On a jet plane...

Hey everyone,

What a week. I am writing this post from an airplane on the way back from San Diego. As you know, I was in LA this past week for a conference, then headed down to Carlsbad for a few meetings. It's been a long and productive week, but I am glad to be heading home.

I haven't had much of a chance to update the blog the past several days, so we have some catching up to do. As some of you know, Steph and Levi were home this past week. I flew out early Sunday morning for my trip, then got word while I was in Minneapolis that the doctor had cleared Levi to come home! We knew he would likely be able to come home early in the week, but weren't expecting it to be Sunday. Thankfully, Steph's parents were able to head down to the hospital to help move them out.

From my many conversations with Steph this past week, it sounds like things are going very well. Levi and Caylee picked right back up where they left off, and apparently Levi is playing the role of antagonistic little brother with with enthusiasm and perfection. They're playing hard - Steph even caught the two of them jumping on Caylee's bed together. It was an emotional week for me at times, being away while they were home, but the fact that Steph's parents spent the week with her and the kids at home really helped out.

I have to share one cool story from this past week... The conference I went to threw a huge party for all the attendees. The highlight of the evening was a concert by Weezer, who has always been a band I've liked. So we headed to the stage early enough to get spots right along the rail in the front. They played a great set, and we had a blast. During one of their songs, Rivers Cuomo brought out a ukulele to play for their song "Island in the Sun." After the song was over, he broke it in classic rock star fashion, then their guitarist picked it up and walked to the edge of the stage and handed it right to me. Everyone around me was pretty jealous, but there was no way I was letting go of that thing. After the show, we hung around the security fence where we could see their dressing trailers. Their bassist was mulling around outside, so Bryan, one of my friends, got his attention ("hey bassman!") and he came over to talk to us. I asked him if he could sign it for my son, then quickly told him about Levi. He walked away with it, then after a few minutes brought it back with all the band members' autographs on it with a little note that said "To Levi with Love." What a cool souvenir! I'll have to figure out a way to hang that one in Levi's room.

So, back to the logistics and battle plan... The home healthcare nurse came out to draw Levi's labs on Tuesday. We got the results back on Wednesday - everything looked fine. Unfortunately, the hospital did not run the correct set of labs, though, so we are not sure what his ANC is. This means that we probably won't be doing much traveling this weekend with him, but that's ok.

The plan as of right now is that we will keep him home this week and most of next week and take him back to Riley next Friday to begin his fourth round of chemotherapy. It sounds odd to be talking about his fourth round... That means that he's over halfway through his treatment regimen, with only one more round to go after this one. I would love to have him home by Christmas, although I know that would be pushing it. I thank God for His protection of Levi through these first three rounds, and ask you to continue to pray for these next two.

So for now, I am going to try to get a little bit of sleep and wait anxiously for this plane to land, then jump on my next flight, then drive home from the airport, then walk up my sidewalk to hug and kiss my beautiful wife and sneak into the kids' rooms to quietly pat their backs and kiss their foreheads while they sleep. I can't wait. It will be such a blessing to come home to the three of them; that hasn't happened for awhile, and it sure beats coming home to an empty house.

Love you all, and thanks again for keeping my family and little boy with your prayers.
Michael, Stephanie, Caylee, and little Levi.