One Year Later

On Saturday morning Carson and I were on our way to pick up Francesca from swimming - yes, swimming has started back up - and as we were driving we were contemplating what we were going to do for the rest of the day. We were, in fact, in the unusual position of not having any scheduled activities for the day. No swim meets. No places to be....

And then, as we cut through the backstreets on our way to the pool, we passed the city maintenance yard...and they were putting out "Open House" signs.

Open House? We had totally forgotten!! And just like that, we instantly knew what we were doing the rest of the day - climbing on backhoes, honking the horns on dump trucks, turning on the lights on the snow plow, working the levers on the front loader...the excitement in the car was palatable. And, of course, Carson had a great time.

This fall we've been thinking a lot about what we were doing last fall...here's a comparison in pictures:

Check out those toothpick legs and fuzzy head! Carson tests one of the garbage trucks at the 2009 Falls Church Property Yard open house.

Fast forward a year...no mask, a full head of hair, and beefy legs. Carson poses for a photo (but is really checking out the bobcat parked in the back corner.)

Then, on Sunday we went to a birthday party for Carson's friend Heather. Heather and Carson share a special bond - they were diagnosed the same day and were frequently in the hospital together. On Sunday Heather celebrated her first birthday post treatment.

Heather and Carson get together outside the hospital in October 2009. (Both got sick and, due to low ANCs, ended up in the hospital within days of this photo.)

Heather and Carson take a break from the pool on Sunday afternoon at Heather's first birthday post treatment. What a beautiful sight!!!

What a difference a year makes. Thank you, Lord.

Paul.