Hmmm, I wonder when the nights of uninterrupted sleep will return? It's 4:20 a.m. and I've been up since 3:00 a.m. It's raning outside and I am listening to it falling against the house. I've always loved the rain.

I talked with John (the friend we made in AR) and he said that Benadryl is the best thing that he's found for sleep. He said the PA at Dr. Barlogie's office told him there's nothing in it that can hurt you and is actually the component that is added to Tylenol PM. The melatonin sure doesn't seem to be helping much yet.

Tanner has spent the last couple of nights with Pop Jerry and Granny Jane. She has been able to shower him with love - and food! I think they've had an opportunity to spend quality time together and have had some long conversations. It was probably good for all of them. I don't know what we would have done without all their love and support through this whole process. Now that I'm a granny and understand a grandmother's love, I know how hard all of this has been on Jane. A grandparent's love is a very special thing...

She is bringing Tanner to my work today and he has an appointment for labwork at Cook's hospital this afternoon. I got the results of the labwork that was overnighted to AR last week, and Tanner's Lambda Light Chains are still slightly elevated. Those are the numbers that indicate that there is probably still a little cancer there. Back in August, they were around 29 and now they are around 5.7 so he's in a much better place than when this first started. Hopefully, this next round of chemo in December will completely knock the rest out.

Tonight, Kirk is coming over to cook us spaghetti. Tanner loves the fact that Kirk puts wine in his spaghetti and thinks it's better than Olive Garden!

We are going to Beckett's first birthday party Saturday and then Sunday we are going to see Trevor again and then we will have our Thanksgiving meal with Granny Jane and Pop Jerry Sunday evening. Monday we will leave around noon and head back to Arkansas for the round of tests starting at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Then we will come back to Texas to have Thanksgiving with our cousins in Aledo.

Later in evening on Thanksgiving, Tanner will go to Weatherford and will spend the weekend with his dad and Janet. My plans are to go to the lakehouse for a weekend with my cousins and am looking forward to margaritas on the deck! Everyone will have a chance to relax for a few days and then we will head back to Arkansas for the next round of chemo.

I talked with John and Lauren today and he doesn't have to return to Little Rock until January so Tanner and I might be on our own this trip. Lauren is having a mastectomy and they are allowing John's break to extend until after the holidays so that he can be at home with her. I need to check with our friends Tom and Shirley and see when they will be back in Arkansas. We will feel so alone if all of our new friends aren't there this trip.

I just pray that this round of consolidation chemo will be enough for Tanner and that he won't have to have another round. Some people only have to have one colsolidation but others have to go through two sessions. I know Tanner is looking forward to the day when the chemo is all behind him. He said he is just tired of feeling sick. We will both be thankful when he reaches the maintenance stage and our lives can return to a semblance of "normal".

Thanksgiving this year will have all new meaning...