A Real Blast!

  Hope your 4^th of July "exploded" in red, white, and blue!

  Caleb LOVES sparklers!  It was great to be out of the city limits at a family party, so we could enjoy our own fireworks this year. 

We enjoyed the huge family reunion at my Aunt Nancy's home in Bowie, Texas.  Caleb feels so loved by all of these wonderful people, who’ve helped him get through the past few years of treatment, that it just empowered him.  It was truly beautiful.

He swam and played with his cousins from sunrise to sunset, and an “outsider” would NEVER be able to tell he’s a cancer patient!  He was filled with so much energy and happiness, it was a sight to see. He got to meet Pastor Howard Walker, who has been one of his biggest supporters.  We are so thankful for that.

Caleb’s appointment at Texas Children’s went really well yesterday.  

 

We got some fantastic news!  Cal's treatments won’t last quite as long as we expected, because he had few setbacks during that first crucial year.  In mid-December of 2016, he’ll be free of daily chemo.  We are ecstatic!!!!   He’s now well over halfway through his treatments.  What a wonderful blessing.

The Houston Police Department just got back from their 2,200 mile trek to New York City to ride and raise money to find a cure for Leukemia. 
Officer Ed Hinojosa, who rode again this year in honor of Caleb, is the officer carrying the US flag.

Caleb can't believe the team was able to ride so far with him in mind.  That means so much to our family.  We are relieved that they made it safely!

 Caleb really enjoyed our family vacation this summer!

We LOVED the fact that Caleb wants to change the name of the Garden of the Gods to Garden of God.  He did not find it appropriate at all to mention more than one - and we got in "trouble" every time we accidentally called it "the wrong name". 

We got to have a miserably cold snowball fight, with 12 foot snow drifts in Colorado.  A frozen June!  Brrrr. 

Caleb loved the geysers in Yellowstone so much.  He's already asking when we can go back.

Fresh, mountain air did us all a world of good in Wyoming & Montana!

Hiking was a challenge for Caleb, but with me helping push him up the mountains, he did a great job.  He also challenged himself as much as he could, as always.

Caleb worked really hard to achieve his "Junior Ranger" status, and is quite proud of his title.  :) 

Caleb & Zach even participated in a calf scramble in Cody, Wyoming.  That was fun, yet a little scary, to watch!  He chased those calves with the best of them.

We have been blessed to spend time with loved ones this summer, including David's very loving Aunt Vernie.

The boys also enjoyed visiting my Aunt Barbara in Santa Fe.

Cal even snuck in a "photo-bomb".  :)

Caleb's hair is growing back!  He even got to get his first hair cut in a long time to even out the new growth! You can tell he's a little nervous about them "taking too much"!  With only five weeks left of his summer break, the timing couldn't be more perfect for a full head of hair!

 As we recall wonderful times spent with family, we realize that we always feel them in our hearts, even when we don't get to see some of them very often.  Family is a circle of love and strength.  With every union and every birth, the circle grows.  Every joy shared adds even more love.  Every crisis we face makes that circle stronger.  No matter how low the valley or impossibly high the mountain may appear, family is forever.  That's an amazing feeling.  It takes a village to get through cancer, and we sure are proud and thankful for ours:  family and friends, God bless you all.