History

Thursday, December 25, 2008 2:15 PM CST

Merry CHRISTmas!!!!!

Well let me first start by saying hello to everyone and a Very Merry CHRISTmas!!!! I know long time no hear from but as they say in everyday life no news is good news!! :}

I do have some crazy news, some wonderful news and some very hard news!!!! Which do you want to hear first????

Well that means you get the wonderful news first. This year we went to Northmoor for the 7th Annual Cuddle for Compassion Day in Memory of Aaron. Well ALL the news media came including 2 newspapers and all three news channels. It was an AMAZING year! This year we raised the most money we have ever raised for St. Jude. We raised $1,100 and $550 went to Memphis and $550 stayed here at the affiliate. I took the affiliate their money on Wednesday and they were so grateful. They had just finished using the money from last year so they were in much need of a new supply. I just love being able to give back in some small way kinda repaying they all back for all they did while Aaron was sick. I tell you what it really has been a very rough year for me mentally and physically. I have had a bad bad break down this year but like always I make it through. I miss Aaron like crazy and seeing all the kids this year at the school really made my day. They didn't even really ever know Aaron but you would have thought they did by the things they said. It was such an amazing day. I really need to go spend time with them more often. They really make me realize just how AMAZING kids really are.

Well the crazy news!!!! Last Monday night my mom came home from work and said she was very tired and was going to eat something and go to bed. I was like OK!!!! Well all the sudden she comes upstairs and I had just dosed off and she comes in my room saying Marilyn are you awake I need you to take my pulse. I immediately jumped up and took her pulse it was beating like crazy but all irregular and stopping and then beating fast it clocked it at about 166 beats per minute but it was so fast I wasn't sure just how fast it was going. I immediately called the doctor's office and they told me to get off the phone and call 911 so I did meanwhile I realized I was just in a nightgown and got in pants and a shirt because I just knew we were going to the hospital. So mom starts freaking out saying who are you calling I tell her 911 she is in trouble and she says no no and starts freaking out. I was like mom your in trouble I need you to get to the hospital safe and I can't take you and drive and worry about you. So just as I explained that the police showed up and then the firemen and then paramedics. They start hooking her up to all kinds of leads and machines to check her blood pressure and pulse and sats well her heart rate was in the upper 200's and her blood pressure was like 290 over 198 it was crazy. I was like omg i'm going to loose my mom. But I was also keeping my composure because I knew if I freaked out she would get worse. Well meanwhile she does starting crying again saying please don't take me to the hospital and no no no. One of the paramedics said to her Donna do you know what A-fib means and she is still crying and says no it probably means i'm having a heart attack and he says yes it means you are in the beginning stages of one and we really need to get you to the hospital. Mean while she is freaking out she doesn't want they to take her and says can't my daughter just take me and he says no we really need to keep a very close eye on you. So finally she agrees to let them take her while I drive my car. So I beat her to the hospital as does my brother and his wife. It was a really crazy night because when I got off work I went to Taco Bell to get supper and a guy was sick of waiting in the drive thru and back up and hit my car. Now my mom's heading to the hospital in the ambulance. Well meanwhile finally mom gets there and they put her in a room and we go in and she is calming down but still her pulse and b/p is crazy. The doctors come in and nurses and get her all hooked up and draw blood and start another IV she had one from the paramedics but they needed 2 for some reason. Anyway the doctor explained that they were going to give mom a medicine to stop her heart beat hoping it would start again but regular. Well meanwhile they bring in the crash cart and hook up the leads to ground her for the paddles they use to shock your heart. I was like um hello what the heck. Well they told mom Donna you just have to keep breathing and don't stop you focus on breathing and remember it is going to feel like someone is sitting on your chest but just keep breathing mom was like ok they swore it would only last a couple of seconds. Well needless to say they pushed this stuff in her IV and all the sudden her color changed she stopped breathing and her face turns red and then her heartrate went down to 2 beats and she wasn't breathing and I could see her struggling. I was starting to freak out but yet remembering what happened with Aaron and was like no GOD no please don't take my mom from me all the sudden the doctor yells get the oxygen on her now get the paddles and then mom takes a big deep breath and shes back to normal. WOW oh WOW was I glad and so was she. Well then we realize the medicine didn't work and the doctor was like well we are going to have to give her the other medicine. I was like OMG are you serious what could be worst than this. They said we promise nothing will happen with this medicine if it doesn't work we are calling in a cardiologist so mean while mom is talking herself so she thinks out of this crazy heartrate and b/p and it isn't working but within a 1/2 hour the other medicine starts working and her bloodpressure and heartrate where back to normal. But they still wanted to keep her for observation in case it started happening again. Well it didn't and they ran lots of tests and didn't see any damage or heart disease but they do think it was a medicine she takes for her thyroid they increased the Friday before this started. So what we thought was a heart attack was actually medicine enduced heart problems. I'm so grateful for my MOMMY and GOD this year you all have no idea.

Now for the very hard news!!!! I know those of you who keep up to date on our family know last year I went to Aaron's grave and found a gift from him to me it was a pillow case with his and my picture on it and said to Mommy Love Your LiL Superhero Forever Aaron I love you to infinity and beyond. Well I always wondered who did that but never found out but was so grateful for whoever did it. Well last night like every other christmas eve we opened our presents with my boys, mom, brother and his wife and their friend Joe. Well after opening gifts the boys and my brother take out all the garbage and find a black bag with a gift inside and bring it in the house. I was like OMG I can't take this not this year. Please not this year. I am saying this out loud and my heart is hurting as I already miss my baby sooooo bad and have had one of the roughest years in a long time. Well I open the bag and the present says to Mommy Love Aaron Your LiL Superhero Forever. I was screaming and crying and I turn around and look at my brother and his wife and say you guys are doing this aren't you it is you. My brother says nope not me. My sister in law says nothing and gets a blank look on her face and tears up. So I end up opening the gift from Aaron and its a clock with his picture inside it. I am screaming and crying and go running to my room. Not that I wasn't grateful but more so because I miss My LiL Superhero Forever so bad and no one could ever fathem how hard it is even though most of you addored Aaron its not the same as a Mother's love. So then I came out of my room and thanked them so much for all they did last year and this year and now we all know who my secret person was. Sorry Willard and Gennie I ruined ur surprise but I am so grateful you both have no idea how much it means knowing you all hurt just like I do even though it may not show. So we all agreed there will always be a gift under the tree from Aaron to his Mommy but no more surprises. Well they will still be a surprise but not so emotional for me.

Well sorry so long winded but for those of you who know me and know me well you all know I can talk an ear off in a heartbeat!!!!! Well hope you ALL have a Very Merry CHRISTmas and A Happy New Year!!! Thanks for all your love and support and miss hearing from you all as well.

Missing My LiL Superhero Forever Aaron!!!! But taking advantage of every moment with the babies I have!!!! :}

Marilyn Mommy to 3 Amazing Boys

Friday, September 12, 2008 2:39 PM CDT

HELLO HELLO HELLO EVERYONE!!!!

I know long time no hear from!!!! :}

I have an honest excuse this time!!!!

I started a second job!!!! I honestly think I have found my calling!!!! I think GOD has planned for me to give back to every single organization that helped us while Aaron was sick!!!! My new second job is with Target. As most of you know Aaron and I stayed at Target House in Memphis while Aaron was receiving treatment. What an amazing organization they have. We really loved staying there as they provided us with a 2 bedroom apartment completely furnished but of course Aaron never used the second bedroom because he ALWAYS slept with him mommy!!!! And I never mind him sleeping with me!!!! As a matter of fact I miss him cuddling with me. But it was really nice when the brothers would stay with us over the summer because they had their own bedroom to play in and it had two twin beds one for each of them!!!!

So anyway I really have been thinking of a way to give back to all the companies that helped us during Aaron's battle and death. I have alot to do of course but

Saturday, July 5, 2008 10:00 AM CDT

Happy BeLated 4th of July EVERYONE!!!!!

As most of you know Aaron's 10th birthday is coming up very very soon. Like next week on Thursday the 10th. I just know there was something about Aaron and tens. He was born on July 10th and died on December 10th. And this year he will be 10!!!!! That was one amazing thing for me that he had something about tens.

Well this year mommy doesn't have quite the money I ususally do for his birthday. But we will be going to his grave. Releasing SUPERHERO balloons, orange and purple of course, a monkey balloon for him and Dalton, a yellow one for Zoie who died on Aaron's last birthday here on earth. But this year I am releasing a black balloon for his cousin Dalton. I just found out that black was Dalton's favorite color so he gets a black balloon all to himself this year!!!!! :} Then of course we couldn't have Aaron's celebration without eating at BAVANTIS his FAVORITE resturant!!!! I sure hope you all can eat there this year and when you do remember Our LiL Superhero Forever who is turning the BIG 10!!!!

I found this on my sister's website and it is an awesome poem!!!!

I said "God I hurt." and God said "I know" I said "I cry a lot" and God said "that's why I gave you tears." I said "Life is so hard" and God said "That's why I gave you loved ones" I said "But my loved one died" and God said "So did mine" I said "It is such an unbearable loss" and God said "I saw mine nailed to the cross" I said "but your Son lives" and God said "so does yours" I said "Where is he now?" and God said "My Son is by My side and your angel is in my arms."

How AWESOME is that my LiL Superhero Forever is in GOD's arms!!!! What an awesome place to be for his 10th birthday!!!!

Man I sure miss him more than I could ever express to anyone but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt he is having the coolest birthday ever in Heaven with all his friends and family and most of all sitting on GOD's lap!!!!

The boys and I are doing good. They sure are getting big. I really need to update pictures and hopefully I will be soon. I am going to try and get my sister-in-law to take pictures of us soon as she has one of those professional cameras and I have the perfect spot for pictures to be taken. Grandma is doing good too. She is still loves only working 2 days a week. She has found so much to do with her spare time. We have done lots of projects this year like one building a flower garden in front of the house that has only taken us a year and a half to do!!!! :) We also built onto our patio in the back and put up a gazaboo(sp?) it is really neat. Hopefully this year it doesn't fly away as last year we bought 3 and all 3 blew away! :( This year we really hammered it down. So we will see what happens. Then the final project is to paint the shutters and front of the house while I am on vacation this coming week as well as paint the patio. So yes we are keeping quite busy.

Well hope you all had an awesome 4th!!!! Do something special with your family this week. And don't forget to eat at Bavantis if you are near one on Thursday. You never know you just might see me and the boys there!!!!!

Thanks for all your LOVE, PRAYERS, and SUPPORT,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Aaron Mommy misses you soooooo much!!!! Hope you and all your friends have fun with your balloons this year. Be nice and share. I can't believe you are turning 10 already. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BOY!!!!!!

Thursday, April 17, 2008 10:32 PM CDT

Ok I sure hope you all are ready for a much needed UPDATE!!!!

I just noticed I still had up a Christmas background. Guess that was honestly the last holiday we celebrated with Aaron and I just couldn't bring myself to update since then :(

Well as most of you know by now I have quit school for now that is. I plan on going back someday but just not sure when quite yet. Honestly I think I have found my TRUE TRUE calling nursing isn't it. A TEACHER!!!!! I absolutely LOVE kids. I loved being a teacher at Rogy's before Aaron got sick. I have been doing some major thinking about it and see a huge need for AWESOME teachers like everyone at Northmoor. I just want to give back a piece of what was given to our family while Aaron was sick touch lives like ours were touched and keep Aaron's spirit alive in all who knew him. GOD I miss my LiL Superhero!!!!!

Well now onto how things have been for the last few months. Basically things have been kinda hectic. I had went through another breakdown not sure why but honestly I think it has something to do with the kids Dad. He finally broke down about Aaron as well as other things and it really hit me too. Got me thinking man why on God's Heaven and Earth am I still even here why can't I just be free from all this heartache and pain. I want Aaron back I want all my family back together and then GOD made me realize Aaron is in such a WONDEROUS place he allowed me to get touched by an ANGEL/SUPERHERO on earth to get my life right to be with Aaron in the end!!!! As most of you have probably read already I was with a young girl who took her last breaths with me by her side on top of loosing my son to cancer I have to say that was one of the most HORRIFIC accidents I have ever seen. I really think that is why I can't be a nurse. After seeing all that blood and stuff I am sickened by blood now. It brings back tragic memories. I feel so awful for her family. I have said many many times GOD allowed me to know Aaron was dying and I am so grateful he did. I don't think I could have handled a tragic death like that and not know that was the last time I would see my child. I say over and over again thank you GOD for blessing me with cancer and not an accident or tragic death.

Well anyway we are all doing good. I officially have all teenage boys in the house now. On April 11th Antavious turned the big 13!!!! Now I will forever be BROKE!!!! I took them to Burlington Iowa to Fun City. We had a blast. It was sooooo much fun and much needed. Before the trip I found my changer(FINALLY) for my video camera and decided to see what footage I had. I have been searching for the video of Aaron and his final days but couldn't find it. But did run across video of the boys at their school plays. It was so cute seeing them all little and chubby. It brought back so many memories. Good and bad of course because Aaron never got to do those kind of things and I was so mad because I still can't find the video of him. Well anyway it was so cute seeing them all dressed up and singing with friends they have went to school with for years. They even enjoyed watching it because it made them realize how much they have grown up as have many of their friends!!!! CUTE CUTE!!!!

Before I left on our trip I talked to Nikki Zach's mom. I haven't seen or spoke with her in a VERY VERY long time. I miss our times together with and without our babies!!!! Anyway she said she had video footage of us all together at Disney.(I still want a copy of that) But I knew I had some too somewhere I just couldn't find it anywhere it wasn't on any videos I found before our trip. Anyway I went away with the boys and Grandma and we had a BLAST!!!! I watched little boys playing with their mommies and man it brought me to tears but I just knew I had my sons with me and we were playing and having fun too just not all three of them. It is fun but hard for me to go to waterparks without Aaron since he LOVED them so much he was like a fish but a superhero fish of course!!!! :} Anyway after we got home mom wanted to fill some picture frames she got while in Iowa. So I went searching through my scrapbook stuff looking for paper and stickers for the photos. While going through the box guess what I find.... Aaron's video of his final days. So I popped it in the camera and started watching it on the TV. Wow honestly this is the very first time I have watched a video of him since he died. It is very very hard to look at pictures much less watch a video. It was so WONDERFUL seeing his precious face and hearing that squeaky voice. I will never forget all the support and love our family was shown those final days with him here on earth. I will be forever grateful to all of you but WOW oh WOW!!! Just typing this is causing the faucet to FLOW!!!! The one part that stood out the most was the very first Santa Claus that came to the house the same day he got out of the hospital he was so life like. An amazing man he loved on Aaron and even got on the floor and played with his toys with him. Anyway Aaron only wanted his hat, gloves, and sack of goodies. He let Aaron play Santa and Aaron looked in the camera with that precious toothless grin and said HO HO HO Merry Cwismas(yes I spelled it wrong on purpose because that's just how he said it). That precious boy could melt any heart especially mine. I will forever and ever have that memory in my mind Aaron playing as Santa. What an amazing boy. Then after that came on the day Mayor Ransburg made December 10, an honary day in the city of Peoria. He came to Northmoor and presented us with a proclamation and the whole school released balloons to Aaron(orange and purple of course). A lady of Valeska Hinton School Aaron's old school came and sang the song I beleive I can fly. Wow that was so powerful. My brother was video taping it and he did a few shots of all the kids singing and they were even crying. They loved Aaron just as much as we did/do. Anyway after she sang we went outside and released oh hundreds of balloons to heaven for Aaron. I cried so hard it was like reliving that day all over again. I miss him soooooo much. I am so happy GOD allowed me to find that video it was just in the right time. THANK YOU GOD!!!!

Well after that I remembered I bought a book EVERYONE has been talking about called 90 minutes in Heaven by Don Piper. Now that is a totally AWESOME book to read. This is about a man who died for 90 minutes and was left to die but went to heaven for those 90 minutes and can tell you amazing stories of heaven and what it will be like. I am so glad I know my baby is in heaven WOW can't wait to get there to be with him. You all HAVE to read this book. I honestly NEVER EVER NEVER read and I read the whole thing in 2 days. I have always wondered what honestly heaven was like would my son get any bigger would he look the same would I remember him. Well you better believe I will and he will be waiting for his mommy at the gate to give me big hugs and kisses and it will be as if we were never apart. WOW can't wait for that day.

Well I hope to update pictures soon and hope you all enjoyed the update!!!!

Talk to you all very soon and thanks soooo much for checking in on us,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Friday, December 7, 2007 11:35 PM CST

UPDATE WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18, 2007

OK!!!! Wow what a week off for those of you who are reading this I sure hope you can make it through this journal without the tears FLOWING!!!!(PBL) Well basically this past Saturday my mom, sons, and sister and I were on our way to our family Christmas in Bath, Illinois. We had horrible driving weather for going but were going to try anyway. It was snowing alot and very slick on the roads from the previous ice storm. Well while driving my sister who was following behind us started sliding and spun her car but got it back on the road safely. Then we ran into a red light that was totally getting on my nerves because it was taking soooo long to turn green. Well I know you all are saying what in the world is she telling us all this for well just let me finish. From there we headed down route 24 from Bartonville. I was only doing about 20mph and still sliding. Well then we can upon a horrible accident usually I never stop for accidents but I didn't see anyone on their cellphone calling the police so I got out of the car to help and by the time I got up to the accident a gentleman was calling the police and trying to explain where we were. I told him we were on route 24 between Bartonville and Pekin. Well from there I proceeded to make sure both parties who were in the accident were ok. I went to the first car and that lady seemed ok. She had many people around here helping her but the other car no one was helping her so I said I am going to check on the other car and everyone told me shes dead. I was like huh no way. So I headed over to that car expecting to find that person dead but nope she was still breathing and trying to move. A guy got in the back seat and told me we need to get her out I said no way we can't move her we can't unlock the other door and I will sit with her till the ambulance arrives so he did and I got in the other side of the car. Glass was everywhere blood was everywhere this girl was in HORRIBLE shape and was trying to tell me something but I had no clue what. She was still breathing but about 20 seconds apart and I just knew it wouldn't be long before she died. I was telling her to stay calm stay with me the ambulance was on its way. She still kept breathing but every breath she took blood would come out from her mouth and nose. I was like oh hunny please just keep breathing its ok then I told my mom to get a blanket from the car which was one of those precious blanckets we made at St. Jude during our stay there but just as my mom was approaching the car with the blanket this young lady took her last breath. I was so hurt knowing this girl died. I covered her up to keep her warm. I couldn't even tell you all the flood of memories that came rushing back to me about Aaron and his death. Also considering how close this is to his death and Christmas. Another family has to lose a child OMG. WHY WHY WHY??? Well my mom told me her cellphone was on the ground outside the car so I picked it up and called her parents and told them their daughter had been in a horrible accident and told them where we were and they came shortly after the police, ambulance, and fire department. Last night I went to the visitation of this 16 year old girl who too had a whole life to live and it SUCKS!!!! Death period SUCKS!!!!! I have honestly had as much death as I can handle in this lifetime. I hope no one else I love or care about dies for a VERY VERY long time. I can't handle anymore pain and heartache. I am so glad GOD made my sister slide and take a little while longer to get back on the road and that dag gone red light was so long. MAN you talk about a total blessing in disguise!!!! WOW! Well now everyone is calling me an angel and this wonderful person but honestly I think I was only doing what any parent who has lost a child would have done or at least I hope and pray that is what they would have done.:}

Now that I have got that off my chest. I must say a HUGE thank you to a very special person who TOTALLY made my Christmas ALOT brighter this year. My family and I went to Aaron's grave today to put his SUPERHERO/WRESTLER wreath on his grave and someone put a gift on his grave that said to mommie from Aaron. I started to open it and the boys said um mom you have to wait till Christmas and I was like um ok oh no I can't so I opened it and you will NEVER in a million years guess what was inside. A huge pillow case with a picture of Aaron and I together that reads Mommy I love you from infinity and beyond Love your LiL Superhero Forever Aaron. I started crying again I have not cried this much in a very very long time. So thank you to whoever did this it really made my Christmas ALOT brighter this year.

Well I sure hope you all have a VERY VERY Merry Christmas this year. I know mine will be.

Thanks again for all your love and support and for keeping My LiL Superhero Forever in your thoughts as well as our family.

Much Love and Gratitude,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

P.S. Please Keep the family of this precious 16 year old girl in your thoughts and prayers as this Friday would have been her 17th birthday and with Christmas just around the corner it will NEVER NEVER be the same.

WOW oh WOW

LATE LATE LATE update!!!! :) I hope you all are doing well. As for me and the boys well we are doing fine. I guess you could say that considering we are approaching year 3 without Mr. Aaron. WOW hard for me to even type that without tearing up. I am amazed how many people 1 seem to still care and keep us in their hearts and thoughts and 2 how many have slipped out of contact with us. Today was our annual Cuddle for Compassion Day at Aaron's school that dedicated the library in honor/memory of him. WOW what an amazing day basically we wear our jammies Aaron's favorite thing to do. Of course it must be superhero jammies. I was so amazing to see so many kids having fun and still remembering my son and his legacy. Aaron LOVED school and of course more so LOVED to read books. Today the kids read books cuddled with their favorite stuffed animals and made cards for the kids of St. Jude. They also raised $805.00 for St. Jude too. Half will be going to Memphis and the rest will be staying here for the local affiliate. I am so grateful for all they did for our family while Aaron was sick. Northmoor Edison has been an awesome group of people whom I will ALWAYS call family. Going back there was hard but it is like Aaron is still there. When I got up this morning I was so excited to be hanging out with the staff and students. Honestly I hate this time of the year for many reasons but mostly because Aaron can't be here to enjoy it anymore. Christmas will never be the same without him but I know I have to remain level headed because the boys need their mommy.

On to how things have been going for us since last time we talked. Basically I quit school already way to much struggling for me and stress too. I thought oh I am Superwoman but honestly way to much at one time. So I am back to working full time and the boys are GROWING!!!! Man everyone is amazed how BIG they are getting. We got a new puppy he is a min pin and his name is Token. We just totally adore him. He is the light of our lives and brings us so much joy. I miss Aaron and sometimes this little dog fills that void. He loved to chew on everything and for the first 2 weeks we had him he only wanted to chew on my Aaron bracelets. It was so cute. The boys are doing ok in school at least now I know they can make good grades if they just try real hard and do their homework. Grandma is doing well. She is working and helping take care of Token during the day. I am so grateful to have such and AWESOME mom. She is amazing. WOW Well thats about all for now!!!

Miss and Love you all so much!!!! Hey keep in touch will ya!!!! LOL LOL LOL

I Love You Aaron to Infinity and Beyond,

Mommy

P.S. If anyone wants to do something special please send either balloons to Heaven on Monday or light a candle and say a prayer for our family.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 9:06 PM CST

OK!!!! Wow what a week off for those of you who are reading this I sure hope you can make it through this journal without the tears FLOWING!!!!(PBL) Well basically this past Saturday my mom, sons, and sister and I were on our way to our family Christmas in Bath, Illinois. We had horrible driving weather for going but were going to try anyway. It was snowing alot and very slick on the roads from the previous ice storm. Well while driving my sister who was following behind us started sliding and spun her car but got it back on the road safely. Then we ran into a red light that was totally getting on my nerves because it was taking soooo long to turn green. Well I know you all are saying what in the world is she telling us all this for well just let me finish. From there we headed down route 24 from Bartonville. I was only doing about 20mph and still sliding. Well then we can upon a horrible accident usually I never stop for accidents but I didn't see anyone on their cellphone calling the police so I got out of the car to help and by the time I got up to the accident a gentleman was calling the police and trying to explain where we were. I told him we were on route 24 between Bartonville and Pekin. Well from there I proceeded to make sure both parties who were in the accident were ok. I went to the first car and that lady seemed ok. She had many people around here helping her but the other car no one was helping her so I said I am going to check on the other car and everyone told me shes dead. I was like huh no way. So I headed over to that car expecting to find that person dead but nope she was still breathing and trying to move. A guy got in the back seat and told me we need to get her out I said no way we can't move her we can't unlock the other door and I will sit with her till the ambulance arrives so he did and I got in the other side of the car. Glass was everywhere blood was everywhere this girl was in HORRIBLE shape and was trying to tell me something but I had no clue what. She was still breathing but about 20 seconds apart and I just knew it wouldn't be long before she died. I was telling her to stay calm stay with me the ambulance was on its way. She still kept breathing but every breath she took blood would come out from her mouth and nose. I was like oh hunny please just keep breathing its ok then I told my mom to get a blanket from the car which was one of those precious blanckets we made at St. Jude during our stay there but just as my mom was approaching the car with the blanket this young lady took her last breath. I was so hurt knowing this girl died. I covered her up to keep her warm. I couldn't even tell you all the flood of memories that came rushing back to me about Aaron and his death. Also considering how close this is to his death and Christmas. Another family has to lose a child OMG. WHY WHY WHY??? Well my mom told me her cellphone was on the ground outside the car so I picked it up and called her parents and told them their daughter had been in a horrible accident and told them where we were and they came shortly after the police, ambulance, and fire department. Last night I went to the visitation of this 16 year old girl who too had a whole life to live and it SUCKS!!!! Death period SUCKS!!!!! I have honestly had as much death as I can handle in this lifetime. I hope no one else I love or care about dies for a VERY VERY long time. I can't handle anymore pain and heartache. I am so glad GOD made my sister slide and take a little while longer to get back on the road and that dag gone red light was so long. MAN you talk about a total blessing in disguise!!!! WOW! Well now everyone is calling me an angel and this wonderful person but honestly I think I was only doing what any parent who has lost a child would have done or at least I hope and pray that is what they would have done.:}

Now that I have got that off my chest. I must say a HUGE thank you to a very special person who TOTALLY made my Christmas ALOT brighter this year. My family and I went to Aaron's grave today to put his SUPERHERO/WRESTLER wreath on his grave and someone put a gift on his grave that said to mommie from Aaron. I started to open it and the boys said um mom you have to wait till Christmas and I was like um ok oh no I can't so I opened it and you will NEVER in a million years guess what was inside. A huge pillow case with a picture of Aaron and I together that reads Mommy I love you from infinity and beyond Love your LiL Superhero Forever Aaron. I started crying again I have not cried this much in a very very long time. So thank you to whoever did this it really made my Christmas ALOT brighter this year.

Well I sure hope you all have a VERY VERY Merry Christmas this year. I know mine will be.

Thanks again for all your love and support and for keeping My LiL Superhero Forever in your thoughts as well as our family.

Much Love and Gratitude,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

P.S. Please keep the family of the precious 16 year old girl in your prayers as her birthday would be Friday and with Christmas so close it will NEVER be the same NEVER!!!!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 9:04 PM CST

Friday, December 7, 2007 11:35 PM CST

WOW oh WOW

LATE LATE LATE update!!!! :) I hope you all are doing well. As for me and the boys well we are doing fine. I guess you could say that considering we are approaching year 3 without Mr. Aaron. WOW hard for me to even type that without tearing up. I am amazed how many people 1 seem to still care and keep us in their hearts and thoughts and 2 how many have slipped out of contact with us. Today was our annual Cuddle for Compassion Day at Aaron's school that dedicated the library in honor/memory of him. WOW what an amazing day basically we wear our jammies Aaron's favorite thing to do. Of course it must be superhero jammies. I was so amazing to see so many kids having fun and still remembering my son and his legacy. Aaron LOVED school and of course more so LOVED to read books. Today the kids read books cuddled with their favorite stuffed animals and made cards for the kids of St. Jude. They also raised $805.00 for St. Jude too. Half will be going to Memphis and the rest will be staying here for the local affiliate. I am so grateful for all they did for our family while Aaron was sick. Northmoor Edison has been an awesome group of people whom I will ALWAYS call family. Going back there was hard but it is like Aaron is still there. When I got up this morning I was so excited to be hanging out with the staff and students. Honestly I hate this time of the year for many reasons but mostly because Aaron can't be here to enjoy it anymore. Christmas will never be the same without him but I know I have to remain level headed because the boys need their mommy.

On to how things have been going for us since last time we talked. Basically I quit school already way to much struggling for me and stress too. I thought oh I am Superwoman but honestly way to much at one time. So I am back to working full time and the boys are GROWING!!!! Man everyone is amazed how BIG they are getting. We got a new puppy he is a min pin and his name is Token. We just totally adore him. He is the light of our lives and brings us so much joy. I miss Aaron and sometimes this little dog fills that void. He loved to chew on everything and for the first 2 weeks we had him he only wanted to chew on my Aaron bracelets. It was so cute. The boys are doing ok in school at least now I know they can make good grades if they just try real hard and do their homework. Grandma is doing well. She is working and helping take care of Token during the day. I am so grateful to have such and AWESOME mom. She is amazing. WOW Well thats about all for now!!!

Miss and Love you all so much!!!! Hey keep in touch will ya!!!! LOL LOL LOL

I Love You Aaron to Infinity and Beyond,

Mommy

P.S. If anyone wants to do something special please send either balloons to Heaven on Monday or light a candle and say a prayer for our family.

Thursday, August 30, 2007 9:28 PM CDT

OK OK I know many many moons since I have updated. But for a very good reason.

Honestly I had a major set back after Dalton's death. When my sister told me he only had 2 weeks left to live and then only ended up living 3 days after that. It just really brought back some horrible painful memories. I NEVER in a million years wanted anyone I knew to go through even a piece of the pain I have been through. But yet I wanted to be there for my sister in a way no one has ever been there for me. But that wasn't the case and honestly its actually probably for the best. After Aaron's birthday which I knew was going to be a very hard time. I kinda had a major break down. I had to go to a real doctor and explain everything I had been through in the last few months. He was very hurt for me and the boys and our family. He is the doctor who diagnosed Aaron with a mass in his belly. He said Marilyn I will never forget having to give you that horrible news and I did follow your family. I can't even begin to explain how hard that past few months have been. I tried to get out of the slump I was in but yet I knew I couldn't do it without professional help this time. I have tried to do this on my own but no such luck. I know going back to church would probably be the best thing ever for me but it is just way way to hard. Right now I am so busy. I know I have to have time for GOD for him to have time for me but well I know it will all come again very soon. It is just so hard to go back knowing that is the last place Aaron and I were together with many many awesome memories. One's we won't have again until we unite in heaven. Well enough rambling:}

I have started school and am doing very good so far. I was taking 15 hours a week but had to drop to 12 because it was just way to much reading and studying for me with working 30 hours a week and making sure I have time for my babies. The boys oh WOW they are growing like weeds after a weeks rain. They also started football this year and actually LOVE it. LiL Andre'e wants to be a pro football player but we will see. He has had a few problems with his asthma. But we are trying to keep it under control. Antavious it's hard to believe he is playing football too they both are playing JFL for the local High School RICHWOODS!!!! They both play on the same team the seniors(my big big boys/men). I am so happy they are both in sports now. It is an awesome feeling to see them enjoying life. But there is a catch to this football thing they HAVE to have good grades. Last year they didn't get good grades at all but this year they both have a goal. It is actually kinda neat that I am helping LiL Andre'e with his algebra homework. Thanks to me going back to school it is keeping me up to date with what he is just starting to learn. The boys and I also are in agreement this school year whoever gets the best grades gets to tell the other ones what they will do. Tonight I was showing them my grades so far this semester and Antavious says mom college is so easy. I was like HUH what are you crazy you have to work hard to get these grades and STUDY your butt off and read read read. He was like yeah right it's just easy. Then I said just know I am up til 1am sometimes studying and he was like oh ok. I still think he was like yeah right it's just easy. I guess they will understand someday:} Hopefully they will go to college because now days you get nowhere without a college education!!!!

Well lets see what else I can let yall know since it has been soooooo long since my last update. Please keep my uncle Joe in your thoughts and prayers. He was diagnosed with cancer and is going to be starting treatment sometime in September. I HATE it this cancer stuff it SUCKS!!!!

Mom/Grandma is doing good. She is on a set schedule now working Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is kinda hard getting the boys to practice for football those days but we are making do.

Well thanks as always for all your thoughts and prayers and continue to keep our family wrapped in your love.

Also please don't forget to sign the guestbook. I really miss hearing frome everyone.

Missing Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron,

Marilyn

Wednesday, July 4, 2007 11:38 AM CDT

Tuesday, July 9, 2007 8:30pm

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BIG BIG 9 YEAR OLD BOY!!!! Mommy misses you soooo much and wish I could be there to see you get all your balloons. The monkey one is for Dalton, the yellow ones are for Zoie and the orange and purple and superheroes are for you and your friends in heaven. You brothers and I are going to have a blast just for you but also to help mommy through another birthday without you. I am hurting so bad. I have to go to work in the morning but hopefully will be out by 9:30 to go have fun with the brothers. I just started crying and it hurts so bad but I know you are in a better place I bet Heaven is so much more than you imagined HUH???? I just want to hug you again and get some sweet kisses. I want to hear you say I love you mom I love you more I love you MUCH!!!! I love you to infinity and beyond. Aaron mommy loves you so much and can't wait to see you again in heaven some day!!!! I miss you big boy!!!!HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!!!

The guestbook is up and running again thanks to caringbridge for deleting the stupid virus someone added to the guestbook.(SORRY)

Well imagine that 3 updates in on month!!!!

I know most of you are worried about our family but we are WARRIORS/SUPERHEROES!!!! We learned from the best of the best the youngest souls ever how to be a very BRAVE family and know our lil WARRIORS/SUPERHEROES are watching over us keeping us in line.

I miss Dalton's stories on his website about how strong he was and how much he loved life. I miss My LiL Superhero so much words can't even begin to describe how hard it is not to have ALL my babies under one roof.

As most of you know Aaron's birthday is next Tuesday July 10th he would have been 9 years old now!!!! I would love if everyone who reads our site could do one of Aaron's favorite things on that day. You can either go swimming his favorite thing to do, go eat at Bavantis(Avantis)local home resturant that have spaghetti and meatballs, send him superhero balloons or orange and purple balloons, or just say a special prayer for our family as we face another birthday without Our LiL Superhero Forever here on earth with us(I just know he is waiting in heaven with all his friends and Dalton to catch balloons that will be coming soon). It would really mean so much to have all our family and friends to honor him on his birthday. The boys and I are going swimming at Splashdown on Tuesday for his birthday and then of course we will be eating at Bavantis and then release balloons to him, his cousin, and friends in heaven(Zoie be looking for special yellow one). I know Aaron loved you all so much and he taught us so many lessons about life in his short six years here on earth. But to this day my baby continues to teach me lessons about life and even having a bad day at work or home can't compare to what he went through in 2 1/2 years. He never complained he got sick and kept his head up and would go right back to being his silly self. I hope all of you have learned lessons from him and continue to keep his spirit and memory alive in all of you too. He is GREATLY missed and I can't thank you all enough for all you love and support then and now. WE LOVE YOU ALL SOOOOO MUCH!!!!

Please remember to LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST and TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EVERY SINGLE MOMENT WITH YOUR LOVED ONES!!!!

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY MY LIL SUPERHERO FOREVER I LOVE AND MISS YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Mommy

Wednesday, June 27, 2007 11:49 PM CDT

WOW where do I begin to even update. To those of you who don't already know my nephew WON his battle with Neuroblastoma today Wednesday June 27, 2007 @ 6:41am our time. I cant even begin to stop crying my heart aches so deep. I asked WHY WHY WHY???? Why our family again. I wanted Dalton to be the one to get the cure. I wanted Ohio to make that possible for our family. But it didn't happen. I am so hurt so frustrated so ANGRY that my sister has to even feel this pain and heartache. My boys never really grieved for Aaron so far as I know but today LiL Andre'e well it hit him. He had gotten really close to his cousin(cuz) he asked my sister about him often he would text him and his brother Brody silly stuff and now his cuz is gone. This is so hard I HATE CANCER!!!!

I wish we had answers why it had to be so fast why he didn't get his cure. But Dalton knew he was gonna die. He told me his mom and his brother when we first went to Memphis for treatment. Dalton was an amazing boy as was Aaron. I think he had major standards to live up to I mean he had to live up to the name. He was loved by all as his cousin. WOW I just can't believe this not again. I agree I wish it was a dream we could all wake up from and have our babies back but I know it's not going to happen. They are safe in GOD's great big arms free from this HORRIBLE disease and hanging out for the first time ever. I bet they are riding motorcycles letting their hair blow in the wind. Then when and IF they get bored with that(doubt that) they head off to the gameroom for some video games. Man what a sight.

I always wondered if Aaron had a cape or wings well I guess Dalton answered that for me he had WINGS!!!! On Saturday he told my sister Susan that Aaron was flying around his room and he had his wings they were orange and purple. GOD WHY WHY WHY???? What a way to go our in style with his cousin coming to welcome him home. He never got a chance to know Aaron but he knew him by his wings. Dalton thank you so much for assuring me my baby is there with you now.

I miss you little guy as do your cousins(cuzs)!!!! We love you and give Aaron big hugs and kisses from us. SEE YOU BOTH ON THE FLIP SIDE!!!!

Deeply Brokenhearted,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron and the Brothers

P.S. Please keep the prayers coming we definately need them now. Thanks for all your love and support during this most difficult time. Love you all very much.

Sunday, June 24, 2007 3:29 PM CDT

It is with a totally full heart and tears flowing I come to all of you faithful followers asking for bunches and bunches of prayers. Mostly for Dalton and our family. I am sorry to report the news is not good. I in some way wish this was all just a nightmare. That Dalton would be the kid to beat this beast. But today at 8am I got a call from my sister telling me it appears Dalton has VOD. Basically it's not good. His liver is being attacked. Lord knows I totally know what that means the liver is honestly the worst place to have cancer spread or have anything happen to the liver period. She then told me he may only have 2 weeks left to live. That makes me sick. NO NO NO NO this can't be happening again NO NO NO!!!!! WHY???? God please PLEASE help my sister and nephew through this. Why us again WHY???? She was told they may be able to get a drug not approved by the FDA on a compassion basis but I have seen the effects from that too. I have only seen the children who get that live another 2 months. Well considering I have walked these shoes I must tell you all that I listened to my son. Aaron said STOP let me live and be normal what time I have left and that is just exactly what I did. I don't know how Dalton feels but I do know he hasn't slept much and I have a gut feeling I know why. His spirits are up and he is still giving everyone a hard time. He still says tell everyone i'm not sick. WOW what an amazing guy. I mean these kids are totally remarkable!!!! GOD totally shines through them. My sister says she isn't ready for all this but honestly who ever is ready? I know I never was but yet I was sick of seeing my son in pain suffering. It was time to give him to Jesus and let him be free cape and all. WOW the memories flowing through me today. I can't even begin to express the heartache I have for my family. WHY US AGAIN WHY???? I believe in miracles and am asking GOD to provide one now. But in reality my heart is crushed because I know how painful this journey can be and well will be. Please join me in praying for Dalton, Pam, Brian, Grandma's, Grandpa's, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, friends,and rest of the family but especially his BIG BROTHER Brody. I can't even begin to imagine how Brody must feel. He is a survivor of cancer and now he sees what his brother and little brother at that is going through just please PRAY!!!!

My mom is on her way down there now to be there for Dalton and Pam as they hear more from the doctor's tomorrow morning. Praying for GOOD news!!!!

Sending LOVE, HUGS, and PRAYERS to my family in Ohio.

Heartbroken & Tearful,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Tuesday, May 29, 2007 9:37 PM CDT

OK OK I hear everyone wanting an update LIKE NOW!!!!

Well we are doing good. LiL Andre'e got second place in Shotput this year and I even got to make one of his games on time. I am so very proud of both my boys/men. I really wish they just didn't grow up so fast. They are both keeping me busy and of course keep me in stitches most of the time with the things they say or do. I really miss Aaron alot and wonder every day what he would look like or how tall he would be now. What his favorite saying would be now. I am sure he would still be loving his favorites Bavantis, Steak and Shake and of course BarBQue. His brothers definately love that too. But now they are growing up so much that they eat us out of house and home. I can't believe LiL(yeah right) Andre'e is 5ft 9in now. And Antavious is right behind him at 5ft 2in. See what I mean by growing!!!! WOW

Mom/Grandma well she is doing well and enjoying not working everyday even though a Grandma's work is never done. Not with growing grandbabies in the house:)

Well as for me honestly I am going to start working 30 hours a week in August and head to school full time. I am officially heading back to school to finish my degree in nursing. I am so excited but yet scared because with the boys growing so much and eating everything they see I really need the money but if I don't go back to school soon I really feel I never will. But I know GOD is totally looking out for us and well it will all work out in the end. But we are walking out on faith not like its the first time:)

Hopefully you have been keeping up on my nephew Dalton www.caringbridge.org/visit/daltonblakley he is doing well and surprising everyone. I sure miss him and his brother and wish I could spend more time with them.

Well thank all of you for all your support and hope to hear from you all very soon.

Love, Hugs, and Kisses

Marilyn Mommy to 3 AMAZING BOYS/MEN

P.S. Please keep us in your prayers as we walk out on FAITH and cut my hours at work and head back to school and show the boys how it's really done:)

Tuesday, March 27, 2007 8:26 PM CDT

WELL HOWDY DOODY!!!!

Trying not to wait to long between updates!!!! Hopefully this works. Well lots going on around here not so much for the boys and I but for my sisters and Dalton. First I want to thank St. Jude for finally allowing me to go to rememberance day. I have ALWAYS wanted to go but never was invited nor did I know when it was. So I got word from a couple different people and well honestly can hardly wait to go and see all the WONDERFUL staff and families of ones who went to Heaven to join Aaron and Jesus. So on April 13th the boys, Nikki, John, Kilee(Zach's family), and myself will travel to Memphis for a wonderful experience that well honestly isn't all that wonderful because trust me you NEVER want to be part of that club or be invited to celebrate your childs life because they have died. But it is hopefully going to be awesome therapy for the boys and myself. The boys never talk about Aaron much less discuss anything that had to do with him. They will be having events for the siblings of the kids who have died. Hopefully just maybe the boys might come outta their shells with this experience. But like I have said before if I was a kid I don't think I would know how to handle it either.

Anyway onto my nephew Dalton for those of you just coming to this site or you stakers!!!! Dalton was diagnosed with the same cancer Aaron died from in May of 06. He has been on chemo every since but they just found out that the chemo he has been on isn't cleaning up the bone marrow. Thank GOD they are at a place whos logo is a we NEVER give up HOPE!!!! I will never forget when we first heard about Dalton and Cookie(a very wonderful singer/guitar player at OSF) came in and told Dalton, Pam, and Me HOPE is all you need NEVER GIVE UP HOPE!!!! Well seems we really need that right now along with GOD and ALL the PRAYERS we can get!!!! Basically he is 100% full of cancer on the left side and 50% on the right of his bone marrow. That is not good as he was suppose to start Transplant as of Monday 26th but that is when the family got the news they never expected. I tried to tell Pam I got that news too but we did the chemo and it worked and he was still able to get the transplant. So please join me in prayer for my sister Pam and Dalton that things head in the right direction with this harsh chemo.

Also please pray for my other sister Sue. I love her so much and well honestly she is going through alot right now too and I know the more prayers warriors we have praying the better off we are. I can't go into details right now but I will when we find out what is totally going on. But at this point I am not to happy with the news. Just PRAY!!!!

Well like I said not such good news but with GOD on our side how can we go wrong???? I know some of you are saying WOW why does this family have to go through so much but well honestly GOD has everything worked out and everything is done in perfect timing!!!!

Oh yeah I almost forgot to mention the Doc(Dr. Mac) from the Peoria Affiliate here at home officially retired this last weekend. WOW what an experience. It was so awesome to see so many families I haven't seen since Aaron stopped treatment. But also so sad to see so many without thier children too. It was hard but yet bittersweet. Most didn't realize I have another family member going through this again but WOW!!! I gave DOC a couple scrapbook pages of Aaron, his brother, and myself and then a page with Aaron and Zach in Disney World Aaron's last BIG trip. I also thought that wasn't enough so I made a shadow box with one of Aaron's boots in it and a mini motorcycle and a picture of Aaron that says Our LiL Superhero Forever, and Thanks DOC. I don't quite know if he really like it or not but everyone else did. Everyone loved it and some even cried but I just couldn't resist. But I have one boot left for me and well it was hard enought doing this one I will have to wait to do my shadow box but its gonna have to be way way bigger!!!!

Well talk to you all very very soon. Please keep the guestbook entries coming and prayers too.

Missing Our LiL Superhero Forever,

Marilyn

Aaron mommy misses you and loves you so much. I'm going to try to work on your memorial garden this weekend in front of the house. It needs cleaned. Only the best for you my lil superhero. LOVE AND MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY!!!!

Friday, March 9, 2007 10:05 PM CST

OK OK OK I hear everyone!!!! We here are all fine. What a delay in updates but well as you all know with Aaron not being here not alot of daily news to let you all know about.

The boys are keeping me more and more busy. Andre'e had his first "girlfriend" and you talk about having a heart attack. Well from what I understand its harder on mom's than dad's. Dad's take it as a macho thing mom's take it to heart. I wasn't real happy with it but its over now so I am cool with it. It's not that I don't want my babies to grow up but well I don't..... I'm sure any mommy's with sons reading this understand all to well what I am saying. As for Antavious well he is still trucking along. It is really funny that he looks so much like me and acts so much like me too. I just love having my babies here with me all the time but I sure miss Aaron. The other night I was getting ready to fall asleep and of course you all know I sleep with my bear that has his voice in it and all the sudden it goes off that just tugs at my heartstrings. But I really feel it's Aaron's way of letting me know he is here with us and he loves and misses his mommy as much as she misses and loves him.

I have enrolled in school at ICC our local college to start back to school for Nursing. But have run into a bump in the road. I applied for finacial aid and they denied me because I have exceeded the max amount of hours at that school. I was a little well actually alot pissed off but I of all people know its all in GOD's timing. So I have started the appeal process and hopefully that works to my advantage. I got loads of experience with Aaron being sick and all and well honestly I loved being in the medical field and can't wait to give back just a portion of what was given to our family. I hope to specialize in Peds or oncology. I loved working on Peds at St. Francis but when Aaron was little he was really sick so I had to stop working for a while to care for him and now since his death in 2004 I have kinda been taking a break but now I totally feel ready to get back on the ban wagon and go back to school. I know many have heard me talk about this but I totally feel its time. I am so excited and can hardly wait. I know I will make a AWESOME nurse someday. Well if anyone has an idea how to get financial aid or scholarships or grants please email me at stjudemomma74@aol.com. I want to keep working at the bank while going to school but we will see what happens with that too.

As for Grandma she is doing really good. Her illnesses this winter have been alot better and her asthma hasn't given her as many fits either. She wasn't real happy with work but you know how GOD works and he has it all planned out.

As many of you know my nephew is battling the exact same cancer Aaron died from. Also many of you know that the older you are the worse it is. Well Dalton is such a fighter just like Aaron was and well please keep him and his family in your prayers as he heads to transplant sometime the end of this month. I know all to well how horrible this nasty cancer is and well I totally feel for my sister and my nephew and just want everyone to keep them in your prayers.

Well hopefully this will work for an update for now hopefully I can manage to update alot sooner. I hate keeping everyone in suspense so long!!!!:)

Loving and Missing my Baby Baby,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

P.S. As much as the tally goes up at the bottom of the page I hope you all can leave just a little message in the guestbook. I LOVE and MISS hearing from all of you too!!!!

Friday, December 29, 2006 10:25 AM CST

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to EVERYONE!!!!

Wow hard to believe Aaron has been in Heaven 3 Christmas's now. My mom was getting an ordament made for Aaron for the tree and was having them put happy 2nd year in Heaven but I had to remind her it was his 3rd year in Heaven. We went to his grave on Christmas and wow it was hard seeing all those babies that have died and knowing how much they are missed here on earth but they have complete healing in Heaven with Jesus. Mom and I decided to put a spread on Aaron's grave next year so if anyone wants to help we are collecting superhero ordaments for his Christmas spread for next year. I think it will be really cool to see Aaron all decked out with his SUPERHEROES all around him. This Christmas was really hard so many emotions. I just kept wishing I could give Aaron presents to unwrap. Lord knows he loved presents and gifts of course we can't forget money he loved money. He would have made out like a bandit this year because the boys got loads of money from family this year. I keep telling them they have more money than mommy. Well as hard as Christmas was it is awesome to know Aaron is completely healed and cancer free!!!! But I still miss him sooooo much.

Well the boys are sure enjoying being out of school. They have went to the movies, went bowling played their new games they got for Christmas and well just hung out with each other. Grandma has been working and hanging out with the boys. Well and I have been working working and more working. Banks sure are busy during the holidays so it has been CRAZY!!!! But keeping me busy is a GOOD thing. Keeps my mind from wandering!!!!

Well thats about it hope you all have a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR and remember to pray for all the kids healthy and sick.

Super Mommy

Tuesday December 19, 2006 10:56am

Just finished reading Zach's website(www.caringbridge.org/il/zachallen) and found this touching note in the guestbook thought I would share it with each of you. Hope it touches you the same way it touched me!!!!(sniff sniff)

Twas the Night before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse, The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, But to many children's stockings will be missing this year,

These children are heaven's ^i^Angels^i^ all snug up in their beds, Their parents can only dream of them dancing in their heads, These children all fought hard battles and stood strong, So why oh why did they have to leave our homes,

Whether it be from Cancer, Bad Hearts, Bad Livers or Damaged Lungs, getting stuck with Needles, having Surgeries, and Chemo, Then there's the Central Lines and Transplants to Checking their Counts, And it changes and shatters so many of our lives, We new in a moment they might fall a sleep and to start a New Journey being Pain free,

God spoke not a word and went straight to work, As he new he would be there to fill our Angels Hearts with Peace, Comfort and Love, And up from above the Angels did rise soaring through Heaven on a Magical Ride,

These little ^i^Angels^i^ soaring so high are the stars in the night lighting up our skies, Each with a name and they shine so bright, First there's Navada, Max, Kadin, and Gage, along with Shelby then there's, Skyler, Cassidy, and Jake, then comes AARON with ZACH and oh just to many to name... So lets Please oh Please find some cures so our Little ^i^Angels^i^ wont have to soar up up and away to leave us to morn,

Before our ^i^Angels^i^ soared out of sight, I heard them all exclaim "Happy Christmas To All, And To All A Good-Night, And Lets Not Forget To Keep Fighting This Fight In Finding The Cures We So Desperately Need!"

By: Sue Jeffries

HEY HEY HEY Everyone!!!!

Well we are nearing Aaron's cuddle for compassion day tomorrow. I have mixed emotions. I really love spending this day with those that helped us soooo much. But yet it's just not the same without Aaron there too. He loved this day the most. Why you all are asking???? Well he got to sit all day and read books and wear his superhero jammies and of course hang out at school all day that way. I will be wearing orange and purple jammies tomorrow and Grandma will be wearing cloud jammies. The orange and purple signify Aaron's favorite colors and the clouds signify where Aaron is now. I will never forget him telling me his final day on earth mommy there are not streets of gold and you can't swim all day there are only clouds up there and we get to play in them all day long. I sure miss him and that squeeky voice and toothless grin. Well if any of you are home tomorrow or Sunday don't forget to wear your jammies in honor of Aaron and him celebrating his 2nd year in Heaven with Jesus His bestest friend. I would love to hear from everyone that join's us in wearing jammies this weekend.

The boys and I will be at Aaron's grave Sunday to release balloons to him superheroes and orange and purple of course. So if anyone else wants to honor him by sending balloons that would be GREAT. I know he touched soooo many people and this would be a GREAT way to honor him on his 2nd special entrance into heaven day.

We all are doing ok but the weather here has been terrible. The roads have been crazy since the snow storm and well honestly all I could do was think of Aaron the day it snowed and how much he wanted to play in the snow before he died. He was way to sick to be outside playing in it so we sent the brothers out to make snow angels for him he really got a kick out of that we took pictures that will last a lifetime. Well anyway hope you all are doing ok talk to you all very soon.

HAPPY 2nd Year in Heaven Aaron We all MISS You,

Mommy/Marilyn

Wednesday, November 22, 2006 9:22 AM CST

Well A VERY VERY Happy Thanksgiving to each and everyone of you!!!!

I know Aaron would love to be eating some of Grandma's turkey and famous homemade bread!!!! This year seems like everything is a first for our family(or should I say me). Last year was kinda a blurr but this year everything is really hitting home and hitting hard. I sure miss hearing from everyone. I know Aaron sooooo looked forward to getting real mail but me I really looked forward to getting guestbook entries. I sure miss hearing from everyone and hope all of you have a great THANKSGIVING!!!!

I know I have many things to be totally grateful for and I am but boy do I miss Aaron. I still can't bring myself to go through the garage yet. Hopefully in December I can start it looks like a tornado hit it but I knew in time I would totally be able to go through everything.

I wanted to remind everyone that Friday December 8th is Aaron's annual cuddle for campassion day at Northmoor School. I will be there along with the boys for the entire day wearing our jammies and reading with all the kids. Hopefully some of Aaron's favorites. We are sooooo excited to be there that place was one of his favorites in the end. He would go read in Mrs. Wood's office faithfully everyday sick or not he wanted to cuddle up with bear and read sometimes he would read every book there was in her office. It was funny because he loved reading one book about Arthur we read it soooo much that he ended up reading it to Mrs. Wood and me we were sooooo proud of him. I know he kept a smile on my face and I am sure he does the same for her. I sure miss those precious moments but that is totally what keeps me going most days the faith and strength of Aaron man what he taught me in just six short years. WOW wonder if I can touch as many lives as he has before I make my way to HEAVEN!!!!

Well gotta get going hope to hear from everyone soon!!!! Please continue to keep Dalton(my nephew) in your prayers as he continues treatment between Memphis and here.

Wishing I could be eating Turkey with All My Babies,

Marilyn Mommy to 3 Amazing Boys

Monday, November 6, 2006 1:31 PM CST

I can just hear Aaron singing his mommy Happy Birthday MOMMY I WOV u soooo much to infinity and beyond.

Well about time I update Halloween is totally over and thank goodness. It was a holiday I know Aaron loved because he loved dressing up even when it wasn't Halloween!!! Most of you can remember he was about 3 superheroes a day usually. He had his favorites usually it was Superman, Spiderman, Batman or the Ninja Turtles sometimes Power Rangers. Man I sure miss that lil buger. I went by St Jude affilate a week ago it was really nice to see everyone. Doc pretty much kicked me out of the office. He said isn't it time for you to leave yet!!!! I sure miss all of them dearly but it sure was great therapy. Now that they have my new address I hope to hear from them more often.

Well now for some BIG GREAT BIG NEWS no I am not pregnant LOL no i'm not getting married!!!! Drum roll please.... I have decided to step down from my ABM position. When Aaron first passed away I really needed a job that would keep my stress level pretty high and my friends from Chase knew just the job for me. Well now that it is going on 2 years it is time for me to stop having such a high stress level job and feel a lil normal. Most of you would or could never understand what I am saying but I am soooo very grateful for GOD blessing me with such GREAT friends and family who have helped me along these past few years during Aaron sickness and his death. Now I must move on and go back to doing what I love NURSING taking care of the sick and having a rewarding job. One Aaron allowed me to learn more about than I would have ever learned in school. I am going to be working at the Knoxville Branch still with Chase full time as a Lead Teller which is way less stressful and then hopefully be going back to school in August of 07. I am just starting to get things lined up right now so hopefully I can start in August. I know I will be needing some refresher courses but for the most part hopefully it should only take me a year to complete my goal and be a nurse helping families like mine.

I just had the boys parent teacher conferences and they are doing pretty good in school. They could be doing alot better but at least they have decent grades. Andre'e could have even made the honor roll but he hates Spanish and is getting an F in that class. Antavious just needs to apply himself a little more and he could be doing alot better. I know at their ages I was kinda the same way. But at least I loved school but they don't they HATE school. But in time maybe they will like it again. I know when I got to High School I really loved it because I had more freedom but we will see because if they are not forming good habits now they won't when they are older. We will see.

As for mom(grandma) she is doing good she is now volunteering at Northmoor Edison on Wednesday's and loving being with all the staff and kids again. We sure miss Northmoor but are forever GRATEFUL for all their love and support now and ALWAYS!!!!

Well hopefully it won't be so long between updates again and don't forget to sign the guestbook I really LOVE hearing from everyone.

MISSING MY SUPERHERO FOREVER,

Marilyn

P.S. Please keep Dalton in your prayers he is inpatient for Chemo this week.

Saturday, October 7, 2006 11:30 AM CDT

Happy October to all....

I forgot to let everyone know LiL Andre'e had a birthday on October 1st he turned the BIG 13. Oh my how time flies when you are having soooo much fun. You talk about making someone feel OLD!!!! Nah I don't feel old. Honestly I believe you are only as old as you feel and honestly I feel like a teenager LOL!!!!

Well just wanted to give everyone an update on the boys and let you all know thank you for all your support and prayers. This past week I had the boys tested for Neuroblastoma the same cancer Aaron had and well guess what PRAISE the LORD the urine results were NEGATIVE!!!! So needless to say I was very happy about that. Lord knows I don't think I could handle another child sick. But the doctor is sending both boys to see a genitics(sp?) doctor to see if this kind of cancer can be spread to the boys kids. Especially since we had 2 in the same family with the same cancer. Also they are FINALLY sending Antavious to see a urologist(pee pee) doctor because he is still having problems with wetting the bed and we have tried EVERYTHING!!!! So we will see what they say this time. So pray that everything goes well during that visit. Hopefully they will be seeing those doctors by next month some time. They are still claiming the boys are overweight. But honestly they are active but they have always been above average on the growth charts. So honestly I hate hearing that but I know it must be said. LiL Andre'e is 5ft 7in already and Antavious is 5ft. BIG BIG boys. But honestly I wouldn't have it any other way at least everyone knows they are healthy. Someone said to me the other day what do you feed those boys. I said well you know SPINACH gotta keep them STRONG!!!!

Well as for Grandma she is doing good. Still LOVING working 2 days a week. MUST BE NICE!!!! As for me I am just taking it day by day. Last night I begged GOD to see my baby one more time. I sure miss him and can hardly believe that it will be 2 years this December since he has been gone. Everyday it seems I hear or see a kid that reminds me of him or something he did. I just have to keep reminding myself Aaron is way better off in HEAVEN with his bestest friend JESUS. CANCER FREE!!!! Man to only see him that way again. I can hardly wait but trust me glad I have 2 other precious sons to keep me BUSY!!!!

Well continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Please also pray for my sister Pam who's son Dalton is still getting treatment at St. Jude. And please pray for my nephew Brandon who is going through some health problems. Thanks again for all your support and prayers they keep us going EVERYDAY!!!!

Don't forget to sign the GUESTBOOK your support and comments mean alot to me!!!!

Mommy To 3 AMAZING Boys,

Marilyn

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 9:25 AM CDT

WELL HAPPY DAY TO ALL!!!!!

Just wanted to fill everyone in on some things that have really been on my heart lately. The first year after Aaron passed away was hard but this year has been even harder!!!! As many of you can tell by reading the entries and by seeing me things this year have been really rough not only for myself but for people understanding why ain't I over this yet!!!! Honestly you NEVER just get over it the pain and heartache never goes away you just learn to live with it. Kinda like when you are first told your child has cancer and your wondering when will things get back to normal well they are normal just a new normal for you and your family one no one will ever understand until they have walked your path. I mean don't get me wrong I would not wish cancer on my worst enemy but until you have walked this path please don't judge us. I was talking to Nikki Zach's mom and we were talking about how angry we get at things that are said and people just don't realize and how everyone around us is going on with day to day life and how it seems ours is just sitting still. It isn't fair but yet being this is my second year without Aaron I have gotten kinda over the comments. Basically what I am trying to say is please don't forget about us or our children we want to be NORMAL again the OLD normal but life without our babies is sooooo hard and the only one who can bring us through it is GOD and support from our friends and family. I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to Northmoor Edison for not forgetting my baby. I went there yesterday and WOW to see all the pictures of Aaron all over the school to know his legacy will never die with Northmoor and the staff and families. I can hardly wait to be at the school all day on December 8th for our annual cuddle for compassion day those families and staff are AWESOME!!!! Thanks for all the staff who took the time to listen to me talk and ramble yesterday and for asking how things are going. All of you will always be part of our family. I miss everyone and hope to come back around soon. Hopefully the boys will be with me on the 8th they really want to come visit everyone too. Well enough about me and how hard this is.

The boys get their progress reports today from school and so we will see how hard they are working at school today. It seems from what they say they are doing pretty good but of course there is always that one subject they are lacking in :( But with help from mommy and grandma i'm sure they will get on the right track. Grandma is doing good and loves only working 2 days a week. She talked to me last night about volunteering at Northmoor one day a week. I know everyone there would love that. She said its her time to give back what they gave to our family.

Well thanks as always for all your support and prayers and please keep them coming. Please pray for all the families who's children are battleing and who have WON their battle.

Thankful for AWESOME Family and Friends Like ALL of YOU!!!!

Marilyn

Friday, September 1, 2006 12:04 AM CDT

Well long time no hear from!!!!

Well needless to say it has been much better for me but honestly not for my family. My sister Pam Dalton's mom has been having problems with her health my sister Tina has been in trouble and of course a guy my sister Sue use to date killed himself. Needless to say things have been kinda hectic this week. But by the GRACE of GOD the boys mom and I are doing good. I feel much better now I went to a good doctor he was totally AWESOME and honestly told me exactly what I needed to hear. He is a believer and honestly I think GOD was speaking right through him to me. It was totally amazing. On Tuesday I start counseling once a week for 6 weeks. We will see how that goes. I also met a really nice guy who was a wonderful friend to me for many years now. He was a friend of mine that loved Aaron and the boys just as much as I do. It has been really nice to have a friend to talk to who kinda understands and listens just someone who I can physically talk to. Last night he came over and I went through all Aaron's pictures and we talked about how chubby he use to be and how funny he was. Way more mature for his age and wiser than I by far. It was really nice to have someone's shoulder to cry on and lean on he kinda knew Aaron from the time he was born and actually use to come over and play with the boys all the time while they were little so he really knows.

Well anyway the boys are doing good so far at school. No news from teachers means GOOD news and honestly the boys are very very well behaved but doing homework and school work is a different story. But so far they are being very responsible and I love helping them do their best. Last night Antavious said man I just wish I didn't have to go to school tomorrow and then I reminded him that he was gonna have a three day weekend so hey it's only one more day and three days off. Then I also told him if I had to work from 8am to 7pm tomorrow then the least he could do was go for a few hours LOL!!!! He just looked down and said yeah I know Mom. LOL!!!!! Well Mom is doing good at her job but I guess they are totally expanding the waiting area at work and now the waiting room will seat over 130 people man could you imagine trying to meet all the needs of those patients and families. I mean don't get me wrong at work I see more people than that in a day but still to have that many families in a waiting room waiting to hear about their loved ones coming at you from every direction that would be a challenge. But knowing my mom and how much she loves her job plus she only works 2 days a week she will be ok with whatever happens. Mom being a people person and all!!!!

Well nothing really new to report but just miss hearing from everyone. I mean hello I know Aaron's gone but I honestly check this website almost everyday and see the tally going up up up and only 1 or 2 guestbooks signings a month. I am challenging everyone who reads this and I know there are alot of you to either leave a message even saying hi or give Aaron a hug at the link above. I know you all still care about all of us and we care about you all too but I really miss hearing from everyone!!!!

Thanking GOD For Blessing Me with Three Wonderful Boys,

Marilyn

Wednesday, August 16, 2006 11:58 AM CDT

I know long time no hear from!!!!

Sorry for the delay in updating but honestly I was really really sick. Lots going on first got sun poisioning again and had it really really bad this time along with being allergic to sun screen. It was not very fun. On top of that I went into a total state of depression. I didn't come out of my room for a week it was really really bad. I went to work and couldn't even begin to tell you what I did at work much less what I said or who I talked to. It was really really bad. The weekend of the telethon I was suppose to take the boys to Chicago and couldn't even do that. I was at home crying all night of the telethon and then had people calling asking where I was and I couldn't even talk to anyone. I broke out with hives because of my nerves that night it was really bad. I am just now finally feeling a lil better today. I hope all of you read the article from the Journal Star it was really a AWESOME article(Thanks Matt). When I was talking to Matt that was when some of this was going on and it was really really hard. I just don't know what to do now that I honestly finally broke down about Aaron passing away. Mom told me she was worried about me because she just knew I had never really broke down yet and I was like yes I have but to be quite honest I guess I never really did. But it is a feeling I don't wish upon anyone. I think everything that has happened in our family recently has sparked this and well here I was all worried about the boys and them breaking down and now look who has the break down. I almost went to my big boss and asked for some time off work till I could get past this. But so far things are getting back on the right track. I was just talking to one of my co-workers and he and I agree that just maybe I really just need to get a good physical and let the doctors(a good one) know whats going on and see what they say. So guess I better get hunting for a good doctor in my plan so I can see exactly whats going on.

Well enough about all my drama. The boys are offically ready for school now. They have their school supplies(thanks Steve, Aunt Sue, Aunt Pam, and Grandma Hunter), I am getting their shoes this weekend and they have their uniforms all ready to go. I have started having them go to bed at 10pm this week to get them ready for school to start but when I get ready for bed and go check on them they are still up watching tv. I guess I have to make them unplug their tv's for the rest of the week because school is just around the corrner and lord knows it will be hard enough to get them up and ready when school starts. Today the boys went with Grandma Donna and Uncle Willard to the zoo. They just called me a lil while ago and said they had fun. Now they are headed home to go play in the hose for an hour or so. They are growing leaps and bounds most people can't believe lil Andre'e is taller than me now and I am 5ft 9 1/2in so I am guessing he is around 6 ft now he is also in a size 13 shoe now hard to believe my babies are growing up. Antavious is wearing a size 9 shoe now and well he is growing up sooooo much. Handsome as ever they both are.

Well thanks for checking in on us and hope to hear from all of you VERY VERY soon!!!!

Taking it Day by Day,

Marilyn Mommy to 3 Wonderful Big Boys

Sunday, July 23, 2006 11:05 PM CDT

Hey there everyone!!!!!

Well just wanted to update everyone and let you all know Dalton is out of the hospital now and sounds like he had a BLAST today with the Bikers. I will never forget the day they gave Aaron his vest. Aaron wore that vest proudly. I still have that awesome vest and Aaron's lil red boots he wore faithfully to have chemo at St. Jude here in Peoria. Sounds like Dalton will be home sometime next week and then will be starting high dose chemo on the following Monday. So please keep him in your prayers as he continues treatment here in Peoria. Also on August 12, 2006 Dalton is having a benefit to help with the costs and expenses in Astoria, IL the benefit will be going on all day long at the local Fire Station. If anyone wants to come you are more that welcome.

Well it has been really hard for me lately. I sure miss Aaron more than words could ever express. I usually do really good and when I talk about him I do it proudly. But lately it has been really hard people can see the pain in my eyes and then I end up crying. Today I was watching the Step Mom and man the tears started flowing. I was eating a bowl of cereal and they start flowing man is it getting hard. I thought I was doing really well. But lately it has been hitting me and hitting me hard. The local St. Jude telethon is coming up on the 5th of August but the boys, Grandma, and I will be in Chicago seeing Seuscial the Musical. We are exciting to be doing something together as a family. I can never make enough memories with my BABIES!!!! I made many with Aaron and its hard to make them without him but I know he is watching down over us saying WOW look at my mommy and my brothers. See here the tears come flowing again.

Well I have more to say but can't see to type through the tears so I will talk to you all soon.

REALLY REALLY REALLY MISSING MY LIL SUPERHERO FOREVER AARON,

Marilyn & The Brothers

Saturday, July 8, 2006 11:50 PM CDT

July 10, 2006 7:02pm

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY IN HEAVEN OUR LIL SUPERHERO FOREVER AARON!!!!!

Well today has been one of my worst days yet. I don't think I have cried this much since Aaron passed away. I can usually talk all about Aaron without crying but today has been very very emotional. Mom called me when she got to work and told me how much of a great time she had at Aaron's grave just hearing his name made me cry. So today the boys and I went to purchase Aaron's Grave Marker. He can't have a big headstone because he is in baby land at the cemetary so he has a big brick that lays in the ground. For those of you that have a hard time finding him it will be much easier in about 2 months. It is very precious something to remind us of what a WONDERFUL SUPERHERO he is. I will take a picture and put it on here for all of you to see. Today we sang Happy Birthday to Aaron and sent him his Superhero balloons and of cours orange(which turned out to be yellow) and purple balloons and of course we sent Zoie who passed away on Aaron's birthday 2 years ago a big PINK one with YELLOW string. Guess what all the balloons went to heaven none got stuck in trees this year they all floated up up up and away right to Aaron and Zoie. Well from the grave we went to BAVANTIS to eat at Aaron's favorite resturant we even went to the only one he liked the one on Main St. Didn't see any familiar faces but still brought back many many memories it was hard to eat while crying. I know Aaron was looking down saying hey mom don't forget my spaghetti with meatballs and garlic bread(which was regular bread to him). Man I sure MISS my baby soooooo much.

Well I also forgot to mention that tomorrow is Dalton's BIG surgery to remove his tumor. The same doctor that did Aaron's is doing Dalton's I know between GOD and Dr. Davidoff Dalton is in GREAT hands. The surgery is expected to last between 6-8 hours. Pam will be updating his website tomorrow so be sure to check the link below to hear the latest. Well please just pray for our entire family as this week is one that will be very trying and very very hard. Also before I go I have one more special prayer request please join me in praying for Zach's family as they are going through some very difficult times and especially remember them on September 13th I know that is a ways away but it doesn't hurt to make your request known EARLY just please pray for them faithfully everyday.

Well thanks as always for your support and signing the guestbook. I really love hearing from everyone especially on a day like today. Please keep the prayers coming and talk to you all very soon.

Missing My Baby Now More than Ever,

Marilyn

HEY HEY HEY Everyone!!!!

Well the boys and I made it home safe and sound from our LiL vacation. We went to Springfield, IL to Knights Action Park. I am totally sun burned. It hurts really bad the boys had a blast. It was really nice to spend some much needed quality time with them. It was hard too because I could see Aaron in everything we did. Aaron loved the water and loved water parks. The entire time on the lazy river I kept talking to Aaron in my quiet moments saying I know you would love this and Mommy misses you soooo much. I must have said some things out loud because even LiL Andre'e said your right mom Aaron would love this. They don't really talk much about Aaron but in times like this I know they miss having their lil brother around. Tonight for some reason(thanks PBL) has been one of my breakdown nights. I miss Aaron soooooo much more than I could ever express to anyone. I know he is way better off in Heaven but I sure miss that toothless grin. I am very thankful to GOD for allowing me to have 2 other boys to keep me company and keep me on my toes. Andre'e and Antavious are wonderful boys and brothers. On Monday we are going to release balloons to Aaron and Zoie(LiL Angel). Aaron will be turning 8 in Heaven that day and Zoie will be celebrating her second year in Heaven. It is really hitting me now what all I am missing out on in Aaron's life. I talked with Nikki Zach's mom today and talking with her I realize all the "boy" things I will miss with Aaron but yet like I said before GOD gave me two other precious boys to make those wonderful memories with. I miss Our LiL Superhero Forever SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much. Well sorry for being a bummer but Monday is gonna be a really hard day and today is just the start of the pain all over again.

MISSING MY BABY,

Marilyn

Aaron Mommy misses you and just know the balloons we send up to you are for you to SHARE!!!! There will be plenty to go around for you and all your friends.

As I reflect back to our days at St Jude I can hardly believe how many parents are going through what we are. I know GOD has a special place in his BIG Heart for kids but WOW does he have some pretty AMAZING angels up there.

Saturday, July 1, 2006 10:33 AM CDT

Well I made it home safe and sound. HOME SWEET HOME!!!! You know being in New York reminds me of all the time we spent in Memphis. It amazes me how different states can be soooo many worlds apart. I had fun but really glad its all over TOTALLY glad to be home with my boys and spending QUALITY time with my babies. Last night we went to see this new Superman Returns oh my goodness that was a very very long movie 2 hours and 45 minutes long..... I feel asleep once but that wasn't bad usually I fall asleep for the whole movie. I should have waited until I had more rest but its ok. At least I catch up on some rest tomorrow. I am at work today until 3pm and then off tomorrow then work monday from 8:30-7pm then I am on vacation until the 12th. Lord knows I need a vacation I really want to spend some major quality time with my babies. I sure missed them. We are heading to Springfield to Knights Action Park for a couple days and hopefully will get to catch a few drive in shows there we have never done that. Oh yeah guess who will be turning 8 on the 10th of July Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron. I am gonna do another balloon launch from our back yard and put balloons at his grave that day so if anyone wants to join us in relasing balloons to Aaron for his birthday I would love to hear from you I don't really have a time in mind but I know he loved his Superheroes so that is what will be sent up to him. Well just wanted to let everyone know I made it home safe and things are going good around the home front talk to you all soon.

GLAD TO BE IN MY OWN BED,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever and 2 of the best brothers Andre'e and Antavious

P.S. Please continue to pray for Zach's family as they continue to go through difficult days and also remember my nephew Dalton as he will be having surgery on the 11th of July. He is now loosing his hair too.(check his website out the link is below)

Tuesday, June 27, 2006 7:46 AM CDT

HEY HEY HEY!!!!

Guess where I am???? RAINY New York!!!! Well guess I fill everyone in on how my trip is going. On Thursday my travel day it was a nightmare. I was suppose to catch a flight from Peoria at 11:30 am but the flight was canceled due to bad weather. So then I was suppose to get on the 2:30 flight well that flight was canceled. So then I was suppose to get the 5:30 flight well that one came through so I caught that one to Chicago O'Hare. Well when I got to Chicago I had a 2 hour layover for the flight to New York. Basically I got into New York around 11:30pm central 10:30 our time. That flight stuff is a total nightmare. I hope to NEVER go through this again(with the flights that is). Well on Friday I arrived at the branch and this is a HUGE branch. They have 13 teller and 40 work stations. I thought they would do the conversion on Saturday like we did but nope they started it on Friday late afternoon. I got here at 8am and left at 12:30pm. Man what a LONG day. Well on Saturday I had to be here at 8am and we worked until 5:30pm. Another long day. I went out to eat and to a mall with 6 other Chase employees from Texas and Chicago. It was really nice. On Sunday we were off work so we went to see some of the sites. First the Statue of Liberty. Where it pored on us so went went and bought ponchos which right after paying 5.00 for it completely stopped raining. Imagine that!!! It was really cool though seeing it in person. I will be back later to update more I have to give up my computer right now so be back later to give you more details.

NEW YORK STYLE

Marilyn Mommy 3 WONDERFUL Boys

1:40pm central 6/27/06

Ok i'm back wow was that a crazy time. Let me just say it is totally crazy here at this branch. I am working at a branch that the employees are either Chinese, Japanese or Koren but they do speak English but mostly speak those languages. Anyway back to how much fun we had Sunday. After leaving the Statue of Liberty we went to the old World Trade Center or 9-11 as they call it WOW now that was totally breath taking. I was crying it brought back soooo many memories. Not just of all those families went through but also Aaron Our LiL Superhero Forever. I was thinking how much those families must be going through and how hard it would be to see that everyday. Well after that emotional time we went to Canal St. now that was an experience people selling everything out of a bag or suitcase. If a cop came by they grabbed up everything and went off running. It was kinda comical. From there we went to Chinatown. Now I loved that everything you could imagine they called it knock offs. I got purses that looked like the real thing but not for dirt cheap. I also got t-shirts 6 for $10.00 how cool is that I also got key chains 5 for $3.00. From there we went to Little Italy that was nice and it was funny to see people trying to convence you to eat at their resturant. From there off to So Ho. Then the best place I have been yet Time Square. That was totally AWESOME. We are going back there tonight. I even went to MTV Studio, Toys R Us, ABC Studios, don't worry I took plenty of pictures. Tonight I am going to go the Hersey's Chocolate store that will be fun. Everything here is HUGE. From there off to Central Park. Then back to the hotel. Well honestly that was really a very tiring day. We figured we walked between 5-6 miles. Man and I almost forgot to talk about the Subway. Now that was a joke. Stanky, HOT, muggy yucky. I have seen stuff on tv about New York and seen movies about people playing instruments but now I have seen it in real life. The subway was really messed up I guess they are reconstructing it and so on the weekends they reroute all the trains and so basically we were jumping from train to train most of the morning we left at 8am and got back to the hotel at 9pm very long day but well worth it to see things I know I will never see again. Last night I just hung out at the hotel and tonight I am going back to Time Square and walk around. Well guess I will go for now. The boys sure miss their mommy thats for sure we talk alot everyday. Today they are going with their old teachers out for a fun day I know they are going to love that. Back when Aaron was still alive and was soooo sick their teachers took them out and they got a big kick out of it. So hopefully it will be the same for them. Thanks Miss Grierson and Mrs. Grunow you two are the GREATEST!!!! Talk to you all soon now that I have internet.

A NEW YORKER NOW,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron and The GREATEST boys Andre'e & Antavious

Saturday, June 10, 2006 12:31 AM CDT

Hey Hey Hey EVERYONE!!!!!

I am seeing alot of people checking the website by the numbers going up but no one is signing in. I guess everyone is waiting to hear word about my nephew. Well I have put the link directly to his website below. My sister updates usually daily. They will be home for a week starting this evening. I am very very saddened by this but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that GOD will provide. I do worry about this happening to another family member because now this is 2 in one family with the same cancer and they were very adament about how this would NEVER happen in the same family with this cancer. So basically ALL the grandkids are getting tested and that itself is only 80-85ccurate. So hopefully next week I will be getting the boys tested just to rule it out with them. I know in some peoples mind this is far fetched but in my mind I still have to rule it out. I am not claiming this by any means but still I want to know to rule it out.

Other than all this drama we have more drama Yes I know MORE drama. I was in the hospital since 3am this morning with my mom and got home around 7am this morning. She had a TB skin test for work yesterday and was having some major pain shooting down her right arm kinda like stroke stuff going on but she knew it wasn't that. You talk about majorly worried man I am almost sick with worry. Lord knows my MOTHER is my ROCK!!!! Honestly I haven't talked much about all the things going on with her because I didn't want to lay all my burdens on this site but it is some scary stuff going on with her and honestly it seems about every 2 years something horrible happens in my family and I am just about sick of it. GOD doesn't give us more than we can handle and I must really really have some broad heavy shoulders to carry all this.

Well on the GOOD side of things I have applied for the Branch Manager position here at the bank. Right now I am the Assistant Manager and really love what I do. But this is totally a step up and would be really nice make more and still kinda do the same thing. Right now I am more operations but being Manager I would be more sales. I love learing new things and of course in any job you learn something new EVERY day!!!! I am also heading to NEW YORK on the 22nd and can hardly wait. It is for work I will be helping with the Chase conversion I will not be updating until I get back on the 30th. I will update hopefully before I leave with any new news. Also Miss Grierson if you read this please call me on my cell I would love for you to take the boys for a day while i'm gone to do something fun!!!!

The boys are growing like weeds. Their dad is laid off right now so he has been spending much more time with them which is much needed because I have been working much more lately to make up all the hours I missed here at work. I am soooo happy mom is only working 2 days a week because they have someone home with them during the day while I work. Antavious is going to summer school this summer but I told him if he did good them him and I would do something really fun. I had to do that because Andre'e was making fun of him for having to go to summer school but honestly Andre'e needed to go to but it wasn't offered to him. But we are buying work books for Andre'e to practice with all summer. Antavious is going to do great this summer and be really ready for next school year. Antavious will be in 5th grade and Andre'e in 6th YIPPY boy are they getting BIGGGGGGG!!!!!

Well thats just about all the news to report for the last few weeks. Just please continue to keep us lifted up in prayer and remember Zach's family and Dalton's family too.

Asking God to Carry My Burdens,

Marilyn Mommy to 3 AMAZING Boys

Friday, May 26, 2006 9:19 PM CDT

Well honestly I am TOTALLY at a loss for words right now. Between Zachary Allen WINNING his battle and earning his wings with Neuroblastoma today and finding out my nephew does indeed have Neuroblastoma stage 4. Well it's just been one of those days. Basically Dalton has one golf ball size tumor on his adrenal gland(thank GOD) and his bone marrow is full and some of his bones have neuroblastoma in them too. They are only giving him a 30urvival rate. But honestly there is still HOPE and GOD!!!! The things against him are his age 12 and this HORRIBLE cancer. The things for him are GOD GOD GOD and PRAYERS PRAYERS PRAYERS!!!! And we all know with that ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!!!! I am hoping Dalton will have his own website soon and I will put a link to it on here. St. Jude will be doing genitics testing soon. This has only happened one other time down here in Memphis years and years and years ago. I know many of you read this website we need this ENTIRE family lifted up in prayer and on as many prayer chains as possible. I am heading back to Peoria tomorrow early but just wanted to let everyone know what was going on and also wanted you all to know I will keep you informed as much as possible.

I am sure many of you are wondering how I am holding up honestly I was doing GREAT until hearing about Zach that really honestly you know its coming but it still ALWAYS comes as a shock. My heart is hurting so much for Nikki, John, and Kylee honestly I know first hand no words help but having family and friends is what they need right now. I wanted people around but yet wanted to be alone and crawl in a hole kinda like I do now. I am going over to visit with Nikki and her family as soon as I get home tomorrow. I am totally wondering if what a friend told me is true that telling Aaron's story is my calling. I mean I know I can't leave the bank but something to do on the side to help other parents and families going through this same thing and maybe lead more people to GOD just like Our LiL Superhero Aaron did. Well that may be where that famous BOOK comes in to play everyone wanted me and mom to write.

Well anyway I better get off here and go eat I got sick today pukey sick from everything and need to eat something. Anyway thanks for all your thoughts and prayers and please please keep them coming as I know all of you do.

With a REALLY REALLY Heavy Heart,

Marilyn Mommy to 3 AMAZING Boys

Tuesday, May 23, 2006 6:19 PM CDT

URGENT URGENT URGET ALL PRAYER WARRIORS!!!!!

My nephew was just diagnosed with Neuroblastoma the same thing Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron had. I am driving him and his mom my sister to Memphis in the AM. I am asking for all the support and help we can get!!!!! My sister is not doing the greatest as I reflect back to those days I will never forget my feelings. The only difference is I was raised in church and she was NEVER raised in church. I worry about her and my nephew but yet I know us women are strong. This is her second son diagnosed with cancer but her other son is in remission. He is now 15 and thankfully doing GREAT. I wll be updating as often as I can I am taking my laptop. Thanks once again for all your prayers and support and please know how grateful I am for everything!!!!

Asking GOD and Our LiL Superhero Forever to guide us,

Marilyn

Sunday, April 16, 2006 11:02 AM CDT

Well yes we are still here and doing what we do best living life and each day to the fullest!!!!

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!

I have been really busy with work and the boys lately. I had this past week off work and had my niece and nephew along with the boys all week. It was a very long week. Every time I have quiet time it is very hard. I haven't even been on the internet in over a month as you probably could tell from the website journal. It has been really hard to check the sites and hear all the not so good news about all our friends from St. Jude. I never thought we would loose soooo many kids that we loved and played with daily to this HORRIBLE disease CANCER. I was always raised to never HATE anything but man I can honestly say I HATE cancer. Last night they showed the newest version of the St. Jude stories. That is always hard to watch but yet seeing all the kids that we knew and played with daily is soooo precious. Almost all our friends have passed away or are still fighting for their lives. It is very very hard to keep reading about these battles that seem to keep taking kids. I know HEAVEN is the place we all long to be but honestly I think GOD should take those that have lived life not these precious babies. I mean don't get me wrong I am happy Aaron isn't suffering any longer but yet being only human I miss him like crazy here on earth. I can only imagine how much fun he is having and how time for him is totally standing still. But as for me the my family it only seems like yesterday Aaron went to heaven FOREVER!!!! I am going to make a trip to his grave today because I have alot of emotions and really just need some quiet time with him. Sometimes just hugging his momma bear and hearing him tell me he loves me isn't enought I have to go to his final resting place here on earth. I want to say a huge thank you to Carla and her family for giving us his plot. I don't go there very much but it is nice to know when I really need to talk to him I have a place to go. It is really neat because he is under a shade tree and I try to keep him windmills that are orange and purple his favorite colors. I am hoping to get his stone for his grave soon. Well sorry for venting but like I said this week has been very very hard for me and having so much quiet time is even harder.

The boys are doing good. They are making friends here and have company often. They also are getting closer to their dad. He is home for good now and is working alot but spends as much time as possible with the boys. Mom(Grandma) started retirement. She has alot of time on her hands now. She only works 2 days a week from 1pm-9:30pm. She and I are preparing a garden for Aaron in front of the house. We have this angel that was given to us from her friends at the hospital and that will be in the center of the garden. It will only have purple and orange flowers(imagine that).

Well thanks so much for your continued support. I really appreciate all your emails and guestbook entries. Please know it means sooooo much to read your entries. I miss all our St. Jude family and really miss hearing from everyone. Just remember take it one day at a time and LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST!!!!!

Missing Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

The Mowder/Hunter family

P.S. Please continue to keep our family in your prayers and also keep all our friends still fighting for their lives in your prayers too. Praise GOD for all those in REMISSION and doing GREAT!!!!!

Tuesday, March 7, 2006 7:30 PM CST

WELL WELL WELL LOOOOOONNNNNNGGGGG time no hear from huh!!!!

I have been busy busy busy caring for 2 very sick boys and one sick mommy(grandma). The boys had a horrible flu this past week with fevers as high 103.8. Thank goodness for LYSOL!!!! I was really worried because there was no way I could take that much time off but mom(grandma) got knocked outta work because of a HORRIBLE pain in her hip it was originally thought to be a blood clot but turned out they have no clue what is causing the pain. She went to the doctor today and got 2 cortizone shots in her hip to hopefully help with the pain!!!! So the boys have been home during the day with grandma while momma kept on workin workin workin. I really love my job and the people I work with but sometimes working till 7pm at night SUCKS!!!! But a mommas gotta do what a mommas gotta do!!!!! Anyway the boys went back to school today for the first time in a week and they seem to be feeling lots lots better!!!! I just pray grandma gets to feeling better real real soon. She is suppose to be semi-retiring by the end of this month so pray for her that it goes smoothly.

Well as for how things with us are going besides the family being sick. Honestly nothing really new going on here. I really miss Aaron. I have been sleeping with my lil bear we had made with Aaron's voice in it every night and holding it tight. Talking to Aaron and GOD in hopes that maybe just maybe Aaron will be listening. I have been wanting to go to the school and read the kids a book of Aaron's of course his fav. Green Eggs and Ham. He knew that book by heart. Hopefully this Friday I can make it to read to the kindergardeners!!!!!

I wanted to leave you all with an email I got from my Grandpa tonight it really hit home and reminded me how important it is to let your loved ones know just how much you love them. I know I have wrote this many many times before but you can NEVER say you love someone too much or give them enough hugs and kisses. Thanks for all your love and support and most of all your prayers.

Please continue to pray for our family and all the kids still in the battle!!!!

To A Keeper

One day someone's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more. No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute." Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away never to return before we can say good-bye, say "I love you!"

So while we have it . . . it's best we love it . . . and care for it and fix it when it's broken . . . and heal it when it's sick. This is true for marriage and old cars . . . and children with bad report cards and dogs with bad hips and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.

Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.

Life is important, like people we know who are special . . . and so, We keep them close!

I received this from someone who thought I was a 'keeper'!

Thank you for being a special part of my life!

You're a Keeper!!

Glad Got Sent Sooooooooo Many Keepers Into My Life,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Tuesday, February 14, 2006 12:26 AM CST

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE!!!!!

Just another day to let your loved ones know how much you love them!!!! Even though you should be letting them know everyday in every way anyway. Well Mom's surprise party was WONDERFUL. It was a total surprise. It was really funny seeing her be SOOOOOO surprised and yet happy all at the same time. She totally deserved this celebration. I know she really misses Aaron as we all do but this was one way for me to celebrate her turning the BIG 60. I made sure the whole block knew she was 60 too. It was really fun and the boys had a blast helping set everything up. I really wanted to thank EVERYONE who helped make this the BIGGEST and BEST party for her it meant the world to her and I both. I know Aaron was looking down asking why didn't anyone eat the "black" cupcakes. Well the day after we all did and now we are pooping GREEN LOL!!!! They sure are yummy but man kinda scary coming out LOL!!!! Well anyway I need everyone to pray for my mom. Most of you already know she is going into semi-retirement and this couldn't come at a better time. She went to the eye doctor yesterday and found out that she has had another stroke that has caused one of her eyes to go pretty much blind. She had a feeling something happened but had no clue it was another stroke. Well now her main doctor is really really upset and is wanting to do alot more tests to see whats going on. So please join us in praying everything will be ok and will all work out in the end.

Well as for the boys well they are doing much better they got their mid-term grades and they are much much better. They both still have one bad grade on their report card but for the most party they are doing much better. I am sooooo proud of my boys and the fact they try their hardest. Also they are doing much better emotionally too considering they are coming outta their shells little by little. I know in time they will come out 100nd be totally open and honest with everything. I know this is very very hard on them but they have me behind them 100nd always will plus hello GOD is carrying them through everyday in every way!!!!

Well as for me honestly I really need to get back to Church. I have tried to go back to our old church but it is way way to hard. Everytime I get up to sing during praise and worship I just keep feeling Aaron there grabing my leg saying mommy mommy sit I want to lay on your lap. It is bittersweet but yet really really hard to handle. So please pray I can't find a Church as wonderful as Glad Tidings was to our family.

Leaning Not On My Own Understanding,

Marilyn Mommy to 3 WONDERFUL Boys

Tuesday, February 7, 2006 9:35 AM CST

HELLO HELLO HELLO

I know Get R Done already will ya Marilyn!!!!

I have really been in the dumps lately but yet living life to the fullest. I just really miss Aaron sooooo much and well some days are much harder than others. The boys are doing much better now. Their dad and I have come up with a great way to spend quality time with them and yet make sure all their school work is done too. So far so good. I also created a positive chart for them where they can record the good things they did that day. It seems to have helped but they are still kinda struggling with the concept but I am sure they will catch on soon. If they have three check marks on the board everyday for 2 weeks straight then we go do something fun as a family. I feel we just can't ever get enought "quality" time together. I am also taking the advice of a guestbook signer in that we are having a night once a week where we talk all about Aaron and the things we loved and miss about him to help them open up more. I know in time they will be more open but considering they have been through sooooo much it is really really hard.

Well momma's birthday is coming up this Saturday Feburary 11 she will be the BIG 60!!!!! I have planned a HUGE SURPRISE birthday party for her inviting EVERYONE who wants to come around 7pm for Cake and Ice Cream!!!!! If anyone wants to send a card or a positive note to her our address is 6345 N Randwick Rd, Peoria, IL 61615 just address it Grandma and she will get it. She is really having a hard time with missing Aaron too but all of us cope in totally different ways. I am just sooooo excited for this party because she has never ever had a birthday party givin to her. So this should be really really neat to see the look on her face.

Well sorry for the short entry but I will update very very soon. Please keep the prayers coming and please keep all the kids and their families still fighting the fight in your prayers. There is soooo much to be thankful for in all our lives. Even though Aaron has went to heaven I still have 2 very very precious boys to be totally thankful for. I also have to be very thankful that Aaron isn't stuggling anymore and is in the GREATEST hands he could possilbe be in JESUS!!!! BE THANKFUL IN ALL YOU DO!!!!

BEING THANKFUL FOR MANY MANY THINGS IN MY LIFE,

Marilyn Mommy to 3 WONDERFUL boys

Saturday, January 7, 2006 1:18 PM CST

Well Sorry for the delay in updating!!!!!

I have not been in the greatest of moods and actually now I have strep and so does Antavious AGAIN!!!! I am sick of our house being sick so I have decided today after I get off work we are wipeing down all the beds, washing all the sheets, and who knows what else especially since I am in a "cleaning" mood YEAH RIGHT!!!! Me cleaning like a mad woman WOW now thats a sight to see LOL!!!! Well really nothing much going on I never got a chance to update everyone about our Christmas. Actually the boys faired out much better than I thought they were going to because my brother and his wife let me borrow some money until I got my taxes back. I went to see Aaron at his grave but they had up bars and the gates were locked so my brother jumped the fence for us since I was fresh from surgery for my gallbladder we put up new pinwheels for his grave and of course bought him a new superhero cape of course superman to fly in the wind for him. I really was very upset with the cemetary for closing but yet grateful my brother was there to jump the fence to help us. I know Aaron was very very happy with his Christmas especially since he was in HEAVEN with JESUS!!!!

My mom is doing much better being on the maintence program for her asthma. I do have a HUGE favor to ask all of you that read this site faithfully and are from this area. I have noticed the boys are having issues with school and honestly have talked to a few of their teachers and they agree it would be best if I got them both in some counseling and honestly after the past few weeks with them I totally agree. They have never ever talked about Aaron or cried to my knowledge and they are doing HORRIBLE in school they can't seem to focus they hate school and honestly I have tried grounding them taking away fun things nothing seems to be working. Now they can't even watch TV until their homework is done which kinda sucks after being in school ALL day long I think anyway. But if anyone has any references for a counseling service please let me know either by email or by leaving a message in the guestbook. Well as for me honestly I am hanging in here people have really commented on the story the Journal Star did about Aaron and how sweet it was. A HUGE thank you to Claire for doing such a GREAT job. I sure miss being able to spend quality time with the kids at Northmoor and going to the St. Jude here and in Memphis. I really need that therapy thats for sure. Being around all the kids sure helps me with missing Aaron sooooo much. Every morning I keep pulling open the Aaron shrine drawer instead of my sock drawer and that really makes me think of him every single morning and some mornings I just stare and stare at his last picture he took in Memphis with his lil bald head man how I miss that lil boys sooooooo much.

Well nothing else new going on here just keeping my stress level as high as I did when Aaron was sick. Please continue to keep the prayers coming and don't forget to pray for all our friends still struggling in the BATTLE!!!!

Missing and Sending Hugs and Kisses to Our LiL Superhero Forever,

Marilyn

Tuesday, December 20, 2005 5:08 PM CST

WEDNESDAY 6:48pm

URGENT UPDATE: Please say some extra PRAYERS for my mom who is in the hospital at St. Francis for breathing problems related to her asthma. I went to see her today and she is doing better but still gets outta breath when she talks. She told the doctor she wants to be outta the hospital by Christmas Eve!!!! Also to let everyone know who lives here locally the Peoria Journal Star is running another story about our family and how we are doing since Aaron's death. You can either get the paper Thursday or go to www.pjstar.com to read the story!!!!! Special THANKS to Claire for such a AWESOME job!!!!!

Hey Hey Hey there Everyone!!!!!

Well just stopping by to let you all know how the recovery process is going. I am healing great. I am up moving around getting out and about by myself now. I decided on Friday to go out with the boys for dinner. Man was that hard. I was driving and probably shouldn�t have. I was still in pain. I stopped by my work and checked in with everyone to see how things were going. It was crazy busy. I was glad I was off actually. I miss work but yet I know in this condition I couldn't have ever been there. I am still swollen and can't wear button up pants yet!!!! Granny clothes only as I call them but at least I am outta pajama pants LOL!!!!! I am thankful I get to spend some quality time with the boys the rest of this week. It looks like the doctor will be releasing me to go back to work on Monday the 26th of December. I was suppose to be on vacation at the end of next week but after this I gave it up and used it for this. So at least I get to spend � the boys vacation with them this week.

Thanks to everyone for all their thoughts, prayers, and support during this time of year. Last year was such a blur this year well reality has set in Aaron is gone and isn't coming back. He's in HEAVEN cancer FREE and LOVING it. I mean don't get me wrong I would totally have him back but I would NEVER want him in the condition he was in. I was reading another St. Jude Angels website and his mom was saying she would give anything to have her son back but not in that condition I totally know that feeling. I mean to hold my baby one more time to smell him to kiss and hug him man what a joy that would be. I have this build-a-bear that�s purple his favorite color that has his voice in it and I sleep with it every single night. I hug squeeze and kiss it all the time to fall asleep trying hard not to push its hand where Aaron's voice is. Well what I�m trying to say is every night when I fall asleep with it in my arms I wake up after tossing and turning all night to find him right beside me on one side or the other never leaving my side. Just like Aaron would be if he was here NEVER leaving his MOMMY. Honestly I know he is still here in spirit but its still hard to be without him physically.

I talked to someone who�s daughter is still here struggling with cancer and she made a comment about another parent who was really having a very hard time with his child�s death. She said man when is he just gonna GET OVER IT!!!! I was appalled at her comment after seeing her own child be soooo sick but yet how could anyone who has NEVER walked a mile in a grieving parents shoes know how it feels. You will NEVER just GET OVER IT but you will learn to live with it. I guess me personally I have learned sooooo much from a very brave 6yo SUPERHERO that I know Aaron wouldn't have it any other way but for me to keep keeping on and take AWESOME care of his brothers while NEVER forgetting him and his LEGACY!!!! LIFE'S TOO SHORT LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST NEVER GIVE UP AND KEEP SMILING NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!

Well sorry for being such a bummer but tonight I am really having a very hard time with CHRISTMAS!!!!! I just have to keep remembering JESUS is the reason for this SEASON and man am I JEALOUS of Aaron and the countless others who have died only to WIN the PRIZE the BEST PRESENT we could ever want to spend the rest of our lives with JESUS!!!!

Thanks for you prayers please keep them coming and talk to you all very soon!!!!

Wanting the BEST PRESENT,

Marilyn Mommy To Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Wednesday, December 14, 2005 12:32 AM CST

Hey Hey Hey there EVERYONE!!!!!

Just wanted to let everyone know how our weekend went. You talk about excitement!!!!! Well first off Friday was wonderful it was everything I needed to kick my weekend off to a GREAT start. The Staff, Students, and Parents of Northmoor are WONDERFUL and I really couldn�t have asked for a greater group of supporters and friends. The kids were really excited to see me at the school all day long they were really cute all dressed up with their jammies on and some classrooms I visited the kids were all cuddled up with a blanket and good book reading just like Aaron would have wanted it. I just know Aaron was looking down smiling on his 4th annual Cuddle for Compassion Day. Some of the kids were sad they told me they sure missed Aaron but they knew he was way better off in heaven not sick anymore and cancer free. I totally agreed with that but still miss him like CRAZY!!!!! Well of course this day was in memory of Aaron and all the kids brought in donations to wear their jammies and they all raised $500.00 totally for research so hopefully no other parent nor child will have to die in the dawn of life. I know I will ALWAYS be indebted to St. Jude for all they did for our family. Without GOD and St. Jude honestly I have no clue just how long Aaron would have been here after being diagnosed. Well anyway a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped support Friday at the school and continue to support our family through living without Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron.

Well from there on Saturday I continued to wear my jammies Mickey and Minney Mouse from our trip to Disney last year. Well the boys had a birthday/bowling party in the early afternoon. Thanks to the Reardon�s for letting the boys have fun on this special day. Well from there mom and I went grocery shopping to get the stuff we needed for dinner that night. We had big Andre�e , his mom, his brother and his kids over for dinner of course we had to have Grandma�s homemade chicken and noodles(sorry bubba hopefully you will get yours soon). Grandma Hunter made her famous carmel cake everyone�s personal favorite. Well from there we all hung out and enjoyed each others company. Then big Andre�e family went home and big Andre�e , the boy and I watched Fantastic Four. It was nice to spend some quality time together as we did when Aaron was still here. After watching the movie Antavious wasn�t feeling good at all. He has been sick for over 2 weeks now. So I gave him some meds and sent him to bed in hopes some sleep would do him good. Well about 10 minutes later he came in the kitchen crying saying his throat hurt and his neck was swollen. So his dad and I took him to the Emergency Room. It was really busy there but they got us right in and come to find out Antavious has strep throat. They gave him an antibiotic and some motrin for pain. They also told me to keep him home for a few days. Well Sunday morning I woke up around 2am in HORRIBLE pain. I felt like I was having a baby all over again. I suffered with this pain until my mom got up and started to head to work around 5:30am. I called big Andre�e and had him come stay with Antavious since he was staying home and I went with mom to work to go to the Emergency Room. Well lets just say I didn�t get the same treatment Antavious did it took them over 2 hours to get me any pain meds. Then they tried to give me this G I cocktail that I knew wouldn�t work but they said they HAD to try it before giving me any pain meds. I took it and it was awful. They came back in the room in about 15minutes with morphine for the pain. I knew something was wrong but had no clue what it was. So from there they took me to get a sonogram. Well when the nurse says I need to let the doctor look at these you know it can�t be good. Well needless to say it wasn�t. I had a gallstone the size of a golf ball in my gallbladder. From there they wanted me to get my gallbladder out ASAP. So I went to the Surgeon that afternoon and they scheduled the surgery for Tuesday morning at 8am. Well the only thing I can say is OUCH OUCH OUCH. This pain is not fun but way better than the pain of the gallstone in my bladder thats for sure.

I know I have missed doing all the medical stuff with Aaron but never did I expect to be doing all this fun stuff with myself or my family again. Well Antavious is feeling a lot better but still taking his meds. Me well I am only 1day post-op this morning and the pain is not fun thats for sure but I know Aaron went through way more and bared it so I MUST to the same. They usually cut about 1/2-1 inchs but in 2 of my spots they had to cut it 2inches because of the size of the gallstone. I am off work for about 7-10 days until I heal better. I know today will be the worst day for pain because it�s the first day after surgery. Well just wanted to let everyone know whats new and whats going on with us. Thanks for all your love, prayers, and support. I want to thank everyone for signing the guestbook and leaving memories of Aaron for us to read. I sure miss him but hearing all the stories of Aaron sure help on bad days. Well talk to you all soon and please keep the thoughts and prayers coming.

Love,

Marilyn Mommy To Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Thursday, December 8, 2005 8:49 PM CST

HEY HEY HEY there EVERYONE!!!!!

Well it has been a really hard week but tomorrow will be one I know I will never forget!!!!! I hope and pray everyone will be joining us tomorrow or Saturday the 10th by wearing their PAJAMAS!!!!! I know I spent the entire day today looking for new superhero jammies to wear tomorrow but to no prevail well I found NOTHING :( But I did find something I know Aaron will be totally proud of Tinkerbell!!!! Aaron in his final weeks here on earth went to Disney with Zach his mommy and me. Well while there he had to have this Peter Pan outfit. Of course with all the weight he had lost he was kinda swimming in it but he was the cuttest lil Peter Pan I have ever saw so I thought it fitting to wear Tinkerbell tomorrow to remember Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron.

I really want to once again thank Mrs. Wood and all the staff, students, and parents of Northmoor for holding the 4 annual Aaron Hunter Cuddle for Compasion Day. All the donations will be sent to St. Jude in Memphis for more research in Memory of Aaron Our LiL Superhero Forever. I can't say thank you enough to each and everyone of you for all your love support and patiences with our family during these past few years. Right now we need all your prayers as we head into another year without Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron. On Saturday it will be one year we have been without one of the bravest boys I have ever know my SON Aaron. I know my other 2 sons are just as brave but Aaron sure taught his mommy and many many others things the average 6 year old could have never taught us.

I have been an emotional wreck this week and then yesterday at work was really hard just thinking about Aaron I would break down. All week I have had a very very hard time sleeping. I just keep remembering one year ago today holding Aaron on my lap as Santa came to bring Aaron this really really HUGE brown bear to keep him company. Shortly after that Aaron went into a semi-coma. He didn't speak the rest of the day but around this time he was telling all those he loved and cared about their goodbyes. He didn't leave out one single person everyone he loved knew before he went to bed that they meant the world to him. As I type this I can't keep from crying thinking how he told his Big Poppa he could rub his head. Told his Grandma Hunter he loved her and then went off to sleep. He woke up around 3:30am asking for rootbeer so daddy went to get it. He started choking and then I held him in my arms telling him how much I loved him. While PRAYING my heart out that GOD wouldn't all him to suffer anymore. At that time Aaron started gasping for his breath. I knew he was going as I held my baby in my arms for the last time he tried to speak saying Mommy I Lov........ I said Aaron mommy knows you love me just rest baby Jesus is here with you taking you home. I love you sweet boy. He took his final breath and was gone. He looked more peaceful than he ever did. Man how it seems like yesterday but yet years ago. I know I have never really told all of you the details but felt this was a way of therapy for me tonight. I really really miss Aaron but yet I know he is totally better off with JESUS. I mean hello who wouldn't want to spend the rest of their life with JESUS!!!!!

Well guess I better get going the boys need help with homework and I need to stop crying so talk to everyone soon. Please keep us in your prayer this weekend as we approach the 1 year anniversary of Aarons death.

Missing Our LiL Superhero Forever SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Much,

Marilyn, Andre'e, and Antavious

Wednesday, November 23, 2005 11:25 AM CST

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!

Well honestly I can only say those words but honestly not mean it because this is another first without Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron!!!! I know I totally have many things to be thankful for this year but one HUGE void in my life too. I am totally grateful I have other children to help fill the void in my life without Aaron but also he was totally one very special lil boy to many many people especially his mommy. Considering I spent the last 2 1/2 years caring 100or him while away from my other boys. I am grateful GOD loaned him to me for a lil while to fill all our lives with such GREAT joy. I can remember this time last year we were at Disney with Nikki and Zach living it up now this year Zach and his family are heading to Disney as a family not knowing what Zach's future holds. Man I tell you what cancer SUCKS!!!!!

I want to thank all of you for sticking with our family through all this. I know in time they say it will get easier but man sometimes it only seems to get harder. Like this year for Thanksgiving it will only be the boys my mom and I. Now that will totally seem weird. A HUGE void!!!! We usually have a big Thanksgiving with many people coming over but nope. We are going to my Grandpa and Grandma's house for dessert in the afternoon. Hopefully that will help a lil bit. I sure wish Aaron was here joining us in eating "kurkey" and taters!!!! I see him grining that toothless grin right now tearing up dinner and sitting on my lap watching movies with his mommy. I remember a couple years ago we delivered dinners for the South Side Mission and all the boys helped but kept asking mom why do we have to do this and I said you know some people don't have enought money to afford a dinner like we have. I remember delivering the dinners and no one we delivered to had a smell of that yummy dinner cooking in their house. Those people were sooooo grateful. Just as I am these last few years to all of you who helped us through this very difficult time and continue to be by our side. Until you have walked this very difficult road you have no idea how hard it is just to do day to day things.

Well guess I better get back to work since this is a pretty busy day. Thank all of you for listening to me pour my heart out and make sure you sign the guestbook to let us know you still care!!!!!!!

A HUGE void this Thanksgiving,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

P.S. Remember to give ALL those family members hugs, kisses and tell them how much you love them this Thanksgiving.

Friday, November 4, 2005 0:50 AM CST

HAPPY B-LATED HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

I have kinda been on vacation from work and from home for a few days!!!! My birthday is Sunday Nov. 6th and so I took a vacation because I just knew this was gonna be a really hard week and another first without Aaron. I tell you what it seems to be a much better idea to keep busy. I went to Chicago to see Wicked on Sunday that was a great show!!!! If you can afford to go it is awesome. I remember writing a journal when Aaron was still here about him loving baby genius and how he really wanted the movie and someone sent it to him he was just extatic. Well of all the movie I honestly have to say the wizard of oz is my FAV. I love that movie honestly I always have. I remember one year for my birthday I got a wizard of oz sounds kids book and Aaron loved to push the buttons just to hear dorthey say theres no place like home theres no place like home. A few years ago for my birthday my mom got me the wizard of oz dvd but honestly I can't even seem to find it. I guess next weekend is a wizard of oz marathon on tbs here locally on tv. I guess I will have to get my fix that weekend HUH.

Well just wanted to give everyone an update on how things are going. I was outta town until Tuesday and was suppose to be outta town until Friday but I just couldn't make the trip to Memphis without the boys. They were really upset when I told them I was gonna go with another family to get some test results that were not expected to be good but what an AWESOME GOD we serve he got good news his tumor is stable!!!!! I remember saying stable about Aaron and not being very happy about it but man to only have those days back. I mean I know he is totally healed now and way better off but somedays I wish I could just hold him again or read him a book. It is really hard without that lil burger!!!! Well anyway the boys wanted me to stay home with them so I did and honestly I am very happy I did. Last night we went to the Skating Palace since Antavious got a free pass to go roller skating. That is the same place the school held our benefit for Aaron last year in early October when we got home. Well that too was another first it was hard being there without Aaron because that honestly was one AWESOME memory I have of him on skates skating with me and his dad hand in hand. He really was living that night up he didn't even want to leave. On our way out he saw the skates for sale and of course what Aaron wants well all know Aaron got so we ordered him some skates. Aaron never even got to enjoy those skates. He wore them around the house a couple of times but never got a chance to make it back out to the skate rink. So last night while we were there I told the owners I was returning the skates for them to give to a needy child that couldn't afford them. They were very appreciative. I know some of you are thinking Marilyn you are crazy you just keep giving away all Aarons things but honestly to know I am giving his stuff to a needy person really makes it easier to give. I mean I was raised even though sometimes it was hard its better to give than to receive and Lord knows I have been on both sides of that fence. I mean a year ago our family was struggling but thanks to everyone at NORTHMOOR and people from around the world of course most importantly GOD we made it though and now we have a WONDERFUL house, cars, and of course my boys all three of them. Even though Aaron is in Heaven I will ALWAYS say I have 3 WONDERFUL SONS!!!! I can't wait for the day we can be together again as one happy family!!!!

Today the boys got their report cards and well lets just say one did great while the other didn't do so well. Of course the one who didn't do so well is the same one who never wants to speak of Aaron at all. He says Aaron who when you talk about him. So I really think the boys and I need to get into some couseling. I was for a short time but I really think the boys need it too. They have never really dealt with this whole thing quite yet. I worry about them and how this will affect them in the long run. I know when I talk about going to see other St. Jude patients they kinda frown. In some ways I guess I understand but in others I don't. I know for me its therapy but I am sure for them well they would just much rather not even speak of it. Pretend it never even happened. But I have been told sometimes that is a childs way of dealing with death. I only wish this was all just a dream and I could wake up from it very soon but its not its reality and as hard as it is for me I know its even harder for them.

Please join me in praying for the boys that they will come out of this shell they are in. I know GOD is listening to our prayers and he will lead me in the right path for them as he did for Aaron Our LiL Superhero Forever!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to sign the guestbook and let us know you came by,

Marilyn Mommy to 3 WONDERFUL boys(Andre'e, Antavious and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron)

Wednesday, October 19, 2005 3:32 PM CDT

HEY HEY HEY there everyone!!!!

It she has been a lil crazy around our household. We are trying to continue to unpack!!!! It seems that the unpacking NEVER ends!!! Our garage looks like a hurricane hit it. But I know in time it will become my boys hide away. They really need it because everyday when I come home I find them in MY room. They can't even keep their rooms clean so they take over my room and when I go to bed I of course find signs of them playing in my room. Lets see last night it was a superhero figure that was under my back when I layed down. It is great to finally have such a wonderful house to call our own. I know Aaron is looking down saying hey mom I love that house. Even the boys love and talk about it all the time. They can actually go outside and play without any problems(finally)!!!! Except they lost the key to their chain and lock to their bikes so now they are really bummed. I told them I would break the chain but they wouldn't have anyway to lock them up if we did that so they are just having to walk EVERYWHERE!!!! Trust me the exercise and fresh air does them good especially since Andre'e doesn't get to have any recess at school. I will never understand how a school no matter what school it is doesn't allow recess. The kids need fresh air everyday not just work work work and no play!!!!( I thought that one up all by myself LOL)

Well just wanted to share this guestbook entry I got today. This was given to me when Aaron first passed away and getting it today sure helped reassure me everything is OK no matter what!!!! GOD is totally in control and he had a plan for Aaron and Aaron fulfilled his mission here on earth to earn his CAPE in heaven. I read alot of our LiL St. Jude buddies websites. I guess I will never understand why the ones who touch sooooo many lives are the ones to earn their wings/capes first. I mean hello I think EVERY parent wants to out live their children. I know I sure did. But in the same aspect I know I have a very very special LiL Superhero watching down over me while I continue my journey here on earth without him.

God saw he was getting tired
And a cure was not to be
So he put his arms around him
And whispered, come to Me
With tearful eyes we watched him suffer
And saw him fade away
Although we loved him dearly,
We could not make him stay.
A golden heart stopped beating,
Hard working hands to rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us
He only takes THE BEST!

Thank you Guardian Angel you are a great friend!!!

Well guess I better get back to work. Talk to you all very soon. If you get a chance make sure you sign the guestbook I sure miss hearing from everyone!!!!

Missing Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron,

Marilyn

Sunday, October 2, 2005 10:09 PM CDT

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A BIG 12 YEAR OLD BROTHER OF AARON'S LiL Andre'e!!!!

Well we just celebrated LiL Andre'e 12th birthday. I know Aaron was watching down going yum yum I want some!!!! We had meatloaf, mashed potoatoes, biscuts, and of course homemade cake confetti cake with strawberry frosting just for Andre'e. On Friday we went to see a really good movie called Roll Bounce it was a great movie kinda from the seventies. It was about roller skating. It really reminded me of last year around this time when Northmoor held Aaron's benefit at the skating rink. It was an awesome turnout and a great time. I look back at that day and can hardly believe Aaron was that close to death. I love the pictures Mrs. Wood took they are awesome and hopefully someday soon I can get them posted on here. I lost alot of pictures but some I had already developed thank GOD!!!!

Well nothing really new going on here just sick of this crazy silly weather. Today we had to turn back on the air because of the heat and humidty. It is suppose to be in the upper eighties the first part of the week and then be in the sixties the latter part of the week. CRAZY huh!!!! The boys are doing good as well as my mom. I really honestly have my days and moments. I sleep with my Aaron teddy that has his voice in it every single night. I have to tell you all this cute story. The other night I was heading to bed before the boys because on the weekends they get to stay up late. I told them both I loved them and they said it back I gave them kisses then headed into my room to climb into bed well of course Aaron teddy was laying right where I put my hand down and his voice said "I love you mom to infinity and beyond" I just hugged and hugged that bear sooooo tight. And of course started crying and saying oh Aaron mommy loves and misses you soooo much. Isn't it just amazing how GOD works and sends that LiL precious voice at just the right time!!!!! I am soooo greatful I have Aaron's LiL voice with me.

Well just wanted everyone to know we are taking it day by day and trying to keep our heads up!!!! Thanks for all your continued support and prayers and please keep them coming!!!!

Love and Thanks,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Please continue to pray for ALL our LiL St. Jude Buddies some who are doing GREAT and others who are struggling!!!!

Monday, September 26, 2005 0:35 AM CDT

HEY HEY HEY there EVERYONE!!!!!

Well the results are in!!!! But to those in a minute. I think this weekend was one of the best we have had in a very very long time. We went down to Bath IL for the annual fish fry. Every summer we go down there for a carnival and fish fry and to just spend quality time with family we only see twice a year. It was hard at times because I know that is one thing Aaron always totally looked forward to. But it was AWESOME to see all the lil kids have a blast. I know Aaron would have been right there playing with them. He loved family and friends. They have a small parade and they throw out candy to the kids and they squeal to run and get it. Aaron loved that I held the hat the kids were collecting the candy in this year. I was kinda thinking of My LiL Superhero watching my lil cousin I gave this lil guy Aaron's four wheeler and most of Aaron's clothes and of course Aaron's bicycle that Aaron only got to ride twice. Max my LiL cousin told me he loves all his toys and his dad told me he goes from one to the other back and fourth he just loves themI(by the way this lil guy dresses up like different things all the time too he totally reminds me of MY AARON). I am just glad to see and know someone is enjoying them as much as Aaron did while he could. The bikers bought the 4 wheeler for his Christmas one year one I know none of us will ever forget HOOTERS!!!!! As a matter of fact this past week I was looking at all those pictures of Aaron with the Hooter girls and the bikers(PBL, Big Bubba, Sammy, and Macole). Man I sure miss him like CRAZYYYYYYYY!!!!

Well anyway enough of that stuff it just keeps making me cry more and more.

Now for the news I am sure ALL of you have been waiting for the boys and their RACING!!!! Today was Derby day for St. Jude. Even in the RAIN the boys were racing and loving every minute of it. I am sooooo proud of my guys for honoring their brother today!!!! I know Aaron was looking down saying hey those are my brothers!!! At 7am this morning we were at Main Street hill here in Peoria ready to weight in. Antavious was in Stock division and Andre'e was in Masters(that didn't mean he was a pro or anything) it goes by your weight. Well from there we went to get breakfast Lord knows you can't race on an empty stomach!!! From there back to start the racing. The boys went for their trial/practice run. Antavious raced with Andre'e for the practice run. When they released the cars down the hill Antavious was SCREAMING!!!! He said it was scary but fun. Andre'e acted like he was a pro and just was smiling and grinning coming down. Andre'e got first going down that practice run. Then it was time for the real racing to begin and the boys were sooooo excited along with me. They had their own cheerleaders!!!(Grandma Donna, Aunt Sue, Stephanie, Sandy, Nick and his friend, Uncle Willard, Aunt Gennie, and of course their biggest fan MOMMY) Well Antavious wanted to get first but he got second in his first heat and third in his second heat. Andre'e of course wanted first too he got first in his first heat and second in his second. How cool is that well after waiting around to see if they qualified for the next round and the finals they BOTH did!!!!! I was sooooo excited they were too of course. So Antavious raced first but he got third and they only took first place in that race for the finals so Antavious' feelings were really hurt and he was crying we kept telling him he did a GREAT job that at least he made it to the finals but he just was really hurt he wanted to win a trophy for Aaron he said that's why he was sooooo upset. Well Andre'e now that was a different story he finished second in his race and they still let him go to the finals because he had less people racing in his group. He was soooooo nervous but he knew he would win a trophy no matter what because he was in the final four!!!! Well he did really good but not quite as fast as he wanted but he still got 3rd and he got a trophy!!!! It was raining ALL day pretty much but through it all the boys had fun and did a great job. I am sooooo proud of all 3 of my boys they are the GREATEST!!!!! After the racing was over Antavious asked to see the trophy and he said well Andre'e its a fake(plastic) trophy anyway so i'm glad I didn't win LOL LOL!!! I said Antavious be nice and he said well it's still cool but maybe next year Andre'e won't race and I can race both cars!!! That Antavious boy I tell you such a comedian!!! Thank GOD for my BABIES!!!! I love them soooo much.

Well please don't forget Chili's tomorrow Monday September 26, 2005 you can eat lunch or dinner either one and make sure you color a chili pepper in honor of Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron!!!! ALL the proceeds go to St. Jude and maybe someday no other parent has to go through this because all the donations will further the researh to find a CURE!!!!!

Well sorry for the HUGE update but we had a very very busy weekend. Talk to you all soon!!!

Love,

Marilyn Mommy To The GREATEST Boys In The World

P.S. PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR ZACH(www.caringbridge.org/il/zachallen) AND HIS FAMILY!!!!

Sunday, September 18, 2005 9:14 PM CDT

HEY HEY HEY there EVERYONE!!!!!

Well things here are getting better I am feeling pretty much back to my normal self. The boys and mom are doing good too.

I have a few announcements to let everyone know. First one is on September 25th the boys will be racing in the Annual St. Jude Downhill Derby at 10am on Main St. hill here in Peoria if anyone is interested in joining us please give me a call on my cell (309)648-6586 so we can support the boys together. Second is EVERYONE please join us in eating at Chili's for lunch or dinner on Monday September 26th all the proceeds will be donated to St. Jude also while you are there color a chili pepper in Honor of Aaron Our LiL Superhero Forever. You can also go online at www.createapepper.com to color one online. It is really a GREAT way to support our #1 cause and HONOR Aaron for ALL he did for you while he was here on this earth and he continues to do in SPIRIT!!!!!! The final announcement many of you know Aaron passed away on December 10, 2004 well that day was named an honorary day here in the city of Peoria. For the last 3 years Northmoor Edison has held a cuddle for compasion day in honor of Aaron well this year I wanted to have as MANY people as possible wear their jammies in honor of Aaron. This year it will be Friday Dec. 9 & Saturday Dec. 10. The reason for two days is because like me I can't wear jammies to work but I can wear them at home so on Saturday I will be honoring my LiL Superhero by wearing his favorite thing to wear JAMMIES!!! If you or anyone you know joins in this celebration of Aaron earning his CAPE please make a donation in his honor to St. Jude!!!! Any amount will help ever a few bucks!!! I will be posting a address and name of someone from ALSAC the fundraising contact for our family soon. I am still getting all the details but wanted to put the word out there so everyone can start making plans to be in their JAMMIES for AARON!!!!!

I know I would love to see a cure for Cancer in my lifetime but that could never be possible without donations for the research. I know many of you have bought bracelets or made a donation in honor of Aaron already but I want to go to St. Jude next year and see his name on that precious plaque in his honor. Aaron was well known around Memphis St. Jude and Peoria too and he deserves something on the walls in his honor.

I sure miss him like CRAZY. Today I ran into an old friend of my and we talked about Aaron and how much he meant to sooooo many people his smile was one NO ONE will ever forget. I know recently I have been looking at some pictures of him and in everyone he was smiling of course that TOOTHLESS grin is unforgetable!!!!

Well just wanted to give everyone an update and let you all know we are doing good and hope you all can join us in some of our announcements!!!! We would love to hear your stories of Aaron and how he touched your lives too. I could go on and on about him but it really warms my heart to hear from all of you so if you wouldn't mind either email me or leave them in the guestbook. Talk to you all VERY soon!!!!

Thanking GOD for his MANY Blessings,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Sunday, September 11, 2005 6:20 PM CDT

HEY HEY HEY there everyone!!!! Just wanted to stop by and let everyone know we are doing good. I am still feeling ok I still think something is wrong with me just not sure what. I just don't feel quite right but it could easily be everything hitting me. Lord knows I had a very long 2 1/2 years of being this strong person but now I honestly think it is catching up to me. The strong Marilyn is finally breaking down. Some of you may be say uh hello what are you talking about and others of you may be saying hey Marily I totally know that feeling. I just feel exhausted totally exhausted. I just want my baby back and cancer free but I know inside he is totally better off with JESUS. I keep seeing him reading with JESUS and all the other kids in heaven. You know those pictures you see of JESUS with children around him and JESUS telling stories to them I bet Aaron is one sitting right on his lap. He loved hearing stories and coming from JESUS what could be any better. What an AWESOME site huh!!!!

HAPPY GRANDPARENTS DAY to all the GRANDPARENTS reading this!!! I know Aaron sure loved his grandma. He would always want her to cook him something most of the time he wanted homemade Chicken and Noodles or spaghetti. Grandma always has a way with food!!!!

I got this really cool email from my Grandpa today and wanted to share it with all of you its about LOVE!!!!

What does Love mean?
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?"
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:
_____
"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
Rebecca- age 8
_____
"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
Billy - age 4
_____
"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."
Chrissy - age 6
_____
"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri - age 4
_____
"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
Danny - age 7
_____
"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
Bobby - age 7
_____
"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."
Cindy - age 8
_____
"My mommy loves me more than anybody ..
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."
Clare - age 6
_____
"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."
Elaine-age 5
_____
"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."
Chris - age 7
_____
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
Mary Ann - age 4
_____
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
Jessica - age 8

I think that pretty much sums it up it amazes me how kids absorb sooooo much and they learn from us adults. We just have to remember to LOVE and LIVE like kids!!!!

Well just wanted to give all of you an update and let you know we are taking it day by day. Talk to you all soon.

Loving and Missing Aaron,

Marilyn

P.S. Please pray for our St. Jude Buddy Zach(caringbridge.org/il/zachallen) and his family he is sooooo strong and brave just like Aaron!!!!

Saturday, September 3, 2005 10:54 PM CDT

Hey Hey Hey there everyone!!!! I bet you though I was lost or something. Well honestly I have been really really sick. I had a flu bug and then a severe kidney infection. I finally went to the doctor and well after he pushed on my stomach I was ready to punch his lights out. I hope and pray I NEVER have to go through anything like that again. I am still on antibiotics for 7 days. He even had to knock me off work because I was soooooo sick. I literly thought I was going CRAZY. But I am feeling a lil better tonight. Still not up to par but hopefully by Tuesday by the time I go back to work I will be all better.

I know everyone is praying for everyone in Lousianna. I have a very special prayer request our LiL friend April who was doing so well after treatment. Well I have tried to call her and her family and there is no answer. Please pray everything is ok with her and her family. I could never imagine what all those families are going through but I know like over half the patients St. Jude treats are from Lousianna. These families may be going home to NOTHING and well honestly I just couldn't imagine.

The boys are back to school. They both have male teachers and seem to be liking school this year. They are growing leaps and bounds. I have been trying to take it one day at a time. Not having Aaron around sucks!!!!! I talked with the bikers tonight this weekend was the annual BIKE Rally for St. Jude. I will never forget last year. It was soooooo much fun. Aaron dressed up like ELMO. Big Bubba called and got me crying because he was talking about Aaron not being there and how he would have been dressed up like spiderman or something. He is totally right Aaron was always some kinda hero even if it was one he made up. I will never forget his first photo shoot with Laura he was a power ranger, spiderman and batman all in one. Those were the first pictures put on the website. It seems to be harder and harder for me to talk about him without crying my eyes out. The other day I was talking to one of my friends from work and lost it on the phone. Sometimes I feel like a faucet has been turned on and just won't shut off. I know crying is good but holly cow. I think the strong part of me is breaking down. I am finally showing my true side. I cry over everything. The other day while cleaning house I cried because I was cleaning. I know some of you reading this could never ever fathom this feeling and I hope and pray you never do and others totally know this feeling even though Aaron wasn't you son you were just that close. I was talking to Nicole(my sister) today and was saying how in just 6 years he lived an entire lifetime. He touched many lives and continues to teach ALL of us lessons that will last our lifetime.

Oh yeah mom is doing great. Work is going good and we are loving our new home. I know I talked to many of you about a house warming thing. Hopefully soon!!!!! We have already made some changes to the house like painting and stuff. So as soon as all that is finished we will be getting together for fun and fellowship.

Thanks to everyone for continuing to check in on us. Please keep those prayers and thoughts coming they help us make it through everyday. Without your support and GOD's grace well honestly I don't know where we would be.

Missing Aaron like CRAZY,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 9:01 PM CDT

I want to thank all of you sooooo much for the guestbook entries since my last update. Your prayers were felt and much needed. I went to the doctor today and was told at first that I had blood clots in my legs from being on birth control but after further investigation it seems that the recent switch in birth control has caused me to have fluid retention. I have been swelling like a balloon for about a week now and was really worried something was really wrong. Praise GOD it is easily fixed with a change in pills again. But that of course doesn't come without problems like all my hormornal problems I was having before the switch. I can't seem to win for losing now days. So just pray they find the right pills for me and they will help with everything going on.

I also wanted to thank Stephanie for the "BOOT" girl this week has been another rough week but I know there will be those days and weeks too. I really appreciate you being here to listen to me today and finding that red boot it really made me think of my LiL Superhero Aaron. Like I say everytime I update words can NEVER express how much I miss Aaron and how much of a void there is in not only my life but everyone who knew him. I know I tend to put up a great show talking about him with everyone I meet but inside I am seriously aching. I thought I was having a rough week the week of the telethon but well this week is even worse. Everywhere I go and everything I do reminds me of Aaron and his wonderful smile and attitude. The boys found another box of Aaron's "stuff" last night and you talk about losing it man it was really really hard. They found all these pictures of Aaron before he was ever sick and the faucet started flowing. I will never forget that babys spirit even before diagnoses he was such a pistol. Man I miss my baby boy. I mean don't get me wrong I love my other boys to death but I miss my family ALL of us together. In that box was a book Aaron would have me read like 15 times a night called I love mud and mud loves me. That there book was his favorite besides It's raining it's pooring. That boy sure loved his books. By the way from what I understand the library at Northmoor is looking GREAT and the dedication will be sometime this year. I know Aaron will be there everyday in spirit. We have already donated alot of his supply of books for the library. I intend to donate all his books but some are harder to give up than others. But I know by donating them they will be of great use to all the kids of Northmoor. I mean hello if Aaron loved them who wouldn't!!!!!!

Well enough of my pouring my heart out but MAN this SUCKS!!!!

Crying Like A Baby,

Marilyn Mommy To Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Aaron mommy misses you like CRAZY. I know your brothers do too because they just can't get enough of your stuff they are having a ball going through all your boxes from Memphis. I know you are looking down on them thinking hey thats mine. Some day baby we will ALL be together again some day until then keep your presense known and just know mommy loves and misses you sooooooooooooo much. Hugs and Kisses

Sunday, August 14, 2005 7:32 PM CDT

I know I know it has been a long long time but I am hoping and praying you all are doing ok and taking it day by day and hugging those precious children of your's longer and tighter everyday.

As for us well we have been keeping busy with work and getting ready for school. Last weekend was the St. Jude telethon and run. It was another GREAT year to try to find a cure. I seen alot of the kids we love and miss seeing. I also got to see our local doctors from the affiliate here in Peoria. It was a huge sucess and we all know it went to a great cause. I am trying to get broadband and will hopefully have it very soon so I can get all these GREAT pictures loaded and on Aarons site. You all are gonna love seeing some very precious pictures most of you have never seen. I even took some last week of the boys and I together they are awesome. These boys of mine just keep growing and growing. LiL Andre'e is gonna be taller than me by next summer i betcha.

I want to send out a HUGE thank you to all of you for all your support and love since Aaron passed away and even before his death. This has been a very rough 8 months without Our LiL Superhero. We miss Aaron more and more everyday but we know someday we will be with him in heaven enjoying the most amazing experience we could ever imagine. I know personally I can't wait for that day. I mean I know GOD put me here on this earth to fulfill a mission and when I have fulfilled that mission I will join my precious baby. I am sooooo grateful to GOD for his blessings and thankful we have some very very special prayer warriors who have suck by our sides through thick and thin even though most of you we have never met someday we will meet someday!!!!

Honestly I do have a prayer request if everyone could please pray for me as I am have some health problems and I am not quite sure what is going on or what will happen but I know GOD has it all worked out and he will prevail in all this. So please just pray the doctors will find out what is going on and everything will be ok in the end. Also don't forget to sign the guestbook I miss hearing from everyone even if it is a HELLO!!!!

Thanking GOD for His Many Blessings,

Marilyn Mommy To Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Sunday, July 31, 2005 8:14 PM CDT

Well tonight has just been one of those nights where I really miss Aarie. I just finished reading Zach's website and the tears started to flow. I can't even begin to describe the pain and hurt I feel without Aaron here. Time some days flies by other days it feels like it is standing still. I went to a superhero party for Zach's 13th birthday celebration. That day was really hard for many reasons. Seeing Zach and seeing things he does that totally remind me Aaron. Seeing Nikki and seeing how hard this whole thing is on her. I know us mommies try our heardest to be sooooooo strong just like our lil superheroes but sometimes we just need to melt down. Well honestly today is just one of those days. I feel totally helpless and yet I know GOD is here taking care of everything. I pray sooooo hard that Aaron is having the time of his life in heaven(I know he is) pain free and living life with Jesus to the fullest. I see soooo much of Aaron in both of the boys. As a matter of fact today I went by Grandma Hunter's house to get some stuff and we were talking about Aaron and how the boys have soooooo many characteristics of Aaron. Well enought of my pitty party.

I have asked the boys if they are excited about going back to school and guess what they say NO NO NO(surprise surprise)!!!! Antavious being the character he is said I don't even remember how to read anymore. I told him to put down the game controls and pick up a book instead!!!! He was like uh mom thats just boring!!!!! I am not ready for them to start school yet either honestly I don't have the money to get all the school stuff for them. But I have applied for a new job outside the bank. I will start out making what I make now and can possibly make as much as 100,000 per year!!!!! How cool would that be???? Just hearing that excites me. Lord knows these bills from the old house and the new one are pilling up and we need to pay them. I am really excited especially considering what a people person I am.

Well mom is still doing good and work is going good. The boys are doing good staying home although I hear all the time how bored they are. This week we cleaned out the storage unit and well honestly that also played a huge part in me missing Aaron because everything in there was basically his or reminded me of him. We just put all of it in the garage in hopes that soon I will be able to go through all of it and have a HUGE garage sale. But we got all the bicycles out and that means we can go bike riding in the evenings now. Lord knows I need to lose the weight. As for me well honestly this coming weekend is the St. Jude telethon and we could never repay them for all they did for Aaron and our entire family. The runners will be coming in around 6pm Saturday evening if anyone is interested in meeting them here in Peoria at the civic center. I know the boys and I will surely be right there. Also you can watch the telethon on Saturday evening starting at 5pm on WEEK channel 25 or 10.

Well thanks for checking in on us and talk to all of you very very soon!!!! Keep praying for us and all our St Jude Buddies who are still bravely fighting the fight.

Missing My LiL Superhero Forever Aaron,

Marilyn

Thursday, July 21, 2005 9:23 PM CDT

HEY HEY HEY there everyone!!!!!

Praying all is going good in your neck of the woods!!!!

As for my boys, mom and I well we are taking it day by day minute by minute. Mom is back to work again and doing good. The scare we had was an allergic reaction to the antibiotic she was on thank GOD!!!! She is really stressed about selling the other house down in the south end. I am too to be quite honest. I know GOD will take care of everything but all this money going to all these bills and then the stress of the other house too. It sure is wearing on her she is yelling about everything and well that just really makes for a rough day. Her and I have talked and she nor I are getting much sleep my reasons are different than hers but still we are both having difficulty sleeping which is hard the next day because we are kinda grouchy. But we are giving ALL our worries to GOD and letting him take control of EVERYTHING!!!!!

Well last week I was on vacation. I got a LiL painting in LiL Andre'e room. He chose green for his room color of course!!! I took the boys to splashdown one day and was sick for 3 days of my vacation. It was hard going to splashdown. I just kept thinking of Aaron the whole time. I tried to have as much fun as possible with the boys there but it was really hard because I kept thinking of Aaron and all the other LiL Angels/St. Jude buddies of Aaron's that are in heaven with him. I decided to start sun bathing. When I did I just couldn't stop praying for Aaron, Zoie, April, Emma Grace, Jarred, and Stanton. I just kept asking GOD to send me a sign that all these babies were ok. When I rolled over I noticed something. There where like three babies with huge tumors playing in the kiddie pool. One with a brain tumor on his head one with one on his cheek and one lil girl with oxygen on her nose. I have never seen sooooooo many kids with tumors and lines playing at splashdown. But I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that all these babies were ok. The lil girl with oxygen on really reminded me of Aaron she wouldn't get out of the water and when her daddy got her out she would just make a fist and say no more no more. I totally know that is how Aaron was with the water before he got his line. I really miss him sooooooo much he was such a fighter.

I went while on vacation and spent some time with Zach(www.caringbridge.org/il/zachallen) and his mom and family. That really brought back some great memories of Aaron too. Some happy and some sad. Zach told me he really misses Aaron and of course that made me cry. He also asked me to marry him. Lord knows I would do anything for these kids. They mean the world to me. I know whatever they ask for we need to and want to give them. I also know marrying him wasn't going to happen but GOD knows my heart would in a heartbeat. Although I really don't think Nikki would like that too much LOL....or John.... Well honestly I just ask everyone who has remained a faithful reader to pray for Zach and his family. Zach's mom was told a few weeks ago to take Zach home and make arrangements for him. Well knowing what that means I want to be there for them sooooo bad but I also know how hard this is and what a precious time it is also. So I ask that everyone join our family in praying for Zach and his family that he be healed COMPLETELY!!!!!

Well the boys are doing great staying home this summer and are behaving very well. I am soooooo proud of my lil guys. They really mean the world to me as Aaron did too. They are very quiet now days. I really worry about them being sooooo quiet but when I have time off I try and spend as much time as possible with them. The St. Jude run and telethon is coming up very soon August 6th. The boys and I will be first in line to greet ALL the runners. I will never forget last years run. Dave Garcia dedicated his plaque to Aaron the superhero of all superheroes. Aaron was really sick last year but we made it to the ceremony for the runners at St. Jude in Memphis. It meant the world to us to see everyone and see them off to a great run. I only pray all the runners will be ok this year as it has been really really HOTTTTT here and no rain at all.

Well guess I better get going to bed talk to you all very very soon. Have a great rest of the week and weekend. Also don't forget to hug that baby a lil longer and tighter tonight and tell them how much you love them!!!!!

Missing My LiL Superhero Forever Aaron,

Marilyn

Sunday, July 10, 2005 7:12 PM CDT

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY AARON MOMMY, GRANDMA, ANDRE'E AND ANTAVIOUS LOVE AND MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY!!!!!

Well today was a very difficult day for me. It was one year ago today that we were at Target House celebrating Aaron's 6th birthday with many friends and family. It also was the day sweet Zoie passed away. I never in a million years imagined that I too would know that the feeling of my child dying. This is horrible to have a child pass on before you do. We as parents are suppose to go before our kids not the other way around. But I also am VERY VERY grateful GOD has bigger and better plans for us and our children. I know at first when our child/children pass away we wonder why and how but after watching my baby/SUPERHERO stuggle for weeks and weeks I know that he is way way better off in heaven with all his BUDDIES doing things that none of us could even imagine. I will never forget our conversation his last night here on earth. I was telling him all about the golden streets and gates how he could swim and go on rides all kinds of cool stuff he would be able to do in heaven and be completely healed. He looked up at me and said uh un mommy there isn't any of that up there there is only clouds!!!! Coming from Aaron that sounded sooooo cute but I know looking up to heaven from here on earth that is all we can see. But the bible tells us otherwise. Aaron and I spent many nights at the Target house reading the bible before we came home for good it was really cute watching him want me to read more mommy read more. I loved teaching him about JESUS and all the miracles he performed. The neatest thing Aaron loved about the bible was his name was in there he said wow mommy I never knew JESUS knew me!!!! Of course GOD knows ALL his children!!!!!!

Well anyway I wanted to say a huge thank you to Stephanie for going out of her way to deliver balloons to Aaron's grave today. Mom the boys and I went to Aaron's grave around 6pm tonight to release balloons and talk to Aaron and Zoie. We sang happy birthday to him and then released 3 orange, 3 purple, and one with a huge Happy Birthday from ALL of US and of course 2 yellow for Zoie. Most of them popped in the huge pine tree above Aaron's grave it was cute though. I was telling mom as we were leaving I needed to call Steph and thank her for leaving balloons for Aaron but before I could even make it home to call she called me. I asked her how many ballons she left and she told me then she told me she also left a Incredibles balloon and while at his grave I noticed that one wasn't there. I guess Aaron still loves his SUPERHEROES!!!!! He made sure that balloon went to be in heaven with him. I know I have talked about pictures of Aarons spirit with many of you but hopefully someday soon those pictures will be on his site for all of you to enjoy.

Hoping and praying all of you are taking advantage of every moment of everyday!!!! You never know when GOD has something up his sleeve. Well thanks for stopping by and leaving messages for us this helps me more than you will ever know.

Miss My LiL Superhero Forever Aaron Like Crazy,

Marilyn

Sunday, June 26, 2005 6:57 PM CDT

Hey there EVERYONE thanks for sticking with me during my lapse of writing and not having a computer!!!!

Well we are officially in the new house thanks to some very wonderful family and friends(you all know who you are and it meant the world to us to have you help). The boys mom and I are getting things together slowly but surely. It will take some time to get everything just the way we want but it is a great neighborhood and the boys can ride their bikes and play outside with no problems. I can leave and park my car out front without worrying about it getting hit or a window busted out or shot at. Mom well she is just extatic to have her own space and room again. She can go to her basement and not have a care in the world. We also have central air mom has never owned a home with central air so this is GREAT for ALL of us. We also have a dishwasher so no one fights over doing dishes we ALL wash them off and put them in the dishwasher and then before bed mom or I start it. It is great because we NEVER so far anyway have dishes in the sink!!!!! I have memories of Aaron everywhere still. I just miss him sooooooo much I know he would have loved this house. He would spend lots of time in grandma's storage closet it is like a hide away just fit for Mr. Aaron. But I also know he is sooooooo much better off in heaven CANCER FREE!!!! I keep picturing him with long hair like JESUS!!!! I can see him now running around with all his buddies and family that went before him saying check out my SUPERHERO cape and long curly hair!!!! Today we went swimming at my sisters and I just couldn't help but think of how much fun Aaron would be having swimming with no line anymore. I miss him sooooooo much and can't wait for my day to enter heaven's gates and see my long haired superhero waiting to greet me!!!!

Well nothing else new going on really. Just continuing to take it day by day and minute by minute. Trying to stay cool and lord knows that's not easy these days thank GOD I work in air conditioning!!!! The boys are enjoying their summer so far. We kinda changed our plans for my vacation. We are leaving for Great America on July 3 and will stay there all day and night then come back on July 4 for the fireworks and a big dinner as a family. I am happy about this though because since Aaron's death my moms kids have started coming around and spending time with her. So when we go to Great America 3 of my moms daughters are going with along with 6 of my moms grandkids!!!! How cool is that. I know they say sometimes death brings people together and trust me in our case it did!!!! Mom is soooo happy this is one thing she has asked GOD for for many years and finally her prayers are being answered.

Well if I don't get on here again before the 4th of July please everyone have a HAPPY and SAFE 4th of July!!!! Thanks for all your support, love, and prayers and please keep them coming as GOD continues to bless our family and yours!!!!

Missing Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron,

Marilyn

Wednesday, June 15, 2005 12:40 AM CDT

Hey there EVERYONE!!!!

Well needless to say our house really looks like a hurricane hit it now!!!! But all for a GREAT cause. WE ARE MOVING!!!! If everyone who is still planning to help us move will call me I would appreciate it(309) 648-6586. I want to start as early as possible because my nephew is racing that night(Saturday June 18th) and he is helping us move but we need man power to get all the big stuff gone to the new house early. I wanted to let everyone know that we are closing on Friday at 1pm and are soooooooo excited. I hear it is suppose to be really nice and cool so that is a great thing and NO RAIN PLEASE!!!!

Well just wanted to let everyone know we are still a go for moving this weekend and I will talk to you all very soon. Thanks as always for all the prayers and support and please keep those guestbook entries coming.

Aaron's birthday is coming up on July 10, 2005 and he will be a BIG 7. I am taking a vacation that week. The boys and I will be going to Six Flags and having a great time trying to celebrate Aaron's BIG day!!!! He loved the water and we will be at Hurricane Harbor spending his birthday there on Sunday.

Also don't be alarmed if I don't update as often because my laptop's modem went out so I had to send it back to dell. But I should be able to update from work if we are not toooooo busy....

Well talk to everyone soon.

Love,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Sunday, June 12, 2005 3:34 AM CDT

HEY HEY HEY there everyone!!!!!

Well the boys and I made it back safely. It was a nice break. It was great to see everyone but I really wish it would have been under better circumstances. But regardless it was still nice. Everyone was sooooo surprised to see us. There were a few staff members who had no clue Aaron had passed away and they kept asking if Antavious was Aaron and I was like uh no Aaron is dead. They were really shocked but they took it pretty well. I stayed until Friday late afternoon because Mr. Travisman had brain surgery again to remove the cyst. I stayed with his mommy and daddy and family until I knew he was outta the water. He came through with flying colors knowing Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron was watching over him. I don't quite know all the details but when I do I will post them. I do know he was doing good when I left Friday afternoon. While I was at St. Jude I wanted to go see Miss Emma Grace but what a huge shock I got they informed me she had passed away on Monday afternoon. Please join our family in praying for another neuroblastoma warrior's family as they travel this horrible road. I know tonight or shall I say today has just been one of those days. First off we are running into those "fine" details of moving. Meaning that there are some "loose ends" that need fixing. I know GOD already has this ALL under control but it is really really frustrating when now we are not closing on Monday as planned but hopefully no later than Thursday so they say!!! I told them they better make sure its no later than Friday because I have EVERYONE all lined up to help and we are moving NO MATTER WHAT!!!! If I learned anything while going through all we went through in Memphis it was PATIENCE!!!!(YEAH RIGHT)

I have been web stalking.(reading up on all my buddies) It has been really hard tonight I don't quite know why but I am realizing every day is a different day. I just miss Aaron and that lil TOOTHLESS grin. I miss his voice. I miss our trips to St. Jude and I miss ALL our buddies. I know he is way better off in heaven but boy I sure miss that lil FART!!!!! I guess after just typing that I am realizing why I miss him so much the memories in this house they are incrediable. He is everywhere and I am thinking that may be what is sooooo hard to handle. But I also know that he always wanted his own house and now we will have our own house in a GREAT neighborhood. I also am still working on getting the pictures up because on the way back from Memphis I was dozzing off(wore out) but I knew if I fell asleep well considering I was the only driver it wouldn't be a good thing. But anyway something just jolted me and when I looked up into the sky there was this incrediable image. I can't quite explain it but it was a cloud an amazing cloud. I will try to post it soon. You all will just be totally amazed. From that point on it was like I was on a high. I never wanted to doze off again.

Well thanks as always for keeping in touch with us and continuing to pray for us. We are taking it day by day and continuting to lean on GOD for PEACE!!!!

Asking GOD for Comfort Tonight,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

P.S. Thanks Stephaine for the GREAT memories of me when I first started at the bank!!!!(what a great way to scare the employees and customers)

Thursday, June 2, 2005 8:35 PM CDT

SORRY SORRY SORRY to everyone for the DELAY in updating!!!!!

Well things around here are getting busier and busier everyday. We are packing and getting ready for the big move. Everything around here is crazy and there is no room for anything. It looks like a tornado hit inside this house but at least it will all be packed and ready to move on the 18th. We are soooooooooo excited and ready. I got the official word on everything today so now I can just hardly wait to move and start paying on our new beautiful house. I am trying to work on getting pictures on here but my laptop has a huge firewall and well just won't seem to work. I am hoping to go to my sisters house soon to see if I can possibily use her computer since she has insight now. So hopefully soon you all will see new pictures of our family and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron.

I am officially on VACATION as of today. The boys are officially out of school as of today. It was a beautiful day here in Peoria. We were suppose to go swimming but it was a lil chilly so we will see what tomorrow holds. Andre'e is totally into girls right now and was invited to a 4th grade swim party tomorrow. Of course mommy will be staying with him(LOL LOL LOL). We are going to WWE smackdown on Saturday night and then plan on leaving for Memphis on Sunday morning. I just got a call from Julie Travisman's mommy and she told me things with him are not the greatest today was suppose to be his last chemo but they found a cyst on his brain where the previous tumor was so now they don't know what is going to happen. I know GOD does have a reason for everything but that lil guy has been through sooooooo much so will everyone please join me in praying for travis his mommy and his sisters. I know Julie has bad memories of this whole ordeal but I also know GOD is in the miracle making business and we just have to believe!!!! Anyway the boys will be in Memphis with me all next week I plan on coming home Wednesday or Thursday. Then pack pack pack on Friday and head back to work on Saturday.

The boys and I are just going to enjoy this summer and spend as much time as possible together doing things as a family. I know this summer will be hard doing things without Aaron but he is totally with us in spirit and will remain in our hearts FOREVER!!!!! I miss him sooooo much I tend to talk to him alot lately and want so bad just to hear his voice. I know I can watch all the movies of him to hear it but that is just way to hard right now. Last weekend I had my neice EARLY Saturday morning and she slept on me all morning and that really brought back some great memories of Aaron and how he was sooooooo busy in his sleep it just must be a kid thing. She even snored like Aaron and it just really made my day.

Well nothing much really going on here right now just taking it day by day and living life to the fullest. I really want to thank everyone for all their love and support. Also I want to ask anyone who lives close and can help with the move or has a truck and wants to help to contact me by email stjudemomma74@aol.com or call my cell (309) 648-6586 we are moving early Saturday June 18th. Well thanks again for all your love and support and keep those guestbook entries coming. I notice alot of people visit but don't sign. I really look forward to hearing from everyone and miss all the entries!!!!!

Praying for ALL our LiL Buddies,

Marilyn Mommy To Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Sunday, May 22, 2005 10:21 PM CDT

Hey Hey Hey Hey Everyone!!!!!

Well boy what a past week. We have been house hunting and have found a perfect house. And thank GOD for it. This past Wednesday night they were shooting in our side yard and I was really freaked out because every since Aaron passed away I can't even begin to sleep much less sleep in my bed. I sleep on the couch and that means they were shooting right past my window. I was really freaked out because I could see the fire come from the gun. By the time the cops got here well of course everyone was gone. Well anyway back to the house. It is a five bedroom quad level. It is out off Big Hollow Road and still in the school district we wanted. It is in Creighton Woods. We are really really excited. We close on the house on June 13th and plan on moving in that weekend. We all are very very excited but yet sad too since we have lived here for like 20 years and because of some HORRIBLE neighbors we now have to move. But I know there is always a rhyme and reason for everything and well honestly I am more than happy to be moving. Mom will be going with us and that will take away a huge burden of her being here by her self. Just please pray that we can sell this house soon and get outta it what we need to pay it off. I know GOD will provide and take care of everything but as you all know sometimes we tend to worry worry worry. We(I) just need to learn to let GOD do the worrying for me. He is soooooooo faithful and sometimes I just need to be the same way FAITHFUL to him.

I really want to thank everyone for all your support and love during these past few months. It has been really hard but with your support, prayers and most of all GOD's love we are taking it day by day. I know making this move will be hard for many reasons. For one I will have to go through our storage unit and you talk about memories well that unit is totally FULLLLLL of them. Pretty much everything from Memphis and our old house is in there. That means ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL Aaron's toys, animals, and most of all his "toys". I know that in time things will get easier but hearing his voice, seeing pictures, talking about him, seeing his animals, toys or even seeing superhero clothes is really hard some days. I know Aaron always wanted us to have our own home home. And now we will I am soooooo happy we can finally make that dream come true.

Well school is almost out for the boys and they are sooooo excited for many reasons. This coming year I think will be a great time for ALL of us. They will be going with me to Memphis after school is out. I am excited to be going but yet I know it will be hard without Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron. He was always the life there and I know for all the staff it will be hard too. Seeing us without Aaron. But this is something I have longed to do especially since I need closure when it comes to St. Jude in Memphis. We never really got to tell everyone goodbye and this will help. The boys are also really excited about moving too. They know they will be able to play and ride their bikes without harm coming to them. Andre'e is going to Rolling Acres next year which means he will be in the big 5th grade. Antavious will be in 4th grade at Northmoor still. I am sooooooo happy for the boys because they will still get to be with their friends next year.

Mom is doing great back at work. She is not having any problems and GOD is continuing to BLESS her ALL the way.

As for me well I am staying busy busy busy as always trying to keep myself from any down time because that is when I tend to think about everything and well honestly I try not to. But I am glad GOD is continuing to BLESS us EVERY single day in EVERY single way.

Thanks for checking in on us and please continue to pray GOD's will be done in our live and we will do the same for you and yours.

Giving GOD ALLLLLLLL the Glory,

Marilyn Mommy To Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Saturday, May 14, 2005 11:49 AM CDT

HEY HEY HEY everyone!!!!

Well sorry for the laps in writing. I have noticed the numbers jumping higher and higher but not really any guestbook entries. I thought huh I guess everyone just looks for an update and then leaves. Well just so all know we are doing pretty good.

Mothers day wasn't quite the same. Of course the day after was even worse. I took the boys to school and I had the day off because of a doctors appointment. Well I decided to go visit Aaron and put some stuff on his grave. I found some purple and orange pinwheels to place at his grave and then found this really cool "dog pile" of turtles with orange shells to place at his grave. I am sure most of you have seen the picture of Aaron and his brothers piled up together well that just reminded me of that picture. I cried and cried going there it was really hard but I know he is way way better off in heaven. I usually handle my days off pretty well. But a lot of emotions came over me on monday for some reason. I also had to view some video of Aaron for our walk tomorrow at Richwoods. That really just put the icing on the cake. There was this clip of him 2 days before he died playing santa claus with the real santa there. He was standing so proud saying HO HO HO Merry Christmas!!!! It was soooo precious. I just really miss him soooooooooo much. There is such a void in our lives. But I also know he is watching over us every single day.

Well from that fun on Monday Wednesday was the boys spring musical. It was AWESOME!!! Everyone did a great job putting this on and of course I had to cry because I thought of Aaron being up there doing something silly. I also took great footage of each class and of course my boys. But I also took some great pictures too and of course Aaron was there. I was surprised to see that circle around Antavious when I took this one picture. But I was also glad to know he was there watching out for his brothers. I just know no matter what we do or where we go Aaron is with us now and ALWAYS!!!!

Well mom went back to work this week and things went very good. Not quite sure what caused her reaction but she is all HEALED!!!! GOD is sooooooooooooo AWESOME!!!!

The boys are excited about school being almost out but as for me well I am just trying to find a place for them to spend their days. I still have to work and so does mom so now I guess I have to get them in a daycamp or something.

We finally got pre-approved for a home loan. We are now just looking for a house in our budget and of course it MUST be in Northmoor school district. We have went and looked at about 5 houses so far and nothing just caught our eye but after I get off work today we will be looking at 2 more. I am excited to get outta the south end for GOOD it is really really getting bad down there. The boys are just excited to be moving closer to friends so they can play together.

Well guess that's about all that's new with us hope and pray everything is going good with ALL of you and talk to you all SOON!!!!

Thanks for all your SUPPORT,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Wednesday, May 4, 2005 6:11 PM CDT

HEY HEY HEY there everyone!!!!! Just want to thank you all for stoping by and checking on us.

Well first off I want to ask everyone to continue to keep our family in your prayers for many reasons. First off that GOD's will be done with the whole house thing. I am kinda frustrated but I also know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it's all in HIS time not ours. I really just want to go rent an apartment closer to the boys school but I have a few issues with that one being leaving my mom behind in this awful neighborhood by herself. Second being the prices. I have spent most of this week pricing apartments and WOW anywhere from 835-950+ per month. Are they CRAZY!!! I am only a single momma doing this all on my own with GOD's help and guidence of course but still that means only one income and well no child support coming in so basically that won't do it. The boys and I talk nightly about what is going to happen this summer. First I don't even think I can afford childcare for them all summer and they really want to move closer to their schools because they know that if we don't then they are going to have to go to the schools down here next year and well honestly I really don't know what will happen. They are very well behaved but if I have to send them to these schools well even though I instill values in them it may not show in the end. So needless to say I am a lil worried but I also know GOD has it all under control and I MUST give him ALL my worries.

I also wanted to thank everyone who has been praying for Big Andre'e the boys dad. He went back to turn himself in on Tuesday morning and well he should be meeting with someone in the next couple weeks and then he will be outta the military. I was shocked to hear that but yet glad nothing horrible happened. But just pray he will go to work ASAP because being without support for the boys is really hard even though I make ok money. They are growing and well lets just say sometimes they can eat us outta house and home.

As for my mom well she is heading back to work next Monday for her first week back in a couple months. She is happy and totally ready to be back in the swing of things.

As for the boys well they are their normal selves. They keep me on my toes and are ready for summer. Today they did a lil interview about Aaron and what they use to do with him and what his personality was like. The video will be used at the walk on behalf of Nick Rudolph and Aaron Hunter next Sunday at 4pm the cost is $15.00 in advance and $18.00 at the event per person and you get a shirt and get to join the parents, students, staff and families of these precious children who have WON their battles in a walk from Richwoods high school to Northmoor. If anyone wants to join us or just wants to donate for the T-Shirt either call my cell 648-6586 or contact Nicole Wood the principal at Northmoor Edison at 692-9481.. The funds from this will help the Richwoods runners and they will donate the funds at the St. Jude Telethon on August 6, 2005. This is just another way to help us raise money to help another family not have to loose a child to cancer.

As for me well I really think the stress of work and the death of Aaron is really wearing on me. I find myself really really tired lately and not having much energy either. I am praying that our trip to Memphis in early June will help give me some closure. We are going to visit St. Jude and all our doctors, nurses and of course the staff. The boys are really excited about seeing the bikers and spending time with them(better have those 4 wheelers ready and of course the pool too). I also think some of my stress has to do with Mother's Day coming this Sunday. This is a first and of course you never realize how hard it is to do just everyday things without ALL your kids together. I remember Aaron's gift to me last year he gave me a glass flower and was soooooo proud of it. I miss him more and more everyday. I still want to pick him up from school, ask him what he wants to eat, make his crabby patties(porkchops with gravy), take him to bavantis(I still can't eat in "his" bavantis), and just lay with him in bed and read books. I know this will never happen again here on earth but the memories will last a lifetime. I also know and am very very greatful that GOD blessed me with 2 other beautiful sons to keep their mommy going. Trust me as a mommy I know I have plenty to be happy and greatful for this year but I also know I miss my BABY sooooooooooo much.

Well thanks for all your support and most of all your prayers. Keep those precious guestbook entries coming and talk to you all soon.

To EVERY Mother Happy Mothers Day!!!!!!!

Asking for GOD's Will to be Done,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Saturday, April 30, 2005 0:31 AM CDT

HEY HEY HEY EVERYONE!!!!

Well first off I just wanted to thank ALL of you for all your thoughts, prayers, and concerns with the issue that has been going on over the last couple weeks. I ended up having to call Memphis and talk to some big shots. They ended up calling here and taking care of everything. I really hated to do that but I was so upset when I got the guestbook entry that I almost went to the media about it but I decided that it would be best to keep it in the family(St. Jude Family that is) and so I contacted Memphis and they were very very friendly and compassionate they also let me know that I can raise money any way I want and that I don't need to contact anyone unless I go national I kinda already figured that out myself but at least I know the real deal now. I know alot of you were very upset by this situation as was I but it is all resolved now and hopefully things like this will NEVER happen again with ANY family. I have every intention of raising as much money as possible for St. Jude and will do so until I am in heaven with Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron. I have talked about this for years now making sure I give back a lil to them that they gave me in 2 1/2 years with Aaron. So I won't let ANYONE discourage me from this endevor no matter what. This is my way of giving back and of course making sure NO ONE forgets Aaron's name NO ONE!!!!!

Well anyway I have some GREAT news and some not so great news.

The GREAT news is.......................
Mom went to the allergist on Wednesday and was poked on and come to find out she isn't allergic to latex free or even latex for that matter. The doctors are stumped they are really confussed. I am too for that matter. So basically they are telling her she can go back to work and she will be contacting her regular doctor to get clearance to head back to work and then hopefully this will NEVER happen again. This was the scariest thing that could have ever happened. She and I both think GOD has completely healed her 100!! See I have always spoke of GOD and his healing power and this is a perfect example. GOD is soooooo GOOD!!!!!!

Well the not so good news is the house we dreamed of owning well we won't be owning it. The loan fell through and that really broke my heart especially since we really needed and wanted it soooooo desperately. I have pretty much cried all day. But to get my mind off of not getting it I did some things for my friends at the Bank who have faithfully prayed and been there for us during this whole thing. I know they were shocked and yet appreciative too. Shelly, Joy, and Steph I love you guys sooooooo much and just remember how much you girls meant and mean to both Aaron and I during this very difficult time. Your prayers meant the world to us and without your support and concern well I just might have went CRAZY!!!!!!(Not that I am sain anyway)

I had today off so the boys and I went grocery shopping and spent the night watching DVD's. I have to work tomorrow but I figure that is a great way to help me get my mind off other things. I love keeping busy because that totally helps me remain sain. They boys are doing good but they are really down because we aren't getting the house either. They really want to go to Northmoor next year and Rolling Acres. I have told them we are gonna try with all our might to move over the summer even if I have to move into an apartment I really need to get them outta here. Even tonight they were shooting off what seemed like cannons and I was like GOD please PLEASE help something come along PLEASE!!!!

Well guess I will talk to you all soon. Please join our family in praying that GOD's will be done and we find some place to move soon. I know GOD has a plan and reason for all this and I can't wait to see what it is. Also pray that Mom not have any reactions to her work environment again as she heads back this coming week. Thanks again for all your love, thoughts, support and prayers. GOD is SOOOOOOOO GOOD and HE will provide!!!!!

Leaning On and Trusting In HIM,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

P.S. Also don't forget we are still selling Our LiL Superhero Forever Bracelets. Just contact me by email or call if you have any questions.

This is a guestbook entry from someone I have never met but feel like I have known for years. This really explains me to a "T" and I know many of you who know me totally know what I mean.

My Mom is a survivor, or so I've heard it said.
But I hear her crying at night when all others are in bed.
I watch her lay awake at night and go to hold her hand.
She doesn't know I'm with her to help her understand.
But like the sands on the beach that never wash away...
I watch over my surviving mom, who thinks of me each day.
She wears a smile for others...a smile of disguise.
But through Heaven's door I see tears flowing from her eyes.
My mom tries to cope with death to keep my memory alive.
But anyone who knows her knows it is her way to survive.
As I watch over my surviving mom...through Heaven's open door.
I try to tell her that angels protect me forever more.
But I know that doesn't help her or ease the burden she bears.
So if you get a chance, go visit her...And show her that you care.
For no matter what she says...no matter what she feels.
My surviving mom has a broken heart that time won't ever heal~!
Author unknown.

Wednesday, April 20, 2005 11:44 AM CDT

Well I guess today I will start with my chipper HELLO EVERYONE who is not making a name for themselves!!!!!

I want everyone who reads this website to realize this site is for and about Aaron and our family. Events going on in the community and for those who love and care about us not those who just want to make their name known. I excluded any names from my previous journal and now the guestbook entries have put that "man's" and woman's name out in public eye. I don't think people realize just how many people around the world read this site. If you look at the tallies at the bottom of the journal you would see that this site is read ALL around the world. I would really appreciate any negativity be put in writing in an email to my email address instead of Aaron's guestbook. I realize by the guestbook entry left this morning that someone is still trying to make a name for themselves and no matter what I will always consider them selfish and not realizing how bad they really made themselves look. Like I said last time this is not about you it is about St. Jude and the kids not making a name for "man". These families go through alot and you people have no clue what it is like to loose your own child to cancer or any disease for that matter. You are really making a HORRIBLE name for yourself.

Well enough on that sore subject mom is still holding her own. We are still working on the house loan. The boys and I are hanging tough. Last night was a really hard night missing Aaron. I kept thinking of how bad this would be hurting him to know that people aren't grateful for our efforts. Aaron loved St. Jude and Lord knows we all still do. I just wish people would leave well enough alone and would worry about their fundraising efforts instead of hurting our family and friends hearts. This really was a mistake we had no clue the channels and now it resorted to this.

LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE LEAVE ALL OF US ALONE!!!!

Well I guess I could write a book today but I just want everyone who reads this website to realize how hurt we ALL are and if we ALL can't leave it alone then someone is gonna really get hurt.

As always please keep your prayers and thoughts coming for our family and pray that these people will leave us alone too.

Love,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Please continue to keep Zach and his family in your prayers!!!!!

Sunday, April 17, 2005 12:25 AM CDT

UPDATE AS OF 4/18/05 7:39PM

HERE IS THE LINK FOR THOSE OF YOU REQUESTING ACCESS TO THE ARTICLE THAT WAS IN SATURDAY'S JOURNAL STAR. http://www.pjstar.com/stories/041605/TRI_B65B9075.032.shtml

Well I know I usually start off with a chipper hello to everyone but unfortunatelly my heart is very heavy today!!!! I received an email from someone who I thought really loved and cared about our family yesterday in regards to an article in the Peoria Journal Star about money being raised on behalf of Aaron for St. Jude. Well apparently we stepped on some toes with this fundraising and article. I also pissed in some big wigs "wheaties" and frankly after the way he treated me on the phone I could honestly care less. I can only say no matter what I will continue to raise money for St. Jude and they will ALWAYS hold a special place in my heart for all they did for our family. The only thing I can say is it is people like those I didn't mention that really know how to hurt a grieving parents heart and I hope they know and realize how wrong they were in the way they handled this situation.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU(you are not GOD) OR YOUR POLITICS IT IS ONLY AND I TOTALLY MEAN ONLY ABOUT THE KIDS!!!!!

Well sorry for the venting but as most of you who read this know I have every single right to say as I please on here and I also know if Aaron were here to hear what was said to his mommy he would be wanting to say a few words himself. God knows my heart and all our hearts and I know that he will take care of our broken hearts and heal them too in time. I know we will never get over Aaron's death but I know in time it will get better.

Mom is doing better. She was actually able to go a few days without treatments every four hours this week. It was nice to see her getting up and around. She still has no idea how long she will be off work but she still has lots and lots of appointments with the doctors.

The boys and I are trying to stay busy and keep our heads high. They are excited about the new house. I failed to mention that the house is still pending because of the loan issue but with CHRIST ALL things are possible and if it is meant to be it will. I also wanted to thank everyone for volunteering to help with the BIG move. I should know for sure this week sometime. As soon as I know the details I will let all of you know.

Well just wanted to let everyone know what was new in our neck of the woods and to ask that everyone continue praying for our family. We miss Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron soooooo much as I am sure many of you do to. Seeing that article yesterday in the newspaper really made me miss that toothless grin not that I don't everyday. Going to that class this week made me realize not to focus on the negative but the good and positive things. That is one of many positive things I will NEVER forget his toothless grin and laugh!!!!!

Asking GOD To Mend Our Broken Hearts,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

P.S. Please pray for our friend Zach who we went to Disney World with as he is really having a tough time. Also pray for his Mom and family too.(www.caringbridge.org/il/zachallen)

Tuesday, April 12, 2005 10:03 PM CDT

HEY HEY HEY EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!

Well let me first just say a huge thank you for to everyone who has already bought a "SUPERHERO" bracelet. Don't forget to get yours soon because they are going and soon they just might be gone!!! Really if I sell them all I will always buy more so don't worry you will always have a bracelet. But our goal is to have the biggest plaque for Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron!!!!! Don't forget to email me your information or send a note with your check. Also don't forget we have adult and youth sizes available so don't forget your kids!!!!

Well now onto the GREAT news!!!!! WE HAVE A HOME!!!!! No we didn't win the St. Jude home but the way we feel we might as well have won it. We found a georgeous home that anyone would love. Mom and I looked at it this morning and it is right across from the school. It even has a pool which is heated too. We all know Aaron loves to swim so do you think maybe he had a lil to do with this???? Well the house has also been regutted too. The guy who owned it put all new cabinets, carpet, tile, and appliances too. It is a quad level and trust me it even has a picket fence!!! Well needless to say mom and I are elated. We are really excited. I don't know how many of you know this but for the last month we have lived amongst gun shots and even 2 killings. This past Sunday was the final straw. When mom was reading her bible shots rang out and she was terrified so we decided if we didn't win the St. Jude dream home then we were getting outta here ASAP!!!! Well now look!!!

Well now onto mom. She still isn't even up to par last journal entry she was heading back to work but in the chart office. Well that didn't work out so well. She ended up having horrible problems breathing and well now she is being knocked off work for LORD knows how long. Her main doctor has even told her that she may never go back. I know that sounds harsh but trust me mom has asked for many many years to get outta the hospital and well this may just be her way out even if it isn't what she really expected. But as we all know GOD doesn't do things the way we want or in our time but his way and in his time!!!!! So please continue with your prayers for her as this now will be a HUGE adjustment.

Now onto the boys and I. Well as always the boys are doing great even in school. Their grades are still staying good and they are getting ready for school to be out soon. Lord knows summer is coming and we have a huge pool to enjoy!!! Antavious just had his 10th birthday on April 11th. He was very happy as mommy sent him cookies by design and he just totally loved them. He even said that was the best birthday present he had ever gotten!!!! That sure made me feel good to know I could make his birthday sooooo special. Well as for me tonight I had my first class. It was really great. I cried laughed and even saw some St. Jude parents and staff. I really miss St. Jude they have really become family and it really made me realize that I need to get over there and of course to Memphis too. Well this week has been better than last week. I didn't have as many breakdowns. Of course baby steps everyday help!!!

Well don't forget to give those family and loved one hugs and kisses and most important tell them how much they mean to you and you love them. Thanks for all your prayers and support. Please keep it coming. We love and miss everyone sooooooo much but most of all We Miss Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron!!!!!!

Love and Prayers,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Sunday, April 3, 2005 11:34 PM CDT

Hey Hey Hey there everyone!!!!

The good news is THE BRACELETS ARE IN!!!!!!!! Yes you heard me right the SUPERHERO bracelets are in. I am sooooo excited. I want everyone to know how much this will mean to our entire family to raise as much money as possible for St. Jude. They gave us some much needed time with our LiL Superhero that we may not have gotten had it not been for GOD and modern day medicine. St. Jude was a great home away from home and by doing this it will honor Aaron and of course maybe help another family not have to go through 1/2 of what we went through. If you are interest in getting your bracelet we have 1,000 adult and 500 youth. You can either go to Northmoor Edison School and give them your money($5.00/bracelet) or you can email me at stjudemomma@aol.com with your information including how many and an address where we can mail them to you at and send a check, money order, or cash(made payable to the Aaron Hunter Fund) to my home address 1618 W. Kettelle, Peoria, IL 61605. I will cover the cost of mailing them to you. I know there are some of you who want a bulk supply to sell on our behalf and if you do please email me along with the amount of each you want and your address. I want to thank everyone in advance for making this possible and just know you won't regret it one bit.

Well I hope everyone here in Peoria is enjoying this awesome weather we are having. I know the boys and I sure are. Today was a very very hard day for me. Mom and I have been talking about going to Aaron's grave. I know lately it has been very very hard for me to do it but for some reason I have been led to go there. Well today I was going through a box with a bunch of cards and letters from everyone to Aaron, the boys and I and wow you talk about hitting and hitting hard. I just started sobbing and crying. I couldn't even stop. I just really miss Aaron so much. I was looking at pictures of him and I together and I can't even express how hard it is without him and that toothless grin. I know many of you ask me all the time how are you doing and I say well I am doing good or hey I am making it. But honestly my poor heart is just aching like crazy. Somedays I have no desire to do anything let along to anywhere. I feel sorry for the boys because I know I have to be strong for them but I also know sometimes I feel like I never really greived for Aaron. This has been a very hard past few days. Yesterday was one of my LiL cousins birthdays and you talk about hard he had his party at Chuck e cheese well that was the last fun place I took all the boys and I did it for my birthday in November. I will never forget that day because I carry a picture of Aaron in my car from there. Well that night after the party I was suppose to take the boys to the movies but I just wanted to go home and hide. I didn't want to be bothered let along go see a movie that just might make me laugh. I know how I feel from day to day but I can't even imagine how the boys feel. They don't talk about Aaron at all except for LiL Andre'e he names ALL his toys and animals after his baby brother who he loved soooooo much. I have had a few people very close to me recommend classes to me so on April 12 I am going to attend my first grieving class. I think I am ready to get this part of my life started. I think that is the best thing I can do right now. I also am going to try to get all of us in classes to help us deal with all the emotions going on in our hearts. Well sorry to vent on here but boy has it been a long time since I had one of these weeks and well I think it wise to make everyone aware of what us parents who have lost our children to cancer have to go through even though this is just a glimps of how hard it is.

Well thank all of you for bearing with me during my pouring out. As you can see with time it doesn't get any easier. I think sometimes I put on a great show but tonight I just couldn't I had to speak from the heart!!!! Well please continue to keep ALL my family in your prayers and thoughts. Lord knows he hears them and is continuing to answer them. Mom is heading back to work for the first time in a week tomorrow. Please continue to lift her up in prayers she has her days and moments too. Well until next time....

Peace, Love, and Joy,

Marilyn Mommy to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Aarie mommy loves and misses you soooooooooooooo much. Just know we love and miss you and can't wait to be with you again someday!!!!!

Monday, March 28, 2005 8:14 PM CST

Hey there EVERYONE!!!!

Well sorry for the delay in updating but this stupid website really has made me mad. I have tried for 3 days now and earlier today I updated and it automatically deleted by itself. That is sooooo frustrating. Well I just wanted to let everyone know things around here are going ok. I took off Friday, today, and tomorrow to spend some much needed time with the boys. I really miss Our LiL Superhero Aaron sooooo much. It is hard to do things that we always did together as a family but I also know that I must for the sake of the boys. They love going to the movies, swimming and of course their new hobby skating. But those are all things Aaron loved to do and now he isn't here with us to do them anymore. But I want to make sure we still have fun and considering the fact they love doing all those things just as much as Aaron did I will continue to do them for all of us. I do have some good news and some not so good news.

The good news is THE BRACELETS ARE IN!!!!!!!! Yes you heard me right the SUPERHERO bracelets are in. I am sooooo excited. I want everyone to know how much this will mean to our entire family to raise as much money as possible for St. Jude. They gave us some much needed time with our LiL Superhero that we may not have gotten had it not been for GOD and modern day medicine. St. Jude was a great home away from home and by doing this it will honor Aaron and of course maybe help another family not have to go through 1/2 of what we went through. If you are interest in getting your bracelet we have 1,000 adult and 500 youth. You can either go to Northmoor Edison School and give them your money($5.00/bracelet) or you can email me at stjudemomma@aol.com with your information including how many and an address where we can mail them to you at and send a check, money order, or cash(made payable to the Aaron Hunter Fund) to my home address 1618 W. Kettelle, Peoria, IL 61605. I will cover the cost of mailing them to you. I know there are some of you who want a bulk supply to sell on our behalf and if you do please email me along with the amount of each you want and your address. I want to thank everyone in advance for making this possible and just know you won't regret it one bit.

Now onto the not so good news. I had to rush my mom to the Emergency Room last night because she almost quit breathing on me. I was soooo scared. I kept thinking if I loose my mom what would I do. A few months back my mom told me that she needed to get her will in place and in order. At first I was like ok mom what are you trying to say. Well then she said something about well you just never know. I mean after all I have been through these past few years I totally know what she means. But still this was my mother telling me this. I always said I wouldn't know what to do without my biggest supporter. Well anyway basically mom found out she is allergic to her work environment. She was told she had to work away from patient care since she is now allergic to latex-free products and considering the hospital is now full of latex-free since everyone else is allergic to latex she has to work away from patient care. She was having really bad problems breathing even here at home this weekend so finally last night I said mom that's it I am taking you to the hospital and find out what is wrong with you. Basically the doctors gave here 4 breathing treatments and also gave here a shot of steriods along with vicadin. It helped her finally sleep last night but today when she woke up she was really bad off. She went to the doctor today and they gave here a different kind of breathing treatment that she has to take every 4 hours around the clock along with a steriod and an antiobiotic. She still isn't up to par as of this evening but LORD willing she will get better with time. So please join us in praying that GOD help her get over this achy stuff and fell all better. Also pray that she handle this new job ok. She has worked around patient care for 27 years and this is a huge change to be behind closed doors away from people.

Well other than all that things here are going good. The boys and I are finally healthy. We are enjoying our time together and of course the beautiful weather we are having here!!!! It is suppose to be in the 70's tomorrow. I can hardly wait I love summer. Except for the fact I am working now so that is no fun.... Well I guess I shouldn't complain since at least I have a job finally now!!!!

Well guess I will talk to you all later and please keep those awesome thoughts and prayers coming they are helping us make it through every single day.

Don't forget to order your bracelets they won't last long!!!!

Thanking GOD Everyday for HIS Many Blessings,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Monday, March 28, 2005 7:43 PM CST

Hey there everyone!!!!

Sunday, March 20, 2005 12:02 AM CST

Hey there EVERYONE!!!!

Well we made it home safe and sound. The train ride home was not as pleasant as the one there really wobble and bumpy. Considering this was our first train ride it was nice and just think we could sleep all we wanted because none of us were driving!!!!

First I wanted to let everyone know that the pastor has passed away as of yesterday morning. I was kinda shocked but while I was in Chicago he was on my mind alot and something told me things weren't good. His wife called us yesterday morning and let us know he was up in heaven where we all long to be someday. Today I really wanted to go to church but just couldn't bring myself to do it. It does seem weird to go to church without Aaron but then again without the pastor seems awful. I now know why I couldn't go and that is because I watched the services on tv this morning. I watched Bellvue Baptist which is a great church that Aaron and I were invited to attend while in Memphis. The pastor spoke about Job this morning. I have heard many many pastors preach about him but this time it just really hit home. I am sure you all know why considering Aaron has recently passed away and now the pastor. I know they are both way better off but for those of us still hurting and knowing that hurt will probably never go away we must know GOD is the Answer. He has a plan and reason for EVERYTHING and although sometimes at the time things are happening we don't understand why they are HE has a PLAN!!!! I know first hand what it is like to watch a child, friend, loved one, or perfect stranger suffer but just know that no matter what HE has a PLAN and even through the struggles HIS grace is sufficiant!!!!! Don't get me wrong at first we want to curse GOD but then as we realize this is not from him but from the devil we lean on HIM for understanding and peace. ONLY GOD can give us that PEACE!!!

Enough on my soap box!!!! Yesterday we all just layed around trying to catch up on rest from being gone all week. Boy what a long long week. Training was great and I can hardly wait to use some of the tools I learned this week. Then again some I really don't want to think of again!!!! Anyway the boys, mom and I really got to see the big city life and really have no desire to see it again. Sometimes we think we live the big city life but seeing Chicago downtown well now that is HUGE!!!! Way to much walking for my blood and way to busy. Very rude people and to hectic for any of us. The boys like the big city life but the hotel we were in was not kid friendly at all. The big goal for ALL of us was to swim and relax but unfortunately that never happened since they only have a mens pool which the boys couldn't go to on their own and a womens pool and they couldn't go there either since they were older!!! Needless to say they were not very happy but I promised them this summer we would be taking vacations and swimming would be top priority. I love swimming myself but after a long day at work I was really way to exhausted to even think about swimming. I just wanted to eat and go to sleep.

Well thanks for checking up on us and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. Hopefully the bracelets will be in soon and when I know anything I will let yall know.

Living one day at a time,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 7:44 PM CST

HEY HEY HEY HEY EVERYONE!!!!!

Well boy where has the time gone????? Mom and the boys are sure living it up here in Chicago. They went to the aquarium on Tuesday and really enjoyed themselves. They did take lots of pictures for me since I was in training!!! I really enjoyed hearing the stories. That night when we went out to eat I found myself wanting to ask Aaron what he wanted or looking around wondering where did Aaron go. It has been hard to be on a trip without him. I can't imagine those who have just lost their children to cancer and having to go down this road. The first weeks are hard but to take a trip and not have the baby with you is really really hard. Today Mom and the boys went to the Sears tower and loved that too. I guess the wait was long but they had fun. Tonight we went to Rainforest Cafe and of course that really hit home for me. Especially since that is the last GREAT time I had with Aaron. We went there while we were at Disney World with Nikki and Zach. I watched the monkeys go crazy and thought of him alot. I know how much he loved monkeys so of course I had to buy a monkey key chain to remember the great times there. The boys loved it and really enjoyed seeing a new scenary for once. It was funny when we got there they were like what in the world???? I was like oh you guys are gonna love this. Then when we got dessert they were like this is soooo cool. For those of you who have never been there well this is a really cool event. We ordered the volcano which when they bring it out everyone yells VALCANOOOOOOO really loud and there is a sparkler inside the dessert. They boys were embarrased when it arrived at our table but they sure ate it up(carmel, hot fudge, brownies galore, and ice cream and whip cream)!!!! Is anyone hungry????? Well from there we came back here and are just hanging out for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow we are planning on hitting the Navy Pier and enjoying BUILD A BEAR(thanks Tonya and family) and the many other attractions!!!!

Well guess I better get outta here and hit the sack I am not feeling the greatest but hey gotta do what I gotta do. Thanks for checking up on us and our trip and talk to you all very very soon!!!

Love Always,

Marilyn Mother to Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Monday, March 14, 2005 8:08 PM CST

Hey there EVERYONE!!!!!

Well guess where WE are in nice SNOWY Chicago!!!! We made it here safely around 5pm. We had a 2 1/2 hour layover on the train!!! I know some of you are thinking what the how in the world can you have a layover on a train but needless to say we had a delay in Bloomington for over 2 hours. But at least we made it to Chicago safely. About 20 minutes after we got here it started snowing!!!! I sure felt right at home LOL LOL LOL!!! Well anyway just wanted everyone to know the boys mom and I are here and really enjoying the change of scenary. BOY is Chicago HUGE!!! We have never been here before so this is a experience of a lifetime. The hotel we are staying in has 10 floors and its right in the middle of downtown. It is really really extravagant!!!! Can you believe you can only eat breakfast, lunch or dinner in this hotel if you DRESS UP I mean no jeans no athletic gear only dress clothes!!! Boy what a choice with the boys being away from school they won't even come close to wearing their uniforms and of course it's very very expensive. Imagine that Chicago expensive. But as for our first dinner here it was really good we ate at a place called Miller's Pub it was really yummy. The boys already have dibs on eating at Dunkin Dounuts for breakfast tomorrow!!! As for me well guess I will be at training stuck in a building ALLLLLL day!!! But guess that is what I am here for right????? Mom and the boys have the camera loaded and ready for their day of the aquarium tomorrow. I am soooo happy they will be having fun and much needed at that. We are hoping to go to the Navy Pier on Friday since I hear that I get out at 11am and our train doesn't leave until 5 something that night. At least I will have a LIL fun.

Well thanks for checking on us and I will update you all tomorrow as to what fun/training we are having!!!!!

Love,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, Grandma, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Wednesday, March 9, 2005 11:22 PM CST

Hey there everyone!!!!!!

Well boy what a busy past week. First off Andre'e and Antavious have both gotten over the flu and are back to school. Now mom is sick with the same horrible flu and I think I have come down with it too. My throat is killing me and I have been carrying low grade fevers. I also have been in horrible pain since Sunday and went to the doctor finally today. At first they thought it was a ruptured appendix but after further investigation it is either somthing wrong with my ovaries or a cyst on my ovaries and to top it all off I have a severe bladder infection. I am in alot of pain and walking funny but what keeps me going is that through it all Aaron never stopped smiling and no matter what neither will I. He is totally my inspiration and what makes me want to go on, along with GOD of course. So I am on an antibiotic for 5 days and hopefully that might help but also I will be having a sonogram done the Monday after I get back from Chicago. Hopefully I can still go since this came up. I would hate to have all this pain and be up in Chicago(but at least I will have my mommy with me!!!!).

I also wanted to say a huge thank you to the school for allowing the boys to take their ISAT's early so they could go on this trip with us. This time away is sooooo much needed. I know it won't be the same without Aaron but I also know he will be watching out for us. LiL Andre'e is counting down the days and can hardly wait it is soooo funny watching him be soooo excited just to get away even if it isn't that far away.

I also wanted to let everyone know the link to the bracelets is up and running they are totally addorable just like Aaron was and still is to so many of us. I hope to have them in by early April. I also wanted to make sure everyone knew we have a huge supporter in the run this year. Apparently some cops and firefighters run from Chicago to Peoria(120) and they want to do it in honor of Aaron this year. They will be wearing shirts with Aaron's picture on them and of course the bracelets to boot. I like many other parents want a memorial on Aaron's behalf put up on St. Jude's wall but that requires alot of donations and with this huge supporter we will be one step closer. I am soooo excited and can hardly wait to meet everyone and thank them personally. I know many of the Memphis to Peoria runners will be doing the same thing and I also want to thank them for allowing Our LiL Superhero Forever to live on no matter what!!!! Aaron loved the runners and I know for many of them this year will be very very hard since Aaron will not be there in person but trust me he will be with us in SPIRIT!!! No matter what. He touched many last year at the run and even had one very special runner honor him for his heroism. I have already taken the entire week of the run off just so I can be ready for Saturday and also just to spend some much needed time with my boys!!!!!

Well I am sure you all are wondering how we are doing and I guess you could say just OK. Not the greatest but as I keep hearing with time it will be get better but with time I know ALL things heal. I just can't keep away from all the websites. There are soooo many kids struggling and so many who have lost their battles. On Monday another one of our St. Jude Buddies "WON" his battle Mr. Tyler(www.caringbridge.org/tn/ptyler or www.caringbridge.org/tn/tyler). It seems lately GOD is wanting or needing more of our babies up in heaven. It sickens me to think of how many of our first kids we met in Memphis that have went to heaven. I know how I feel walking through everyday life and to have another family walking in my shoes is heartwrenching. I just ask for everyone to donate and pray for ALL the families of St. Jude not just the ones who are battling now but also those who have gone before us!!!! I know sometimes we forget the fallen heroes but trust me us parents NEVER forget our babies!!!!

I ask that you continue to pray for our family and the countless others the list seems to be never ending. I also ask that you continue to pray for the pastor he is in the hospital and isn't doing very good. They have found even more tumors and he is going through radiation currently. He is also in alot of pain and we all know only GOD can heal him. I sometimes want to just go talk to him and let him know that its ok but sometimes I feel like an idiot by doing that because here I am basically a kid telling an adult everything will be ok NO MATTER WHAT!!!! I know some of you can understand that and others are like what the heck is she talking about but I love the pastor and to see him struggling hurts me just like it did to watch Aaron suffer. I know Aaron too is watching over him as he loved the pastor sooooo much too. I also ask that you pray for his family they are really stuggling with this.

Well thanks as always for checking up on our family and please continue to SIGN SIGN SIGN SIGN the guestbook!!!! I see the hits go up by hundreds each day and only one person signs in. Just remember even if you just say HI I would really appreciate it. I check the guestbook daily and look to that for my daily inspiration!!!! GOD is soooooooo GOOD and he continues to AMAZE me with his presence!!!!!

Amazed By HIS Comfort and Grace,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

P.S. For those of you Prayer Warriors who continue to pray for our needs don't forget the St. Jude dream home giveaway and of course OPRAH!!!!

Friday, March 4, 2005 12:22 AM CST

HEY HEY HEY EVERYONE!!!!!

I have some AWESOME news!!!! I am not fired nor did I even get written up!!! What an AWESOME GOD we serve HUH!!! Our prayers were answered and HIS will was done!!!!

Do you see what time it is???? I finally have a day off but am at home with Antavious who now has that awful flu. He told me he used the same thermomoter as Andre'e while he was sick and that is how he got sick. Mom and I are just praying we don't get sick now too this flu is AWFUL!!! Right now as I am typing this Antavious is talking like crazy in his sleep he also is carrying 101-104 fevers. I am giving his lots of fluids and of course alternating tylenol and advil since the tylenol doesn't break the fever. Just pray he will be all better by Monday so he can go to school by then.

Just so everyone knows the link to the bracelets is working but as of now the picture isn't up yet but the link is. Hopefully the picture will be up by next week sometime. I am very anxious about these as this will be a great way to give a LiL back to St. Jude who gave ALL of us some precious moments with Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron!!! I know he loved St. Jude and of couse we did too. I really miss them soooooo much and can't wait to see everyone. I know it will probably be very emotional but soooo worth it.

The boys and I are really doing quite well. I really miss Aaron alot and cry about him often in my quiet times at night. I know he is better off but I still miss him and his toothless grin. Alot of people are doing things in honor of him this year for one my cousin who races at motor speedway here in Peoria has put Aaron's name on his car in honor of Aaron. My LiL nephew who also will be racing stock cars will be doing the same thing. Then sometime in May not sure of the date yet Richwoods and Northmoor will be doing a walk/run on behalf of Nick Ludoff(sp?) and Aaron too. That is when I plan of selling most of the bracelets.

I also wanted everyone to join our family in praying for 2 very special prayer requests!!!! One being that if it be GOD's will we win the St. Jude Dream Home give-away!!!! Lord knows this would be a huge step in the right direction. Where we live now is gettting really really bad and has been getting worse for years now. The other I haven't mentioned before or should I say in a while but I have contacted the OPRAH show again in hopes to go on the show when mom and the boys and I are in Chicago. Most of you know about these precious photos of Aaron's spirit that we have and I think the world should see them!!! I really want to have OPRAH do a show dedicated to this amazing story of Our LiL Superhero so I contacted them again in hopes they just might do a show in Aaron's honor. I know he was really excited to know he was going to be on the OPRAH show a few months back and it never fell through but this would totally be a great way to allow him on the show after all!!!!! I know this was a huge disappointment before but I really feel in my heart this can happen so please join us in believing that it finally will!!!!!

Well on that note guess I better get outta here and get some kinda house work done since this has been my only day off since last Saturday!!!! Thanks again for checking on us and continue to keep our family and the countless others in your thoughts and prayers!!! Also don't forget to sign the guestbook LORD knows it keeps me sain!!!!!

Looking Up To HEAVEN,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Sunday, February 27, 2005 9:37 AM CST

HEY HEY HEY EVERYONE!!!!!

Please join me in praying for another precious child who has WON his battle with cancer Ben Bowen AKA BIG BEN(www.bens-story.com) his family needs our support now more than ever!!!

Well another week down before our much needed break away from home(I hope and Pray)!!!!! I want to start off this journal entry with an email I got from my cousin she too is a single parent and totally knows what it is like to wonder how you will feed your child his/her next meal and raise them to the best of your ability. Living by FAITH alone and GOD's GRACE!!!!

Single Mother By Choice
A short story By: Teresa Johnson

Single mother by choice. I think I cringed the first time I heard that phrase. Who in their right mind would choose to be a single mother? At times I desperately wanted the wedding band that seemed to accompany parenthood. But, that wasn't meant to be. On April 2nd, 2001. About a month away from my 31st birthday, my son came into the world screaming out his fluid-filled lungs.After the visitors were gone, and little logan was sleeping peacefully in the nursery, I cried. I cried so hard that my stitches began to hurt. so much so, that I was tempted to take the large dose of ibuprofen the nurse offered just to dull the pain. But the pain I was feeling wasnt merely physical. What had I done? I could barely make it on my own, and I had the sheer audacity to bring a baby into my failure of a life?
What was I thinking? I was a single mother...of one demanding, crying little boy.

Three years went by in a blur of long days, and even longer nights. Even though I had secured a halfway decent apartment, the bills were still piling up. I couldnt seem to get ahead. And child support was a laughable subject, all together. Non-exsitent was a better word for it.
Sleep was an old friend that I had lost contact with, but how I longed for reunion.
My frustration began to manifest in ways that I wished it wouldnt have. I had days that were so bad that if I even idled for a minute...I crashed...HARD. Whether at work or being up with my son, who never seemed to sleep, it never seemed to fail. And I began to have the menacing thought of why I even bothered. My aunt was such a doting aunt that I was sure that my son would be better off with her and my uncle I contemplated leaving him, many times. I just figured he would be so much better off there, and being a single mom, was just becoming more than I could bear.

One night after dealing with the stress of my job, and being told that I may lose my job for the reason of going out of business, I slumped througn my front door. I was nearly in tears. I didnt know how much more of this I could actually take, didnt know which way was up, and felt like I was truly losing my mind. I was convinved of being a complete failure of a mother. I even prayed to God to show me that he had some reason for choosing me to be this great little boys mom. But, while looking at the pile of dishes that needed washing, and the piles of laundry that needed to be carted to the laundromat, and yet again...probably no sleep in sight, I just couldn't see a logical reason.

Bath time, which usually was one of my favorite times of the night, held no joy for me this particular time. I had resigned myself to leaving Logan with my aunt. Logan deserved so much better than this, especially a mother who couldnt even keep a decent house, or find the energy to make a home cooked meal, rather than settle for a happy meal. I couldnt pay my bills...I couldnt even begin to think about his brithday party fast approaching. I was just defeated. Couldnt he see what a failure I was? Mothers were supposed to be strong. Single mothers were supposed to be invincible. And here I was, a blubbering idiot, ready to face her first nervous breakdown.

As I was tackling the dishes, Logan came up to me and asked what color my eyes were. I thought this a strange question, but answered him. "They are blue...just like yours..."
he gave me a puzzled look and said..."No they arent mom...they are red...how come your eyes are always red?" I began to well up again, and thought of an answer that his three year old mind could comprehend. "They are red because I love you so much..." He smiled up at me, but still gave me a look of concern, and said "oh...ok mommy" and asked me for some bubbles out of my dishwater. I scooped up a handful and handed them to him. He blew them with all his might out of his hand, and said;
"I wish for my mommy to be a princess...princess mommy., and for her eyes to be pretty blue again instead of red all the time."
In that instant I realized that no matter how badly I thought I was doing, and no matter how badly I wanted Logan to have a stable two-parent home. I was enough. He needed me. He needed his mother. And regardless of what anyone thought or said...I was enough...and that's all that mattered.

Single mother by choice. I now feel a great sense of pride when I think of the term, because it wasn't a choice that I made. I guess God chose me to be a mother. Logans mother. Logans single mother.

The end

WOW huh!!!! Thanks cuz for helping others understand a little of what it's like to be a single mother everyday. Hope you don't mind me putting this on the website.

Well now onto how things are going with us. I know last Sunday I mentioned how I had such a hard week last week well this week started out the same way. I just really miss My LiL Superhero. It is hard to always put on that smiley face everyday but when I do I remember Aaron and how he always smiled through everything no matter what. I totally feel obligated to smile no matter how tough the situation is. Some days it is easy others it is hard but I also know between GOD and Aaron watching over me I will make it through. The beginning of the week I talked to another St. Jude family who lost their son before Aaron passed away. They too are really stuggling but also putting on that happy face as their son would do. Wednesday was a much better day but then on Thursday well things at work kinda went sour!!!! Thanks to me not being able to lie. Imagine that I couldn't tell a lie. Don't even ask me why but the Auditor was in town and he asked me a question and well I answered it truthfully because I felt that is what I had to do and now my job is totally in jeopardy. I find out this week if I will still have a job. I know what ALL the staff was doing was wrong and told my boss it was and he said well this is the way we have been doing it so keep doing it this way so I went along instead of standing up for myself and the other employees. So please pray for me this week that everything will work out for the best and I will still have a job. I have always said whatever GOD's will is is what I want. So this job may not be GOD's will and it also may be so just pray with me that GOD's will be done no matter what it is!!!!

On Friday I got a call that LiL Andre'e was at school sick so I asked Big Andre'e to go get him since I couldn't leave work with everything going on. By the time he got LiL Andre'e home he was carrying a fever of 100.3 he continued to carry that fever the rest of the night and when I got him home he was having major cold chills. So I checked his temp and it was 102.3 I was like oh my(in reality I was like OK GOD please let this be the flu and not CANCER). I know many parents who read this may never understand this fear but as the mother of a cancer patient I will always hold that fear in my heart. Well yesterday his temp got up to 103.2 I was freaking out by then and so I called the doctor and they recommended that I bring him to the emergency room since he was complaining of pain in his stomach and was hunched over. They thought it could be a ruptured appendix(oh great I thought just how Aaron's whole story started). I was to scared to take him to the ER so I just watched him closely and kept filling him with gatorade, tylenol, and peptobismol all day long. Well so far today no fever and so far so good. I was scared for a minute there but something told me not to worry GOD is sooooo GOOD!!!!

Oh yeah the latest news on those precious BRACELETS!!!!! The link below will be accessable on Tuesday 3/1/05 that is when a picture of the bracelet will be available for all to see. For clarification these bracelets will be 1/2 orange and 1/2 purple. They will say Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron on one side and the other side will say 2 Timothy 4:8. They will cost $5.00 each. I have ordered 1000 adult and 500 youth for the first shipment. The only thing is the cost of these are very expensive and so I am at this point paying for everything outta pocket. I was hoping and praying someone would step forward and help with the cost in some form or fashion but maybe in time. I know Aaron touched many many lives and with his story and these bracelets he will continue to touch many more!!!! I appreciate everyone who has put their order in early and pray many more will feel let to order soon!!!!

Here is the information you can use to pay for your bracelets ahead of time: Send a note letting me know how many and the sizes and an address to mail them when they come in. Make checks payable to The Aaron Hunter Fund and mail them to our home address Marilyn Mowder, 1618 W. Kettelle St., Peoria, IL 61605 if you have any questions please call my cell @ (309) 648-6586 or email me @ stjudemomma74@aol.com anytime. I hope that these will be available by early April if not by mid March. Also for those of you Staff and Parents who go to Northmoor Edison please just put your information into an envelope with Aaron Hunter on it and drop it by the office. They will make sure I get it. I really appreciate all the support to our family now lets give back to St. Jude a LiL of what they gave to us with Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron!!!!

Thanks everyone for all your prayers, emails, and most of all guestbook entries(these help me through day to day life). Please keep praying that things will go well with my job and GOD's will be done!!!!!!!!!!

Wanting GOD's Will In ALL Our Lives,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Sunday, February 20, 2005 1:14 PM CST

UPDATE ON THOSE FAMOUS BRACLETS!!!!!!!!!

An image of the bracelets will be available online at the link below hopefully by the end of the week so you can see the precious new SUPERHERO band just for Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron!!!! I am paying for these with my own money but if anyone knows of someone who would like to donate money just to help purchase these that would be great. I know alot of businesses can use it as a tax write-off so check with your work and see if they might want to help in this cost. If so just email me. I have already had a huge reply and I am sooooo excited and can hardly wait to be wearing mine and supporting St. Jude who gave me 2 1/2 more years with my son!!!!

Hey there everyone well guess my weekly updates aren't enought for a certain "St Jude Family"!!!!

So here goes. Nothing really going on here just been hanging out with my babies and of course there is work too!!! Sometimes I feel like I spend more time at work then with my babies but I also know I have to make a GREAT living for my babies. When they say mommy we miss you and want to spend time with you then well I make sure I take time away from everything and spend that much needed time with them. LORD knows I have talked about taking advantage of every single moment of every single day with family and friends this is why I make sure my babies know MOMMY is ALWAYS here for them no matter what. I sure missed my LiL Superhero soooooo much this week it was really hard for me. I am not sure why but he was on my mind most of everyday. Sometimes I am soooo wrapped up in my work and the boys I don't think about him as much but this week nothing could take my mind off my baby. I just say a prayer everytime he comes on my mind and say GOD please take great care of him and let him know mommy misses him like crazy and loves him soooo much. Like now see the tears flow soooo easily when I am alone and not around the public eye. I don't know how I am sooooo strong in the public eye but when I am behind closed doors well now that is another story. It's like GOD keeps me going and then after a nice long day I just have to release it all somehow. It is great to see everyone still loving and remembering Our LiL Superhero. It means the world to us to know Aaron is soooooo loved and touched sooooo many. I also wanted everyone to be aware that I ordered 1000 bracelets on his behalf they will be sold for $5.00 each so if anyone is interested please email me with you order. I think they will be here in about 2 months. They will be 1/2 orange and 1/2 purple of course Aaron's favorite colors they will say OUR LIL SUPERHERO FOREVER and then say 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. I know Aaron was and still is such a fighter he is with each of us every single day and I know he will help ALL of us through the rest of our journey here on earth. I also wanted everyone to know that the money donated will go to the local midwest affiliate not St. Jude in Memphis. The reason being is because both Memphis and Peoria have done soooo much for us and so the proceeds from these braclets I will present a check in August at the local Telethon. Then in December on the 9th we will continue Aaron's legacy of Cuddle for Compassion Day and those proceeds will be given to Memphis when Our entire Family and Friends(whoever wants to join us) will make a trip to Memphis to give all the families at the Ronald McDonald House and Target House a great Dinner provided by our family and friends. I think this will be a GREAT way to honor Aaron and to let everyone know no matter what Aaron will live in our Hearts and Lives FOREVER!!!! I also wanted to make sure EVERYONE who reads this realizes St. Jude is not a sad place it is a very very happy place so everyone who has thought about or wanted to go but just couldn't please pray about this and let me know if you would like to join our family in this wonderful experience it is one YOU will never FORGET just like you will NEVER FORGET Our LiL Superhero Forever!!!!

I also wanted everyone to know the boys, mom and I are making a trip to Chicago by train March 14-18 for my job. My work has worked with me and is allowing me to take my familiy with me on this trip since the boys really haven't been anywhere since before Aaron passed away. Mom nor us have ever rode a train before so this will be a great time. Also mom will be taking the boys to some sites while I am at work in training for the Assistant Manager classes. They really want to make it to build a bear more than anything but once they see how HUGE Chicago is they will flip out at all the tall buildings. Mom plans on having the time of her life with them too. They will be going to the Sears tower, Navy Pier, Aquarium, and the Museum of Science, etc. I can't wait to spend some much needed time AWAY from here. Even though it is for work it is still much needed!!!

Well thanks for all your thoughts and prayers and hopefully this update will last another week until next SUNDAY!!! Keep the wonderful support coming and don't forget to sign the guestbook as that is totally what keeps me going besides GOD of couse and your prayers!!!!!

Loving and Living Life to the Fullest,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Sunday, February 13, 2005 9:32 PM CST

Well I just want everyone to realize this CANCER stuff really SUCKS!!!!!!! SUCKS!!!!!!! SUCKS!!!!!!!! SUCKS!!!!

When will this battle ever be over for all these kids and adults and their families????? Please join me tonight in praying for another neuroblastoma warrior who has won his battle Mr. Stanton Haynes. He and Aaron loved to play cowboys and indians one day when Aaron really wasn't feeling the greatest Stanton came to visit him in his room at the RMH and they had fun playing together. I also know they are having fun riding trikes all through the golden streets of heaven since they both could be found riding those all around St. Jude.

I have really had a rough past few days. It all started Friday my day off after working 4 10 hour days in a row. WOW!!!! I really needed a break that is for sure. On Friday Antavious woke up feeling pukey and Andre'e had a really bad headache so I called the school and let them know the boys were sick. Antavious really felt and looked lousy but I just think Andre'e needed some mommy time. I on the other hand spent most of the day on the internet checking up on all my kids on the websites. From there I cried most the rest of the day just missing my LiL Superhero. Plus I said when I have a day where I have time to myself it would be hard and trust me it is. I also got the news that my best friend Jeff lost his mother Friday. I have always said it would be much much harder to lose someone you love spur of the moment then to know for some time and get to make the best of every moment. That is totally why we ALL must make the best of every moment no matter what stop telling your family or whoever tomorrow do it now because tomorrow may never come!!!! Like Kania(sp?) West said tonight on the gramys the only thing promised in life is DEATH!!! If we aren't right with GOD then well we all know where we are going surely not HEAVEN right!!!!! Well from there Saturday all of us went out to my Grandpa and Grandma's for lunch and for me to hook up Grandpa's new laptop and printer. I really miss seeing my family and spending time with those who I love but as I get told often i'm a working girl now!!!! Saturday I was kept pretty busy so I really didn't have much time to think about everything. Today we went to church and we had a wonderful service. Both my mom and I were touched by the holy spirit and we both spoke in tongues. It was an amazing experience that neither of us will ever forget. But when I got home I realized that Stanton had passed away and of course everytime we lose another child to this horrible disease my heart breaks all over again but I also know GOD has bigger and better plans for us all and I know these kids are much much better off. So once again tonight I cried not only for Stanton and his family but for Our LiL Superhero who I also miss soooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!! I know many of you miss him too but trust me things around here are sooooo quiet without him coming up running wanting us to read a book or just want to sit on mommy's lap or even just go night night with his mommy. Today Antavious and I had some much needed hugging and cuddling time and as I was cuddling with him I was thinking OK GOD thank you for letting me know everything is ok!!! Aaron is fine!!!!

Well on that note I better get outta here but before I do I have a huge special prayer request for everyone!!!! I bought a St. Jude Dream Home Give Away Ticket and I want everyone to join my mom and I and the boys in praying that we get the house. I know this may be far fetched but trust me with Christ ALL things are possible and he only knows what we want by us asking!!!! So everytime you think of our family just pray we get that house of ours that we much need and deserve!!!!

Thanking GOD for ALL the many blessings he has giving my Family,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Saturday, February 5, 2005 12:59 AM CST

Hey Hey Hey everyone thanks for stopping by for a new update!!!

Bet you all will never guess where I am writing you all from well if you guessed home you are WRONG!!! I am at work doing what working people do best!!!!(not working obviously!!!) I just wanted to let you all know your prayers are sure effective. Things with me and the boys are going great. I am loving being back at work if you consider I get cussed out at least daily LOL!!! Sometimes customers and staff just don't understand. I do miss my baby lots and miss doing stuff with ALL my boys but I also know Aaron is way way better off in HEAVEN with Jesus his best friend. The boys are still doing good and being silly like always. They don't like mommy working all the time though but guess that is what I gotta do to get this new house. I am so excited to be back to work and talking to people everyday about my LiL Superhero. It is nice to see everyone who comes into Krogers who knows us or heard our story through the newpaper or news. Lord knows I miss my lil guy but he also knows that things can only look up from here too. Aaron touched so many peoples lives and now I will make sure his legacy continues on no matter what(treat people with respect and love everyone as GOD loves us). I know Aaron is watching over all of us every single day saying hey you go guys GREAT JOB keep up the GREAT work!!!!

Well as you can see I am bored outta my mind here at work finally a slow day FINALLY!!!! But just wanted to let everyone know things are going good and we are taking it one day at a time. Thanks to everyone for checking on us and continuing to pray for us and the many other families fighting this battle. Also please don't forget to sign the guestbook even if to just say hi!!!! I love hearing from everyone and miss seeing all the entries I use to.

Thanking GOD Every Night For His Many Blessings,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Sunday, January 30, 2005 4:17 PM CST

Hey Hey Hey there everyone!!!!!

Things around here are going GREAT!!!! I am really loving going back to work and my first week was really kinda boring that is until Friday!!! I think we all love Friday's but I loved it because that was the day they just threw me into the system to wait on customers I was really getting bored just sitting at a computer screen reading ALL day long. I love working with the public and talking too as most of you know so finally i'm back into the swing of things. I loved my job before but now I see it in a whole new light. I like it for many different reasons one because you never realize how much you miss something until it's gone as I saw with Aaron but I did my best to savor every single moment with him. He sure made his mommy realize you MUST take advantage of every single moment of every single day no matter what you are talking about. Life, kids, husband/wife, jobs, GOD!!!! I know GOD gave me that precious baby for a reason and everyone whos lives he touched more than likely realizes the same thing or at least I pray they do because NOTHING in life is promised NOTHING!!!!! You just never know when GOD says it's you time and you will be where we ALL long to be in HEAVEN with out precious LORD and SAVIOR!!!!

The boys got their grades this week and they did great!!! They both made the honor roll and I am soooo proud of both of them. Even though we have a HUGE void in our lives they are really doing their very best no matter what and I know that is totally what Aaron would want for mommy and the brothers to do our best no matter what. He knows we will never forget him or stop thinking about him but we will do our best to make sure people around us see that LIGHT and lead others to heaven too!!!! I hear alot of people say how precious my boys are and I feel the same way but I also know that this only happens because of our faith in GOD!!! We all serve such an AWESOME GOD and I am so happy I know him as my personal SAVIOR!!!!

Well thanks to everyone for the continued support. Your calls, emails, and of course guestbook signings mean soooo much and really keep us going. I also want to thank those of you who are still sending the boys "real" mail to let them know they are thought of during this time of grieving. They love knowing just because Aaron is gone that the legacy of "real" mail for them still lives on. I also want to ask everyone to join our family in praying for us to get a new house soon. I pray every night for GOD's will to be done in this situation and I just know because of all the new stuff we have gotten there is a reason and that reason is soon we will have that NEW house we have always wanted and of course needed!!!!!

Oh yeah also please continue to pray for all the families who are struggling with their children's battles. Also your prayers for our pastor are working he has had no pain for 3 days straight now. PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

Don't forget to thank GOD for all the good times and the bad he gives us trials for a reason and even though it may seem like he hates us he loves us more than anyone or anything!!!!!

Taking It One Day At A Time,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Monday, January 24, 2005 9:13 PM CST

Well one day down and MANY MANY more to go!!!!!

Today was one day I have longed for for years now. I really missed work and thanks to GOD's blessings I am now back in the working force again. It was really nice to be around people but unfortantually not my "family" from the main branch. I sure miss the structure but I know in time with me being the kinda person I am things will get better and sooner than later. My boss has basically put me in charge don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing LOL!!!! I know there is much cleaning up to be done and I pray everyday for GOD's will to be done in everything I do and for everyone to see his light shinning through me always. I really want to thank all of you for ALL your prayers and support for me as I was really sick these past few weeks I still feel kinda fuzzy headed but feel much much better. I am also grateful to everyone for their calls and cards it really helps to know you all support us no matter what. I miss Aaron everyday and I wish he could be here to see his mommy doing so well although I know he is watching over me and the brothers every single day. GOD gives me such peace and comforts me when I miss my baby the most. I also wanted to let everyone know the boys are doing great. I am hoping to get us a house within a few months and this will allow them some space. Lord knows this house is totally getting way to small now. I am sick of coming home and seeing all this clutter it drives me CRAZY!!!! I know I have never been much of a clean freak but clutter really gets to me. Sometimes I wish I had somewhere to put all this stuff but I also realize that SOMEDAY I will!!!!!

Just a reminder don't forget to continue to sign the guestbook as that is what continues to keep us going and know the support we have backing us up.

Also please continue to pray for all our lil buddies some have WON their battles while others are still battling with the bravest. Also a praise note on the pastor they did find another tumor but they started radiation today in hopes or shall I say in believing he will be completely healed FOREVER!!!! GOD is such a AWESOME GOD and he knows each and everyone of our hearts and he knows every single move we make before we make it even when we don't understand he does and paves the way!!!! Thank you all once again for all your love and support and continue praying for our family as you always have!!!!

Praising GOD Always,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Thursday, January 20, 2005 9:46 PM CST

Hey Hey Hey there everyone thank you all sooooo much for your prayers they are working every single day. I am now feeling alot better and am just praying whatever I had stays far far away and no one else in the family gets it. I wanted to share this email I got with you all as it seems to be the only way I really feel without going through ALL the details. I know some of you were just as close to Aaron as we are and maybe this will help you too!!!!

New Years Resolutions For The Bereaved Parent

I RESOLVE..........

~~ That I will grieve as much and for as long as I feel like grieving, and that I will not let others put a time table on my grief.

~~That I will grieve in whatever way I feel like grieving, and I will ignore those who try to tell me what I should or should not be feeling and how I should or should not be behaving.

~~That I will cry whenever and wherever I feel like crying, and I will not hold back my tears just because someone else feels I should be "brave" or "getting better" or "healing by now".

~~That I will talk about my child as often as I want to, and I will not let others turn me off just because they can't deal with their own feelings.

~~That I will not expect family and friends to know how I feel, understanding one who has not lost a child cannot possibly know how it feels.

~~ That I will not blame myself for my child's death, and I will constantly remind myself that I did the best job of parenting I could have possibly have done. But when feelings of guilt are overwhelming, I will remind myself that this is a normal part of the grief process and it will pass.

~~That I will not be afraid or ashamed to seek professional help if I feel it is necessary.

~~That I will commune with my child at least once a day in whatever way feels comfortable and natural to me, and that I won't feel compelled to explain this communion to others or to even justify or even discuss it with them.

~~ That I will try to eat, sleep, and exercise every day in order to give my body strength it will need to help me cope with my grief.

~~To know that I am not losing my mind and I will remember myself that loss of memory, feelings of disorientation, lack of energy, and a sense of vulnerability are all normal parts of the grief process.

~~To know that I will heal, even though it will take a long time.

~~To let myself heal and not to feel guilty about feeling better.

~~To remind myself that the grief process is circuitous- that is, I may not make steady upward progress. And when I find myself slipping back into the old moods of despair and depression, I will tell myself
that slipping backward is also a normal part of the grief process and these moods too will pass.

~~ To try to be happy about something for some part of everyday, knowing that at first, I may have to force myself to think cheerful thoughts so eventually they can become a habit.

~~That I will reach out at times and try to help someone else, knowing that helping others will help me to get over my depression.

~~That even though my child is dead, I will opt for life, knowing that is what my child would want me to do.

(Written by Nancy Mower- TFC, Honolulu, HI)

I know as for me and my family this totally is how we feel every single day like OK what next. We all miss that precious baby soooooo much and one day we will be together again ONE DAY!!!!

I also wanted to give you all an update about how things are going with the job thing. So far as I know I am still planning on going to work Monday morning. I am really excited and yet nervous. Lord knows this is the day I have prayed for for over 2 years now. I know my LiL Superhero will be watching over me and making sure his mommy will be fine. I plan on trying to buy a house about 4-6 months from now. I guess the rodent thing is still an issue. This morning Antavious felt a "mouse" by his ankle but I bet it was a rat. So we put a rat glue trap out to see if we catch anything. But it was really funny watching him running into my bed naked because he freaked out. I can't blame him if it had happened to me I would have been in my mommy's bed too. Well nothing really new going on here just missing my baby and of course praying for everyone going through this same ordeal. I know GOD is such an AWESOME GOD as he has seen me through alot lately in making sure ALL of us try to move on.

I really want to thank all of you for the continued support, love and most of all prayers. Your gifts, cards, emails, and guestbook entries mean the world to me. It means alot to know no matter what we have a HUGE support system and I know who I can call on if I ever need too!!! We still need prayer for our Pastor and his wife things still are not looking good. Also for all the families still fighting this awful beast and those whose child has WON the battle.

Thanking JESUS for ALL His Wonderful Blessings,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Monday, January 17, 2005 0:13 AM CST

Hey there everyone well first off I am feeling just as bad as I did the week before. It seems that the antibiotic they put me on was not the right one so now I feel awful again. I am planning on calling the doctor again tomorrow for a new one since this one isn't working in hopes I will be back to par by early this week. I have to go to Bloomington to take my urine test for work on Tuesday or Wednesday. Then I also have to go get fingerprinted next week too. I am just praying by next weekend I will be feeling back to "normal"!!!! Especially since I will be starting my new job on Monday the 24th. I am excited but yet nervous. The guy who will be the Manager of the branch I will be working for is really excited to have me and he really seems to be a great guy.

I took the boys to the doctor this week and they are healthy for the most part. I think we all could use some counseling since it seems they don't really ever want to talk about Aaron. I talked with the hospice counselor and she said that she was worried about the boys. So I plan on having all of us get help dealing with everything. I had a great conversation with the boys about Aaron but they didn't really want to say much. Although Antavious cried a lil and of course Andre'e said that he didn't have anything to say. You can tell they both miss their brother but are just not ready to talk about it yet. I can't say as though I blame them but I love to talk about Aaron and from what I understand that is the best way to help with the grieving process. Right now though I just feel like I am in a bad dream and if only I could just wake up things would be all better. I know that this is reality but I guess maybe I just wish it was a dream. I also keep hearing about more kids "winning" their battles and that hurts too. It is just like reliving Aaron's death all over again. I guess that is why some people say they stick to themselves so they didn't have to go through this with all the families. I guess at some point maybe I should have done the same thing but as most of you know there is no way I could not talk to someone I love everyone and maybe that is where my LiL Superhero got his loving from!!!

I really want to thank all of you for everything you have done for our family. I also want to let everyone know we are doing ok. Alot of you have called but I just can't seem to return calls right now kinda hard but just know we are ok. I just really guess everything is offically setting in and it is hard to function. I know GOD is in full control and he will provide and take care of everything. As hard as it is for me I can't even imagine what HE went through when he lost his one and only SON. Thank you to everyone who keeps checking on us and please continue to sign the guestbook as that really lifts my spirit to hear from everyone even if you just say your praying it helps to know the support we have out there!!! Please keep praying for our family and know we are doing the same.

Missing Our LiL Superhero Forever,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious and Grandma

P.S. Please pray for our pastor who also has cancer as he will be having some testing done this week. This man is one in a million. Please also pray for his wife too. Also continue to pray for all the children of St. Jude as some are facing some very difficult times and decisions. And last but not least please pray for ALL the families who have lost children this past year and already this new year we are all missing our babies so much.

Wednesday, January 12, 2005 5:38 PM CST

Hey there everyone well let me just say being sick SUCKS!!!!

I have been really sick the past few days and boy does this suck. I know part of it is because I am just depressed but the other part of it I have not had time to be sick in 2 years and now well it has really hit me and hit me hard. I still feel yucky. But I do have some great news to share with everyone. I GOT THE JOB!!!! GOD is sooooo good he knows my heart and knows that this job will totally be a step in the right direction. I really missed working and now I will be so busy with work I don't think I will have time to think for a while. I know this job is very teadious and I plan on doing my best as I try to do with everything I do. I got a call today from the HR rep and it looks like I will be starting on the 24th of Jan. I just have a few things I have to work out and then I should be set. I am really excited but yet kinda worried too. It has been a long time since I have worked but this is all I have been wanting to do for 2 years now is go back to work. So guess I am gonna get what I have been asking for LOL!!!! Well thank you to everyone who has been keeping tabs on us. We are all doing pretty good really. Mom and I have been very very sick this past weekend and she seems to be doing alot better than me. I just can't seem to shake this so hopefully by this weekend I will be back to my normal(whatever that is) self. The boys are doing good in school. They are eating up all the attention they are getting now from me and I see them really doing more as far as doing things on their own. Before we would have to yell at them but now it just seems to come natural. Andre'e teacher told me he is even participating in class now and that really makes me happy. Today he asked what school he was going to be going to next year and I told him he would be going to Rolling Acres as far as I know and he was sooooooo excited he really loves all his friends and wants to be with them again next year. Of couse no one could compare to Northmoor but I am sure Rolling Acres will try!!!! Well thanks for checking to see how the job thing went and I will keep you all informed as new news arrives!!!

We love you all and thank you soooooo much for your support and prayers. Keep them coming and remember all our other St. Jude Buddies. Some of them are really struggling and close to becoming Angels with Aaron, Lexi, Brad, Laura, Jared, Zoie, Hannah, and the countless others who won their battles.

Saturday, January 8, 2005 10:16 PM CST

Well what can I say other than WOW where has this week gone!!!!

I didn't think I would ever say this but WOW what a week. First off this week started out with just wanting to get a job and then led to a much better week than that!!!! GOD is sooooo AWESOME as we all know!!!! First off Tuesday was my interview and it went really well I think at least. I had hoped to know the details by yesterday but well no such luck. I guess they were interviewing another girl who's car broke down so now I have to wait until next Wednesday for an official word. Which was fine by me since this week everyone seems to be feeling a lil under the weather. I took Antavious to the doctor on Wednesday afternoon after school because he has been complaining about pain in his ear. Well I guess this ear thing has been going on for a year or so supposably. My mom had to take him to the doctor last year because he was in pain in his right ear but they just put him on an antibiotic and said it was an infection. Well when I took him to the doctor on Wednesday boy was I totally not prepared for what I GOT!!!! The doctor let me look in Antavious's ears and well the left was great but the right looked like black wax build up or at least that is what I thought. Anyway they wanted to clean out his ears with proxide and water so first they needed to let his ear soak with proxide for 20 minutes. Well of course we all know what a character Antavious is and he was like what is there any needles involved and when the nurse walked in sure enough she had a nice big needle. But she assured Antavious that she would take the needle off before she put it in his ear!!!! Well that was all fine and dandy but then when she put it in he was like oh my this feels weird. I'm sure it did but from there I was the one stuck in the room with him for 20 LLLLLOOOOOONNNNNNGGGG minutes!!!! He was like oh my this feels funny, cold, fizzy, then when are they gonna take this stuff out. Well when they finally came in to get the junk outta his ear I got the pleasure of holding the basin and boy what a pleasure!!!! But first Antavious had to as if there were any side effects!!! I bet this nurse was thinking what in the world does this 9yo know about side effects??? Well she had no clue what she was in for did she??? The first time she pushed the solution in his ear only wax came out but the second time a bright orange thing came out and then a bright blue thing. I was like what in the world Antavious did you put a pill in your ear no wait is that a tic-tac oh my no that is a bead yeah you heard me right a BEAD!!! No not just one bead but 2 beads one big bright orange one and one tiny blue one that apparently have been there since he was 5 years old in Kindergarten. I know someone should have saw this way before now but guess no one did. I do remember him telling me he put a bead in his ear in kindergarten but I just thought oh whatever your just being silly!!! Well guess what everyone says is true you should listen to you children they are way way smarter than any of us think. I totally know that as far as Aaron is concerned but now well I think I will believe ALL children. Well Antavious has no damage as far as we know other than hearing better!!!! Well after that quite exciting trip to the doctor on Wednesday I am praying I never have to make a crazy trip like that again all I can say is PRAISE GOD it was sooooo simple!!! On Thursday I went to the boys school and helped the PE teacher teach PE!!! Well all's I can say is boy am I totally out of shape that is for sure. I had a great time with all the kids they were great and really love our family alot. They all have heard sooooo much about Aaron and our family that I am really known as Andre'e, Antavious, or Aaron's mom or Mrs. Hunter(what a laugh that is)!!! The children were great it really made my day to be with all them. As a matter of fact alot of them really miss Aaron and some I think who never really met him. They were constantly telling me how much they miss him and that he was in heaven now looking down after them. One lil girl told me the reason I was there to help with PE was because I was sad and missed Aaron and that the kids were going to make me feel better. I said yeah you are right all you kids are gonna make me feel better. Well from there she told me that she knew she was right because she was smart and she knew she was smart because here mommy told her so. I thought these kids are soooooo cute and smart. I also had one kid ask me if he could come home with me and I said why he said he wanted to see Aaron I was like well Aaron lives in Heaven now he said well I want to visit his grave. I was like well maybe your mom could take you there or something he was oh ok. There were soooo many comments made while I was there it was really nice to know these kids and teachers loved and continue to love us sooooo much. On Friday I went to help out only for half a day I was too sick to help out all day(really I felt like I was hit by a mac truck from the day before(IMAGINE THAT)). I still feel sick now but I think it is really sinus related. I am hopefully going to the doctor on Monday morning if I can get in. The boys are doing great. I think they are really really enjoying having all mommy's undivided attention that is for sure. I can't blame them even though I miss that LiL Superhero of ours ALOT!!!! I also know they sure miss him alot too because tonight we had this talk about getting a dog and they all want a weiner dog and want to name him Aaron DMX Funny Hunter. If that isn't the cutiest name I have ever heard. Of course I bet most of you who know the boys know where every part of the name came from Aaron(ME), DMX(Andre'e) and of course Funny(Antavious) LOL!!!! Well we don't plan on getting this dog anytime soon because we need our new house first this house is way to small and the rodents might just hurt the puppy. Well by the way for those of you asking about the house situation we still have no leads but I am praying faithfully about it and also I know me getting a job will be a huge plus since right now I am jobless. Well nothing else really new going one here just enjoying my family and living life to the fullest of couse. GOD is soooo good and continues to bless us in ways we never imagined. I just know in his time we will get us that GREAT house!!!

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. It really helps and means alot to us. Please know we love you all sooooo much and appreciate all your emails, guestbook entires, cards, and calls. I miss my lil Superhero alot as I know all of you do but I just keep praying GOD will continue to help all of us get through this hard time. GOD is such a good GOD and HE will continue to see ALL of us through this!!!! Not just us but EVERYONE who has lost a loved one.

Letting Go and Letting GOD,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

P.S. I hope this will fill some of the void you all have by not reading stories about Aaron that made you laugh and now you will laugh about my other LiL Men!!!!! Espeically Antavious who is such a character just like his momma!!!

Tuesday, January 4, 2005 5:30 PM

****CHECK OUT THE NEW PICTURES!!!***
Sorry it took so long... Look for more photos soon on the "slide show" Marilyn will try to update info either today or tomorrow... PBL

Wednesday, December 29, 2004 10:16 PM

Hey there everyone well just when I thought I wouldn't have much to update about I think of something I should let you all know so here we go!!!!

First off congradulations to Ms. Nikki Zach's mom she is now engaged and I am sooooo happy for her and John she deserves the best and now she has it!!!!

Second I spent this entire week in my jammies. I just couldn't bring myself to get up and outta bed. I know I deserve it but my momma really started to worry I was getting way too depressed but it was just nice to lay around and watch tv with no worries. That is until today. I got a call yesterday from my bestest friend from the bank and she told me my interview for my new job will be tomorrow(Thursday) at 3:30pm. I thought well hello Marilyn you better get it together and get motivated. So I decided to go to Aaron's grave and see how my baby was doing. Plus I had a cross I really wanted to leave on the grave. It was soooo nice to go visit his grave I really miss him and today was a very very beautiful day to go see my baby. I know that his spirit is in heaven but it is still nice to have a place to go visit. While I was there a motorcycle drove by and I said hey Aaron look at that you even get a perfect view all you favorite motorcycles. Even though it's not our buddies from Memphis it is still motorcycles. Also I don't know how many of you noticed but Aaron's grave is facing a street called Pleasant street. I thought that was pretty amazing to see too. I really think going back to work will be really really nice. At least it will give me something to do besides be bored around here all day long. Plus I can hardly wait to get back to work because the boys and I really want to get a house soon. They are now even saying how much they want to move and have their own place to live. I totally agree with them this small cramped us house will do but I know this is not going to be my final home. I am more than likely going to be the new assistant banking center manager of Bank One on Sterling inside the Kroger's thank GOD he saw the way for this to happen. I also plan on going back to school to get my nursing degree too. I really have a huge desire to finish that degree anyway. I want to give back to everyone what they gave to me and Aaron.

Third the boys got BB Guns with some of their money for Christmas. They have always wanted guns and well what made me want to allow these I will never ever know. I just keep thinking of the movie The Christmas Story and saying ok boys please don't shoot your eye out!!!!!LOL!!!! Well yesterday was our first day of test shooting and they both did very good actually they shot 20 bb's and 19 hit the target and 1 hit someones truck topper. Well to me that wasn't bad. I mean we could have done without the stray bb but at least they did better than I expected. I kept getting the gun pointed at me alot but I kept screaming hello you are pointing that gun at me you know. Well anyway I have promised that they can shoot 30 bb's tomorrow because we didn't get a chance to shoot today. Tomorrow we are also meeting with some of the St. Jude parents to have lunch. I really miss going to clinic but like doc told me hey Marilyn take some time. I think I am ready to see all our friends who we have basically called "FAMILY" for 2 years now. Although most of them are in Memphis some of them are here in Peoria too. Well guess I better go!!!

Please pray we can get a new house soon and that the oven can be fixed too. I also want to thank all of you for ALL your love and support your guestbook entries mean the world to me and just to know you all are thinking and praying for us mean the world to me. I also want to request prayer for a few St. Jude kids who are in need of a miracle this new year Lexi, Tyler, Ben, Dylan, and Bret. These are just a few who are struggling with their battles and please keep them and their families in your thoughts and prayers tonight as you pray. We love you all and miss seeing and spending time with you all too.

Sleeping with a peaceful heart tonight,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Monday, December 27, 2004 12:25 AM CST

Hey there everyone well just another day here at the Mowder/Hunter house!!!!

Last night was my first night sleeping without anyone in my bed. It was really hard I cried most of the night and into this morning. But I just kept on remembering that Aaron can only come to me when I am not sad or crying so I just held onto his spiderman quilt and kept kissing his picture. I miss Aaron so much but I also realize that I must be strong for my other two boys. I know that GOD is such an awesome GOD and he will see us all through this very difficult time. Sometimes it seems like could anything else go wrong. Like this past week as nice as it was to have family and friends together for the holidays, we had some major problems. First off the passing of Aaron, then the rats, and now our oven on our stove went out on Christmas Eve. I was like ok GOD hello I think we have had enough. I know the bible says HE won't give us anymore than we can handle but well now we just need a miracle. I just pray we can get a new house and soon. I pray everyday that GOD's will be done in ALL the situations in our lives. I know Aaron is watching over us too. He always wanted a house of his own and I intend on making that dream come true for ALL of us even if it takes a while.

Well I can never list all the names here but thank you to ALL of you for everything. This Christmas was a lil brighter knowing we are so loved and supported by all of you. This coming year is going to be hard and we all already know it but with great friends and family like you all I think we will get by. Knowing GOD is on our side we can't go wrong!!!!!

Asking for a MIRACLE,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

P.S. We love you all soooooo much and your love and support means the world to us!!!!!!

Saturday, December 25, 2004 1:16 PM CST

Hey there everyone!!!! I just wanted to wish everyone a VERY VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I know as for the boys and I our Christmas is sure different but I also know Aaron is way better off in Heaven. He is spending Christmas with Jesus something we all long to do. I know as for me and my house we will try our hardest to be with Aaron someday when Jesus says its time. Here is an awsome way to think of Aaron being in Heaven even though we miss Aaron so much this Christmas!!! I am sure some of you have read this before but it is a great way to think of Aaron this Christmas.

My Christmas In Heaven

I see the countless Christmas trees
Around the world below
With tiny lights, like Heaven's stars,
Reflecting on the snow.
The sight is so spectacular,
Please wipe away the tear
For I am spending Christmas
With Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs
That people hold so dear
But the sounds of music can't compare
With the Christmas choir up here.
I have no words to tell you,
The Joy their voices bring,
For it is beyond description,
To hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me,
I see the pain in your heart
But I am not so far away,
We really aren't apart.
Be happy for me, loved ones,
You know I hold you dear.
And be glad I'm spending Christmas
With Jesus Christ this year.

I sent you each a speical gift,
From my heavenly home above.
I sent you each a memory
Of my undying love.
After all, love is a gift,
More precious than pure gold.
It was always most important
In the stories Jesus told.

Please love and keep each other,
As my Father said to do.
I cannot count the blessing or love
He has for each of you.
So have a Merry Christmas and
Wipe away the tear,
Remember, I'm spending Christmas
With Jesus Christ this year.

There is no other way for me to enjoy this Christmas except to know my baby is way better off. Even though I miss Aaron I still have to very very precious lil boys to take care of and I know Aaron wouln't have it any other way.

I want to thank ALL of you sooooooo much for making our Christmas the greatest yet. It helps to know how loved we are by everyone and we want you all to know how much we love you all too. I only have one very very special prayer request for you all to pray we can find a house soon we are experiencing some very very bad rodent problems these aren't just mice they are rats and well I can't have that with the boys and I so please pray we can find a house very very soon.

Thanking GOD for all his Blessings,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Thursday, December 23, 2004 1:26 AM CST

ALERT ALERT ALERT THIS IS A TEAR JERKER!!!!(PBL)

Hey there everyone well I am sure you are looking at the time on here and thinking what in the world is Marilyn doing updating this time of the morning.

Well I just can't sleep tonight. First off I sure miss my LiL Superhero and I just can't stop thinking about him tonight. Second I have been doing my evening ritual of reading about all my caringbridge kids. It is totally breaking my heart to see so many winning their battles. I know they are better off but it still hurts all the same. Most of you who saw me at the visitation or funeral were probably thinking how in the world can she be so strong but we celebrated Aaron's life we didn't moarn it. That is what kept me focused but tonight I am just hurting inside. I miss my baby like crazy and I want this to all be over. You can only be so strong for so long and well as of tonight I feel I have done my fair share of being strong and this night has been my breaking point. I guess mostly because I am seeing so many other parents go through this same situation around such a WONDERFUL holiday. Christmas is all about JESUS birth but now it will be about our children's death too. I am grateful Aaron is outta pain and suffering but I also miss his toothless grin and his hugs and of course his personality. Well sorry for being such a sobbie box but tonight I also went Christmas shopping with my mom and it really made me think that I am missing buying for someone and of course that is Aaron. He loved Christmas and of course loved all the presents and cards he got especially the money. There is definately a void here this year and I know GOD will fill it somehow!!!!

I also wanted to share the words of a card I got this week from another St. Jude family the Lott's it totally describes how so many of us feel but just don't know what to say!!!!

I'll bet you've had about enough
of people telling you how strong you are
and how great you're doing during
this awful, difficult period in your life.
Maybe you'd rather hear someone say
how much this sucks, how outrageous
and unfair it is!!!!!!

Maybe you'd rather hear
someone tell you that you don't
have to be strong all the time.
Or that it's definitely okay
to curse fate and throw
a tantrum or two.

So here I am to tell you
all that stuff and more,
to let you know where I stand,
which is right in you corner.

There's no right way or wrong way
at a time like this.

However you work through this thing
is immaterial to me.

All I care about is that
you ask for what you need,
lean on those who love you,
and try to trust me when I say
that you'll come out the other side.

This card really hit home and is so true with what I was just saying about being so strong. I know many of you have helped us sooooo much and you continue to help us. You all are great and we thank you all sooooo much. I want to thank everyone for all the cards, email's, gifts for the brothers and mom and I, meals, and of course all you prayers. You all have no clue what your faithfulness means to ALL of us. We miss Our LiL Superhero so much but we also know he is much much better off than all of us because he is HEAVEN for Christmas!!!!!

Squeezing my Blankey Tight Tonight,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

P.S. Please say some extra special prayers for the boys Daddy as he is weighting in on some very very difficult situations!!!!!

Sunday, December 19, 2004 10:58 AM CST

Hey there everyone!!!!

Well first off it is sooooo hard to believe that it has already been over a week since Aaron went to be with Jesus. I know I sure miss him alot and it is really wierd not having him around. I know he is around in spirit though. Well this week has been filled with many many emotions. One being the fact we are sooooo overwelmed with everyone's love and support. It means the world to us but yet hard to believe how many lives were impacted by My LiL Superhero. I am going to try my hardest to fill his shoes but I know that it will be a hard pair of shoes to fill. But with guidance and help from GOD I know I can surely try.

Anyway this week we also had a balloon launch at Aaron's and the brothers school. It was an amazing event. It was precious to see all the faces of all the children who were crying right along with me. I know these kids will be impacted by Aaron FOREVER!!! He left a lasting impression that only he could leave. Thanks to ALL the staff of Northmoor Edison for all you support and prayers you all are AWESOME!!! To everyone at Bank One well you know how much you all mean to me!!! To everyone who has sent in donations, cards, flowers, and prayers well thanks seems so little but you all know you mean the world to ALL of us!!!! This sure is a crazy time in our lives but we know just how much GOD is continuing to see us through. We miss Aaron like crazy but we also know he is in the best of hands and he is FREE from all this yucky cancer FOREVER!!!!

Leaning on GOD's Understanding,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Wednesday, December 15, 2004 9:45 PM CST

Hello there everyone!!!!

Well please know my journal entries will not stop but may not be as often. This site will now be a way to remember Aaron and make sure we never ever forget his legacy.

There have been many emotions these past few days. I really miss my LiL Superhero so much but I totally know I will see him again one day when GOD says it's time. The brothers are doing very well but I am sure this will change with the days to come. Tomorrow everyone is invited to a celebration at the school Northmoor Edison we are lauching balloons(purple and orange of course) in honor of Aaron. This will be starting at 1:15pm. I really feel this will begin to hit all of us soon there after as we will have time to be alone and I can't even imagine the heartache we are going to feel. Everyone keeps saying how strong I am but only by the Grace of GOD am I able to be this way and of course watching my baby suffer and stuggle sure makes me so happy to know that Aaron is now FREE!!!!! Free from everything and boy do I mean EVERYTHING!!!! Aaron touched many lives and will continue to touch many with this website and his legacy. Today at the funeral we got the proclamation for the Annual Aaron Hunter Day which will be held every year on December 10 so NO ONE will ever forget our LiL Superhero. It just amazes me how much he was loved and how many he reached. One of the songs sung at the funeral was Each One Reach One and trust me Aaron reached many and I hope to try to fill his shoes in anyway I can. Aaron sure brought his mommy where she should be and I just pray that GOD continue to bless my babies and myself.

I really want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone in the community, family, friends, website friends, and of course those who we consider our "family" for life. You all have no clue what it meant to have all of you with us during this time. Aaron will be missed by everyone he met even if only once and trust me we all just MUST make sure we are TOTALLY right with GOD so we can be back with Aaron one day. I just can hardly wait to see my baby with his cape flying around trying to show me all the sites. Thank you all once again and please know thank you seems so little but I really don't know what else to say other than that and you all mean the WORLD to us and we LOVE you all soooooo much!!!!

Missing Our LiL Superhero Forever,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Our LiL Superhero Forever Aaron

Friday, December 10, 2004 4:52 AM CST

Tuesday, December 14, 2004 10:04am

LATEST INFORMATION AND FINAL ARRANGEMENTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Today Tuesday December 14,2004 from 5pm-8pm is the visitation at Glad Tidings Assembly of God(2201 E. Washington St. East Peoria, IL)

Wednesday December 15, 2004 at 11am is the funeral at Glad Tidings Assembly of God(2201 E. Washington St. East Peoria, IL)

NEWEST UPDATE: 1:36pm Saturday, Dec.11,2004

The Funeral Home has been changed to Wilton the address is now 2101 N. Knoxville Ave. Peoria they will now be taking care of all the funeral arrangements.

NEW UPDATE AS OF 12:49am Saturday, Dec.11 2004

Well I have no clue where to begin other than I sure miss my LiL Superhero more than I could ever express here that is for sure. My heart hurts so bad but I know in time things will get better at least that is what they say. But right now it just aches. I lost total control this morning when everything happened but I knew my baby was in a much better place and he wasn't struggling anymore. He fought until the very last breath and he won that is for sure. He was sooooo very brave and sure taught his mommy sooooo much. His brothers took it really hard this morning but as company came it was nice to see them playing. They needed some kind of distraction. Tonight we are just hanging out spending time together watching movies. We all are hurting in our own way. AARON WE MISS YOU LIL MAN AND YOU WILL ALWAYS BE IN OUR HEARTS!!!! The only thing I can say is I bet JESUS never gave out a cape before only wings but my baby was one to do things different anyway so BABY I hope and pray you got your cape!!!!

Well I have to say a HUGE thank you to everyone for all your support, cards, flowers, calls, emails, guestbook entries and most of all PRAYERS!!!! We still need all the prayers and support at this very very difficult time we are going through and you all mean more to us than I could ever express on here.

The outpouring of support from the community and caringbridge and St. Jude families have been sooooo awesome. You all mean the world to us and we love you all more than you will ever know.

We do have funeral arrangements made and it is as follows for now:

Visitation: Tuesday, December 14, 2004 from 5pm until 8pm.

Funeral: Wednesday, December 15, 2004 at 11am.

The visitation and funeral will be at our home church Glad Tidings Assembly of God in East Peoria(2201 E Washington). If anyone needs directions please call myself (309) 648-6586 or my mom (309) 673-9135.

We have a funeral home but that may change soon so I will hopefully change that tomorrow when I have more details.

I also want to thank Clare for the AWESOME story she did about Aaron and our family. It was in the Peoria Journal Star this morning and shortly after Aaron passed we all had copies reading and just thanking GOD for all the wonderful blessings he has given us and continues to give us even through this pain. You can read the article at this link http://www.pjstar.com/stories/121004/CHR_B4VFPHQA.032.shtml

Also for those of you wanting to read the grand finale you can run out and get the local paper this morning as you will once again see Aaron on the front page. My baby touched so many and I hope and pray that his brothers and I can continue his legacy. Aaron we love and miss you sooooo very much and you will always be greatly missed. Also for those of you farther away you can go to www.pjstar.com and read the latest artile about Our LiL Superhero!!!

Thanks again and Keep the Prayers coming!!!!

Asking for Peace that Passes Understanding,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero Forever and EVER)

Well everyone thank all of you for all your thoughts and prayers Aaron is now resting peacefully in HEAVEN he WON his battle and the fight is over!!!!!

A LETTER FROM HEAVEN

"To my dearest family, some things I'd like to say.
But first of all, to let you know, that I arrived okay.
I'm writing this from heaven. Here I dwell with God above.
Here, there's no more tears of sadness; here is just eternal love.

Please do not be unhappy just because I'm out of sight.
Remember that I'm with you every
morning, noon and night.
That day I had to leave you when my life on earth was through,
God picked me up and hugged me and He said, "I welcome you."

"It's good to have you back again, you were missed while you were gone.
As for your dearest family, they'll be here later on.
I need you here badly, you're part of my plan.
There's so much that we have to do, to help our mortal man."

God gave me a list of things, that he wished for me to do,
and foremost on the list, was to watch and care for you.
And when you lie in bed at night, the day's chores put to flight,
God and I are closest to you... in the middle of the night.

When you think of my life on earth, and all those loving years,
because you are only human, they are bound to bring you tears.
But do not be afraid to cry; it does relieve the pain.
Remember there would be no flowers, unless there was some rain.

I wish that I could tell you all that God has planned.
But if I were to tell you, you wouldn't understand.
But one thing is for certain, though my life on earth is o'er.
I'm closer to you now, than I ever was before.

There are many rocky roads ahead of you and many hills to climb;
But together we can do it by taking one day at a time.
It was always my philosophy and I'd like it for you too....
That as you give unto the world, the world will give to you.

If you can help somebody who's in sorrow and pain,
then you can say to God at night... "My day was not in vain."
And now I am contented.... that my life has been wothwhile,
Knowing as I passed along the way, I made somebody smile.

So if you meet somebody who is sad and feeling low,
Just lend a hand to pick him up, as on your way you go.
When you're walking down the street, and you've got me on your mind;
I'm walking in you footsteps only half a step behind.

And when it's time for you to go.... from that body to be free,
remember you're not going.... you're coming here to me.

Thursday, December 9, 2004 11:44 PM CST

Hey there everyone well here is the latest. GOD is blessing us with precious times and moments with our very special SUPERHERO!!!! Aaron has pretty much slept all day and hasn't eaten all day either. He did drink some today rootbeer of course. He did wake up enough to tell his Big Poppa(grandpa) that he loved him and that he could play with his head. He also told Grandma Hunter, Daddy and I that he loved us and gave us kisses. Today was a very hard day watching my baby be sooooo sick. Today we found out that he has an obstructed bowel and his kidney has offically shut down. He is throwing up black stuff which we found out is poop from the obstructed bowel. Aaron is very very puffy and swollen he isn't talking or moving much. He looks worse than he did when he coded during his first transplant. Today we had the opportunity to tell our full precious story with the Peoria Journal Star thanks to Claire(sp?). She did an awesome job and held her cool too as hard as that was for her. We also had a photographer too who was very very nice and I just can't remember his name. So for those of you who read this and cry like babies well don't read the Journal Star tomorrow. Also tomorrow the the 3rd annual Cuddle For Compassion Day for Aaron Hunter where you can wear your PJ's all day at school, work, or just at home. I don't know how many of you are participating in this but it is totally for a very worthy cause. Also today we had a very nice surprise some people from the school board bought Our LiL Superhero a GREAT BIG TEDDYBEAR. He was to sick to really enjoy it but we did get a very precious picture of him hugging the bear that was totally bigger than him. Thanks to all of you for your generosity and love to our entire family. Also for your calls and words of encouragement to us. This is a very very difficult time for us right now and we are soooo happy to have such awesome family, friends, and prayer warriors to help us through this new journey in our lives.

Thanks Again Everyone,

Marilyn, Andre'e I, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero Forever)

Wednesday, December 8, 2004 9:37 PM CST

Well I am sure you all have been patiently waiting for an update. Well if you can't handle the tears please logout now OK!!!! This was a very very precious day with my baby and to see him struggle to breath and to feel his heartrate running and beating like crazy was hard. Again today he hasn't peed so that is the first sign of his kidney shutting down. I remember when my grandma was in her last days and how everything started shutting down. Her heart rate was outrageous. This is totally what I see with Aaron. It is really hard to see my baby slowly slipping away. My baby has left a lasting impression on everyone he has meet or even just read his website. He will forever be missed and loved by all who knew or even heard of him. Today the hospice nurse came and told us we would be lucky if he lasted 2 more days so as we have done for a long time now we will be savoring every single moment with our very very brave superhero. He is so brave and has always been so brave with that he has always kept his mommy going he was my rock even though GOD has totally seen us through all we have been through. So tonight more than ever please pray that GOD continue to give us all peace and wrap us in his arms. We love you all and thank you so much for keeping in contact with us I will update as I can until next time thanks for everything!!!!!

Leaving my baby in GOD's hands,

Marilyn, Andre'e I, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero Forever)

Tuesday, December 7, 2004 5:46 PM CST

Hey there everyone again as most of you know things are kinda crazy around here right now so here is a much needed update.

We are offically out of the hospital and from what has been told to us I think this was a last time thing. Aaron is officially on Hospice now and that means no more going in the hospital and only comfort measures.

Well as of 3:30pm this afternoon Aaron hadn't peed since 5:25pm on Sunday night. So they were talking about straight cathing him but he finally peed PRAISE THE LORD!!! I don't think I have ever clapped and screamed so loud as I did when he finally went. Well anyway this morning Aaron threw and so he had to have anti-nausea meds they helped but he still is in pain. He always says he is an 8 on the scale but he won't push his button very often he just seems to be such a tough cookie. As you read above we are on hospice now. The nurse will be coming out once everyday to check on things and make sure Aaron is comfortable. This morning we checked his sats which is the oxygen level in his blood and it was in the 80's he also is taking less breaths per minute. Usually kids his age breath 16-24 per minute he is breathing 8-12. That can be very scary but also we know Aaron is really strong. That also explains why his heart rate is so high because he is trying so hard to breath. Plus the pain doesn't help either. Well really nothing much else goin on medically here.

I do have some really cool news. Make a wish called today thanks to a friend from the internet and wanted to help Aaron have a mini wish filled. Aaron has been asking to see Santa but he really can't be out and about so they brought Santa to him. It was a priceless moment and I have it all on video. Of course I have pictures too!!! I guess we also have another Santa coming tomorrow that was totally suppose to be a secret but that is ok if only I know I guess. The boys really enjoyed Santa too considering we already talked about the whole santa thing it was hard to believe they were into it as much as they were. Well he didn't even smile until he took pictures but as for Aaron he really is a very sick lil boy right now and I am just continuing to pray that GOD's will be done and Aaron be outta pain. I also talked to the hospice nurse today and she and I agree that we should keep the brothers out of school the rest of the week so they can spend some much needed quality time with Aaron. I know they need that and I don't want any of us to have regrets about not spending time with Aaron. Aaron also told us today that he was dreaming about Jesus and Jesus told him he was going home today. I don't know what home meant if it meant here at home or his heavenly home. But whatever it meant we are happy with it!!!! GOD is sooooo very good and he is totally letting us have some very precious and wonderful moments together as a family!!!

We love and appreciate all of you for all your support, guestbook entries, email's, and "real" mail for everyone and most of all your prayers. It really means so much to know how much our family has touched everyone around the world. Also please keep those prayers coming we need them now more than every!!!!

Sunday, December 5, 2004 9:52 PM CST

Well here we go again with the long time between updates but as usual I have an excuse.

First off I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who is stopping by and visiting with us and helping with the brothers to make sure they are well taken care of. Second to everyone for all the prayers and support. Third for all the dinners so we don't have to focus on cooking right now. You all have no idea what this means to our entire family. You all are the best of friends and family. I really could not have asked for a better support system. To my mom who has totally done all she can and could for me and my children I thank you from the bottom of my heart. To the rest of my close friends and you all know who you are thanks for supporting us no matter what and understanding when I don't get right back with you I love you all so much and appreciate all your help during this crazy and messed up time in my life. You all are my back bone and without well I really might have gone crazy. Most importantly to GOD for being here to listen when I need him most which is ALL the time. He is totally and ON TIME GOD!!! His blessings are never ending and I will always try my hardest to serve him faithfully. Well enough of the mushy stuff I know I will have time for all that stuff later!!!

On to Mr. Aaron. Right now we are currently back inpatient. Aaron is in so much pain that we felt we really needed to get this under control so we could continue to keep him home as much as possible. Yesterday he did ok but we all could tell he just didn't feel like his normal self but Aaron being the AWESOME Superhero he is well he never really complained much. He just remained strong as always and toughed it out. Boy I tell you what my baby sure teaches me everyday what it is like to be a major superhero and NEVER NEVER GIVE UP on GOD!!! Well anyway eventually the pain over came him and so I had to give him some extra extra pain medicine. It didn't really help but he never said a word. He could see his mommy was tired and so we went off to bed. He nor I slept much considering all the tossing and turning we did last night. Well finally around 4am I said Aaron are you awake. He said yes mommy I have been in pain all night long but I just didn't want to wake you. Boy you talk about breaking my heart here my precious baby was awake just like me and he never said a single word. What a Superhero huh???? Well from there I called the doctor because there was totally no way to get Aaron outta pain. We gave him some boluses of IV pain meds and still in sooooo much pain. So I called her back and she told me to call home health. Well from there it all kinda went downhill. Basically they hooked him up to continuous pain meds and they still didn't touch the pain. The home health nurse asked Aaron how he felt on a scale of 1-10(this chart has these lil happy faces and under every happy face is a number of 0,2,4,6,8,10). Well Aaron being such a tropper and superhero that he is says well I am a "0" me and mom are like what a "0" he says yes. The nurse says well Aaron don't your legs hurt and he says oh yes but I am happy and feel like a "0" so then she says well how is the pain in your legs and he says 8 but I fell like a "0". WOW is all I can say for Aaron to want to voice that he is sooooo happy even though he is in sooooo much pain. My baby what a MAN!!! Well anyway the home health nurse thought it best to call the doctor and see if we could get the pain meds increased and well after I got done talking to Doctor Saving she was like well what do you think Marilyn I was like I am sick of seeing my baby suffer and be in so much pain. I want him admitted for 24 hours. Just to try to get this whole thing under control. She totally agreed and so here we are. We got here around 12:20pm and well every since then Aaron has been pretty much comfortable and sleeping. We had carolers from Washington Apostolic Christian Church come see us and sing for us and by then Aaron was sitting up and had eating. But shortly after they left he threw everything up. But as least he tried to eat. Right now he is in the room sleeping peacefully with daddy close by while I update you all on what the latest is. I don't have my computer with me this time so I am updating from the resourse center on Peds. By the way if anyone knows of someone who has a laptop or even a computer for cheap could you let me know by emailing or calling my cell. It is time to give the loaner I have back and I really need to remain updating the website.

Well anyway guess I better go get back to my baby!!! He is totally giving us some very precious moments right now. And I don't want to miss a thing!!!!

Keep those precious prayers coming,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Friday, December 3, 2004 10:50 PM CST

Well I am quite sure you all have been checking in on us very faithfully but things around here are quite busy with Aaron always wanting to loved by his mommy, daddy, brothers, and grandma's. He is at a very precious stage. He loves on everyone around him all the time. He has his favorites though.

Yesterday we had many visitors after friends and family read the website on Wednesday. It was really nice to try to get our minds off of everything espeically for the boys. Their teachers brought dinner and wow did they act fools. It was really cute though and we all enjoyed the company. I am glad everyone is stopping by and taking full advantage of everyone moment we have left with "Our LiL Superhero". He has touched many lives and will continue to. Well yesterday we had the lady from Bridge Program come and explain things to us and to see what all we need. The home health side of the bridge program will help with dressing changes and supplies we need. Really I pretty much have all that under control and Aaron won't want anyone else doing his care anyway. So they also told us the home health nurse would be here for support emotionally for our family. Well then she said they would be coming once a week and the hospice nurse will come one a week too. So tonight was the big night that we all needed to have and hear. The hospice nurse came and explained everything to all of us and the details of what we can expect to happen. Aaron slept through the entire thing. It was hard to watch the boys as they really finally heard what is to come and how hard I know it will be for them. The best thing she said was as long as you have GOD you will be fine. That is sooooo very true and I totally know that is why Aaron was given to me. The boys really did take it pretty good although Antavious took it really hard now but I know Andre'e holds alot in and his time will totally come. We all have our way of dealing with things and the only thing I kept telling the brothers was that mommy is here and I will always be here and so will JESUS. We also joked with the hospice nurse and just let her get to know us. It was nice to just finally get this heavy load off my chest about what is really happening with their brother. The hospice nurse also mentioned making sure we had a funeral home ready. Now with that being said I guess that is one thing I never intented to focus on. But I also know that is something I must do but I just don't have the energy to do that right now.

Today Aaron also went to the St. Jude Clinic here at home and his counts are still going down but not drasticly. Just a lil at a time. That makes me happy because I know he is slipping away but at least I feel we have a little time left. I keep hearing about parents who want one more day or hour with their children but I don't want to feel that way I want to feel like I took advantage of every single moment of every single day no matter what. I have made the best of everything and I intend to keep on doing it. I love all my babies and I am just so glad GOD is allowing me to nuture my babies while he allows me too. All my boys have been through so much these past 2 years and we still have a long road ahead of us and with GOD's help we will continue to make it no matter what.

Well with that said I have a huge huge thank you to say to the staff of Northmoor you all are the greatest family we could ever ask for your support and shoulders mean the world to us. Also to everyone for all the guestbook signings and "real" mail for Aaron and the boys. Please continue to keep those much needed prayers coming for our entire family. We love you all so much and appreciate all your support and concern!!!!!

Emotionly Exhausted and asking GOD to see us though,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Wednesday, December 1, 2004 9:07 PM CST

Hello Hello Hello everyone!!!!!

Guess where we are now????

WE ARE HOME HOME!!!!!

GOD is so very good. He continues to amaze me with the works he is doing in all our lives. The strength he continues to give Aaron, the brothers and me. This journey has been one I know I will NEVER forget but one I have learned so much from. I know my baby has his mommy right where she needs to be. A year ago I was doing things I had no right doing and since Aaron's relapse GOD has really woke me up and made me realize who and what is important in life #1 GOD himself and #2 being right with him and #3 my family. I already would do anything for my kids but now I see a whole new light with going through all we have went through. I hear from many of you about how strong I am and how do I do this but I know one thing for sure without the GRACE OF GOD I sure would have NEVER made it this far that is for sure. He is such a very forgiving GOD and I know one lesson I learned NEVER take ANYTHING for granted NEVER!!!

Well anyway on to Aaron. He is still in alot of pain. This morning Doc came in and said that we needed to increase the Fentynol patch to 50 micrograms instead of 25. He is still going to be getting Dilated .5 every three hours around the clock. He woke up a few times through the night being in too much pain which is why I had them increase the patch. He can not walk anymore either. He is very very swollen and his stomach is very distented. When we first got home he slept until around 5pm this evening. He woke up crying for his daddy. This is going to be very hard but I know all of us if we pull together can make it. My mom has agreed to let Big Andre'e stay here whenever he wants so he can be here and close for his son. Coming from how things were I consider this a HUGE step for my mom. I know she has one of the biggest hearts and I know sometimes she says things to people and has to eat those words just as I myself do. We are humbling ourselves before the LORD in this situation that is for sure. Aaron may only have a few hours or a few days we don't know but I do know it won't be long as hard as it is for me to say that my baby has had enough. I just want to say thank you to Travis and Chasity for sharing their sweet Zoie with us before she passed. I watched her in the medicine room at St. Jude in her final days. I see so much of what she went through in Aaron. The fact he is swelling and there is totally nothing we can do. The pain is totally unbearable and all the pain meds are really taking a toll on his body. The fact his counts and hemoglobin and platlets are going down fast. I have saw and read of others loosing/winning their battles but never in a million years did I ever expect to be one of those parents. Although I knew he had a slim chance of making it and I had all the faith in GOD he would but still we are here now and my heart and head are very very full. I am frustrated and upset and angry and worried ETC... I am sure some of you have felt all this before but to explain it just hurts to much and with that I will shut-up for now....

As always thank you for all your support, email's, cards, and most of all prayers. I know this is going to be very very difficult for everyone involved and watching this precious superhero earn his wings will be a total blessing no matter how bad it hurts!!!! The one thing I want everyone to know is if you want to see him you might want to do it now. I know this sounds very forward but I know I have had plenty of regrets and I just don't want any of you having them!!!!

Happy to be home with our family,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Tuesday, November 30, 2004 8:01 PM CST

Well sorry for the delay in updates. Aaron is still in the hosptial. Yesterday was the best day he has had in 3 weeks. I am so grateful for all the nurses, staff and of course doctors here at Children's Hospital of Illinois. I really couldn't ask for a better team outside of Memphis. I really miss everyone there and miss how things were done. Especially when "certain" nurses don't flush his line everyday like they are suppose to but guess they think they know it all but they don't. I am use to the way things were and being back here in the hospital they are different but at least we are home.

Aaron was feeling just awful today. He was in alot of pain. He is currently on a pain patch of fentanyl. He also is now getting dilated around the clock every three hours for pain. He seems to be doing ok as of this evening. The main reason we are still inpatient is because of him spiking fever at 2am this morning of 101.0. Plus at the time he was in alot of pain too. So needless to say today we worked on him eating and drinking. He did eat more today than he has in weeks. He ate sausage for breakfast, fruit snacks(thanks to Haley) for lunch, and his famous Steak-N-Shake for supper chicken fingers and fries with 2 barbque sauses and he ate almost all of it. He is totally on a rootbeer kick right now and will drink that and water and has done that all day. He also got sick in the playroom today for the first time since admission. He was just not his happy go lucky self today that is for sure.

Today was a very very trying day for Daddy and I. Today we meet with Hospice. It was hard to talk about all the emotions and feelings we have. I know as for me I am ready for whatever lies ahead and just ready for my baby to not suffer anymore. Kinda like a great set of parents who recently lost their daughter told their baby if Jesus wants you it is ok to go with him Mommy and Daddy will be ok!!!! Well I totally know I am ready(I guess as "ready" as I can be)for whatever lies ahead. As of tonight we have made the final decision to not have hospice right now. We will have what is called The Bridge. Basially it means we will have a home health nurse come out at least once a week and more if needed who will communicate with a hospice nurse as needed. This way we can still go the clinic for counts and Aaron can get blood and platlets if he needs it. He also can be admitted into the hospital and receive fluids prn. This is a big no no with Hospice. Andre'e and I are much more comfortable with feeling like we are not giving up quite yet. But as for me I totally see the end at site and I know my baby is totally weak now and needs those comfort measures I have saw so many other families go through. This is a very very hard and trying time for us and the boys and I know things are only going to get worse. I also know we will have good days and bad. After this weekend and watching Brad lose his battle I just wish for all this to be over. I hate watching my baby not be able to walk and talk and cry out mommy it hurts and there be nothing I can do. I know there are some of you out there reading this saying Marilyn you are giving up and giving in but there are also those of you who have walked this road before me and you totally know how I feel. I still have hope GOD will heal my baby but I really see reality and that reality says Aaron is very very sick and we are at wits end. GOD is the only answer and I pray that his will still be done no matter what that is.

Well I want to thank everyone for your outpouring of support to our entire family and Please Please keep praying that GOD's will be done in all our lives. I talked with Cookie Bannon today she came and sang to Aaron while he was in so much pain. It was great to have a set of ears today as I had alot on my mind. I know I talk to GOD everyday and he hears me too but it was nice to just cry with a friend. Thanks to everyone who has called and emailed I am in the process of getting back to everyone but right now my focus is my baby and comforting him.

Crying out to GOD tonight,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Please pray for Brad Wallins family as he WON his battle with Cancer Sunday night please pray for his parents and sister who took this very very hard!!! We LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

Sunday, November 28, 2004 5:15 PM CST

Well here is the latest from the grand children's hospital of Illinois!!!!!

Aaron spiked fever all day yesterday until 1:30am this morning. Well we thought we were doing good with no fevers and then around 4pm he spiked again to 101.1. I had him get up today and take a shower and he was totally not happy but once he got in there he was in heaven. He didn't even want to get out at all. So he spent about 10 minutes in there. Then he was so stiff he could hardly walk back to his bed. I promised the doctor I would make him walk today but no promises now!!! His counts are still the same and he had a very allergic reaction to the ampicillin so we had to stop that antiobiotic. But he is still on the zithromax the oral kind. He has just layed around all day and been in alot of pain. He also hasn't eaten all day but just now asked for his Grandma Hunter's homemade dressing. Hopefully he will eat it some. His daddy is here and feeding him LOL!!!!!

Well anyway we are moving into a new room sometime tonight they are remodeling our toom tomorrow. Also there is another boy named Brad here in his last moments so if all our prayer warriors could please say an extra special prayer for him and his family. I totally have seen sooooo much with all this cancer stuff and I totally know how hard it is to watch your child suffer and stuggle.

Also I want to say a huge thank you to Jamie for the awesome quilt Aaron loves it. And to the Hunts from KY who sent Aaron a build a bear and carebear. Aaron loves them too and the gift certificates. They sure will come in handy while in the hospital!!! Also a huge thank you to PBL for the update on the "view pictures" the pictures are awesome. Thank all of you for all your love and support and most of all prayers through this crazy tough time with our family. Also to Pastor Watkins and his wife for the prayer today it was totally much needed also Dick for stopping by. A huge thank you to Cynthia in advance for the dinner tomorrow night as it will be much needed!!!! Please keep those awesome prayers coming as they are being heard and answered slowly but surely!!!! GOD IS SOOOOOO GOOD!!!!

Believing in an AWESOME HEALING,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Saturday, November 27, 2004 11:25 AM CST

***NEW PICTURES CLICK ON "VIEW PHOTOS" *****

Well bet you will never guess where we are????????

Well we sure aren't in Kansas anymore that is for sure we are officially inpatient at St. Francis Hospital.

I will tell you all about our great adventure that led us a first class trip to the hospital.

First off on Thanksgiving big Andre'e called and wanted the boys for the day. I was more than happy to let the boys spend some much needed time with him since he hadn't seen them for over a week. Well anyway after Andre'e brought them home. Aaron started crying like crazy which he never really does that so I asked him what was wrong and he said he wanted to stay the night with his daddy. Well when I explained why he couldn't he just started whaling like crazy like his feeling were really hurt. So Andre'e agreed to stay the night at his mom's house so Aaron could stay the night. I really didn't want to let Aaron go because of everything going on with him. But he was very very adimit about going and it was like it was something he had to do so I let him go. Well I called to check on him around 9:30pm and he said he was in pain. So I had Andre'e give him his pain meds early. I also told him to ask Aaron in about an hour if he was still in pain. Well apparently he was still in alot of pain so he gave him the boost of morphine and it still didn't help. Well when Aaron got home around 9:00am he was in alot of pain but he wouldn't eat anything and since he wouldn't eat I knew he would just throw up his meds. I was really trying to push something down him but he wanted nothing. So I just gave him his pain pill in hopes he wouldn't throw up. Well he kept it down but was still in alot of pain. So then he started feeling warm so I checked his temp and it was 99.8 which we all know he goes inpatient if his temp is 100.4 or greater. Well all day he just layed around and wouldn't eat or drink or move. He just wanted to lay on me or my mom all day of course that really didn't make either of us very happy but we know how sick Aaron is so we knew what to expect. Well anyway as the day went on his temp kept going between 99.8 and 100.0 even. I finally called the Dr. around 1pm and told her how much pain Aaron was in and the fact he hadn't ate or drank since Thursday evening. She asked me weather I thought he should be admitted or not and I was dead set against it since there are more things in the hospital he could get than out. Well anyway she ordered for home health to come out and set up fluids and IV pain meds. Aaron woke up around 6pm finally and asked for Bavantai's so if he would eat it I was more than happy to go get it. Well by the time I got back he was back asleep. So I just let him sleep and when he woke up I gave him some of his food and he just puked it back up. Well after that I gave him some meds for nausea. That seemed to help but he was still complaining of pain and being hungry. At around 8pm the nurse came with his fluids and pain meds. I immediately hooked him up and gave him his first dose of pain meds. It made him really really sleepy but the pain still didn't go away. He rated it a 10 on the pain scale which was the worse you could have. So in about 3 hours I could give him some more. Well around 10:30 he felt hot so I checked his temp and it was 100.9 so I called the doctor and she wanted me to just give him some tylenol and see if that would help. So I did and gave him some more pain meds and we headed off to bed. Well around 3:30am I just woke up outta the blue and he felt like he was on fire. I checked his temp and you guessed it it was 102.5 orally. So I called the doctor again and she said bring him right in so here we are. Of course no fever since admission(thank GOD) but imagine that!!! Also they drew blood and did blood cultures. So far his ANC was good, and hemoglobin was good but his platlets have dropped to 77 which is a huge drop for Aaron. So we will be here around 2 days at least. They will be watching his counts and making sure he spikes no more fevers. They started him on 2 antibiotics one orally and one IV. They also did a chest x-ray and it was normal so thank GOD no pneumonia. We have no clue what the fevers are all about but he is covered by the antibiotics for now.

Well thanks to everyone for all your prayers and calls. It has been very nice to see and feel all you support around my family. Please keep those awesome prayers coming and I will keep you all updated!!!!

Keeping the Faith,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Thursday, November 25, 2004 10:47 AM CST

Well A VERY VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL!!!!!

I first want to thank everyone of you for all your support and calls. Hearing from everyone has really meant the world to us. This Holiday season is very trying but I know GOD has everything under control and he knows our hearts and hears our prayers. He will take care of everything. I just want you all to know how much your love and support means to us and without your prayers I really have no clue how we could have made it through all of this.

Aaron has just been laying around and not moving much. He is getting his pain meds around the clock and breathing treatments around the clock too. He is very very lovey dovey and clingy. He even is really lovey dovey with my mom and hugging and kissing everyone all the time. Also telling us how much he loves us. This has been very hard but I will never give up hope that GOD is going to perform a miracle. But I also see the reality and pain he is going through and I know that this is very hard on him as it is on all of us. It just amazes me that his counts are so great yet he is soooo sick.

We got about 8 inches of snow yesterday. The brothers had a blast last night playing in it. They made 1/2 a snowman and also made snowangels. I took pictures and I am hoping to get them put on here if I can ever figure out how to do it. Also guess who is cooking dinner this year for the first time????? You guessed it ME!!! Can't guarntee it will be the best but hey it will be a start of good things to come!!! My mom is working today until 3pm and also working Christmas too. So guess I will have alot of cooking on my hands!!! This Thanksgiving will be one we have so much to be thankful for as I have ALL my babies with me and we are doing this together as a family!!! I pray you all remember to be thankful for everything GOD has done and is going to do in your lives!!! He is such an AWESOME GOD!!!!

Well just wanted to wish you all the best Thanksgiving ever and be thankful for all you have!!!!

Love,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Monday, November 22, 2004 10:28 PM CST

NEWEST UPDATE AS OF TUESDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2004 @ 1:54 p.m.

Well we just got back from seeing Doc and well he almost lost it when he saw Aaron today. Aaron sure isn't his normal chipper self and he is very clingy to me. Not that I mind or anything. I was very worried about Aaron as I mentioned in the journal below so I asked about scans and stuff and well what he said was totally not expected. Apparently Aaron is in his last days according to Doc. And he basically told me there is totally no reason to do scans or give him any nutritional supplements. He said we already know Aaron is a very sick lil boy and his cancer is spreading rapidly so no use in seeing all the damage we don't really need to see a scan to see what this beast is doing to his body. I am just asking GOD to heal my baby if it be his will. I am also praying that he not have any pain through this whole process. He has already been through so much and is so very tired. I am so grateful we serve such an AWESOME GOD who already has this all planned out and knows what is to come even though being a mom I want to protect my babies but I know GOD already has this all worked out!!!! Also we did get some great news. Aaron's counts are still GREAT!!! His ANC was 3,900 and his hemoglobin was 10.4 and his platlets were 116,000. I was very happy to leave with some hope!!! We are planning on spending time together as a family tomorrow since the brothers have no school and of course I plan on catching up on some much needed sleep and rest!!!! Nothing like some R & R. I am also so emotionally drained so maybe with the holiday's coming I can cheer back up and get my mind together and ready for what lies ahead.

OK OK OK really this was totally not my fault that I haven't updated since well lets see over a week ago!!! Someone forgot a piece to their computer!!!(NO NAMES!!!)

Well anyway Aaron and I had the time of our lives enjoying each other and having fun with Zach and Nikki. On Monday we arrived in Flordia. Aaron really started to go down hill fast after that. We went to Epcot and saw the fireworks that night. It was a very awesome show. I will be trying to update pictures soon(hopefully anyway). Then that night Aaron ate 2 hot dogs. I was very happy with that. Well on Tuesday all the real fun began all's Aaron wanted to do was ride rides all day long. But he sure tired out easily. He hardly ate anything and I really began to feel dajavu(sp?) last year around this same time we went to Disney on our Make A Wish and Aaron got very sick and was in the hospital for 2 days. Well I sure got worried as he hadn't eaten or drank all day. Well we had a long day of fun. Wednesday we headed out for more fun as we continued to ride more rides and spend some fun time together. Aaron still wouldn't eat anything but he did at least drink some. He was having alot of back pain and I was having to give him morphine around the clock. Well then on Thursday he was really really sick and we decided to let him sleep in and wake up when he wanted to. Can you believe we both slept until 12pm Flordia time 11am our time. It really did wonders because he felt a little better but he was still in pain so I decided to alternate between tylenol with codine and morphine to help the pain. Well that didn't work much either. But he did eat some fruit snacks(thanks Nikki what a great idea) and drank rootbeer(rootbeard as he calls it). I figured well at least that is a start!!! Well on Friday we also kinda hung out and just enjoyed our time together away from reality and lived in fantasy land. It was nice to try to ignore the reality and try to just enjoy ourselves but watching Aaron get sick all over again really worried me too. Then on Saturday we ate french toast Aaron's favorite thing at the resort. Then headed to have fun at the theme parks. On Sunday we woke up earlier and ate breakfast and headed to the MGM to have fun and while we were there we saw alot of charaters and we also saw our St. Jude buddy Big Ben. It was really nice to see them and hug necks. I totally know what they are going through and pray no other family has to hear the words there is nothing else we can do. Well we came back to the resort Sunday late afternoon and swam. Aaron's favorite place to be was in the hot tub. It was too cold for him in the pool so he spent lots of time being warm in the hot tub. Well from there we dressed up and headed to downtown disney it was really nice and lots of great Christmas decorations to get some really great pictures. Well by 1am we were wore out and headed back to the resort to pack and come home. I was never so happy to be coming home in all my life. For many different reasons. The main reason was because I was seeing some things change with Aaron and it was really scaring me and second I could tell we both just needed to come home and not have to wake up and do anything!!!! All in all we had a great time and we will have plenty of memories so for everyone that I have an address for be expecting some great photos of us for Christmas. We both really missed the brothers and they totally missed up too. They were never so excited to see mommy come pick them up as they were today. Plus they had plenty of goodies waiting for them at home and they knew it!!!

Well tomorrow I will be taking Aaron to the doctor and see what he thinks about all the things going on with Aaron. I already had a funny feeling about Aaron before we left but just chose to wait until we got back home to talk to the doctor about them. Now after this trip I know things are going down hill but I also know we serve an awesome GOD who can still perform that MIRACLE we read about in the BIBLE!!!

Well thanks for all you love, support, cards, emails, and most of all prayers for our family. I was very suprised to see all the cards for Aaron while we were got outta town. He loved coming home to a load of mail just for him. Thanks again for everything and please know we love and appreciate everything you all do for our family.

Sleeping like Babes,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Saturday, November 13, 2004 9:34 PM CST

Hello everyone well I come to you all tonight with a very heavy heart.....

First off Aaron is doing good. He is really having fun getting ready for his trip to see Buzz Lightyear and Mickey. He is also ready to go swimming(don't anyone tell Doc about that!!!!). We are so excited but we also know how upset the brothers are too. So we kinda have to act like it's just no big thing.

The main reason my heart is heavy is because all my St. Jude babies are getting such bad news. First off I guess today was Jared's funeral. I really wanted to be there for Becky and Angie but guess that couldn't happen. Second please please everyone reading this now stop and pray for some of our St. Jude Buddies. They didn't get very good news this week and we all know first hand what that is like. Please pray for Ben Bowen(he has a tumor that has grown back again), Jay Gaskins(he got news this week that he has new tumor growth), Madelyn Beamon(the bone marrow transplant didn't work for her so now she will start last ditch efforts of chemo), and Lexi Wendell(she will be having a donor transplant new week sometime) these are just some of the families that I can think of right now going through this very tough battle. Please also pray for Aaron and Zach as Nikki and I make this trip with our precious babies. We know first hand what it's like to hear those horrible words that the cancer is back and there is nothing else we can do. I just pray that a miracle will happen for each of us. I know we serve an awesome GOD and he is totally capable of making this happen!!!!!

Well thanks to everyone for all the prayers and cards this week it was nice to feel your prayers being answered as GOD continues to work in our lives everyday. Well please pray for us as we head to Disney Monday morning and have the time of our lives. Enjoying our time together as a family of one/one that is battling the same horrible beast that we all intent to beat!!!! Knowing GOD is still on the throne and will always remain there ALWAYS!!!!!

Believing for ALL Our St. Jude Buddies,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Wednesday, November 10, 2004 10:04 AM CST

Well Well Well everyone hope you all are enjoying this awesome Peoria weather because it sure won't be lasting for long!!!!! But as for me and Aaron we will be heading to SUNNY FLORDIA on Monday!!!!(Kinda rubbing it in HUH)

Well anyway just to let everyone know Aaron and I didn't go to Lousianna for the funeral. But we are praying for Jared and his family always!!!!

Aaron is doing pretty good but still has this awful cough. I took him to the doctor yesterday and Doc said that we should cut his treatment dose in half and maybe that would help the problems Aaron was having. He also said that the reason Aaron was probably acting like that was because the albutrol makes your heart rate, pulse and respirations go higher so therefore Aaron's adrenaline was being increased way to fast. Well that seems to be the case because as of yesterday he is doing alot better taking his treatments. Cutting the dose in half seems to be a much better way. He is still coughing alot but has alot of energy and well all I can say is GOD is GOOD!!! He is sure hearing all our prayers and answering them in his timing!!!

Well we had a great weekend and I forgot to say a huge thank you to Shelly from Bank One for the tickets. We loved the game even though there were no good fights!! We were busy busy all weekend and that was nice to spend some fun time with each other. Tonight we are going to see Polar Express with grandma. The boys have no school tomorrow so it will be a great day to just hang out and enjoy each other. I promised Andre'e and Antavious that this weekend I would spend the day just with them because they are really sad that they don't get to go to Disney. But they kinda understand the situation too. But they really need some one on one mommy time anyway. They always feel left out espeically since Aaron gets so much attention. But I try to show them all the love and support that I show Aaron. But they are young and really still don't understand. So hopefully this weekend they will enjoy their one on one time.

A huge thank you to everyone for all the "real" mail for Aaron. The brothers got some mail this week too. They really loved knowing they are as special as Aaron. Also a huge thank you to everyone for checking on us and continuing to pray for our family. The guestbook signings mean the world to us and really boost our moral. Well nothing else much going on here just "very patiently" waiting to head to Disney!!!!!!

Loving on my babies,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Thursday, November 4, 2004 8:18 PM CST

Hey there everyone well my heart is really full tonight one of the greatest teenagers I have every meet has passed away this morning. I know you all have heard me talk about a boy named Jared Ford well he was one the greatest kids I have ever met and he had a transplant just after Aaron did. Well he really never made it outta the hospital since transplant he has been recently in and out of the ICU and on and off a vent. I visited with him shortly before Aaron and I left Memphis and talked to him about 2 weeks ago and he sounded great and kept telling me just how much he loved and missed me. Well anyway please pray for his family. We were very very close and will always be the best of friends. Becky is his mother's name and Angie is his aunt's name. They took the greatest care of him and he will be GREATLY missed. I know he is in a much better place but I just wish he could have had the chance to do everything we both talked about. Anyway it is my intention to go to Lousianna for his funeral and so don't be alarmed if for some reason there is a huge lapse in updates. Please keep this family in your prayers and Aaron and I as we make the trip to Lousianna.

Well sorry for that difficult news but it just amazes me how many children are loosing their battles with cancer. It also is very very important for everyone to continue to remember that nothing in life is promised so take advantage of every single moment of every single day NO MATTER WHAT!!!

Well anyway Aaron is still having crazy problems with this cough. We saw the doctor on Tuesday and his counts are great and his energy level is great too. He also hasn't had any morphine for 6 days now. That is totally a huge step in the right direction. He still is having problems sleeping at night but I really feel that giving him morphine to sleep is not the answer but maybe a sleep aide will help. I am going to take that up with the doctor next week when we meet. Also the doctor increased his breathing treatments to every 4-6 hours but he seems to get really pale and pasty and lethargic. I am going to be calling the doctor in the AM. I really want them to see him have one of these attacks. It is really quite scary so I haven't given him a treatment all day and of course he is coughing ALOT!!!! But I know that something is not right by giving him the treatments and him acting that way. Well anyway we are very excited about the upcoming weekend. The brothers did great in school this quarter and I am very happy with their grades this year so far. Tomorrow we plan on going to see the new Incredibles movie. We are taking my niece and nephew with us. Then on Saturday for my birthday we are going to go to Chuckie Cheese all day and the Rivermen game Saturday night. Then Sunday I finally get my birthday dinner. We are so excited just to be together and having fun. Big Andre'e has been keeping the boys the past few days to give me a break. Not that I ever do much while they are gone but hang out but still it was nice.

Well nothing else much new to report here just taking it day by day and letting GOD light the way. Well thank you all for your love and support and most of all your thoughts and prayers. We see GOD working every single day in ALL our lives. HE IS SUCH AN AWESOME GOD!!!!

Letting GOD Light the Way,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Thank GOD for EVERYTHING EVERYDAY!!!!!

Monday, November 1, 2004 8:15 AM CST

Well finally I can get logged on FINALLY!!!!!

Well let me just say the blessings are surely flowing from heaven for our family that is for sure!!!!

Well first off Aaron is still coughing alot but the breathing treatments are sure helping. He is playing with a huge amount of energy. Everyone who has seen him this past week has made many comments about how well he looks and acts. Well he is surely a blessing from GOD just as well as all my boys are. He continues to amaze us with his strength and will to beat this beast. The devil sure will be mad when GOD finishes with Aaron that is for sure.

Last week Aaron and I spent time in the office at school and he was considered the assistant secretary!!!! I know kinda weird for a 6yo right but he did a great job. It was really cute since all the district 150 secretaries were on strike. Thank GOD they came to an aggrement glad to have you back Carol!!!! Even though everyone at Northmoor pulled together and filled in when they could it will be really nice to have some order back in the office!!! Well that was Thursday and Friday. On Friday evening the boys and I awaited a wonderful visit from a husband and wife who are part of Allie's Angels. It was totally wonderful to put a face with a name. Well they brought the boys some Halloween candy since we didn't go trick-or-treating this year. They also gave our family a really nice Walmart gift certificate. Well they asked if we needed anything else and mom(grandma) spoke right up and asked if they had a truck. Since momma's new chair and Aaron's new dresser was in. Well they said yes but then we told them about how the furniture company wanted us to pay for delivery when we where only a few blocks away. Well they agreed to help us early Saturday morning. But to our surprise about an hour or so after they left here came our furniture!!! Well mom and I had no clue they did it we thought since our salesman knew our story he may have told his boss. Well later that night I realized my cell phone was having issues and realized I had 8 new messages from that day. One of the messages was from Cynthia saying she and her wonderful husband had went and talked to the manager and told him about a very special loving caring boy who is very brave named Aaron who is fighing the battle of his life and well they decided to deliver the furniture. Well thanks guys you were totally sent from GOD himself that is for sure!!! What a blessing!!!! Well then on Saturday we went to Grandma Pat's for a bonfire and weiner roast. For those of you from Peoria you all know how windy and cold it was that night. Well it was a wonderful time. The boys even asked to move to the country so they could have bonfires more often. Especially since they got to play with sicks in the fire. They thought it was really cool but I told them NEVER try any of this at home. I know I have my horror story of when I was younger about playing with fire. Well it surely helps that mom nor I smoke that is for sure!!!! Then on Sunday we went to church and it was a wonderful sermon by pastor Watkins. It was about knowing you are special no matter what and how GOD loves you no matter what your past or wrong doings. He also talked about how each and everyone of us are GOD's poem. That was so how I feel sometimes through this website I touch people and they email me and say how touched they were by things I said or amazed by our strength but trust me without GOD's guidence I wouldn't even be the way I am. I know Aaron and the boys are the same way in how everyday they touch peoples lives and lead people to the LORD. Even with a kind smile or word people see how GOD is working in our lives every single day!!! Well to finish all our fun this past week we went to the annual church Fall Harvest Party. It was alot of fun for everyone as Aaron got to play in those bouncy jumpy things and he loved every minute of it. Then Andre'e, Antavious and I got to go bowling for most of the afternoon. It was a blast and we really enjoyed spending quality time together as a family for the day.

Well tonight the boys and I will be going to WWE Wrestling at the Peoria Civic Center. We are all so excited we can hardly wait. We have been looking forward to this for weeks. Tomorrow I will be taking Aaron back to the doctor for his weekly check up to see how things are going which I am sure they are going GREAT!!!!

Well also I have some new news about a decision I have made about putting Aaron on Alternative therapy. This was done on my own thanks to Don Abney. A wonderful GOD loving man and his wife who have helped our family try to continue to heal Aaron. He sells a nutritional supplement that has been found to help aid in curing cancer. This is called glyco-nutrients. I am trying to get Aaron to take all these different products he loves some and hates others but it is all totally nutritional and healthy for him. If anyone is interested in this product please call me on my cell and I will give you Don's phone number. This is just one more way I can help in healing my son!!!!! GOD IS SOOOO GOOD!!!!

Well one more wonderful thing I wanted to share with everyone. Aaron and I are heading to Flordia to go back to Disney since the trip for Make-A-Wish was kinda bumbed out since Aaron was so sick and I was totally not into it since getting all the news about Aaron. We will be going with another family from St. Jude. Zach and his mom Nikki invited us when they found out Zach relapsed too and we both agreed that it would be great for just the two boys and us mom's to go and have the time of our lives together. So Novemeber 15-22 we will be in sunny Flordia and trust me we are so excited to be going together with another St. Jude family who we love so much!!!!

Well nothing much else going on here lately just enjoying our time together and loving every minute of it!!! GOD IS SOOOOOOOO GOOD and he never ceases to amaze me with his GRACE and LOVE!!!!

Determined to be GOD's Poem Forever,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 9:55 PM CDT

WELL WELL WELL Praying you all are in GREAT SPIRITS!!!!

This weekend was crazy boring we really just did NOTHING!!! The boys were very very bored and we finally went and got Aaron's roller skates he ordered from his benefit. We went driving around looking at all the beautiful scenery. This was a great weekend to be out and about. On Sunday we just layed around and watched DVD's.

Aaron STILL has this awful cough and it has gotten way worse. Today I took him to the doctor and he listened to his chest and heard crackles and weases. Well HELLO I already knew that since him nor I have gotten sleep for hum lets see weeks. We pretty much sleep in the living room in a chair or on the couch together if we sleep at all. Well he checked his sats(his oxygen level) and it was only 95hich means he pretty much is close to having pneumonia. So finally the DOC listened to me and gave him breathing treatments that I will give every 8 hours around the clock until next weeks appointment. Also Aaron has been having pain alot so he ordered more morphine now he gets it around the clock every 12 hours and then prn. He also put him back on an antibiotic too. I was like well here we go again stocking up on all the latest drugs again. I know though that he is a very sick baby but like everyone says to me you would never know by looking at him. But I also know some people only see him sometimes and I am with him ALL the time. Well anyway he is still trying to play and trying to eat but as of today he threw up everything he has eaten which I know first hand happens when pneumonia sets in. Well I am just asking everyone to pray that he will start getting way better and we can do some fun things together as a family soon. I really try to keep him home as much as possible since I really don't want him to catch anything. Also his ANC came back up to 2000 but his hemoglobin and platlets went down some. Really not alot but still when I see things go down I do worry some. Well nothing else really new going on here.

My birthday is coming up Nov. 6th I will be the big 30!!! The boys say mommy wow you are going to be OLD!!!! Yeah right if only they really new what OLD was HUH!!! Well also the boys and I are planning a trip to Memphis to visit everyone and spend some much needed time with all our loving caregivers and friends. We will be leaving the week before Thanksgiving for a fun filled week at our home away from home.

Well as always thank you all for all your "real" mail and guestbook entries we are loving hearing from everyone. And it really helps to know you all are in agreement with us for a complete healing and MIRACLE!!! We all know if anyone can do it GOD can and he WILL!!!

Giving GOD all the GLORY and PRAISE,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Friday, October 22, 2004 11:49 PM CDT

Friday, October 22, 2004 11:24 PM CDT
Hey Hey Hey everyone!!!!

Well yes we are still doing good. Aaron saw the doctor on Tuesday and his anc has dropped just a lil bit but the rest of his counts are great. He still has an awful cough but doc says that we really don't want to surpress the cough because that could lead to pneumonia. Well LORD knows we really don't need that. Anyway a huge thank you to doc for his very special gift to Aaron to borrow. Most of you know Aaron loves to ride motorcycles and well since leaving Memphis he has really missed his motorcycles. So thanks doc for the borrowing of your very special gift!!!(yes we are taking extra special care of it too) Also Aaron has been getting alot of pain meds this week. Doc said the best cough medicine in the world is morphine so we have been giving him that for the cough and to help him relax plus he has been having really really bad headaches so morphine is the only thing that works for those. Aaron will be seeing the doctor again this coming Tuesday and hopefully by then I will be able to sleep without worrying about Aaron and his coughing spells. I also have concerns since Aaron isn't current on his shots. I keep seeing things on TV about whooping cough and wow that really scares me to death. I would lose my mind if Aaron had that because it is very fatal. Also on Tuesday Aaron got his flu shot and he wasn't really happy about it but he did very very good. He was in alot of pain afterwards but the morphine sure helped alot. The boys and I are trying to get ours but seems our doctors office has none and they have no clue when they will so we just have to keep calling back every couple days. I just pray none of us get this stinking flu especially since there is such a shortage on the flu shot.

Well I wanted to say a huge thank you to Bobbie(SP?) who invited me to speak to her class about death and dying . It was such a stress releiver to speak. Some of you may never understand this but it really helps to talk about what we go through as cancer parents and families. It also helps more people understand how to help us and to keep on loving us no matter what. Some people shy away during a time like this but we all need to support and lift each other up not run away. I was very happy to be telling our story again. I sure miss that at St. Jude I was doing it alot for a while but then when Aaron relapsed I think they were worried I would crack under pressure but I think I really do a great job. I know GOD has a plan for ALL of us and I know and feel that speaking about HIM, cancer and St. Jude is one of the plans.

Well thank you all so much for all your continued support. This week Aaron got lots and lots of "real" mail. He really loves that and he said mommy look how much everyone loves me. I said Aaron of course EVERYONE loves you!!! He said mommy I love you and tears came to my eyes. He is such a sweet kid. Sometimes it is cute how the boys all thrive for my love and attention. They have compatitions to see who can say they love me the most. It is really cute. Well thanks for checking in on us and keep those awesome prayers coming!!!!

Believing in HIS Promises,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Don't forget to tell the ones you love you love them!!!

Monday, October 18, 2004 10:17 PM CDT

Hey there everyone hope and pray you all are doing great tonight!!!!

Aaron is still having problems with coughing but he really enjoyed himself today. He got to read books with Mrs. Wood for about 2 hours today and he really loves doing that. I really feel bad some days as he just doesn't want to leave. He really has grown to love Mrs. Wood(not that it's hard to fall in love with her). She is wonderful and sooo loves Aaron too. Thank you Mrs. Wood for all your love and compassion towards our family especially Mr. Aaron. Aaron and I will be heading to see Dr. Mac tomorrow and checking his counts to see where things stand. His runny nose is now a totally clear runny nose which is great if you ask me it means the infection in his sinuses is gone. He is really still laying around and breathing kinda funny. Sometimes it is really scary but I know GOD has it all under control. He can't really play much because it causes him to cough and lose his breath. But he is still enjoying those brothers as they play the playstation II.

Well today I got a really awesome email and just wanted to share it all with you. Today big Andre'e and I got into a huge not so pleasant conversation and this email was just what I needed to boost my spirits. I know that GOD has this all planned out but man things emotionally and physically are getting hard. So thank you Stacey and Spencer for this wonderful email:

By the time the Lord made woman, he was into his sixth day of working overtime.
An angel appeared and said, "Why are you spending so much time on this one?"

And the Lord answered, "Have you seen my spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have over 200 movable parts, all replaceable and able to run on diet coke and leftovers, have a lap that can hold four children at one time, have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart -and she will do everything with only two hands."

The angel was astounded at the requirements. "Only two hands!? No way! And that's just on the standard model? That's too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish."

But I won't," the Lord protested. "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can work 18 hour days."

The angel moved closer and touched the woman. "But you have made her so soft, Lord."

"She is soft," the Lord agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish."

"Will she be able to think?", asked the angel.

The Lord replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason and negotiate."

The angel then noticed something, and reaching out, touched the woman's cheek. "Oops, it looks like you have a leak in this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."

"That's not a leak," the Lord corrected, "that's a tear!"

"What's the tear for?" the angel asked.

The Lord said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her pain, her disappointment, her love, her loneliness, her grief and her pride."

The angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything! Woman is truly amazing."

And she is! Women have strengths that amaze men. They bear hardships and they carry burdens, but they hold happiness, love and joy. They smile when they want to scream. They sing when they want to cry.They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous. They fight for what they believe in. They stand up to injustice.They don't take "no" for an answer when they believe there is a better solution. They go without so their family can have. They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.They love unconditionally. They cry when their children excel and cheer when their friends get awards.They are happy when they hear about a birth or a wedding. Their hearts break when a friend dies.They grieve at the loss of a family member, yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you. The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning. They bring joy, hope and love.They have
compassion and ideals.They give moral support to their family and friends.

Women have vital things to say and everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,
IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Well today I seemed to forget my worth but let me just say my babies all three of them made me realize why I am so worthy. GOD has really blessed our family since being home and just having us all together again has really been awesome. I want to say a HUGE thank you to Rolling Acres for their donation to our family today. It was a great thing what your staff and students did for our family and we so appreciate all your prayers. It really means the world to us to see our community come together for our family. I know last night I spoke about the Extreme Home Makeover and trust me that is one thing I will never stop praying for just like I will never stop asking GOD to heal my LiL Superhero forever. I also will always pray that GOD's will be done in each and everyone of our lives. Please continue to pray for our family as well as all our St. Jude Buddies. Also thank you to everyone for you guestbook entries and "real" mail for Aaron. He just loves getting his mail.

Asking GOD for his Worthiness,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Sunday, October 17, 2004 10:05 PM CDT

Hey there everyone!!!!

Well first off Aaron is still having troubles with this awful cough and runny nose. He is laying here sleeping as I type this.

You would think with all the cleaning we have done these past few weeks we wouldn't have nothing left to clean but WOW what cleaning we did this weekend. We put plastic on all the windows and the porch. Boy is this old house warm now between the new furnace and the plastic it is really feeling nice in here now.

Well I have a cute story to tell you all about tonight. As most of you know we have applied for an Extreme Home Makeover and tonight as I watched them give a family a new house it really reminded me of our situation with Aaron in the fact that Aaron should be shielded from all pollutants, dust, allergens, etc. Well most of you know how old mom's house is and how much we would love to have that extreme makeover done. Especially considering how much mom and I have cleaned this weekend and the dust was flying all around. I think that played a huge part in why Aaron has been coughing so much too. Anyway back to my story. Tonight after watching Extreme Home Makeover mom went to bed and I was video taping the boys together and mom comes running out of her room and says oh my guys look outside you are never going to believe this. I was like oh my GOD!!! I could hear what appeared to be a big truck or something running. Well we unlock the door and go running thinking it was the people from extreme makeover and to our surprise it really wasn't it was just this HUGE bus with all these people on it like a big tour bus but we still have no clue what they were doing on our street but anyway they sure gave us a laugh and really got our hearts a racing thinking we were getting that new home we really really need. I know alot of you have wanted to help us in this endevor and we are so very thankful for that. I would love to have a newer house and a safe place to live outta the south end but I know GOD already has this all figured out and it will come in his time. I also know I just have to be patient and keep praying that his will be done. Well needless to say it was quite a disappointment but someday I know that dream and wish will come true someday!!!

Anyway we are all doing fine. The boys were complaining of being bored and really wanted to just go do something fun but Aaron was really under the weather. I don't quite know what's going on with him anyway. He has been sleeping alot lately and just tired all the time. I know that he is pretty much in his last days. I also know GOD is totally in the miracle making business but neuroblastoma is sooooo very aggressive as we have seen this past year with so many of our best friends passing away and alot of our friends relapsing. I see my baby getting weaker and weaker and I really get scared but I just keep praying GOD's will be done. My biggest fear is to find my baby gone when I wake up and that is what I am praying will NEVER happen. I love all my babies soooooo much and I also know how much GOD loved his one and only son JESUS. But I know that Aaron is only temporarily mine. I know we are all just passing through and Heaven is our home not earth. Well sorry for making this so sobby but I have been really thinking about things and I just don't know what I would do without my babies all together. I do know GOD has it all under control and he will take care of everything.

Well as always thank you all so much for all your support and love and most of all prayers. Please keep them coming as we see them working in our lives every single day. Thanks for all the guestbook signings and "real" mail for Aaron. Please know we love and appreciate all you support!!!!

Cuddling up with My Baby Tonight,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Thursday, October 14, 2004 9:03 PM CDT

Hey Hey Hey everyone well what a very CRAZY week!!!!

We FINALLY have heat!!!!! GOD is sooooo good. The guy just finished the job today with the new furnace and we finally have heat.

Aaron has been feeling really yucky. He has been coughing up junk and a nasty nasty cough and runny nose. We went to clinic on Tuesday and his counts were AWESOME!!! Thank you GOD!!! But he had this awful cough. Daddy even went to clinic too Aaron was begging him to come so he did. On Tuesday I talked to the social worker about hospice and so we are working on getting that all set up now. Aaron was up all night coughing on Tuesday night so GOD finally sent me a sign around 12am to give him a few puffs of Andre'e's Albuterol inhaler for asthma so I did and it really really helped the coughing stopped and he went right to sleep. On Wednesday he was having the same problem so I did the same thing. He has really been on a daddy kick lately(not that its a bad thing) so on Wednesday he went with daddy again all day. Wednesday night when he got back he was really coughing and panting for breath so I called the doctor he was carrying a slight fever but doc didn't really seem to alarmed so I just watched him all night long again and then took him to clinic today for a chest x-ray to see if he had pneumonia. Well PRAISE THE LORD no pneumonia was found. The doctor said it was pretty much upper airway stuff so he told me for Aaron's pain that he is having just make him as comfortable as possible and give him morphine when he needs it and just keep my baby as comfortable as possible. I know that when hopsice takes over that is what they do but I hate druging Aaron but I also know he has already been through way to much and he deserves to be comfortable at all times now. Tonight the coughing hasn't been quite as bad but still he is coughing I plan on giving him some morphine tonight before bed to help him sleep well and be comfortable. If his cough gets worse the doctor said we may try breathing treatments for a short while but as of today I see him feeling better but he is just tired from no sleep for the last 3 days.

Well ontop of Aaron keeping me on my toes. The fact we have had no gas in the house all week sure didn't help but at least I could give the kids showers and we had hot water. But no stove and no heat until tonight. The house has been a wreck and that was driving me crazy but as of tonight things are in a lil order and we are happy to have heat.

I have a huge thank you to give to the Staff and Parents of Northmoor Edison for all their support in filling a freezer for our family. We now have some very very yummy stuff to eat and snack on thanks to all your love, support and generosity. You all have been the greatest and we could never say thank you enough for all your love. Also a huge thank you to Jennifer Young and her daughters who treched the rain tonight to bring everything over and allow us to borrow their deep freezer. You girls have no idea how much this means to us and thanks sooooo much. Also to everyone who continues to keep updated about our family and continues to show their love and support through prayers. You all are awesome and keep those prayers coming as we see them working every single day all day.

Giving GOD All the Praise and Glory,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Remember Jesus loves you and so do we!!!!!!

Monday, October 11, 2004 9:15 AM CDT

OK either I have a horrible computer or Caringbridge is really having major issues with their site. I have now tried to update since last night and no luck so I will try this once again!!!!

Sunday, October 10, 2004 7:43pmCDT

Blessings Blessings Blessings Blessings everyone!!!

Hey everyone thanks for checking up on us again. Aaron is doing much better with the puking and diarrhea but now he has an awful cold and it is really keeping him and I both up most of the night. The doctor told him to take some robutussin DM so he has been on that for a week now and it seems to be getting worst. He cough's all night long. Also his white luman(his white line in his chest) is clogged so tomorrow we are going to see the doctor and get Aaron all better. Other than this awful cold he is eating like a HOG!!! Yesterday we went to Grandpa and Grandma's for lunch(thank you guys soooo much for the GREAT dinner especially the peach pie) and he ate 5 pieces of meatloaf and 5 helpings of applesauce. It was wonderful to see him pig out. Then after lunch he wanted Burger King for supper and he ate every single bite of his chicken fingers and fries with 2 barbque sauces. For an extra snack he ate 2 boxes of pepperoni. Yeah what a piggy huh. Today he ate cereal for breakfast and spagetti for lunch with garlic bread and then pizza for supper with his daddy. This evening when he got home he had to have a nightly snack so he had animal crackers and a bowl of cereal. Well needless to say he is sure making up for lost time huh. I am just praising GOD for allowing my baby to just feel good. GOD is soooooooooo very good. The boys are doing good too. They seem to be doing alot better this year in school and it seems they knew alot more than any of us thought(imagine that never underestimate the power of children).

Oh yeah last night I just had Dr. Ahn on my mind from Memphis so I called her. I really miss her and everyone there but I also know that being home is for the best. Aaron really needed to be home. Anyway she told me to get hospice set up. At first I was taken by surprise by that comment but then I realized everyone whom I have talked to has said that the earlier the better. So tomorrow when we meet with Dr. Mac I will be discussing that subject too. So please pray that things will go smoothly with that conversation.

Well thanks to everyone who has made a donation to our family in some form or fashion. The love and support of our entire community has been awesome. Now our goal is to find us a house. GOD is soooo good isn't he. Also I have to say a very special thank you to everyone who sent Aaron "real" mail this week it was like being in Memphis again. He had mail almost every single day and he also even had a few packages on Saturday. He really loves getting mail so thanks again for your support to him. Also a huge thank you to everyone who continues to pray for our entire family. We know GOD is hearing everyone and maybe someday he will get sick of hearing about Aaron and just HEAL him FOREVER!!!!!

Anticapating A True Miracle,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Please continue to pray for our LiL St. Jude Buddies they need our prayers!!!!!

Friday, October 8, 2004 11:36 AM CDT

Well lets try this again I guess the caringbridge system was down last night when I tried to update but hopefully this will work now!!!!

Hey Hey Hey everyone!!!!

Well first off things are going ok. Aaron has been very very sick lately. He is still pukey and having diarrhea. The mornings are the worst and the evenings right before bed. He hasn't really ate for about 3 days now. But today he starting eating like a pig again. He has eaten about 4 slices of pizza and a donut so to me that is great for not eating for the last 3 days. So far he has kept it all down. I am now able to give him meds by mouth before I could only give them through his line. But so far so good. He is still having a nasty runny nose and cough but he is on a med for that now too and doing ok with taking all those. We are only going to clinic once a week now on Monday mornings. This past Monday his counts were still looking very good. He is starting to get a lil of his energy back now but now I am getting sick I really think it is just a cold but I of course hate going to the doctor so I diagnose my own self(imagine that soooo stubborn). Well the brothers are doing good and seem to be doing good in school too. Aaron has been to sick to read with Mrs. Wood all week in the mornings but hopefully he will feel much better by next week and then we will go back to our ritual of reading every morning. He sure misses it but we get our reading in here at home every morning. This morning we had to read 4 Arthur books including his favorite Arthur Goes to School(thank you Mrs. Wood). He can even read this whole book to me now and knows every single word. It is so cute to see him reading to me. Aaron is so smart I can't wait for him to get all better and maybe we can go to school a lil bit. I know that sounds weird with all the is going on but he just wants to feel normal and maybe going to school will do that for him. But I already know I will be joining him no matter what since he is such a momma's boys now!!!!(You know I totally love every minute of it)

Well onto all the blessings from this week. First off WE HAVE A FURNACE that is being put in tomorrow morning. GOD was sure seeing us though this plan. The city of Peoria is doing this for our family and they even read the story in the paper and knew who we were before we called them. It was really amazing to see GOD working this all out before we really started to worry. Boy is GOD good or what!!!! It is so amazing to see GOD working in each of our lives and seeing him perform miracles before we have time to think or worry about them. THANK YOU GOD!!!! Also mom and I went to the St. Jude Style Show last night it was really really nice. I really loved seeing so many supporters of St. Jude. Thank you to the staff and Mrs. Wood for inviting us it was really nice to dress up and spend time with adults for once. I haven't done that in a very very long time. Hopefully we can do something like that again. The kids who modeled were so cute. It was really nice to see those in remission and there was a girl who modeled who had Neuroblastoma and has been in remission for 5 years that sure gives me hope too. It was really nice to see ZoeJo she was just darling in her clothes and so was Ginny she is such a doll. Zoe thanks for all the lovin it was nice to get such big hugs from you.

Well nothing else much going on around here just hanging out doing laundry and of course trying to keep this house clutter free(still haven't quite caught the hang of that yet)!!!! I am sure those of you who have spent so much time at St. Jude totally know that feeling!!!! Well a huge thank you to everyone for all the love and support. It is sooooo wonderful to see the blessings and prayers working!!!

I also have a few extra special prayer requests besides our LiL Superhero Aaron. Please say extra prayers for Zach(www.caringbridge.org/il/zachallen) he is currently back at St. Jude awaiting tests to have reconstructive spinal surgery, Lauren(www.caringbridge.org/va/lauren) they found some spots inside her that look suspicious and are going to be doing needle biopsy's, and ben(www.bens-story.com) he recently finished treatment at St. Jude and there is nothing else they can do now. The list of course goes on and on but these are ones that need immediate attention. We all know GOD is still on the throne and he is totally capable of performing miracles for ALL our children and I really feel he will. Thank you all for everything and please keep all the support and prayers coming as we are still walking out on FAITH!!!

He is My ROCK and My FORTRESS,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Monday, October 4, 2004 7:53 PM CDT

Praises Praises and more Praises WOW what blessings we have had all weekend long!!!!

Well sorry for the delay in updating but if you all could have been in my shoes this weekend I really don't think you would have updated either(basically my way of saying we had a BLAST together this weekend).

Saturday big Andre'e kept the boys to celebrate Andre'e birthday with him and mom and I did what girls do best!!! Shop(really just look around), get our hair cut, and went to a great lunch. I must say a huge thank you to Mrs. Wood for the spending money just for me and I totally had a blast on Saturday preping and priming myself for once in a very longtime. I had my hair dyed back to its original color because I am going to atempt to let it grow out and then donate it to locks of love for a patient who really misses their hair. Then I went and caught a huge sale at Old Navy for Aaron he really needed warm clothes since we will be in total winter before you know it as it is now in the lower 30's at night and 60's in the daytime. He also needed a winter coat. Well from there mom and I went to eat lunch at Famous Daves. It was great food. It was just nice to have some much needed mother daughter time with my mommy!!! Then off to the house to try to clean up some of the clutter since coming home boy do we have way to much stuff. This house really seems small with everything from Memphis here. We have a storage unit but it is way to packed now too!!!

Well onto Aaron and how things are going with him. He is doing ok but has been very very pukey lately. He got sick and had diarrhea all weekend long. He had his last day of chemo on Friday and he was very happy about it.

On Sunday morning we went to the St. Jude Downhill Derby on Main St. hill here in Peoria. It was really cool how many people turned out. I have to say a huge thank you to Nick and his mom Stephanie and her mom and dad for all their love and support to our entire family. It was great seeing Aaron's picture on Nick's car and to see Nick so happy to be supporting St. Jude. Thanks Nick and family we love you guys soooooo much!!!!! Well from there mommy needed to take a nap and then have lunch and get ready for the benefit!!! Well is the work ohmygoodnessgraciouswow a word that can be spelled all together!!! It was great we had a nice turnout and an even better amount of donations. The support from ALL the community was AWESOME I could never say thank you to everyone because I totally know I would miss someone's name but you all totally know who you are and as a family I have a HUGE THANK YOU to say to each and everyone of you for everything you have done and are going to do for our family. This outpouring of support has been awesome and we are all overwhelmed by your generous support and love. It was nice to spend time with you all at the skating rink last night and soooo nice to meet so many of you in person finally. I know that as a family we have touched so many lives and made some of you realize that you need to live life to the fullest and also just take one day at a time no matter what!!! But you all have taught us that no matter what go with you heart and give from the heart too!!!! Needless to say we exceeded Mrs. Wood's goal and now we have set a new one so please keep the donations coming as we are now going to be giving grandma a new furnace since we can't use hers until we get a new one and then work on getting us a new house to live in too. Winter is here and so if anyone knows of a reputable furnace company that would give us a good rate on a new furnace and duct cleaning that would be great you can just email me. Also please keep the prayers coming that a house for us will come our way as this house is way to small but we are making do with what we have at this point but with the boys growing it's starting to get harder and harder.

Well thank you all for all you love and support and most of all prayers please keep them coming as GOD is hearing them and we see them working every single day.

Thanking GOD for all HIS Blessings,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Quote for today: Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Michael Jordan

Friday, October 1, 2004 10:57 PM CDT

WOW what a very very emotional day!!!!!

Today was a very bittersweet day. It was a day for rejoycing and a day for tears. As most of you who read last nights journal know Aaron has made the decision to stop his chemo and he is totally happy with that decision. Today he woke up feeling really sick but insisted on reading books in Mrs. Wood's office. It was so cute he refused to get sick because he didn't want anyone to see him get sick. But thanks to someone who tonight emailed me and made me cry again this evening who mentioned "Mickeydonalds" McDonalds to Aaron for breakfast. He insisted (even after our long conversation about us not having the money to waste on fast food) on having on his famous bacon, egg, and cheese and hashbrowns and orange hi-c. But he wouldn't eat a bit until he had his benedryal and zofran. He wanted to make sure he didn't get sick this morning!!!! And today was the first day in 3 days he didn't get sick ALL day. I was so happy to see that final dose of that horrible poision going into Aaron's body today. He seemed to be extra happy today knowing it would all be over soon. He even wanted to stick around to play after chemo just because he wanted too. He even helped me make crafts today and he never wants to do crafts. So basically all in all today was a great day and much needed break from him being sooooo very sick. So thanks to everyone for being so supportive with our decision and for keep those awesome prayers coming!!! I didn't really mention this last night but we are not giving up hope in GOD healing Aaron and performing that AWESOME miracle we all believe will happen!!! Our GOD is such an AWESOME GOD and I totally have faith in whatever he decides to do with my LiL Superhero!!! I know to some it just seems I am giving up hope but trust me all my hope and love and faith is in Jesus Christ and I know he makes ALL the final decisions!!!!

Well I almost fogot to mention a very very Happy 11th Birthday to Andre'e Aaron's oldest brother. Tonight thanks to a runner for St. Jude we enjoyed a free movie and we also enjoyed a great dinner at Carlos O'Kelly's. This was a very precious night to know that my oldest was celebrating another day here on earth with his family. Anyway HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDRE'E WE ALL LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!!

Also a huge thank you to everyone in the Peoria community who made silent auction donations and of course all the staff, students, and parents of Northmoor Edison for all your dedication to our benefit this weekend. You all are GREAT!!!! We love you all and can't wait to have a fun filled time skating and falling on our rumps!!!

Also thank you to everyone who hasn't fogotten about sending Aaron "real mail" he still have such faithful friends. Also to everyone who has sent me email's and signed the guestbook as it is my way getting "real mail". Just please remember to keep our entire family in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to bravely fight this battle with the beast.

Giving GOD all the Thanks, Praise and Glory,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Hope to see you all on Sunday night from 5-7pm at the Peoria Palace Skating Rink!!!!!

Thursday, September 30, 2004 9:21 PM CDT

Well first off hello everyone and thank you to everyone who prayed for us last night and today!!!!

ATTENTION THIS WILL TOTALLY BE A TEAR JERKER!!!!(Sorry PBL)

I must tell all of you a very important story about last night before I tell you all the new news!!!! Last night I asked for a very special prayer request that no one around me knew about that I was seeing in Aaron. I asked all of you to pray as I needed to make a decision about weather to continue the chemo or not. Well after I wrote that Aaron and I went to bed and as usual he said his night night prayers. Well last night he said something totally different. He asked Jesus to stop all the chemo and that all the kids would have to stop taking all the achkey medicines. He then said that he just wanted all his friends at St. Jude to be happy and healthy and to not have to suffer anymore. Sorry if this is a tear jerker but trust me Aaron was saying all of this for a reason. As most of you who are "webstalkers" know I wrote about three weeks ago yesterday about Aaron saying he just wanted to stop all his meds and just go home. Well I really beleived with all my heart by bringing him home that he would be ok with taking the IV chemo. Well guess I was wrong. That is what I get for not consulting with GOD first!!! Well after Aaron prayed last night I asked him if he was really praying about himself if he didn't want to have chemo anymore. He said yes mommy and so I said well Aaron you know you may get very very sick without chemo and he said mommy it's ok I will be ok!!! Well I then felt this wonderful peace I asked all of you to pray for last night. So this morning we made the final decision to STOP all chemo and meds and not have to go to St. Jude as often. Aaron and I talked with Dr. Mac and he was in total agreement I was at total peace with this decision. He also said sometimes the kids are smarter than the caregivers. With that said Aaron will get his final dose of chemo tomorrow morning and then we will only go the the affiliate for counts or if Aaron is sick. Dr. Mac wanted to make sure Aaron was totally comfortable with this and that anytime he wanted to visit he could. Aaron says he knows how he feels and he knows he is sick of being sick and just wants to feel "normal" whatever that is. Also Dr. Mac called Memphis and talked to Dr. Santana and he is in total agreement too. They have canceled the scans for Oct. 14 and we will not go back to Memphis again as of now. I know this is really upsetting for alot of you who were very near and dear to us from Memphis and St. Jude but I really do plan on making a trip down sometime soon. Hopefully before things get bad but we will see.

Please know we are not asking for any pitty but asking for you to keep those awesome prayers coming as every single day Aaron gives us understanding into what he is going through. He has such an awesome spirit about him and he continues to touch everyone he meets!!!! He is totally our superhero and I love him very much. I also thank you all for all your love and support and please know how much we love ALL of you!!!!

Also on Sunday at the benefit they will be holding a silent auction they currently have about 100+ items to be auctioned off.

Praising GOD for all his Peace that Passes Understanding,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. PLEASE REMEMBER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF EVERY SINGLE DAY WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR LOVED ONES THEY WILL NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THEM UNLESS YOU TELL THEM AND SHOW THEM!!!!!!

Wednesday, September 29, 2004 8:33 PM CDT

WOW what blessings GOD is blessing my entire family with!!!!

The outpouring of support has been awesome from our entire community and beyond. I am so impressed with how GOD works and continues to allow us to bless everyone we meet and talk to. There are sooooo many people impressed with how we continue to give GOD all the praise and glory for everything. But it is sooooo totally true GOD has really been here for ALL of us and if everyone who reads this would just sit down and realize GOD is there for them too. He blesses us even when we have no clue he is going to!!! We just need to remember to give him thanks for EVERYTHING even allowing us to wake up in the morning.

Well I got the biopsy today back on Aaron's mouth sores and it is a fungal infection!!! Imagine that something totally new. So he had to start on an anitfungal med today. Also today he has been very sick he hasn't kept anything down all day but he is still smiling and playing as always. He is such a superhero that is for sure. I am going to ask everyone to please pray that GOD lead me in the right direction as to weather to continue Aaron's chemo. I want him to live a happy free life but with chemo he seems to be sick alot. I know he has told me he is sick of medicine and I know that I really need to listen to him. I will be talking to the doctor about this in the coming weeks but please pray that GOD give me peace with my decision. I know GOD is such an AWESOME GOD and he has led me down every road we have walked already and I totally know he will continue.

Well thank you to everyone who tuned into WMBD Morning Mix on Tuesday morning. Everyone who saw it said it was a beautiful story. I haven't seen it yet but I am sure a copy will come my way soon. Thank you Eddie Urish and Kaitlyn Winstine it was such a pleasure meeting you both and letting the world hear just a piece of our story. A HUGE thank you to everyone at Richwoods High School for the donation to our family this morning WOW how amazed I was to have the honor to receive your gift to our family. It really means the world to us to know everyone supports us even in such a BIG community. Also to the staff and students of Northmoor Edison I know I will never be able to say thank you enough for all you do today was so very beautiful and I really enjoyed getting to thank each and everyone of you for everything personally. Also one more very speical thank you to Stephanie from Bank One you will always hold a very special place in my heart and you have no idea what you are doing means to me!!! I love you all and please keep the calls, cards, donations, support and most of all prayers coming. WE LOVE YOU ALLLLLLLLL!!!!!

Asking GOD for PEACE for Our Entire Family,

Marilyn, Andre'e I, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Monday, September 27, 2004 7:22 PM CDT

Hey there everyone well if you didn't already know today is the 2 year aniversary of Aaron being diagnosed. WOW how time flies when you having OH SO MUCH fun LOL!!!! But I really am enjoying having all my babies under one roof again.

Don't forget to watch the local channel 31/7 tomorrow morning at 7:40am as Aaron, Mrs. Wood, Joy and myself will be talking about the benefit we will be having on Sunday from 5-7pm. If anyone is still wanting tickets or information please call my cell or call Northmoor or you can just buy them at the door.

Aaron is doing GREAT he is busy as ever. This morning we joined Mrs. Wood in her office and read books before chemo. I really think this will keep Aaron relaxed and focused for what is ahead. He did great with today's chemo but this evening he is just laying around and he keeps saying his throat hurts. I really wonder if that is because he is really allergic to all the chemo's or what but time will tell. I am just praying that GOD just heal Aaron if it be his will!!!! Aaron has really made such an awesome impression on alot of people and I just know by being around alot longer he could sure lead alot more to CHRIST!!!!! Well tomorrow will be a fun day going on TV and then Aaron getting chemo. I know he isn't very happy about getting chemo again but he does have alot of fun playing with the pirates ships and figures and of course playing the Nintendo 64. Today he played the Nintendo 64 since Mrs. Shelly wasn't there but he is totally looking forward to her being there tomorrow. He is so cute how he can figure out how to make do with what he has. That alone sure helps me to realize that I must do the same thing. Well other than being famous tomorrow nothing really planned but enjoying our precious time together.

Thanks as always for all your support and prayers. Please know that we are so appreciative of everything from calls, cards, email's, money and most importantly PRAYERS!!!! I totally know GOD is hearing them and is thing WOW there sure are alot of people down there loving that LiL Superhero!!! I just want everyone to know we are ALL very grateful!!!! And please keep it all coming!!!

Resting in GOD's BIG Arms,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Sunday, September 26, 2004 3:31 PM CDT

Hey there everyone well let me just say a huge WOW what a week and weekend.

Yes we made it home safely would you expect anything less HE HEH HE!!! Aaron is really doing WONDERFUL Praise the LORD!!! I totally feel GREAT about the decision I have made. We got home on Friday night around 8pm. Put everything in storage which was no fun and then took the rental van back to the airport. Then home bound I was. I was so exhausted that I totally couldn't update. Then yesterday we got up and headed to Bath IL for our families annual fish fry and carnival. The boys had a blast and I really think Aaron played more than he had in months. He woke up this morning in alot of pain in his legs and butt bones!!! I told him he used muscles and bones he hadn't used in a very long time LOL!!! Well anyway today we went to church it was great to fellowship in the LORD and give GOD all the praise and glory for everything he is doing in our lives and in continues to bless us with. Today we gave our story to Mr. Ben from the Times Courier thanks Ben for all your patience I know I am very long winded when it comes to our story!!!! I just know this weekend coming up will be a huge success. This week will be very very busy for me and Aaron as he starts chemo on Monday. Tuesday morning we will be on the Morning Mix on channel 31/7 at 7:40am talking about Aaron's benefit. On Wednesday we will be getting a surprise at Richwoods High School and then on Thursday we will be speaking at Valeska Hinton School about our story. So all in all we will be a very very busy family. I need to say a huge thank you to EVERYONE for all your love and support you all are AWESOME and I could never say thank you enough for everything. Also please keep those AWESOME PRAYERS coming as we are not outta the water yet but we are expecting a full MIRACLE thanks to GOD himself!!!

Believing in GOD's Miracles,

Marilyn, Andre'e II, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Take advantage of every single moment of every single day no matter what!!!!!

Friday, September 24, 2004 0:42 AM CDT

Hey everyone this is gonna be very short I hope as you can see it is very late/early. Aaron and I are totally packed and ready to break outta here. Thanks to Julie and Travis who will be driving my car for me of course there was way more than I expected to be bringing home. Luckily I found a rental mini van for really cheap. It is packed to the gills and we are planning to leave around 8am. I have to have the van back to the Peoria Airport by 5pm. I am just so grateful to everyone who has already made a donation to our family as this was the money it took to get the van and of course will get the gas. I also want to say a huge thank you to Mr. Hinton the fill in Superintendent for district 150 you have no idea how wonderful it was to know the support we have from everyone. Well guess I better go Aaron is really doing great and he just can't wait to be home home for a whole month!!!! Me either!!! Well thanks and don't forget to keep the words of encouragement coming and of course the prayers.

Going home to wait on GOD to perform a Miracle,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Wednesday, September 22, 2004 7:04 PM CDT

Hey Hey Hey everyone well I have good news and then I have great news!!!!! Hummmmm which to say first?????

Well we will be heading home on Friday morning I still have no clue how we are getting home. But I know GOD will provide. We have alot of things to get home and we have no transportation yet. So if anyone can help with this let me know. I really want to leave by Friday morning as we want to be home no later than Saturday as we will be having a family get together on Saturday evening. Also the great news is that the doctor said Aaron is still STABLE PRAISE THE LORD HE IS SUCH AN AWESOME GOD!!!! That means we will still be trying the IV chemo but the even better news is that we can do this all from home!!! At the St. Jude back home in Peoria. I am so excited as the brothers need us and I totally know grandma Hunter and Donna could totally use a major break. As long as Aaron has no reaction then we will be doing as follows: Aaron will be getting chemo IV starting monday for 5 days then he will get a 2 day break and then get 5 more days of chemo then a 5 day break and then we will come back to Memphis(flying of course) for 2-3 days for scans and stuff then we will go home and do it all over again. The doctor made it very clear that this is only a stall tatic but we know GOD is the ultimate physician and he makes the FINAL decision!!!! He did say that he wanted me to know that there is no chance for a cure now only stablility but as long as Aaron is up for this I am willing to fight. I asked him what he thought and he said as long as he can be home he is willing to fight. So that is what we intend to do!!!!

I am so grateful for all the love and support at home and from perfect strangers. You all have been GREAT and I could never thank you all enough. The support financially has already been awesome and I just pray since we are coming home for good it will continue. You all have no idea just how much of a burden it is not being able to work and doing this all on my own. But with all the support we have gotten things are sure looking up and I could never say thank you enough to each and everyone of you!!!!

Well on that note don't forget just because we are going home doesn't mean you can't continue to keep posted up on how things are going we will still update and of course Aaron will still be checking the mailbox at home for "real mail" so please keep the mail to us coming. We will miss everyone here at St. Jude but this is something that is much much needed. Thanks to EVERYONE for all your love and support and please know WE LOVE ALLLLLL OF YOU VERY VERY MUCH!!!!

Keeping the Faith,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Monday, September 20, 2004 2:23 PM CDT

Hello Hello Hello Hello !!!!!!!

I know you all are awaiting the new news and trust me boy do we have NEW news!!!!

Today Aaron had counts and then an appointment with Dr. Santana. Well as always things seem to change around here daily. But trust me do we have GOOOOOOOD news. First off Aaron's counts are great and second Dr. Santana agreed not to do the bone marrow aspirations so that Aaron can be in as little pain as possible, third Aaron's MRI from Friday was still stable. Fourth he wants to get the results of the MIBG(being done on Wednesday) and then ordered a urine with the VMA/HVA tests to be done. If those still show stability then he wants to go to a non-protocol chemo basically the same IV chemo Aaron was already on but not he oral ZD which is what the doc's think Aaron was allergic to. If Aaron still has the same reaction then they will definately stop all chemo altogether. If it works then we will do this until whenever!!!! But I am going to meet with Dr. Santant on Wednesday late afternoon to discuss the particulars also to ask if we can come home for about 10 days to be sure we can be home for the benefit and to get some much needed family time as Aaron really misses his brothers. I will let you all know what becomes of our conversation on Wednesday evening.

Thank you all so much for all the love and support for our entire family. You all have been GREAT but GOD is GREATER and he continues to amaze us with his greatness!!!! Also if you didn't already see our story in Sunday's Peoria Journal Star(www.pjstar.com) please try to get a copy from somewhere. It was a very precious story about what is going on with our family and thanks to Northmoor Edison and of course Terry Bibo you all did an awesome job!!!!

Well as always thanks for your support, love, and prayers and just know GOD is working miracles in our lives everyday but most of all he is working a 100% miracle in my baby/LiL Superhero Aaron!!!! Please keep those awesome prayers coming as we see them working first hand!!!!!

Clinging to GOD's Wonderful Promises,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Please make sure you stop by your local Chili's Resturant to have a nice dinner tonight. All the proceeds go to St. Jude to help with research for curing ALL these precious babies of ours!!!!

Saturday, September 18, 2004 11:22 AM CDT

Well I know everyone has been waiting very impatiently but I really don't have much to report yet. I meet with our main doctor on Monday morning. I am really confused but I guess that is to expected. I stopped by D clinic today our main clinic and they had no clue about sending Aaron home. So frankly I have no clue what is really going on. I did talk to the other doctor who wanted to know if D clinic gave up on Aaron. He said that he believes that Aaron is really stable and that he had already looked at the MRI from yesterday and it was still stable. That is good news so he and I came up with an idea that Dr. Leung will present to Dr. Santana on Monday morning before we meet. This might be an option but we will have to get final approval from Dr. Santana. We are thinking Aaron really just needs a break from ALL meds and so that is our intentions. On the 27th of this month it will have been 2 years that Aaron has been going through all this and his has only had about 1 month break from all of it. So we think he just needs a break from EVERYTHING and I totally agree. So we may be home for good and we may be home for a month. We will just have to wait and see what everyone agrees too. Considering it will be 6 months post transplant in November. We will just wait and see and I am praying that while we are home GOD will put his mighty hand on Aaron and heal his body completely. I have talked to many people lately and they say sometimes giving them that break away heals their body and that is when GOD heals them completely!!!! That is my prayer that GOD's will be done and if it be his will Aaron will be healed completely FOREVER!!!!

Well thank you all so much for all your love and support we are having a great time back here in Memphis. All the Southern Cruisers from all around the world are here and celebrating by giving toys and money and a power wheelchair to St. Jude. They of course are amazing people to us and we love them all sooooo much for all their love and support especially the Chickasaw chapter from Memphis they have been awesome to our family and thanks seems not enought but trust me they have really blessed our family in many ways. So this evening we will join them again at the Marriott for dinner and a great evening together. This is great for everyone especially since they are great friends of ours. THANKS TO ALL THE BIKERS EVERYWHERE!!!!!!

Also thank you to everyone who has supported us 100ince this journey began. You all have no idea how much your love, support, and prayers mean to us. Without you support I really believe we wouldn't have made it this far. So thanks to ALL of you too!!!!

Well Aaron and I are feeling much better with having made a great trip home. He is eating non-stop and playing and having the time of his life and I am just praying that this break away from all drugs will help him heal in his own way. Please join me in praying for a complete healing for Aaron!!!!

Oh yeah by the way for those of you who eat out alot please take the time to eat at your local Chili's Resturant on September 20 because on that very special day they will be donating the proceeds to St. Jude. You all know how much the continuation of research means to these amazing kids. So even if you hardly eat out please eat at Chili's that night. Also for the kids they will be decorating a chili pepper and decorate the entire building in those colorful peppers. Please join us in eating at Chili's on the 20th and support St. Jude!!!!!!

Waiting on Our Miracle,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Please note the new address information above. Effictive immediately please don't mail anymore mail to the Target House please mail it to Aaron at his Grandma Donna's house as some mail takes 3 days to get here and we are planning on being home no later than Saturday.

Thursday, September 16, 2004 5:47 PM CDT

We are officially back at St. Jude for now. It really ended up being a much shorter trip back than expected. Aaron and I only stopped for about 10 minutes for gas and a pee pee stop. We got here about 3pm this afternoon. It only took us about 6 1/2 hours this time WOW a record and I really didn't even speed!!!! Well upon getting back here I received the news that one of my babies that I love sooooo much is in the ICU. Please say some very extra special prayers for our buddy Jared Ford. He is on a vent and it was very difficult to see him that way knowing he never shuts up he is always talking about something. So please pray for him and his family. I also have to say a huge thank you to the staff and families of Northmoor Edison. They have went above and beyond for our family. Tonight was the beginning of selling tickets for Aaron's benefit and all's I can say is wish we were there to share with everyone the great food and fellowship. Thank you to everyone who sent cards this week while we were gone and called just to check on us. Yall are an awesome support system and great prayer warriors. Thanks for everything!!!

Leaning on GOD's Understanding,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Wednesday, September 15, 2004 1:18 PM CDT

UPDATE AS OF 5:00 p.m.
Aaron and I will not be leaving until I drop off the boys at school tomorrow morning. I called just to check and see if they needed us to come back for the biopsy tomorrow or not and of course they said they had heard the news and really don't want to put Aaron through anymore than he needs to go through. That if he isn't having pain then why put him in pain. I can understand that but I still wonder what is really going on with his mouth so they will make the final decision next week as to weather or not to do the biopsy at all.

HELLO HELLO HELLO everyone!!!!

Well wow what a day yesterday. It was an awesome time with family that I haven't seen in quite some time. Thank you to my sister Sue who made having a great dinner and time with my sisters possible. Even Aaron and the boys had a blast meeting family they have never met before. Aaron ate lots and he even played until his heart was content. No getting down for him yesterday. We even got to see my aunt and uncle from Bath IL whom we haven't really seen since Christmas. It was a great evening. Well yesterday Aaron went to get his counts here at the local clinic. It was hard to tell everyone what was going on and they were all very upset. I too know that feeling but I also totally know GOD is in the miracle making business too!!! And we are totally expecting him to perform that miracle in Aaron. Well come to find out Aaron's counts were great. Everything was all back up and so I feel much better about going back and seeing what these scans show. Also as far as my counts well they were great too. All the tests they did came back normal heh heh heh whatever that means!!!! So guess it was all just stress but I really don't totally believe that so we will just have to wait and see. Well anyway I am awaiting a call from the dentist to see what is going on with Aaron tomorrow if they are still planning on doing a biopsy or not if not then we will be here for one more day if they are we will be leaving at 7pm tonight and get back to Memphis by 3am. Well either way we are ready to get the ball rolling.

Well thanks to everyone here at home for all their love, support and prayers. Also to everyone who seems to be perfect strangers(even though you seem like family too) thank you so much for being here for our family. You all have no idea how much this means to us and by saying thank you it just doesn't see to justify how we really feel but THANK YOU!!!!

Well I will update as soon as I can either tomorrow or Friday depends on how things go!!! Please keep those awesome prayers coming and just keep believing in this MIRACLE that is going to take place!!!

Also I almost forgot to say thank you to Nikki and Zach. Nikki you have no idea what a blessing it was to talk to you yesterday thanks for making my day!!!! Also to Mrs. Wood thanks for letting us use your office this morning to have some much needed reading time together. You have no idea what memories you are making for the two of us!!!! Thanks for everything you and the staff and families of Northmoor are doing and going to do for us it totally means so much to us!!!!

Still believing in a Miracle for my baby,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Monday, September 13, 2004 7:13 PM CDT

Hello Hello Hello everyone well first off thank you all for the encouraging emails. They have been awesome. Also thank you to everyone who has given me ideas about getting a truck for when we come home. I have received a very wonderful offer and so I will hopefully know something for sure sometime this week. Also thank you to everyone who has called to just check on us. I really need the support of friends and family and it is nice to know that you all are here no matter what.

Well onto news i'm sure you all have been waiting for. I went to the doctor today and well basically the doctor I saw kinda accussed me of being "crazy" i'm sure i've been called worse but this is not really the time to be calling me crazy!!!! Well she said that with all i'm going through right now that this all may just be stress related and some of it may be in my mind. Yeah right was my thought I would never wish any sickness upon anyone let alone myself HELLO. Well then they did draw blood and test me for diabetes and anemia. They said if the blood levels come back normal then they will have me come back in 3 weeks for some crazy people meds and treat me for depression. Ok I know all of this news is upsetting and right now I can cry at the drop of a dime but still I am not depressed nor crazy. But don't get me wrong if anything happens to my baby I may end up going crazy!!! No really I have just given it all to GOD and I know that he is going to take care of EVERYTHING in his timing. So I am just trusting him to supply all our needs!!! By the way I should have the blood results by tomorrow sometime and will post them tomorrow night when I update.

Well onto Aaron he was not very happy about getting up so early this morning to take the brothers to school. But when we got there the staff had decorated the school for us welcoming us home. It was really nice I tried not to cry but of course I did. But it was so wonderful to see all the staff and kids and thank them for all their support and all the mail they have been sending Aaron. Aaron read books in Mrs. Wood's office as always. He loves reading and always loves sitting in the principal's office to feel special and read her wonderful collection she has. Well from there I had my doctors appointment and then we headed to his favorite resturant Bavantis aka Avantis. He had something out of the norm he wanted mozz. sticks and a gondola surprise surprise. But I had my usual pizza burger which is gondola bread with meatballs with meat sauce and mozz cheese. Well who do you think asked for my meatballs which he usually gets you guessed it Mr. Aaron. It was so cute he says mommy are you going to eat all those meatballs and there was only 5 so I gave him 2 of the 5. He ate them both and ate 2 mozz sticks and a few bites of gondola. We brought the rest home for later on. Well he was really weak today and just layed around. I really think tomorrow when we get his counts we may find out he needs blood. He just has been really weak lately. After he plays rough for about 10 minutes then he lays down and rests for an hour. I hate seeing him this way but I guess it is to be expected. Trust me I still have faith that everything is going to be fine and GOD is going to heal my baby.

Well I do have some news on the benefit the school is having for our family. On Sunday October 3, 2004 from 5-7pm at the Peoria Palace. This is a skating rink and you can buy tickets ahead of time by contacting myself, the school, or my mom. Also if you really don't want to skate or don't know how you can always buy a ticket and then just come for the fellowship. Aaron and I will be there as well as the rest of the family. The tickets are being sold for $10.00 a piece. Also if you just want to make a donation you can mail it to the bank listed above with the account number above on the memo line. Also if anyone needs flyers or posters for their church, work, or whatever just let me know as the school is printing them now.

Well thank you all again for everything and please know how appreciated you ALL are. Talk to you all very soon and keep those awesome prayers coming.

Holding onto GOD's Promises Always,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Sunday, September 12, 2004 8:35 PM CDT

Well everyone today was a much better day. We went to church this morning and boy was this a service that I really really needed to hear.

I want everyone and I mean EVERYONE who is reading this to realize by passing judgement on people you only make yourself look bad and NO ONE but NO ONE except GOD is to be anyone's judge. So for everyone who has read these journal entries or will continue to read them realize that you are not MY judge nor anyone in my families judge either. We all have our own families and worries and judging others is not something GOD wants any of us to do because that is what he is to do!!!!

On that note I will say thank you to everyone who is REALLY here to support us we love you all so much and thank you all for everything you have done and are going to do for our entire family. You all have no idea how BLESSED we are to have such an awesome support system and awesome prayer warriors!!!! Yall are great and thank you just doesn't see to be enough.

It sure is GREAT to be home and spending some much needed quality family time. I have sure been blessed with an awesome support system and great family and friends who love and support us no matter what. This time at home has made me realize or should I say the pastor of our church who also has cancer has made me realize that no matter what we have fought a good fight and it isn't over until it's over. GOD is an awesome GOD and he can still give us that awesome miracle we are praying for no matter what!!!! If it be his will. Today the congregation joined with us in agreement that we would believe and have faith that Aaron will be healed. At one point about a week ago I really lost sight of that goal that both Aaron and I had in mind that GOD is going to heal him. I really believe that the ole devil was getting his way with us during that time. Now I feel much better and totally refreshed and I know that even if St. Jude sends us home that our GOD is BIGGER and BETTER and if it be his will Aaron will live a long and healthy life no matter what. It also helped when the pastors wife came up to me and said I totally know what you are going through and it isn't over until it's over that's when I said your so right the fight is over yet and we just hugged each other. Well needless to say this alone was worth the trip home. Just to be with my church family and feel GOD's love and presence and my extended church families love too. Thank you so much Pastor Watkins and Glad Tidings Assembly of GOD yall are a great family and we love you all so much for all your prayers love and support.

Well tomorrow I will be taking the boys to school and seeing all our friends at Northmoor Edison. I can hardle wait to see everyone and thank them personally for everything they have done and are going to do for our family. Yall are a great school family to have everyone of you. Also pray for me tomorrow as I will be seeing the doctor for some medical problems I have been having. I will update again tomorrow.

Thanks again for all your love, support and prayers and please keep them coming.

Asking GOD to Examine Me and Me Only,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Saturday, September 11, 2004 10:08 AM CDT

Saturday, Sept. 11,2004 7:02pm

Well Aaron and I made it safe and sound. I stopped along the way and took a lil nap. I was just exhausted after getting the shocking news about them sending us home for good my head and heart are just broken. I thank all of you for all your love and support and just know that Aaron as well as the rest of us will be fine. GOD is so awesome and he will take care of all of us. We will be heading back to Memphis on Wednesday sometime. Aaron will be having scans for the first week we are back and then I am sure that following weekend we will be making that long trip back here again for good. Well I have a favor if anyone from home here in Peoria has a truck they can lend to us that would be greatly apprecited since we have basically a house full of stuff in Memphis and I only have a very small car. So if anyone can do this please call my cell phone at (309) 648-6586. Well thanks for checking in on us and please keep those wonderful prayers coming as we enjoy our time at home this week.

Good morning everyone as of this morning as soon as I am done typing this Aaron and I are on our way home for a much needed break. His counts are ok to come home everything is still dropping but his ANC is going up a lil. Also today I talked with our favorite fellow Dr. Ahn and she informed me that after we get scans and the biopsy on his mouth they are sending us home for good there is nothing else they can do. But I am just praying GOD's will be done and he not let Aaron suffer and all will go ok. They have officially stopped the chemo and so if that was the case they were going to plan "B" which was to send us home on hospice. I will be updating from home as often as I can. Talk to everyone soon and please pray that GOD's will be done in all our lives!!!

Jesus is our ROCK today as always,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Friday, September 10, 2004 3:25 PM CDT

Well I am now ready to really just go home and forget all about this whole place for a few days. This week has been a week from the twilight zone. Well today Aaron woke up feeling just awful again. He was puking and pooping at the same time and it was not what I really wanted to wake up to. He looks and feels so awful. I just hate it when we as mommies can't take all the pain away and kiss the ouchie and tell our babies it will be ok. But I do know that our BIG GOD can and I am praying that he continues to kiss Aaron's ouchies and mine forever. Well I guess I better let everyone know that today the doctors stopped the chemo since Aaron is way to sick. They are going to do counts on him in the morning and then if everything is ok Aaron and I will be leaving bright and early in the morning. I am packing and washing clothes now. We will be heading back here on Wednesday for some tests on Thursday. Aaron can't wait to see his brothers today has been a very difficult day for both of us. We are becoming very depressed and just want everyone to know that we know GOD is going to supply all our needs and that he is in FULL control. Well with that I want you all to say extra special prayers for us as we hopefully go home tomorrow. I was told today to be aware that there is a very strong possibility that they may be sending Aaron home once we come back if the scans are not stable. I already know this but I also know that I beleive in a MIGHTY GOD and he performs MIRACLES!!!! I just really feel ALL of us have been through so much and there has to be an end to this soon. It will offically be 2 years on the 27th of this month and I am just praying that GOD understand that this is really getting old. Being away from family and friends is not fun and that not working is wearing on all of us. Losing my home was hard but being without my kids is really beginning to have a toll on me personally. Well enough babbling about my issues. Just please pray GOD give both Aaron and me some peace while we head home and that everything will work out in the end and his will be done!!!!

Also I must say a huge thanks to everyone for the guestbook signings. It has been great to hear from everyone. Also thank you to everyone for the mail and packages this week you have no idea just how much that means to Aaron and I. We love you all so much and please say some extra special prayers for us this coming week.

Praying for some PEACE,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Thursday, September 9, 2004 8:17 PM CDT

Well I am going to apoligize up front for this journal entry as I really am not in good spirits. Sometimes around here as most cancer parents know things can change in the blink of an eye.....

Well this morning Aaron woke up not feeling the greatest. I took him to the medicine room to get his chemo at 8:30am. He was moaning and groaning quite a bit. The nurse who had him today was very concerned that he was in way to much pain. Well when we went to assessment triage(where they draw his blood at for his counts) he said his pain was at a 6 which is not good. So they paged the doctor who of course is our favorite doctor in the world and she came running. It sure seems this chemo is not all it's cracked up to be at least not for Aaron. He is having way to many side effects that he shouldn't be having. Well basically everyone is stumped as to what is going on with his mouth they have no clue they even took some professional photos of what all is going on in his mouth at the dentist office today and recomended that we see an oral surgeon next week. So that was when I got the news that his ANC was only 700 which is a huge drop from 1900 on Tuesday. I was not happy about that so as far as I know we can still come home this weekend but if his counts are good at home then we have to be back here Thursday morning if not then we can come back by Friday morning. I was just like what in the world is going on this makes no sense. So please pray that between now and Saturday afternoon Aaron doesn't spike fever. I know I will go crazy and I just know Aaron has been talking about not wanting to take his meds anymore and that he just wants to come home. So if we don't get to come home this weekend then I know he will be so upset he may start giving up. Trust me I am not giving up without a fight but he is really starting to get tired. He is still loosing weight. He was down to 17.8kg today. I asked again today if he could go on TPN and they said if the "main" doctor says no then that means NO!!! Well guess I must go to plan "B" and pray about how to say that one to the doctor. Also if this stuff in Aaron's mouth is from the chemo which they think it is then we will have to stop it and we will probably be coming home. I really don't have the offical word on this yet but I will be sure to update everyone when I do. It's just tonight my mind is fried and I just want to crawl into a hole and cry really die. I know this is not my usual talk but trust me these past few days have been very very rough on Aaron and myself. He is now on oral morphine for his pain every 4 hours around the clock. I hate giving him pain meds but he is in so much pain that it just makes me sick and to see my baby so skinny makes me sick too. He cracks me up though he keeps saying mommy if my mouth feels better when I go home I can have bavantis(Avanti's) his favorite Italian resturant back home. He loves eating there and well of course if he feels up to it I will be more that happy to get him whatever he wants. Also some more not what mommy wanted to hear news. Today I called the Oprah lady back to ask her if they were planning on taping any footage at St. Jude and she proceeded to let me know that I have everything all wrong that they were really just calling to see if they thought they might want to do a show about Aaron. So on top of everything else going on that whole Oprah thing pretty much got shot down outta the sky too.

Well as you can see this week has really sucked and so please pray that by going home Aaron and I can regain our composure and get back on track. We miss our family being together and miss being home. I want so bad to go back to work and just put all this behind me but right now I know that GOD has different plans. I am just praying that everything will work out and soon GOD will reveal his plan. Well sorry for the bummy update but this is just how I feel tonight BUMMED!!!!

Clinging to GOD for Comfort Tonight,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Thursday, September 9, 2004 7:39 AM CDT

Hello Hello Hello everyone well I had hoped to update last night but well just couldn't for multiple reasons!!!!

First I really beleive that I really made a very bad choice in letting Aaron go to that ball game on Monday. It was over 90 degrees and Aaron ended up getting sick there and we were putting cold cloths on his head non stop and also letting ice cubes melt on his head. He just kept saying no mommy I don't want to go so I wasn't going to make him. I really believe it was because he really misses his brothers and wants to be around kids just so he feels more normal. Well finally at the top of the 8th I convinced him to leave and he was feeling awful and had a horrible headache. So I took him home and stripped his down to his underwear. Then I knew to take his temp. It was 100.0 and at 100.4 we get admitted. So I just let him rest and he ended up falling asleep and so when he woke up I rechecked his temp and it was 98.2 which was great!!! Thank you Jesus you knew we really didn't want that!!!! Well he still woke up with a headache so we had to go get counts at the hospital anyway so I asked the doctor what I could give him and he said he could have tylenol so I gave him some when we got home and he pucked it back up. So I ended up giving him a dose of benadryal IV and he went to sleep and slept all night long. But when he woke up he was feeling even worse so he started puking and was having diarrhea. I asked him if he was going to be alright and he said that he had a horrible headache. Well I ended up giving him benadryal IV again. Then I rushed him to the hospital and took him straight to D clinic. They were very very worried and so they gave him 1000cc of IV fluids to hopefully boost him and help him feel better. Well they also gave him his 24 hours dose of ondansatron. That usually helps. Well needless to say he looked worse and really wasn't feeling good. Well the doctors talked about stopping the chemo but I wasn't very happy about that since that may let the tumors start growing again. Well anyway my friend Becky came down and he perked right up he was fighting her and yelling. I was so happy. Well the doctors released him to the medicine room to start chemo. Well what a day now he had to take 3 small red pills and he was refusing. We tried to give them but he just puked them right up. So they gave him some morphine for the sore throat he was having in hopes that he would take his meds. Well anyway in the meanwhile he wanted to go to school so we did. He really loves school. He has to go everytime he has it or he isn't happy. Well from there back to the medicine room to get that morphine and take his chemo. Well finally after bribbing and much persuation he took it. Then to wait an hour and then get the IV dose of chemo. Well needless to say we were at the hospital for hours we finally left at 5pm Tuesday night. I was exhaused and so was Aaron. He had not eaten since Sunday so I wasn't happy about that at all. Well when we got home he was asking for chicken rice a roni and garlic cheese bread. So you know I ran to the kitchen to cook for him and he ate one bite of each and then threw it up. I was like ok no more cooking for me!!! Well then I figured he needed benedryal IV again so I gave him that and he settled down. He wanted to lay down and read the Bible and read some of his other books. Well then yesterday he woke up the same way and that was so not good. They finally agreed to give him IV fluids to come home on in hopes that he would feel better everyday. Well yesterday he ate alot better but he is still pukey and his belly is killing him again this morning and he still has diarrhea. Well at least he is on fluids still. He just said mommy my belly doesn't reall hurt so guess he was just hurting from the poop he needed to get out.

Well onto another reason I haven't updated. On Tuesday I asked Dr. Santana to put Aaron back on TPN again and he said NO since well you know hospice doesn't allow that. I was ready to scream and yell like a wild child. I was like ok do you want a butt kicking now or later!!!! Well as of today I feel alot better about this situation. GOD is soooo AWESOME and he will take care of all of this no matter what. I am just praying that his will be done. I also am praying we can still come home on Saturday. But I really am not seeing a light at the end of the tunnel at this point. Well on that note I will let yall go and talk to yall again tonight after I talk with the doctor this morning!!!!

Thanks again for EVERYTHING and please know just how appreciative we are for EVERYTHING!!!! Please keep those AWESOME prayers coming we see GOD working in Aaron's life every single day!!!

Asking GOD to Hug Us Tight Today and Always,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

Sunday, September 5, 2004 9:10 PM CDT

OK OK where do I begin!!!!!!

Well lets see i'll start with Friday. Friday I had a makeover. For those of you who really know me that is soooo hard to beleive since I NEVER wear make-up. Clinique came and gave the mothers and some daughters make-up makeovers. Well not long after I was running to take the make-up off. It was nice but just not my thing. Well on Saturday Aaron had chemo again and he is really doing AWESOME thanks to GOD and all of you for your prayers. It is totally amazing to see Aaron doing so well this round. He is still eating like a wild child. He eats eats and then eats some more!!! Well Saturday evening PBL daughters came to stay the night again. Aaron really loves Macole(Nicole) and Sammy. He is so funny he wants them to stay the night but will always sleep with me. Well this weekend we decided we didn't want to be stuck in the house all weekend so the girls, Aaron and Big Aaron(Aaron's friend with ALL) went out to eat and to the movies. It was so nice to have a night out without the worries of Aaron being sick. Well we went to Hunan a chinese buffet. Aaron wasn't really digging having chinese but he eventually decided that he wanted to eat it. We saw Dr. Leung our favorite BMT(bone marrow transplant) doctor and he said he has really been keeping up on Aaron and how things are going he even was checking all his labs and scan results. I was very impressed by his kindness and the fact he was so up to date on everything. Well then we also met a very special family there too. The Wheelers who were awesome we had the opportunity to share our story with them and exchange numbers. Well when it was time to leave I asked for our check and they said someone had already paid the check. WOW to my surprise I was so very grateful especially since that night I was paying for everyone. Well I really have no idea who paid it but thank you to whom ever it was you have no idea how you made my night. Well then off to the movies. Then home bound we were and watched a movie that everyone feel asleep on. So today I received a call from the Wheelers and they invited us to their church Bellvue Baptist for a Steve Green concert. Well I already had been to Bellvue before for the fire works and saw how big that church was but WOW is that a huge church. I was almost lost just trying to find the "big" chandler. Well anyway I finally found it and then meet the Wheeler family and we went into the concert it was awesome to have some much needed fellowship. The concert was great and really blessed me for this coming week. I really beleive this will be the church I will call home while we continue to be here for sometime. The pastor make a comment about the fact if you have a home church and are going to be here for a while please consider this your new home away from home church!!! Well I totally intent on doing that. Well from there we went to an ice cream social with the congregation and wow what a huge church family they have at Bellvue. Well then the Wheelers invited us to a Redbirds game tomorrow. It will be so nice to be with "family" on Labor day. We are also planning on taking Big Aaron. Well thank you to the Wheeler family for allowing us to be such a big part of your family. It sure is great to know that perfect strangers extent their love to us. All I can say is that GOD is sooooooo very good and he never ceases to amaze me with the blessing he pours out to our family. On that note I have something even more bitter sweet. I have written the Montel Williams show a few times and Mauri Show too and never heard from them. A very special St. Jude family from Flordia also wrote to the Extreme Makeover Home Edition to try to get us an extreme home. Well so far we have heard nothing but today I got a call that has me so excited that I can hardly type this tonight. The Oprah Show called me today and was asking about our story because someone had sent them a letter and Aaron's picture and they even knew about his website. I was so amazed by this that all I could think was WOW what a mighty GOD we serve. He is really blessing us beyond beleif. I feel so blessed. I know that these past 2 years have been awful for our family but I also know that GOD has blessed us and seen us through all of this. I also know that by worrying we will get nowhere but if we give it all to him he will handle everything and he will prevail.... Well from what I understand this representive will be contacting me very soon as to what exactly they will be doing but it seems they will be doing a story on our family and what a miracle Aaron is. I want to thank that very special person who wrote that letter you have no idea how happy you made our entire family. This call today was totally unexpected and much needed. It really made our day!!!!!

Well as always thanks to each and everyone of you for all your love and support and most of all prayers. You have no idea just how blessed we feel and just how GOD is working in our lives. Well keep praying for our journey and that everything will continue to go as good as it has. GOD is hearing our prayers and he is blessing us daily!!!!

Praising GOD for all his Wonderous Works,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. As you read this thank GOD for all the miracles he has performed in your life!!!!!!

Friday, September 3, 2004 1:05 AM CDT

Well i'm so sure you all have been waiting very patiently for a current update and trust me this is one worth waiting for!!!!

Aaron is really doing GREAT!!!! GOD is soooooo good huh!!! He just seems to be breezing through this chemo and well still eating like a lil pig. It is so funny sometimes I begin to think he is on steriods or something. Well lets see where did I leave off oh yeah on the weekend. Well Tuesday Aaron started oral(ZD 1839) and IV(Irinotecan)chemo so far so good. He hates taking meds when he first gets up but he is trying really hard to be a big boy although we are back to bribing him with toys(not that he needs any or anything), money, movies, and whatever he comes up with for that day. Well today he had his MIBG scan and I talked to Dr. Ahn this evening and she said that all looks stable still no new lesions and no new tumor growth. So that is a good thing. I am happy to have stablility although I am sure that will pass and I will want to see decrease soon but for now we will take it one day at a time. Also I have some more news the pepperoni and bugle diet has been stopped. Yesterday Aaron went to take a (DUMP) as he calls it and it was mostly blood about 4 tablespoons of blood was in the toilet. I took a sample to the hospital and immediately they ordered blood counts everything was ok but the stool culture said it was blood(hello like I didn't know what blood was). The stool culture showed no infection or anything. His counts were ok so they just gave us some "tucks" and some more cream(JOY JOY). Well so far today no more blood. Well they beleive it is a fistula that was causing the bleeding so they said just to try to give him soft things to eat and stay away from the spicy stuff for a few days. Also I have to tell you all the funniest story about what Aaron did today. For those of you old fuddy duddies stop here and go to the next paragraph ok!!!! This one may kinda "STINK"!!!! Today Aaron had to see the doctor and make sure everything was ok and get his weekly physical exam. Well they did the usual listening and everything and then they said Aaron we need to check your bottom and see how things are going down there. Well for the first time ever Aaron was prepared and was willing to let them look just as the doctors put on the gloves I pulled down Aaron's shorts. He said ok are you ready i'm gonna let it rip well I totally knew what that ment so I of course step back and the 2 female doctors have their faces right in his butt looking around and all the sudden his butt hole opens and out comes a BIG HUGE one at first I was like Aaron oh my and then I couldn't help but laughing hysterically. I was like beet red in the face and laughing my head off and then he said hey I told you I was gonna let it rip!!! That was of course the highlight of our day and non of us have stopped talking about it since.

Ok enough on that subject!!! Well thanks to everyone who sent a package this week and mail. Aaron has really been blessed to come home everyday this week to mail or something just for him. Also thank you to everyone who is leaving me emails and calling the support has been wonderful and we appreciate it so much. Also I have a huge thank you for everyone in Georgia who is coming together to help me with a very big expense I currently have you all have no idea just how grateful and wonderful I feel. Everyone has been so supportive. I also have some more news on having a benefit night for Aaron back home but I don't quite have all the details. I do know that it will be like a skate party and it will be $10.00 per person. It will be at The Palace I think that is what it is called also we have now set up a benefit account for those of you who want to make a finacial contribution to our family expenses. I will post the information above. This benefit will be done while Aaron and I are home in October for a few days. Tickets will be sold so be looking for more information coming soon and if anyone needs flyers or posters please let me know via email or call my cell!!! Well a huge thanks to our prayer warriors in Georgia and Northmoor Edison Staff and Parents you are the BOMB!!!! Please keep those AWESOME prayers coming because we are being heard and things are falling into place thanks to GOD's wonderful mercy and grace!!!! HE IS SOOOOO AWESOME!!!

Snuggling in GOD's Great Big Arms Tonight,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Remember to show your kids just how much you love them by giving them lots of hugs and kisses tonight!!!!

Monday, August 30, 2004 9:05 PM CDT

WELL WELL WELL boy to I have an AWESOME PRAISE report for all your faithful Prayer Warriors!!!!!!!!!

Well today I went with Aaron to the hospital to get some even better news than I ever thought I could. Everyone sit down and just know that GOD is working Wonderous Miracles for our LiL Superhero!!!! Dr. Santana was very tied up today so our appointment for today was late but with the great news we got I was more than happy to accept him being behind!!!! I know I know come on Shut-Up Marilyn just tell us will you!!! Well i'm just so excited I can hardly contain myself. Well last week Aaron had a urine test done called a VMA/HVA test this test shows how much cancer is in his body. Well guess what the last time we checked it it was way so high today it was alot lower in fact it was double lower. I was so excited because that is totally the direction we want this to go is DOWN!!!! Second we got back the Bone Marrow test results and guess what everyone his right side is completely clear and his left is 5% cleaner!!! PRAISE GOD PRAISE GOD!!!! I have been asking GOD everyday to just show me that by giving him my worries that all this will get better if it be his will. Well if this isn't a sign from GOD then I really don't know what is. I keep telling Dr. Santana that this is going to be that one Miracle that St. Jude has never seen. Aaron is such a fighter and trooper I just keep thinking about the man for GOD he will be as he gets older. I am so excited I could just burst.

Well as you all know I so appreciate all your support, phone calls, emails, guestbook signings, "real" mail and most of all prayers. Please keep them coming as we know they are totally working and your support means the world to us!!!!

Giving GOD all the PRAISE and GLORY FOREVER!!!!

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. GO tell someone of the miracles that you read about here in hopes that GOD will touch some elses life like he has yours!!!!!

Sunday, August 29, 2004 4:21 PM CDT

Hey there everyone well things have been great with being off for 3 days.

On Friday we were suppose to go do a photo shoot with our best buddy Travisman(from back home). But that same day someone who only I will lable as my guardian angel called. She was wanting to help me get things together financially. Well knowing the kinda person I am and the situation I am currently in financially with doing this for almost 2 years now which feels like 5 years. Well this angel has showed me that I have some money that is due to me and Aaron and she is going to help me get it. So hopefully the fact that I am in the process of loosing my car may be a thing of the past very soon. GOD is sooooo very good and I haven't even been trying to worry about my financial burdens lately but when you keep getting phone calls from debt collectors wanting their money it is kinda hard and knowing all I am currently going through this really pisses me off that is for sure. Well anyway enough about that GOD is in full control and he is going to take care of everything one way or another. I don't know how many of you know but I lost my house in November shortly after Aaron relapsed and so we currently live with my mom. Her house is really a shack but it is where she has lived for years. We are currently trying to get an Extreme Makeover done to her home so if anyone has a clue how or knows someone who knows someone please let me know. There has already had a application sent in and of course awesome references too. Now all we are doing is leaving it in GOD's hands and we already know he will take care of the rest. So please join us in praying that GOD's will be done with this situation!!!!!

Well also on Friday Aaron got in the mail box to find alot of mail waiting for him from some very special friends from Flordia. Well we also a card with some money in it to go have fun this weekend. Well with having three days off and just knowing we would sit around here being bored we decided to go to the movies Friday night. It was really a good movie and of course Aaron had the kid pickout who he was bouncy boy was his favorite from the new movies Baby Genius 2. He asked mommy when did they make the first one of Baby Genius I thought hum that was quite a while ago that they made that movie. Well anyway of course now he wants to buy it but I personally have never saw that movie out on DVD or VHS but guess he will be looking. Well on Friday night I started noticing that I was very dizzy and wasn't feeling very good.(No I wasn't just having a blonde moment LOL!!!) Knowing I have no doctor here I just kinda diagnosed myself with an inner ear infection. I have had plenty but there really isn't much you can do for those since they need to be treated with antibiotics.

Well Saturday Aaron and I slept until 1pm WOW I know kinda late but it was way much needed. Then when we got up PBL daughters called and wanted to know if they could spend the night. Well considering we love them just like family and of couse Aaron was really missing his brothers we said well hello yeah you can come spend the night. So around 4:30pm they came over and well I finally decided to get dressed and we went to Ronald McDonald House for dinner. Our favorite family from there the King's were there and we love to eat their food and enjoy their company and of course worship and scriptures. Well right after Aaron ate he started not feeling very good. So we couldn't stay for Church but I let everyone know to keep the prayers coming for us and that really Aaron was doing very good. Much better than we all expected and that GOD is so very good and he is going to be healed. Well from there we came back here and Aaron kinda purked up and we had a good night. We watched DVD's from our enormous supply we already have. We ate popcorn and of course Aaron at Bugles and pepperoni. I do have to say since he started this kick he has eaten 10 packages of pepperoni(this amounts to 1,000 pieces total) and 3 bags of bugles. I asked the doctors if I should limit him on this so called diet but he said NO just let him eat whatever he wants so that is just what I am going to do. That is all he has really eaten for days now. Although he is drinking more water than usual I wonder why???? He is eating a few popcicles now too.

Well now onto Sunday today I finally woke up around 11:30am and woke up feeling awful. Nicole and Sam and Aaron were already up for some time. Eventhough we went to bed kinda late around 1am this morning. Well Aaron was of course eating his pepperoni and bugles and the girls had already eaten cereal. Well they had to leave to go spend some time with their nanna and so Aaron and I just kinda hung out today. I am still not feeling the greatest but I have slept most of the day away too. I am now taking some over the counter stuff and hopefully by tomorrow things will be much much better. Well Aaron is still a ball of fire and of course just taking it day by day just like the rest of us.

Last night after watching movies Aaron and I went to bed and we said our night night prayers. I asked Aaron if he has been seeing Jesus in his dreams and he said(like I was stupid or something) well yeah mom. I said what does Jesus say to you he says well he just keeps saying for me to just hang in here and I will be healed. Boy I tell you what that is all I really need to be hearing. I know Jesus is going to heal Aaron but I also know that this is one miracle that even I am amazed by. He also said that Jesus said that it would be done here on earth while he is alive. I was so happy I could hardly contain myself. I asked Aaron what Jesus looked like and he said he looks just like the pictures in his bible he has. Well then I asked him about the Angels and monkeys that he sees and he said the Angels are his friends and that we as his family are the real Angels and that we feed his monkeys up in heaven. Well now that makes much more sense now that he said that. The other night when he told me that he was seeing monkeys and Angels I was like huh what are you talking about now it all makes sense.

Well that is pretty much our fun for a free 3 day weekend. I wanted to say thank you to everyone who keeps us in their prayers and of course keeps the "real mail" coming for Aaron and the email and guestbook entries for me. We love hearing from everyone but we love knowing that we have such an awesome group of prayer warriors praying for us. Also I have been told alot lately that some people are having trouble signing the guestbook please know you can always email me and you will get back a personal thank you from me so if you are having problems signing the book just email me. Well hope you all had just as much of a relaxing and fun filled weekend as us and we love and miss you all soooo much. Remember to be praying this week as Aaron is to start chemo tomorrow again this will be round 2 of ????. Also just an FYI the scan Aaron missed last week is scheduled for this week instead now. They will be doing it on Thursday now. I will be posting through the week to let everyone know how things are going. Just keep those awesome prayers flowing up to HIM!!!!

Leaning on GOD's Shoulder,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Jesus loves you and so do we!!!!!!

Thursday, August 26, 2004 1:52 PM CDT

IF YOU DIDN'T READ THE PREVIOUS JOURNAL ENTRY FROM 5AM THIS MORNING PLEASE READ IT FIRST BEFORE YOU READ THIS ONE!!!!

I know you all are waiting for the latest on Aaron but I am just not going to give in that easy....

So I am going to tell you that humsdkfghhaoir iiifadkfjalskdfjaoi oafiikajjfioa fikjf affj kajfoiaj iojeri rj dfjoier i lakdjfoijr asklfjiofjwi e kljdffueiofaifjkafgj iifaiofaweir9r9mkxoiru90ugf iwurour r Did you all understand that????? I know quite stupid but I am just soooooo happy that through all my worries and trials that we have GOOD news, OK news and BAD news to report!!!!

First I will start off with the good news. The right side of his liver has inproved as far as the tumors go. I am so happy because I now know that means that Aaron being so sick was totally worth it(I think). The OK news is that his left side of his liver is stable(hasn't changed meaning not better and not worse). This too is also a good think since that is what they were wanting. The bad news is that his bone marrow and his femurs are worse than last time. Well that isn't a focus point for the doctors at this point so they are willing to continue his chemo. They are also respecting my request to not start chemo until Monday. That means Aaron and I will have ALOT of free time on our hands for the rest of the week and weekend. Wow what will we do with ourselves!!!! Any suggestions???? It is suppose to be very very hot this weekend so I don't even know if we will want to do anything outside anyway. I am broke but I also know that GOD has always provided for us and I know he will continue!!!! WOW what and AWESOME GOD we serve huh!!!!! Well also I have some more good news and that is Aaron has gained more weight he is now up to 18.6kg I am so excited I guess all that pepperoni and Bugles worked(LOL).

Well for everyone waiting so patiently now you know that I really do keep my word and I just got home about 10 minutes ago and you were the third person on my list of calls to make!!!!!! Well thanks again for everything and also I have one more thing. Remember a few months ago Aaron did a photo shoot for TIME magazine. Well we finally got a copy and it is the August 9, 2004 issue. It was only in the copies for people who subscribe to Time magazine.(Sorry for those of you who don't subscribe but you might find it in your local doctor office or something)

Well thanks as always and keep those AWESOME prayers coming as we all know what the power of prayer can do!!!!! Aaron is a miracle in the making. Hope you all have an awesome weekend and just know that we love and appreciate everything you all do for our entire family.

Giving HIM My Worries and Concerns and Waiting on a Miracle,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. GOD IS SOOOOOOOOOOOO VERY GOOD WOULDN'T YOU SAY SO TOO!!!! Post a message in the guestbook or send Aaron some "real" mail we love hearing from ALL of you!!!!!

Thursday, August 26, 2004 5:04 AM CDT

Hey everyone do you really see what time it is???? Well I have been tossing and turning since 3am. Figured I would update. The past few days I haven't been able to sleep well. The earlier I try to get to bed the less I sleep. Well I usually don't post updates like this but man let me just say WOW what a week already. Yesterday was Aaron's bone marrow aspirations. It was really hard on him this time. He was in alot of pain yesterday. I even had to give him morphine around the clock every 4 hours. I really think it is due to the fact that he has lost soooooo much weight lately. Did you know that by him loosing just the 5 pounds he has lost like 20% of his body weight. Maybe to you guys that doesn't seem like alot but trust me if you could see him you would totally understand. He really just looks like skin and bones. When I pick him up it just breaks my heart to know he is like a skelton. Well the good thing about all of this is he is eating all the time. His weight was still 18kg yesterday which is good that he is remaining stable. He is really into eating pepperoni and buggles(chips). Last night he was so ready for me to cook meatloaf and mashed potatoes and corn. So of course I did and we invited one of our great St. Jude buddies and his mom to join us(Travis and Julie). They really pigged out but not Aaron he just ate about 1 bite of meatloaf guess mine isn't as good as grandma's(I would say I have to agree LOL). Well anyway he did eat 2 packages of pepperoni and 30 buggle chips. I consider that good and he even drank 2 bottles of water.

Well guess the reason I am up is the thought of this MRI today. I really feel in my heart of hearts that everything will be alright and I know that GOD is here and watching over us like a hawk. I also know that like Aaron keeps saying he will be healed. Last night Aaron told me he is seeing Angels again and that the Angels are always with monkeys. I don't quite understand what that means but I know he beleives in Angels and he loves monkeys so maybe that has something to do with it. Also yesterday he wanted a Care Bear. For some reason he is now into Care Bears so I really didn't have the money but I was happy to go get him one since he was such a "Superhero" for his test yesterday. Well he picked out a blue pillow Care Bear named bedtime bear. He already has one Care Bear the same one but that one says bed time prayers. He really missed that one but I really think that is why he wanted this pillow one. I can't beleive it but it is already dirty. He has taken it everywhere with him. It is really quite funny since it is almost as big as him LOL.

Well anyway just wanted to stop by and let everyone know how things are going and say thank you all for all your love, support and prayers. I can feel them working every single day. I miss home so much and I really miss being there for my boys. They started school and I know everyone at Northmoor Edison is taking great care of them but I still wish with all my heart I could be there.

Also the MIBG injection that was scheduled for yesterday was canceled since it was a bad batch of injection. So that means today's schedule won't be as long but that also means that we won't have all the important scans that we need to make a final decision about the next round of chemo that is suppose to start tomorrow. I really didn't want to start it anyway since I really feel Aaron needs this weekend to continue to get better but we will have to wait and see what the doctor says today. I really love our fellow Dr. Ahn and I know that she will do whats best. Well continue to pray that all goes well with the MRI today. I will have a result today since the scan is at 7am this morning. So be looking for an update sometime this evening. We love you all so much and thank you to everyone who is really making this time for us here go alot smoother. Also to Kerin and Julie thank you for all your support and gift certificates!!!!!!(you didn't think I knew it was you but I did something just told me!!!!)

Worried but giving it to GOD to Worry for ME!!!!!

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. DON'T FORGET TO GIVE SOMEONE YOU LOVE A HUG AND SOMEONE YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ONE TOO!!!!!

Monday, August 23, 2004 9:41 PM CDT

Well Well Well look at me updating again for the second night in a row!!!!! HE HE HE HE HE

Well I really felt led to let you all know that even though I tell you all things on here that the doctors say doesn't mean that I beleive them. I just want to make sure you all are totally aware of everything going on and what the doctor is saying. So please don't think for one moment that I am giving up or that Aaron is giving up because we ARE NOT giving up without a fight. GOD is so very GOOD and he is totally capable of performing a AWESOME MIRACLE for our LiL Superhero!!!!!

With that being said I wanted to let you all know what was said today when I saw the doctor. Dr. Santana said that Aaron is offically cleared to be out of isolation. That was the major highlight of the day. Second that he really doesn't want to admit him to get TPN until we get the scans done and back at the end of the week. He said that he doesn't want to put him on TPN since hospice won't allow him to be on it. Well hello what is he thinking we are just going to throw in the towel and give up!!!!! NO I REALLY DON'T EVEN THINK SO not my LiL Superhero!!!! He is so upbeat and he totally knows his own body and he says he will be healed then he will. I know that GOD is a GREAT GOD and he isn't finished with my baby yet!!!!! He has great plans for him!!!! Well with that he then said that he beleives everything will be fine but what does that mean "fine".

I was reading a book by Joyce Meyers last night called "straight talk on worry". Imagine that just last night I was writing about worrying about the boys being ok when they left and then I started reading this book. Immediately after reading this chapter I wanted to come and erase everything I had written. But I know that like another St. Jude mom said we have our meltdowns and we are entitled to it. But in reality we know our main focus is to give and let GOD handle everything. So with that I will leave you all with this note I know GOD is more powerful than anything including this horrible beast and he can and will see us through all of this no matter what happens. There is reason for everything and I know that GOD is holding me in his arms and carrying me through this no matter what!!!!

Well just so you all know Aaron's weight was stable today he weighted the same as he did yesterday which is a good thing. I am hoping and praying that from here it is all upwards. His anc is great his hemoglobin is great his platelets are great and his kidney and liver functions are great!!!! PRAISE GOD HE IS SOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!! I am working on learning to let him do the worrying for me and give it all to him to handle because he can and he will!!!! Well also today the boys were so good they didn't even cry but Grandma did so I thought to myself hello did I need to buy you a bear from build a bear too!!!! Well then when the boys got home they were crying on the phone wanting to come back here but they know that they have to go to school but they just really don't understand. They just want their family together. I am praying that we will be together again soon.

Well thanks again for everything and we are still working on getting an account set up and as soon as I know details I will update everyone. Thanks for all the prayers and don't forget to be praying that all goes well this week with Aaron's scans on Thursday!!!!!

Not Worrying Tonight and Giving It ALL to GOD,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!

Sunday, August 22, 2004 11:09 PM CDT

HEY HEY HEY EVERYONE!!!!!

Hard to beleive I am actually updating again tonight....

Well I just wanted to make everyone aware of whats been going on this weekend. It sure has been wonderful having my kids with me. We are still in isolation but on Saturday the doctors released Aaron as being shingle free. Well when I got home I found 2 more spots so I decided that it would be wise to just keep Aaron in isolation still. I haven't talked to the doctors yet but I am quite sure they will probably be admitting him on Monday. Well anyway this weekend went well. Mom made it down here safe. But as always she had car trouble. I am sorry but they sure don't make cars the way they use too(like i'm even old enough to know)!!!! Well first before she left on Friday morning something or should I say someone GOD gave her a feeling that she needed to check her oil and fluids. Well good thing she did because she had no coolant. Apparently she had a cracked cap so she went to the local dealership before she drove down here. Then to top everything off today when she went to get into her car she had a flat tire and there was a nail in her tire. Well she called and got the spare put on and come to find out her emergency brake is not working properly either. So tomorrow before she can even leave to go back home with the boys she has to go get her car looked at again. Well needless to say GOD is really watching over her as well as us wouldn't you say. She is very blessed to have him guiding her on her trips down here that is for sure. Hard telling how long the nail was in her tire. Well anyway she made it safely here and now we are praying she and the boys make it safely home.

Last night I went out with another parent from here. Just to get away and have some time away from this whole sickness and cancer thing. We really had a very nice time. I laughed so hard that I almost had an asthma attack and I don't even have asthma.... It was some much needed time with a great friend.

Well from there today we went to take Aaron to have his counts checked and they are coming up on their own with no problems. But his weight is still dropping he has now lost about 5 pounds in one week. We are scheduled to see the doctor tomorrow and I am thinking they may be putting him on TPN but I will just have to wait and see. Well anyway that may all change too since Aaron has been eating like a major "PIG" this weekend. He has eaten all day today and hasn't stopped. I am praying tomorrow that his weight is way up since he has been eating non stop all day. He is even sitting here eating while I am typing this. PIGGY PIGGY but no complaints here since that is what he needs to do.

Well other than that we are just getting ready for bed. The boys are leaving tomorrow and I am just praying that GOD comforts and guides them as they will be away from us for sometime. Mom barely is having the money to get down here nowdays and of course with that we can only have 4 people in our room staying the night here at the Target House. So we either have to have a hotel or stay with Purple Bike Lady(we love her and her family opening their home don't get me wrong). Well also this year we don't want to let the boys miss so much school because of the situation we are going through again. I really don't know what I am going to do without my lil men with me and I really worry about Aaron as this weekend he has really been clingy to the brothers. This will be very difficult for all of us. Here goes Aaron wanting something else now he is eating 2 lemon cakes(just thought I would share that with you all)!!!! Well anyway I am leaving this in GOD's hands as he knows our wants, needs, and desires. I am also asking that you all pray that the boys will adjust with being back home and going back to school. I know that everyone at Northmoor(the boys school) are waiting for them with open arms. I am just praying all goes well and they will be fine I am sure.

Well other than saying our good-byes we are really just enjoying our time together. Also I have another prayer request please continue to pray as this week Aaron has scans and we will see how thing are going. I know that GOD is going to HEAL Aaron in his time but I also know that this week alone will just be trying for all of us with all that is going on. I am just clinging to GOD's word and waiting on him to perform this AWESOME miracle.

As always thank you all for all the cards, money, guestbook entries(that are much needed), and most of all the prayers. Please keep all these things coming. I have been having alot of people asking if we have an account set up for Aaron yet and as of now we don't but if anyone knows how we can go about doing this please contact me. I am very interested in this since we are running into expenses that need to be paid and now that I have no chance of getting back to work anytime soon I know that is something that will take some much needed stress off our entire families shoulders. Well thanks again for everything and don't think for one moment that we take all you support for granted because we don't we love and appreciate everything each and everyone of you do!!!!! WE LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH even though some of you we have never met but hope to some day!!!!

Oh yeah one more prayer request we have a very speical family who has made a request for our familiy to receive an extreme home makeover(which is much need to my mom's house) and please pray that if it's GOD will that we will be chosen for this.

Clinging to GOD's Comforting and Soothing Promises,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. THANK GOD EVERYDAY FOR EVERYTHING HE DOES AND IS GOING TO DO GIVE HIM ALL THE PRAISE AND GLORY HE DESERVES IT!!!! HE IS SUCH AN AWESOME GOD!!!!!

Friday, August 20, 2004 0:28 AM CDT

Well here we go again with waiting to long for updates but trust me boy have things been crazy!!!!

Well lets see on Monday night after I updated last Aaron really started to scare me. All I could think was GOD will provide and take care of my baby and all of us. Well that same night the boys must have sensed the same thing. They were worried that Aaron was dying and he wouldn't be here anymore. Well I had to remind then that Aaron has said time and time again he will be healed and no matter what if that means here on earth or up in heaven he will be fine. I know they really don't understand that really but I was at a loss for words that night(imagine that I know hard to beleive!!!!). Well all of us were up praying and crying like crazy. The next day the boys looked like crap and so did I. We were just plain exhausted thank GOD we were off on Wednesday. Well on Tuesday we had a much better day. Aaron had his last dose of chemo. We really just enjoyed our time together as a family and spent some much needed time with another St. Jude family from Lousianna. Aaron of course wanted to spend all the money he had saved up which was $80.00. So we went to Toys R Us, KB Toys and then of course our famous WalMart!!!! He spent $78.00 on toys he ended up looking like he had gotten Christmas all over again. It really just made his day. The boys weren't very happy since they had only $20.00 to spend that someone sent to them. Well anyway it all was in good fun. We also went out for ice cream which makes anyone feel better. Well Aaron really didn't eat much that day either that was day 5 with no food. Well on Wednesday we hung out with our friends from Lousianna again. It was really nice just spending time with family and friends. Well someone had given us a gift certificate for Outback so we all went there for supper. It was very nice and Aaron even ate for the first time in 5 days. I was so excited and bragged and bragged to him how happy I was he ate. So we went out for ice cream again and he even ate some with sprinkles on it. Man was I happy. Well last night I noticed a couple of spots on Aarons stomach and his back. I thought hummmm those sure look like shingles(again) well today we went to the hospital and saw the doctor and she thought it might just be warts(yeah right never that simple). So needless to say they did a biopsy of the area and popped the blister and sent it off within 3 hours the results were in and we were in isolation(yeah just what we needed). But the good news of all of this is we are not inpatient as usual we are outpatient and still at Target House. But we are in isolation at Target House II in a special room that means we can't be out and about. But trust me way way better than being cooped up in the hospital. Especially since this is our last weekend together for a while. Mom is coming down and picking up the boys tomorrow(today). Aaron is so excited he can hardly wait for grandma to get here he keeps saying when will she be here when mommy. Well why do you ask is he so excited AVANTIS(his famous italian resturant from back home) except this time he wanted Dunkin Doughnuts too. I am so happy he even has an appitite again. It was funny tonight I asked the boys what they wanted to eat and Aaron says mommy can we go back to the "backout" i'm like what are you talking about he says you know the place with those goooooood hamburgers. He was talking about the Outback again. I was like oh wouldn't you know a "big spender" he is always wanting something that is expensive or that we can't afford. Well of couse if he will eat it I will try my hardest to get it so someone sent us some money in the mail and he got his wish. He even ate over 1/2 of his food. Well as you can see we had a very busy past few days and of course we will be busy the next few saying goodbye to the brothers and spending time cooped up in isolation. Please pray that this transition will go ok this weekend and that Aaron's spirits will remain the same. As having the brothers here really boosts him morale. Also pray that the boys will be ok and will get back in the swing of things back home with grandma. Also pray for grandma as she hasn't had them around for 3 months and this will be a transition for her also.

Well other than keeping busy we are really doing GREAT!!!! GOD is blessing us more and more every single day and well what can I say he is soooooo very GOOD!!!! What and AWESOME and MIGHTY GOD we serve!!!!

Well thanks to every single one of you for everything you are doing, saying and sending to our and for our family. Also a huge thank you to the staff of NORTHMOOR EDISON yall are AWESOME!!!! Thanks for being my sounding board the other night. And for reassuring me that yall will be there while I can't and take such great care of my babies while we are apart. Well thanks again for everything everyone and please keep all the awesome support and PRAYERS coming we are very very blessed!!!!!

Leaning on GOD's AWESOME Works and Word,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF EVERY SINGLE DAY NO MATTER WHAT LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST!!!!!

Monday, August 16, 2004 3:59 PM CDT

SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY

FIRST OFF EVERYONE WHO IS READING THIS I JUST TALKED TO MY MOM AND REALIZED JUST HOW CLOSE AARON IS TO GOD HIMSELF!!!! PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK AT THE ABOVE PICTURE OF AARON AS SUPERMAN. LOOK CLOSELY AT HIS PRECIOUS FACE. YOU WILL SEE HIS CROWN OF GLORY UPON HIS HEAD. IT IS GLOWING LIKE A RAY OF SUN!!!! PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW. HE IS SOOOOO GOOD AND HAS ALLOWED US TO SEE JUST HOW AWESOME HE IS!!!!!

Well I am sure you all have been very impatiently waiting for an update and well I can only say I was being very LAZY!!!! But in my defense it has been crazy this past weekend and of course few days before and after! Well first I will start with Friday. Grandma Hunter and Big Poppa came in on Friday. That was very nice since Aaron needed some time with then as well as the boys. Well they spent a few minutes with the boys on Friday night. Then they were off to their hotel for the night. Well all the fun started on Saturday. We got to the medicine room and I could tell Aaron really didn't feel very good. Well Dr. Ahn came over from her on call at Lebouner just to check on Aaron. Well when she saw him he was fine. But within a 1/2 hour after she left he was having major diarrhea(I know not what you needed to know LOL). Well anyway before we left the medicine room he has 3 stools. Well with this chemo that is normal so I started his imodium. Well when we got back here to the Target House we had some very nice company. There was some people here from a church in Peoria who were here for a woman's retreat and just so happend to know about Aaron's current situation. So they stopped to visit with us and pray with us and read some scripture. It was a very nice time and come to find out they were friends with Grandma Hunter. She worked with a few of them. Well anyway it was much need on Saturday with the trials we had earlier that day. Well then Grandma Hunter and Big Poppa showed up and we were going to go to the zoo but Aaron really started having diarrhea.(I know more of that fun stuff be glad you weren't even here!!!!)
Well Grandma and Big Poppa went back to the hotel and we went and took a nap. Aaron woke up feeling a lil better. So we went to Walmart to make more pictures for the thank you letters and for Grandma Hunter to take back to work. Well on our way to take the pictures back to the hotel Aaron just started throwing up like crazy. Well I thought he just needed to eat since he hadn't eaten for 2 days. Of course we dropped off the pictures and Aaron still didn't want to eat. So we came home and he started pooping again. So I gave him some more medicine and we went to bed. On Sunday we had to get Chemo again. We were in the medicine room. Aaron really didn't even feel good he was very pukie and having diarrhea. Well from there he had blood drawn and his vitals and weight. Well overnight he had lost over 2 pounds. I was not happy and so i suggest to see a doctor about the puking and diarrhea. Well it took then over 2 hours to get a doctor to check Aaron out. He finally came and saw him and said that he was going to give him something for his stomach and then if that didn't work he would need for us to come back and maybe even stop the chemo. Well last night Aaron was still puking and having diarrhea. We went to PBL's house for supper and Aaron of couse wanted hot dogs on the grill. Well he tried to eat but his mouth is still full of sores and he wasn't happy and started crying that his mouth was hurting. Well needless to say he didn't eat. But finally as we were getting ready to leave he decided he was hungry and wanted to eat. So Nicole made him some cereal. He ate some of it but not much. It was a start in my book. Well then he pooped it right back out. So we came home and i gave him some more medicine and we went to bed. Well today we went to the hospital and I took him straight to see the doctor. It wasn't good since Aaron puked on the way to the hospital. I talked to the doctor and told her that I wanted Aaron to get a 24 hour dose of Ondansatron(anti-puke medicine). Well then from there we talked about his pooping and puking and the fact he had lost so much weight in one day. Well today they weighted him again and he has lost another pound. Well she decided to give him the meds and keep him on fluids for the next 3 days. Well needless to say we questioned weather to stop the chemo and decided to keep going since he only has 1 more dose after today. Well Aaron has gotten sick about 3 more times and had 3 more stools. I am going to try to give the meds 24 hours to take effect before I go crazy. This being only my feeling since I can only imagine what and how Aaron is feeling.

Well tonight we are going to spend some time with one of our friends who is in for check-up. We will enjoy pizza and breadsticks. Aaron is really excited today in the mail he got some new spiderman jammies and a really cool hat and bookbag. He can hardly wait to go show them off to his friends. Well we really have a very low profile rest of the week. We only have chemo tomorrow and then school on Wednesday and Friday. Aaron is really excited about school. He loves it. Today he thought he was going to miss school but he ended up going later this afternoon. He was so cute he won't even let me leave his side. For those of you who remember last year when he started school he had me there too. Well I would leave for a short time and then come back. Well currently he only goes to school for 1 hour and I have to stay. I am more than happy to stay. Even though I think the teacher probably thinks this mom is crazy she isn't even letting me teach her son who does she think she is i'm the teacher LOL!!!!

Big thanks to everyone who has sent mail and cards and emails and signed the guestbook. You all have no idea how much this means to our entire family. We love you all and thank you more than you could imagine. Well please keep those prayers coming and talk to you all very very soon!!!

Holding Onto GOD's Promises,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Live life to the fullest and take advantage of every single moment you have with your loved ones!!!!!

Thursday, August 12, 2004 10:48 PM CDT

Well Well Well can you beleive it i'm updating again!!!!!

Well first I will start off with saying that this place is getting sadder and sadder every day. I reflected back to last year at this time and remembering that there was alot of sickness and death. It really bothered me last year but this year GOD is totally in contol and he knows my heart. I love children and people in general. But these sick kids and their families mean the world to me. I hate seeing all the death and sickness around me but I also know GOD is in control and he has a plan for each and everyone of us no matter what. I am just expressing my feelings for today as not only our family got bad news but others around us did to. Please keep Ben Bowen in your prayers tonight as he had brain surgery today it doesn't look good. But we also know that GOD does and will perform Miracles and ANYTHING is possible with him.

Well onto Mr. Aaron. He is really sleeping alot more today but other than that he was his normal happy self. Today we got the news that one of the chemo's isn't working. The ZD 1839 is now out of the question. Also we got the news that his counts were down. His anc was 700 again and his hemoglobin was 7.9 so today he had to get blood. I wasn't happy about this so of course I had to ask is the chemo working. They really don't know since all these recent symptoms are signs of it not working. Well on top of that his kidney functions are still to high and some to low so he had to continue his fluids with more added to the bag. He isn't even happy about that but he also knows that he isn't eating or drinking so it is for the best.

Well onto something fun we did tonight. We went to a back to school dance blast at the hospital. It was more fun for me than for the boys. I think they thought their mommy was crazy:) Imagine that!!!!! Well anyway we danced the night away. I also had to tell another one of our speical friends about Aaron and when I did he really took it hard. Well at the dance Aaron really realized what certain people really think of him. This "friends" mom came up to me and said that her son couldn't come in to the party because he would just cry if he saw Aaron. Well Aaron heard her say this and asked why. Well then I had to explain that he thinks Aaron is going to die and he was like mommy i'm NOT going to die. Why does everyone think that and then he started crying. I am just soooooooooo very happy GOD loves us no matter what. He loves us unconditionally!!!! You know it is just amazing how strong he has been through all of this but now I really feel it is all just wearing and tearing on him. Espeically since he loved this kid like he was his brother. Well needless to say today was very exhausting and now I am just ready to read my bible and hit the sack. We had a very very busy day and I am just pooped and I am sure we will all be knocked out in a heart beat tonight.

Well anyway thank you all for all your support and prayers. Please know how much all of this means to our family. Also thank you to everyone who sent mail this week it has been awesome to go to the mail box and find "real" mail every single day. Also thank you to someone special who has been slipping things under our door to help us out. It has really been a blessing to know that even "perfect" strangers are in this with us. We love you all so much and thank you seems to be sooooo little for the things you do that are soooooooo big!!!!!

Resting In GOD's Loving Caring Arms Tonight and Always,

Marilyn and the boys

P.S. Please know just because our children are going through difficult times doesn't mean they are not feeling or understanding what is going on around them. They need your support now more than ever!!!!!!

Wednesday, August 11, 2004 11:48 PM CDT

Hello Hello Hello everyone!!!!

Well Aaron is still doing good. His mouth sores were better today. Although they are still there but they didn't bother him as much. He was able to take all his meds and keep them down today. He ate but very little he also drank but very little. He is still on fluids so maybe that is why he didn't drink as much. Last night and today were great!!!! We had some much needed quality family time together just chillin and watching movies. It was great to have my three little men with me all sitting by me watching movies. Thank you to everyone who has signed the guestbook lately it really means alot to know we have such a great support system and such awesome prayer warriors backing us up. GOD is sooooooo very good and he never ceases to amaze me with the miracles he performs. I can't even describe how if feels to know that these doctors seem to give up but these kids just keep on trucking and amazing us with their awesome spirit and unlike us adults they have oh so much faith.

Well today I had to help another parent who got the news that their sons cancer was out of control and there was nothing left to do. I know first hand what this news can do to your spirits but I also know that GOD is in control and HE does and can perform MIRACLES!!!! He is such an AWESOME GOD!!! Well anyway I think that just the shock of the news that it's only a matter of time is hard on everyone you know. I also know that now more than ever you need support and friends to stand by you. Which is why I was there for this single parent and her son. I totally want everyone to realize this is not easy and never will be but I also know that without GOD I totally don't know where any of us would be!!!!! Well guess I will stop babbling and talk to you all very very soon.

Thank again for all your love and support and most of all Prayers!!!!! You ALL are AWESOME!!!!

Holding tightly to GOD's PROMISES,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. JESUS LOVES YOU AND SO DO WE!!!!!!

Tuesday, August 10, 2004 8:50 PM CDT

Well Well Well how is everyone doing?????

Well Aaron is doing ok. He woke up today and threw up his ZD 1839 today so he had to take another dose. He kept that dose down. But wasn't feeling really good at all. He had a headache and also his throat hurt. So we went to the medicine room to get his chemo. They could tell he really wasn't feeling good at all. So they recommended that I take him straight to "D" clinic. Well I did and they were really concerned. Since yesterday his counts were down. His anc was 900 and his hemoglobin was only 8.4 his platelets were good still. Well with him not feeling good today I just knew his counts were down more and he may need blood. So the doctors came in and checked him over and they drew his blood from his line. Well when the doctor looked into his mouth she just about lost it. She said how long has Aaron had these sores??? I said what sores. Come to find out he has mouth sores all over the place. I was so upset since that isn't one of the side effects from the chemo. But we all know with Aaron nothing goes the way they think it will!!!! Well needless to say they started him on a new med and he has to do mouth care 4 times a day now. Well then he threw up again and from there it was like he became a whole new kid. My LiL Superhero I tell you he never ceases to amaze me. He was like a pistol after that he was playing and running around and acting like his normal self. Well when they got his counts back to all of our surprise his anc was now 1,700 and his hemoglobin was 8.7 wow PRAISE THE LORD is all I could say!!!! Well then the doctor said that his kidney functions were not good and they needed to put him on fluids. Well with him having mouth sores so bad I wasn't even complaining since I really had no idea how much food or liquids I would get down him tonight. So he is currently on IV fluids until we see Dr. Ahn on Thursday.

We have tomorrow off. Our first break in a very long time from the hospital. So we decided to rent movies and have some much needed quality time with each other. Aaron has been trying to eat all night but everything hurts. I fix something and he just sits here and screams mommy it hurts. Well please keep praying that GOD's WILL BE DONE. I know this may only seem minor but he has lost enough weight and when he is hungry he really needs to be eating.

Well other than that nothing much else new going on here just getting more and more bad news about kids passing away. My heart just breaks for these precious angels and their families. We have seen sooooo much death lately. But I also really feel that there is a reason for everything and only GOD has that answer. He doesn't want to see his precious children suffer. Well continue to pray for all our LiL friends and their families and of course our family. We love you all so much and can't even begin to say thank you enough for all your support and prayers. It really means the world to us!!!!

Seeking GOD's Will,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Don't forget to take advantage of every single moment you have with your loved ones!!!!!

Sunday, August 8, 2004 11:12 PM CDT

Hello Hello Hello everyone!!!!

Well Aaron is really doing GREAT with his chemo!!!! GOD is totally in the miracle making business. And I have all the faith in Aaron being that miracle. I can't tell you all how much each and everyone one of you mean to our entire family. We have had the opportunity to spend some much needed "family" time together these past few days. Thanks to PBL and Big Bubba and mom co-workers at St. Francis in the Surgery Dept. You all have no idea how much you all have meant to our entire family. Yall are AWESOME!!! Well just know that GOD will bless those who help others and I know yall are going through some tough times right now but trust me yall will be blessed!!!! Also thanks to each and everyone of you for the guestbook signings. That is one of the biggest things that keep me going. I know alot of you think I am sooooo strong but trust me it is totally with GOD's help that I do this. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!!!!!

Well Aaron had chemo again today and did very well. Things seems to be going very good as far as the chemo goes. He is still a ball of fire running around here like he has nothing wrong with him.(imagine that being a superhero and all) Well yesterday mom(grandma) and daddy went back home. So now we are back to having just me and my boys. They are all doing very good. I am hoping to open an account sometime this week to help with all the expenses we have had and are going to have. I have never done this before so another parent is going to help me(thanks Tom). Also just to put the bird in your ear some very kind families and staff of the boys school are going to try to have a benefit or fundraiser for our family. Also they are going to try to get a story about us published in the local paper back home. I can't say thank you enough to everyone who has helped us and continues to help us with support, cards, email's, guestbook signings, and of course prayers. You all are GREAT!!!

Well I have a very cute story to tell you all. For about a year now Aaron has become addicted to GO-GO boots.(thanks Nicole) He loves to wear girls shoes and boots and high heels. Well of course we all get a kick outta this. You will find a picture of him on the website with his famous Nicole Go-Go boots. Well he has been asking me for the past few months to buy him his own pair. Of course I really think he just has something for boots. Remember his red boots he had when he was first diagnosed. Well now I thought to myself I really don't have the money to waste on these "girl" shoes. Well we got some money in the mail this week and I thought WOW what a blessing I am going to get Aaron those "boots". So today I went to Wal-mart and bought him Mary-Kate and Ashley Go-Go boots. So if you see this bald headed lil Superhero in Go-GO boots running down the halls of St. Jude or hear him clopping around Target House. Just know it's Aaron and his world famous go-go boots. When I bought them tonight the lady at Wal-mart said these are nice boots I bet she will look so cute in them. I said he is a boy and yes he will!!!! She laughed and said well now I think I have seen everything. I said well if you were living day to day you would give your child the world if you could. Although I totally beleive Aaron will be healed I also know you must make the best of every single moment of every single day. You just never know from day to day.

With that note I am going to leave some websites for yall to visit and sign the guestbooks. There has been alot of negative news lately but we know that GOD is in the MIRACLE making business and he will supply ALL our NEEDS!!!!

http://christalinfo.servemp3.com
www.bens-story.com
www.caringbridge.org/ms/hanna
www.caringbridge.org/wa/matt
www.caringbridge.org/la/zoie
www.caringbridge.org/la/stanton
www.caringbridge.org/wv/taylor
www.caringbridge.org/va/madison
www.caringbridge.org/fl/tori
www.caringbridge.org/fl/easton
www.caringbridge.org/fl/zacharyfinestone
www.caringbridge.org/tn/tyler
www.caringbridge.org/tn/madelynbeamon
www.caringbridge.org/ar/emmagrace
www.caringbridge.org/ne/kaitlyn
www.caringbridge.org/va/lauren
www.caringbridge.org/va/trey
www.caringbridge.org/il/travisman
www.caringbridge.org/il/mallary
www.caringbridge.org/il/zoejowolsfeld
www.caringbridge.org/al/daltoncorlette
www.caringbridge.org/ga/jay
www.haydenmoore.com

Well hope that keeps you all busy!!!! It sure does me so don't forget to sign the guestbooks we all love to hear from our biggest fans!!!!

Praising GOD every single day for his blessings,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. If you want a recent picture of Aaron sent to you please email me your address at stjudemomma74@aol.com. I have plenty of copies and they are addorable!!!!

Thursday, August 5, 2004 10:26 PM CDT

Hello Hello Hello everyone.

Well we are doing great!!! Aaron has so much energy and his spirits are great. GOD is sooooo very good. He just continues and continues to bless us. I have really been reading the bible alot lately and found that if we just have faith and beleive GOD will provide. I know that HE is able and his will be done. He is an AWESOME GOD and he will never ever leave us nor forsake us. He has been oooohhhh so good to us and I thank him for that every single day all day.

Well I am sure you all are wondering how things are going. Me too(HE HE HE)!!! Well I signed consents on Tuesday afternoon. I feel very confortable with this decision. I feel alot better knowing Aaron is such a trooper and Superhero. He sure has alot of faith and he really keeps me going. He just keeps saying I WILL BE HEALED!!!! On Monday grandma and the boys and I went to McDonalds to have lunch and it was so cute. My mom was asking us when we were just going to come home and I was upset that she was even thinking that way considering that Aaron is really physically and mentally doing great. I just gave her this look like what the!!! Well Aaron must have been reading my mind so he says "grama uh we are not going home until the cancer is gone!!!!" All I could say was wow from the mouth of babes. He is sooooo smart and he totally read my mind. My mom just looks at me and says well how bout that I said well there you have it he knows best. Aaron has been through alot these past few years and he continues to amaze everyone around him. You know he isn't even on any pain meds and he runs around like he is a real life SUPERHERO!!!(we all know he is for real)

Well anyway enough about that Aaron started his ZD 1839(the pill) on Wednesday morning. He did very well. On Wednesday morning we also got to meet all those FAMOUS runners for St. Jude. They really had no idea how much seeing them and spending time with them met to our entire family. I have alot of thank you's but I really can't remember everyone's names so I will just say THANK YOU TO EVERYONE OF YOU(You all know who you are)!!!! Also I have a story to tell that will make you cry as it sure did me. Dave Garcia a man whom I totally admire was given a 15 year award for being a part of the run for that long. While he was receiving his reward he asked for the Aaron Hunter family to stand and so we did and then he said I want everyone to look at this family they are going through a very hard time and I want everyone in here to know that lil guy right there is my SUPERHERO. Our entire family was crying and really I don't think there was a dry eye in the house!!!! Well let me say those runners are totally amazing people and they now know what all their sweat and hard work help do.

Well tomorrow Aaron will have to be at the hospital at 8:15am and he will have to get an IV he is not thrilled about that but he totally knows why. Then he will be starting the Irinotecan through his line. He will have blood draws every hour or so to make sure everything is ok. So we will have a very long day ahead of us. But as always GOD and Aaron remind me that nothing is impossible with GOD on our side.

Well thanks to everyone who has called this week it has been a real blessing to talk to all of you. Also thanks for those of you leaving such great messages in the guestbook. You have no idea how nice it is to know how much support and prayers we have going up for us. Also Aaron hasn't received much mail lately so if you all could remember the "real" mail that would be great. I would love to see the support start rolling in for him too. Lord knows he needs it now more than every!!!! Well also for those of you wanting to do something but don't know what just remember that all you have to do is just say a lil prayer for our lil superhero and our family as we continue to battle this awful beast. We know that GOD will prevail and he will make a way for Aaron no matter what!!!!

Waiting On GOD's Miracle to Happen,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero and Testimony of Faith)

P.S. Just please keep those awesome prayers coming my prayer warriors we love and appreciate all your support!!!!

Monday, August 2, 2004 11:55 AM CDT

Hey Hey Hey everyone!!!!

Well we just got back from the doctor and let me just say sometimes you really have to know GOD is the ONLY answer. I know that GOD is with us every single step of this journey and will continue to be but I also know that when you are faced with some of the toughest decisions it is soooooo very hard to be optimistic. I know first hand now what those who has lost their children have had to face and go through. First let me just say the doctors really gave us NO hope. I just have to remember that NO ONE CAN STEAL MY JOY NO ONE!!!!! The devil is a LIAR!!!!! CANCER IS A LIAR!!!! GOD IS THE ALMIGHTY PHYSICAN AND HEALER and we must have FAITH in him to do the impossible and perform miracles. Well now I guess I will give you all the news I was faced with. Dr. Santana basically told us point blank that we are only buying time. That is it. I just know that Aaron is very adamant about the fact that he is totally willing to fight and that he will be healed and with all his faith I MUST beleive too. Also Dr. Santana said it could be anywhere from 2 months to 18 months depending on if this phase one study works(meaning stablizes the tumor). He said that since it is in the liver it is only a matter of time. He said that the other children with the same issues as Aaron only had a matter of time. It just depends on if they can get it stable or not. Well needless to say my heart is broken but my FAITH BUCKET IS FULL!!!(As Tina and Trish would say) I know that with GOD for us NO ONE can be against us NO ONE!!!! But I also know we have a long tough battle ahead of us and by the GRACE of GOD Aaron will be HEALED and be that MIRACLE everyone reads about in the bible. Well my mind is exhausted right now maybe I can finish later with how much fun we had this weekend thanks to the WONDERFUL PBL and BIG BUBBA and family!!!! Thank you all for the support and please please keep it coming as this will be a very difficult time ahead of us. KEEP THE PRAYERS COMING MY FAITHFUL PRAYER WARRIORS!!!!!

WAITING ON GOD TO PERFORM THAT MIRACLE,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero) and Daddy and Grandma!!!!

Friday, July 30, 2004 2:39 PM CDT

READ THIS FIRST IT WAS FROM PBL TODAY AND JUST WHAT I REALLY NEEDED TO READ!!!!!

THE PASTOR'S CAT

This particular story just made me laugh. Every time I think about it, the vision of that poor cat just amuses me. Hope the story leaves a bright spot in your day. Whoever said the CREATOR doesn't have a `sense of humor?

Dwight Nelson recently told a true story about the pastor of his church. He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc. The kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and drove away so that the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten.

He did! All the while, checking his progress in the car frequently, he then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten.

But as he moved a little further forward, the rope broke. The tree went "boing!" and the kitten instantly sailed through the air-out of sight.

The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten. So he prayed, "LORD, I just commit this kitten to your keeping," and went on about his business.

A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. This woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, "Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?" She replied, "You won't believe this," and told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, "Well, if GOD gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it." She told the pastor, "I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask GOD for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her."

Never underestimate the Power of GOD and His unique sense of humor.

PLEASE REMEMBER THIS WILL REALLY BE A TEAR JEARKER!!!!! HAVE PLENTY OF TISSUE READY!!!!!

Well with this story I will begin to tell you the horror our entire family has been through these past few days. First off I left for Memphis on Tuesday night around 8:30pm and arrived here in Memphis at 3:30am Thursday morning. Well I already knew we had an appointment for 6:45am and wanted to get a couple hours sleep so I got up at 6am. I prayed and prayed. On Sunday at church we had a man come and lay hands on Aaron(a perfect stranger to us). If anyone has seen the Green Mile then you would know what I am about to talk about. He asked how Aaron was doing and I said well the doctors say his cancer is back in his bone marrow and his spine and legs. I said I just know GOD will provide and he will make a way he will have his way with Aaron and I have faith that HE is in the miracle making business and he will be healed. The man then started laughing I was like ok what is wrong with this man. He then layed hands on Aaron and started crying like crazy. I put my hand on the mans shoulder and he pushed me away. I then watched and prayed as this man tried to perform a miracle through GOD. He would breath the cancer outta Aaron's body and cry aloud and move his hands all over his body and breath and cry and breath and cry. I just knew GOD was performing a miracle. Well with that I of course was on cloud 9 and wasn't accepting anything less than the best with Aaron's MRI!!!! Well yesterday he had that MRI and it showed the cancer was back all over his liver. Now not only do they say it's in his spine, bone marrow, legs but now the liver. As most of you know we have lost 2 kids in 2 weeks to this horrible disease and my heart just is at a loss for these families. I really have prayed more for them lately than for my own child and family. Well then the "B" clinic doctor said he had called the "D" clinic docs I knew it wasn't good. I then was meet by our original doctor Dr. Santana. I loved Dr. Leung he was AWESOME and he was a man that I really could relate to. Dr. Santana is good too but he just lays it on the line and then leaves you to make the decision. So he comes in and says well basically there is nothing else we can do for Aaron and we need to send yall home. As a parent you just break down inside and so I said NO we will not give up without a fight. Aaron is doing great physically and he is ready for the fight of his life. He says well Marilyn I am so sorry but I will have to really rack my brain and see what I can come up with over the weekend. I was like what!!! Well he then says please go get Aaron so I can see him for myself. So of course I do and he is rambuncious(SP?) as ever. As always with Dr. Santana he is fighting and kicking and like no I don't want you to look at me. Well just as he is finishing up our favorite fellow Dr. Ahn comes in and says wait we have something we can try. Dr. Furman the other solid tumor doc says we can use the ZD 1839 phase 1 study. I already new what that was since all the other relapse kids are or were on this. My heart was still sinking since I have only seen death and no response(stability) with this drug. Well I also know GOD isn't finished with Aaron yet and he has BIG plans for him. So he says read this over the weekend and then Monday let me know what you want to do and we will start right away. I know GOD is the ALMIGHTY PHYSICAN and HEALER and I am praying that HE have his way with my son and his will be done. But as a mother my heart and head are just breaking I am so confused and the ole devil is preying on me I just know it. GOD IS MIGHTER and BIGGER than anything including the BEAST!!!!! Well needless to say I was a wreck yesterday and still kinda today. So last night I couldn't sleep even though I really needed to. I called one of my greatest supporters a perfect stranger whom I have never met but really feel a connection with. She really made me realize this is only the devil and he is LIAR!!!!! This is only satan trying to take over my JOY!!! Nicole prayed with me and made me realize that GOD is BIGGER and BETTER than any of this horrible news and he will make everything better. Aaron is going to be FINE do you hear me FINE!!!! I feel much better today and I have prayed so much through the night and as she said pray without ceasing and fasting and so today that is my goal to be as positive as I can and know that HE will provide. No one will steal my JOY NO ONE!!!!! Well also yesterday the boys saw me crying to everyone I talked to but they already knew the news. So I asked Aaron yesterday Aaron the doctors say you are very very sick and what do you think. He said mommy I am going to be HEALED!!!! Praise the LORD he is worthy and that is sooooo right he will be HEALED. Well needless to say if Aaron is still wanting to be a SUPERHERO and fight then I am backing him up 1000000000 My baby is such a fighter and he won't let anything get him down.

So needless to say PLEASE PLEASE keep our family in your thoughts and prayers as we make a very tough decision this weekend. My mom and the kids DAD will be here this coming week to help out as this will be something none of us wanted to face but with GOD's grace and help and miracles we will make it through. So just know we are fine and GOD will PROVIDE no matter what!!!! Well thanks for checking on us and please keep it coming!!!! Don't forget to keep signing the guestbook as this is really what keeps me going. Also don't forget the "real" mail for Aaron and the brothers as this is what keeps them going.

Waiting on GOD's Miracle,

Marilyn and family

P.S. Take advantage of every single moment you have don't waste ANY time!!!!!

Saturday, July 24, 2004 10:56 PM CDT

WE'RE HOME!!!!! WE'RE HOME!!!!! WE'RE HOME!!!!!

Trust me this is some much needed time at home....

We have been at St. Jude since March without even seeing home. We left last night from Memphis around 10pm and arrived here at home in Peoria at 5am this morning. I told mom that it was like having Christmas all over again. Although being home just makes me want to have everything back to the way it use to be I also know that WOW has my faith matured and my love for GOD grown. I just can't wait to go back to my home church in the morning. Everyone will be way to surprised to see us. No one had any idea we were coming. Also for all my friends at the bank I know you all will be reading this Monday morning and yes I will be coming to see you Monday sometime. Well it is getting late and I just wanted to update and let everyone know that we are home home. Aaron is really enjoying his time home already and so are we. I have already seen some very special people in our lives. We are planning to have alot of quality family time these next few days. I will be leaving on Wednesday night around 10pm to come back to Memphis we have an MRI of the abdomen and pelvis at 6:45am Thursday morning so please keep that in your prayers that what they are looking at is only scar tissue. We now have confirmed that the cancer is back in his legs and on his spine and in his bone marrow. Please pray that GOD's will be done and that Aaron will have complete healing!!!! Well please keep all the families I mentioned last time in your prayers and please know that I love you all so much. My saying thank you just seems not enought but THANK YOU anyway!!!! Your love, support, calls, and most of all prayers mean the world to our family!!!!

Holding tightly to GOD's promises,

Marilyn and The Three Little A's

Thursday, July 22, 2004 8:44 PM CDT

Hey there everyone thanks for all your love and support and most of all PRAYERS this week!!!!

First off let me just say we have some very special kids who need our prayers and support too. I will list their names and websites and then you all can check on them and add them to your prayer chains.

Ben www.bens-story.com
Hanna www.caringbridge.org/ms/hanna
Taylor www.caringbridge.org/wv/taylor
Hayden www.haydenmoore.com
Easton www.caringbridge.org/fl/easton
Louie www.caringbridge.org/ky/louie
Madelyn www.caringbridge.org/tn/madelynbeamon
Matt www.caringbridge.org/wa/matt
Tyler www.caringbridge.org/tn/tyler
Emmagrace www.caringbridge.org/ar/emmagrace
Stanton www.caringbridge.org/la/stanton
Zoie www.caringbridge.org/la/zoie
Zoe Jo www.caringbridge.org/il/zoejowolsfeld
Travis www.caringbridge.org/il/travisman
Zachary www.caringbridge.org/fl/zacharyfinestone
Kaitlyn www.caringbridge.org/ne/kaitlyn
Tori www.caringbridge.org/fl/tori
Karina www.caringbridge.org/md/karinahurtado
Christal http://christalinfo.servemp3.com

Well the list of mine goes on and on sorry if I forgot anyone just know I usually check anywhere from 20-30 sites a day and my mind is quite full tonight. I am praying for so many kids it is horrible how many children are affected by this horrible disease.

Well now on to Mr. Aaron he is really doing quite well just kinda sleepy lately. I met with his doctor today and well the results of his MIBG were not great. He has alot of cancer in his legs now. I know the doctor said to expect this but still it comes as a shock. I also met with our fellow from "D" clinic and she was not happy about Aaron relapsing again. Of course neither am I. I just have to beleive that GOD knows whats best and trust me the prayers of each and every one of you have really helped alot. I approched the doctor today with a very positive outlook and he was very happy with something I requested today. I asked if have another transplant is in Aaron's future? He said yes that is an option so looks like I may end up being the donor anyway for Aaron. They just really think that Andre'e was just to perfect of a match and that the cancer is soooo aggressive that they need more of the graft vs tumor reaction. Aaron never even got graft vs host disease so that is a good sign that Andre'e cells just accepted the disease like Aaron's cells did. Well needless to say I am not happy about being here another 6 months to 1 year but I also feel GOD has us here for a reason and with that being said I have total faith in him to lead the way for us. I make no decisions with consulting him first. Well anyway I have one more special prayer request and that is pray for the boys this year coming as this will be the third year without their family together and this is really wearing on them. They are very frustrated as well as Aaron and I but I just have to have faith that GOD will provide and things will all work out in the end.

Also if anyone can help us try to have a benefit somehow please let me know. I am really going crazy wondering how I am going to make ends meet again. The first time I had plenty of support from family and friends. This last time GOD was here 100% of the time. This time I will also depend on GOD but I have been told by alot of people that I really need to have a benefit or have our story put in the paper back home and open an account for us to be able to get by. Most of you know the situation with our family and you all know that I really don't like to make requests like this but I also know that I really need the support now more than ever. I also know that GOD has really brought this to my attention that it is something we need to do. I can try to make arrangements to have Aaron and myself there so just let me know if you have any ideas or if you can help in anyway. Call me on my cell at (309)648-6586 or at the Target House at (901)545-0301 or you can just email me at stjudemomma74@aol.com.

Well thank you all for all your continued support, love, thoughts and most of all prayers and please keep them coming as we have a very tough and long road ahead of us.

Holding on to GOD's promises,

Marilyn and The Three Little A's

P.S. Don't forget to give someone you love a hug and tell them how much they mean to you!!!!

Tuesday, July 20, 2004 10:05 PM CDT

OK OK I know I have been slacking on the updating but trust me with some of the news I have been given I really just haven't been in the mood to update. I have just been praying for the right words to say and for GOD to give a sign as we start this new phase of treatment now that Aaron has relapsed once again. Well last night while reading my nightly devotions I found the perfect words that I really needed to hear so I will share with you all my devotion for last night and then give the update on the latest on Aaron.

From Grace For The Moment

GOD WILL GET YOU HOME!!!!!!

What we see will last only a short time, but what we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:18

For some of you the journey has been long. Very long and stormy. In no way do I wish to minimize the difficulties that you have had to face along the way. Some of you have shouldered burdens that few of us could ever carry. You have bid farewell to life-long partners. You have been robbed of life-long dreams. You have been given bodies that can't sustain your spirit. You have spouses who can't tolerate your faith. You have bills that outnumber the paychecks and challenges that outweigh the strength.

And you are TIRED....

It's hard for you to see the City in the midst of the storms. The desire to pull over to the side of the road and get out entices you. You want to go on, but some days the road seems so long........

Let me encourage you.... God never said that the journey would be easy, but he did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.

In the Eye of the Storm

Well basically I can't say AMEN enough to this devotion. Last night as I read this I really thought WOW GOD you are so right somedays I really just want to give up and say we are going home but I know you have everything planned and you are an AWESOME GOD and you really won't give me nor my family anymore than we can handle NEVER!!!!

Well first I will tell you all of the WONDERFUL weekend we had. On Friday when I got this dreaded news I really thought what are we going to do to keep our minds off all of this???? Well GOD already had plans in the works. PBL called and wanted us to come to her house for the day on Saturday and have a cookout and ride four wheelers and of course swim!!!! Well I was way more than happy to take her up on the offer and so we had a very very nice time on Saturday just being normal. You know the Strawn family has been the greatest to us. I really don't know what we would do if we had never met them. They have taken us under their wing and loved and cared for us. THANK YOU GUYS!!!!! Well on Saturday night in the midst of watching BIG BROTHER 5 we finally got the Zeocast up on Aaron's website so if you haven't noticed the new pics please go to the middle of the page and click next and read the captions. We worked long and hard on this and I really hope it brings as much pleasure to each and everyone of you as it did to us Saturday night. Well from there we went to Liberty Land on Sunday with Becky and her niece and nephew. It was a very nice day to go and the weather was really nice also. Not too cold and not too hot. Well from there we went to the hospital and played games with one of our friends Jared(Becky's son)who is inpatient from a bladder infection and mouth sores and fever. Well that night the boys finally got to see Steven Segal. I had already told them to leave him alone since he was there for his daughter who was diagnosed with leukemia about a month or so ago. But since Mr. Segal said hi to them first it was ok to say hi. I have to say that we are praying for EVERYONE at St. Jude EVERYONE and even someone famous needs prayers and support. Well on Monday I was due to sign consents and so I walked into the office with my full armor on and GOD on my side. Aaron was sleeping so me and the doctor had a very "nice" conversation. I asked him how many other children had been on this shot and he said no neuroblastoma well my heart sunk and I thought well next question. Do you think this will work???? Well he said that he really didn't know but he didn't think so but we had to try every option. We are only giving this 2 weeks to see if it works and then on to chemo. Well from there I had to ask about his MRI from that day and he said the results weren't in yet. They would be in by Tuesday morning but he did say that don't be scared but we may see some drastic increase in activity everywhere since the bone marrow wasn't doing what it should. Well my heart sunk since he said before that it should get better by these 60 day scans. Well from there I knew I had to pray pray and pray some more. I even told Aaron we had to pray that the ole devil stay away from his body. He says mommy who is the ole "debal"??? I said well the bad guy that tries to hurt us and make us sick he said Jesus won't let him hurt me!!! How amazing huh Aaron already knows that it's all in Jesus hands and he will make everything alright. Well anyway I really didn't want to give you all false hope so today I got the results of the MRI of the brain and NO CANCER NO CANCER!!!!! Yes you heard me right the brain is clear AMEN PRAISE THE LORD!!!!! Well from there I thought see I just knew those doctors don't know all GOD is the ULTIMATE PHYSICIAN and HEALER. Well tomorrow we have an MIBG that scans his entire body please pray that GOD's will be done with that scan also and it be clear too and the only place we had cells is the bone marrow. The results from the MIBG will be in on Thursday when I meet the doctor. I know GOD is an AWESOME GOD and it is all in his time. My mom has already told me that GOD told her it is just going to take time and it will be a long haul. I am going to be asking the doctors if we can go home for a week closer to time for the boys to start school so pray we can since that is really all that Aaron wants to do. Well last night we started the shots(IL-2) again and Aaron did very very well with them he was so funny he didn't even make a sound he said that doesn't even hurt. Then right before bed he said mommy you forgot to give me my shot I said we already did he said oh yeah I forgot. Well lucky for him we only have to give those every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That is way better than G-Shots being every single day no breaks.

Well thank you to everyone for all the love and support. I have noticed this week we haven't gotten any mail!!!! Aaron says mommy wheres my mail???? I said well guess your birthday is over huh?? He says yes but I still like mail. So if you don't mind please keep the real mail coming even if it is just a card he loves real mail. Also thanks for the PRAYERS they are a work in process daily!!!!

Being Held by Jesus,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. Please keep those AWESOME prayers coming!!!!

Friday, July 16, 2004 4:31 PM CDT

Well first off let me just as I always do our journey is not over!!!! I also know GOD has blessed us so much and continues to bless us. His love and grace is neverending. With that I must give you all some not so good news. Trust me I do not claim this news but I am just gonna tell you all like the doctor told me today. First I will start with how the past week has been. Over the weekend Aaron complained about pain in his legs and wasn't as active as usual. On Monday he had labs drawn but I didn't go get a copy since his counts have been great. Well on Wednesday he had bone marrow aspirates. After Aaron woke up the nurse in recovery gave me a copy of his counts from Monday and immediately I thought hum why did she do that. So I looked at his ANC and it was only 900 compared to 4,000 and 5,000. My heart immediately sunk I thought oh my something is wrong. I went running to "B" clinic and talked to a doctor who really doesn't know Aaron and they tried to give me excuses. They also told me that he could have just a viral infection. So I asked to talk to our main doctor and he was off that day so they said they would just wait and see what his counts were on Thursday. Well on Thursday my stomach was in knots. I just knew something was wrong. Well his ANC was now 600. Well for anyone who knows about neuroblastoma you know that is one of the first signs of relapse. Dr. Leung said that it may still be a viral infection and we would check counts again on Friday. Well today I was a wreck. I know that GOD will provide and his will will be done. I also know I had faith that it was just a viral infection and today his anc would be 1,000 and it would all be over. Although my maternal instinct was telling me different. Well they put me in a room for 25 minutes waiting(you know St. Jude time). In the meantime all I could do was pray pray and pray some more. Well finally they come in and tell me that the cells are back in his bone marrow on the left side and that it is because his immune system is not working right. The doctor said he wanted to start a shot called IL-2 on Monday and he will get it 3 times a week for 2 weeks and then they will retest his urine and see if it has increased or decreased if it decreases they will keep him on the shots for 2-6 months if it increases they will start chemo again. Please pray that GOD's will be done in this situation. I am not gonna let the devil get the best of this situation and I also know GOD is in full control. He is the alpha and omega the beginning and the end. He will NOT give us more than we can handle. Well I too like Tina(stanton's mom) beleive GOD has me here for a reason and obviously that reason hasn't been met yet!!!! Well all I can say now is please please please keep the prayer bucket full these coming weeks. On Monday Aaron will have an MRI and on Wednesday he will have an MIBG. Please pray that the only place we have cells is in his bone marrow and not anywhere else!!!!!

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. Keep praying without ceasing!!!!!!

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 9:43 AM CDT

Hey there everyone well this week has been a world of emotions for me. I am so badly hurting for Chasity and Travis about Angel Zoie. I also know that GOD is in control. I just wish so bad that I could be there for them. But this week is the "good news scans". I trust and know that GOD is will provide for them and put his loving arms around them and comfort them if they just ask. Well guess i'm just so hurt and sad that I can't really express it.

Well Aaron is doing good he keeps complaining his legs hurt but we will see what this weeks scans show and just keep beleiving and praying all goes well. Sunday we took a 12 hour trip to Metropolis, IL to see Superman. It was kinda boring but it was fun most of the stores were closed and the weather was very hot but we did have some fun. Aaron got to ride with PBL for a lil while of the trip on her purple motorcycle(thank you so much PBL). Aaron really loves them like they were a family we never had. Big Bubba sorry you were feeling so under the weather. Also thank you so much to the bikers for allowing us to follow them in the car in air conditioning(LOL)!!!!

Well I mentioned that I would tell you all more about Aaron's birthday so here it goes. The day started out kinda sucky since I got the news about Zoie and it really bummed me out. But I tried to make the best of it. The first thing in the morning we got the balloons from Angel Traci. Then we checked the mail and boy you talk about mail we got a box full. Special thanks to all of our wonderful friends and prayer warriors from Flordia yall are just awesome!!!!! You all always come through no matter what sometimes I really feel yall can sense or read my mind!!! Well after that mom took Aaron to the store with her and I took the boys with me to go shopping to get Aaron's surprise birthday presents. Well then when I get back it all went bonkers from there. I was busy wrapping and and getting goodie bags together. Mom was busy cooking and from there we went outside for the big dinner and of course Aaron really didn't want to eat he was just way to excited and just wanted to open his presents. We had a huge table full of presents they were even falling on the floor. After we all ate we got the cake and thank you to Cheryl(Sp?) you did an great job the cake was delicious!!!! The funniest part was Aaron wanted to put the candles in his cake himself and then no one had a lighter to light the candles. So we pretended and said happy birthday and then all he wanted to do was open presents. Well hopefully you all will be seeing some new pictures soon since PBL took some great pictures and well lets just say it was a very hot day but it was a great time by all and much needed. Now yesterday Aaron got some more money and so we have to go shopping at Build-A-Bear for him some new clothes for his monkey(Aaron). It is so funny to me that he won't spend his money to buy clothes for himself but he will buy his animal clothes(LOL). Thank you all so much for all you did to make this birthday the best one yet!!!! Yall are AWESOME!!!!

Well thank you all so much for everything and please know we love you all so much. Your love, support and prayers mean so much to our entire family.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. Tell your loved ones you love them and give them a BIG hug today!!!!

Saturday, July 10, 2004 6:23 PM CDT

Ok I am going to start this journal off saying our dear sweet princess Zoie has earned her angel wings. Zoie was such a precious and sweet girl. Everyone seemed to know her and she will be greatly miss by everyone. To Chasity and Travis please know that through all of this I have prayed continously non stop at times. This morning my mom was driving in from home for Aaron's birthday and she said Zoie was on her mind too. She prayed the whole way here for all of you. Please know that I am here and you know i'm only a phone call away.

On to Aaron's awesome bithday celebration. It was totally awesome. We didn't see as big of a turn out as would have liked but with all that was going on and the heat I was happy with the amount of people. Also we had a few of the bikers come but they drove their cars instead of their bikes. Except for Clay who came out in full effects with his really cool bike. They are having a big day tomorrow and wanted to save their energy for that big ride. We will be following them in our car to Metropolis IL. Aaron is very excited since he considers himself a real life superhero. Well thanks to EVERYONE for all the support today we had a blast from all the flood of mail and cards to BIG BIG gifts. He ended up with a pocket full of money. He was very happy and hasn't stopped with playing. Now we are heading to PBL house to stay the night for our trip tomorrow. Well as you can see he really had the time of his life and oh by the way the BALLOONS went over very very good. Aaron woke up this morning to find a huge bouque of balloons and a suffed bear in his bed. He then decided to dress up as shrek for the day and so Angel Traci be looking for pictures to be coming soon. Well thank you all so much for all the support and prayers and please keep them coming as we have a very busy week coming up with scans and stuff. I will update as I know anything.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. A huge thank you to Helen who made the awesome SUPERHERO display now on Aarons website!!!!

P.P.S. Please stop by Angel Zoie's website and leave her parents some words of encouragement!!!!

Wednesday, July 7, 2004 9:45 PM CDT

Well tonight I come before the Lord asking for his mercy for our dear sweet Zoie(www.caringbridge.org/la/zoie) she and her family have been given the news that she probably only has 2 weeks left. I am asking each and everyone of you to please stop by her site and leave the family a few words of encouragement. They are dealing with alot now as always. Zoie has said she just wants to stay here at St. Jude instead of going home so she will still be at the Ronald McDonald House. I also ask each and everyone of you to please lift her and her family up in prayer as this is a very difficult time for them. Zoie is such a beautiful girl and she has touched so many. Zoie, Chasity, and Travis WE LOVE YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!

Well now on to some much brighter news Aaron's left eye is seeing 2 pictures from the 20/20 line and his right eye still isn't quite that good yet. As you can see his left eye has passed up his right and the doctors are very happy with all that is going on with his eyes. We will still be seeing the eye doctors everyother day until further notice. Tomorrow we see the regular doctor and we will see what the deal is with Aaron's mouth he seems to be having problems swolling. As of yesterday they took him off his TPN(PRAISE GOD). Any step in that direction is good. But he is still trying to eat as much as possible but it seems everything is hurting his mouth and throat. I am so happy with how well things are going.

Today the world renouned Richard Petty the race car driver and Casey Mears were here to spend some time with the kids of St. Jude. Aaron was a real charater while they were here. It was so funny watching him. We are not that big of fans but we sure know alot of people who are!!!! So needless to say we had a fun filled day again today. Saturday we may be having the time of our life we have been told there may be some very special guests!!!!(Thanks to all the bikers of Memphis)

Well nothing else really new going on here but just know how much we appreciate all your cards, love, care, support and prayers they mean so much to us. I know all this seems overwhelming and trust me it is but you all mean the world to all of us. Please continue to keep Taylor and Zoie at the top of your prayer lists.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. Don't forget Aaron's birthday is Saturday July 10 he will be the big 6!!!!!

P. P. S. Take advantage of every single minute of every single day!!!!!!

Sunday, July 4, 2004 11:01 PM CDT

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY 4TH OF JULY TO EVERYONE!!!!! It sure is nice to know we are in a country of the free huh!!!!

Well just letting yall know how grateful we are for all you all have done for us and are doing for us. I can't express my thanks and appreciation to everyone for all the love, support and most of all prayers. You all mean the world to us and without all the support I know my time here would have been much harder.

I have a request for you all I know there are alot of children I request that you all visit and leave messages and tonight I come before GOD asking for his mercy for two very special lil girls. First of all LiL Miss Zoie www.caringbridge.org/la/zoie. She is really facing alot of difficulty right now and her tumor on her liver is growing and needs alot of love, cards, and prayers if anyone can give the family some words of encouragement that would be great. We all love and look forward to reading our guestbooks and so please leave them a message even if you just say you are praying!!!! Also LiL Miss Taylor www.caringbridge.org/wv/taylor who has just stole my heart she is sooooo precious to me and her family got some more not so great news Friday. So please stop by her site and leave them a message too. This precious LiL girl has just stole my heart espeically since I only have boys(LOL).

Well anyway Aaron is still doing GREAT Praise GOD for all his blessings to each and everyone of us. Aaron the boys and I had the pleasure of going to the fireworks thanks to FED EX and Bellvue Baptist Church and the Sherifs Dept. They were awesome and provided transportation and meals and balloons for all the kids for the fireworks in Germantown tonight. It was really nice and they all were wonderful to us. Also the doctor from St. Jude came again today and said that Aaron's eyes are still looking great. We are off again tomorrow from St. Jude and so I plan on just hanging out and spending quality time with my babies. Also today we had the privlidge of spending time with a few other families from here and eating a feast fit for KINGS. It was really nice to know that in the midst of all this sickness we can pull ourselves together and spend time together as a family of one. I have been so fortunate to have met some great people here and trust me I also know now why GOD has placed us here to witness to all these families who are going through such distress and stress and frustration. I have been here almost two years now and boy how my faith and love in GOD has flurished and I feel the happiest I have been in a very long time. Also on Friday night we went to get one of Aaron's birthday presents from the local mall while we where there a man came up to us. He asked if I was a beleiver of faith and I said yes he then said that the LORD had asked him to tell me my son was going to be healed. I already beleive this and always will but he then asked to lay his hand on my son and I said yes you can. He did and said in the name of JESUS you are healed. I was at such peace when he did this then he told me he was a pastor and that he just felt led by GOD to touch my son and let me know that he would be healed. Praise GOD for sending that man our way and just reassuring me that GOD is in control and his name is greater than any other. Well anyway after that I really don't think anyone could have made me feel any better. Well on that great note I will talk to you all later and thanks to each and everyone of you for all your support for Aaron's birthday. It is this Saturday and he is so excited and he doesn't even realize how many friends and family will be here. I am trying to keep it a surprise but needless to say it will be the best party yet!!!! Thanks to all of you.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. Oh yeah I almost forgot Aaron is the patient of the month for Country Cares the website is www.countrycares.org.

P.P.S. Don't forget to take advantage of every single moment you have with the ones you love and care about!!!!

Friday, July 2, 2004 2:10 PM CDT

Hey everyone well today I have alot on my mind but first off I have a very special story to tell all of you. This week has been very trying for me as I know Aaron's birthday is coming up and I really wanted to make it very special. Well earlier this week another St. Jude parent called wanting to buy all the party goods for Aaron's party and I was very happy and of course can't really say thank you enough for this(you know who you are). Then yesterday Aaron got a package from one of our prayer warriors and it was something he already had so I have been giving her ideas as to what he doesn't already have. She is so awesome and trust me all everyone is doing is so appreciated and I am very happy for all the support we are receiving. Well anyway I am mentioning this because I called my mom and requested that she not send in my car note this month since I really wanted to give Aaron a birthday he has never had. Well then today when I got up I called my bank account and to my surprise someone put the amount of my car not into my bank account. I find this very blessful since I have not told anyone about this and no one knew my heart except my mom and GOD himself. So basically all I can say is thank you GOD for the blessing and thank you to whoever sent this money in for my car payment. You all have no idea how wonderful you all have been. I always worry about making my car note and some how something always falls through and I can't say thank you enough to each and everyone of you espeically GOD for all his blessings. You all make our day by everything you do from cards to money to just sending messages to phone calls and most of all your prayers of support. You all mean the world to us and we could never ever say thank you enough for all your support and love.

Well anyway onto Aaron and whats going on with him. He is really doing great. Yesterday we saw the doctor and he was just amazed how well Aaron is doing. I say well GOD knows all and does all and he is making a huge testimony outta my son. Well anyway we also saw the eye doctor and she was just amazed how well things are going with his eyes too finally his left eye is seeing the second line of symbols he is up to seeing line 40. Well anyway I asked her if she thought he would need glasses and she said that no he wouldn't need them they expect full recovery from this. Well anyway all's I can say is GOD is good and he hears and answers our prayers in his time. Well I also made the request to go home and well that was denied since they still want to keep a very close eye on Aaron's eyes. But I may surprise my family and show up anyway since they will be coming in the morning to check his eyes. Then we are not due back at St. Jude until Tuesday. Well anyway I will be praying about this and make a decision by tomorrow morning. Well anyway also I asked the doctor about when he thought we might be heading home he said by mid August. I was surprised but happy. Basically Aaron is doing great then I asked about him going to school and he said we had to wait for six months at least so when I get home I will be checking into getting him tudoring. Well anyway next week he will be starting his 60 day scans and then we will see how things are progressing so please be praying hard next week as we start the wondering of scans again. Also pray as we continue on down the road to complete recovery. Well the boys Aaron and I are really enjoying ourselves and giving GOD all the praise and glory for all he is doing for our entire family.

Thanks again for everything and please keep those awesome prayers and support coming. Also please keep all the families and children of St. Jude in your prayers. We are seeing so much sickness and relapse and new onsets that it just makes me sick. I am just so grateful for all GOD has done and keeps on doing for each and everyone of us!!!!!

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

Tuesday, June 29, 2004 0:07 AM CDT

Hey there everyone well first off let me just say once again this place is such an awesome place. I know you all keep hearing me talk about sickness and stuff but we do have survivors and kids doing very very well. It just seems right now I am seeing alot of relapse and sickness so this morning I am making a request for each and everyone of you faithful prayer warriors to pay a visit to a very very special LiL girl who I have grown to love alot. Her name is Taylor she is so precious and if you could just stop by and leave her family some words of encouragement I would really appreciate it. This family is facing some very tough decisions. I know all of you are very faithful to my family and many of you have visited other kids websites that I have requested but this is totally different. So if you would please send lots and lots of prayers and words of encouragement to this family her website is www.caringbridge.org/wv/taylor. Thank you all so much in advance. I know you are all probably sick of me giving you all these websites but just know that somedays this is my way of dealing with all of this. To visit these kids and really see how fortunate we really are. There is always someone less fortunate than us.

Well anyway on to Aaron. They have taken Aaron off steriods and he is still eating like a pig. But I can totally handle that. He even brags now about how much he is eating. He really isn't very active. He hasn't been playing very much. I am a little concerned but I also know the more weight you put on the lazier you get. Well anyway his counts are great and the docs are very pleased with him. The doctor he saw today said that we could possible go to seeing a doc only once a week on Thursdays. I will be meeting with our main doctor on Thursday of this week and I will be discussing that with him. If this is true then I will be seeing if we can start making trips home for a week at a time. I also know I am just praying daily that God's will be done and whatever he wants is what I want. He is such an awesome GOD and healer and great physician of all. He will provide and take care of us and will not give up on us no matter what. Well today Aaron also met with the eye docs and well his right eye is almost 20/20 but his left eye isn't good at all but I also have faith that God can and does move mountains and he will make a way. I really could care less if he has any difficulty as long as my baby is still here with me. God I have to say thank you so much for all you do and all the blessings you have given all of us. Well we are taking it one day at a time and that seems to be working.

Thanks to each and everyone of you for everything and just remember Aaron's birthday is coming up just around the corner(July 10). He is really wanting a Shrek party this year but right now I am really just praying for a miracle that God will provide. I am really short on funds but I also know that if there is a will there is a way. Well anyway thank you to everyone for all the mail for the brothers, Aaron and email for me. I really look forward to reading positive words from each and everyone of you. Also thanks sooooooo very much for all the prayers and please keep them coming.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. Don't forget to live life to the fullest and take advantage of every single moment!!!!!

Thursday, June 24, 2004 8:31 PM CDT

Ok I just am really sad now I just checked on a couple of our kids and my heart is just broken. I just want to scream. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH Ok now maybe i'll feel a lil better. I know I usually ask for prayer for us but tonight I am asking for prayer for each and everyone of our kids not just the sick ones but the healthy ones too. I am reading about so much relapse and sickness I am just so hurt and stressed. We now only have one of our kids from last year cancer free. My heart just hurts. I am sure all of you cancer parents know my feelings when I say this but it really feels weird when your kid is doing so well and others are so sick. My sometimes I just don't know what to say and I just smile and say nothing. But I am praying for each and everyone of yall daily. I am sorry if I don't seem as close as I use to but I really don't like to say stupid things and feel that i'm imposing or intruding. So please forgive me but know that I really care and love each and everyone of you.

Ok off that subject and on to Aaron. Aaron went to see the eye doctor today and now he can have steriods put in both eyes along with the other drops and ointment. The doctors and just amazed by his progress but his right eye is getting better but his left still can't see real good yet. So we are praying and hoping that it all works out in the end. Well he also saw the BMT doctor and he is just amazed also with Aaron and all he has been through these past few weeks. But all in all he says Aaron looks great and to keep up the good work. They are now for sure it was Stevens Johnson Syndrome and that he is one very lucky kid but we all know he wasn't lucky it was GOD doing what he does best making miracles happen. Well anyway Aaron is picking up energy slowly but surely. He has been eating anything(mostly scrambled eggs and sausage) and everything he can get his hands on. He eats all day long. He has sure turned into a puffy marshmellow man thats for sure. It's so cute to see him being so chubby again. He weighs 49lbs now and it is so wonderful to see him fat again. But as of today the doctor took him off the steriods he was on and put him on a milder form that he will now only take once a day. So he will be back to his normal weight soon. They also decreased his TPN to 800ml for 12 hours instead of 1050ml for 16 hours. That is really good since he really needs to be weined off those fluids anyways. Well nothing else medically really going on.

Aaron has been going to vacation bible school all week and loving it. Last night they asked him who the devil was and he said the bad guy. Then they asked him who Jesus was and he said he is the good guy who heals kids from cancer. My heart just broke when he said that. I thought boy this boy sure is gonna have a testimony when this is all over huh??? Well every night the kids have a challenge they have to complete for the next day and his was to tell someone that he loves them and so does Jesus. Well he had to call grandma and tell her and she was just overjoyed. Then last night I asked Aaron if he wanted to say his night night prayers and he said yes. Here is what he said Dear Jesus please take away all my ackies and heal me from all this cancer. Of course I just started crying and thinking boy it is just sad when my baby has to worry about this crazy and dreadful disease. I am so sorry that all of these kids have to go through all this but I also know that GOD has a reason for this although we all just don't know what it is.

Well thanks to everyone who has been sending each and everyone of the kids something speical. They love to all get mail. Also I am noticing that no one is signing the guestbook much anymore but the numbers are going up. I am very sad since I totally look at the guestbook daily to read encouraging words from everyone. Well anyway thanks for everything and please keep the prayers coming for everyone here.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. Here a few new and some old websites of kids who are needing your support and prayers also if you want to visit them!!!!

www.caringbridge.org/il/travisman(continuing chemo)
www.caringbridge.org/il/mallary(continuing chemo)
www.caringbridge.org/tn/madelynbeamon(chemo isn't working)
www.caringbridge.org/tn/tyler(relapsed)
www.caringbridge.org/wa/matt(continuing chemo)
www.caringbridge.org/fl/tori(continuing chemo)
www.caringbridge.org/fl/zacharyfinestone(continuing meds)
www.caringbridge.org/la/zoie(continuing chemo and recent surgery)
www.caringbridge.org/la/stanton(continuing chemo)
www.caringbridge.org/ar/emmagrace(heading to Philly)
www.caringbridge.org/al/daltoncorlette(continuing chemo)
http://christalinfo.servemp3.com(recent relapse and surgery)

Tuesday, June 22, 2004 5:26 PM CDT

PRAISE GOD FOR ANOTHER DAY WITH ALL MY PRECIOUS BOYS!!!!

Well as you can tell I am so very happy to be with my babies all under one roof.

Well things are going well here. Aaron is sluggish but he is trying to hang in here with those brothers. You know the brothers never stop and Aaron loves to be with them but he comes back to the room about every 15 minutes to take a 1/2 hour break. Well anyway I must say a huge thank you to my Mommy for buying the boys all a new bike. They are really enjoying getting out after supper taking a ride and well considering the bikes they got I too am enjoying the rides. LOL Well anyway on to Aaron's care. The doctors say Aaron is doing better he had his steriods decreased from 25mg twice a day to 10mg twice a day. Thank GOD since he is eating every hour. He plans his meals a day ahead!!! Well guess thats what I get for complaining about him not eating for months now. Let me just say I have seen alot of kids on steriods and love those chubby cheeks. Well Aaron is gonna be one of those precious kids now it's already starting and the stomach oh my. I guess if you were planning on buying clothes for Aaron you might just have to go up a size. LOL Well anyway as far as his eyes go the right eye is better and he now gets steriods in the right but the left is still not up to par so we are still using the drops and ointment. He had an eye test done and it sure wasn't very good but I am just happy that my baby is still with me. I always have told people that I don't care what happpens to him as long and he is still here and Praise GOD he is still here so what if he needs glasses and hearing aides. I could careless as long as I still have my baby!!!!

Well we are now planning for Aaron's birthday party. He wants to have a Shrek party. But he wants a homemade birthday cake confetti cake with strawberry icing. Also if you are planning on buying him anything Shrek hang it up he already pretty much has everything except stuffed animals but he can't have those right now anyway. He really misses all his stuffed animals and I have promised him that as soon as he is cleared we would go to Build-A-Bear and he could pick out any kind he wanted. He wants to make a monkey he loves monkeys and well anything to make him happy is my motto!!!! Well anyway Mom(grandma) is planning on being here for his birthday celebration on July 10th. We are so happy he loves being with his family and having the brothers around. We also just found out that his best buddy Aaron(Big Aaron) is coming to live here at Target House now and he can hardle wait. He keeps going and looking for him at least he will have a buddy who needs as much rest as him. Well guess that's about it for today things are going good and we are taking it one day at a time!!!

Oh yeah THANKS everyone for all the love, support, and most of all Prayers!!!! You all are so faithful and we love and miss you all so much. Also please keep the mail coming all the boys love getting mail. Don't forget they are all here now and even if you just send a card it's better than nothing. By the way I love mail too but you can always leave a message on the website to make my day. LOL

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. Live life to the fullest and take advantage of every single moment you have!!!!!

Saturday, June 19, 2004 12:19 AM CDT

OK Sorry for the lapse in updates. Things around here have been kinda crazy. First let me say Aaron is OUT OF THE HOSPITAL!!!!

Well let me catch you all up on whats going on with Aaron. He is really not feeling very well. But they needed the bed and he was stable so they discharged him on Friday afternoon. Well I now have the official word on what is going on with my LiL Superhero. He doesn't have GVHD he has whats called StevensJohnson Syndrome(www.stevensjohnsonsyndrome.com). This is a syndrome that is caused by an allergic reaction to something what they really don't know. It could be anything from drugs to environmental. So we have to take every single precaution including doing Aaron's laundry seprate and with special detergent. No parfumey things cleaning alot better and things like that. This syndrome causes your body to looked like it has been burned in a fire it also can be very fatal but Aaron sure has a much milder case of it. I know that sounds bad but PRAISE GOD he has a mild case. It only burned his lips and mouth and insides. It also has affected his sight and from what I read that can make a person go blind. For a while there I was very very worried but I just had to give it to GOD and I know he knows whats best for my LiL Superhero. Right now the doctors are coming here to Target House to visit him since they don't really want him out and about right now. We are putting drops in every 1/2 hour while awake and ointment 6 times per day. He was in severe pain but now is on pain meds prn. He also is now taking 30 meds a day and hates it but is such a lil trooper. He has sure been through alot but has been such a big guy every step of the way. The other night I asked him if he wanted mommy to say his bedtime prayers for him since his mouth hurt so much and he said yes. So I did and he was smiling and then he said mommy I love you so much. I just grinned from ear to ear. He is such an inspiration to me and everyone he meets. When this is all over I tell you what this guy will have such a testimony won't he!!!!

Well also this week Aaron had his MIBG scan done and the spot on his chest is completely gone. The spot on his liver is stable. But the spot on his right femur is getting slightly bigger. I had a long conversation with the doctor and he reassured me that it was normal to see a slight increase but by the 100 day scans it should be smaller if not completely gone. So I am very happy with that and giving GOD all the praise and glory all the way!!!! So all your support, love, and most of all prayers are going above and beyond!!!!!

Oh yeah the surprise I knew was coming was my Grandpa and his new wife. Well they got here on Thursday night. Well it seemed they had gotten lost a few times so it took them a long time to get here. Well anyway they finally made it to Target House but we were inpatient at St. Jude. So I left Aaron with his nurse and came and got Grandpa and Lucille. They were famished so we went to Perkins to eat. From there they came back to Target House and I went back to St. Jude with Aaron. Well Aaron wasn't to happy when I got back he said mommy you've been gone all day today(in reality I was only gone about 2 hours). Boy you talk about feeling bad so we had to cuddle and that of course would make anyone feel better!!!! Well from there the nurse came in and said that the doctor said he was being discharged Friday. I was excited but yet not since Aaron wasn't feeling the greatest. But on Friday morning the doctors reassured me that he would get better at home. Well anyway we spent Friday night with Grandpa and Lucille and really had a nice time before they headed to see another grandchild today. Well this morning we gave hugs and mom and the brothers came in and boy now I really feel loved having all this family here sure was nice. Well anyway mom will be here until Monday and then she will be making the trip back home. The brothers will be here for the rest of the summer. I am so happy to have them here they will help in getting Aaron better. Well anyway all in all we have had a crazy past few days and now hopefully things will slow down. Well until next time talk to you all very soon.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and THE THREE LITTLE A'S(all together again finally)

P.S. Thank you to everyone sending mail, money and cards for the boys, Aaron and me. Without all your love and support we would not be able to make it!!!!!

Tuesday, June 15, 2004 11:37 PM CDT

Well as you can see it's kinda late but I just can't bring myself to sleep. Usually when I say prayers at night I can fall right to sleep but my mind is very full tonight. So I pulled out my devotional book and well how amazing I found a really nice way to say thank you to all of you prayer warriors for Aaron and our family. You all mean the world to us and without all of us flooding Heaven with our prayers God just wouldn't know how much this LiL Superhero means to all of us. So here is my devotion for today and for each and everyone of you who read this site and say a special prayer for us!!!!

PRAYERS ARE PRECIOUS JEWELS(Amen)

Scripture is the Lord see the good people and listens to their prayers. 1 Peter 3:12

You and I live in a loud world. To get someone's attention is no easy task. He must be willing to set everything aside to listen: turn down the radio, turn away from the monitor, turn the corner of the page and set down the book. When someone is willing to silence everthing else so he can hear us clearly, it is a privilege. A rare privilege, indeed.

Your prayers are honored in heaven as precious jewels. Purified and empowered, the words rise in a delightful frangrance to our Lord.... Your words do not stop until they reach the very throne of God....

Your prayer on earth activates God's power in heaven, and "God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven."...

Your prayers move God to change the world. You may not understand the mystery of prayer. You don't need to. But this much is clear: Actions in heaven begin when someone prays on earth.

So needless to say thank you so much everyone for taking time out of you busy schedules to visit Aaron's website and listen to the requests we are making known. I know there are lots and lots of people on earth praying for our family and you all mean the world to us. THANKS SO MUCH!!!!

Well now on to Aaron today Aaron seemed to be doing a lil better he is still on a continous pump for pain and only has to push it for an extra boost when he takes his pills each morning and night. Today he took all his meds without even complaining. I am just so very proud of him I tell him all the time how much of a big boy he really is. He just say yeah I know mom and it just makes me smile from ear to ear!!!! Well anyway the eye doctor said that his eyes still look the same but it may take a while to get them better. We are putting the artifical tears in every 1/2 hour while awake and the ointment 4 times per day while awake. So all in all he really is doing good with his meds. His mouth is really looking yucky but he is able to open it a lil more today and even played a little today. We played alot of games. He let me go check the mail at Target House today and I had to promise to bring him back a couple of his favorite games from home. We played them out before he was ready to hit the sack. Tomorrow he is having a MIBG scan this scan lights up any cancer in his body. As far as I know all the other scans have come back clear and so I am not really that worried about this scan but still the added prayers for tomorrow will be greatly appreciated. Oh yeah his GVHD rash is looking a lil better to but he is still itchying alot so the doctors ordered some benedryal cream for me to put on it and it seemed to help a lil but he still was kinda itchy.

Well nothing else new going on here just praying and praising GOD for all his great works in our family. Oh yeah by the way some of you have been trying to reach me and we are inpatient so I can't use my cell phone so you are more than welcome to call me at the hospital directly at (901) 495-5270 anytime you like. Just please remember that we have some appointments tomorrow so don't be alarmed if you can't reach us just call back as we love hearing from each and everyone of you. Well hope you all are having fun and enjoying your summer and talk to you all very soon.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. Take advantage of every minute of every hour of every day!!!!!

Monday, June 14, 2004 3:22 PM CDT

Hey everyone well we are still inpatient and Aaron is still feeling awful. His eyes are now sealed shut with mucous. We got the official word from the eye doctor today and she said it was mucous and that we must put drops in every 1/2 hour to 1 hour and an eye ointment every hour too. Aaron hasn't been able to watch tv for 2 days now but today he asked to listen to it. I just can't imagine what blind people go through but I am seeing a taste of it now. Aaron has to hold his eye open to watch tv. Last night he wanted to watch Lilo and Stitch so bad that he held his right eye open for a 1/2 hour just to watch it. Boy you talk about feeling sorry and bad I really felt awful for him. He wants to play so bad but can't even see at all right now. Today I gave him another oatmeal bath and after lubing him up and getting him dressed he said mommy I want to play so I said are you sure he just looked so sad and said no. He really has the desire but just not the energy. I just keep praying that it will get better but it seems that once again it must get worse before it gets better. He also woke up with puss all over his lips today and they don't quite know why. So we are just watching him close. It is really breaking my heart to see my LiL Superhero suffer so much. I remember last year when I told our story for the country cares and I said it was so hard to watch him get worse to know he will get better. I can't imagine what GOD went through watching his son die but man this is really hard. Well anyway I do have some good news to report the doctors say his GVHD is getting better a little. I can still see alot of it on his legs but his upper body looks alot better. So like I already said you take the good with the bad and consider it even. Today they started him on continuous pain meds by pump and so we will see if that helps with the mouth pain and eye pain. They will also be checking his eyes everyday until it clears up. They also say if his gvhd continues to get better and his mouth and eyes clear up we may be out by the end of the week. Last night he also wanted to eat but couldn't open his mouth enough to get anything in there.

Well anyway GOD is carrying us through this crazy ordeal. And I know that it will all be over soon and then we can enjoy our time with the brothers. They will be coming this weekend and I still haven't had time to prepare for them. Being here in the hospital sucks thats for sure. I sure can't save money by being here thats for sure the prices of meals are crazy. I am currently eating only once a day but that is good enough for me considering I have plenty of weight to hold me over. Although everyone keeps saying are you losing weight or what and I just say well with all we are going through what do you expect. Also yesterday Aaron and I slept until 2pm I forgot to even drink and realized that I was feeling funny so I ran to the cafateria to get a Gatorade and gulped it down and then drank lots of water and felt alot better.

Last night PBL and Big Bubba and Nicole came and brought Aaron this gun he has been asking for and he shot every single person who came in the room all night long. This morning he woke up shooting people and scarying the nurses. They didn't find it funny but he sure did. It was nice to see him smile again. Thanks PBL and family yall are awesome and without you so close what would I do????

Well anyway thanks to each and everyone of you for all the love and support. Please keep those awesome prayers coming and we will be outta the water before to long. Love and miss you all so much and hey by the way keep that REAL MAIL coming Aaron is loving it. Also don't forget the brothers will be here after Friday so don't forget about them either. Oh yeah just a heads up Aaron's birthday is coming up before we know it. It's July 10 and he will be a big 6 so don't forget about that special day for him if you all need any gift ideas just email me at stjudemomma74@aol.com and I will get back with you about ideas.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. There Aaron goes again shooting the nurses. (LOL HE HE HE HE HE HE)

Saturday, June 12, 2004 10:22 PM CDT

Hey everyone well I didn't get to attend the wedding but from what I hear it was GREAT!!!! Somethings didn't go as planned but it was a very beautiful wedding so congradulations Grandpa and Lucille(Grandma)!!!!!

Well now on to my LiL man he is really having a very bad day today. He has been in so much pain and itchy its unbelievable. He just can't seem to get comfortable. They have now put him on morphine every three hours around the clock and benadryal every 4 hours around the clock. It really doesn't seem to be doing anything. To top it all off he has now scrached his eye with his long sharp nails(which I cut tonight) and so he was in severe pain for 3 hours before a doctor finally came to his rescue. They gave him some numbing drops and well it seemed to help but then the itching came back again. So today has been very rough and he spiked another fever again 100.8. Well needless to say today has been very trying and hard for me seeing my lil guy suffering like he was. Besides that I had not eaten all day as Aaron was my main focus. By this evening I was just starving. So as much as I didn't want to leave Aaron crying and feeling horrible I just had to leave and get something to eat. Well by the time I got back he was screaming his eye was hurting again. So the nurse gave him some more numbing drops and he is now FINALLY resting and watching tv. I am just exhausted at this point. I really don't think I have prayed so much and so long as I did today. Oh yeah by the way the mysterious rash is GVHD like I already had been telling the doctors for weeks.(IMAGINE THAT) Well needless to say they started steriods but he only gets them once a day. So I expect we will be here a while longer although the doctor said that Aaron should feel much better by tomorrow. I really am just relying on GOD to answer our prayers and just help Aaron feel better!!!!

Well nothing other than taking care of my lil guy going on here. Just really missing home and after today I sure need a huge break away from this hospital. I just prayed GOD please keep me cool. I was so ready to snap on the nurses for not helping control his pain and suffering but as always I just had to be patient and wait and wait and wait some more. Well the only thing that came to mind was something that someone sent to me this week it said when the devil comes knocking just ask GOD to answer the door. Boy how true he will always answer not always in our time or in the way we want but his time and the way he wants so today that really played on my mind. All's I can say is thank you GOD for sacraficing your one and only SON for us. You are such and AWESOME GOD and you never leave us nor forsake us in good times and bad!!!! AMEN!!!!

Well thank you to everyone who is sending Aaron mail. He is really lonely and asking for his brothers all the time. Luckily they weren't here this weekend with all we have been through. But they are coming next weekend. I also hear I have a couple of very special people coming to see Aaron and me this week but I will tell yall about that later because it's suppose to be a secret!!!! Well please keep those much needed prayers coming for both Aaron and the rest of us.

Love Hugs Kisses, and lots of misses,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. Take advantage of every minute of every hour of every day remember nothing in life last forever!!!!!

Friday, June 11, 2004 10:27 PM CDT

Hey everyone well sorry for the laps in updating but at this point Aaron has been my main focus. As always I put my trust in GOD to heal my lil guy. He has sure been through alot lately but he is just now starting to feel a lil better. He is still inpatient and will be for sometime. He had his mri's yesterday and today and he also had to have a skin biopsy since the doctors have no clue why Aaron has this major rash. I am just asking each and everyone of you to pray he will feel alot better soon he currently has mouth sores, blisters in his mouth and thrush. He just feels plain awful. He is crying all the time in pain and moaning all night long. I am just asking GOD to give him peace this really reminds me of last year and the horrible ordeal Aaron went through with mucosus. Well needless to say he just feels awful and of course it really makes mommy feel bad for him.

Well now to some GREAT news. We finally have official results of scans and bone marrows. Aaron is cancer free in his bone marrow and Andre'e cells are currently 98%.(Praise GOD he is in full control) Also his mri of his brain came back totally clear and only showed another sinus infection(imagine that). His mri from today isn't back yet and his skin biopsy isn't either. Hopefully we will know more about that tomorrow. So needless to say we have good news with bad but love getting the GOOD.

Well other than that nothing much going on here tonight was the first night Aaron has been up walking the halls since he has been inpatient. He did ok he just wanted to go get movies but they didn't have anything he liked so we got some games and brought them back to our room. On the way back we met a friend of ours Matt his sister was bored so she followed us back to our room too. She was nice enough to play games with Aaron while mommy talk to grandma and daddy on the phone. Thank you lil Miss Molly you were very helpful.

Well thank you to everyone who has been sending Aaron mail he really loves getting mail. Also he is ready to spend his money he got in the mail this week he has his toy all picked out just waiting to get out of the hospital. Well as always thank for all your support and love and concern for our family. We love you all so much and just can't wait to be at Target House again. Please keep those AWESOME prayers comming as you know GOD is hearing each and everyone big and small!!!!

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lot of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. Hey Purple bike lady call us at the hospital if you read this this weekend!!!!!

Tuesday, June 8, 2004 6:58 PM CDT

June 9, 2004 9:18pm

Hey everyone well guess all my hopes and dreams of being at my grandfathers wedding are just dreams now. Aaron has spiked another bad fever and is really not doing very good. At 1am this morning before heading to bed I checked Aaron's temp and it was 101.5 so he was directly admitted to the second floor. They started more antibiotics and then checked his temp again it was then 102.5 so he was given tylenol and they drew blood cultures from his line only no arm stick this time. Well from there everything went downward or should I say upward. Aaron got woke up by a very low blood pressure it was 80/30 and his temp was 103.5 so they had to give him lots of fluids and of course watched him like a hawk. His blood pressure came back up and it was 80/54 they also had to give him blood to add to the volume so his blood pressure would remain stable. Well now he is getting tylenol around the clock every four hours no matter what. His temp when I left tonight was finally down to 99.7. Well anyway he is still way swollen and his rash that is everywhere is still spreading. They have changed antibiotics. They are still not sure what exactly is going on but they think it is viral. They also say he definately doesn't have pneumonia praise God. But they really have no clue what is going on. The doctor today said that he has stumped them once again. Imagine that a superhero stumping the doctors. Well all I can say is please please keep those prayers coming as I always say we are still walking on water and GOD is carrying us through.

Hey Hey Hey everyone well what great news we have!!!!!

First let me just that the speech went great it went a little long(imagine that me with my blabber mouth and all) but it sure was nice. All of the college students were awesome and they all cried when we did and laughed when we did too. It is just amazing what all the young people of the world can do for St. Jude and these precious kids. It was awesome for the students to see St. Jude research in action. It was also nice to formally thank them for all their efforts and donations.

Well anyway up above you read that we have great news and yes we do. God is so awesome he sure is in the miracle making business isn't he!!!! We got the results of Aaron's bone scan that was done on Friday and it was good it was unchanged except for a spot on his tibula in his leg so they will be doing some extra images on Thursday afternoon. They are ruling out tumor but they think it could be where he fell or bumped it one day. Today he had his bone marrow drawn and checked and they will have prelems back hopefully tomorrow but finals by Friday. Aaron had a very rough time with the procedure today they had to give him more pain meds than usual and he was screaming like crazy when we finally got to see him. I was really scared since he never has acted like this before ever. But I also knew that GOD was in control and he was there for Aaron and me. After crying for around 20 minutes they gave him some more pain meds and he ate a bowl of cereal and he felt alot better. Of course we couldn't leave without the picking from the treasure chest box!!!! Well just as we started to head out Aaron started screaming again that his eye was burning and he couldn't see so I rushed him to B Clinic. His upper lip has been very swollen for the past day or so but after procedures it was even bigger. I was really scared he was having a allergic reaction but they gave him benedryal and it got alot better although his lip is way swollen still. It is a mystery to everyone but we are keeping an eye on it for now. The reason they are doing the bone marrows is to make sure Andre'e bone marrow has taken over 100nd also making sure there is no sign of disease. He is day 30 as of the 7th and they do re-evals on 30, 60, and 100 days. So this is our first set of scans we have tomorrow off from the hospital and then Thursday Aaron has an MRI of the brain and the films of his leg to see what that patch was. We know and really feel in our hearts this is just an old injury and Aaron will be fine. God has seen us through alot these past few years and I know he will see us through this.

Well other than that Aaron is really picking up his appetite he is now hooked on Crispy Crowns they are kinda like tator tots but small and flat. He loves them and eats them all the time. He is also hooked on mommy's baked porkchops smothered in gravy. He loves those with A-1 Steak Sauce. It is so funny he eats Steak Sauce on everything i'm for real everything Honeycombs cereal, mac n cheese, and meat basically everything and anything his heart desires. But my thought is at least he is eating. The doctors say there is nothing wrong with it so eat away Aaron.

Oh yeah guess what daddy is still here he found out he isn't due back until June 11. That is the day we are coming home for the weekend for grandpa's wedding and to bring the brothers back. We are very excited and can hardly wait to see everyone and just be home. This will be our first trip home since March and then our last until September or October. I know that sounds like an eternity but I really beleive it is WELLLLLL worth it to know when I bring Aaron home it will be for GOOD!!!!!! Well nothing else new going on here just chillin and enjoying being together and trying to keep Aaron out of the stores. This week he seems to think he can go shopping every single day but now im broke and so he will just have to wait. Of course he thinks since he has a few dollars he can still buy something but I keep telling him no it really doesn't work that way but Aaron being Aaron he just doesn't understand.

Well thanks for all the real mail this past week Aaron was sure eating it up and loving coming home to a mail box full and packages too!!!! Well as always thanks for all the love and support yall are awesome and we love you all so much. Also please keep all those prayers coming LORD knows we are still walking on water and he is carrying us through!!!!

Oh yeah I almost forgot Aaron will be in the July issue of Time Magazine. They sent me a letter this weekend and as I know more details I will let yall know!!!!

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. Take advantage of every moment of every day and live life to the fullest you just never know!!!!!

Sunday, June 6, 2004 12:45 AM CDT

Hey Hey Hey everyone well a blessed Sunday to you all!!!!

Well Aaron has really been living it up these past few days. His daddy has been here and he has been having the time of his life with him. He really missed his daddy and well this time with him was much needed. He has played games, read night night books, said prayers, and even went shopping with his daddy. I got really sick Friday night so Saturday morning daddy took Aaron to the hospital for counts. Aaron's counts are doing good and he is feeling ok. He still has to take 15 meds a day but with daddy here it seems to go alot smoother. Wish he could be here just for that part but I know Aaron will be a big boy while daddy is gone and take his meds. Well we have been trying to get Aaron to eat anything but he still isn't eating much of anything. Yesterday we went shopping at the Wolfchase mall daddy and I got hungry so we went to the food court. I know Aaron isn't suppose to eat fast food but I offered it to him and he said no i'm not hungry. I was eating chinese(my fav) and he asked could he feed me. I wanted to say no but I know how much he really wants to eat but just can't bring himself to eat and so I said yes you can feed me. It just broke my heart to see him feeding me while knowing he wasn't even hungry enough to eat. Well anyway he spent his $20.00 dollars that was sent to him by a very special person from Flordia. He went to K.B. Toys and got a new superhero guy and a punch bag(hum wonder what he will use that for maybe when mommy makes him take all this yucky medicine he will go and punch the bag and pretend its me!!!!). Well other than that this weekend has been kinda nice just relaxing and fun. Spending some much need quality time with his daddy.

Well now for me well tonight I will be speaking to 340 college students. I am so very excited after doing my speech to the other people on Thursday I am very excited to just tell our wonderful story. Aaron and I will be speaking tonight around 5:30-6:30pm. I already told Aaron he can talk to but he said he will just say poop all the time. I was like Aaron these kids won't want to hear that but he said no thats all I will be saying. Well all I can say is that 's my baby and if that is what he says then what do you expect. He is just being his normal self.

Well anyway we have a very fun filled week ahead of us this week is camp for all the patients who can't go to real camp. Aaron will be very busy. I am glad that it is this week since Aaron will be kinda down since daddy is leaving and this camp may cheer his spirits. Also this coming weekend we will be going home for Grandpa's wedding we are so excited for him. We will be bringing the brothers back with us and spending some much needed time with them ALL summer long. They will be here with us until September. I am excited but praying GOD will provide since having them here puts added financial burdens on us. Well anyway for those of you sending stuff to Aaron please remember after the 13th the brothers will be here and they also love mail and so if you could send a little something special to them it sure would mean alot.

Well like I always say thanks for everything and please remember to keep those wonderful prayers coming!!!! We love you all and can't wait for the day when being here was just a fond memory!!!!

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. Don't forget to spend quality time with the ones you love and let them know how much you love and appreciate them!!!!!

Wednesday, June 2, 2004 10:45 PM CDT

Hey everyone well we are now outta that silly hospital we are at our home away from home as we call it!!!!

Aaron is in really good spirits his daddy got into town last night and Aaron is very happy. Today we all had a really nice home cooked meal together. Aaron ate the most he has eaten in weeks. He chose the meal and of course mommy cooked. We had baked pork chops smothered in gravy, mashed potatoes(real of course), and corn. Aaron ate 1/4 a pork chop and 2 bites of mashed potatoes and 1 bite of corn and yeah and A-1 steak sauce of course. Then he and daddy went down to play in the play room. I of course just am enjoying being kid free(yeah right). Actually i've just been cleaning and doing laundry and just resting.

I also talked to the doctors and they will be doing Aaron's one month scans. I am kinda worried but not really because I just know GOD has it all under control. He is going to make it all ok no matter what ok is!!!! Well in saying that once again we have some not so good news about some of our St. Jude kids. I am so hurt and I talked to another parent the other night who spend alot of time here. She made the comment that she eventually said she didn't want to talk to or meet anyone new. For me that just seems way to harsh but to each its own I just know my heart is soooooo very broken by all this sickness. I am so hoping that each and every one of these kids get better soon and their parents know that GOD has a plan for every single one of them. Just please remember don't take your families and friends for granted. You just never know when they might not be here for you to take them for granted. I know that may sound harsh but I am seeing so much and it is really making me realize that we MUST take advantage of every single moment we have EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!!!!

Well now to a good note tomorrow I will be giving our story to some people who are touring St. Jude. I am very excited since I have had this desire for quite sometime and no one has asked me. But thank you to Jennifer who saw me give our story to the media during the Target House party and thought of Aaron and I when this opportunity came up. I am more than happy to help raise money for St. Jude and to tell our story so more people can know just what they are all about. Also a preschool from back home raised money from a bike-a-thon and donated it to St. Jude on behalf of Aaron. This is very exciting since this is the first donation made on behalf of Aaron to St. Jude. That means that a plaque will be placed in the halls of St. Jude with the preschool's name and Aaron's name. It also means when they do the telethon they will present a check on Aaron's behalf. So be watching the telethon this year although Aaron and I won't be able to answer phone this year we are there in spirit. Thank you to the preschool and all the kids, staff and parents.

Well also I have got to say a HUGE thank you to all of you who sent mail while we were inpatient. I was so shocked to find 3 things of mail in our box today when we got home!!!!! You have no idea just how much that means to Aaron and of course me to know you all support and love us so much. He even got MONEY and that just made his day even a quarter makes him happy but he got a BIG FAT $20. It was so cute to hear him screaming mommy mommy look what I got look what I got. Well as alway thanks to each and everyone of you for all your love and support and most of all prayers. We love you all so much and trust me we could never repay you all for all you have done nor say enough thank you's. Please don't forget to sign the guestbook and send Aaron real mail.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. REMEMBER DON'T TAKE LIFE FOR GRANTED!!!! LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST!!!!

Tuesday, June 1, 2004 1:19 PM CDT

Well we are still inpatient and Aaron is really having a very difficult time taking all his meds. He keeps throwing them up and now they are going to add a new antibiotic to the list. I am sure not happy about that since we can't even seem to keep down what is currently on the list. Please continue to pray that he can start handling all these meds. But on the other hand Aaron has not had anymore fevers since Sunday. Praise the LORD!!!!! He is kinda weak though he seems to be just laying around and not wanting to do much but watch tv. Today after he threw up all his meds I desided to give him a wash up and noticed that he had a splotchy rash. I saw the doctor in the hall so I had him come take a look and he said it could be the onset of GVHD(guest vs host disease). We have been waiting for him to get this and on the 7th of this month it will have been a month since transplant. They say that is about the time he should get this. So we still have no clue why he is spiking fevers but this last time sure scared me since it was so high. But I am still scared since this is the second time and we still don't know why. But I also know that GOD is with us every single step of the way and he has not and will not leave us nor forsake us EVER!!!!!!

Well after Aaron's wash up I desided to take him out of the room for a while and he went to the playroom and we played a Spiderman game. He got wore out very easily but still wanted to play. He grabbed a basketball and tried to shoot hoops but didn't make any so he decided to play kick ball. He had fun just being a kid and then we came back to the room and are now watching Tom and Jerry. He is just chillin and really just doesn't seem to be his normal self. I keep asking are you ok and he say yes mommy. But he sure doesn't look it. I asked the doctors why he seems to look so yucky and they said that in time it will get better. I also asked why he doesn't seem to have any kind of appitite they said that his taste buds are off and it will just take time too. But I must admit it is helping me loose some much needed weight too!!!!

Oh yeah by the way mom and the brothers were here all weekend and we really had a nice time although being inpatient it sure wasn't what we expected but at least the brothers and Aaron got to spend some much needed time together. On Sunday night we had a scare we were put in the hall since there was a tornado spotted downtown Memphis. It was kinda scary but I knew GOD had control of the situation. I called mom at the Target House and they were down stairs at Target House since it wasn't wise to be on the 3rd floor. We finally got back settled in our room and then it stormed all night. It was rough but we made it through. Mom and the brothers went home yesterday and said the highway was crazy. Seems everyone had the same idea to spend time with family!!!!

Well nothing else really going on here just waiting around to hopefully be discharged tomorrow morning(yeah right) sometime. Well as always thanks for everything and hopefully we will have some mail waiting for us this time when we go back to Target House(hint hint)!!!!

Signing off from room 4013 at St. Jude Hospital in Memphis TN!!!!!

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

Sunday, May 30, 2004 0:06 AM CDT

Well just when I thought we were outta the water we fall back in!!!!

Well if you are wondering what exactly that means basically Aaron is back in the hospital again. Today when Mom and the brothers got here Aaron woke up and and was so excited. But the excitement didn't last to long as he started acting sluggish. Then he sat on grandma's lap and he was on FIRE. He had a temp of 101.5 oral. I called St. Jude and they said bring him in. So I did and well when they tried to draw blood from his line it clotted you should have seen the clot they pulled from his line. Then they used the other side of his line and it had no blood return at all so they had to put some speical medicine in there to disolve clots. Then the dreaded arm stick usually Aaron just sits there and watches the nurse draw blood from his arm being such a BIG BOY. Well today it took 5 people to hold him down. It just broke my heart to see him in such distress. He kept saying mommy I will hold still just let me go. But he wouldn't be still so they brought the crew in. Well from there we were admitted to the 4th floor for fever again. Then I left to get Aaron a new stroller since he is kinda tired all the time and hates walking around St. Jude all day long everyday. When I got back Aaron looked like he felt alot worse. So I personally checked his temp and it was 100.9 so I let the nurse know. They were just to busy but then after about 15 minutes I said Aaron you feel like your on fire and checked it again. I just knew it was higher and well guess what it was then 102.4 my heart sank. I immediately said we have to do something and they gave him tylenol finally. Aaron asked for grandma to stay with him tonight and I just left the hospital since his fever was so high I was scared to leave. But the boys were tired and Aaron was sleeping peacefully so here I am.

Please pray they find a source for these temps. With them being so high i'm really concerned.

Dear GOD,

You know my heart and how much I love all my family. I am coming before you tonight to ask that you please be with Aaron. He is really having a battle with this demon. Lord I ask that you have your way with Aaron tonight Lord. We love and adore you and put our hearts before you. Lord take all my fears and tears and bring me comfort and joy and peace that passes understanding. Lord you are the Almight Healer and Physician and I know your an Awesome GOD and you love ALL your children. Lord I pray in your precious name AMEN!!!!!

Well thanks for the love and support and please keep those thoughts and prayers coming. We are in the water now!!!!

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron

P.S. PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!!!!!!

Friday, May 28, 2004 12:29 AM CDT

OK today as you can see we have a new back ground and color and trust me there is a huge reason for that. As I said in a previous journal entry Aaron really loves to be in the water so I felt it to mean alot to change his design today considering PBL has updated our pictures. So if you haven't seen Aaron having the time of his life already please check out the new pictures. That will also explain how he got to be sick. HE HE HE HE HE HE But as I said before it was well deserved and well worth it!!!!

Well now on to whats new and happening first we are now officially out of the hospital we got out around 4pm yesterday. We then went to Target House expecting to find a poop load of mail since we had not been home since Monday but to Aaron and my surprise. We only had one piece of mail...... Aaron was so upset he said mommy doesn't anyone love me anymore I said well of course we all love you. He just thinks the more mail he gets the more he is loved. I have to say a huge thank you to Ms. Monahan for all her love and support of Aaron and the boys. You are so very faithful thank you soooooooo much. Also a huge thank you to Northmoor Edison the boys school. You all are such a huge supporter of all our family and thank each and everyone of you from the wonderful staff to the parents and students. Without your love and support I really don't know where we would have been. You are AWESOME people and we LOVE you all very much!!!!

Well anyway back to Aaron he is doing good. He is having to take about 15 pills and liquid meds a day and is really becoming sick of them. I have come up with a plan that if he takes them for a whole week straight then I will buy him a toy on the weekend and it seemed to work but now he is on even more and is really having difficulty with taking them every morning and every night. He just sits there and sits there staring and hoping it will all just go away. Well please pray that this will all be better very very soon. Other than that he is doing good he is such a ham. He has been doing speech almost everyday and he seems to be doing GREAT with that. He is just moving right along. The speech teacher says that when he grows up he may be the best speech therapist she knows.

Well now for an update on Andre'e he is doing better we think he was having nose bleeds because of all the advil he was taking. So we switched him to tylenol and it seems to be working. He is still having problems with allergies so he is now on flonase plus clarinex. He seems to really just miss me and Aaron. They will be here soon though they may even be coming down tomorrow for the weekend since mom is off on Monday. But mom made the boys promise they could only come if they would not cry when they left. Andre'e said no I will just want to stay. So they have to keep that promise before mom will say for sure if they are coming so we will just have to wait and see.

Well other than that we are doing good. I'm feeling better now that we are outpatient. And of course GOD always sees me through so THANK YOU GOD FOR YOUR LOVING ARMS. Your hugs are so wonderful!!!!

Keep those thoughts and prayers coming we are not outta the water yet!!!!

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. Don't forget to check out the new pictures!!!! Thanks PBL and family for your love and support!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Wednesday, May 26, 2004 3:42 PM CDT

Hey everyone well Aaron is doing very good. We are still in the hospital and will be until tomorrow. Pending no fevers through the night. Aaron has an ear infection and sinus infection. Then today while changing his dressing I found things that looked like heat rash and the line nurse came in and said it was a yeast infection but really wasn't bad. So now I have to do his dressing changes daily and let it air dry for at least 15-20 minutes daily. These dressing changes are different they want me to use as little dressing as possible for good air flow so it's not taped as good as usual and knowing Aaron he loves to leave his line and just run off. Well it was so cute I explained to him that by doing that he could pull it out so he goes running down the hall holding his chest and pushing his pole. The line nurse was watching and was very proud of him for being such a big boy with his line. Well Aaron is still eating and doing good. Nothing really to exciting going on here.

Actually it's been a kinda down day today just thinking of all the kids who have relapsed. It really breaks my heart to see all that these kids having to go through all this but I know GOD has his plan for each and everyone of them. But only being human I still ask what and why????? I am very down today missing home and my boys and well just not liking being here anymore. I know GOD has seen us through all this and will continue but wow what BIG arms he has and today I am needing him to just hug me. I am not so worried about Aaron but about all these of families and all they are now going through. This may sound kinda weird since we are doing so good but really I just pray GOD's will be done with each and everyone of them. I see them being sick and not wanting to be bothered. I see them happy and running around like chickens with their head cut off. This disease is just so crazy and continues to infest more and more families. Well now guess I will end my venting for today but like I said today this is all really beginning to hit me and hit me hard. I am usally busy with appointments and fun stuff and really don't have down time but now that we are inpatient I have all the time in the world and these are my thoughts and concerns for today!!!! Well as always please pray for all these kids and their families.

I will be talking to my mom tonight about Andre'e and what his lab results showed. I am very worried about him as he is still in pain. I have talked to every doctor and they have no reason why and now i'm really becoming worried and concerned. Andre'e did something so gracious for his brother and well now he is still suffering. Well if you all would please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. As always thanks for the love and support and most of all prayers for Aaron and our family we love you all soooooo much and without your support well I really wonder where we would be.

Love, Hugs, and Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

P.S. Please don't forget to give someone a BIG hug today and tell them you love them!!!!!

Monday, May 24, 2004 5:34 PM CDT

Well do I have esp or what?????

As I said yesterday I just knew Aaron was getting sick. So guess where we are we are officially inpaitent for fever!!! Yes you heard me right fever that is right. But it really isn't my fault he has a severe ear infection and cold like symptoms. Well guess it's kinda my fault but not really because I really don't think I could cause an ear infection!!!! Well other than that he is doing good. Last night he ate a chicken pattie and corn for supper and then ate a Kurkey sandwich for a snack. Needless to say he is still eating good and doing good. His counts are doing great though. But he just has this yucky fever and well thats about it his hear really hurts too. We still don't have a room as of yet so we are in the medicine room. But I know our room number will be 2012 so you can call us at (901) 495-3300 and ask for Aaron Hunter's room or room 2012. It may be a few hours as they are just now cleaning it. Well keep those prayers coming as we spend a few days inpatient until the fever is gone and he is feeling better. I will update again soon. We love and miss you all sooooooo much.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron

P.S. Also pray for LiL Andre'e as he has been having bloody noses all week and weekend so mom took him to the doctor to see what is going on!!!!!

Sunday, May 23, 2004 6:44 PM CDT

Hey everyone well just stopping by to say hello and Aaron and I are doing GREAT!!! Are you getting sick of me saying we are doing great yet???? Well i'm not!!!! It's much better than being sick all the time that's for sure. Well yesterday was a blast and I really think Aaron had the best time he has had since our make a wish trip. We woke up around 8am and well from there the day was full of fun and excitement!!!! As I said before he got to help blow out the candles for the birthday of Target House put on by Nick and Spongebob. Well it sure was very warm outside and Aaron got wore out quite fast so he had to sit in the shade where there was at least a breeze. He wasn't happy about being in the sun but he put on his smile and did what he had to do. From there we went to see a 3-D mini Spongebob movie and then got a 3-D viewmaster as his first gift. From there he went fishing for Spongebob toys and got a sucker that Spongebob goes surfing and then his pants fall down. From there he went to take pictures with Spongebob and Patrick. From there to the dunk tank to dunk Planton the bad guy and got a bunch of stampers ink that is and well by then he was just wore out. He went to get his "BIG BAG" of goodies and t-shirt and then off to his room to check out the goods. He really had a blast and well we invited all his "cousins" really PBL and family. They also had a blast too!!!! Then we kept Sam who had lil Aaron(Aaron's puppy(stuffed) that he can't have since he is banned from stuffed animals) until her party started around 3:30pm. Well needless to say it was a pool party!!!! Yes I am talking about water pool party and boy was Aaron excited. I know you are all thinkin hey wait a minute he isn't suppost to get to swim with a line but we had a trick up our sleeves and we were prepared. Besides Aaron has asked to swim for an eternity and well I figure he only lives life once and he deserves to do something to break the rules once in a while!!! HE HE EHE HE EHE Well as you can see I break the rules once in a while too!!!! Let's just say be looking for new pictures soon showing what a blast he had with all his new family since we have adopted them or should I say they have adopted us!!!! Thanks PBL and BIG BUBBA for accepting us as yours we love you all sooooooooo much!!!!

Well now for the repercussions Aaron woke up around noon today and well guess what he had a horrible nasty nose. Then he tried to talk and well all's I heard was mommy my froat hurts. I began to think ok now Marilyn your in trouble. Well the first thing I did was of course check his temp. No temp and as the day went on his throat felt better. He seems to be doing better now but his nose is still runny and he has a cough and sneezing. I will be having the docs check him over real good tomorrow though from our fun filled weekend. Otherwise he is doing good and hey by the way he is eating like a PIG again. I am so very happy to see him eating again.

Well as always thanks for all the support and love and most of all prayers. I ask that you keep thinking of us and just know how grateful we are for everything. GOD you are an awesome GOD and without you non of us would be here today!!!! We Love You Each and Everyone!!!!

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL St. Jude Superhero)

Thursday, May 20, 2004 9:36 PM CDT

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ALL OF YOU FOR EVERYTHING!!!!

Well another day down if I remember correctly we are now at day 13 and counting upwards!!!! Aaron had to get blood today but other than that he is really doing great. It was hard to beleive that he even needed blood since he has really been quite the active boy lately. Everyone who sees him can hardly beleive he just had transplant on the 7th of May. I can hardly beleive it either I am soooooo very thankful to GOD ALMIGHTY for all he has done and continues to do for my LiL Superhero!!!! Well anyway today we met with the attending for bone marrow transplant and he said after next week that Aaron's counts and everything should be completely Andre'es and well that we will only have to be seen once a week for counts unless he gets sick. So I am very excited but yet wondering what we will do with ourselves with all this extra time on our hands!!!! Guess we will have to come home more(ya think)!!!! Well like I said Aaron is doing great and such a blessing to all who meet and see him everyday.

I also have some pretty awesome news last night a woman from ALSAC(the fundraising people from St. Jude) called and asked if Aaron would be interested in doing a photo shoot. Well knowing my Superhero he is sooooo very photogenic so I said yes of course. Then Jennifer the lady from ALSAC said well it will be with a big wig from Toyoda the car company and the picture would be in time magazine. So then I got really excited so be looking for our LiL St. Jude Superhero as he is known in the June or July issue. If I find out any details I will post them. Well also some media from back home will be here this weekend so maybe you might even see us on the local channels back home this weekend since Aaron will be in the photo shoot for the Sponge Bob Birthday party of Target House. I guess there will be people from all over and as I said before he will be helping blow out the candles. He just can't wait he keeps saying over and over the day after tomorrow right!!!! Well as you can see Aaron is taking advantage of all the photo opportunities possible.

Well as always thanks for all the love and support and please please remember all our St. Jude buddies and families who are going through so much. Also Aaron has went to the mail box all week and no mail :( :( :(
He really loves real mail and so if you could please remember to send him a lil something. Also, where are all my guestbook signings going you all are my biggest support system as well as Aaron's and we love you all sooooooo much!!! So please remember us!!!!

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron

P.S. Tell someone you love them and give them a BIG HUG!!!!

Tuesday, May 18, 2004 8:26 PM CDT

WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2004 3:08PM

I HAVE A URGENT PRAYER REQUEST FOR OUR LIL PRINCESS ZOIE(www.caringbridge.org/la/zoie). HER FAMILY JUST FOUND OUT THAT LIL MISS ZOIE HAS 6 HOT SPOTS ON HER LIVER AND SHE HAS ALREADY HAD ALL THE CHEMOS POSSIBLE SO PLEASE PLEASE STOP NOW AND PRAY THAT GOD'S WILL BE DONE WITH HER AND HER FAMILY. THEY ARE VERY DEVISTATED. I TRIED TO COMFORT THEM AND I AS A RELAPSE PARENT OF A NEUROBLASTOMA PARENT TOTALLY KNOW THE FEELING BUT WITH EVERY SET BACK IT BECOMES HARDER AND HARDER. PLEASE JUST STOP AND PRAY FOR HER AND HER FAMILY AS THEY MAKE SOME DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT TO DO AND PLEASE STOP BY THE WEBSITE AND LET THEM KNOW YALL ARE THINKING OF THEM AND PRAYING FOR THEM!!!!!!! I KNOW FIRST HAND WHAT AWESOME PRAYER WARRIORS I HAVE AND YALL ALWAYS COME THROUGH!!!!

Well no more boardness for me and Aaron anymore. We have been quite busy this week already. First GOD is such and AWESOME GOD and he never fails to amaze me by his works.

Yesterday one of our favorite people came to Memphis for a check up and so we went to pick her(April) and her brother(Marquise)up. She is really doing great and guess what she has no kidneys. I am just amazed every single day by these kids and all they go through and how GOD carries them through each and everyday without ceasing. Man what new eyes I have now for all the miracles and wonderous things he does for "all" of us from the smallest thing to the biggest. He is in the business of making and performing miracles. Well today we picked up our friend April and her brother Marquise again and had sooooo much fun. I am just so happy to see Aaron really living it up. He is doing fabulous and I praise GOD all the time for all he has done. We had a cookout with April and her family tonight and really enjoyed ourselves. We had a surpise guest show up. Someone lost their pet canary. It was just flying and flying around us while we were trying to eat. It was so funny this crazy bird really just wanted to eat with us. It didn't want bread either it wanted the meat. It was so funny Ms. Shelia(April's mom) and I kept running around like chickens and everyone was really getting a kick out of it. Then I thought to myself hum maybe I can catch this silly thing. So I grabbed a hospital bag and caught that silly canary it really was a very pretty bird and was friendly but annoying. So Mr. Derick(April's dad)took it to the front desk and someone wanted the bird so they took it with them. Wow what a workout. Aaron really has been enjoying his Harley Motorcycle (thanks Northmoor Edison). He even shares it with all the other kids they all think he is the coolest. Well this week will be very busy with lots of fun to be had. They are having a carnival tomorrow at St. Jude and Aaron is soooo excited for that. Then yesterday we received a call asking Aaron to help Sponge Bob blow out the candles on Target Houses 5th birthday cake. He will be only 1 of 12 to participate. He is so excited he just keeps asking mommy is it saturday tomorrow. Well we are just so happy to have such a wonderful place to stay and really excited about all the fun and not being board.

Well thanks everyone for everything and keep those prayers coming. Aaron's counts are awesome and he is really doing great. The boys have now started to count down the days till they will see us again. We are planning to go to my grandpa's wedding(he is marrying a wonderful woman he met on the internet!!!!) on June 12th in Canton, IL. Hopefully Aaron will keep doing this great so we can go if not then the boys will come down the weekend before the wedding. Well that's all the latest on us here in Memphis and talk to you all very very soon!!!!

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron

P.S. I really hope you all are hugging and loving all those near and dear to you!!!!

Sunday, May 16, 2004 8:18 PM CDT

HELLO HELLO HELLO EVERYONE!!!!!

Well Aaron is still doing GREAT!!!! He is really missing his brothers. His dad called and said he might be coming up sometime this week. Aaron was real excited to hear from his daddy and really can't wait to see him. Today we went to St. Jude for counts and well Aaron was covered in red splotches(aka peteki). When we got his counts back they weren't bad at all his hemoglobin(red count) was 9.4 his platlets were 23 and his anc was 200. I had the doctor check him out since I still wasn't sure what GVHD(guest verses host disease)looks like. The doctor said that he wanted to go ahead and give him platlets just in case that was what it was but said it was still to soon to get the GVHD. That sounded good to me. He also got GCSF to bring his anc back up above 500. Well other than that this weekend has been very boring really. We cleaned all day yesterday and did laundry. Today just hung out and slept alot. Well nothing real eventful but just happy to be with my baby.

Well guess i'll keep this short and sweet. Thank you to everyone for all the packages and mail it sure helps Aaron since his brothers aren't around. Also thanks for all the prayers and please keep them coming. By the way Andre'e is doing GREAT also he is finally up to par. Antavious and him spent some time with their dad this weekend. I am so grateful to everyone for all the support with the boys and wanted to say a huge thanks to my mom who has basically given up her life to help me with my boys. Well talk to you all very soon. Keep praying for all these families who have to go through all this as this can be and is very stressful.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron

P.S. Don't forget to give someone a hug today and tell them you love them!!!!!

Thursday, May 13, 2004 10:20 PM CDT

PRAISES TO HIS HOLY NAME!!!! REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS AND AGAIN I SAY REJOICE!!!!

Well today I am coming before the Lord God Almighty to ask they he be with our very special LiL Princess Zoie. She has really just been such a fighter and continues to amaze everyone she meets. She has relapsed and had emergency surgery today for a hemorage of a tumor. Please visit her website and leave encouraging words for her mommy(chasity) and daddy(Travis) they are a very special family. She is another one of our Neuroblastoma kids who has relapsed. This now makes six out of the 12 from last year. I am really praying God's will be done in every single one of these kids lives. I am very hurt and sad that this is happening to such GREAT people and their families. I will be listing these children's sites those that have them and would appreciate if you could add them to your prayer chains and lists. Being here sure has its good and bad days and I really feel God puts us all here for a reason although we just don't know what that reason is!!!!!

Well on to Mr. Aaron he is still doing fabulous. We went to check his counts today and well his anc was 200 so we have to start GCSF(a med to bring his counts back up). His hemoglobin and platlets were still good. We will be going to the hospital for counts everyday now and GCSF until it comes back up above 500 for 3 days straight. Aaron is playing and really having the time of his life. He is taking all his meds like a big boy and trust me he is on alot. He also wears his mask like he is suppose to. I am just soooooo very greatful to God for all he has done for us. It brings me great joy to see Aaron doing so great. I reflect back on last year at this time and wow what a very long way we have come.

Andre'e is not doing so good. My mom took him to the orthopedic surgeon yesterday and well the doctor said he couldn't even see where the original break was in his pinky. So the splint is off and cast is out of the question. But Andre'e is in alot of pain in his back from the bone marrow aspiration. I had mom take him to the St. Jude affiliate yesterday also to see if maybe something was wrong. But Dr. Mac said that he just wasn't on enough pain meds. So now he is getting 2 tylenol 3's and 3 advils but as of tonight he was still in alot of pain. I am really concerned about him and praying God help him. I asked Andre'e if he came back here tomorrow would his pain be gone and he said YES. My heart is really hurt that my children are so torn apart. I am praying God will allow Aaron to stay healthy so the boys can be here all summer. Financially this will be a struggle but I know if there is a will there is a way. I am praying God's will be done in this situation as always. I am already on a very tight budget but having the boys here really makes matters tighter. I haven't worked since September 2002 and well the money is GONE. Well guess I better stop complaining and thank God for all he has given us and blessed us with.

Please just pray for God's will to be done in all these situations with our family. Thank all of you so very much for all the support and mail and please know we are soooooo greatful. Without the prayers where would we be. We love all of you soooooo very much and miss you all too.

Well as promised here are the websites of our lil neuroblastoma kids who have relapsed and some who haven't but still need the support and prayers.

www.caringbridge.org/la/zoie
www.caringbridge.org/la/stanton
www.caringbridge.org/ar/emmagrace
www.caringbridge.org/va/lauren
www.caringbridge.org/il/zoiejowolsfeld

These are only the ones from St. Jude who were on the same protocol as us. The first three and Aaron have relapsed and the last two are doing great.(Praise God)

Thanks again for all the support and keep all the parents and families in you prayers tonight.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron

P.S. Please also remember to tell someone you love them and give them a hug today!!!!!

Monday, May 10, 2004 11:41 PM CDT

HEY HEY HEY HEY EVERYONE!!!!!

Well first let me just say if you don't feel like crying don't read this journal(this is for a very special person who reminded me that I need to make note when it will lead to a teary journal). :)

Well today was a VERY VERY difficult day for my boys all three. Today they had to leave Aaron and me behind to head home. Well Antavious cried as usual but Andre'e left like a macho man(imagine that). Mom called me and said Andre'e had cried from the time they reached St. Louis and was still crying when they got home. I called back to talk to Andre'e and I could tell he was very very upset. I asked him to calm down and let me talk to him but that really didn't seem to do much good. I asked him what was wrong was he in pain he said yes. I asked where he said his "HEART" my I was just heartbroken myself. Wow if that doesn't break your heart I really don't know what will. So I tried to explain that we will be together again soon. He said I know but I just want you mommy. My heart just sunk as I asked WHY GOD WHY MY FAMILY WHY CAN'T WE JUST BE TOGETHER AGAIN. I really beleive that GOD does every single thing for a reason and we as humans just don't like that waiting game. But I really feel that by being a St. Jude parent we know that the waiting game is such a big learning experience. Please say special prayers for us as seeing each other and then leaving is really wearing a huge toll on us. Andre'e is really in alot of pain(in his back) and really missing me. Antavious is really missing Aaron and not having our family with us is really getting old. I know GOD doesn't give us anymore than we can handle but please just pray that Aaron will be healed(if it be GOD's will) and we can just be together again forever and ever with no more separations.

Ok now on to GREAT news that hopefully won't make you cry Aaron is doing GGGGRRRREEEEAAAATTTTT!!!! Yes you heard me right he is doing GREAT!!!!! GOD has been sooooo AWESOME to our family. Aaron is taking all his meds with no problems which consists of 8cc of antibiotic twice a day, four 25mg pills twice a day, 1.6cc of another med twice a day, calcitrol .25mg once a day, his appetite stimulant pill once a day, and his tpn for 16 hours a day. He is such a great big boy and I pray he continues to do a great job. The doctors said he looks great and his counts are doing great also so they gave us the next 2 days off. WOW is what I say since they originally said we would be spending most of our days in the hospital in the medicine room. Guess all our prayers are really being heard and answered. Thanks everyone.

Well also I must tell everyone my Mother's Day story. On Wednesday when mom and Antavious got here they handed me a purple package. But before I could open it up I was told this amazing story. This one will make you cry happy tears so here we go. Antavious's dad sent him some money for his birthday. He went to Walmart to buy some toys and then after buying toys mom and him went to look at jewlery. Antavious saw this beautiful braclet that had three cz's and then a sterling silver symbol saying mom with a heart for the "o" all the way around it. He said hey grandma look at that mom would love that. Grandma said yeah but you already spent your momey and I don't have the money to buy that for her. So Antavious sat and thought hum how could I affort to buy that for my mom????? Well all the sudden he said grandma if I return my toys can I buy that for my mommy for Mother's Day???? Well she said if thats what you want to do you can. Right away Antavious said yes that's what I want to do. He went to the return desk and said I want the money back from these toys and they gave him the money and he bought me the gorgeous braclet for Mother's Day. Wow what a LiL Man huh. I really thought to myself wow GOD what awesome kids I have and thank you for blessing me with these precious boys. Someday Antavious is gonna make a wonderful husband don't you think!!!!

Well on that precious note i'm gonna head to bed and talk to all of you soon. I probably won't update for the next day or two since we won't really have much to say. But just know you all mean the WORLD to us and thanks for everything you all do, say and PRAY. We LOVE you all very much and can't wait to see the great things GOD has in store for ALL of us.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Take time out of your "BUSY" day and give someone a hug and tell them you love them!!!!!!

Sunday, May 9, 2004 11:38 PM CDT

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL THE MOTHERS!!!!

Well let me first just say thanks to GOD ALMIGHTY for allowing me to spend this mother's day with all my children under one roof. Second to my mother herself for being the greatest mother I know.(beside myself of course)

Well we finally made it home yesterday by around 3pm. Not bad if you ask me. Well Aaron seems to be doing great as of now(praise GOD). Andre'e is getting better he was in alot of pain all day yesterday but then last night I thought I better give him something more for pain so I bought some Advil. It sure seemed to do the trick he even played pool today. We went to Libertyland(theme park) today just me and Andre'e and Antavious for Mother's Day and to spend some much needed time with the boys before they left. We really had a blast and Andre'e seemed to do alot better with all that walking. We really enjoyed ourselves. Then when I got home I really felt guilty for not spending it with my LiL Superhero. He really missed out on spending this last day with his brothers. He wasn't very happy we were gone all day but he really understood when we brought him home gifts. Well then my mom said remember I also needed this quality time with Aaron too as you did the boys so then I didn't feel so bad. Well then we had momma's homemade noodles. Wow what an awesome meal for me and another single mom and her son. We desided since GOD has blessed us to be together today we should bless another family whom was home sick with a GREAT meal and so we did.

Well as I said before Aaron seems to be doing great and we will see what this week holds. We are praying GOD will heal his entire body and keep him safe from harm.

Well tomorrow mom and the boys will be heading home. So please pray for traveling mercies. Also on Wednesday Andre'e will be seeing an orthopedic surgeon to see about his fractured pinky. Please pray all will go well with that and they won't need to re-break his pinky and cast it. Also keep all the support, love, and prayers coming as we still have a crazy ride ahead of us.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Don't forget to pray for all the families and children who are going through trying times. Also don't forget to tell someone you LOVE them today and give someone a HUG!!!!

Saturday, May 8, 2004 1:43 PM CDT

PRAISE THE LORD!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

Well Aaron is officially on day 1 now. He is doing great. Last night he kept saying he had to pee but he would only pee 40cc at a time and very frequently. So this morning the nurses aide woke us up at 6am to ask if I could make Aaron go pee. He hadn't peeed all night so I woke him up and well he went. It was very very dark and about 100cc thats not much for not going all night. So then I noticed his face was very very swollen. They called the doctor and well they gave him some lasix(med to make him get the fluid off him). Well from there all the peeing began. He has peeed around 1300cc so far today. We are still planning on getting discharged today. But like I always say morning turns to afternoon and afternoon turns into evening(St. Jude time of course). Well now Aaron is watching a movie with Antavious and playing and just ready to go and have the time of his life. All his counts look great but sometime this week all will be different. They are discharing us with po(by mouth) meds which is a blessing in disguise. They usually have the parents come to the med room to get them but since I am so over qualified they are letting us do them by mouth for now. That means we may not have to spend all our days and nights in the med room. Thank GOD!!!! Aaron will still have to get his GCSF(usually a shot but now by his line) in the med room everyday but that's usually only 30 minutes.

Andre'e had his pressure bandage removed and all looked great. He still has the steri-strips on though. He is still in pain but is moving around alot better now. He looks alot better today and seems to be feeling better. He is such a great kid. I am so very grateful to GOD for blessing me with such GREAT kids. Like i've said before what an awesome mother's day gift just to have my 3 sons with me and of course my mommy too. She will be making me some homemade chicken and noodles I really can hardle wait. Well I will update again tomorrow or maybe this evening depending on what time we finally get outta here. Since I have a very special spa time scheduled for 5pm this evening.(some much needed mommy time of course) Thanks to Target House!!!!

Thanks for all the support, love, "real" mail, guestbook signings, dog sitting(sammy and family), and most of all prayers. Again without all this we wouldn't make it like we do. Huge thanks to GOD the ALMIGHTY Physician you are awesome and without you in our lives really where would we be.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e(a Hero of his own kind), Antavious, Aaron(our LiL Superhero), and Grandma Mowder

P.S. Please keep up the great job with all your prayers and support as we still have a LLLLLOOOOONNNNNGGGGG road ahead of us!!!!

Thursday, May 6, 2004 9:42 PM CDT

4:00pm

Hey everyone well thanks for all the support and prayers. God is such and AWESOME God. He has answered all our prayers and both boys are doing GREAT!!!! Well Aaron's actual transplant started about 1230pm and ended around 330pm. Aaron and Andre'e are doing great. Andre'e is in the most pain. He is getting pain meds around the clock but is resting comfortably right now. Aaron is up watching DVD's with Antavious right now. We are soooooo very greatful for all your love, support, cards, emails, guestbook signings, and most of all prayers. Without all of you where would we be. Most thanks to our GREAT and MIGHTY GOD who is the GREAT PHYSICIAN. We love you all and can't wait to see you all again sometime soon. Also we will be getting discarged tomorrow morning. I know what a shock but the docs say Andre'e and Aaron where such a perfect match it was like they were twins. So I will be updating with days now which means tomorrow will be day 1 and counting.

Friday May 7, 2004 10:30am

Hey everyone well Andre'e has made it back safely. He had a huge scare he had an asthma attach on the table and so they had to incubate him. But he made it out with help from GOD and his guardian angels. He is in alot of pain but guess that is to be expected since they took 453cc of bone marrow.(Wow I really begin to wonder if I could handle that myself) He is such a very strong boy and he is doing something he will never forget and neither will we. Well Aaron also had his full body radiation and well he hasn't stopped puking they forgot to give him his pre-meds so now he's very pukey. But he is finally resting now and has plenty of anti-nausea meds on board. Well thanks for checking in and I will be updating as soon as Aaron gets Andre'e cells back. So keep checking back and keep praying. We aren't out of the water yet!!!!!

Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey Hey What a HAPPY DAY!!!! We are officially inpatient!!!!

Well we are currently in room 4004 on the transplant floor of St. Jude. For those of you who can't wait for information you can try to get us by calling (901) 495-5404. We will be very busy tomorrow with everything. We should be in our room by 10am. I will be calling a person from every area to give an update but as you all kinda already know my main focus is my BABIES!!!! Well GOD has been so very awesome this far and the doctors think Aaron and Andre'e are doing great and should have no complications. So Devil you have no rights here and we are banning you from our rooms and procedures.

Well thanks for everything and be looking for updates tomorrow as often as possible. Please don't forget the support of prayers for both boys and mom and I. We are very excited GOD has blessed us with this great journey and great Nurses and Doctors. This really feels like "home" although we really miss home.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY AND THEN PRAY SOME MORE!!!!!!

Tuesday, May 4, 2004 11:08 PM CDT

Praise GOD Praise GOD Praise GOD Praise GOD

Let me first just say isn't GOD great!!!! He really is seeing us through this crazy disease. Aaron is doing great and boy to I mean great. He is playing and having the time of his life although he is soooooo ready to see his other brother Antavious. Mom(grandma) and Antavious will be here tomorrow afternoon. They are driving and getting on the road around 4am. They all are very excited to spend some much needed time together. Me i'm just happy to have my family with me for Mothers Day. Wow what a blessing it will be to have all my children with me on that blessed day. Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron are my world at this point and I would go to the ends of the earth for all of them just as I would for JESUS. He has blessed us more than I could have ever imagined and continues blessing us daily.

Well enough rambling Aaron started chemo on Monday and guess what its only 1/2 hour long and he seems to be doing great with it. He had his second dose today and still did great with it. He even played outside tonight and rode a bike for a while too. He really is feeling great. Tomorrow we have our final round of chemo and then we will be free from chemo on Thursday. We will go inpatient on Thursday night at 7:30pm and then the big day Friday May 7, 2004. Thank GOD he has allowed my mom to be here and support us as we head down this new chapter in our lives.(Thank you GOD) Mom and the brothers will be heading back home on Monday.

So please for all our biggest fans and prayer warriors please keep all the support and prayers coming. Without all your love and support we wouldn't have made it this far. GOD your blessing are great and wonderous and without you in our lives where would we be???? Well anyway thanks for everthing and please don't forget about the "real" mail and guestbook signings. We love and miss everyone and can't wait to be home sometime in the near future. Please pray GOD's will be done in all our lives but especially Aaron's as he goes down a new road to great things.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Tonight I told our story for Country Cares again. Wow what a nice experience and let me just say Laura did a great job taking pictures of our LiL Superhero. He is such a ham for the camera. So please be looking for new photos very soon.

Friday, April 30, 2004 8:40 PM CDT

PRAISE GOD PRAISE GOD PRAISE GOD PRAISE GOD

Well as you can see we have some awesome news from our Heavenly Father. First let me tell you of the great week we had and then I will pass on the great news. As I learned from another great caringbridge family you always save the best for last.(he he)

This ended up being one of the craziest weeks I think all of us have had. First Aaron had some major scans and test scheduled for this week. We met with Dr. Santana on Monday for a review of our plan for the week. Aaron's counts were ok except his platlets were dropping but not enought to transfuse. Monday night we had a message from the scheduler stating that Aaron was scheduled for a bone marrow biopsy and aspiration on Tuesday morning at 10am. Well as usual by 11am we were in the procedures room they sedated Aaron and then realized his platlets were too low for procedures. So we headed to the medicine room for "stat"(yeah right if the medicine room had a clue what "stat" was) platlets. They gave Aaron benadryl and tylenol as his pre-meds.(on top of the sedation) Then around 3:30pm they wanted Aaron in the procedures room again to have his procedure done.(more sedation again) Well by that evening Aaron was feeling "GREAT" he was riding bikes and playing outside. Wow to my surprise he was having the time of his life being a kid like normal.(what a surprise considering the biopsy is quite painful) Well then on Wednesday he had an MRI scheduled and things went as planned and he was in and out. Then that evening Aaron and Andre'e were outside playing having a great time together. When all the sudden Andre'e falls(I thought that Aaron was suppose to be the clumbsy one after all he had the sedation today) and gets up saying his finger(pinky and ring) hurt really bad. Yeah right he just needed some extra TLC from his mommy after all his really lacks attention.(yeah right) So I blew it off as being nothing and went to Walgreens and bought a finger splint for his pinky since that was the hurt finger. Well by Thursday morning he was in alot of pain and well his pinky was very swollen. So we went to St. Jude for Aaron's counts and check-up with Dr. Ahn.(awaiting GREAT results) Well Praise the LORD GOD is soooooo very good to us all. All the results that were in came back great and well his brain is clear and there was only a sign of a sinus infection(again) but no tumor so we are guessing the "seizure" activity was just a silly sinus infection. His urine test for neuroblastoma came back normal.(finally something normal) Well I asked the doctors at St. Jude about seeing Andre'e and his finger since he was considered a patient. Well they contacted the social worker and they said I had to take Andre'e to Leboner Children hospital. Well that meant a "normal" ER. So we headed there to find out Andre'e had fractured his pinky. They put Andre'e in a splint that is all the way up his right(his writing hand) arm. Well they said to use advil for the pain. Well all night Andre'e was up in pain and throwing up and just feeling awful. So today we called the ER back and they gave him some tylenol #3 and he is feeling a lil better. Well today for Aaron was the day of all results to discuss the transplant and details and sign consents. Well I have done alot of praying and found that God was telling me to make sure I knew all the details and results before signing. So we got the results of the bone marrow and well here we go his right side is completely clear(Praise the LORD) his left side is not clear but is better than it was 3 weeks ago when they did the last one(Praise the LORD again). Well from there we signed consents and now we are offically having transplant. On Monday we will start low dose chemo for 3 days(Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday). Thursday night at 7:30pm Aaron will be going inpatient for his transplant on Friday morning. Then GOD will take it all from there.(not that he doesn't have it all in contorl now) I will be updating as often as possible(hopefully daily) from there. We will be inpatient until Saturday May 8th and then we will be back at the Target House just in time for the BEST MOTHERS DAY EVER!!!!!!!

Well I guess I kinda gave you all the good news already and so there you have it. We are all doing GREAT and with GOD's help things will all go as planned and scheduled. I really have to say a huge thank you to our speical friends in Flordia for keeping such great tabs on us and all the prayers. Also all of you have been so wonderful and supportive to all of us you all are a GODSEND. Without all your thoughts and prayers where would we be. Well just remember the "real" mail and don't forget to sign the guestbook as those enties will sure help and really keep us going.

This next week is the "big" week and don't forget May 7th those prayers are much needed. With God ALLLLLLLLL things are possible. He is our ROCK and our FORTRESS and He will NEVER leave us nor FORSAKE us!!!!! AMEN AMEN PRAISE GOD!!!

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious(in spirit)and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. See what happens when you don't update in a while you get Great News and a llllloooooonnnnnggggg update!!!!(he he)

Sunday, April 25, 2004 10:35 PM CDT

Hello Hello Hello Hello

Hey everyone well thanks for stopping by just dropping a few lines to say a huge thank you to GOD and everyone for all your thoughts and prayers. Well as of today I only know GOD will provide and I am leaning on his understanding. I am asking GOD to have his will with Aaron and I already know he will be doing everything in his time. Well all I ask of everyone is to please pray and pray hard for us as this week will be final decisions about transplant. I talked with a very speical friend today and she really put it all into perspective that GOD will give us what he wants us to have and in his time not ours. Alot of the time we live in our own physical world and not in GOD's world.(not that I didn't already know that but the refreshment helped) So on that note I am only asking all of you to please pray that Aaron and I have the strength and will power to ask GOD for his guidance this coming week and pray he send me a sign in what to say and do. Everyday this week Aaron has tests and scans and well I really want the truth from these doctors. Well as always thanks for EVERYTHING I really mean that from the bottom of my heart your support means the world to all of us.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious(in spirit), and Aaron(Our LiL Superhero)

P.S. Don't forget to pray this coming week for ALL of us!!!!

Thursday, April 22, 2004 10:17 PM CDT

PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!!!!!!!!

Well today was another long and very exhausting day. Well I won't go through all the details as my mind is very very full tonight. First you may notice the PRAY PRAY thing. There is a reason for that I will not go into detail but let me just say the bone marrow transplant is now not a for sure thing. I will know more the week of transplant and not a moment before then. Also Aaron's MIBG was a big ordeal today as most of know that is a scan that lights up spots where the kind of cancer Aaron has. Well alot of his body lit up and so I really began to pray:

Dear Lord please help Aaron as he goes through this scan. I am seeing all these areas light up and wondering why. Lord all I ask is your will be done with this situation. You are always there for us and I know you always will be. We are your children and are asking for complete healing for Aaron. Lord please please help us with this. We love you and thank you for all you have done and are going to do. Please give Aaron peace and me too. Lord please.

Well as I watched all these "new" areas light up my heart sunk and I cast my fears upon the Lord God Almighty. Well with that I went running to "D" clinic wanting answers. Well they told me the MRI from yesterday was negative. But the MIBG did show some things but they needed to do more research. Well I know what I saw first hand and really got scared.(I know GOD is our real physician and trust me I will be asking him some questions too.) Well from there I wanted really more answers and so I headed to "B" clinic to talk to our soon to be new attending from BMT(bone marrow transplant). Well he told me that they are going to be doing another bone marrow aspiration on Thursday. Well why I asked and thats when I got the news. Well Aaron has some new spots and so we need to see if the bone marrow is the same, improved, or worse before we make the final decision. Well with that news I ask all of you to please PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!! I really beleive that GOD didn't bring us this far to just give up and give in. We are leaning on his understanding and well I just ask all of you to please PRAY and PRAY hard.

Well I will be updating ASAP whenever I know anything at all. Thank you to all of you for all your faithful love, support and prayers. Without all of you where would we be. Most of all thank you to GOD and all he is doing and going to do for our family and many many other families.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious(in spirit), and Aaron(our LiL Superhero)

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 9:10 PM CDT

Hey Hey Hey everyone well not staying up late again tonight considering we had one heck of a busy day. First off we were suppose to be at the hospital at 8:00am for physical therapy. Yeah right Aaron do physical therapy at 8am please he barely wants to get up at 8am. Well from there he was scheduled for a CT contrast pickup for 8:30am and well they canceled that without letting me know and so we were there early for no reason. Then off to his audiology appointment at 9:00am to get our hearing checked. Well again like I said Aaron is a bear to wake up and just wanted to be stubborn and bull headed. He didn't want to get his ears checked and didn't want to play any games to test his hearing. So after a 1/2 hour we FINALLY got him to join in the game. Guess what after 5 more rounds of high dose chemo no added hearing lose!!!! PRAISE THE LORD FROM WHO ALL BLESSING FLOW!!! Aaron still has high frequency loss but no knew loss from the chemo and radiation. He still should be wearing his hearing aides everyday.(yeah right) From there he missed his 9:30am echo/ekg appointment since he was being so difficult which will be rescheduled for Friday. Well from there off to "B" clinic for a TB skin test. Just what he needed to wake him up huh?? Well Aaron's exact words were "mommy do I have to get a needle???" Well yeah but just a lil one I said and he did a very very good job with that just think he could handle a needle but couldn't play a game for his hearing test. Is there something wrong with that picture or what??? Well from there off to get his labs drawn. Once again a very big boy having that line is sure a GOD's send. From there off to MRI for the dreaded waiting game. Oops I almost forgot I had to make a pit stop and go pick up Aaron's 24 hour urine from last night at the Target House. That sure helped with the waiting game for MRI.(he he he) Well lets see MRI was exactly one hour behind and well we finally got in around 2:15pm. Did I mention Aaron was NPO since midnight(not that he was eating anything anyway). But starting last night he was put on that appetite stimulant at bedtime(which by the way he ate a whole box of McDonald's french fries with barbque sauce for supper tonight) guess the stimulant is working pretty fast that the most he has eatten in 2 months. Well he pretty much slept most of the day until time for the MRI and well from there it was quite the treat. He was given 2 meds to sedate him and well just when the nurse thought he was fast asleep. Guess what he woke up "mommy hold me" so of course I did and then they ordered versaid(sp?) and had to give him 2mg of that on top of all the sleepy meds.(WOW guess it really does take alot to get a SUPERHERO down) So when he came to we had a LiL drunk superhero on our hands and how very funny!!!! Well from there off to Nuc Med. to get his MIBG injection for his scan tomorrow. Wow the quickest appointment of the day and the best in our opinion!!(considering we have had to wait for a month now to get this scan since the injection stuff was a bad batch for a while) Well from there guess where we spent our evening 5-7pm the world famous MEDICINE ROOM. Getting what you all ask???? Well take a guess. PLATLETS again and i'm quite sure he will be getting blood by Friday. His ANC is about 300 now so he still has to wear the mask but hey better safe than sorry. Well guess I better stop jabbering and say goodnight to all since we have an even bigger day tomorrow and well going to bed after 2am is not such a bright idea!!!!

Well thank you all for everything and please keep those thoughts and prayers coming.

We have LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of our precious St. Jude buddies relapsing so please please please pray for all our friends and their families. This seems to be one battle only GOD can carry us through.

Love, Hugs, and Kisses, and Lots and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious(in spirit), and Aaron(our LiL Superhero)

P.S. PLEASE DON'T FORGET THE BIG DAY MAY 7th!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 0:40 AM CDT

Hello Hello Hello everyone!!!!

Well do you all see what time it is????? Well i'm still up and so are the boys we are really having a hard time sleeping but I am dead tired but just can't sleep. Well we are doing great. Aaron is still not eating anything and so tonight he had to start an appetite stimulant. He hasn't really eaten for about 2 months now and his drinking is slim to none. So they are decreasing his TPN to less fluid but he will still be on it for 16 hours per day. All the fun this week is sure wearing on us and we are just taking it one day at a time. Grin and smile right!!!! Well GOD is with us every step of the way and I know he will never leave us nor forsake us NEVER!!!! Well Aaron's ANC is finally 100!!!! WooooooHoooooo!!!! Thank GOD he is so very good. Well his platlets and hemoglobin are still off a lil so we have to do counts again tomorrow and see where he is. Hopefully we will be done with that silly mask just in time to head to transplant and have to wear it for the next 6 months to 1 year. Well of course Aaron is doing great but is still asking for Antavious to come back and still asking how many more days before Antavious comes back. I really begin to wonder what he will say when after transplant his brothers will leave for quite sometime. Well GOD has taken GREAT care of us this far and I know he will provide. Let me just say thank you to everyone who is saying speical prayers for all our lil St. Jude buddies and please keep them coming as we all are going through very difficult times and gladly accept all the support and prayers we can get.

Also PLEASE PLEASE remember to sign the guestbook as that is a huge support for us as we head to transplant and with all your love, support, guestbook signings, "real" mail, and most of all prayers we will make it. GOD is such a AWESOME GOD and I know and really feel he is going to do everything in his timing and whatever be his will. I pray every night that whatever be his will be done with Aaron as well as all our St. Jude buddies. I know to some this may sound negative but trust me it's really not and at least for me it's quite soothing. I really want GOD's will to be done with all of us and not my own selfish will.

Well thank all of you each and everyone for stopping by and checking up on us. PLEASE PLEASE keep all those positive thoughts and prayers coming and don't forget "real" mail and guestbook signings. We love and miss all of you very very much.

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious(in spirit), and Aaron(our lil superhero)

Sunday, April 18, 2004 12:00 AM CDT

April 18, 2004 at 6:30pm

Well did I not say momma's always know best!! We are at St. Jude getting blood and platlets right now as I type this. Guess we will be here until at least 11pm this evening. His ANC is still 0. Surprise Surprise!!!!

Hello and happy Sunday afternoon to everyone!!!!!

Well today was such a hard day. First of all I convinced my mom to drive all the way down here since she really wanted to spend some quality time with Aaron before transplant. So she drove here and I told her that I would be staying in a hotel with Antavious since he was leaving today. Well then we got a package yesterday just for Aaron and Andre'e and well Antavious just cried and cried he felt sooooo very left out but I really think everyone thought he had left already. So needless to say I had to do something with him to make him feel speical. Even though funds are getting tighter we(Antavious and me) went to see a movie last night Johnson's Family Vacation. What a very funny movie. But guess what on top of Antavious already sad from not getting to get a package he got lost at the Peabody Place theater and for everyone who has ever been there oh my what a place to get lost. We were in theater 4 but he had to use the restroom so he left and then about 10 minutes passed and no return. I really started to worry but I thought maybe he was going #2 so I got up and checked the bathroom and he wasn't there so then I thought he may have went to another bathroom so I went back to the movie but he wasn't there either so I stood in the hall but really was upset with him and missing the movie. I went back to the theater and checked but no Antavious. Finally I just went out in the hall and there he was. He started crying like crazy he was very upset he used another restroom and well then he went into another theater #2 and looked and looked for me and he really wanted to see that movie but he missed most of it as we were looking for each other most of the time. Well I felt really bad and so we went back to the hotel and went to sleep as it was almost 1am. Well then all the real fun began. Antavious and I got up this morning and came back here to Target House to get him and grandma packed up. Well from there all the tears were flowing. Aaron was crying because Antavious was leaving. Antavious was crying because he had to leave all of us. Grandma was crying because we all can't stay here at one time because of that silly "4" person rule and we really can't afford a hotel as often as all of us would like to be together and she really misses Aaron too. Then I have to be that strong mommy as usual while I tell all of them GOD will be with us and mommy loves all of them very much. As I ask myself WHY GOD WHY???? I know he really has blessed us richly and helped us all the way through this whole ordeal but WOW what a way to start the day. Crying Crying Crying I wasn't happy making Antavious leave but I really as getting wore out and the money getting very short in supply. Well then grandma and I pack up the car and of course everyone is crying and it was just crazy. I walked grandma and Antavious to the car(bad mistake) and Antavious says "but mom why can't I just stay here I love you sooooooo much and really will miss my brother I promise I will be good". Ok now i'm stuck between a rock and a hard place I know all of my boys are very good boys and well how do I explain to a 9yo that sorry but just can't. Well anyway we finally said our goodbye's and he cryed and cryed and I really feel sad but there really is nothing I could do. So now i'm counting the days till they will be coming back and well lets see 17 and counting!!!!

Well on to the real reason we have this website Aaron. He is doing great and still isn't eating. I offer everything imaginable but he just won't eat or drink. Tomorrow they will decrease his TPN back down to 20 hours and then hopefully on Tuesday they will decrease it to 16 hours and maybe he will eat a lil something then. We are going to the medicine room after 2pm today and check his counts as I really think he needs platlets and blood again. Then tomorrow he will be a very very busy guy as this week is when all the fun begins. We will be spending 8-12 hour days at the hospital all week except for Tuesday as we have a free day(Thank GOD). We are starting all the scans and testing for transplant this week. Please keep those prayers coming as we have a very very busy week and well i'm sure Aaron will be very very tired as well as Andre'e and me too.

Well thank all of you soooooo very much for everything you are soooooo wonderful and LORD knows we couldn't do it without your love and support. Thank you to Jesus and all the angels he puts in our life. Also as previously requested please keep prayers coming for all our LiL St. Jude buddies and their families. We really love and miss all of you very much and don't forget that special date MAY 7th 2004(transplant day).

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, and Aaron(our LiL Superhero)

Thursday, April 15, 2004 4:32 PM CDT

Hello Hello Hello everyone!!!!

Well sorry for the late update but its been one of those weeks being in the hospital with all these rambuncious(sp?) boys but hey we made it through. We are officially outta the hospital and doing very good too. Aaron's ANC still is 0 but they could tell having all these boys with me was about to drive me plain crazy. Well Aaron is as happy as every and never got down one time Praise the LORD!!!! I really think having these brothers around sure helps alot. Well I talked to my mom last night and we will be driving to Festus MO on Saturday morning to meet her half way to give her car(the 04 PT Cruiser) back and also let her pick up Antavious. I will be keeping Andre'e with me until after the transplant since they have appointments for both boys scheduled for the next couple weeks. Well other than that nothing really new going on here just glad to be "home" until transplant. We are planning to go to the show tonight and see Scooby Doo 2 with another friend of ours name Aaron also as we call him "Big Aaron" since he is 11 years old.

Well I have a few requests since last journal so please say some special prayers for these precious kids. First Mr. Stanton Haynes is here for some scans to find out whats wrong with his eye?????? He went through this whole process with us last year and also has neuroblastoma. Second Lil Miss Emma Grace (www.caringbridge.org/ar/emmagrace) she is doing well with chemo and please keep all those prayers coming as she sure needs them. Third Mr. Jarred Ford a very special friend of mine who I have grown to love and adore he is now in remission after relapse of leukemia but they still want to do a bone marrow transplant(foreign donor). Last but not least our very own Mr. Aaron Hunter aka Our Superhero and his Big Brave Brother Andre'e as they will be having tests and stuff all these next few weeks and Aaron goes through transplant on May 7th.

Of course I couldn't say requests without praises and they are as follows LiL Travisman(www.caringbridge.org/il/travisman) who is doing great and looks awesome and fat as ever, Miss ZoeJo Wolsfeld (www.caringbridge.org/il/zoejowolsfeld) who is officially in remission and looks GREAT, Mr. Luke aka Mr. Hulk(www.caringbridge.org/fl/luke.d) who's tumor is shrinking and he is doing very very good, Miss Emmma Grace who's chemo is working and has already shrunk the tumor(Praise the Lord), Lil Miss Tori (www.caringbridge.org/fl/tori) who also is doing great with treatment, Miss Lauren Collins(www.caringbridge.org/va/lauren) who had a scare but turned out to be a good thing and no cancer, and of course our very own Mr. Aaron Hunter aka Our LiL Superhero who is now outpatient(Thank you JESUS for you alone are worthy). Also please keep all the parents of these children in your thoughts and prayers as they go through things as well as the children.

Well can't say thank you enough for all the support, emails, "real" mail, guestbooks signings(which seem to be dwendling), and most of all the prayers for all of us "BIG" and "SMALL". We really couldn't do this without all of you and most of all our ALMIGHTY GOD!!!!!!

Love, Hugs, and Kisses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron aka Our LiL Superhero

P.S. Sorry for anyone who I missed in the requests and praises but just please know I really do keep track of all of our lil buddies and we love and pray for all of you often.

Monday, April 12, 2004 8:18 PM CDT

Hey Hey Hey everyone!!!!

Well guess where we are????? Well that's exactly right we are home!!!! I know I could only wish we were home right now considering we are officially inpatient. Yes you heard me right we are inpatient here at St. Jude. Now the real fun begins. So please pray for us to get outta here very very soon since I have ALL the boys with me and I have NEVER had them all in the hosptial with us at the same time all night. Well other than having a fever and neutropenia(no counts anc is 0) Aaron is feeling GREAT. I really mean that he is actually telling the nurses and doctors what to do and how to do it. It was so funny today he even walked himself up to his room and kept telling Miss Monica come on lets go get to my room. How funny huh!!!! Well when Dr. Santana saw him in clinic today he was like I really can't beleive we are admitting him but he has a fever so guess we gotta do what we gotta do. So here we are inpatient with 3 boys and all of them feeling GREAT. Don't get me wrong I am very very happy they are ALL doing GREAT but wow what fun I am having. HA HA HA!!!!

Lets see mommy is really having major brain farts because I didn't buy any kind of Easter baskets or anything(really because the boys have no clue about the Bunny thing). But thanks to Target House the boys did get a Basket and goodies.

Well lets see where do I begin first our Easter was very very fun thanks to PBL(purple bike lady) aka Miss Vickie and Big Bubba and there blessed family everyone of them. We went to their house for a cookout and well all the fun they had in store for us!!!! First we tried to get Aaron to eat a little something which can be quite fun to do(of course the brother and I have no problem eating HA HA). Second we found out Big Bubba has a four wheeler(a red one) and well who do you think the first kid was to ride it of course Aaron himself. He had a blast and was sooooooo funny screaming and hollering but having the time of his life. Then came Antavious's turn he got on the back and held on for the ride of his life and really enjoyed it although his face was as pale as a ghost. He got off and his legs were just a shaking but he did say he really really had fun and wanted to go again. Then was the really funny part convincing Andre'e to go on a four wheeler well needless to say no such luck he was to scared just watching everyone else. So of course Aaron was alot of turns and well as before he was the first to get on and the last to get off. (HA HA) Well then the boys found out that PBL's daughter Sam had a smaller four wheeler and well from there the boys were in heaven and boy do I mean heaven. They loved it they are not use to just hanging out in the country(not really) and being free with no one to tell you otherwise. Well then Aaron found the Purple Bike(motorcycle) and well that was the straw that broke the camels back and well he just had to have a ride on the PBL's Motorcycle. So Miss Vickie took him for a nice long ride that he really loved but couldn't wait to get back to the house and ride the BIG RED fourwheeler. So big Bubba who just loves Aaron was more than happy to make his lil mans day by giving him that final ride. Well WOW what a day huh. It was a very nice change from this ole hospital stuff and just being bored around the Target House. I really thought the boys would be wore out but no such luck there either. Well needless to say we really enjoyed ourselves and can't wait to do it again very very soon hopefully(hint hint). Also I kinda made a promise to lil Andre'e that if he did a good job today with his tb skin test(which with GOD's help he did awesome) we would go back and let him ride the little fourwheeler again so PBL and Big Bubba here we come!!!!!

Well because of all the fun we are now inpatient and not a bit mad or sad since we really had a full day of fun yesterday. Well let me just say a huge thank you to everyone of you for everything from calls to cards for all the boys to emails and most of all those AWESOME prayers that are being answered every single day. A great big thank you to JESUS for all his healing power and of course St. Jude families, nurses, and doctors without all of you where would we be!!!!

Now some other news I bet you all thought I was done huh!!!! Well no such luck there either I really have alot to talk about tonight. Aaron's transplant will be taking place on May 7th so please take that day and mark it on the calanders since it will be a day of much needed prayers. I know you all pray for us daily but just some extra speical ones would be nice on that day inpaticular. I know you are all asking why??? Well let me tell you I have to do all this alone(with GOD on our side of course) I just got the agenda for this transplant and well on the 7th I will be pulled in every direction possible. I will have to be with Andre'e at 6:30am for surgery and then he will be going in by 7:30am then I have to rush back to radiation to be with Aaron by 7:30am also.(I am only one mommy) Then I will have to race back to Andre'e within 1 and 1/2 hours then take Andre'e upstairs with me to transplant since they will be doing the transplant with Aaron right away. So do you all understand now why I requested very special prayer. Well I think you all have an idea now just how hard all of this will be this time especially. But now for some awesome news you know there is always good with bad of course. Aaron will only be inpatient for 3-4 days max for this kind of transplant. Now that is great news huh!!!!

Well thanks as always and please keep all those positive thoughts and prayers coming.

Love, Hugs, and Kisses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron (our lil superhero)

P.S. Be looking for some new pictures from all our fun on Easter as PBL does all our portraits(HA HA)!!!!!

Saturday, April 10, 2004 10:25 PM CDT

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY EASTER to all of you!!!!!!

Well thank all of you for stopping by and checking up on us we really appreciate all your support. Today was the famous birthday party for Antavious(Aaron's brother). Well it really didn't go half as well as I planned. First we were suppose to have this big fun day with friends from St. Jude and cookout and cake and well on and on. Well considering we were at the hospital until 7pm last night and then went out to eat with some very special friends from St. Jude(Julie, Travisman, and his sissys). Lets see laundry was piled sky high and we had no clothes clean. I was up until 3am this morning doing laundry. So of course I forgot to put a pullup on Aaron and well that was only the beginning. Let's see from there Aaron peed all over me and I woke up to pee all over the floor and blankets and well I was sopping wet with urine(not much fun). So from there I realized it was after 12noon and we still had a huge day ahead of us. So I had all the boys get ready and take showers and then I made Aaron get up and started laundry all over again!!! Then I gave Aaron a bath I took a shower and well form there off to Toys R Us(wonder why). Well of couse way toooo much money was spent but I really beleive the boys deserve something special once in a while. Well from there I realized it was already 4:30pm and our party started at 5pm. So we raced home and guess what I forgot to make the cake(oops first to go is the mind they say). From there made the cake and got all the meat ready for the grill that was already suppose to be made at 5pm. Well our guests arrived and told us they couldn't stay long because they had unexpected family show up so we were bummed but of course but we made the best of it and really had a nice time. So finally around 6:30pm Antavious(the birthday boy) and I cooked on the grill(chicken, hamburgers, and hot dogs). It was very very good but of couse we made way to much food for just the 4 of us so now we have plenty of left overs. Well from there we just hung out and played with toys and of couse the new games we got to keep our minds off all the other things going on.

Today Aaron told his daddy for the first time he just wants to go home. I was very surprised but as we all know we have a very long battle ahead of us(but with GOD above all things are possible) and going home anytime soon is out of the question. Well we really had a very busy week first of all we were only suppose to be at the hospital for 2 days and wound up being there for 4 days and now we even have a 9:30am appointment in the morning(on Easter) imagine that. Well first let me just say thank you to Jesus for watching over Andre'e(Aaron's big brother who will be the donor). Andre'e had to endure a few tests and well he already had the jitters but he did very very good they drew blood(9 tubes=52cc's) and he also had a chest x-ray and well then came the news that on Monday he had to have a test for TB. We have already prepared him but he just keeps saying NO NO I don't want to do anything without elmx 4(the special numbing cream). Well and then of course Aaron had no ANC by Friday morning and he also needed platlets and blood(again) so we spent 10 hours at the hospital waiting and getting those. Now tomorrow I just know we will need "platlets" again and probably blood too. Tonight Aaron had his bottom 2 teeth pulled by yours truly and so I already kinda knew his platlets were low but he really loves barbque hamburgers and his teeth were really bothering him so I just pulled them and wow did they bleed for about 15-20 minutes straight. I almost took him to St. Jude because I really got scared there for a while but it finally stopped. Well that has been our week and WOW what a week we have had!!!!

Thank all of you for all the support, love, emails, guestbook signings, "real" mail, and most of all all your PRAYERS without those we just wouldn't be doing half as well as we are. Of course thank you JESUS for your neverending love for all of us for without you where would we be?????

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron (our lil superhero)

P.S. Please say extra speical prayers that all will go well this week as Aaron's ANC is 0 and so he is at risk to go inpatient with fever. Also Andre'e will be enduring more tests this week and pray that God will give him renewed strength!!!!

Wednesday, April 7, 2004 11:15 AM CDT

Hello Hello Hello Everyone!!!!

Well im not quite in the best of spirits today but I will get by. First news is about Aaron he is still doing good but sleeping alot. He had to get blood yesterday and his anc was only 800 on Monday night. He had finished his chemo with no problem. I'm sure he will start getting sick by the weekends end since his anc will be 0. Also guess what he has C-Diff in his stool again. I feel this is a major issue since he has had this twice now. I am getting sick of being in isolation and that means if he gets sick he will have to be in isolation while he is inpatient. But we have made it through this before and we will do it again. Well I also know we have to take the good with the bad. Well then to top all this "GREAT" news (not) off mom's car that is a new 2004 PT Cruiser is giving me fits. I had to pray GOD please help me get this thing back to Target House. We made it safe and now im getting ready to take it to the local dealership and get it fixed. Oh yeah one more thing guess mom couldn't get off work to come get Antavious so that means that he will be here another week longer than expected. But I really feel GOD does everything for a reason although we just don't know the reasons but thats ok HE will provide and take care of everyone of us.

Well now for some good news are you all ready well Andre'e is going to be starting his testing tomorrow to be Aaron's donor. He isn't really happy about it but he knows he is helping out his lil brother and that the pain he endures is nothing compared to what Aaron has endured. Childlife will be helping him through all this "FUN" but most of all GOD is by his side and he just needs to remember that!!!! So if you all will be praying tomorrow for him as he gets really anxious about things and I just pray he will be calm tomorrow. He will be having blood draws and then a chest x-ray. Really nothing to big but he really gets upset with the lab draws even though we use elmx to numb the area first. I know he will be a "BIG" boy but please say prayers anyway.

Well other than all the "NEW NEWS" we are really doing great and Aaron reminds me everyday no matter what keep that SMILE on my face. NO MATTER WHAT GOD IS WITH US and REALLY KEEPS US "ALL" GOING!!!!!!!!!!!! Well as always thank you all sooooooooo very much for all your support, love, concerns, "real" mail, emails, guestbooks signings, and most of all PRAYERS!!!! Please remain faithful and keep those thougths and prayers coming we have one more battle to win in this war and AARON AND GOD will WIN!!!!!!!!

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron(our lil superhero)

Sunday, April 4, 2004 11:46 PM CDT

HELLO HELLO HELLO all!!!!
Well boy do I have awesome blessings to tell all of you about!!!!! First Aaron is doing GREAT!!!! Thank you JESUS!!!! I really mean he is doing awesome. He started his final round of high dose chemo(GOOD LORD willing). He has only gotten sick once. Did you all hear that only "one" time. I know hard to beleive only once but I really feel GOD is really letting Aaron and I see just what miracles are all about!!! I really feel he has healed Aaron and will continue giving us blessings. I know I am sooooo amazed by his mercy and love towards us I just don't really know what to say i'm at awe of this miracle itself. I also want to say a huge thank you to all of you for all your prayers. GOD is hearing us and healing Aaron more and more everyday. Tomorrow is Aaron's last day of high dose and then we will check his counts on Thursday. He is in the very best spirits and so are the brothers. They are really enjoying having this much needed quality time with me and Aaron and we are enjoying it too. Antavious(Aaron's brother) will be 9 years old on the 11th which is Easter Sunday so we are going to have a party for him on the 10th. Aaron is really excited to have a party for his brother we went out tonight and got some party stuff and Antavious picked out Spiderman can you beleive that???? I guess all my guys love superheroes too just like Aaron. Imagine that!!!! Well i'm doing good to just keeping really busy with all this chemo this week and getting ready for the party myself. HA HA!!!! Well nothing much else going on here but just really happy that Aaron is just breezing through this last round of chemo.

Oh yeah by the way don't forget to send mail to Aaron and Andre'e here at the Target House. Aaron and the boys were just so excited to get mail this week from their school Northmoor Edison. That school has really done soooooo much for our family and we can not say thank you enough for all the support. Everyone from the school has really helped us make it through this very difficult time and we want to say a huge thank you!!! Also we have some very very special friends from Flordia and you all know who you are that have sure made things for us go alot smoother and huge thank you's to them also(by the way keep all those prayers coming yall)!!!!

Well Thank you to everyone of you for checking in on us and keep those emails, thoughts, cards, support, and most of all PRAYERS coming!!!! We couldn't do this without all of you and most of all GOD!!!! So huge THANKS to the ALMIGHTY and POWERFUL!!!!

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and lots of Misses,

Marilyn,Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron (our lil superhero)

P.S. Don't forget to check out the new pictures they are awesome!!!!

Wednesday, March 31, 2004 5:13 PM CST

Hello Hello Hello everyone well boy do I have GREAT news to report!!!!! Today we went to get our injection for a MIBG scan and well again the batch of dye was bad so they have to reschedule for another time. So instead of wasting our trip to the hospital i decided to see if Aaron's bone marrow results were back. Even though we are scheduled to see Dr. Ahn tomorrow anyway. But you know me im very impatient with these things and since the news wasnt GREAT on Friday I really wanted to just see what was going on. Well anyway GREAT NEWS his bone marrow was 5leaner and guess what that means????? Well if you guessed im estatic you sure guessed right but thats not the GREAT NEWS he gets to have his transplant the last week in April!!!! Did you all read that HE GETS TO HAVE HIS TRANSPLANT AT THE END OF APRIL!!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!! You are an AWESOME GOD!!!!!

Well can you tell im soooo excited i could hardly hold water just to get back here and tell all of you the AWESOME news!!!! Well that means Andre'e will be here with us until the beginning of May since he is the donor. I will be sending Antavious home with my mom when she comes after Easter.

So needless to say thank all of you soooooo much for all your support, love, emails, and prayers. You have no idea how much all of this means to us to know we have such an AWESOME support system and of course AWESOME GOD!!!!!

I also have a few prayer requests if you all would be so kind. First I have a very special request for everyone would you please pray for the Pastor of our church Pastor Watkins he has "CANCER" and well this week he got the news that he is progressing and that it may not be long. But we know that GOD can move mountains and he had performed miracles in Aaron and he can do it for him too. Second is a very special lil girl that i grew very attached to here in Memphis she and her family have traveled this road with us it seems this whole time. Her name is Emma Grace she is such a cutie and she has now relapsed. She has neuroblastoma stage 4 also and well I really feel that GOD has a very special plan for her life also. She also has a website @ www.caringbridge.org/ar/emmagrace. Her whole family are prayer warriors and have really helped me through this whole ordeal so i would like for all of you to keep prayers coming for her too. Third please say extra prayers for all these families that have to go through all this dreaded disease. The Lord sure has lead me to pray for everyone of these families this week I dont quite understand but I feel there must be a reason. Praying for all these families sure has weighed heavy on my heart and so I just ask that you all pray for them too. Well and of course last but not least please continue to keep those prayers coming for us as the LORD leads us down that transplant path again.

Well thanks again for everything and please know just how grateful we are for everything u have done and are going to do!!!!!! By the way please take note of the new address for Aaron and the boys noted above. We have offically moved in at the Target House now. Also be looking for new pics coming to you all real soon as PBL(Ms. Vickie) has taken new pictures and they are just as adorable as ever!!!! (Thank u PBL)

Love, Hugs, Kisses, and Lots of Misses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron (our lil superhero)

P.S. There seems to be a mix-up about something and I really don't know what happened but Aaron is the patient and Andre'e(Aaron's biggest brother) is going to be the donor for Aaron's transplant. Andre'e is not the patient although he will be for a moment to be the donor for Aaron's transplant. Sorry for the mix-ups I may have cause in my journal entries. :( :)

Friday, March 26, 2004 10:49 PM CST

hey hey hey everyone well i'm sure all of u have been waiting very patiently for a recent update and well i have been waiting very patiently to give u one well here we go the GREAT news is aarons brain is completely clear no cancer anywhere THANK U JESUS this past sunday when pastor watkins annointed aaron with oil just in that spot i thought with all my heart and soul aaron would be healed there and WOW JESUS is ever powerful and mighty huh???

well now for the not so great news aarons bone marrow is just way too full to do a transplant just yet so we have to do more chemo so they say but i also talked with the docs again today and well they are going to take this to the big man from transplant and see what he says since he has the final say so. So i will be updating again as soon as i know anything

well now for aaron and his crazy self well on wednesday night aaron started spiking fevers and so i thought well its probably nothing i really just started praying GOD PLEASE HEAL AARON AND KEEP HIM HEALTHY take all these fevers far far away well on thursday when he woke up he was fever free AMEN so they did the bone marrow biopsy and then before we left the hospital i asked monica one of the nurses aides to take aarons temp and well he was fever free still so we went to a party at rmh and had alot of fun and then when we got back to grizzle house well aaron started acting funny and i was like i bet he has a temp again but no he was normal(whatever that is for aaron lol) so i got word from patient services that today at 3pm we were moving to target house and well i started packing first thing this morning and well aaron just layed around and acted like he was really sick he was complaining about his back and he was really just feeling yucky so i took his temp again and well to my surprise his temp was 102.6 WOW did i get scared and called to the doctor and they said bring him right over and so i did and GUESS WHAT to my surprise they were just kinda waiting to see just how long it would be before aaron got sick they saw on aarons mri that he had a sinus infection and well they really dont like to give antibiotics unless there are symptoms so well by today there were definately symptoms huh so they drew cultures from both lines and then gave aaron a dose of rocephin(sp?) and tylenol and his temp spiked higher before going down to 98.7 then they sent us on our way to finish packing and move to target house(check up above for new address) well then again tonight he spiked to 100.9 and so i gave him some more tylenol and he is doing better

by the way i wanted to share a devotion i read today and WOW just what i need to hear it went something like this Why does GOD wait until the sickness has lingered???? Why does he choose to wait until the other side of the grave to answer the prayers for healing???? His timing is always right... Though you hear nothing he is speaking. Though you see nothing he is acting. With GOD there are no accidents. Every incident is intended to bring us closeer to him. WOW let me just say did u hear that i really had to read this more than once and then it made me realize that GOD really doesnt let us suffer he loves us all with all his heart and wants us only to be with him someday when he is ready

well enough of me babbling i just really was inspired by this today and wanted to share it with u all.

well other than that nothing much else to report aaron is eating pretty much back to normal now but is still on tpn 16 hours a day but they are going to do a calorie count next week sometime and see if we can wean him to 12 hours the brothers are really enjoying being here and of course aaron is living it up having them here aaron will be starting school next week also and will go 3 days a week and that means the other brothers will be doing school work too they really want to just have fun but hey they gotta keep up with their work too. well thank all of u sooooo much for all the love, support, cards, emails, and most of all prayers please keep them coming and cant wait to hear from u all

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn, andre'e, antavious, and aaron(our lil superhero)

God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them. Luke 18:7

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 11:06 PM CST

Hello Hello Hello to everyone this fine Tuesday evening. Well we made it safe and sound and needless to say im exausted. I left at 2am this morning and had to stop around 715am to get a lil nap i really started falling asleep at the wheel. I pulled off at the rest stop and the boys awoke and i said mommy has to take a power nap i was just soooo sleepy. Well needless to say we arrived unharmmed. The car was intact. I was happy we made it here safe since i prayed the whole way things would go awesome. Well today was our first day of scans and he had an MRI of the brain today. He was scheduled for 1230pm and well we finally got in there around 230pm. Well I really know the GOOD LORD was helping him through this because he was NPO(nothing by mouth) since 8pm last night and he wasnt even complaining!!!! Thank you JESUS!!! You are an awesome GOD. Well the scan went well and i will have results by friday sometime. Tomorrow he will be sedated again and have another MRI of the abdomen and pelvis. I know you are all asking the same question I did "Why didn't they do them together" well they couldn't something about timing and the fact the other MRI machine was down. Well on Thursday they are doing a bone marrow aspirate and then we will get all the results on Friday. I still dont know when the bone marrow transplant is going to take place but I will keep everyone of you posted. You know as soon as i know anything I will post it. Also today was a new first Aaron broke out with what i thought was a rash but it was called pateki(i know this one isnt spelled right) but anyway it was these red lil spot all over his body guess what it was his platlets were only "5" that really is the lowest ever. I was sooooo worried since we didnt even get in the medicine room until after 5pm tonight. The boys got these sweaky hammers and they kept hitting each other on the heads and everywhere and I was like stop it Aaron has no platlets I was soooo worried but it all worked out in the end and he finally got his platlets and felt better. He also has a loose tooth and he really wanted to pull it but I convinced him to wait until his platlets recovered. Well other than that out healing service went great. Wow what a sermon from Pastor Watkins he did an awesome job and let me just say it was just what I needed to make this trip and keep the FAITH and know that GOD will take care of everything. If only we lay our burdens at his feet he will hear our cry and answer our prayers in HIS time. WOW I know we always want everything right now but being here at St Jude has really tought me to be very very patient and if I have to do that with GOD I am already one step ahead of the game.

Well thank all of you for everything and please keep all the support, cards, email, calls, and most of all prayers coming as you all know this is the last mountain we have to climb and by GOD'S GRACE we will make it through this!!!!! I should have a new address by next week sometime we are currently at the Grizzle House and well i know this is only short term and then we will be off to Target House our new home away from home. So if any of you really want to send something right now you can use the address for the Hospital. Well thanks again and we love and miss all of you already.

Love Hugs and Kisses,

Marilyn, Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron (our lil superhero)

Saturday, March 20, 2004 9:13 PM CST

GREAT NEWS!!!! GREAT NEWS!!!! GREAT NEWS!!!! GREAT NEWS!!

Hello everyone well as you can tell WE have great news......
Well if you guested that we are outta the hospital you guesseed right!!!! Yeah go AARON get busy go AARON get busy lol

Well anyway we were officially out of the hospital as of Friday morning at 10:30am. We all were soooo excited. First on our list of things to do was meet with grandpa and his fiancee Lucille. They came to visit us and we had a very nice time. What a great welcome home from the hospital. Then of course we had to go see all our friends at Northmoor and WOW what a welcome Aaron was so excited and really needed that. He loves books and Mrs. Wood(the pricipal) has a huge stash in her office he read everyone book he found and of course had the most fun with the pop-up books. He really loves being read to and loves looking at books. Well from there we of course had to make that special visit to the BANK and visit all our favorite bankers. They are all sooooo special and we(I) really miss being there. Thank you Steph for making me cry again I told you no hugs!!!!! Well from there we had to go home because MOMMY(me) had a DATE!!!!! LOL With my sister Sue and of course daddy got to come home to spend time with the boys and well he kept them while mommy had that much needed BREAK!!!!! Let me just say i really only went out to eat and then went to hook up Aaron to his tpn and give him his shot and then back home to hit the sack. I know a night to myself and then all's I do is relax. After being in the hospital all the time i really needed it. Guess what i even got 8 hours of sleep!!!! Then today mom(grandma) and i got to go out for a ladies day out!!!! We had a blast and really deserved it!!! Then daddy brought the boys back home. Then this afternoon some of the St. Jude Runners came to visit and what fun we had talking and of course Aaron had to show off all his stuff from Memphis. Well from there we went to Wal-mart. Gee wonder what we did there???? Well if you guessed get toys you were right. Imagine that!! Well now we are home relaxing and getting ready for that huge HEALING SERVICE tomorrow morning. We all can hardly wait!!!! This will be a day none of us will ever forget!!! Well then tomorrow night we will be going to this new theater call RAVE and see Agent Cody Banks II thanks to St. Jude affilate. Then pack up the NEW PT CRUISER 2004(mom(grandma's) new car). DID YOU ALL HEAR THAT OR SHOULD I SAY READ THAT????? Well yes i said NEW CAR I told you I had something up my sleeve when I got home and well there you have it. Yes we made threats and it worked and well now I get to drive her new car to Memphis we are soooooo excited and can hardly wait to get this whole thing started and really over. Well we will be leaving for Memphis on Monday morning sometime before 10am so please say prayers for traveling mercies and that all will go well. Also please just keep those prayers coming period as we really need all the WARRIORS we can get. I also have to say a huge THANK YOU to all those wonderful people who have gave or sent MONEY to us we are SOOOOOOO GRATEFUL you have no idea how much this really means to us. Having the boys with me the next month will be very hard and having no extra money was going to suck but now thanks to those special people we will make it with no problem. THANK YOU ALL!!!! Well i will update when i get to Memphis with a new ADDRESS so be watching for a new address. Well guess I will get off here and get ready for the big day tomorrow(HEALING SERVICE). Thanks again for all your support, love, cards, email's, concern, and most of all PRAYERS please please please keep all these coming.

Love, Hugs, and Kisses,

Marilyn, Andre'e(donor), Antavious, and Aaron(lil superhero)

Wednesday, March 17, 2004 9:04 AM CST

HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY

hey hey hey everyone well aaron is still in the hospital
but guess what no c-diff in his stool he still hasnt eaten we are going on 3 weeks now but they have ordered peractin which is an appetite stimulant so maybe that will help well other than waiting for his counts to come above 0 he is doing great he is still having really runny stools so they are testing his stool for alot more things today maybe its from the tpn or the fact he has not counts but its better to be safe than sorry well still hoping to be outta here by friday but maybe not but as i always say gotta do what we gotta do and he has been fever free since monday so thats not holding us back well anyway he is living it up by being home but really wants to be home home so he can hang out all the time with his brothers but they have been up here every single night and well running around like chickens with their heads cut off if you know what i mean well also people from our chruch have been coming everyday and praying with us and we are still hoping to get to church on sunday for that much needed healing prayer but if not then they will come here and pray with us well other than hanging around here with all the nurses and doctors we are very very happy to be home oh yeah by the way aaron has found a new movie that he LLLLOOOOVVVVEEEESSSS its called dumb and dumberer oh what a funny movie the first 3 times after that well the other 50 it was very annoying but hey he really rules the dvd and tv lol imagine that hes not spoiled or anything YEAH RIGHT

well thank all of you soooooo much for everything and please know how much all of you mean to us we are happy to be home but miss all our st jude families we have grown to love and care about and hey guys we will be back soon anyway thank all of you for all the thoughts prayers concerns and support you all have really made all the difference for all of us please keep it coming and i will be undating again soon

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and aaron and the brothers

Sunday, March 14, 2004 5:29 PM CST

hey hey hey everyone well guess where i am well if you guessed the hospital you were exactly right we are offically inpatient now aarons temp got to 102.3 this afternoon and we came to st francis and they started antibiotics right away so well here we are they also gave him tylenol and now he has perked up more than he has in 2 days it sure is nice having him feel better

anyway we have been trying to get aaron to eat anything possible but he just wont eat not even his favorite avanits nothing so now he offically hasnt eaten for 1 week but he is drinking alot of water but as usual puking it right back up well anyway other than all this crazyness from chemo we are sure enjoying being home we sure missed everyone and really needed this great break not doing much of anything but hey just hanging around with family which was the main purpose of coming home

well thank all of you that said extra special prayers for me to make the right decision about bring all the boys with me to memphis i have offically made the decision to take all of them with me and then mom will come get them the weekend after easter so needless to say please say prayers that all will go well and that andre'e who is the donor will make it through with no complications well anyway i am very excited to have all them with me and aaron of course sure is too he really misses the brothers while we are gone and having them around sure makes all the difference in the world he is a totally different person while they are around he never hardly gets down and if he does then he tries with all his might to stay perky

well anyway we will talk to you all very soon and please keep all those prayers coming that we can get outta here soon and spend that time with friends that we greatly need too we are hoping to get aaron to church next sunday before we leave to get healing prayers well thank you all soooooo much for all the support, thoughts, and prayers and please please please keep them coming

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and the three lil a's

Friday, March 12, 2004 10:44 PM CST

hey hey hey everyone well i am offically typing on my new laptop as of now i am way so excited well everything is going good at home aaron got blood on tuesday and got platlets today and well his anc was only 100 so i bet we will be inpatient by weekends end i will let you know if we do boy am i sure enjoying this great time home and let me just say the support is wonderful from each and everyone of you thank you all soooo much well anyway dont have much time to write since the website is going down by 11 pm our time but i will write more as i know more anyway we will be having that much needed healing service maybe this sunday at glad tidings church in east peoria if aaron doesnt go inpatient and if he does then hopefully next sunday well talk to you all very soon now that i have internet and hope to hear from all of you miss and love you all sooooo much

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and aaron and of course the brothers

Saturday, March 6, 2004 10:26 PM CST

hey everyone well i will make this short as i have been at rmh cleaning so we can go home tomorrow morning what a crazy day aaron and i will finally be home tomorrow and well he will have to be isolated for a while but as soon as we are up for visitors we will be making our rounds so dont be alarmed when you dont see us for a few days but he still has c-diff in his stool and we cant expose anyone to it since it is contagious to cancer kids and he could get something else if we go out and about well thank you all for all the love prayers and support and please say extra special prayers we make it home safe we just cant wait i think we both really need this and i really know mom sure needs a break even though we will be living with her now i have offically lost my house and must get the cilco and water turned off as soon as i get home but hey i really cant afford that expense right now anyway so guess this is just one thing that was meant to be well there will still be updates but i will be having pbl(purple bike lady) aka miss vickie (i hope you read this and know i would really appreciate it) update aaron site while we are home with all the latest well talk to you all very soon and AMEN THANK YOU JESUS FOR getting us though this mountain we LOVE you soooo much and give you all the GLORY!!!!!!!!

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and aaron

WERE GOING HOME WERE GOING HOME WERE GOING HOME WERE GOING HOME can you tell im excited but not as much as aaron he really talked about this all day and didnt even fight about taking meds since he knows he gets to go home GO AARON!!!!

Thursday, March 4, 2004 5:39 PM CST

Friday, March 5, 2004 12:47pm

hey everyone well i have some good news and some not so good news well last night aaron had major diarrhea in his pull-up so i took him to the bathroom and it really really smelled gross so i asked the nurse to test it and sure enough it tested possitive for c-diff so that means he needs to take an oral antibiotics that he must swollow for seven days and for those of you who have had high dose chemo that might just be a major problem considering that he will be very sick puking from all this chemo and he is in isolation for now until we get discharged but the great news is he will still be discharged on sunday and then we will be driving home to peoria on monday as far as i know they said this wouldnt harbor us coming home or being discharged so please keep those prayers coming we love and miss you all and cant wait to be home again:)

well hope this works this time this
silly computer just timed out on me and erased everything i just wrote and my 30 minutes wasnt even up oh well

anyway hello from sunny memphis today was sooooo beautiful not that we were outside or anything because we are inpatient yes i said inpatient we are starting that final round of high dose chemo and are sooooo happy there was not beds on solid tumor side so we get the glorious treatment from the lukemia side and yes they are just as nice and wonderful but just not that familar face we are use to but hey at least we are starting that final round so we can go home by monday sometime

now on to aaron and his crazy eating habits he hasnt eaten for "3" days and yesterday he ate "3" mcdonalds fries and drank "3" sips of coke and now today he ate "3" teaspoons of strawberry applesauce notice the "3" theme well we also are only getting "3" days of chemo too how weird huh i thought you all might find that funny as i did when i thought about it

well i called home to tell mom what was going on and well she is very sick right now she stayed home today and really sounds quite awful so please keep her in your prayers as aaron and i will be home soon and cant really be around sick people

also please say extra prayers that i can make a very tough decision these next few weeks before i come back here to memphis the fact is mom is really wearing down having the boys and doing everything on her own and well i really feel having the boys here would just be a major issue since aaron will be very sick and in the hospital all the time and i know i couldnt handle them all alone either i have talked about pulling them out of school but just dont know what to do so please pray that the good LORD above will send some extra special people our way to help us with this situation if you are reading this and want to help please email me at my email address and i will either call you back or email you back but please keep this in your prayers as i already know i will be bringing all the boys with me when i come back here on march 23 to start the transplant process

also keep moms car situation in your prayers too since the big wig wont call mom back but hey i have a idea how to fix that but will wait till i get home!!!!!!

well anyway thank you all so much for keeping up with us and our crazy days we have had lately and just know you all have really made a lil superheroes day and life alot brighter by your thoughts, concerns, email, mail, and most of all your prayers and continued support of all of us as we continue our crazy journey we love all of you and couldnt be making it without OUR HEAVENLY FATHER and all of you by our sides

love hugs kisses and lots of misses,

marilyn and aaron

ps almost there keep those prayers coming

Tuesday, March 2, 2004 2:37 PM CST

hey hey hey everyone well some of you already know aaron couldnt start his chemo his platelets just couldnt recover so we are going to say extra extra extra special prayers that we can start on thursday well other than the delay in chemo aaron seems to be doing just fine although he really really misses home and just cant wait to be there with his family and of course eat at avantis also we will be having a very special healing service just for aaron when we get home on either a sunday or a wednesday i will try to let you all know for sure when as i would love for you all to say extra prayers that day another parent told me about this and i really began to think that would be great to have one done for aaron just before we head back here so my mom called pastor watkins back home and he said he would be more than happy to do this

well anyway other than that mom and the brothers made it home safe but not without trouble with this stupid car again mom is so hurt and angry that she could hardly speak to me yesterday as she only bought this car to have reliable transportation to get here but every single trip she has problems so i told her to talk to the big dog in charge and hopefully LORD willing something can be done so please say prayers for her as she goes up again a major car dealership back home as we all know she and i really need reliable transportation to get to and from memphis to be with our lil superhero and since andre'e (aarons brother) is the donor she needs to be able to get here to get him home too and i know she cant stay away from aaron very long

also wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone for everything you all have done for us during this very difficult time of being away from each other all the love cards emails support(emotional and financial), and most of all the thoughts and prayers please keep this all coming as we still have one more rock to climb and a few more hurdles to jump

well i will update you all on thursday as soon as we see the doctor and i know what is going on with everything

oh yeah a huge thank you to rebecka (sp?) jareds mom for making such a wonderful dinner last night she cooked steak and chicken fajatis they were awesome it was funny though aaron didnt wanted any so he ate 1/2 a bowl of cookie crisp cereal but as i see it that was ok with me since he was eating something!!!!!!

love hugs and kisses and lots of misses,

marilyn and aaron

Saturday, February 28, 2004 7:00 PM CST

hello hello hello well let me just say that aaron and i have had the time of our lives this week thanks in part to my sister sue coming and mom and the brothers coming we sure needed to have some uplifting and fun well we made our first venture to the home of the "King" Mr. Elvis himself and we have heard from alot of people that what a boring thing to go to but what a fun thing for aaron my sister and i we had a blast just getting away and having fun was much needed and then yesterday around 12:30pm mom and the brothers got here and what a blast last night we spend the night in the hotel together and watched spy kids 3-d and then crashed since we had such a busy day planned for today well we woke up and went to breakfast at the waffle house yum yum of course aaron only ate one bite of waffle but hey his tpn was still going so i wasnt very upset then off the rmh to get aaron a hat since it was 65+ degrees but windy so we could go to the zoo and see the pandas and of course the monkeys and well found out that the card trading was going on and that really was the highlight of the day so we had to make a pit stop to get new cards and a new binder and we spent 2 hours doing this then off the the zoo and boys what fun we took flat stanley with us and he really enjoyed himself and so did everyone (for those of you wondering who flat stanley is he is a piece of paper shaped like a boy who needs to have fun so he can help a lil boy from back home get a good grade in school he goes to other states and visits and then you send pictures and bochures to the person who sent him and make that childs day) well we seen all the animals aaron expecially liked the monkeys (of course) why not huh the pandas are still here and of course the scary spiders well needless to say we had a blast and cant wait to go do more fun stuff together sometime tomorrow

well we will be spending another night with grandma and the brothers in the hotel and really are loving spending quality time together as this really is much needed well just please remember to say extra special prayers this coming week as aaron starts his last round of high dose chemo and then LORD willing we head home saturday or sunday we are just so excited to be heading home and spending some quality time with friends and loved ones well talk to you all very soon and by the way thank you all soooooo much for all the love and support but most of all the prayers please keep them coming

also mom and the brothers will be heading home on monday morning so please pray for traveling mercies thank you again

love hugs kisses and lots of misses,

marilyn and aaron

Thursday, February 26, 2004 10:56 AM CST

hello hello hello everyone well aaron is doing ok his aunt sue is here and he hasnt been feeling real well but he sure loves this clifford she brought from a friend from her work he needs platelets as of today and so we will be in the medicine room for a while getting those he still isnt eating very much but after this round of chemo they will put him back on peractin (an appitite stimulant) to get him to eat better well nothing other really going on just hanging at rmh the radiothon is today and tomorrow so we will be telling our story in hopes to bring money into the rmh well thank you all for all your love support and prayers and please keep them coming talk to you all very soon

love hugs and kisses

marilyn and aaron

Monday, February 23, 2004 2:30 PM CST

hello hello hello everyone well aaron went to see doc santana and well he needed platlets and blood today so now we cant start chemo until next tuesday so guess we will be happy to have the brothers and grandma come here just to hang out and go have fun the weather has been great and hopefully it will stay that way well i did ask some very important questions today and first after we finish chemo next week we will be all packed and ready to head home because we only will have 3 weeks home and im sure since this chemo makes aaron very sick we will spend one in the hospital that means 2 weeks to go have fun with all of you from home so cancel all you plans and plan to have fun with us and maybe we can plan something great big to celebrate the fact we are done with chemo and just hang out i know we will probably spend every night possible having avantis since that is all aaron talks about and after transplant he cant have fast food for a while i am really excited and i know aaron is he just cant wait to come home and see everyone and feel a lil normal (i guess that what we call it) for a lil while by the way i will be bringing lil andree and aaron with me when i come back so please remember andree in your prayers these next few months as he deals with issues of being the donor as he is very scared and worried well anyway thank you all sooooo much for all your love, thoughts, support, and most of all your prayers as we all know THE BIG MAN UPSTAIRS is holding aaron in his arms everyday and really carring us though all this by his grace well talk to you all very soon

love hugs kisses, and lots of misses

marilyn and (our lil superhero) aaron

Sunday, February 22, 2004 7:33 PM CST

well let me first just say sorry for posting my "trash" or should i say dirty laundry on the previous journal entry but(and i know there is always a but) i was just trying to get certain "people" and they know who they are off my back about Andre'e we really have come a long way and hope to continue to keep it this way so sorry for making comments about my personal life for you all to read please disregard the previous journal entry

well anyway on to a better subject aaron got platlets yesterday and his anc was 1000 so we may be starting his chemo on tuesday of this next week rather than waiting until the first week in march that means that we will be heading home alot soon than we even thought so maybe this weekend when mom and the boys come we may be going home all together(please say an extra prayer that happens) well anyway we are sure feeling alot better still not 100% but getting there i also wanted to say thank you to linda cooper for all her extra special effort in getting aaron mail next week as she posted a sign at work asking that everyone send aaron a shower of cards and so he will be getting alot of mail this next week to make up for lack of mail this last week i also want to say a huge thank you to all of you for all your love, support, encouraging words, and prayers and please keep them coming as we end this last round of chemo and head into transplant talk to you all very soon

love hugs and kisses and lots of misses,

marilyn and aaron

Saturday, February 21, 2004 3:20 PM CST

hello hello hello everyone well i am just today starting to feel a lil better sorry for not writing you all sooner but i really had been feeling like do-do and thank you to all of you who have been saying special prayers for aaron and i we sure needed them this week as it was a bear trying to get out of bed to go to the hospital but as always GOD carried me through and beleive me some days he really was carring with his own two hands well aaron's counts were still low so he still has to wear a mask but he is getting better and better everyday he has a really yucky cough but he seems to be holding his own still his energetic self as usual he was so funny the other night my mom called to check on us and i really wasnt feeling very well so my mom told him to do something nice for me and he was like what can i do shes the mommy im just a boy but my mom said well you could rub her back cause mommy does that for you when you dont feel well so i had no clue that they had this conversation and well that night my whole body was hurting and so aaron rubbed my back until we both fell asleep and the next night when i talked to my mom i told her about the great back rub and she told me she talked to aaron and that she told him to do something special well anyway needless to say what a big boy he is and wow thanks mom

well other than getting over this horrible stuff we are doing good aarons dad showed up today and aaron was just overjoyed he really wants to just be home with the brothers but having daddy here is a good thing for him and for those of you who know the past between him and i well i must say sometimes in life we have to put the past behind us and GROW UP if you know what i mean and no we are not sleeping together i really feel i have done alot of growing up and now realize that life isnt all about that high school stuff anymore well i am enjoying not have to be at aarons every whim since andre'e is here he can kinda take over and boy sure is nice to have a break if you know what i mean

by the way it was really weird this week aaron got no mail and i hope you all havent forgot about him he was well enough to check it but everyday nothing well anyway hopefully we will be going home soon and then you all can have a break from mail for a while i sure appreciate the thougths prayers emails and of course the phone calls to check up on us and please keep it coming well next weekend the brothers and mom will be down again and of course aaron cant wait

by the way about the laptop well i got it earlier this week but i was just too sick to fiddle with it so on thursday i tried to get it running but it must have gotten broken on the way here so i called and they are shipping a new one so hopefully we will be up and running soon

well once again thanks to you all for everything and please keep those prayers coming one more round of chemo and then home we go for a while

love hugs and kisses and lots of misses,

marilyn and aaron

Monday, February 16, 2004 3:13 PM CST

hello hello hello everyone just wanted to let you all know we are still inpatient expecting to head out of here around 4 or 5pm tonight aarons counts are still 0 but he hasnt spiked a fever for 3 days so they say he is ok to head back to rmh anyway now i am sick i have some kind of sinus stuff and i really think i have a ear infection but as we all know the ones who have spent anytime here for a while that there are no doctors around here so we have to take the over the counter stuff and if its that bad that we really need to get a prescribtion then i guess we have to pay for that on our own i am really hoping that i feel better real soon as being sick while trying to take care of a sick child is a very very tough job

mom and the brothers came this weekend and aaron had the time of his life he had so much fun with them and his school sent a huge package to him from all the staff and students for valentines day they all loved everything they got and since we were inpatient we gave those children who were inpatient the goodie bags and all the kids loved them there was one child who hadnt moved for 3 days and they gave him that bag and he started playing cards with his daddy and he really loved the bag so thank you soooooo much to the staff and students of NORTHMOOR EDISON for all your love and support and just know you really made someones day alot brighter

well we will hope to hear from you all very soon and by the way keep those prayers and thoughts coming as we still have one more round of chemo to go and then we are heading home for a brief stay and cant wait to be home and see all of you well talk to you all very soon and please pray whatever this is i have goes far away and stays away for ever i really feel lousy

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and aaron

Thursday, February 12, 2004 9:58 AM CST

hello everyone well guess where we are???? no not home no not at ronald mcdonald house yeap you guessed it we are at the hospital and yes we are inpatient well aaron decided to spike a temp of 100.8 last night around 11pm and so i called and they admitted him around 12am so here we are for those of you i have talked to lately i was off by a lil time but i guessed pretty much right that aaron would be inpatient by the weekend and well here we are (by the way for those of you concerned he was contagious he is not nor was he ever!!!!!!!) well when we got here his anc was 300 his hemoglobin was 6.3 and his platelets were 13 so he got blood and platelets and so far no temp since last night well today is his last day of radiation and go aaron he has gotten one thing out of the way so far and only 2 more obstacales to go and one of those 2 is almost over also well anyway thank you all for all your love and support and most of all your prayers you all are so wonderful and have no idea how much this means to us

well just an fyi i am getting a laptop computer donated for me to use while aaron is getting treatment and it will come sometime next week i am soooo excited i can hardly wait as some of you know when you try to call me i am in the computer room and now i will be able to get your calls and also spend alot more time with my brave lil superhero at the same time he is excited to he loves to play games on the computer and well now he can and doesnt have to wait for one of the 4 at the hospital or rmh

also i asked aaron if he wanted the brothers to still come to visit them and he said like of course mom duh well needless to say they are still coming but we are going to make the best of it so anyway pray for mom and the boys to make it safe as the weather is a lil crazy also a big thank you to everyone who has sent the brothers a lil something special for valentines day you have no idea how much this has meant to them i called them last night and they were like mom we are getting mail now too it was so wonderful to hear the smile on their faces just as i see the smile on aarons face well aaron is really loving his mail too and he looks forward to getting it everyday and we even get mail everyday what a joy for me too oh yeah i am still in the process of sending thank you cards with aarons picture in it so please bear with me as this process gets interrupted alot but i want you all to know i am still working on it and you all will have a picture soon if you have mailed something and sent a return address on your envelope

well anyways thank you all sooooooo much and we love and miss you all and cant wait to be together for a short while very soon

love hugs and kisses, and lots of misses,

marilyn and aaron

Monday, February 9, 2004 9:32 PM CST

hello hello hello everyone well i sure hope all of you said an extra special prayer today for aaron and i we had a very rough day well first we went to the hosptial and got radiation got his blood drawn and then saw the doctor and well dr santana wanted to send us home for a week and i was very stern with him that i wasnt leaving until we got done with the fourth round that is just way to much on all of us to drive home and turn around and come right back so i told him we were staying until after round 4 and he said ok and of course aaron heard the word home and was like yes yes i want to go home well needless to say he was way bumbed and i had no clue why and like lighting it struck me that he really wanted to go home so i tried to talk to him for an hour and he just sat there sad and looking mad at the world so his buddy aaron said hey want to go play and he didnt even respond so i knew then something had to be wrong so i went to pick him up and he started smacking me right across the face like six times i was like totally shocked i started to tear up but then asked what is wrong with you and he just almost jumped out of my arms and so i was really upset with him and embarassed needless to say he has never acted like that well i but him in a chair like he was in time out while i ate lunch he wanted nothing to eat so i finished eating and took him to his room and went to check mail which he really loves to do but today he just was very angry so i left him in the room and went alone as i really just needed a breather and well by the time i got back to the room he was really pissed he would say nothing but i could tell he had been crying i asked once again whats wrong and well he said nothing once again so the phone rang and i talked for a minute and then someone knocked on the door and i answered it and by that time he was fuming so me and his "st. jude grandma" tried to tickle him and make him laugh but he was really just mad at the world so she left and i tried to get him to talk again and well boy did i get more than i could bargain with he started really crying and saying mommy i just want to go home i want this all to be over i just miss my brothers and want to go home of course i just start crying too and well then it comes to me to pray aloud dear father please soothe aaron and give him peace and help him understand that this will all be over soon and we can go home for good and see the brothers and grandma then aaron stopped crying and asked if the brothers could come here this weekend so i said i would call grandma and see and of course grandma would drop anything to grant any wish aaron had so she and the brothers and maybe daddy are coming this weekend and he is just estatic well needless to say we took a nap and woke up all refreshed and happy and of course in much better moods and praise the LORD he is playing with his friend aaron again in the play room well anyway please say extra prayers for aaron as i now see just how hard this really is on 5yo boy and of course all the rest of us i sure you all are crying just as i did today but you can stop now because JESUS IS CARRYING US THROUGH THIS AND HE HAS US IN THE PALM OF HIS HAND and as aarond would say THE ANGELS ARE HERE TOO!!!!!!

well anyway thank you all sooooooo much for all the love and support and please keep all those thoughts and prayers coming by the way dont forget about the brothers and their real mail (see previous journal update for more info)

just wanted to say an extra special thank yous to all the other cancer parents who have come from home and blessed us so much with such love and support you all know who you are and thanks to you all

also please say an extra special prayer for a long time friend of mine and our family as he was only 25 and passed away from a massive heart attack yesterday unexpectedly

also we are seeing alot of patients passing away and getting their angel wings and please say extra prayers for all those who have lost their precious ANGELS and those who are still fighting for a cure of this horrible disease

thank you all again so much and well my fingers are tired of typing so we love and miss you all and please know just how grateful we are for everything you all have done and are doing you sure have been a blessing

love hugs and lots of kisses,

marilyn and aaron

Saturday, February 7, 2004 3:25 PM CST

hello hello hello everyone so glad you all are keeping track of aaron and i we are so apprecative of all you love support and prayers you love and concern for us has been such an inspiration to both myself and aaron

aaron is doing great and he is really feeling alot better he is finishing up his final day of chemo today and then we will get one more round before we head home yesterday he started feeling quite sick but they gave him some adivan and he felt alot better but they have always told me to watch aaron for any sign of seizure activity and well i sure got the scare yesterday while we were waiting so patiently (yeah right) in the medicine room for them to find a room aaron was asleep and then all the sudden he woke up and looked at me and then started peeing on himself i was like aaron what are you doing and he just looked at me and then said mommy mommy and i really got scared so dr ahn walked in and i told her to come take a look at aaron and she did and she said just watch him he might have been just sleepy so i did the rest of the night and he seemed to be fine we were suppose to go to a hockey game last night but i was just to iffy about that so we stayed home and watched movies and of course cartoons

well also last night aaron asked to call his dad which he hasnt asked to do since he told me to call him at the end of october when he told me his tumor was back so i let him call his dad and they had a good conversation

well other than that we will be going out with some of our friends from back home tomorrow evening for supper cant wait to see everyone together again i really get boosts from hearing from everyone and seeing everyone doing so well

also thank you all for all you love and support for my friend julie and baby travis please keep praying we had a major incident happen this morning with mommy and travis and please pray GOD give her peace and comfort her with him great big arms

as always thank you all for all you love and support and most of all encouragement and prayers you all are wonderful also thanks for all your real mail for aaron

i have a very special request if you could this week only please send the brothers something special in the mail for valentines day i am sending them a package monday and know they would really love getting some mail too they are just as deserving of this as aaron and i are thank you all so much and keep those prayers coming the address is Andree and Antavious Hunter, 1618 West Kettelle, Peoria, IL 61605

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and aaron

Tuesday, February 3, 2004 3:22 PM CST

new update as of wednesday morning well aaron and i got home at 130am this morning and he did good until we had to wake up at 7am to go radiation this morning and well then the puking started he is getting really sick once again from all this chemo and please say extra special prayers for him as he hates this part as well as i please stop now and say a special prayer that the anti nausea drugs will start helping and he wont be as sick as last time thank you all soooooo much

hello hello hello everyone well we are currently in the medicine room getting chemo and blood yesterday i got the news that we were ok for chemo but just couldnt bring myself to let yall know since everything changes around here so often well anyway we sure are glad this is going according to schedule aaron really is going into this round with everything looking great and hoping to keep that same attitude going he is so funny he really is so spoiled rotten thanks to all of you lol lol really i know i do the same thing to him well let me just say i think aaron know has every super hero thing walmart sells or so i thought until we went to spend the money he got from all his fans all around the world and he found 3 new superhero motorcycles and he plays and plays with them we tote them to the hospital every single day and guess who totes them of course me in his famous ninja turtle book bag of course well as you can see i keep rambling on but aaron really is doing great i sure have been seeing alot of familar faces from peoria here and they all are looking great and doing well and there are many more coming down for check-ups these next few weeks it sure is nice to see all of you from back home even if for only a short trip i know you all are loving that

well once again thank all of you praying for our lil buddy travis he is doing great he may be moving out of the icu soon the tube is gone and he is breathing on his own they started his feeding back up and he is doing good with those too well thank again for all you love and support for our lil buddy and of course for our lil superhero mr. aaron and please keep those thoughts prayers and positive vibes coming and of course the real mail aaron is really loving this he gets mail from all over the world i really mean all over the world i laughed so hard yesterday when he got mail addresses to Master Aaron Hunter what a hoot well thank you all again for everything talk to you all very soon

love hugs and kisses

marilyn and aaron

Friday, January 30, 2004 4:47 PM CST

hello hello hello everyone well aaron is doing great as far as playing eating and hanging out with his st jude buddies at the ronald mcdonald house he went the grizzles game (basketball) on wednesday night and he ate like a big pig he is really picking up his eating and wants to eat every 5 minutes welll other than that just the same old radiation everyday and hopefully we can start chemo on tuesday please pray this can happy (i cant beleive i just said that) but anyway we really need to get this show on the road so we can go home soon and see all those big fans of ours by the way we really have a real famous (well kinda famous) person that has sent us mail for those of you who know the rivermen they are the local hockey team from home they sent aaron a bobble head doll of his favorite player trevor baker #12 he really loves him because he always gets in fights and i really think thats funny he also send aaron a picture holding a sign at the game saying "hi aaron" he even had a black eye aaron thought wow i must have missed a good fight well trevor if you or any of the other guys get a chance to read this website just know you are also a hero to aaron for taking all those blows and of course for giving them too well i also must say we received this thanks to another st jude family sarah and her mom thanks girls you have no idea how proud aaron was to get that package well i also have been getting alot of people who have just been blessed or lead to read aarons web page to send cards packages and money thank you all so much for all your support i have tried to keep up on all the thank you letters but seems we have way more fans than i could have ever imagined please know you all are making a very sick lil superhero very very very happy with all this mail it truly is the highlight of his day to get mail he cant wait to get back from the hospital just to see what you all have sent him well thank you all once again and hey keep those cards and packages coming

by the way thanks to all of you who have been praying for aarons lil buddy travis he is doing good and is now at st jude in icu recovering from surgery i havent made it up there yet but his mommy (julie) says he is getting better everyday well still keep those prayers coming as she too has alot on her hands

also thank you all for all you prayers for our family and as usual please keep them coming i know GOD is listening and hearing us all as i see aaron getting better and better everyday i know this chemo will be tough again next week (hopefully) but the soon we get it in the faster we can start recovering well thank again and talk to you all soon

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and aaron

ps oh yeah please say an extra special prayer for my grandpa mowder he is really sick he had surgery 2 weeks ago and he is still not feeling well but he is just as strong willed as aaron so i know through prayers from all of yall he will make it back to his fisty self

Monday, January 26, 2004 9:41 PM CST

hello hello hello everyone just wanted to give you all a very quick update well aaron got to spend exactly one day with the brothers and grandma they got here around 8am and left at 10pm because the weather was horrible in missouri and so they wanted to make it home safe well anyway things with me telling andree about the match and the fact he was the donor went over quite well i was happy and yet surprised but he is very glad to be missing school and knows mommy will baby him just like i do aaron well on another note aaron is doing much much much better he is still having diarrhea but the docs arent too worried about it and radiation is going good too but he was suppose to start chemo tomorrow but his platelets are low so they are going to try again next week after he recovers a little more well he is back to eating everything in sight again he at 4 peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches today and tator tots and drake lots and he ate spagetti for supper and just ate a whole bag of pepperoni he has lost the slim jim fix and now eats pepperoni all the time well thank you all once again for all the support love and prayers and please keep it all coming especially the really mail for aaron he is really enjoying getting all this fan mail and cant wait to check it everyday i now have to let him get the mail because he is afraid mommy will open it first he even opens my mail too

well i have a very special prayer request for another lil guy that aaron has fell in love with who is not doing good at all please pray for travis and his family as they battle a horrible aggressive brain tumor he just had emergency surgery today and this went well but please pray for his mommy as she also is a single parent raising 5 children all alone so please stop and say a special prayer for her (julie) and travis and of course aaron and the brothers and grandma and me too.

thank you all soooooooooooo much for everything and please keep those positive thoughts coming

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and aaron

Friday, January 23, 2004 1:49 PM CST

hello hello hello everyone well just wanted to update as i sure have been slacking as you can see well just trying to get things around here figured out well first the good news from last time has changed aaron and i are only 50% matches so they told me yesterday that aaron and little andre'e his brother are full matches and he will be the donor now so please pray for me as this weekend they are coming back down to visit and i will be telling his this news and pray he will handle this ok i know he and antavious were so excited that they didnt have to go through this but now i must break the bad but great news to andre'e well i still have good news and that is the doctor says we will only be getting 2 more rounds of chemo (basically 2 more months) and then we can go home for 2-4 weeks before the transplant and then we will be living in the target house since that will be such a long process well aaron sure has purked up since the brothers were here last weekend and he cant wait to see them tomorrow when they get here well aaron is doing ok with radiation so far except when he gets out of radiation his area on his head that the metastasis is really is swollen havent quite figured that out yet but i hope that means its working as the swelling goes away as the day goes on

i have to say a great big thank you to everyone for all your love and support you have no idea how much this means to our family the cards and money and prayers are really what we need right now and we really cant say thank you enough

also we went with the bikers last night on their weekly dinner ride and went to a mexican restraunt and boy was it good but today it just isnt agreeing with me imagine that

well thank you all soooooo much for all the love and support and most of the prayers and hey keep them coming and dont forget aarons real mail he loves so much his lil eyes just light up when he gets mail today he got like 8 things and he just ripped and ripped them open i barely got the addresses before they were all shredded up but i made do thank you all once again and keep it coming

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and aaron

Monday, January 19, 2004 4:13 PM CST

hello hello hello everyone well do you want the good news or the bad new first.......

i guess the bad news first since we can save the best for last well anyway i met with dr. santana today and asked him the question i am getting from everyone what is aarons prognosis.... well i got what i asked for let me just say i knew what was coming but just waited to hear it from the horses mouth he looked me right in the eye and said well not good not good at all and said to let aaron spend as much time as possible with all his friends and family and so i really have been thinking and i now realize why he told me we could go home and have all the chemo but i just really feel that being here if anything should happen would be better i now have thought twice about that but i really feel i have made the best decision i could at least for now well anyway i know who is the alpha and omega and GOD is the real doctor and i have so much faith much more than i ever have in my entire life so i really feel and hope and pray aaron just doesnt suffer or have much pain

anyway off that subject and on to the good news i have been waiting patiently for the answer as to who is going to be the donor for aarons transplant and well i asked again today and guess what when i asked last week dr. ahn said that myself nor his dad could be the match because we would never be 100% well she was wrong because I ME MARILYN am the match i was so excited i could hardly contain myself after hearing the bad news and now this great news that means the brothers dont even have to worry and i know i am more than happy to give anything to my son or any of my children for that matter well let me just say he is my baby boy and well im just exstatic i guess mom will have to come and baby me and aaron while this happens but it will be well worth it i also asked when this may take place and he said not for a while we need to get aaron at least mostly clean and that will take at least 2-6 more rounds so we still have a long road ahead of us keep those thoughts and prayers coming

well anyway aaron is still on high from having the brothers and grandma with him this weekend and he is doing alot better he and the brothers had that photo shoot today and they were great well let me just say antavious is a photo man he requested to pose the way he wanted to and they let he he was such a ham and so were the rest of the boys let me just say this will be the hardest pictures to pick out yet as they only allow 2 pick from each photo session i took some with my camera too but im sure they will never amount to the ones taken professional well southern cruisers get ready because aaron took the best pictures you have ever seen and i really expect yall to use them for publisity purposes to raise money for st jude

well anyway thank you all again for all the love prayers and support and thoughts and hey aaron already started to get that real mail and please keep it coming he is loving it well talk to you all later i probably wont update again until thursday after we see dr ahn aaron has to get blood and platelets tomorrow so i will hope to hear from everyone between now and then

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and aaron

Saturday, January 17, 2004 10:53 AM CST

hello hello hello everyone well just a fyi aaron is out of the hospital he got to come back to rmh yesterday and the brothers and grandma made it safe and they are having the time of thier lives with aaron as he is with them

well anyway here is the latest the spinal tap they wanted to do was canceled yesterday because they really dont like to do them with 0 anc so they may do it sometime next week radiation will start sometime next week as he hasnt been put on the schedule yet to start they were waiting to see if he need to have his spine radiated too

well anyway he is still having headaches and puking only when he first wakes up though so that is a good thing but sucks to wake up to a bed full of puke well anyway just wanted to let you all know that we are outta the hospital and hanging in here and very happy to have company with us this weekend having those brothers around sure boosts aarons spirits and they sure dont let him get down he also really loves grandma home cooking

well thank you all for all your love and support and prayers and please keep them coming also please pray for good weather as mom and the brothers will be traveling home on monday and they say bad weather may be coming to peoria this week ahead

also wanted to let you all know aaron and the brothers will be having a photo shoot with st jude on monday morning at 10:00 am and aaron will also at the time be shooting his pictures with his harley and biker gear so look forward to seeing new pictures with him and all his new presents from christmas thanks to all those wonderful fans and friends who made his christmas one i really dont think he will ever forget (as we all know he deserved it)

oh yeah i received a wonderful christmas present donated from jones brothers jewelers and it was stolen while we were inpatient in the hospital (i know st jude just sent out a newsletter saying to leave your valuables at home) that necklace was such a treasure to me especially since aaron relapsed and all. it was a mother child necklace and aaron always said mommy thats me and you right and i really loved that necklace well anyway please pray that the person who stole it returns it to its rightful owner

also remember aaron is still waiting for real mail (me too) and cant wait to hear from all his biggest fans and supporters

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and aaron

Thursday, January 15, 2004 2:56 PM CST

HELLO HELLO HELLO EVERYONE I AM SURE ALL OF YOU ARE WONDERING WHERE THE UPDATE IS SINCE I USUALLY UPDATE EVERYDAY WELL AARON WAS A WHOLE NEW KID YESTERDAY AND WE WERE SCHEDULED TO HEAD BACK TO RMH TODAY BUT HE WOKE UP FEELING VERY SICK TO HIS STOMACH AND HIS HEAD HURT LIKE CRAZY SO I REQUESTED SOME PAIN MEDS AND THEY SAID HE REALLY NEEDED TO POOP SINCE HE HASNT FOR 10 DAYS NOW SO THEY GAVE HIM THE PAIN MEDS ANYWAY BUT HE STARTED THROWING UP SHORTLY AFTER ANYWAY WE WHERE SCHEDULED TO MEET WITH THE RADIOLOGIST DR. KRASIN AND WE DID THAT AS LONG AND TIRING AS IT WAS THEN AARON STARTED THROWING UP AGAIN AND THEY WANTED TO CANCEL THE SIMULATION (MARKING OF HIS HEAD FOR RADIATION) BUT I SAID WE ALREADY CANCELED ONCE SO I REALLY WANTED TO KEEP THIS APPOINTMENT SO THEY DID IT WITH NO SEDATION SINCE HE WAS SO PUKIE ANYWAY THE DOC SAID THAT HE TALKED WITH DR SANTANT AND THEY MAY BE DOING A SPINAL TAP SOON AND HE MAY HAVE DISEASE THERE TOO AND THEY MAY RADIATE ALL OF HIS SPINE AND HEAD BONES BUT WE WILL SEE WHEN I MEET WITH DR SANTANA MONDAY WELL I WAS SUPPOSE TO FIND OUT TODAY IF THE BROTHERS WERE A MATCH BUT STILL WAITING ON THAT NEWS

OTHER THAN ALL THIS CRAZY SPREADING OF CANCER WE ARE HANGING IN HERE AARON IS STILL ASKING FOR FOOD AND I AM TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH HIS REQUESTS BUT SOME I REFUSE TO LEAVE TO GET SO I TOLD HIM WHEN WE GOT OUT WE WOULD GET THEM ANYWAY THEY STILL HAVE HIM ON STERIODS AND LOOKS LIKE WE WILL BE IN HERE FOR ANOTHER DAY OR SO

ANYWAY ALOT OF YOU HAVE BEEN ASKING HOW I AM HANGING IN HERE AND LET ME JUST SAY BY THE GRACE OF GOD I AM DOING VERY GOOD UNDER THIS SITUATION WELL I JUST HAVE FAITH GOD WILL PROVIDE AND MAKE MY BABY BOY ALL BETTER AND HEAL HIM AND KEEP HIM FROM ANY SUFFERING AND PAIN

AARONS SPIRITS ARE GOOD AND HE IS STILL THE SAME AS FAR AS HIS SPIRIT JUST PLEASE KEEP THOSE THOUGHT AND PRAYERS COMING AS WE START RADIATION AND CONTINUE STERIODS AND PLEASE PRAY HE POOPS VERY SOON LIKE TONIGHT

ALSO PRAY FOR MOM AND THE BOYS AS THEY WILL BE TRAVELING AROUND 4 OR 5 AM TOMORROW MORNING TO COME SEE AARON AND I WE SURE NEED THEM AND MISS THEM

WELL ANYWAY THANK YOU ALL ONCE AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT AND KEEP ALL THOSE PRAYERS COMING AS WE CONTINUE TO FIGHT THIS VERY TOUGH BATTLE AND I KNOW OUR LIL SUPERHERO WILL MAKE IT!!!!!!!!!!

LOVE HUGS AND KISSES

MARILYN AND AARON

PS I HEARD FROM THE GRAPEVINE THAT OUR WEBSITE WAS HARD TO READ SO PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THIS IS BETTER I HOPE SO DONT FORGET TO SIGN THE GUESTBOOK AND SEND AARON HIS MAIL HE CAN HARDLY WAIT TO START HEARING FROM ALL OF YOU VERY SOON

Tuesday, January 13, 2004 10:57 PM CST

hey hey hey everyone well aaron and i
are currently inpatient at st jude aaron cant stop having all these fluid pressure headaches and cant stop throwing up so they gave him every single solitary kind of anti nausea med and every steriod and even morphine and he still is throwing up they say its from the chemo but i know for sure its from the pressure in his brain the disease is spreading and he is so sick a doctor came in his room tonight and said he had a sinus infection too and that he thought he might even have disease behind his eyes and if would couldnt get his headaches under control with steriods we may have to consider other options like full head radiation i know today we were suppose to meet with the radiologist but aaron was just toooooooo sick and they wanted to get his pain and nausea under control first before they started radiation so we will try to meet with them on thursday if we can get everything else under control well thank all of you for all the love prayers and support i know i keep asking of all of you and last time i was kinda down and wrote a whole story book but this is my only way to releave myself and it sure helps knowing you all support us and pray for us as we go through this crazy and difficult time well anyway i have another request and that is if you can send mail (real mail) to aaron that would just make his day he hasnt had any since we have been here and he loves may any kind would do he gets so excited to get mail and i really feel since he is so sick right now he would benefit from a lil uplift as i do from reading all of these guest book entries and by the way thank all of you for signing in as you visit now i sure missed all the support from yall and greatly appreciate all your uplifts as i need all i can get well anyway enough babbling on to the addresses you can mail any mail to either of these addresses until further notice

Ronald McDonald House
attn Aaron Hunter Room 12
535 Alabama Ave
Memphis, TN 38105
(901) 312-7412 is our phone # at rmh
(309) 648-6586 is my cell that is with me most of the time

or

St Jude Hospital
Attn Aaron Hunter
332 N Lauderdale Ave
Memphis, TN 38105

well as always thank you all for all your love support and prayers please keep them coming and keep up the great job on the guestbook and i know you all will do the same for aaron

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and aaron

Saturday, January 10, 2004 8:38 PM CST

hello everyone well sorry for not updating you all yesterday but what a crazy day we had well first aaron has been having such horrible headaches and so they ordered a ct of his head for yesterday afternoon around 1245pm while we were still inpatient and when they did it he wouldnt hold very still he was sure a burger yesterday as far as being a big boy but the radiologist that usually reads the ct was right there and he didnt like the looks of the ct and wanted an mri done asap but no openings so they sent us back to our room upstairs and were going to discharge us anyway but within 15 minutes they called the nurses from mri and they had an opening and they called us right down they did aarons mri with no sedation even though he was a crazy kid on the ct table he was very not himself yesterday anyway falling down saying he felt crazy and dizzy so anyway the same radiologist came in and said he was doing this mri without sedation and i was like what but they felt they had no time so he bribed aaron with $2.00 and knowing aaron loves money he said ok so he layed still and i even got to go into the room with aaron as everyone know that never happens here at st jude that the parents get to go into the sedation room with the kid so anyway all the sudden the mri starts and aaron falls right to sleep with no problem and no sedation yeah aaron anyway out of no where dr santana shows up and he is not happy with me right now because i told him we were staying and not going home anyway he knocks on the window and waves and me with this look on his face at that point i know this cant be good when there are 2 doctors and a radiologist looking at aarons films as they are being taken so as i sit there watching aaron looking like a zombie i thing to myself this cant be good and of course they tell you nothing until later anyway so they escourt us back up to our room on the second floor and then here they come with the news well everyone we thought hearing aaron had relapsed was bad but now the area that i found the lump in the back of aarons head well its full blown cancer and possibly not even the same kind so they are starting radiation on tuesday or wednesday i will surely update you all when i know more details about what all will be going on after i meet with the radiologist on tuesday at 1030am please keep all those prayers coming as we need all the prayer warriors to pray for aaron and even those of you who are not prayers please keep us in your thoughts tonight at the ronald mcdonald house we went to a mini service as i would call it with a family who lost their daughter to cancer and they come here once a month to serve us dinner and have a lil church with us they prayed a really nice prayer with aaron and i to have strength to beleive that GOD will prevail in this situation and heal aaron and bring him back into remission i have faith that GOD is on the thrown and he will do what is in the best interest of us all aaron has been pretty sick from the chemo and headaches but he is still a lil superhero to all of us and he is so very brave and stong and we know that he will make it through all this as hard as it will be well enough bad news some good news anyone have any HA HA HA well we have some of that too aaron and i went on a trolley ride with some of the other patients and parents today even though aaron slept the whole time he still wanted to go see i told you hes a lil superhero well anyway we had a blast

some prayer requests please pray for one of the st jude runners as he goes for knee replacement surgery he ran for aaron this past year

continue to pray for laura's family as they try to bounce back from laura's death

and of course please continue to pray for us as we fight our battle with this horrible disease and win this battle one way or another

and pray for all these other families and children who are fighting right along with us

well thank you all once again for all your love and support and hey keep up the good work

also i am realizing that alot of you look as the update but dont sign the guest book please even if you just say hi i love hearing from you all and your words are what keep this single momma going as hard as this is

love hugs and kisses to you all,

marilyn and aaron

Thursday, January 8, 2004 6:15 PM CST

hey everyone well just a HUGE udate on aaron first he is starting to get very sick from this chemo thank GOD tonight is his last round for another month second we had a mibg done today and as we already kinda knew he had neuroblastoma cells in the bone and soft tissue of his base of his skull and the spot they removed the tumor from before well that area lit up again even more which means his tumor grew back there again and is probably in the right kidney which is already dead anyway so we may have surgery to remove that kidney sometime soon and he also has tumors in both thighs those areas also lit up like fire well other than all that news we are hanging in here

thank all of you who read my note yesterday about having the courage to stand up to doc santana and let him know we are not leaving here anytime soon and we want to fight this tough fight here in memphis well i informed him tonight and he said well you make the arrangements with the travel office and you can stay so that is really no problem as we are already at the ronald mcdonald house as is so guess we will be here for a while

for those of you wanting to help our family and just dont have money but still want to help in some way please call my mom as she really could use help with the boys while we will be gone from peoria for quite sometime this time and i really know she is very stressed and could just use some free time if anyone could help her that would be great as those of you who have helped us with the boys before know they are really great kids her number is (309) 673-9135 thank you in advance for your support

well aaron is spiking fevers now so they started antibiotics so we may be inpatient long than tomorrow but as you know there will be another update tomorrow well thank you all for all your support and love and prayers

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn

Wednesday, January 7, 2004 1:04 PM CST

hello hello hello everyone well aaron got his second round of chemo started last night and well he did very good but around 1130pm last night he started feeling sick and so i called the nurse to give him some benadryl and that sure helped as he feel right to sleep and woke up this morning all swollen from the fluids the doctors came in and looked at him and are giving him 8hours to pee and as he got up and moved around the swelling in seemed to go away so hopefully he will not have to have lasix other than that aaron is still his happy self he is playing all the time and still eating all that goulash he ate at least 5 bowls yesterday and now today finally something new well not so new but bagel bacon egg and cheese he has had 2 already today and counting he is such a porker hopefully he will be eating like this the rest of the time since topotecan is not on his list of chemos this time anyway keep all those prayers and thought coming as we sure could use them

by the way please pray for my mom as this time she seems to be stressed having the boys and that only stresses me also since the other half doesnt help that much we are really needing help with the boys this time anyway please pray for her to have peace and comfort in helping take care the the brothers

also please pray for me to have the strength and knowledge to speak my mind to the doctors about have all the chemo done here in memphis

well talk to you all again tomorrow and keep all those thoughts and prayers coming

love hugs and kisses

marilyn and aaron

Monday, January 5, 2004 3:26 PM CST

HELLO HELLO HELLO EVERYONE WELL LET ME FIRST JUST SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH CHICKASAW CHAPTER OF MEMPHIS TN YOU ALL HAVE SURE MADE A LIL SUPERHERO'S CHRISTMAS ALOT BRIGHTER AND REALLY MADE HIS MOMS TOO

Well just a lil update on aaron he is doing great the doc Santana saw him today and said he looked great!!!!! Go Aaron Go Aaron!!!! We will be going inpatient tomorrow sometime they will call us when they have a room ready and we will start our 2nd round of 8-10 please keep those prayers coming as we start this round as aarons kidney is starting to act up and we really need him to remain as stable as possible

Well i'm sure you all are waiting very impatiently to hear about our HOOTERS party last night first it was pooring rain here and ms vickie(pbl) greeted us at the door to get aaron from the car well what a blast he had he was so excited he had a ton of presents and he was ready as ever to open them right up ms vickie said wait until you eat but the bikers convinced her to let him open them before as he was loving every minute of it we have plenty of pictures and hopefully they will be posted very soon let me just say dr. mccalister aaron is an offical biker now as he has a vest with his new chapter logos on it and a real biker helmet and durags to boot he now has a harley davison motorcycle to ride and all the gear to go with it (thanks to northmoor president and staff, students, and families, and all the bikers of the chickasaw chapter) he also got the 4 wheeler he wanted no surprise and alot of other gifts as he was very happy and pleased with this years christmas

a huge thank you to all of you who have sent cards, money, prayers and presents and most of all your prayers as we are going through this very very tough time we really appreciate all your support and hey keep all those thought and prayers coming as we sure can us them

i want to extend my heartfelt sympathies to the valentine family on the passing of their sweet and loving daughter she really was such an inspiration to all of us back home and she will be greatly missed hey sandy you better still come visit us as often as you can

thanks again

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and aaron

Sunday, January 4, 2004 4:46 PM CST

hello hello hello everyone well just a lil update on us we made it memphis safe and sound the weather is peoria is crazy but just out side of pekin the weather was just rain all the way here talked to pbl and she warned me not to bring it with me but just as we pulled into st jude guess what rain rain and more rain well i got my new tires thanks to a very mysterious person no names mentioned and i also got new wippers but that suck and i will be paying a visit to walmart to get another new pair well i will update again tomorrow sometime while we are here all day aarons big christmas bash is tonight with all those great bikers i will let you all know about that tomorrow too he is so excited as i am too aaron deserves all the fun and excitement he can get as this point

love aaron and marilyn

ps PLEASE PRAY FOR ONE OF OUR GREATEST TEEN GIRL FROM CLINIC BACK HOME HER NAME IS LAURA VALENTINE SHE HAS PASSED AWAY PLEASE PRAY FOR HER FAMILY AS THEY GO THROUGH THIS VERY TOUGH TIME SHE WILL BE GREATLY LOVED AND MISSED HANG IN THERE SANDY

Thursday, January 1, 2004 9:14 PM CST

Hello Hello Hello Everyone!!! Aaron is doing wonderful, his counts are back up over 11000!!!! His platlets are 7,100, and hemoglobin is 10.6 and staying stable!!! He is currently eating everything in sight and then some. As you all know he is still keeping his favorites: Avantis, chicken sandwich, gouloush, and BBQ hanburgers!!! He had a wonderful Christmas, thanks in part to: Family and Friends and Staff, Parents and Students at Northmore Edison. His Harley went over real well. The "brothers and I" faired out pretty well also. Please keep us in your prayers on Sunday as we travel back to Memphis for round 2 of Chemo. I will update the website on Monday, be looking for new pictures.
by PBL per Marilyn via, telephone.....

Wednesday, December 24, 2003 2:39 PM CST

Just a quick update; Aaron and Marilyn are finally at home. Aaron is eating. Thanks to EVERYONE for the prayers for Aaron to be home for Christmas!! Hopefully he can stay home until his trip to Memphis on 1-5. Thanks to the Chickasaw Southern Cruisers for donating enough money for Christmas goodies!!! Aaron will get them when he arives in Memphis... Will update with pictures soon.... the hair is going away.... god bless all Merry Christmas to all... more updates soon. Vickie (PBL) for Marilyn and Aaron...

Thursday, December 11, 2003 2:58 PM CST

hello and good day to you all well aaron is feeling a lil better today guess what yesterday he ate for the first time since sunday he ate 1 1/2 slices of pizza hut pizza and a bread stick i was so excited that he even asked for food i was more than willing to give him anything he asked for well as of today no more chemo for now we have offically finished his first of 8-10 rounds and he seems to be doing ok he is very tired and sluggish but as i suspected he needs blood and platelets and we are waiting to get those now in the medicine room then bright and early in the morning we will be heading home i wont have access to a computer until we get back here on Jan 5 so please be aware that i am not ignoring yall but we really need to be home for christmas being with the family sure will be nice so i will update you all on all the new and exciting things when i get back to memphis

first i must say once again thank all of you for all your love and support all of you have been wonderful you have no idea how hard this has been for all our family but through all your love support and prayers it sure has mad all this alot easier

another note anyone wanting to make a donation to aaron please mail check or money order or whatever to our home address aaron hunter
1618 w kettelle
peoria, il 61605

if you have any questions please feel free to call me at (309) 648-6586 i will be more than happy to hear from you

anyone wanting to come visit over the holiday season please call first as aarons counts are dropping alot and he may be very sick so i wouldnt want him to catch anything while his counts are down everyone is more than welcome to come visit he love company and hey we all know i am more than happy to talk anyones head off with me having a blabber mouth and all HA HA HA HA

thank you northmoor (Mrs. Martinez class) for visiting aarons web site we loved hearing from all of you you are all welcome to visit anytime you want we love hearing from all our biggest fans

well hope to see all of you very soon

love hugs and kisses

marilyn and aaron

ps MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY TO YEAR TO ALL AND GOD BLESS

pps please keep those thoughts and prayers coming

Tuesday, December 9, 2003 1:50 PM CST

good afternoon all well yesterday aaron got his first pint of blood he spiked a fever yesterday but they did nothing because he had another headache that seemed to last all day long well then of course today he spiked another one but this time higher so they drew cultures and he had his first arm stick he was very upset but he really was a lil superhero he didnt move a bit but now there is a strong possibility that he will be admitted tonight if the cultures grow anything today so please pray its just a fluke well guess what purple bike lady came to see aaron today and brought him lots of goodies first he hasnt ate since sunday so she brought him his favorite bacon egg and cheese bagel(biscuit) but he still didnt want any then a new ninja turtle blanket and bookbag and sucker he is so loved around here and then of course last but not least 2 thing of gooze his new favorite toy he really loves that stuff its messy but it sure makes him happy she is so sweet and wonderful so now everyday he thinks she is suppose to bring him a present or something lord knows we will go broke at this rate

a lil note to northmoor thank you all so much for all the love and support you all are wonderful and such a blessing you have no idea how much all of the staff and parents mean to us at this critical time in our lives ps a special note to the spanish teacher ms. threw aaron watched monsters inc in spanish today and he really loved it he kept asking how did they make this movie like this he loved it he still remembers all the transportation words he learned in spanish and says them all the time in just the short time he was at northmoor he really loved it and we miss you all terribly

well to everyone thank you all for all the love and support and hope to see you all and hear from you all soon we love and miss all of you please keep and the support coming and those prayers would help too.

love hugs and kisses\

marilyn and aaron

Sunday, December 7, 2003 1:18 PM CST

HELLO EVERYONE WELL JUST A LITTLE NOTE TO LET YOU ALL KNOW HOW AARONS FIRST DAY OF CHEMO WENT WELL WE FINALLY STARTED AROUND 1230PM YESTERDAY AND ENDED AROUND 830PM LAST NIGHT AARON GOT A HEADACHE AROUND 7PM AND WAS IN ALOT OF PAIN SO THEY ORDERED TYLENOL BUT IT WAS TAKING FOREVER TO GET FROM THE PHARMACY SO I ASKED IF WE COULD US OURS THAT WAS IN THE CAR AND THEY SAID YES SO OF COURSE AARON BY THAT TIME WAS JUST SCREAMING HIS HEAD OFF AND SO I RAN TO THE CAR AND BROUGHT IT BACK AND HE TOOK IT RIGHT AWAY WELL THAT HELPED FOR THAT HEADACHE BUT JUST AS WE LEFT ST JUDE LAST NIGHT ENROUTE TO MARRIOTT HE STARTED SCREAMING AGAIN HIS HEAD WAS HURTING AND THEN HE SAID MOMMY I FELL SICK WELL GUESS WHAT NOT MEDS TO HELP HIM WERE GIVEN TO ME YESTERDAY AND NO PUKE BUCKET EITHER SO I GRABBED A ZIP LOCK BAG AND HE PUKED IN THAT I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT HIM GETTING SICK ON THE FIRST ROUND BUT GUESS THATS WHY ITS CALLED HIGH DOSE NEEDLESS TO SAY HE PUKED FROM 9PM LAST NIGHT UNTIL 5AM THIS MORNING I ONLY HAD A 32OZ CUP FROM THE HOSPITAL TO USE FOR HIM TO GET SICK INTO AND WE USED THAT ALL NIGHT AND I SURE HOPE HOUSEKEEPING AT THE MARRIOTT UNDERSTANDS WITH ALL THE MESS WE LEFT IN THE ROOM THIS MORNING I WAS SO UPSET THAT WE HAD NOTHING TO HELP HIM STOP BUT I HAD MY STASH OF BENADRYL SO I GAVE HIM THAT BUT HE JUST PUKED IT UP TOO SO I MADE SURE THIS MORNING WHEN WE GOT HERE TO THE HOSPITAL I GRABBED PUKE BUCKETS AND GOT MEDS TO HOPEFULLY PREVENT ALL THE PUKIES US ST JUDE PARENTS KNOW JUST HOW MUCH FUN THAT CAN BE AND THAT REALLY IS NO FUN AT ALL WELL BUT HE HADNT ATE SINCE LUNCH YESTERDAY BUT THIS MORNING WHEN WE GOT HERE HE ASKED FOR A BOWL OF CEREAL FRUIT LOOPS OF COURSE AND HE ATE 3 BOWLS AND 1 BOWL OF LUCKY CHARMS HOPEFULLY HE KEEPS THEM DOWN HOPE ALL OF YOU ARE DOING BETTER THAN AARON AND I ARE AND HEY KEEP ALL THOSE THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS COMING LORD KNOWS WE SURE NEED THEM

LOVE HUGS AND KISSES TO YOU ALL

MARILYN AND AARON

Friday, December 5, 2003 7:01 PM CST

well aaron and i made our journey to memphis around 130am this morning and the roads were not in our favor as it was snowing like crazy and i was driving 20-30 in a 65 but as we all know i was not turning back as today was the day to start our battle again with this phase of chemo well we arrived around 920am and of course we were late as our apointment was at 845 but they worked us in we got labs and then went to speak with the doctors well as usual things have changed once again as i found the doctors want us to only get 5 days of chemo and then return home for 3 week and then come back on jan 5 for 2-5 day of chemo and then if all goes well we will get to be home for the next 8 rounds of chemo please keep those prayers coming as this will be very difficult on aaron he is getting only high dose chemos topotecan, cyflosamyde, and isotope yucky stuff as these are the ones that mess with his kidneys right now all is well with his counts but as we all know that can change at any point in time well thank all of you for the support and encouraging words and keep them coming as this is my only way of dealing with all that is to come i really believe that aaron will make it through this battle again with our love and support and the grace of GOD almighty well i will not be around a computer while home so please be aware that i will update when i can and will have the purple bike lady update when she can for me she as just been wonderful and just want to give her an extra special thank you for all the new pictures when she has time well we will talk to you all very soon and keep those prayers coming also pray for me as i may have a new home soon pray that all will go well with that and i can keep on the payments and stuff this will be a struggle but i know if its GOD's will he will provide

love hugs and kisses

marilyn and aaron

Thursday, December 4, 2003 10:26 AM CST

hello hello hello from sunny flordia we got to go on aarons make a wish thanks to st jude and the make a wish people they are wonderful just wanted to drop a little line and say sorry for not updating sooner but just realized they have a computer on the give kids the world grounds so we are heading home in a few hours and then we will be going to memphis at 2am on friday morning since we are scheduled to be in memphis by 845am we really had the times of our lives this week we arrived on saturday afternoon and were ripping and running all the way from that point on we saw everything we wanted and were treated like kings and queens we took plenty of pictures so i will try to send all of you whose addresses we have a picture we really loved meeting mickey and minney well this was such a great way to start off the next 8 months of not so fun stuff to come but i know that GOD will provide and he will take care of all of us well just keep those prayers coming and we will talk to you all very soon i will update when i know exatly what will be happening in memphis

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and the three little a's

Monday, November 24, 2003 2:41 PM CST

well everyone the final verdict is in aaron has offically relapsed it is in his bone marrow and we will be starting chemo on Monday The doctor is letting us come home just to have a final woohoo with the family for Thanksgiving so if any of you want to come see aaron and i you are more than welcome we will be at my moms all day so stop by if you need directions please feel free to call me (309) 648-6586 and i will give you the address and directions well as i mentioned before here is what we are facing we do have options first we must get 8 rounds of chemo and pray that chemo will work so that means we will be here for at least 6 months they asked if we wanted to be here or home to get the chemo but i said here in memphis first i am very very angry with peoria but that will pass with time and second aarons kidney is functioning quite well at 77or now but just like last time that can all change with the blink of an eye so the nephrologist here knows aaron and his situation quite well so she is prepared to help out and be here whenever we need her please keep those prayers coming and i of course will be doing the same i will tell you all about other options that are available later but we may have to go to Phillidelphia or New York it just depends on how the treatment goes i never did have a benefit for aaron but dont really have the time for that either but alot of you have asked what you can do well first let me say prayers are what all of you can do but please if anyone is willing i want to set up an account to help with all these expences this time i barely made it last time and i am sure this time will be even more on me and having help would sure keep some worries off my shoulders so anyone reading this that can help please call me and let me know. well also Dr Santana said that this was not good that the cancer came back so soon but they would do all they could and they currently have some phase one studies that they will try on aaron as we all know this is a research hospital and i will give all of aaron i can just to know i could possible help another parent not have to go through this please keep all our family in your thought and prayers we will hopefully see you all very soon and we love and miss everyone of you

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and the threelittlea's

Thursday, November 20, 2003 3:27 PM CST

hello everyone sorry for not giving you all an update sooner but we made if safely to memphis and well as usual no one here knows anything we hopefully will be seeing the doctors tomorrow afternoon i have really pushed the issue and they all know the news just as most of us do but they dont want to tell us just yet as they want the particulars but i dont care i just want to here if straight from the horses mouth for those of you reading this and wondering what i am talking about on November 7th i found a lump on the back of aarons head and well of course i freaked and went straight to st jude back home and they did a ct that showed something fuzzy then they ordered a mri for tuesday that also showed something fuzzy and then on thursday they did a bone scan which also showed something fuzzy and not just there but other places too i wanted answers right away but no they all want to be hush hush but i have lots of friends and family that work for the hospital back home and they all knew the results way before i did they really wanted me to be prepared so they filled me in on somethings and well i only know this one thing for sure we have relapsed and they are saying its metastasis neuroblastoma i really believe GOD does everything for a reason and i know or should i say feel GOD himself let me see or should i say hear from aaron what is going on and what is to come
For those of you who cant handle crying right now come back to this web site on another day well here it goes 2 weeks to the day before i found the lump aaron told me the tumor was back in a nonchalaunt way then last friday night aaron and the boys and i and grandma went to eat at the local buffet well thats when aaron told me he wanted to be an angel at first i wanted to break down and just cry but i kept my composure and asked what do you mean well thats when he said he wanted his wings and i explained that God would take him when it was time and there were all kinds of family and friends waiting to see him up there then he told me that Elvis Presley was up there and that really made me laugh Then he asked me mommy whats that door i said what door that door behind Jesus i said i dont know and he said is that Jesus's house i said sure i think so and he said mommy i want to go there i said well when Jesus is ready for you thats just where you will go WOW what a story huh well let me just say Jesus will take care of us all and i really feel that he will definately be in a much better place if that is God's will for him to leave this earth I also want to say i still have hope and faith that all will be ok but i also have doubt too
thank all of you family friends and those i dont even know for all your love and support please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers and as soon as i know anything i will update this web site again i currently have the boys with me so if anything happens they will have spent as much time as possible with their brother well keep those prayers coming and i will be doing the same

love hugs and kisses,

marilyn and the three little a's

Wednesday, October 8, 2003 1:52 PM CDT

hello everyone just wanted to drop by and give all of you a very much needed wonderful update on aaron he is doing wonderful he is going to school full time and trying really hard to catch up on everything but we may be sending him to a special school for hearing impaired children so please continue to keep him in your prayers boy coming back to memphis like coming home and seeing all you long lost family all over again i sure miss all of these wonderful families and am sooooo very happy to see all of these precious children doing so wonderful zoie looks wonderful and so does jessica and savanah and of course seth they all look as good as aaron by the way aaron has had his first hair cut not much cut off though because he wants his hair to be long but grandma said no at least trim the back oh yeah guess what else DADDY'S in the army now i cant believe it he really is doing it you go DADDY (ANDRE'E) oh yeah and the boys are so excited to have their mommy and brother home they are really living it up no suprise though well as for where im staying now im still in the dump of a house for now there really isnt much sub housing in peoria and what little we have is all full so i am on waiting lists and until then im stuck unless of course ANDREE wants to marry me and sweep me off my feet or something like that lol (I could only imagine or should i say wish) well hope you all are doing wonderful and cant wait to hear from all of you we love you all soooo much and miss our st jude family and wish you all the best of luck we are only here until noon tomorrow so i will update again one month from today and fill you all in on the latest so please keep those prayers coming and i will be doing the same

love and miss all of you so very much

marilyn and aaron

Saturday, August 30, 2003 10:43 AM CDT

praise the LORD we are going home home home as of this morning we are shingle free only small scabs so we are leaving for peoria in a couple of hours i can hardly wait peoria here we come well first i want to thank GOD almighty for all he has done for my lil superhero and say thank you to all our family and friends for all your support and prayers and emails you all have made this whole process alot easier i really know we couldnt have done this without you all and GOD on our side thank you soooooooooooooooooooo much for all your faithfullness with prayers and support GOD is such an AWESOME GOD and he always is here even when we think he isnt

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU EVERYONE:)

well on to another subject as i really am almost to excited to talk about anything else for those of you who have been helping us try to find a place to live as of now we will be staying with my mom in a very little 2 bedroom house but we have made it before and i am quite sure we will make it again we always seem to have to work our way to the top and looks like we are going to be doing it again but as i said before GOD gives us what we need not what we want and in this case it really is a need not a want so please continue to pray for us as we head home to mom's (grandma's) and pray GOD's will be done in this situation in our life our new address and phone number will be as follows
Marilyn Mowder & Andre'e, Antavious, and Aaron Hunter
1618 w Kettelle
peoria, il 61605
(309) 673-9135 my moms home phone number
(309) 648-6586 my cell where i can be reached all the time

well just a update on our lil zoie girl she is out of the hospital and doing fairly well she still needs all our prayers as she now has osteoperosis and cant walk for it is just way to painful so please continue to keep her and her family in your prayers

as always we love and miss you all and cant wait to be back in peoria thank you all once again and please keep all those prayers coming

remember we have no computer at home so call us or write us anytime and i will update you all when we come back september 10, 2003 thank you sooooo much

love and miss you all were outta here

marilyn, our lil superhero(aaron), andre'e, antavious, and grandma mowder(donna) oh yeah baby we are headed home see ya

Thursday, August 28, 2003 3:00 PM CDT

hello hello everyone well WE ARE NOT I REPEAT NOT AT HOME YET well let me just say we are alive but aaron now has the shingles he was found to have them as of sunday night well then we were put into isolation on monday morning around 130 am from there we were seen in isolation by dr santana on monday he said if the shingles were scabbing over by thursday we could come home well as you know things never go as planned and well now we are inpatient getting an iv antibiotic for 2-5 days what a sucky past few days well as i always say GOD does everything for a reason and i feel maybe there is a very good reason behind all this as you all know my living arrangements when we get home will suck so maybe GOD is working on something just for all of us well as i always say thank you all for all your love and support and keep those prayers coming like i said before things will someday be back to normal but as of now we are still in memphis and will be here for a while longer please pray for my mom and the boys they will be driving down here tomorrow and i can hardly wait to see the boys i feel like it havent seen them in an lifetime and miss them so much well i will update you all as soon as i know more information also please keep my grandpa in your prayers today and tomorrow as he had surgery done today and will hopefully be home tomorrow well thank you all for visiting aarons web site and keep coming back for more updates as there will be more to follow

love hugs and kisses

aaron and marilyn

Monday, August 18, 2003 1:10 PM CDT

amen amen amen and good morning all thank you all for all your love and support and those very powerful PRAYERS they all were heard and answered aaron was just having headaches from the chemo thank GOD he is so wonderful like i said before i was praying it was only me being a big freak i talked with dr santana today and he said that was the case only headaches from the chemo and that if they presist then we would decrease the chemo the next time so that it doesnt keep happening well thank you all for all the PRAYERS and still keep them coming we still need a place to stay when we get home and i really have enough on my mind as it is so please if you have any ideas or suggestions please call me or email me we will be home next monday as it looks for now and nothing has been done to the house so far so please continue to pray for all of us we love and miss you all so much and cant wait to get home to normal

love hugs and kisses and misses

marilyn and aaron

Sunday, August 17, 2003 1:02 PM CDT

hello everyone hope all in well where you are thank all of you for all your support and concern and prayers for all that is currently going on with our family

well we kinda have another set back aaron had some problems on friday morning and afternoon he had some very severe headaches and so i rushed him to the hospital and they brought in a neurologist to see him and do an complete exam on him but the doctor couldnt do an exam on his eyes the pain was just to bad and he really didnt like the light being flashed into his eyes so the doctor ordered a ct but with contrast and as we all know he cant have contrast anymore because of his kidney problems so he just got a plain ct but the doctor didnt or should i say couldnt see anything on the ct because without contrast nothing lights up so he is ordering a mri with contrast and spinal tap for monday so PLEASE PLEASE SAY A EXTRA PRAYER ON MONDAY FOR AARON THAT ALL WILL TURN OUT OK and mommy is just a big freak but after all this i have to be there are alot of different side effect to all the medication aaron is on and the radiation too so why shouldnt i be a freak well the doctor seems to think it could be three things one a tumor no way i sure pray not, two fluid on the brain not that either i hope (this doctor says that the oral chemo aaron is on causes fluid on the brain but i never read that as a side effect i will really be asking about that with doctor santana), or three just migrains hopefully that is all it is keep praying that is the problem

well yesterday aaron was acting like his normal self playing and laughing and eating like a pig amen what a releif boy was i happy that made me fell alot better and not so anxious about monday well today he is still laying around and woke up with a little headache but he is eating ok and moving around but not a whole lot i hope and pray this is only a fluke and i am just really dreaming this whole thing and it will all be over on monday after i get the results

as for us and our housing issue i know GOD is a powerful man and he said he would not give me anymore than i could handle but i really believe that i am at a boiling point and really cant handle this much longer well keep those prayers coming and like i said before if you have any ideas PLEASE PLEASE call or email me i sure hate waiting until the last minute we will hopefully be home by friday no later than monday if all goes well monday i will update with any news we have on monday love and miss you all and thank you all for all your love and support

love hugs and kisses and misses,

aaron and marilyn

ps thank you for all the prayers for zoie she is off the vent and will be moving to the second floor tomorrow i cant wait to go see her congradulations to her and her family GO ZOIE GO ZOIE GO ZOIE

Wednesday, August 13, 2003 11:02 AM CDT

well good morning all we are just finishing up radiation for today and aaron is doing a very fine job being such a superhero and brave one at that i really dont think any superhero could do half as well as aaron is with all this treatment so yeah aaron

well now for my sob story i got the news yesterday that when we get home we have no home anymore we have to move and i have no money to move, nowhere to move, and no time for all this but everyone keeps saying GOD wont give me anymore than i can handle but i just dont know about this i really believe we have enough on our back right now and i really didnt expect this so if anyone could first say an extra prayer and second if anyone knows of any resources please email me or call me i really could use some help with this new catastraphy thank all of you for all your love and support already but this new news is just the straw that will break MY BACK i have been crying for 2 days now about little things and just really didnt need this

but at least aaron and the other boys are doing wonderful and they are keeping me strong talk to you all very soon

love hugs and misses you all

aaron and marilyn

ps keep those prayers coming

Monday, August 11, 2003 1:38 PM CDT

hello everyone just wanted to say a GREAT BIG THANK YOU SOOOOOOOO MUCH to vickie the purple bike lady for all her love and support and thank you sooooo much for helping us put pictures on aarons web page isnt he sooo handsome if you didnt realize aaron has new pictures on his site and what a site they are he is soooo silly i agree he is really living it up around here he got to ride a great big rig this weekend too he had a blast and he cant wait to see purple bike lady again soon well enough about the fun we had all weekend aaron is doing great no sedation again today and he is running around like a chicken with its head cut off of course in the red boots he drives me crazy with those boots it makes me laugh so hard he cant go anywhere without those boots NOWHERE:] well as i keep saying please continue to pray for zoie she is getting better and better everyday and your continued prayers are sure helping also check out her web site www.caringbridge.org/la/zoie she and her parents love to hear from everyone just as i do well thank you to all the southern cruizers for all the new mail and love hearing from all of you who have signed the guestbook we love getting new email and of course new regular mail and stuff from the ronald mcdonald house well we will talk to you all very soon and keep those prayers coming

love and miss you all

aaron and marilyn

Friday, August 8, 2003 12:16 AM CDT

hello everyone good day well aaron is once again breezing through the radiation he got sedation the first two days but amen today aaron did it without sedation go aaron go aaron well he is just quite the lil superhero huh i think so he is such a lil trooper just like his daddy will be soon but i think aaron is much more braver than any of us could every have thought about being he is #1 in my book well other than being such a big boy he is having fun with all his friends here and of course keeping me busy cooking all his favorite dishes (goulosh, spagetti, chicken nuggets, and of course pizza) of course i really dont mind its worth it just to have him here with me anyway another subject the little zoie i asked for prayers for is getting better and better by the day her bili was 14.6 today and keeps getting lower and lower every day keep those prayers coming she still is on a vent but as soon as she is strong enough she can be off and then who know what after that so please keep those prayers coming oh yeah another zoe from back home might get to finish her treatment in peoria so please pray for her too that it all works out for the best and she can get her radiation back home also if it be GODS will well we are doing great and cant wait to just be home home for a while talk to you all very soon and love and miss you all i updated the web site with the new address for aaron at the ronald mcdonald house so please send mail aaron just loves hearing from everyone back home it just makes his day

love hugs and kisses and misses too

aaron and marilyn

Monday, August 4, 2003 7:46 PM CDT

were back hello hello just wanted to write a little note saying hello and we made it safe a little rain but nothing i couldnt handle as for now we are at the marriott but hopefully we will be at the rmh very very soon well horrible news i am soooooo very angry as many of you know everytime i go home something horrible happens well go figure it happened this time too a major pipe busted yesterday around 5pm i COULDNT GET THE WATER TO SHUT OFF SO OF COURSE I CALLED THE WATER COMPANY BUT THEY CHARGE $100.00 AND I SURE DONT HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY BUT ANYWAY I CALLED THE LANDLORD AND OF COURSE HE WAS OUT OF TOWN SO NOW WE HAVE NO WATER AND I REALLY REALLY HAVE TO FIND A PLACE TO LIVE AS SOON AS I GET HOME SO IF ANY OF YOU KNOW ANYPLACES I COULD CHECK INTO LET ME KNOW ALSO PLEASE KEEP ALL OF US IN YOUR PRAYERS AS WHEN WE COME HOME I REALLY DONT NEED ANYMORE THINGS TO DEAL WITH LOOKS LIKE I MIGHT BE GOING BACK TO THE BANK ALSO SO PLEASE KEEP THE PRAYERS COMING THAT OUR LIVES CAN SOMEWHAT GO BACK TO NORMAL (THANKS STEPH) ALSO PLEASE PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR LITTLE FRIEND ZOIE S SHE IS IN ICU AND DOING BETTER NOW BUT IT IS STILL A VERY SCARY THING THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT AND KEEP THOSE PRAYERS COMING GLAD TO BE BACK BUT CANT WAIT TO BE HOME

LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL ALREADY

MARILYN AND AARON

PS THANK ALL OF YOU THAT CALLED IN WHILE AARON AND I WERE ON THE TELETHON AND THOSE THAT RAN IN THAT CRAZY WEATHER FOR ALL OF OUR ST JUDE BUDDIES

Thursday, July 17, 2003 1:27 PM CDT

hello hello hello everyone GREAT NEWS GREAT NEWS aaron is on his way home home home not for good but hey we are going home for a little while thank all of you for all your love and support and mail and prayers continue to keep us in your prayers and we will do the same aaron just finished his final dose of radiation for his stomach and we are getting to come home tomorrow morning and we have to be back here on august 4th for 13 more days of radiation they are giving us a breather and we sure deserve it we will be home just in time for aaron to start his first day of school and in time to be at the telethon yes i really believe GOD works in mysterious ways we will get to see all the runners come in instead of leave memphis well all of you have been wonderful and i just want to say thank you soooooo much and i love and appreciate all of you and all you have done for my family and i we are sooooo glad to have met such wonderful people along this long and very frustrating journey but we are almost at the end of the journey and hopefully we will met each and everyone of you who have ment sooooo much to our family thanks once again and to all the children and their family who are going through this keep your head up and stay strong JESUS is still on the thrown and he knows your every thought and he will prevail keep on keeping on and we will talk to you soon i wont be able to update until we are back to st jude on august 4 since we have no computer so talk to all of you then

lots of love hugs and kisses

marilyn and the threelittlea's

ps WERE GOING HOME WERE GOING HOME WERE GOING HOME YEAH YEAH

Monday, July 14, 2003 10:32 AM CDT

hello hello hello everyone how are things back home well guess what mom and grandma pat made it safe and sound and they will be heading back tomorrow morning so pray for a safe trip back home aaron had wonderful time with them as did i and the boys i am sooooo happy not to have to cook for a few days as the boys sure keep us on our toes we never stop being in the kitchen lol well aaron had a wonderful birthday he got a zillion presents and got to open all of them by himself he was so funny he got alot of hulk things and superheros stuff even though he is our lil superhero all by himself radiation is going very good except mom gave aaron a bath saturday night and scrubbed the marks off for lining him up for radiation so today we had to get x-rays and be remarked oops oh well if thats the worse thing that could happen we are doing good huh we will be done with radiation on thursday and will get a 5 day break then we will have 13 more days starting on next wednesday so please continue to keep us all in your prayers and we will do the same well you all take care and we will talk to you all very soon

lots of love hugs and kisses and miss yous

marilyn and the three little a's

ps thank all of you for the cards and gifts for aarons birthday you have no idea how much you all made his day

pps hey pat r i want a shirt like moms please

Tuesday, July 8, 2003 12:39 AM CDT

hello everyone well we are not hearing from very many of you if you are having troubles leaving a message on the web page please feel free to email or send a card the addresses are on the web page well aaron is doing very very very good he is just breezing through radiation with no problems no sedation the nurses and techs are so glad he is such a big boy he is being very still so they can beam him for a minute on each side well the boys are doing a great job too they are being just as good as aaron and i really consider all of them my lil superheroes i love them all so much and cant wait to be back home with everything somewhat back to normal well we are all doing great here pray for my mom and aarons grandma pat they will be traveling down here on friday afternoon we cant wait till we have good ole home cooked meals to eat nothing like moms cooking as the boys and i say well you all take care and hope to hear from you all very soon thanks for all the prayers and calls and love and miss you all

marilyn and the three little a's

Friday, July 4, 2003 4:44 PM CDT

happy 4th of july to everyone well aaron seems to be doing ok with his radiation he had sedation on monday but tuesday through thursday he went without any sedation and he held still and did a great lil superhero job being such a big boy well about 5-10 minutes after having the radiation on tuesday and wednesday he threw up alot and nothing would work to keep him from throwing up but yesterday i gave him zofran an hour before his treatment and he did wonderful he was alot better yesterday no throwing up and he was lot more active he will now get zofran every 8 hours around the clock and that is fine with me as long as he doesnt keep throwing up well i hope all of you are having a very happy 4th as the boys and i are we already had a huge cookout with some other families here and ate way too much but thats ok because we love good meals once in a while we now are playing on the computers and waiting to go see fireworks this is the first time we have been away from home for the 4th of july i am just sick to my stomach that i cant be there with my mom for the fourth but things just didnt work out that way she is by herself as my brother and his wife went to iowa to visit her family for the fourth we tried to make it home but just couldnt do it right now aaron really wanted to go home but i told him grandma will be here next friday to spend time with him and he said that was ok please remember his birthday is next thursday july 10 and we would love to be home with all of you for his birthday but its just not possible so if any of you are willing or want to send aaron a card or present please feel free he would love to hear from any of you he loves getting mail well other than all this radiation going on nothing else really new please continue to keep all of us in your prayers and i will do the same and remember god is bigger than any of this and he will help us through all this trying stuff we are going through now

love

the three little a's and marilyn

Monday, June 30, 2003 1:00 PM CDT

hello hello hello everyone well let me just say aaron is on cloud nine today he is soooo excited he is doing wonderful and he is soooooo excited he got to ride about 50 motorcycles yesterday he was so cute i have plenty of pictures and cant wait to show them off that has always been one of his wishes is to ride a motorcycle and he got to do it just in time for his birthday as you all know or hopefully know aarons birthday is july 10 and he is sooo excited one of the woman riders is going to come and get aaron soon on a nice weekend and take him riding by himself grandma donna will be here and she is soooo excited as well she is doing fine recovering from her surgery and she cant wait to see the boys she sure is lonely without them she hardly knows what to do with herself without them there but i was the same way when i first got here and now i am sooooo happy to have them here with me and aaron and aaron is just as happy well aaron started his first round of radiation today he is in radiation right now as i write this i will try to update everything as soon as i can and let you all know how things are going hopefully the doctors say he will not have to be sedated every time but they will wait and see well we will talk to all of you very soon and please continue to keep us in your prayers and keep the cards and letters and emails coming we sure miss hearing from everyone i see alot of hits on the web site but not many of you leave a message and we love to read all the mail everytime we sign in well hope you all are doing great and i love and miss all of you talk to you all very very soon and hopefully see some of you very soon

hugs and kisses

marilyn and the three little a's

ps all the boys are famous around here now they all have been on tv they were on the fox 13 news on friday and new channel 3 on sunday night the boys are loving it they are really famous and he antavious still wants his sack of money

Friday, June 20, 2003 10:45 AM CDT

well good news first the brothers are here and have made it safely thanks to my brother and his wife well things just didnt work out as planned the boys now have to be here with me and aaron in memphis the rest of these long days we have here i am trying to move to target house because we are going to be here until mid august yuck yuck yuck i am soooo very ready to come home but aaron is having his simulation done as i write this letter which means they are marking him for radiation he will start radiation on his abdomen on june 30 and then last for 13 days average monday through friday then we will get about five days break and then they will start radiation on his neck and chest and that will last 10-13 days monday-friday too then we will be coming home but that wont be until mid august so please keep all of us in your prayers and remember god wont give me anymore than i can handle i think ha ha ha well as i said before i will be quite busy with the boys being here and all and i may not write as often but remember i think of all of you often and cant wait to see you all and talk to each of you

love and miss all of you very much

marilyn and the three little a's

Monday, June 16, 2003 1:41 PM CDT

hello hello hello everyone well aaron started his oral chemo on friday and he is doing wonderful he is as happy and active as ever he is doing great well on saturday we had a loving and very sweet baby that aaron loved to play with and of course i loved too pass away please pray for his family and friends his name was aree he was such a sweet little boy he was only 18 months old and he brought a smile to every face and person he met well aaron is scheduled to start radiation sometime this week i dont know the details quite yet and will make sure you all know as soon as i do i cant wait to get this all over and cant wait to come home and have aarons benefit and get back to the somewhat normal life or at least what normal will be for us well hope you all are doing great and i cant wait to be home and spend time with all of you again we love and miss you all thank you all for all your cards and letters and keep them coming aaron sure misses you all

love and miss you all

aaron and marilyn

Monday, June 9, 2003 11:32 AM CDT

hello everyone we made it safely and we are very very excited to back but were so very sad to leave home i am sure glad this is hopefully the final long trip we will make to memphis in a long long long time we will be here about 5 weeks we will start aarons oral chemo on thursday and start radiation next monday hope you all are doing great and everyone here was sure glad to have us "HOME" as we all call it i have some very wonderful pictures of the graduation and all aarons friends and teachers i will be sending copies of everything as soon as i can get copies made hope to hear from all of you soon and hey any mail is appreciated email or cards to the ronald mcdonald house thank you all for all you love and support and i hope to hear from all of you again soon

love and miss you all

marilyn

Monday, June 2, 2003 3:04 PM CDT

hello to you all aaron is doing great today sorry for all the laps in writing you all aaron and i have been very impatiently waiting for all the results on what is to come and well we finally have some answers aaron is first COMING HOME praise the lord aaron is COMING HOME we will be home on June the 4th and stay until June the 8th aaron is graduating from valeska on Friday June 6th at 6-7pm i havent heard from any of you about coming to graduation but it is at my alumni Maunal High School imagine that well our lil superhero is walking down the isle cant wait well met with the radiologist today and aaron is having radiation soon we will come back and meet with dr santana on june 9 and we are expecting to be here at st jude another 5 weeks waiting for 2 weeks and then 3 weeks of radiation the doctors thought aaron was such a hoot he is sooooo funny he really pleased the doctors today and we are waiting very impatiently to come home wednesday talk to you all soon and i will give you all more updates very soon aaron cant wait to see his friends and family and teachers and all of you who have held him up in pray we really appreciate all everyone of you have done thank you all very much and keep the prayers coming we still have one more hill to climb and by the grace of God aarons will healed love and miss you all talk to you all very soon

very impatiently waiting

aaron and marilyn

Thursday, May 29, 2003 3:08 PM CDT

hello hello hello everyone i am sooooooo excited we are coming home home home on wednesday we are only coming for graduation from valeska hinton on friday we are so excited we will be there sometime wednesday afternoon or evening we are coming to valeska on thursday to go to school and we have to get counts and stuff on friday at clinic we are soooooo excited cant you tell we will be home until sunday then we will drive back hope you all are doing well and we will have a big party soon we will be coming back on sunday june the 7th and on the 8th i will get the news about what the next few months hold i will make sure you all are kept very imformed by the way for those of you wanting to come to aarons graduation please call me on my cell phone if you need directions (309)648-6586 it is at 6pm friday hope many of you will be there aaron of course is sooooo excited to be coming home and see all his friends and valeska staff mrs. greer he talks about you all the time and mrs noonen and pacey and of course mr craddock he loves you all sooo much we are going to be dressed of course in the best superhero outfit we can find well we are outa here for a hot minute and i will update you all again on tuesday before we leave aaron is doing great and eating everything he can get his hands on AVANTIS will of course be our first stop and then we have to have a homemade cake from grandma for graduation well you all take care and we will talk to you all and see you all very very very soon

love and kisses and lots of misses

marilyn and aaron

Tuesday, May 20, 2003 4:07 PM CDT

hello hello hello hello everyone one of you aaron is OUT OF HERE we slept in a real bed last night we got to the ronald mcdonald house around 4:30pm yesterday aaron was so excited the first thing we did was go straight to kroger and pick up stuff to make goloush aaron has already ate 5 bowls and wants another for supper tonight i am sick of it but what ever he wants is my theory well here is a word or two from him he wants to talk:} aaron kjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjh yippy im free i love you all and thank youfor praying for me i feel much better and thank you jesus for healing me love aaron as you all can see aaron knows and loves you all and i want to say thank you too to all of you for all you love and kindness and support and thank you JESUS for all you have done and please continue to keep the prayers coming aaron is still not out of the water yet i will not be updating this until monday so dont feel like i am not keeping you all informed but we will meet with aarons regular doctors on monday and i guess we are going to be discussing his next 6 months of therapy so please pray for us on that day i beleive there is more chemo coming and radiation too well dont forget to sign the guestbook and we will still be waiting to hear from all of you talk to you all very soon the brothers and grandma are coming saturday with AVANTIS yippy cant wait

love and miss you all

aaron and marilyn

Saturday, May 17, 2003 5:06 PM CDT

well great saturday afternoon to you all thank you for keeping posted on aaron and all that is going on with our family and thank you all once again for all you support aaron is doing great his anc is 1100 and his creatine is 2.3 and his bun is 96 its all coming together and he is getting stronger and healthier everyday he is eating and drinking and peeing and having fun his tastes are back and he cant wait to go to ronalds house we may even get out of here as early as monday PRAISE THE LORD we cant wait well a bit of sad news please put another loving st jude kid on your prayer lists his name is seth he is such a wonderful little guy he is not doing so well and the docs told his mother there is nothing else they could do for him but we all know GOD works miracles and we know this first hand so please pray for him and his family he is coming back here on the 27th and we will meet with him when he gets here and i will update you more when i know more well as i said aaron is doing great and thanks for all the prayers and support this has been a long road and i feel the roller coaster is finally slowing down and maybe soon we can get off this ride and move to another ride a much better and happier ride talk to you all soon and keep the prayers coming

love and miss you all

marilyn and aaron

Friday, May 16, 2003 4:57 PM CDT

hello hello hello everyone thank you all for all you prayers aaron is doing very well today then took out his iv line he is up and running we only have central line fluids running at 20cc/hour and those will be discontinued as of monday aaron is so excited about next week HE'S GOING TO THE RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE praise the LORD GOD has been so wonderful and you all have been too we are so very thankful for all your prayers,support,love,cards,emails,and those very special packages you all have sent us we still have one more battle but not half as bad as this transplant "radiation" is our next step aaron will have one week of freedom and then we will be having radiation we will still have to be here in memphis but its alot better than being in the hospital well grandma donna and the brothers are coming next saturday they are flying and will go home memorial day my sister pam and nephew brody will be here the 26th and i can hardly wait to see them he has been in remission for 9 years (i think) now that gives us something to look forward too ya know then we are hoping daddy is coming soon after that since aaron misses him sooooooooooooooo much he can hardly wait to go stay at daddy and carlys(daddys girlfriend) and see lila (carlys daughter) he misses everyone soooooo much he talks about all of you mrs noonen and mrs pacey his teachers and how much he wants mommy to pat his back at school on his cot and wants to fight with his brothers and see grandma hunter and big poppa he is so excited this is almost over i am too cant you tell well by the way we have another exciting thing that shows and supports aaron his smile quilt is finally done we want to say thank you for all those wonderful angels who helped make that possible thank you everyone can access it by clicking the web link on aarons home page hope you all get the opportunity to make a patch for him and i printed it out for him today since he is isolated to the 4th floor and he just loved it he cant wait till halloween he wants every superhero outfit there is and every mask and gloves and boots for all the superheroes i think we can manage that huh well enought blabber from me talk to you all very soon

love and miss you all very much

aaron and marilyn

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 8:58 PM CDT

well hello everyone aaron and i are doing ok i hope you all are not miss understanding me when i say we are going home i mean the ronald mcdonld house our home away from home dont get me wrong i would love to come home too but not anytime soon (i dont think anyway) well as of today aaron has peed out 2 blood clots and he is peeing blood the docs are doing another ultrasound in the morning to find the cause but they think it is from all the chemo that was left in his bladder and not filtered out with his kidneys not working and all well i really dont have much else news wise on aaron he is still being much braver than any superhero i know and i am glad he is up and about it is sooooooo nice to see him moving around and talking and playing and doing speech and physical therapy and sitting on my lap once again he is really missing his daddy though and his brothers and grandma's he wants us all together again and wants it now but he does a great job understanding that isnt not going to happen anytime soon although they all will come and visit but thats still not the same he is such a big boy he can hardly wait to taste everything again he is eating alot of pizza and drinking alot of grape juice and hot coco the dietitian said today that he wont even have to go back on tpn since he is eating and drinking more than 50f the required amount so that is even better news that is just another thing that hurts his kidneys well hope you all are doing great and having fun with all this crazy weather we are having and hope all your families and yourselves are ok after all the bad weather we all have been having lately well thank you all once again for all the prayers and emails and keep them coming as i said before they help lift my spirits and keep me sain lol:} if you know what i mean (me sain ha ha ha)
talk to you all very soon

love and miss ya

aaron and marilyn

Monday, May 12, 2003 10:36 PM CDT

hey everyone well as i expected they are not doing the dialysis today either sorry it took so long to keep yall updated but aaron has been scared of the bugs and it really means i cant leave him so i got someone sitting with him and wanted to make sure that you all knew that they didnt do the surgery and dialysis mainly because his creatine is going down all by its self although we all know who is taking care of that almighty GOD himself you can best beleive that well anyway aaron did physical therapy today and colored a picture at the table and he even walked more today well he is a little yellow but the docs said his bili was up just a little though they now have his scheduled him for the dialysis tomorrow sometime but i know that they will not be doing it then either i just have faith that GOD will not give us anymore than we can handle right now and that would be just too much especially with him feeling better and all plus i hear through the "grapevine" that children under pre-teen only have a 25% survival rate from dialysis so i have faith in GOD that he isnt letting them doctors do this for one reason or another although at first i was so pissed off now i understand why and am very glad it is all working its self out thank you all for all you prayers and please keep them coming hopefully we will be out of here within 2 weeks or so oh by the way thank those of you sending cards and packages to st jude aaron is sure thrilled to be getting mail again he is so excited and of course i am too happy to see such a big smile on his face when he opens them well talk to you all very soon

love and miss you all

aaron and marilyn

Sunday, May 11, 2003 10:00 AM CDT

well happy mothers day to you all you mothers out there and thank you all for keeping tabs on aarons progress well mom is leaving here in a few minutes so i wanted to keep you all up to date on aarons progress tomorrow hes having a line placed in his neck and will have dialysis sometime tomorrow so please lift him up in pray tomorrow as this will be a very tough procedure for him to go through since his counts are on their way back up his anc is still 100 he tried a bite of all our wonderful meal last night but nothing really tasted very good although he did like the corn on the cob with lots of butter and he ate some strawberries but nothing really to brag about he woke up this morning asking for toast and he ate 1/2 a piece now thats what im talking about well hopefully this dialysis doesnt bring him back down but boost him up so keep those prayers coming well i really feel this is the best thing and will get rid of all the garbage he has in his kidneys and they will function better talk to you all very soon

love and miss you all very much

marilyn and aaron

Saturday, May 10, 2003 11:00 AM CDT

well great day to you all hope you are all in good health and spirits and guess what i sure am first of all my mom really gave me a very big surprise this morning she show up here wow what a shock i talked to her yesterday and she told me not to call here that she was going to the show and she would talk to me tomorrow well of course i didnt call and she left peoria at midnight and got here at 8am this morning then to top it all off she brought me roses from the boys and is making me a steak dinner with potato and salad and corn on the cob and fresh stawberries wow what a happy mothers day this will be after all well anyway enough about me on to the reason we are all here aaron he is doing very well he now has "3" cells to count and has an anc of "100" what another wonderful reason to say amen and happy mothers day to me huh well he walked 2 times yesterday and he was up all night they stopped all the pain medicine and now he is not seeing things anymore at first they thought it was his kidneys but it was the pain medicine and he has been pain free for 24 hours praise the lord well he is not resting in grandmas arms and loving every minute of it he is really feeling alot better his kidney function is still not good and his creatine is 6.2 today which still isnt good at all i am so disappointed but happy his doing better otherwise he has tried to eat everything under the sun but his taste buds are way way off so he hates the taste of anything right now but with his anc coming back hopefully he will get his tastebuds back too well other than that we are hanging in here and i havent heard from hardly any of you hope you are all well and just checking aarons web site and not leaving a message and not sick or something well your messages give me hope also and keep me going just so you all know i really appreciate all yous do and please keep the email and cards and letters coming we are very greatful and miss you all very much talk to you all very soon

love and miss you all very much

aaron and marilyn

Wednesday, May 7, 2003 2:55 PM CDT

well hello everyone thank you all for all your love, prayers, and support aaron did a complete 360 degree circle today he woke up wanted to eat a popcicle and drink water but he still had his tube down well i had to go meet with country cares people and give our story to them to use if they wanted to well while i was gone aaron just decided to pull his tube out since his throat was hurting and he didnt fell so bad anymore well i walk in and there is 5 doctors in the room again imagine that and they said he could keep the tube out if he could eat and drink (clear liquids of course) and the nephrologist(kidney doctor) was there too by looking at aarons labs he really wanted to do the dialysis right away but when he saw aaron and saw he wasnt so puffy he said he thought we could just keep trying to wait it out well praise the lord although i wish this process wasnt so teadous and long i know its only for the best well then we have tried everything to give him but his throat just hurts way to bad so maybe this evening he will feel like eating hopefully please continue to pray that he stays on the road to recovery they also have stopped his lipids and tpn because they beleive all the protein is bad for his kidneys and will start it back later if his function comes back well bad news is he is now functioning at 12% instead of 30% like he was when he first got here but the docs want to allow his kidneys to do it by themselves and through prayer and friends and family like you all they will recover to the fullest well on the other hand my dads trial for his murder was set to start yesterday but his ex-wife accepted the plea bargin she will serve a straight 20-22 years with no parole and then she will be a free woman the sentence is june 3 so keep that day in mind and pray for the rest of my family that things will work out for the best well mom and the boys made it home safely and they went back to school and work today i am hanging in here and hoping the rest of this recovery period goes well and fast although i am sure it will feel like a million years but thats fine it will be worth it all in the end and i just know our lil superhero will make it through this with flying colors thanks again for all you support and love and please continue what you are doing and keep those prayers coming talk to you all very soon

love and miss you all very much each and everyone of you

marilyn and aaron

ps feel free to call us anytime and check on us call times are from 9am to 9pm phone number is (901) 495-5420 hope to hear from you all very soon

Monday, May 5, 2003 1:07 PM CDT

well hello everyone hope you are all doing great as all of us have been having a very rough road well for starters aaron was suppose to be getting dialysis on saturday, then sunday, then today but praise the lord no need for dialysis that was such great news well grandma and brothers are still here because aaron crashed last night his blood pressure dropped and his sats went to 40 so they called all the doctors and nurses well he came back up after about 15 minutes they pulled about 120 cc of fluid off of his stomach and that helped him alot he is so full of blood they have pulled about 1000cc of blood off his stomach since friday around 7pm well thats not good either but it sure has helped him feel a smig better he is at least talking and now he is saying his throat is hurting but his stomach is still hurting alot too well other than this crazy stuff going on he is stable as for now he still has his ng down now and now has a iv to be able to give him all the things they have too well other than that scary stuff all is well it sure was nice to have mom and the boys here they will be leaving here tomorrow morning so pray for them as they have a long road ahead of them since the weather down here is horrible tornado and storms everywhere strong winds so pray for a safe trip for them tomorrow we are praying for better weather then well you all take care and i will take care of aaron talk to you all very soon

love and miss you all

marilyn and the three little a's

ps tomorrow is also another big big day for my family the trial is tomorrow at 930am and is scheduled for 2 weeks so please keep all of us in your prayers and pray for justice thanks again

Friday, May 2, 2003 6:58 PM CDT

hey everyone good evening well not so good for me we are having a time of it aaron is really had a very rough day well first of all we had a chest x-ray this morning to rule out pneumonia then we had a herd of doctors come in and want to exam aaron he hated that pushing on his stomach and all pissed him right off well that was 5 doctors 3 infectious disease and 2 surgeons that was very scary well then they ordered a stat xray again imagine that he couldnt have his ct because his creatine is way to high his kidneys are getting worse so they had to resort to another xray of the abdomen well then that showed severe neutrapenia internal colitis basically severe colitis well then they decided to put a nasal gastric tube down to releave the pressure in his stomach and get it all dried out well so far he seems to be doing well he is talking and is hanging in there he told me to go get rest and have fun with his brothers and he would talk to me later you know i really want to get a good nights sleep but i can hardly take my mind off of him i dont know how good it will be but i will try well as you see the boys and mom made it safely and mom took a nap at the rmh so she would be rested for tonight as she is staying with aaron well talk to you all tomorrow

love and miss you all

marilyn and the threelittlea's

Thursday, May 1, 2003 6:37 PM CDT

well hello everyone it has been a very trying day for us we are doing ok but aaron is still in an awful lot of pain and i just made him take a shower and he talked my ear off about his brothers coming here tomorrow but then he started crying his belly hurt and drifted off to sleep i sure got the scare of my life today aarons breathing was very labored and his respirations were only 16 they think it was because of all the fyntenal but not quite sure he is doing much better now well other than that mom and the boys are driving down here some screw up with her doctors release they say so pray for their safe trip they are leaving around 3am in the morning other than that nothing much else new here just keep praying aaron feels better very very soon we said a prayer for him today and i think that is why he felt so good after the shower that really shocked me when he started talking like that but i was so excited well talk to you all very soon

love and miss you all

aaron and marilyn

Wednesday, April 30, 2003 3:30 PM CDT

good afternoon everyone just wanted you all to know aaron is not doing very well today he is in alot alot alot of pain in his stomach last night i made him walk and now i feel really really bad because he has been in pain every since he had a sonogram done today and it showed colitis which means his entire lining from his mouth all the way through his stomach and intestines is covered with the stuff that is in his mouth he is so sore he can hardly stand it he is in so much pain they have him on a continueous fyntenal pump since the morpine was making him itch so much and he gets 30mg per hour and 15 per half hour as needed but while he is sleeping he isnt pushing it so he wakes up in so much pain so i have been pushing it for him just to keep up on the pain well other than that we are holding up they have him on 4 antibiotics which should help with the colitis soon and hopefully he will be feeling much better in time to see his brothers and grandma well i am just hanging in there and just cant wait for this to all be over as does everyone else im sure well you all take care and talk to you all very soon

love and miss you all very much

aaron and marilyn

Tuesday, April 29, 2003 1:16 PM CDT

hey everyone aaron is doing better today i asked the doctors about when they think he will be able to eat and they said that he may want to but he will only take a bite and then not want anymore for about 20 days so i am really thinking hard about not having my mom bring the avanits yet and wait until next time they come down just so it is not wasted we dont have the money for all of that well aaron is still a little puffy he is now on tpn which is a nutritional supplement since he is not eating anything he is still drink coke he use to love water but now its coke so if he will drink it i am more than happy to give it to him well aaron didnt throw up at all yesterday but at 5am this morning he started and he had blood in it i got scared but the docs and nurses said it was normal since he had the mucosis his throat and stomach were raw so him throwing up was making it worse so they gave him something for nausea and that helped but made him sleep but since we were up at 5am i didnt mind since i needed my rest too aaron felt so good yesterday he never shut up all day he keep on talking about everything what he wanted when he gets out of here what he wanted from disney world and then his daddy called and he talked to him for 45 minutes his dad really loved that and ate it all up especially since all he really usually said was i love you and bye because his mouth was so sore and he was so sick then he talked to my mom but by that time he was horse from talking so much but he talked to her for about 15 minutes she was very excited about that since he hadnt felt like talking much before he is such a superhero i love him and the other boys so much and cant wait for them to get here on friday i miss everyone so much and so does aaron well we will talk to you all very soon and keep the prayers coming

love and miss you all

aaron and marilyn

ps the trail for the murder of my dad is may sixth for real this time please put that day on you prayer list and pray for his wife and my brothers and sister and of course myself since i cant be there with all this going on i want justice to be served

Monday, April 28, 2003 12:39 AM CDT

hey everyone things are going great aaron had his bone marrow transplant at 1100am they said most kids get sick to the stomach because of the taste but aaron said it tasted like ketsup how funny that was a suprise to the doctors and staff they said no one had ever said anything like that well i think its because he hasnt eaten since tuesday and he is hungry but just cant eat because of all the mouth sores and mucosis anyway he cant wait for grandma and the boys to come on friday she is bringing him his favorite avantis he is so excited he can hardly wait i am hoping his sores are long gone by then and he is totally ready for the spagetti, mozz sticks, meatballs, and bread he is to excited well other than that he is now on a morphine pump because of all the pain associated with the mouth sores and his tongue is 3 times its normal size so that really helps with the pain but the morphine also causes a rash too on top of the horrible rash he already has from the topo (chemo) i sure hope this all clears up before his brothers and grandma get here well he also had blood and platlets really early this morning we have been up since 5am this morning so i am very wore out and so is he he is sleeping now so i thought i would update you all well other than that i am doing fine just running off hot air and those of you who talk to me know i have plenty of that to spare ha ha ha well we will talk to you all very soon

love and miss you all

aaron and marilyn

Sunday, April 27, 2003 11:14 AM CDT

well good morning to all i hope you are all very well this morning i am that is for sure aaron was sicker than a dog yesterday the movie star/comedian jim carrey came to see him yesterday but he was so sick he could care less even though he loves the grinch but anyway he hadnt moved for 2 days but praise the lord he woke up today and was in great spirits and he is asking for food like popcicles and ice water he hasnt ate or drank since tuesday so i am soooooo excited i ran and got him a popcicle but he changed his mind and just drank the ice water i was fine with that he even asked for his toys he hasnt moved for two days so i was more than happy to get him his toys i am so excited today is his free day with nothing going on and of course its gods day of rest imagine that i am so happy i could just jump through this screen and hug you all anyway i emailed you all pictures of aaron since i cant figure out how to get them on this web site so now you all have pictures of our little superhero and trust me that was his made up version of a superhero he was power ranger, spiderman, batman that just tickled me pink anyway aaron is on the right path and from what i understand the transplant starts tomorrow and this is suppose to be a breeze thanks for all the prayers and keep them coming and maybe we will be home alot sooner than we all thought thank you all very much and talk to you all very soon

praise the lord
love and miss you all
aaron and marilyn

Friday, April 25, 2003 1:31 PM CDT

hey everyone aaron is still not felling very well he is getting sick more often and he is having more headaches he couldnt do physical therapy today but he sure wanted to he was just to weak his anc is only 200 and he keeps spiking temps he has now gotten mouth sores but hopefully we can keep on top of those with all the oral swishy stuff hopefully anyway i hope to have pictures on the site soon hopefully withing 2 weeks the hospital took some and will be emailing me them and i will put them on this web site oh yeah i am having a computer quilt made for aaron and that will be ready in about 2 weeks too you can all make patches for the quilt too i will have more info soon and put it on his web site here well other than that i am hanging in here it is just hard watching aaron be down especially since he is so active usually well you all take care and keep those prayers coming

love and miss you all,

aaron and marilyn

Thursday, April 24, 2003 3:05 PM CDT

hey everyone aaron is really draging now he is so bull headed it aint even funny he had to play with the physical therapists he had to have some kind of normalness in his life and playing floor hockey and toss the bean bags was what made his day it wore him out so bad that he couldnt even function for speech yesterday he was so sick last night his head was just throbing he kept on saying his head hurt so he took a nap he went for his ct at 315pm and when they sat him up for that he threw up so they gave him adavan that really makes him loopy but he is doing ok with it now that helped a little anyway he went for his ct and they were looking for cancerous lymphnodes they had saw in a previous chest xray but the results showed that there was no cancer and it was just fibrosis which i hear is ok to have anyway after all that he came back to his room and went to sleep until 8pm then the throwing up started all over again this time every fifteen minutes he was so sick and his head still hurt i checked his tempature and it was 101.1 which if it is above 100.4 it is considered a temp for the cancer kids so they did culutures they beleive it is from the topotecan i sure hope so they checked it every 2 hours after that it just kept rising and the doctors didnt want to give him any tylenol because they didnt want to suppress anything going on inside him and they wanted to wait for the culutures anyway he kept rising until 6am this morning his temp was 102.6 and they had to give him tylenol that sure helped and he woke up all happy and like his normal self this morning now we are back down hill again this chemo sure is taking him for a ride he is so sick i really wish i could take his place we have had alot of tests this week and everything is coming back normal and i know that god will bring us through this but it sure is hard to watch your child be so sick and be happy on minute and so sick the next thank you all for all you prayers and support and i will talk to you all very soon.

love and miss you all

aaron and marilyn

Wednesday, April 23, 2003 10:52 AM CDT

hey everyone just wanted to let you all know everything is going as planned and aaron is still getting sick he did very well yesterday until last night he even ate 2 corndogs and 1/4 of a doughnut then around 715 he threw it all up they had already given him benadryl and zofran so they had to give him adavan which knocked him for a loop he was so loopy it wasnt funny but i had to laugh as some of the things he was saying like mom look at that and there was nothing there but it sure helped with the nausea other than that he also had a test done to check for reflux in the bladder and he doesnt have it praise the lord since i do i know how difficult it is today he is scheduled for a ct of the chest dont quite know why that was ordered but it was done by the primary doctor for solid tumor he may be checking for anything oh yeah and aaron started swelling with fluid yesterday that really scares me because of the fact they have to give aaron all those fluids to keep him from bleeding in the bladder that cyclo is a killer on the organs but they gave aaron lasix and boy did he pee he lost most of the fluid by this morning and he looks alot better he is also getting physical therapy he loves to play floor hockey like his brothers they say that that is their favorite part of gym was learning floor hockey anyway other than that aaron is doing great we love and miss you all very much and will talk to you all very soon

love

marilyn and aaron

Tuesday, April 22, 2003 9:35 AM CDT

hey everyone aaron is getting sick all the time now he isnt eating much of anything but he still is doing good otherwise he already is ready to come home they are going to have to stick him again today for his levels and that really doesnt make him very happy at all but he knows when this is all over there is a big reward waiting for him and he will get to go home he will get five more days of chemo and then on sunday he will get a rest from any chemo and then on monday the 28th he will be getting his actual transplant so please continue to pray for him and i because we still have a long road ahead of us talk to you all very soon

love and miss you all

marilyn and aaron

Monday, April 21, 2003 12:31 AM CDT

hey everyone well the boys made it home safely and my brother is keeping them today anyway aaron is doing ok he started getting sick last night so that means the chemo is working now anyway he will go into the hospital tonight around eight o'clock and he will be getting blood he should have gotten it saturday and then yesterday it was 8.2 now it is back down to 8.0 so they will transfuse him tonight well other than that he is still that ball of fire so far and he cant wait to come home well i will write again tonight and update the address so you can all send cards and stuff to the hospital since we will be here for the duration of about 6 weeks and update the phone number since i cant use my cell phone while im in the hospital well you all take care and i will talk to you all very soon

love and miss you all

marilyn and aaron

Saturday, April 19, 2003 10:48 AM CDT

hey everyone aaron is on his third day of chemo and is still doing great he is so excited today the easter bunny comes so we are in a big hurry to get back to the ronald mcdonald house he will be there at 11am this morning as you can see we are cutting it close anyway aaron will probably be getting blood tomorrow his blood is 8.1 and they transfuse at 8 so we are cutting it very close anyway andree and grandma and big poppa made it safely and they will be spending time with aaron today and antavious is so excited he learned to ride a bike his dad worked with him all afternoon yesterday and he is so excited he can finally ride a bike without training wheels he sean look out he may catch up with you well you all take care and i will write more tomorrow please remember monday aaron is going inpatient so the address on this web sight will be the one to use to mail him letters and cards and packages i will update it monday night or tuesday morning with the room number well you all have a very happy easter and we all love and miss you very much

love

marilyn and the threelittlea's

Friday, April 18, 2003 10:27 AM CDT

hey everyone aaron just finished his second dose of chemo he is doing great he is still as happy as ever having his brothers here and all we are going to the movies today and going on the boat ride they can hardly wait well all is going great here and aaron is happy and healthy as ever his dad and grandma hunter and big poppa will be here sometime today or this evening they will be here until sunday and then they will all go home including the brothers that will be hard the boys really want to stay here anyway the easter bunny is coming here on saturday along with pooh bear and tigger and scobby doo aaron is so excited he cant wait to meet the easter bunny that is all he has talked about well talk to you all very soon

love and miss you all

marilyn and the threelittlea's

Thursday, April 17, 2003 12:58 AM CDT

hey everyone aaron made it through his first dose of topatecan chemo he did fine he is as active as every and is in good spirits i am trying to get out of here to go do something fun with the boys so i will write more later

love and miss you all

marilyn and the threelittlea's

Wednesday, April 16, 2003 1:31 PM CDT

hey everyone we made it here safely sorry i havet wrote you all telling you all sooner but i have been very very busy with all the boys being here and all well aaron is living it up with his brothers here and all he is just loving it i know aaron has a very long and very tough road ahead of him and the boys being here this week sure will help in the weeks to come well other than that nothing much new to report i signed the consent for aarons transplant yesterday and now for the process to just begin as i said before thursday is the big day for the chemo to start so please keep the prayers coming talk to you all very soon

love and miss you all

marilyn and the threelittea's

Saturday, April 12, 2003 8:39 PM CDT

hey everyone just wanted you all to know that aaron and i are headed to peoria sunday april 13, 2003 to pick up andree and antavious and will be heading back here to the ronald mcdonald house on monday early morning please pray for a safe trip and i can hardly wait to have the boys here it will not be real home but sure will feel like home for me us all together again in the same house anyway please keep the prayers and cards coming as you all know aaron starts chemo on thursday please lift him up in prayer on that day especially anyway i will write you all as soon as we get back here and let you know that we made it safely talk to you all very soon
love
marilyn and aaron

Friday, April 11, 2003 8:53 PM CDT

hey everyone aaron is doing great his transplant is set for monday april 21, 2003

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