Hey everyone! We have returned and are just getting settled back into the routine of our life and wanted to touch base with all of you. Today is Tuesday the 27th of November and I will be leaving shortly to pick up my father at the airport. He is coming in town to stay with us until Saturday and we are very excited to have him here. We had a wonderful time on the Disney cruise and Leah's folks were great to us and the kids. A big thanks to Lionel and Kathy for taking us on this cruise and for helping out so much during the voyage. I had just finished a round of chemo before we left and was not feeling 100% during the trip. Lionel and Kathy really stepped up and assisted Leah with the kids when I was down. Thanks a lot, Lionel and Kathy. The details of our cruise were as follows; We boarded the boat mid-afternoon on Saturday and sailed around 4:30pm out of Cape Canaveral towards Key West. We arrived in the Keys on Sunday and boarded the Conch Trolley Tour and toured the largest island of the Keys, Key West. After we were done with the tour we strolled around and did some shopping. (Leah and Kathy shopped while I ate some conch fritters.) Then it was back on the boat for a full day at sea on Monday to arrive in the Grand Caymans on Tuesday morning. We boarded a tour bus and learned the history of Grand Cayman before arriving at a Sea Turtle Farm. We spent the majority of the day learning about Turtle's and other sea creatures. The kids got the attention of our tour guide early and were given special treatment during the entire tour! (Which they absolutely loved!) Ross and M.K. got to hold some Sea Turtles and then were able to snorkel with them in a special swimming area. Of all of our shore excursions I think this one was the best. We spent about half the day at the Turtle Farm before it was time to get back to the boat. From the Grand Caymans we sailed off towards Mexico. Mexico unfortunately did not work out so well. We had to catch a ferry style boat from Cozumel toward the mainland and Leah ended up getting seasick. She was O.K. once we get her back on the boat and rested up for the remainder of the day. After Mexico we had another full day at sea which was relaxing and nice. Friday was spent at Disney's private island in the Bahamas called Castaway Cay. We rented some inner tubes and rafts and spent almost the entire day in the water with the kids. Lionel and I spent the majority of the time resting on the beach in lounge chairs. It was great! Saturday morning we were at breakfast at 6:30am and off the boat by 7:45am. We arrived back in Celebration by 9:00am and we had even picked up Toby at the kennel! All in all we had a fabulous time together as a family and really enjoyed the holidays.
This week is going to be nice with my Dad here. We will use this time to get a Christmas tree and decorate with the kids. Next week I am scheduled for my M.R.I. on Thursday morning. I will also start my next round of chemo that evening. (Yee Haw!) Then we travel to Duke on Sunday for our 2 day appointment on Monday and Tuesday with Dr. Friedman at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center. Please continue to pray for us as we are still not out of the woods yet. We are very hopeful for some good news from Duke. We are also praying for a clean scan on Thursday morning. Thanks to everyone who has continued to pray for us and we love you all.
Sincerely and with love,
Dan and Leah
