Ellie Grace Volk

September 18th, 4pm: Oh my!  I cannot believe it has been over 2 months since my last update!  Life seems to go at such a fast pace.  I am not sure where the time has gone.  But let me update you on Ellie and how she has been. 

First, we had her "Freedom From Chemo" party on July 3rd.  It was our 3rd annual party.  Ellie had her last chemo treatment on July 3rd three years ago.  I cannot believe that!  We hope to continue to celebrate this milestone for years to come!  We had about 100 people come and celebrate with us.  It was a wonderful time to rejoice where we are in our journey!

Next, we had the Relay For Life.  This walk to raise money for cancer research is always a favorite of ours.  Very emotional, but wonderful.  Ellie does the survivor lap with her Grandpa Boo (pictured with her) who is also a cancer survivor.  They walk together to start off the night.  We then walk laps to celebrate those who are winning the battle against cancer and we walk to mourn those who have lost their fight.  When it is dark, we light candles for all of those we celebrate with and for those we mourn. 

Ellie also went to a camp designed for cancer patients this summer.  The nurses at Children's Hospital invited her and it was a bit hard for me to let her go.  I could not imagine this 6-year-old being off at camp by herself!  But the nurses assured me she would we well taken care of (these are the same nurses who have battled to get her cancer-free so I have a great amount of trust with them!).  In the end, Ellie loved it!  She felt like quite the "big girl" and talked about it non-stop for weeks after.

She then started school!  Here she is in her uniform.  She loves school and seems to be reading all of the time now.  She loves that first graders have their own desks! (It's the little things in life that are exciting, right?)  They are studying rocks right now and Ellie is always on the hunt for great rocks. 

The biggest news in Ellie's life is that she has lost her first tooth!  She was among the only kids to not lose one in Kindergarten and she couldn't wait to join the tooth-less club!  She finally lost a tooth just last weekend and was so excited!  Here she is showing off the hole in her mouth.  She asked the tooth fairy to allow her to keep her tooth, but also leave money.  The tooth fairy is a bit of a push-over and agreed.  So Ellie is a bit richer and continues to carry her tooth around with her.  I am sure it will be lost soon as it is usually in a pocket or being played with.  It has almost been thrown out accidently many times.  But she loves it!

So that's my wrap up of Ellie in the past two months.  I will be better about updating in the coming months. 

We thank God for His continued blessing of good health for Ellie.  We are so blessed that she is with us and that she is doing great!  In fact, I am fearful that I am getting to complacent.  I felt closer to God when Ellie was sick and I was desperately needing His help and guidance.  I don't want to lose that and get to comfortable.  I don't want to get back to business as usual and forget the journey we went through.  I want to always be so very grateful and feel enveloped by His love and mercy.  I don't want to take it all for granted.  Life has been going by so fast lately, that I think that is happening.  (Ellie's brother is a senior this year and her sister is a junior - those are busy years!!)I need to take time to remember where we have been and be thankful for where we are.  God is with us in good and bad and I am hopeful that I wasn't a better prayer warrior when times weren't so good. I want to be a good follower no matter what - even when times are great.  We need Him always. 

I asked Ellie if she could share with me a verse she has learned in school to close out my update today.  She quickly rattled off, "Call to me and I will answer you."  Jeremiah 33:3.  I think that is about perfect!