Whelp- life sure has a way of happening, doesn't it? We really hope that everyone has taken the radio silence here over the last 5 months or so as "no news is good news", we definitely owed y'all an update a long time ago. The last 9 months have been an absolute whirlwind, here's where we're at:

Haven's recovery has gone way better than we could have hoped for! In between lots of resting, this summer has been filled with time connecting with family, both birth and chosen. We've gone to cabins, hung out in back yards, went hiking in the woods, and even swam in Lake Superior (there was a sauna involved, we're not total masochists). Haven's neurological symptoms have decreased dramatically and her energy levels are up again for the most part- so much so that she decided to spend her mornings this summer teaching a 4-6 year old summer camp. I'd say that's a good sign that she's getting back to her old self.

Haven has been in for several different check-ups since surgery, here's a brief overview:

• Driving simulator: 3/20/21, passed with flying colors!
• MRI: 6/18/21, all clear!
• EEG: 8/6/21, no abnormal neurological activity!

All really good news. She'll need to go in periodically for MRIs to monitor, as it's likely that at some point the tumor will begin to regrow. With regular monitoring they'll be able to catch it well before it gets big enough to require traditional surgery, and can instead use radio surgery to stop the growth. Stuff's wild, they just zap it with frickin laser beams or something. Hopefully there's no sharks involved...

(Haven here, just wondering if anyone else rolled their eyes as much as I did at this part... :) )

We're coming up on 6 months post-surgery, and overall have had a return to some semblance of normalcy. We've been doing a lot of reflecting on this whole process, and one of biggest take-aways has been continuing to really appreciate just how many wonderful, kind, caring, and supportive people we're lucky enough to have in our lives. We obviously knew y'all were great, but the extent to which y'all showed up has been jaw-dropping. I'd like to personally give a big shout out to Haven's mom Lisa for coming down and staying with us, and to everyone who helped out with the meal train. It really made the first few weeks a breeze. We obviously also really really really can't say thanks enough to everyone who has kept Haven in their hearts through this whole ordeal, and that we appreciate so much all the many ways in which you've shown us just how much you care.

So, here's the deal: we want to have a little party. A little "screw you" to brain tumors, a lot of "we love you all so much it hurts sometimes" kinda party. The actual 6-month is 9/3- we're out of town and imagine a lot of you will be as well, so we'll be hosting in our back yard on Saturday, 9/11. We'll get started around 2PM, and will likely go late. Please drop by if you can, we'd love to see you! Haven really wants to have an ice cream social, so we're gonna do that. We'll have some beverages and will fire up the grill around 5 or 6, feel free to bring something to share. Please reach out to us directly if you're planning on coming so we can get a rough sense of numbers, we'll figure out food and stuff based on when people say they can come. Obviously COVID is still very much a thing, please go get vaccinated if you're medically able and haven't already. We're planning to be outside as much as possible, but given the prevalence of break-through cases of the Delta variant, we will fire up the HEPA filter and be asking everyone to wear a mask if they need to go inside to use the bathroom or grab something.

If everything goes as we hope, this will probably be the last post here. Again- y'all are awesome. You've made this as smooth as we ever could have hoped for.  Hopefully we'll see you in a few weeks!

- Sam and Haven