Some Wonderful News

We got the results of James' scan last week. The tumor is still shrinking! In fact, it is small enough that the radiologist wrote that it was residual scar tissue instead of a residual mass. It is so small, they didn't even measure it this time. There is no other indication of another cancer present. As it seems, we can't just have ONLY good news, this time James' liver enzymes were elevated. The doctor seemed quite concerned until James told her he had been taking some cold medicine. The medicine wasn't an issue, but apparently even a cold virus can make the liver enzymes elevated. We told her we were concerned because elevated liver enzymes were one of the biggest indicators that something was wrong when we found his cancer, but the oncologist felt it was unlikely cancer related this time, especially because the liver scan looked fine. He will go in for follow-up labs this week. If everything looks good, it is going to be 3 months before more blood work and 6 months before another scan. HOORAY!!! It is heart-wrenching to go through the worry of another scan every 2 months.
On an even brighter note, we are a family living together again!!!! The girls and I moved up to Sun Valley for a few weeks to be with James. One of my jobs ended for the summer and the other gave me all the time off so we could make it work. We are living in a small 1 bedroom condo and all sleeping in the same bedroom. Adalyn couldn't be happier. She is a happy, smiling, giggly, and sleeping child without a worry in the world (except that this HUGE black bird at the park tries to keep stealing our food). Even Ava has been willing to sleep in a pack 'n play that she has hated from the day she was born. We have had so little to worry about except enjoying our time together, it has been wonderful! WE LOVE SUN VALLEY and what it means for our family for these few weeks!
Some of our favorite things so far have been playing at the park everyday for up to 3 hours and going swimming at the YMCA, and meeting new friends. We have also loved going on family runs, which typically go as follows: Ava rides in the jogging stroller, Adalyn starts out on her new "big girl" bike and James and I look official for a run. One of us has to push the stroller and keep stopping to give Ava snacks to keep her entertained. The other one has to run next to Adalyn and make frequent stops to keep redirecting her bike to prevent her doing an "endo" or from creating a head-on collision with another biker going 50 mph in the opposite direction because she is so distracted. Half-way through the run, Adalyn decides she doesn't want to ride anymore and would rather run. Long story, the run ends with James carrying Adalyn's bike on the stroller, Adalyn and Ava in the stroller and me slowly jogging into the parking lot telling James what a great "run" it was. All these wealthy people with nanny's to watch their kids while they workout don't have any idea what they are missing out on.
We will post some updated family pictures soon. You'd never know James has been so sick! He looks amazing. We continue to be so grateful for the love and support and we are looking forward to organizing a team for an upcoming Lymphoma Society fundraising run. We are hoping to be able to do our part, however small it may be, to help end cancer. It is just devastating!