Isabel had her one year, 8 months off treatment check up & blood draw yesterday. Her blood counts are fabulous. Once she is two years off treatment we only go to the doctor every 3 months! I really was amused when the pediatrician came in and started raving about Isabel's height and weight. She told me Isabel was in the 75th percentile for both height and weight. I suddenly realized that wow, we're back to being a normal kid at a normal check up, where the only thing to talk about is weight and height percentiles. Wow.

Isabel is four feet six inches and weighs seventy three pounds. She will be nine in five weeks. She is healthy and cancer free and takes no medications. Her hair is at the "it's too long" point and I need to take her for a hair cut this weekend.

Normal.

I still have a dozen pages of the road map outlining the clinical trial Isabel was on, tucked away alongside drawings and school work. Each time Alan and I would meet with the oncologist, we'd form a sort of huddle, all sitting close together, knees almost touching, discussing the next phase of treatment while chemotherapy dripped into Isabel's chest port one chair over.

It's been over a year and I'm still marveling that we're done.

Thanks, Aunt Jasmin for the giant gingerbread man kit!

Our favorite friends are moving. It's been a bittersweet last few days as we try to cram as much time as possible with them before they leave town.

We're going to miss them mightly.

Happy Thanksgiving!

While Isabel and Gabriel enjoyed their school's Fall Feast and Pumpkin Pie Social, Alan went out fishing for tonight's dinner. Alan taught Gabriel's class how to make the pumpkin pies, which were delicious. Once home we received a surprise in the mail of homemade pumpkin bread from our sweet friends in Montana. The bread was so moist, with the perfect amount of spice. The kids ate slice after slice of it. What a fun food centered day!

We've had such beautiful fall weather lately. One of our favorite things to do is to take meandering walks and admire all the colorful leaves and greenery surrounding us.

Alan caught our dinner!