Today was Brenn and my first real day by ourselves, and we tried to make the best of it! Brenns tummy was feeling a little sore this morning, so I gave her 2 more doses of her stomach medicine, instead of the one dose that I had planned to give her today. The medicine is designed to keep her from getting nauseous, and throwing up, and really does a great job. From what I understand, before they started giving this particular medicine, the kids would all throw up every time they got their chemo! Thank God for medical science sometimes. Other than the upset tummy this morning, and some really tired legs throughout the day, Brenn was really good. She was happy, and upbeat, with only a few times today where she became overwhelmed with her emotions. It seems that she has a really hard time over a couple of days after chemo, where she just can't deal with things upsetting her. It is really hard for her to moderate herself. I was really proud of her today that she was able to get through the day with only a couple of small fits. Brenn is still the girl that can make everything better, and show you how life should be lived to the fullest even through difficult times. We are truly blessed by God to have such wonderful children to remind us that things are never as bad as they seem.

Living in RMH, while challenging, has also be a real blessing for us. There are some times that I get overwhelmed by having to live in such close proximity to so many people every day every week, and every month that we are here, but the connections that we have made I believe will last for life. Some of the conversations that we get into between ourselves are very restoring as well. We all know the story of how we all arrived here, and we all know what we are all going through, and it makes us stronger to be there together, through the ups and the downs. There are some people that do not participate in the group dynamic that has formed here, but they still contribute through their children. A lot of times, it is really hard to keep everything in perspective, and tonight, I think it is good for me to be talking about this, as Brenn and I have had a hard couple days in the house. Brenn really loves to play with all of the other kids, and do crafts, and everything there is to do here, but when she is not feeling well, sometimes it is hard for her to be here, seeing all the other kids playing, and not being able to play herself.

Any way, we had a good day today. We went down to Stanley Park on the bus (which was really crowded and made me really nervous), and went to the Aquarium. They have a show on right now called SpongeBob in 4D. It is played on a 3d screen, then they incorporate smell, wind, mist, and bubbles to make your other scenes partake in the entertainment. It was a pretty cool experience. Brenn thoroughly enjoyed it, and wants to take Samantha there to watch it again. The aquarium is great now that we have a yearly pass. We can pop in for an hour or two and enjoy a couple of things really thoroughly, and leave knowing that we can come back any time that we want to do something else. After the show, we went and watched the seal show and the dolphin show, which were both entertaining, and informative! Once we were done in the aquarium, we went for a little walk in the park, but Brenns legs were to tired, so I ended up carrying her for most of the way, and most of the time in the aquarium as well, but I don't mind shes great to cuddle with. We got back on the bus, and came back to RMH. Brenn played part of the afternoon when she was up to it before having dinner, shower, and off to bed. She fell asleep almost as soon as I put her to bed.

Scott