender seed necklace she bought there and it reminds her that we want to go back there again soon.

After the bust trip to the lavender farm (and the bust trip to the mineral museum) I was starting to run low on my list of things to do and I was getting worried how we'd fill the time until Spence was done.  

It was time to formulate a Plan B.  

What's a Plan B without a stop for a treat? We went to a place called Bruster's which had the biggest selection of ice cream I'd ever seen in my life.  

The cones were as big as the selection and we took our time savoring their creamy deliciousness, while I pondered what on earth we were going to do next.  

I left the ice cream store not having a clue where I was driving to.

Just as I was about to resignedly drive back to campus to see what we could discover there, when lo and behold, right across the street from the ice cream store was my salvation!

It was Sylvia's Pet Store!  And what a fun pet store it was!

We spent the next hour-and-a-half holding puppies, petting rabbits, trying to get the birds to talk to us, watching the fish, picking out a dog toy for Rocky, laughing at the owner's dog chase the owner's pet ferret around the store, and in general having a fun, relaxing time together!

It would never have made my list of things to do in Harrisonburg, but it was the absolute perfect way to end the rainy day.

Right as we finished up at the pet store, was right when Spence called to say he was done.   It was perfect. 

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Now I have a question to pose to any  JMU alum or JMU parents that happen to be reading this: 

What are your favorite Harrisonburg places to visit?  Are there any fun traditions we should be a part of?  Which restaurants do you love?  Any other helpful advice for some soon-to-be Harrisonburg/JMU frequenters?  

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