Our boys...Michael

We have had a lot of people ask us about the boys and how they are doing so I thought I would share a few stories about them.  First let me give some background information on them for those who have yet to meet them.  Zach will be 8 in November.  He is very intelligent, quite serious (most of the time), and is the biggest mama's boy since...well probably since me.  Ryan will be 4 in December.  He is our free spirit.  He is always singing, dancing, or playing his guitar.  He has a really great sense of humor and the best belly laugh you have ever heard.  

During that first week of not knowing, Jennifer and I spoke a lot about what we should tell the boys.  We decided that we would tell Zach that there was a lump in mom's leg that the doctors wanted to take out, and not much more.  Zach and I have a nightly routine where after family prayers we lay in his bed and tell each other everything we did that day.  The night that we talked about the lump he had a lot of questions.  What is it made of?  How will they take it out?  Can I be in the operating room when they take it out?  The reason was because he wanted to see what it looked like.  Remember, this was still during the time we thought it was a sarcoma and surgery would be needed.  The next day Jennifer and Zach were talking and Jennifer gave Zach a the opportunity to name the lump.  That's when "it" officially became LUMPY.  

Throughout the past two weeks we have had more and more talks and Zach now knows a lot more about what is going on.  Here is our line of thinking.  He is very smart, he hears people talking about what is going on, he has the right to know what is happening to his mother, and he is about to learn a great life lesson.  That last point is the most powerful to me.  Zach is old enough to remember when his mom had cancer.  He is going to watch his mom fight with passion, love, and grace.  If he can internalize those qualities of his mom he will be a better man for it.  So during our talks at night we have spoken a lot about what is going on, in a very age appropriate manner.  He knows that his mom has lymphoma.  He knows that his mom is going to have to have treatment that might make her feel different, look different, but she will still love all of us very much.  He has vowed to help me take care of things around the house while mom concentrates on getting better.  We'll see how long that lasts.  He is being very brave and he loves his mommy very much.

Then we have Ryan.  Last night we had prayer time in his room.  When we finished all four of us were having a family talk about mommy.  It was actually Jennifer, Zach, and I trying to tell Ryan that mommy might feel a little sick and might even lose her hair soon.  I think that he needs to be prepared so it isn't just a shock to him and then we have issues with him coping.  So we are talking to him about how things might be a little different.  So now he is just fascinated with the idea of mom not having hair.  We talked a little about Lumpy and he wanted to see it and touch it.  I then asked him what he would do when Lumpy was gone and he throws up the peace sign and says, "deuces Lumpy", and then laughed the biggest belly laugh ever.  That's our Ry!