Wake me up when September ends...

Hi everyone,

I can't believe September is almost over. The past few months have been a blur. It feels like it should still be mid-June, and we should be looking forward to a couple of hot months and a trip to the beach. But instead, it's in the mid-50's and low-60's, and the rainy wind is starting to cut through our sweatshirts. But, with the quick passing of days - rolling into weeks - rolling into months - rolling into seasons, also comes the small spark of excitement that is starting to take hold. It is still small, and at times indistinguishable, but it's there. It's the excitement that soon we'll see the finish line. It's still a ways off, but it's out there. Just over the horizon. We just have to stay strong, keep our heads down and our hearts faithful, and confront each day with a voracious desire to do whatever it takes to bring our little boy home, healthy and happy.

So - it's Wednesday... The mid-week slump, combined with the gray skies and persistent rain that's been hanging over our beautiful Hoosier state means that everyone is tired. But we're hanging in there. Steph and I enjoyed a nice date night on Saturday night - a big thank you to her parents who came down to sit with Levi while we were away. After getting our money's worth out of the "never ending pasta bowl" promotion at Olive Garden, we went to see Contagion. And yes, I do think it is sort of ironic that we picked a movie about a deadly disease, but oh well, it was the only thing that looked remotely interesting. I thought I was going through a lot of hand sanitizer (or as Caylee calls it - "hanitizer") before, but after seeing that movie I have doubled my hand sanitization habits. And I will never, ever touch the poles in a subway car or on a public bus again. Despite the OCD-inducing movie, we enjoyed the time together.

Our actual anniversary was yesterday, the 27th. I had decided on my way home on Sunday night that I was going to try to surprise Steph on our anniversary, so with the Bennetts watching Caylee for the evening, I headed down to see her after work. It was a lot of driving to fit in one evening, but it was worth it to see the surprise on her face when I walked in the hospital room. It was a short visit, but after a romantic meal of cafeteria cheeseburgers and Diet Dr. Pepper, we sat back and watched Levi buzz around the room playing basketball and chatting up a storm. He had a platelets transfusion earlier in the day, and was feeling great. It was cute to see him acting goofy, trying to make us laugh, and destroying Steph's collection of quilting magazines.

Caylee and I got home pretty late last night, so needless to say we were both wrecks this morning. But, somehow we drug ourselves out of our beds, and I think I even got her in matching clothes. She didn't last long tonight, and at this rate I don't think I will make it much longer either.

Levi's counts are still slowly coming down. He had an ANC count of around 40 this morning, so there are some neutrophils hanging in there. We think his counts will bottom out, but we're not for certain. You all know the drill by now - once they're down, we just have to wait until they build back up again. He still has his appetite, is very energetic, and seems to be feeling fine. For that, we give God praise, as we know He is answering our prayers and walking with Levi through this treatment every step of the way. I am heading to Los Angeles next week for a conference, so please keep us all in your prayers for that as well. I am looking forward to the trip, but it is tough to be away from home at a time like this.

In closing for tonight, Steph and I want to thank you all for the anniversary well-wishes. There are so many of you out there that we look up to as examples for our marriage. We once again thank you for prayerfully supporting our family, and thank God for the support that we have in this battle. Levi is a tough fighter, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for him.

We love you all,
Michael, Stephanie, Caylee, and little Levi