Ten Things I Learned From Losing My Voice...

1. Signing Time videos reveal their worth.

2. When I whisper, my kids listen better.

3. When my kids have to come closer to hear me, I get a lot more hugs.

4. I choose my words much more carefully.

5. Texting is ingenious.

6. Talking on the phone is impossible. Sorry if I didn't return your call today. Now you know why.

7. My kids get away with a lot more.

8. The Nashville Zoo with 3 kids on a Friday is not the place to be.

9. This blog becomes a way to communicate again.

10. Christian and I are on a more even playing level.

Road Trip

We took a quick trip to South Carolina to visit our friends, Rob, Holly, Trey and Jono. We had a great time, as usual. Even after a 7 hour trip turned into 8.5, we were still so glad we did it. Looking forward to many more to come.

Growing Up

Andi has been swinging in a big swing for a while, but she hasn't been picking out her own shoes for the playground until recently. How about those ruby reds?

Christian is six weeks old now. His face is starting to fill out and he's even giving us some sweet grins. For those of you that know my dad, tell me that second picture doesn't look a bit like Papa Joe. So cute!

And here's the big one we've been waiting for. Joshua left a tooth under the bed for the Tooth Fairy. He was so excited to find his very own dollar the next morning.

Fun Faces

With multiple snow days and a newborn around, we haven't gotten out of the house much. These are the sweet little faces I've been spending my days with.

That's a loose tooth everyone. Exciting times in the Kelley house.

Quick Recovery

Joshua went through his port removal like a champ. It was an early morning, but by 10 am, he was asking for pancakes and Doritos. He slept for several hours that afternoon and went to bed early, but he never complained of any pain. We are once again so proud of his bravery.

This major milestone now means that there will be no more ER visits if a fever comes and that there will be no more questions at swimming pool about the bump on his chest. Clearly, the first is a much bigger deal, but the second will be nice as well.

Here are a few photos from the day.

Michael and Joshua discussing why everyone is up at 5 am.

The last time for numbing cream on his chest. I teared up a bit here.

All done and enjoying a cherry coke Icee. Vandy knows how to do it right.

Here is Joshua giving Andi the stuffed animal the nurses had given him. According to Joshua he "too big" for it. Another tear, but for a much different reason.

Joshua's Surgery Tomorrow Morning

We've been chemo-free since late December. Tomorrow morning is sort of the final stage in Joshua's completion of his treatment as he's having a surgical procedure to remove the port from his chest.

When Joshua was first diagnosed with leukemia, one of the first things that happened was the insertion of the port. At least 3 times a month for the last 36 months, blood has been drawn and medicine given through it. It's attached to a ventricle in Joshua's heart and makes the taking of blood and receiving of medicine much, much easier.

Tomorrow it's getting taken out. And Joshua, for his part, is more nervous about this than any of the poison that's been put into his system over the last 3 years:

"They're going to do what to my chest?"

"With a knife?!?!?!"

Funny. But God willing, he doesn't need it any more.

Snow Day

Joshua's first attempt at sledding. We don't get much snow in Nashville, so a piece of cardboard had to do for this sledding job.

Michael was determined to make the cardboard work. He had the rope tied around the kids waist. Hilarious!

They clearly didn't mind.

Christian and I stayed inside where it was nice and warm with our new heater.

Christian Parker Kelley Is Here

Memories and a Name

In preparation for our third child's arrival, I took the time to create small albums (no Creative Memories...sorry ladies, just pictures) of Joshua and Andi's baby pictures. I sat down and walked through each one with the kids telling them the stories of when they were born, who came to visit, and about all the time that we were able to spend cuddling and loving on them as babies. It has been a really sweet time and they both can now sit down with their own books and share their "memories" of when they were born.

Below is one of my favorite pictures that I came across while making Andi's album. It is my mom and dad gushing over Andi when she was about 2 months old. As my dad continues to grow more frail with his disease, memories like these become stronger and sweeter. I can truly hear in the back of my mind the sound he would make when he tickled our babies' toes. It never failed to make them all laugh.

As Michael and I were trying to find the right name for baby #3, we knew we wanted my dad's name to somehow be apart of it. The hardest part was that my dad's first name is actually Alvin. I truly love my dad, but that is an unfortunate name :-) His full name though is Alvin Joe Parker. We played around with lots of different combinations and the final decision is......Christian Parker Kelley........Not only did this name carry on my dad's surname, but our boys first name also encompasses a legacy of Christian faith that both our families have lovingly passed along to us.

Armed and Dangerous

We have some great friends. In particular, the Tims. That's Rob, Holly, Trey and Jono. They recently moved to South Carolina, but we still stay in close contact with them. While having fabulous kids close in age to ours and being super fun to be around, they are also the most generous people we know. They pick up the tab at dinner far more often than they should, they give to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on our behalf and most recently, sent this awesome Nerf gun. It came in the form of an end-of-chemo gift for Joshua, but it has quickly become our family's constant form of entertainment.

Ready for battle.

"You'll never escape my wrath, Daddy."

"I'm terrified of foam darts!"

"Let me know when we're playing baby dolls again."

Merry Christmas

Christmas Preparations

I think it has been made clear by now that our family loves Christmas. Over the last month we have spent countless hours getting our house and our spirits ready for this momentous day. Here are some of the photos we've taken along the way.

Decorating the house and tree...

Careful, Michael.

The beads are for the tree, not for Princess Andi. Easy to confuse.

Decorating and eating gingerbread and cookies...

Our advent tree that goes with this book. I highly recommend it...

Party Time

For 3 1/2 years we have eaten at Chick-fil-a at least once a week. We love their food and their service. Sadly, every time we were there, we had to tell Joshua, "I'm sorry, you can't play in the playground. The doctors know you could get sick too easily because of the medicine you take."

Yesterday, that all changed. The super kind manager at our local Chick-fil-a opened up their doors on a rare Sunday to allow us to celebrate Joshua's last chemo pill. Alongside Joshua's best buddies and some of the amazing people that have supported us over these difficult years, we counted down Joshua's five last pills. He swallowed them like a pro and ate the biggest piece of cake I have ever seen. It was a wonderful kid-friendly end to a super long journey.

Last Clinic Day-Sort of

Joshua last day at the clinic was a wonderful celebration. The nurses and doctors were excited with us. The "sort of" refers to the fact that we will still be going to the clinic every 4 weeks for about a year to make sure that that Joshua's blood counts begin to return to normal. BUT, this was the last day that chemo would be pushed through his port. Awesome!

Rebecca accessing Joshua's port. After an echocardiogram next month, we will be able to schedule surgery to have it removed. One step closer to normal life.

Dr. Ho checked Joshua out like he always does and then gave us the play by play of what post-chemo life looks like. Lots of details, but being there every month will help us get used to it.

Joshua found time to play with his buddy, Ben while he waited for the day to finish up.

Ms. Donna pushing his last syringe of chemo. I have always laughed at how the pediatric nurses are willing to give kids their meds wherever they are. Joshua was on his way back from the playroom and she just told him to stand still for a minute.

A quick family photo before we left. I'm holding one of about 6 gifts the clinic gave Joshua to celebrate this big day.

This is, by far, the best part of the day. The nurses sang Joshua a precious little song about his last chemo day. The last line say, "So pack your bags, get out the door, you don't need chemo anymore." I was weeping through my smiles.

We are so very thankful for each of these wonderful people. They have made our trips to Children's Hospital not only bearable, but sometimes, even enjoyable. They are gifted by God with patience, mercy, tenderness, compassion and love for all their patients. We are honored to have been entrusted to their care and know that God will continue to use them to care for Joshua and thousands of others. We love you all, VCH HEM-ONC!

Pictures of our big party and Joshua's last pills are coming very soon. Stay tuned!