Look What I Have...

...Feet! Yes, Caroline has found her feet, and she is mesmerized by them. They are her new favorite form of entertainment...

...And no, I don't only put ONE sock on my children. She always takes ONE off. Funny, huh!?

Surgery Postponed

Due to insurance reasons, my dad's surgery is postponed until the first week in July. We take this as a good sign that the Cancer is not as aggressive as we first though. However, We are still praying that God will take this and make it all go away, literally. We are specifically praying that they will get all the cancer with the surgery, and that the cancer has not spread into his lymph nodes. Please continue to pray, and we will continue to update you. Thanks for all the prayers!

Cancer Hits Home

We received the news this week. My Dad has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of stage 2 melanoma (skin cancer).

You may think "oh, just skin cancer" but this is very serious. He had a spot show up on the back of his left arm that just recently popped up. It was right out of his reach, and he hadn’t noticed it. I was home for a visit with the kids, and saw it and said something like, “That bump looks bad Dad...” It had gone unnoticed until then. Little did I know what it would actually be. They removed the initial mole and sent it to pathology for testing "just in case". Thank goodness they did that! He is scheduled for a radioactive injection Wednesday, followed by surgery. The radiation will help doctors detect and trace out the cancerous roots that come off of this melanoma. Hopefully, they won’t find any of these “arms” or “roots” that can spread this aggressive cancer around his body. The surgery will be to remove a bigger section of skin where the mole was (about a 3 x 4 inch square), a few lymph nodes for testing, and any other roots & infected nodes they may find during the radioactive injection. I ask that you please keep Jon Allen in your prayers and thoughts this week.

Please pray specifically that no lymph nodes are infected, that they get all of the infected tissue with the surgery, and that no form of further treatment is necessary. Please pray for safety during the surgery, and ultimate healing. We are all confident that it was caught soon enough, and hope that this will all end next week during surgery. I will keep everyone posted. Thanks for your prayers and support!

(My Dad and Tobin in Spring 2007)

Our Handy Dandy Tobin

Tobin has been "pretending" a lot lately. One of his favorite things to do is get his "tool belt" on and pretend he's Handy Manny and go fix things around the house. Here are some photos of him in action.

Artist and Model

Sun, Slides, Sweat, and Summer

Caroline in the shade
Mimi thinks she's small enough to play with Tobin INSIDE the Hippo :)

Me and My Love

Mamaw's sunshine kisses!

"Get me outta this heat!" (she does this a lot!)

"Okay, I'm fine when you are standing"

he LOVES to play... not to stop and take pictures

"Ouch, this Alligator is hot!"

Tony, waiting for Tobin in the shade of the playground

"I'm right here, mommy!" One of his favorite sentences these days

"Hush little baby, don't say a word..."

"Can't a guy get a drink around here?!"

Tickle Time!

High Five!

Trying to get a photo with my sweet Tobin Boy

the best I could get!

All ready to go home!

The secret Gate. Now you see it...

... Now you don't!

Thanks to Grandaddy and Tony's handiwork- we now have an awesome "secret" gate in our backyard! Makes those HOT walks, a little shorter! (That's Caroline in the sling)

Just some ordinary days...

Tobin really loves his Leap Pad spelling game that Grammy and Grandaddy gave him. It plugs into the TV, and is an interactive game using spelling, exploring words, letters, etc.. He is really getting the hang of it, and loves it so much!

When Tobin was a baby, he LOVED looking at himself in mirrors. Well, Caroline is like him (and any female alive). She loves to look at herself, too!

We blew up this pool for Tobin since it's so hot and humid. 80degree days feel like 90degree days. Anyway, he LOVES It. More pool pics to come soon, I'm sure of it!

Just a mommy and her daughter! Have to put a pic of me up every now and then, right!? See any resemblance?