Texas

So we arrived here in Texas on the 2nd, and it has been a whirlwind of hospital and clinic visits since.  But in between we've had some fun times, and we've met some great folks here as well.  Not to mention the way we arrived here, by private jet donated by a very kind individual, something that still leaves us in amazement, and so very thankful as we had a rough ride of it with C's immunity / white blood cell counts last round, they were low at the time we were leaving VA and have kept rising and falling since, no longer on a predictable upward swing following treatment at this point.

We are staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Houston.  Most dinners and some lunches and breakfasts are provided by local organizations supporting the House, and activities are also put on for the kids.  There is a steady stream of coffee, a great play area inside and out, plenty of snacks and a pantry to use for when meals are not offered, laundry facilities on site, rooms to check out with TV's, couches and books for private family movie or game nights, or just a break from the common areas, and even a House dog for H to play fetch with.  For folks who have cars here there are donated tickets to local shows and events offered frequently.  We've even seen things like hair cuts and massages for the families offered here on site by local businesses, the community here in Houston really does come out support this place.  We are in walking distance of most of the hospitals, and we visit 3 regularly so we've been giving our walking shoes a work out.  There is a House shuttle to the hospitals, but it usually doesn't coincide with our appointment times.  Luckily the weather has been nice in the 70's mostly so we don't mind the walks, a nice change from the cold we came from, even in VA. 

I've been lax on remembering the camera, but I did manage to catch a few shots here and there.  H has been loving all the other kids to play with here at the House.  C has been making some rather amazing progress learning to crawl, "talking" more (not yet in a way we can understand, other than "ma ma ma", but we love to hear it regardless!), and pointing!  Once we get some good footage of these things we'll try to post, but for now here are some moments we managed to capture:

 The ride down, so smooth the kids even slept through the landing!

Balloons provided in one of the House activities, first time I've seen a balloon interpretation of Ariel the Mermaid!

Not a great shot, but here C is pointing, he does it a lot now, I love it!  :)

 Riding on the Big Wheel in the play area in back of the House.

 Brushing a pony.

She had no less than 5 pony rides on Wednesday, they brought the rodeo to the House for the kids this week.  H really loved this, and what a great thing for the the kids staying here who can't get out of the house to get to the actual rodeo for a variety of reasons.

 Multi-tasking here, feeding goats and chickens...

 Walking a goat, as well as one can...

Petting a baby chick "very carefully"...

C and Daddy, missed out on getting a shot of him in his red outfit wearing the matching hat pictured here, it was a great image, will post it up if I manage a future shot.  :)