Two Babes in School

Kindergarten has finally arrived. After much excitement and planning Jackson was so ready for his first day of school. The night before we packed Jackson's backpack (although not the one we ordered, still on back order-bummer), got his clothes ready and got to bed early. We read The Night Before Kindergarten and talked about what his day might look like. I was a nervous wreck and feeling a bit sad that I could not go to school with him on his first day.












Todd took his first day of school off to spend the morning with Jackson at school.
As I got ready for work in the morning Jackson assured me that he was excited to ride the bus and was really excited for his big day. Todd waited at the bus stop with Jackson and then quickly drove to school to meet the bus. The kindergartners only stayed half the day and the parents stayed as well. Jackson had a great time meeting new friends, seeing his teacher again, and learning new routines. After school Todd took Jackson out for a special lunch. Jackson called me at work to tell me all about his day. Although I knew it would be great, it was nice to hear the excitement in his voice. The following week Aubrin started preschool. She had been feeling a little sad that Todd, Jackson and I were gone every day. She said to me on our first day of school, "Mom, why is everyone leaving me?" So when it was time for Aubrin to go to school we really celebrated her. On the morning of school Aubrin was up at 3:30am ready to go with excitement. Luckily she went back to sleep for a bit after I explained to her that Mrs. Katie her teacher was still at home sleeping. I was so happy that I was able to take the morning off of school to take her on her big day. When we got to school Aubrin was excited to see all of the kids. She introduced herself to a few little girls and asked them if they wanted to play. Although, she kept watching the door out of the corner of her eye waiting for Tessa to walk through the door. Aubrin couldn't be more thrilled to be going to preschool with Tessa. This summer when someone would ask Aubrin about going to preschool her response would be, " I'm going to preschool and Tessa is in my class, I'm so excited." A few of the kids in Aubrin's class had siblings in Jackson's preschool class, so it was nice to reconnect with them. It will also be nice to share this experience with Krista and our little ladies start their school year together. Aubrin decided that she thinks circle time is great. She loves sitting on the rug and listening to Mrs. Katie read a story. When Todd and I get home from work, we get every detail about her morning at school.We are so happy that the school year has stared out so great for our babes. We can't wait to see what the year brings.

A Trip to School

This week Jackson had an open house at school to meet his kindergarten teacher, Ms. Stachura. Jackson was excited for all of us to go to check out his classroom, drop off his school supplies and see if any of his preschool buddies were in his class. When we got to the school all of the kids were outside playing and eating popsicles. Jackson found a few of his buddies and they enjoyed their popsicles together.

Then we had a chance to go into the classroom to take a look around. Jackson was shy when he met his teacher, but was all smiles. He was excited to look around and tell Aubrin that this would be his classroom.
I was very excited to go and see Jackson's classroom and his reaction to meeting his teacher. I am not able to go on the first day to share that with him. Todd is able to take the day off of school to be with Jackson.
As we were leaving the building Jackson met up with his friend Nathan and they played outside for a few minutes. There are only a few friends from preschool in Jackson's class, but I'm sure he will meet friends quickly. In the car, Jackson seemed excited about going to his classroom and counting the days until it was time to get on the bus and go back.The next morning he woke up and said. " Mom, I think my teacher is really pretty."

My Special Gift

The other day out of the blue Jackson decided that he wanted to make me something for my classroom. I was thinking he meant he was going to color a picture for me to hang up. He had much bigger plans. He said that he wanted to make me a bookcase to put all of my special books on at school. I told him that he needed a plan of what it was going to look like before he got started. Sure enough he sat down and sketched out a picture.

Later that day I was busy doing things in the house and Jackson comes in from the garage and tells me to come outside and close my eyes. He had built me a fantastic bookcase with wood he found in the garage (with a lot of help from Todd). He was more than proud of his creation.
The next day Aubrin and Jackson were very busy outside painting it so it would be ready for me to take to work~ it's just perfect!

This can't be happening...

Life as we knew it started to crumble...or so we thought.
About two weeks ago I noticed a lump in Jackson's groin. With Jackson being so tall and thin, everything pokes out of his boney little body, so I dismissed it and really didn't think any thing of it. On Friday evening Jackson was getting into the shower and I noticed the lump and it was much larger and very hard. I was in a panic. The whole weekend I was sick to my stomach about what it could be. Then I thought maybe I was being crazy and it really wasn't anything at all. On Monday morning I called right away to get an appointment at the pediatricians office. We couldn't get in until 10:00am. Once we got to the doctors I was even more anxious. I went by myself because I thought if Todd came we would be making more out of it than we should (or so I told myself.) When the doctor came in the room I explained to him why we were there. He asked me a few general, light questions and then started to examine Jackson. With in seconds the doctors whole mood changed. He became very serious. He took measurements of Jackson lump, yes it was big enough to measure. He then examined Jacksons whole body. While doing this he was asking me questions about his appetite, if Jackson seemed tired, if I noticed any bruises on his body. He very carefully checked out Jackson's neck and under his arms. He then told me that the lump was an enlarger lymph node. He seemed very concerned. He then told me that Jackson needed to go to the lab downstairs to get blood taken and then head to Huron Valley Hospital to get a chest x-ray. I broke at the moment.This was serious. Deep down I really thought he was going to say it was a cyst and it would go away (I really didn't think he would say that, but I was really hoping) When he handed me the paperwork for the blood test and the chest it said STAT. He said that I needed to go right away and that he would talk to me with in two hours. When we were sitting in the lab downstairs Jackson was getting a bit worked up because he knew that they were going to stick a needle in him. I was so proud of him for how brave he was. He took it like a champ. As I sat there waiting my mind was going crazy and then it finally hit me like a ton of bricks...they we checking to see if my baby had cancer. At that moment I started making every deal with God that I possibly could. I also started talking to my Gram and told her that I really needed her to be Jackson's angel and help him through this.
As we headed to the hospital I called Todd and I put him into more of a panic as well. Jackson asked me why we had to go to the hospital and I explained to him that they just needed to check out a couple things to make sure he was healthy for kindergarten. When we got to the hospital Jackson thought it was great that he was there. He said, "This is such a fun adventure mom!" We checked in and then went and sat in the waiting room for Jackson to get his chest x-rays. When it was his turn he was very chatty with the man and asked tons of questions about all of the machines. Trying to get a five year old to stand still for an x-ray is almost impossible. Just as the man got Jackson in place and went behind the wall to take the x-ray, Jackson would turn and say something like, "Do you know I'm going to kindergarten?" or "I have a little sister at home." Finally the man was able to get all of the x-rays he needed. As he took the x-rays every scenario possible was going through my head...I was going to have to explain to Jackson that he was really sick...he wouldn't be going to kindergarten...I was going to have to take a leave from work...it was horrible. At that point I thought we would be free to go home. Oh no, we had to wait in the waiting room for the doctor to look at the x-rays, then he had to call Jackson's doctor and then Jackson's doctor would call me at the hospital. The man said it would take about 20 minutes or so. With in 5 minutes he was back in the waiting room to get me. In my head I was thinking that nothing good happens that fast. He took me in a room and sat me down next to a phone. He told me Jackson's doctor would be calling me with in a few minutes. Then I thought,I'm by myself and I could be getting the worst news of my life. When the phone rang I automatically started to cry. When I talked to the doctor he said that all of Jackson's blood tests came back good and his x-rays were clear...I could finally breathe again. He said that the "most serious" things he was looking for were not detected, although he never used the word cancer. He said that he would call me with in a few days and talk with me more in depth after the pathologist looked more at the results. As I walked out of the room and saw Jackson sitting and playing with his bag of Legos I brought for him, all I could do was sit om the floor and hold him. I called Todd and told him we were on our way home. On our way home Jackson says, "Mom, I know why they had to do all of that to me today. Last week after I went to the bathroom, I didn't wash my hands. Someone must have found out and they needed to make sure I was healthy." I love his way of thinking. When we got home, no words were needed between Todd and I.We just hugged and I cried.
That night we had tickets to the Tigers game. Both Jackson and Aubrin were very excited to go. As we were getting ready I just kept crying, not being able to stop thinking about the day.
The night was great. Aubrin entertained everyone in our section with her dance moves and Jackson impressed people with how he knew all of the players names and the correct terminology of the game.
My perspective on life changed last week. Little things that were important to me or things I complained about are no longer. The thought for one second that our little boy could be sick was enough to change my life forever.
Today I spoke with his doctor again. He said that he and the pathologist have gone over his blood test several times as well as his x-rays. He said they have ruled out Leukemia...he said it. He finally said it. He associated cancer and our son in the same sentence. He said that there was absolutely no sign of it. He went over all of Jackson's blood tests with me. Although that is great news, Jackson still has a very large lymph node. So now we wait. We wait another week and see it if goes down. If not, we will go back in next week to explore more. Today I could function with more ease than I have over the past week. I thank God for the beautiful family that we have.