Apologies for the long absence...all is well in the Brock household. 

We passed June in a bit of a blur, enjoying a visit from cousins, aunts, uncles and Oma and Papa from Texas. It was nice getting to show them all around our home city and introduce them to our favourite coffee shop, our church, our routines and of course: to Agnes! She fit right in with the crew and loved all the attention from her female cousins. She is 16 months going on 16 to be sure!

It was nice to be so pleasantly distracted in what is usually a very busy time of year for Brian and I. However, we did not overlook the one year anniversary of Adam's diagnosis on June 16. It was pouring with rain, as was "that day" one year ago, but the similarities stopped there. Adam had a great day and we spent it all together, which was what we were robbed of last year. In actual fact, I found his Leukaemia diagnosis much harder to deal with than his other diagnoses, mainly because it was, and still is, more life-threatening than his Down Syndrome or his Autism. It also changed life from what was normal, albeit different and difficult at times, to something abnormal, something frightening.

We are now one year on, and life is normal again, not that it hasn't changed significantly. We still give medicines every morning and evening, including chemotherapy. Once a month he goes in for an infusion and then has five days of steroids that throw our routine off a bit. But overall Adam is back, he is happy and energetic and full of life. He has weathered the storm and continues to grow, learn, communicate, be mischievous, and thrive. 

Here he is watching the "Race for Life" in Aberdeen on July 1. This year, as with last year, our friend Chioma ran with Adam's picture glued to her back, in honour of him and his fight against cancer--along with SO MANY other friends, family, and friends of friends who have and are fighting against it too. It was a pleasure to walk with him to and from the race this year, as last year he couldn't walk and had to ride in the buggy the whole time. Even the rain couldn't dampen our enthusiasm!!

The whole gang watching the runners--funny that the only one in short sleeves is the Texan! :)

Lovely Oma and her Scotland grandkids on the way home...surprised to have caught everyone looking at the camera for once!

Adam and sister swinging at the park--the love and care he shows for her is amazing. All the kids interact really well, but Agnes has brought out a nice, sweet side of Adam for sure.

We spent this weekend doing lots of walking in the forest--yesterday in the rain, today in the warm cloudy weather. It is good therapy for a mostly city-bound mum and dad. Adam walked really well which made me think again of how far we've come from the chemo-riddled boy of last year. Agnes found and played with a spider for a LONG time today (yuk!) which kept her entertained while the boys and I took an extra loop over the hill together to meet her and Daddy. I am grateful for this time, for this summer that holds the promise of long days to walk and play and be out--not cooped up in the hospital like last summer. It makes me want to celebrate every day, both how much the kids put up with last year and how much freedom we have this year by comparison. And we will--another pleasure of this year is having residency and the financial boost of receiving benefits from the state for the first time ever. If we spend every last pence on ice cream and coffee, so be it! ;) 

One year on...

This picture says it all...one year ago Adam was being diagnosed with Leukaemia, sick and tired and in pain all around. THIS year, he was playing with his cousins, hugging and loving and healthy and full of life. It's been a hard year, but one in which we've all learned a lot. And who can argue with the joy that smile conveys?!

Happy Anniversary Adam...one year down, two to go. Here's to more smiles and many more years.

Summertime!

Yes, you read that right--even Aberdeen has its summer! I wanted to post some pictures from our recent "heat wave"to show that it doesn't take much to get out and about, only about 72 degrees!! It is over, of course, the summer heat that is, but that doesn't mean we can't remember it fondly...

This was the Aberdeen 10K, down at the beach that I ran for Children's Hospice Association of Scotland--46:01, not bad for a "veteran"! As you can see that was the start of the sunny days, though not too hot yet.

Here we are in the back garden with our friends the Drapers, enjoying the sun and watching the boys have a good time.

Now, Agnes is only 14 months, but already she knows how to handle the heat! And she loves the beach...that's my girl!!

Daddy and brother wrestling in the sand...one of them is soon going to be a "jelly donut", and I'll bet you can guess who!

Adam made sure nobody took our blanket, and enjoyed rocking and singing in the sun.

That's all for now...it's a terrible catch up, but I'll be back soon for the real details.

My Agnes

My sweet little Agnes, a ray of sunshine into my very heart--here are a few pics of your absolute precious-ness--I love you!

pensive in the sunlight...

look at me CHOPPERS!

And now for my first attempt at croquet...

Daffodils always make me swoon...

Is it time for school yet?

This is just a week in the life...what a life it is!

Birthday reflections

This last weekend we decided to treat Uncle David to some touristing, and chose two sites that we are particularly fond of to go and see together. On Saturday we decided to visit Dunnottar castle, which is located just outside of Stonehaven about 13 miles south of Aberdeen. Unfortunately for our view we had the worst "haar" (or fog) in Aberdeen that I have seen in a long time that whole day, so much so that you couldn't even see the castle at all! The walk we did to it was cold and damp and everybody was a little weary by the end of the tour, including and especially Dad who pushed a crying baby in the buggy all the way back to the car so that he could pick us up (and not have to bump the buggy and baby down and up all the steps to the castle. It was built, after all, before disability regulations had come into effect. As in the 1300's!)

here is a pic of the "to" part of the journey--brrr!

Luckily Saturday night provided warm and welcome relief in the form of music at a local pub called the Blue Lamp, played by one of Brian's colleagues, one of his students, and two other divinity students. The group is called "Trimmed and Burning" and they are, to put it mildly, fantastic. We took Uncle David with us and he really enjoyed the night.

Sunday dawned clear and bright and proved to be the best of the weekend by far. We headed inland to Huntly to see the castle and play on the playground, followed by a picnic lunch in a town called Dufftown at another playground. Then a walk to the Glenfiddich Distillery for a tour of the warehouse and whiskey tasting. Then a pub dinner and back home in the gathering twilight to put the kids down and play another game of "Shoot the Moon". The day stayed warm and sunny all day--here are a couple of pics to show the fun times in action:

Mom and kids in full swing

Adam doing some climbing on the way to the Distillery

The evidence in plain view!

All this was a great preamble to turning 38 on Monday. I showered myself with sunshine and a cupcake for lunch, Caleb showered me with "presents" he made, Brian showered me with music and the Lord showered me with several days of sun and warmth (including the one day of haar to keep my expectations real!)

Overall I can say that it feels good to have another year under my belt. And a year in which I welcomed our daughter from my belly into my arms--wooed by her sweet smile and gorgeous personality every day, she has added light to my heart. I was also introduced to cancer in our family through dear sweet Adam, who has taught me anew what it means to soldier on and smile with your hands and soul even when your very marrow is rebelling. Brian and I have acknowledged both trials and the consolation of dear friends that keeps us going...Caleb has embraced both the loss of teeth and a place on the school council! I am running again and looking forward to doing my first race in three years on the 28th of April. If I may say so, I am faster than when I was only 37, and that right there is worth adding another year on!

Helping hands

We have had Uncle David here for a week now and have thoroughly enjoyed the change in dynamics that his presence brings, along with the gifts he has shared with us. So far he has been Chief Dishwasher, has developed skills in bottle-making and baby-feeding, has filled our front room with the sound of the mandolin and is at this very moment involved in putting together a sideboard that I ordered for the kitchen. That, and enjoying what Aberdeen has to offer, both weird and wonderful, and much more.

Here is a picture of some little hands helping Uncle David to do his work...

Apparently, she is very handy with a screwdriver!

Catch-up (part three)

Another instalment, and this time we have arrived at Agnes' first birthday.

I can't believe my baby girl turned one last Tuesday the 6th--a whole year has blown by so fast!

She is amazing--fun, happy, adventurous, crazy coordinated, social, smiley, funny and SO beautiful. This year has been anything but easy, but watching her grow and develop has, I think, made some of the more bitter pills easier to swallow for us all. Adam has enjoyed having her around and is learning to play with her, giving her kisses all the time...Caleb loves his sister and can make her laugh so hard and so easily, and loves playing chase around the house...I have been grateful for the grounding in reality that her schedule and needs demand, keeping me focused when I might otherwise have crumbled, enjoying doing things one-handed while holding her and snuggling up at night with her bottle...and Daddy, well...Daddy loves his little girl and that's all there is to say! :)

Here she is contemplating both her cake and those goofy people singing to her--

And here she is sampling the wares..."yum, carrots!"

Part of the evening was sad because Caleb had to be disciplined and thus missed the whole cake and singing part. But, as with all clouds, the silver lining was that Caleb's absence enabled Adam to step forward and play a more central role in helping sister blow out her candle, as you can see from the video:

The funny part was that we were all totally surprised to see Adam actually blow the candle out, he had never done that before! And Agnes cried because we took the cake away--it was such a funny mix of happy and sad, but then all major moments in life really are, aren't they?

That's all for now...more instalments soon I promise!