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A few pictures of our patriots!
Sweet Riley (yep, she's a chunk!)
Cool Jacob!
The Gang
And a Flashback to 2004, Hayley
We did the whole traditional "fireworks" thing this year - you know where you picnic for four hours ahead of time for the 15-minute fireworks show!? And Jacob absolutely loved it! I admit it was worth it - even if it did take us 30 minutes to get out of our parking space! The entire weekend, though, my mind kept drifting back to 2004 and the memories of the picture above. We were in such a celebratory mood - Hayley had finished all of her inpatient therapy, and we only had a few outpatient spinal taps left before we could call ourselves "done!" Her counts were even recovered enough that we took her to a BBQ at a friend's house - literally the first time she'd been around non-hospital kids since her diagnosis. She joined right in on all the fun as if she never missed a beat,and my heart was so full it literally could have burst. Unfortunately, it would be less than a week later that we would learn she had relapsed...the true beginning of the end.
It's always been our hope that we would remember to live in the moment and make the most of each day (even the mundane ones!). Too often even I forget that our tomorrows aren't guaranteed. Today I'm thankful that I'm remembering the lesson my daughter, and countless of her friends, taught me so well...
