Off to Work!

Here is one of Tim's favourite games! Pretty much every day, Tim loves to grab his "briefcase" or tools and head off to work. He thinks he's pretty funny...

Falling into Fall...

Hey everyone! I know a family update is long overdue so here it is...!!

Here some some of our latest family pics. Included is a nice fall hike, Ken's Peru Missions trip team, new haircuts, Kate's first day of school, a princess tea party, snuggles in the pillow "nest", and Tim working hard.

The kids are really growing quickly and growing up way to fast! Kate still displays wisdom way beyond her years and continues to surprise us. She is getting more used to school now and doesn’t stress so much about going. She got pushed over the first week and since then she cried every time I dropped her off. We have tried some new stategies including what my mom used to do... Putting kisses and hugs in her pockets so she can use them later if she misses me! This has been the best in helping her not be weary when I go. (she usually asks for 9 in each hand) I think she really does love school... She just doesn't like saying bye to me and that she doesn’t get to play with me during the day. When Ken was one his 2 week mission trip to Peru, we were really having a hard time without daddy, and one morning when we were picking out her clothes, Kate picked up a pair of jeans I knew she did not like and said, "I want to wear theses one because these are the pants daddy put kisses in the morning he left". Isn't that a heart-melter?! <>

Ken did have a wonderful trip despite the lack of knowledge ahead of time as to what exactly they were to be working on. A team of 14 people went down thru Kids Alive and did a lot of work of the new children's homes they are building there. Ken hung 20 doors and others laid tile, did plumbing and painting, and on the last 2 days, they even built a chiken coop! Until then about 30 chikens were living in a cardboard box! When it was complete, they approprately named it, "The Chicken Hilton".

Tim has been busy learning new words and surprising us with a full sentence here and there. He is always the comedian in a crowd and loves to stand in the middle of a group and make people laugh. What a guy... His health is seeingly great, but is still closely watched. Last week he had an MRI, CT scan, chest x-ray, blood work and hearing test. This is the big ONE YEAR update. Pretty neat it's been a year already! Dec 12th is one year since his last surgery. They have to check his hearing as hearing loss is a potential side effect from chemotherapy. We do call Tim "Mr. One Volume"... Loud. But I think that's just how he is and hopefully not due to hearing loss.

I have been busy working and being super mom and wife. And Ken as always, is busy with building, however the market tends to be slow right now and he is hoping to sell more houses soon. He has three closing in the next few months.

Well... That's all for now! We are looking forward to Christmas and already have the tree up!
I love you all!

One Year Ago Today...

I have been doing a lot of thinking today as today marks the one year anniversary of a life-altering event. One year ago right now, Ken and I were impatiently awaiting a bed at McMaster hospital for Timothy, our now 19.5 month old son. One year ago we sat at Cambridge hospital for 2 and a half days, as Tim went thru test after test to try to determine the cause of his screaming and pain. 2:30 in the morning will mark one year since the team of patient transport finally showed up to take Tim to Mac. And then 8 AM will mark one year since the MRI, and one hour later, a grueling 8 hour surgery in which a stage 4 neuroblastoma was removed cell by cell from Tim's spinal canal. Ken and I celebrated our four year anniversary by thanking and praising God that our son had survived. Wow... a lot has happened this year. Our once paralyzed little guy is now bootin' around, full of life and emotion! Sure gives you a lot to be thankful for, and to see how far he has come. (see the video!) So many different things come into your head as you reminissce. I pulled up beside an ambulance today and couldn't even bear to look at it, just remembering being in there... But despite all the horror we experienced, there was always a strange sense of peace. As Ken and I celebrate 5 years of marriage tomorrow, we thank God for his many blessings. For a marriage that has survived such emotional turmoil, for the love that has been shown to us by so many family and friends, and for the privilege we have been given to look after two of God's precious children. My Dad gave us a little plaque today and on it it says, "If He brings you to it, He will bring you through it". Let that be a word of encouragement to all of us. We love you guys and thank you so such for continuing to read Tim's blog and support our family. God bless.

The Case of the Tipping Penguin

Here is a fairly recent video of Tim being highly concerned about the penguin that kept tipping over. This is one of those toys that starts out small and then grows in water. Tim had been checking it out and was quite upset at it apparent lack of balance. As you can see, although Tim still speaks his own language, he is very good at communicating his concern.

Tim the Tool Man

Tim is hard at work. He still speaks his own language which we like to call "Oolie-Goolie" as heard here. At least he knows exactly what he is talking about...

Summer Fun!

Here are some new pics from the summer fun that's been going on at our house! This past week Grandpa has been building our deck and Tim the Tool Man has been out there ALL WEEK. (and I am NOT allowed to bring him in) Tim has been working with tools and "helping" all day every day. He is in his glory out there. Also seen is Tim in his Hercules swimsuit at gramma's! So funny!

I can't believe Tim is now a year and a half and doing quite well health wise! He has a check--up this week at Mac but everything has been great! Thank you all for your continued prayers in this matter.

Another Great Report

We went to McMaster today and had a great report on Timothy's latest scans! The tests show that there is no change to the remaining mass, which still measures 1.3 x 0.7 cm on the MRI, and 1.5 x 1.3 on the CT scan. Now this mass could be tunour that is remaining, but it could also be just scar tissue. Either way, it has not gotten any bigger, or changed in any way. This is good. The doctor said that eventually they expect it to be absorbed by the body.

Tim is still getting scans every 3 months, which is more than in other cases, due to the type of cancer Tim had, which is very aggressive and is most likely to come back in the first two years, if it does come back. So please continue to pray for conplete healing for Timothy, and that the good news would keep coming in the upcoming months and years. Thank you all very much for your prayers, which continue to uphold us through trying times. God is awesome!

The MRI is now done and we should be recieving a report next week on Tuesday. It went fairly smoothly except that it took 2 hours instead of 45 minutes because Tim kept waking up! He fights that medicine with all he's got and he has ever since the first time he was put out. I guess now he is more immune to it and so they needed to give him extra gas throughout the procedure. But each time he woke up, they had to start all over again! Anyways... it's DONE. Good good.

In other news, Kate got to go to school for the first time today for JK orientation! How exciting! She had a great time and I think she will take really well to school in September.

This Just In...

We FINALLY heard from MRI today and Tim now has an appointment on Monday at 7:30 am. Horray! Please pray that it would go smoothly.

We had a great time today as I started a vegetable garden and the kids got to get good and dirty. As we travelled to the front lawn to see the "diggers" go by, Tim had an uncontrollable urge to jump in the puddle. So I let him touch it, go near it, one thing led to another, and eventually, well... you get the picture. Good times.

Ken and Tim got to have a boys day last Saturday working in the shop on boat motors and going for a ride in the new bike trailer. Also seen, Princess Kate, looking all grown up.

New Pics

Here are some new pics... Kate peeking out the window at the robin's nest, Kate's "centerpiece" (she LOVES picking flowers and was very disgruntled with me when I told her that dandelions are actually weeds!), and my two beautiful children who are getting very tall.

On The Move

Well here he is folks! On the move, Tim is walking almost full time now! How cool is that? Considering that at the time of diagnosis the doctors said Tim may never even move his legs, this is a real answer to prayer!

While there is defintite excitement, there is also a whole new world opened up to him, including his new favourite activity, opening drawers and getting into all kinds of STUFF! Yesterday he discovered the bum cream... that was fun. And let me tell you... that stuff does NOT wash off! Fun fun. I decided not to take a picture as to not encourage him. I knew he needed to get in trouble and I had to try so hard not to laugh! What a guy.

Kate is busy being all grown up and getting ready for her birthday party. She had a cool find yesterday when she found a "bird's eye" view of a bird's nest with 4 perfect blue eggs right out her window! Pictures to follow!

Since my last blog, Tim has had a check up, a CT scan, a spine x-ray and blood work. We STILL have not heard from MRI which really testing our patience. How does that saying go? "God, grant me patience and I want it RIGHT NOW!!" The hospital system does not make any sense to us and they say that all the parents have the same frustration of not being able to be put out just ONCE, so the child can have the MRI and the CT on the same day. This would be so much easier as the child would only have the risks of being put under ONCE and would only have to fast once. Ever have to make a baby fast? Not fun! How can you explain that to them?! It's pretty brutal. SO you basically do your best to distract them and pray lots! We haven't got any updates from these tests as we were going to wait to have the MRI done. I suppose we will just call and find out. I am assuming there was nothing pressing from the tests we did have done or they would have called us. I will let you know of any news. Take care!

Look Who's Walking!!

Hey guys! Just wanted to share in the awesome news!! Two days ago, Tim, who several months ago the doctors thought may never even move his legs, decided to start walking! In the morning he did 2 steps and then by evening he was walking across the TV room! The next day he also stood up on his own in the middle of the room! God is good!! Thanks for all your prayers! God reminds us daily that He is watching and looking out for little Timothy.

And the progress continues!

Today I heard Kate say, "mom come look!" and there was Tim on the landing! He had climbed up the stairs! Wow! And all this in just 2 days!

So we got to treck back up to McMaster yesterday as Tim had his monthly check-up. It was weird going there and seeing the hospital and Ronald McDonald house and also seeing the people in the chinic. I realized how far it actually is when you are no longer used to driving there twice a week. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if all this actually happened or if it was just a bad dream...
Tim had a normal physical exam and no major concerns. I mentioned to them how he has been dragging his right foot quite a bit and that he is still not walking at 15 months. Occupational therapy had a look at him and is going to discuss his case with physio. Since he is creeping along furniture and pushing chairs around they are not too concerned. Then when we got home, Tim decided to say to us "I'll show them", and proceeded to learn to use his push-toy all by himself and hasn't stopped bombing around since! So there you have it. He is bound and determined to walk all of a sudden! Pretty amazing. Every time Tim has a check-up and I know people are praying for him, something happens that day to remind us that God is in control. Very cool... Thanks God!

The Double Decker Bus happened when Kate's shoes got stuck in the 3 inches of mud while trying to walk to the swing in our back yard!

Here is our Scuba instructor, "Jack Sparrow", and Mr. Hot Stuff himself, Ken, by the turquoise ocean.
In other news, although Tim cannot talk yet, he sure lets us know what he wants. He has developed a love for vacuuming, of all things, and will go to the back closet, drag the vacuum all the way out, and vaccum for about 2 hours straight! He likes when I turn it on because of the noise, then if I turn it off he yells and then proceeds to make the sucking noise himself!

Some New Pictures

Hi everyone! Here are some new photos from our family! Tim is helping install carpet, bike rides in parkas (can't wait till spring!), some pics from Ken and my trip to Jamaica, Ken and I got certified in scuba diving! Fun stuff! Snuggles with dad before we went on our trip, and the beautiful "Charlotte", our Amaryllis we grew, named by Kate.
Tim is doing well... no change which is good. He is still not walking but he sure crawls around real quick! He is really developing a personality lately as he is almost 15 months old now! He is HUGE too. I hope he starts walking soon because he is getting way to heavy to carry! Tim is really into John Deere tractors and also discovered a love for dad's Bobcat and reach machine which are currently at home. Just try getting him out of it once you put him in! Kate is very grown up all of a sudden and is looking forward to her birthday on June 3rd. She has been planning it since December... can you tell she is excited? She is all about princesses and crafts and picnics. Lots of fun and never a dull moment in the Sommer house.

A Great Report

I know all of you have been patiently awaiting an update and I have been not giving you one! Sorry guys! It's been hectic around here as I have been very busy sorting thru the 60 or so resumes that I have received as I am hiring a new CHA for my office. We have had 2 group interviews with 8 people in each so far and there are several potentials. Lots to think about...

Anyways, back to Tim.... We had a great doctor report a couple weeks ago which revealed to us the results of the scans Tim had. The MRI and CT scan showed that there is no cancer left at all in the muscle, and the remaining little bit of tumour that is in the spine has shrunk even more without further treatment. So the decision was made to put Tim in the "observe" group. This means he will have scans done every 3 months for the next 2 years, and then every 6 months and so on. He will also have a check-up once a month. They are doing so many scans because the first two years is the mostly likely time that if the cancer will come back, that's when it would. So that's that. Great news for Tim and for us! His next scans will be in May and his next check up is March 24. Thanks for all your prayers and concern during this incredibly trying time.
Tim is doing well, not walking yet but bombing around the house holding onto a chair making Brrrrrrmmm-brrrrrm car noises and having a great time introducing Ken and I to the joys of sibling rivalry. Good times.

In other news, there are only 5 more sleeps until Ken and I are off to Jamaica!!! (But who's counting?) = ) No kids for a whole week! What will we do with ourselves? I think we will miss them terribly but we will get over it quickly! Can't wait to go scuba diving, swimming and just be OUTSIDE!!! Whoo-hoo!! Beach... here I come!!!

Well, despite taking almost all day, the CT scan went well this week. (We have no reports yet.) They were able to get a vein after 20 minutes and only 3 pokes! (This is good for Tim as he is REALLY hard to get) Also, the hospital called with an available appointment for tomorrow for an MRI, so off we go again to McMaster by 7:30 am. Tim will be in the MRI for 1.5 hours as they are going to do spine and abdomen pictures. Then hopefully we will be able to make it home in time for me to make it to work for the afternoon! Yipes!

Attached are some recents photos of the kids... A quick tubby in the kitchen sink... Good morning snuggles with big sister Kate... just couldn't stay awake any longer... and the kids eating their free cookie from Zehrs. Don't they look so cute in the cart??

Have a great week everyone!