Quick Halloween Pics

Just a quick update before we head off to bed. Here’s a couple pics from our Halloween Trick or Treating.

We’ve got to be ready for the limo at 9am, so we’re trying our best to get the wild boys to bed. We’ll post as often as we can while we’re out there.

Ernest

Our Schedule in L.A.

We are getting really excited about our upcoming trip to L.A. The wish granters from Make-A-Wish came by last week to give us our itinerary and it appears the week will be the trip of a lifetime. This is what our week looks like. We will be picked up at 9am on Saturday and taken to the airport where we will fly Southwest Airlines to L.A. Upon arrival we will receive a rental car that we will use the entire week. Our hotel for the first part of the week is in Santa Monica; just across the street from the beach. YEAH! They have arranged for us to have tickets to Universal Studios Hollywood which we can either use on Sunday or Tuesday. Monday is Cameron’s wish day. The details for this day have been kept top secret; even Make-A-Wish has no idea what is in store for Cameron. All we have been told is that Mattel will fax over to our hotel the time which they will send for us on Monday and everything else we will find out when we arrive. WOW…I cannot even begin to imagine what this day will be like. I do know one thing, whatever they have planned, is going to a very brave and VERY deserving little boy. If we choose to go to Universal on Sunday, Tuesday will be a free day for us and we have several things on our personal itinerary: “Hollywood” sign, Rodeo Drive, and Hollywood Walk of Fame. Our “wish” ends on Wednesday but we opted to extend the trip on our own dime and will be driving down to San Diego and visiting the zoo as well as Lego land. Friday we return to L.A. and prepare to come back to North Carolina on Saturday. I’m hoping to somehow fit in a tour of Warner Brothers Studios but I don’t know if we will have time. And of course, I’m really hoping to get a peek at my favorite celeb, Matt Damon!!!

Cameron continues to do really well and life is getting back to normal quickly for our family. I’ll be honest, it’s gotten back to normal almost too quickly for me. I’ve gone from 100mph to nothing; EJ’s back at work and the boys are at school and I’ve been given enough free time to sit and really think about the journey we all just walked through. While we are excited about our trip, Ernest and I know the Monday we return is Cameron’s next MRI and therefore, the anxiety about this scan continues to linger in our mind. Everyday, I just continue to ask the Lord to help me trust Him and cling to two verses from His word:

“Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14

Please continue to be in prayer for us next week as we make our journey across the United States; please pray for our safety, that we remain healthy, and that both Cameron and Connor will have the time of their life. We will try to update the blog each day in California and share our experience. I heard a beautiful song by Addison Road on Christian radio the other day; a song for anyone going through a storm in life. Here are the words:

If everything comes down to love, Then just what am I afraid of, when I call out Your name, Something inside awakes in my soul How quickly I forget I'm Yours

I'm not my own, I've been carried by You, All my life

Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free

When my life is like a storm, rising waters all I want is the shore
You say I'll be ok and, make it through the rain
You are my shelter from the storm

Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free
You've become my hearts desire
I will sing Your praises higher
Cause Your love sets me free
Your love sets me free, Your love sets me free

End of another good week!

Cameron is doing really well. He returned to Duke on Monday for his FINAL post-treatment clinic visit. It felt really weird to walk out of there and know we do not have to come back until the second week of November. It is such an adjustment for us all. We are now taking Cameron to physical therapy twice each week and are seeing dramatic improvements in his walking, strength, and all around coordination. He is going back to school part-time and enjoying it immensely. We are letting him determine the length he stays at school each day by watching his fatigue level closely. Clearly some days are better than others as far as energy but overall, I am amazed at my little boy. We are really only one month out from treatment and he is quickly jumping back into life. His hair is really starting to come back in (it appears it may be blonde and curly) as well as his eyelashes and eyebrows. His eating is picking up and I imagine in a few short weeks, he’ll be looking more like Cameron again.

We have two exciting events coming up…Halloween and his Make-A-Wish trip. We normally do not make a big deal out of Halloween but since Cameron lost his hair, he has been determined to dress up as Charlie Brown for Halloween. Why? In his words, “cause I don’t have no hair.” LOL! So I found him a Charlie Brown shirt on the internet and I think he will be the cutest Charlie Brown ever this Halloween. The day after Halloween, we all board the plane and head to LA for Cameron’s Make-A-Wish trip. He is so excited about visiting Mattel and designing his own Hot Wheel; we cannot fathom what they have in store for Cam!

For now, we are just enjoying life as a family and are so happy to see our little boy so full of life again. Below is a picture of him walking into school this week! Enjoy!

LeAnn

"Tubies" are GONE!!!

It has definitely been a big week in the Jackson household.  Monday’s clinic visit went extremely well.  Cameron’s counts are coming up nicely and without assistance.  Dr. G was very pleased with his progress and pretty much cleared him for regular activities.  So on Wednesday of this week, Cameron went back to school for a few hours.  He was so excited to return.  As a matter of fact, I couldn’t find him when it was time to go and when I opened the garage door…well he was sitting in the car with the biggest smile on his face.  I wondered if he would be shy walking back into class after all of these months but he wasn’t.  He just said “bye mom” and joined right in.  By the time I walked back down the hall and into the office, I was so emotional!  What a moment!!!  And today, we took Cameron into the OR to have his central line removed.  When I walked into the post-op area, I went straight to his bed, lifted his gown, and tears filled my eyes as I looked at his little bare belly; a true sign that this part of his journey is OVER!  How great is our God!

LeAnn