Clinc Day with the family!

Jacqueline and Thomas came with us to Emily's clinic appointment today! It is always fun to have big brother and sister come along.
Emily's counts are coming up (slowly but surely). Her ANC is at 1700 and her WBC is at 3200. Her weight is about the same at 16.9 kilograms. Emily's nurse decided this was just fine. She feels like we need to give Emily some more time to adapt to eating more...I wholeheartedly agreed of course! It is much easier to give her a pill (even though it makes her scream at very random moments in anger...I am hoping this side effect won't last too long) then to stay up at night feeding her through a tube. I am one who likes my sleep.

We asked if it would be OK to take her to a restaurant. We got the green light as long as it is a CLEAN place with fresh food and if we are away from most of the people in the UNCROWDED restaurant. We chose PF Chang's (Emily likes the rice) We realized while there that this was the last restaurant our family went to before she went into the hospital!

Emily was very nervous...it is a really good thing that we can introduce her slowly to new things. She is just so scared of getting sick! We told her how brave she was being and she eventually relaxed. The best part of the meal was the fortune cookies. Emily was the first to open hers and we just HAD to show everyone! It was meant to be!

Matt took us up to his office on the 19Th floor of the Church office building. The kids have been 'dying' to see it(as Emily would say) but we haven't had the chance. We have to go through security so it isn't really convenient. The kids had a great time rummaging through all of Matt's things, including his candy drawer... no wonder he never has a sweet tooth at home! The favorite was looking out the window with binoculars to see the amazing view of the Salt Lake Temple. What a wonderful thing to look at every day.

Matt is definitely in his element working with the church. Everyone loves him and he LOVES his job! He is always so happy when he comes home. He has never been busier yet has never been more content and happy at the same time. He loves being able to serve the Lord and get paid for it at the same time! Sometimes he says he feels guilty for getting paid to do his job; but don't worry, I assure him that it is a good thing!

We had such a great day today being able to spend time together as a family...it's amazing how easy it is to take these simple things like going out to eat every once in a while, or going to Dad's work for granted. It becomes such a priceless gift when it has been taken away. We have had a great opportunity to see just how blessed we are. Our gratitude for the 'little' things has grown in leaps and bounds! It has been amazing to look at life with 'new' eyes; realizing once again what REALLY matters!(I guess we keep needing those reminders!)