Agh, Autumn has had a great new year, I just love seeing her grow and enjoy life like a 6 year old should! She had such a wonderful year in kindergarten meeting all new friends and having a ball! Unfortunately, she had a terrible reaction to amoxicillin last week which created a rash all over her skin that was unlike any I had ever seen!! I had no idea that it could be that bad! She was itchy and swollen and just a mess, poor little girl. I cried, it was miserable for her, she just didn't deserve another set back in life! It took about 5 days to fully recover and she is back into being herself again, thank god!

Oh what amazing, fabulous news!!! Autumn is going to have her port removed tomorrow!! I can hardly believe it, a great ending, a good beginning to a new life, closure...all of these things and more!!! We will be driving down at about 6am...please have her in your thoughts and prayers. It is surgery, but fairly routine and quite common.

Autumn is about to begin Kinder tomorrow! What an incredible day, how much fun she will have, and how happy I am that she has made it here!!! We had a clear scan a week ago, her third one! This means that we now are able to schedule her port removal...hooray!!! She asked if that meant we were "done with everything, no more shots or anything??". I had to explain that we will, for a long time, have to visit the hospital just to make sure everything was alright. She was a little bummed, but was so happy that it isn't very often!

Headed to SB today for a routine CT scan. Invariably they make me nervous as hell, but I expect only fabulous results, she is doing so well, she is one amazing little girl!!!

"Mommy, these are my tired eyes" said Autumn this morning, peeling herself off of the warm cozy bed. "Oh sweetie, they are tired indeed, and so are mine!". I cannot believe how we have just been going and going this past week! Last night at the pool where a few famililes had gathered, there seemed to be a concensus that the amusement park EVERY day you are here may just be a little too much. I hadn't realized just how much there was to DO here in Orlando, especially for kids. Each park can easily be seen over a 2-3 day span and we are trying to see 7 of them in 5 days...yikes! Today is our last at Sea World, so although I am happy to visit, I am thankful for an easy morning tomorrow before we head off on the plane.

We headed off to Universal Studios this morning...another really long day, but very fun and very VERY FULL!

The girls loved Harry Potter even though they (nor I) know nothing of the movie or books! We decided our favorite ride, hands down was the Hulk, a super fast roller coaster that made spins, turns and twists better than any other! Autumn was too little for it as was one other little boy in our group, but she had NO interest in going anyway!

We managed to return in time to swim, amazing anyone had any energy for it! We met two Irish couples with whom we spent the whole day. There were thirteen of us in total, the kids had a blast!

Another crazy day! We had a great breakfast again at the Gingerbread House followed by a stop at the ice cream shoppe, then hoppped on the bus to Disney's Hollywood Adventure! It was a lot like Universal Studios with Toy Story being the highlight of the day. There were not a lot of rides, but we were able to see an "Ariel" and "Beauty and the Beast" show. Since it rained the majority of the day, the turn out was a lot less than usual, so very small crowds, that was a nice surprise! The girls took a class in how to animate, they all drew Jiminy Cricket, Autumn's was adorable! She was so proud of herself that she went up to the teacher to show her just how well she had done. :) The teacher then encouraged her by giving her some special illustrator pencils and one of her own drawings, Autumn was so thrilled!

The Disney theme parks are particularly wonderful in assisting youngsters who are part of the Make a Wish Foundation. We were able to "cut the line" as Autumn referred to it in almost every ride, photo opportunity and show, it was fabulous!

When we came back, Sage had a terrible headache, perhaps from lack of water. She fell asleep early, good for her! Autumn, Lindsey and I swam for a bit then headed home to eat and sleep ourselves!

Tomorrow we are off to see the animals!

We have a FULL schedule, one they plan in advance. We can change anything we wish, but it all looks great!

Thursday - Disney World - Main Theme Park
Friday - Disney World - Hollywood Studios
Saturday - Disney World - Animal Kingdom/Epcot
Sunday - Universal Studios
Monday - Universal Studios
Tuesday - Sea World

Plus there is a ton to do here in the village...life will be anything but dull for the next week!!

This morning we slept until 9am! Of course that sounds late, but we went to bed at midnight and it's all relative since back in California midnight is only 9pm...

This morning, we made it to breakfast, but barely! All the volunteers serve each family breakfast and dinner everyday so no one really has to cook even though each house has a full kitchen. This place is full of families who have had to deal with some sort of life-threatening illness to one of their children and because of that one can feel a sense of welcome from one another. As you move around the grounds, it's almost as if you can feel each family trying to sort out eachother's stories or situations. Some are a lot more obvious than others. There are a few families like ours who have children who have suffered the woes of cancer. There are others with children in wheelchairs and then others who may have undetectable illnesses. I wonder if that makes it any harder to endure your own situation, if others cannot really "see" what it is that you are going through. It is a type of ubiquitious feeling of communal curiosity that pervades the village.

We caught the 10am shuttle to Disney World and had a blast! We JUST returned about an hour ago, the kids are all asleep...SOUND asleep...as anyone would imagine after a crazy day with princesses, rides and fun!!

We had a fun pass that allowed us to move to the front of the line for everything! Oh how the girls marvelled in their ability to just walk right up to the front of the line, special treatment indeed! Autumn preferred the smaller rides of Fantasyland while the big girls loved TOmorrowland, so we made an effort to see it all, and that we did!

We awoke at 2:45 yesterday morning to wait for our luxurious limo style shuttle. However difficult that was, we have had the best day with the girls being treated like princesses!

We slept most of the way, but we also watched the Muppets movie and drank apple cider out of wine glasses :)

We arrived at the airport about 2 hours early and headed towards our gate with Virgin Atlantic with hardly an incident. While there we happened to see a friend of Uncle Adam's, what a small world even in LA!

If anyone has not had the pleasure of taking a Virgin Atlantic flight, I highly recommend it. Each seat has it's own television, the staff is quite friendly and the food you order isn't even half bad. The tickets are often cheaper too, what a deal!

The house staying in is beautiful, it is one of maybe 100 2-bedroom homes in the "Give Kids the World" village, all of which appear very comfortable. It amazes me how much money it must have taken just to build this place, let alone maintain it. It has a relaxed and inviting feeling and with the moist, humid temperature and the warm, friendly community, it reminds me so much of Lakeside Ohio, a place my brother and I spent many of our childhood summers.

Disney World here we come!!!!!

"Mommy, do I look like a boy? I just don't look like Autumn, my hair used to be longer." Autumn protested this evening after taking a shower this evening and visualizing her old self in the mirror. Oh it must be so frustrating that life just cannot return to "normal"...whatever that is! I told her what a beautiful princess she is!! I reminded her that she has gone through a lot in her little life, I can only imagine what she must think of on a daily basis. We are excited about our celebration tomorrow and our trip planned for next week! The girls will have a blast and Autumn will have the opportunity to be around children just like her, perhaps that can bring some comfort to her.

Autumn is set to have a little fiesta in celebration of her vacation to Orlando, Florida!! The wonderful couple who has helped grant Autumn her wish through the Make-A-Wish Foundation is going to have an ice cream party to celebrate this coming Thursday at Doc Burnstein's. How FUN!!!!

A very brave Nanie and Grandpa are taking the girls to Arizona today!! I have to give a final exam in my saturday bio class and could not make the first leg of the journey with them. I will fly tomorrow directly after giving the exam, flying alone is something I haven't done in such a long time! The girls seemed to be in a great mood today, so happy and sweet! I hope that lasts for the majority of the trip, it's a LONG time to spend in the car! Nanie and Grandpa...I love you guys, thank you!!!

WE HAD A CLEAR SCAN!!!!! Oh what a beautiful day is was on Monday! Autumn had a chest x-ray and an abdominal ultrasound that were both clear! Life is good! :)

Autumn looked so beautiful and sweet as she began to fall into a deep sleep tonight. She hugged both her Fluffy and newly acquired Fluffina as she closed her eyes and relaxed her little body. It has been so wonderful to see such a happy, healthy little girl these past three months. Sometimes last year really does feel like a dream...

"Mom, it's been like 2 years since I've been here!", Autumn commented yesterday as we walked through the halls of Sierra on our way to visit our good friend Hillary. "Yes sweetie, it's been awhile since we've been here" I say with a smile on my face.

It felt a bit like college, a place we know so intimately for 4 years (or 5 or 7...)then we leave and it's almost like it never existed. After being somewhere and living a particular lifestyle for so long, it seems improbable that someday you may live a different lifestyle. That is just how it felt yesterday when we were in the hospital.

Hillary, a nurse's assistant has decided to return to school and study to become a pediatric nurse, the perfect career for her! She will be moving to Las Vegas this coming week and although we are going to miss her terribly, we make an annual trip to Vegas during which we will make a visit. :) Good luck Hillary!

Autumn's hair is growing everyday, it is wonderful, soft, perfect.

She has an ultrasound scheduled for Monday the 30th, something we will have to do about every 6 weeks or so for another year. She will have labs drawn as well until her port is removed, which may be sooner than later.

To the year 2012, what a great one it has been so far!!