As mentioned in a previous post, over Memorial Day Weekend, Kelsey and her husband Andrew Bemmes flew out from San Francisco to spend the holiday weekend with Abby and Austin, Rachelle and myself in Minneapolis/St. Paul.  I think it was a wonderful boost for all of us to have the entire family together again and I don’t think any of us could have asked for a better weekend.  Kelsey and Andrew arrived Thursday evening (albeit with Kelsey on crutches, having broken her ankle the week before!).  Abby was discharged from the hospital Friday morning.  While the new chemotherapy agent that Abby is receiving zaps her energy level for several days following, it does not leave her nearly as ill as her previous treatments. This allowed for several days of wonderful time together with the opportunity for Abby to sneak off to her bedroom occasionally for a nap. 

Rachelle and her sister Stephanie have been coordinating "themes" for each of Abby's admissions.  The theme this past week was auto racing, featuring the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco F1 Grand Prix (Kelsey and Andrew are both diehard F1 racing fans).  While Abby is not a fan of racing in general (much as she was not a particular fan of the Kentucky Derby on her previous admission) she is a good sport about it all.  I think she enjoys it when all of the crazy decorations come out to adorn her hospital room.  It also makes for a great conversation starter with all of the physicians and hospital staff who come through her room.  Many of the staff who have come to know and love Abby actually look forward to her next admission to see what crazy theme Abby's mother has come up with.  It has actually been great fun for all of us and takes a bit of the edge off of the anxiety each of us feels with each admission.

Over the weekend, we all enjoyed a joint birthday celebration, Abby May 19 and Kelsey May 31. We watched the F1 race and ate French pastries in honor of the race location in Monaco, and we enjoyed the Indy 500 while eating fried chicken from our self-assembled "track packs."  On Monday evening, Abby even felt well enough to go out to dinner with all of us at a local French Cafe.  Obviously, eating was a major theme of our weekend together!  In between all of this was lots of fun, memories and laughter.  

Many thanks to Andrew and Kelsey for making that trek across the country with Kelsey on crutches, while also both working more than full time jobs and simultaneously studying for the National Licensure Exam for Architects.  It was wonderful to see you and BTW - Happy First Wedding Anniversary in a couple of weeks!

And many thanks to all of you, who continue to pray for Abby and our entire family during Abby's cancer treatments.  Your love, support and kind words offered here at this Caring Bridge site are incredibly important to all of us.  We are eternally grateful to all of you!  May God bless each of you for your care of our family.