It's the start of a new year and should be an interesting one indeed. It's also close to the anniversary of our finding out that Jonathan had cancer and it's a date that will be stuck in my mind for the years to come - coupled with the fact that I have it recorded in my journal - so it's not like I could easily forget it. I look forward to this year with less pessimism than I thought I would have and with more hope and confidence about Jonathan's treatment. But enough of that - we'll see how the new year unfolds. What I really want to talk about is the Chirstmas season.
It's been an interesting Christmas for us. With our home being in such a mess - especially with us not having enough time to 'keep house' - I for one - was looking to avoid being at home : ). The week before Christmas - we were supposed to go to Yosemite - but with Jonathan having a bacterial infection in his line - those plans were ruin. Fortunately, we were able to go to Yosemite on the Christmas weekend - and that's what we did. We got the use of a house owned by the parents of a friend of mine - and it was 'da bomb'! The original plan was to leave home around 11 am on Friday 23rd and hopefully arrive between 2 pm to 3 pm at Yosemite. Well, given our track record for doing anything on time - when the kids are involved - we didn't leave until 2 pm!
So our road trip to Yosemite began - with a moderate amount of traffic on HWY 580 and the beginning portions of HWY 120 - but all it all - it was an awesome drive. The house we were staying at was in a gated community and it was real nice. There were deer and squirrels that came close to the house and it was so rustic! The place was so quiet than during the first night I couldn't sleep well because the silence was deafening!
On Saturday we did a little grocery shopping and went into Yosemite valley. We never actually reached the valley but on the way we passed a camping ground that was packed with snow and so we ended up stopping there with all of us spending some time to play in the snow. Actually - it was Gabby, Jonathan and Arielle playing in the snow and me taking pictures : ). The kids had a blast. Arielle and Jonathan enjoyed throwing snow at each other - it was really fun.
On Christmas day - Gabby and I slept the entire day. I probably got up around 9 am - had breakfast - and then went back in around 11 am. I probably didn't get up until 3 pm! To this day I'm still surprised that I slept so long and I never realized how tired I really was - and probably still am! The most significant thing happened during Christmas eve (I think). I remember lying on the bed with Jonathan - he was sleeping - and I wrapped my arms around him and was stroking his hair. I remember reflecting on the year and saying to myself: thank God that I'm able to spend another Chrsitmas with my son. I never thought I would have seen the day - especially with him being so alive and vibrant - and I was grateful for having him around another year.
On the day after Christmas - Monday - we checked back into the hospital to being round two of his immunotherapy. Jonathan was doing so well on the new drug - interleukin-2 (IL-2) - that even though it was scheduled to finish on Saturday morning - the hospital released us on Friday afternoon so that we can finish his treatment at home. Earlier in the week his cousins came over to visit him at the hospital. I have cousins living in San Francisco - and the rest of that family - who live in Illinois and Wisconsin - came over.
Well - we decided to spend the New Year's weekend by our cousins - so on Friday - after being released from the hospital - we all went up to San Francisco to spend the weekend - at least - until Sunday morning. It was a blast! I cannot remember the last time we sat down for a meal with family and there were over 15 people to feed : ). It was really nice. The kids had so much fun - having their cousins to play with.
So - all in all - the last two weeks were really nice. Didn't spend much time at home - and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
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