Face Painting

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Originally uploaded by keljoh.

And face painting at the party.

Pumpkin Painting

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Originally uploaded by keljoh.

Here's a picture of pumpkin painting at Emma's weekend birthday party.

Emma at the Rice game

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Originally uploaded by keljoh.

Here is Emma in her Rice cheerleading outfit at the Rice v. Navy game with Aunt Jean.

Emma's Barbi Cake

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Originally uploaded by keljoh.

Here's a picture of Emma at the party we had for her on her actual birthday, Tuesday 10/18.

Cousins in Town

Matt's sister, Jenny, and her family have come to Houston for the long weekend. Samantha is about Emma's age, and Heath is a little younger than Luke. They went to make caramel apples yesterday, and plan on going to the Houston Zoo's "Zoo Boo" festivities this afternoon. Emma and Luke are really enjoying having their cousins in town, and Kara and Matt are enjoying the company, too!

Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for Kara's continued health during this week, so that she may start her eighth round of chemo on time.
- Please pray for continued improvement of her neuropathy, so that she may be able to do more things for herself and for her children again.
- Please pray that the cancer be eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.

Thank you.

Last Weekend

Kara made it home shortly before Emma's party began, and everyone was thrilled to see her doing so well, especially Emma. The kids played, painted pumpkins, smashed a pumpkin pinata, and had a good time together.

Blowing out the Candles
Originally uploaded by jeanjean78.

I unfortunately didn't end up with many photos on my camera, but hopefully Uncle John will post his photos when he can. If you click on any of the photos, you'll be taken to the Flickr site. On it, there is a photo set entitled "Pumpkin Party," where I will try to put all the photos from the party as they come in.

Saturday evening, after the party, Emma went with Doc, Uncle John, and me to the Rice-Navy game, giving Kara and Matt some time with Luke. Emma had a fun time watching the cheerleaders, mascots, dancers, band, and football players. She especially liked climbing all the way to the top of the stadium and looking out over the Houston skyline. Before and after the game she ran around on the astroturf, and had fun playing football with Uncle John.

Before the Game
Originally uploaded by jeanjean78.

Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for Kara's continued health during this week, so that she may start her eighth round of chemo on time.
- Please pray for continued improvement of her neuropathy, so that she may be able to do more things for herself and for her children again.
- Please pray that the cancer be eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.

Thank you very much.

Kara's Home

Kara made it home just in time for Emma's party, which was a great success. Emma and her friends had a wonderful time, and it was the perfect day for a party in the park. Kara's bloodwork today showed her levels are all good. I will post more, with photos, tomorrow.

Thank you for keeping Kara in your prayers throughout this time. Please continue to pray for Kara's health this week, and that the cancer be eradicated from her body, permanently.

Goes Home Tomorrow

Kara should be able to go home tomorrow in time for Emma's birthday party. Since the party is outside, she shouldn't have to worry too much about germs and getting another infection. Hopefully her lab results today will show all her levels back at a normal level. Her white blood cell count when she entered the hospital was I believe less than a third of what it should be, and her hemaglobin was at a level that could have led to cardiac arrest. We are very thankful that the fever was caught and treated early, and she was given prompt treatment to correct her low bloodcounts. And we are very glad Kara will get to be with Emma on Emma's special day, after all of the hours Kara has spent planning and thinking about the party.

Please pray that Kara continues to improve, and that the cancer is eradicated from her body, permanently.

Thank you.

Still in the Hospital

Kara's blood counts really need improving. Her hemoglobin levels and white blood count are very low, which can be a serious problem. They have given her an infusion to try to boost those levels.

Please pray that Kara recovers quickly, that she is able to start her last round of chemo on time (Nov. 1), and that the cancer be eradicated from her body, permanently.

Thank you.

Update

Kara's fever seems to have broken, and she feels better. She is receiving a blood transfusion to try to elevate her white blood cell count to help her fight the infection. The lab tests show that it is a bacterial infection, and she's being given some drugs to treat that. She will probably stay in the hospital till Thursday, and then have a few days or a week of home health care. Her immune system is really weakened by the chemo, and this is a difficult time of year not to pick up some bug or cold.

Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement.

In the Hospital

After a full weekend of planning for Emma's birthday and little outings, Kara has had to go into the hospital for febrile neutropenia, I believe (http://www.tirgan.com/leucpnia.htm). She is running a fever and her blood counts are too low. She will have to be in the hospital for the next couple of days, missing Emma's school birthday party and family birthday party tomorrow. Hopefully she will be released and feeling up to participating in Emma's birthday party this weekend.

Please pray that she recovers from this quickly, and that the cancer be eradicated from her body, permanently.

Thank you.

Luke at the Blue Bell Creamery

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Originally uploaded by keljoh.

Here is Luke after a tasting of ice cream at the Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham.

Hurricane Luke

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Originally uploaded by keljoh.

What a mess!

Emma and her new "friend"

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Originally uploaded by keljoh.

Emma really is becoming a country girl. She named this bug her "friend" and spent several hours letting it crawl up one arm and back down the other.

Emma looking cool

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Originally uploaded by keljoh.

At the farm after a swim. The temperature was in the low 100's at the end of September. Fortunately it has cooled off since then.

Luke Looking Cool at the Farm

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Originally uploaded by keljoh.

Luke is not sweating the Hurricane Rita evacuation with his shades and Hawaiian shirt.

Back Home

Kara came home from her seventh round of chemo on Saturday evening. On Sunday, she and the family went to the Pumpkin Patch festivities at a park in Bellaire. So far, Kara has been feeling pretty good, and not as sick as she had after the previous chemo treatments. She is sticking to drinking Boost, though, to prevent setting off any nausea. We hope that the side effects do not worsen over the next few days.

Praises:
- Thank you God for seeing Kara through another round of chemotherapy without any complications.
- Thank you God that Kara is doing so well following this last round of chemo.

Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that the side effects remain minimal.
- Please pray for improvement of Kara's neuropathy.
- Please pray that the cancer be eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.

Thank you.

Chemo Starts Thursday

Kara, Matt, and the children are back in Houston after their time at the farm. Emma and Luke both had a great time in the great outdoors, playing with the cows, swinging, learning about the stars from Uncle John, and splashing in the pool. Kara got a lot of work done on Emma's birthday party plans and the children's Halloween costumes. Emma and Luke are going to be a cowgirl and cowboy!

Kara will begin her seventh round of chemotherapy on Thursday. She met with a physical/occupational therapist earlier in the week, and hopefully they can give her exercises to improve her neuropathy.

Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that this next round of chemotherapy be completed without any complications.
- Please pray that the side efffects from the chemotherapy will be minimal.
- Pleae pray that the cancer is eradicated from Kara's body, permanently.

Thank you for your words of encouragement and love for Kara -- one of the highlights of her day is reading the kind words people send to her, both here on the blog and through the mail. It means a great deal to Kara to know she is in the thoughts and prayers of so many people.