Update

I am continuously reminded by the comments, emails, phone calls, and letters that we are not alone in this journey, but accompanied by hundreds and hundreds of people who are loving us and pouring their hearts into our lives on a daily basis. Please know that although I seldom reply (not out of a lack of gratitude but sheer time) we greatly appreciate all of the support!

This morning I realized that I had not posted in several weeks and that folks might start wondering if all is well. To our delight, all is well! Since leaving for the beach house, we have spent the last number of weeks just spending time with our family and friends and building memories. We have been so fortunate to have this time and Nina has enjoyed every minute. I have also tried to reestablish my routines with Teddy. Sine the beginning of treatment, I was so focused on what and how Nina needed to be taken care of that I pretty much relinquished all "Teddy" responsibilities to Todd. Todd is a wonderful father and Teddy has greatly enjoyed all of the extra "dada attention" but the reality is that he was noticing my absence. Right after Halloween, he told me he missed me! My heart burst and I recognized that my children need their mama equally...so I am learning that it is okay to have friends and family help more with Nina and Teddy is having more "mama time" too!

Currently, Nina is doing very well, all things considered. She started chemo at the beginning of November and has responded nicely with few side-effects (primarily fatigue and dizziness). When we were at the beach house, her symptoms started to return so we have had to increase her dose of steroids again, causing a bit more weight gain and moodiness. We also had the MRI last week and got the results back. I will talk about the results in more detail, but in essence Dr. Slomiany said it best when he described them as a "mixed bag". Bottom line, the actual volume of the tumor has not increased (this is good) but the necrotic center (middle of the tumor that is dying) has increased (this is not good). There was no shrinking of the tumor in response to the radiation but then again we were never told that would definitely happen. So....the take home message was that we have some time and it looks like we will definitely have through the New Year! I am very, VERY thankful for this news as strange as it may sound. It could be worse!! And the fact that it looks like we will have the holidays as a family is a huge miracle itself!!! It's not what everyone has been praying for but it is a miracle nonetheless and I will take it with complete happiness, thankfulness, and joy!

So....please continue with your prayers and know that our family appreciates all the love. I have included a very silly video of our Nina! She is so strong and soooooo silly!!! Over the past month she has been snorting like a goof-ball. In fact, she has been snorting so much that we've been calling her "Tinker-Piggy" :) I thought everyone would enjoy seeing her sweet facing and hearing her darling voice!