Bye Bye Houston

Earlier this week, Jo saw Dr. Anderlini one last time before hitting the road. In 10 minutes, the various hospital employees used the words, "graft vs. host disease" (GVHD) about 40 times. We get it. GVHD is the primary concern going forward and we have to watch for anything and everything that seems abnormal. Trust me. We'll keep a close eye on Jo. I promise. Now bring me a margarita please!

Speaking of margaritas, I don't think I can really convey how much fun we've had with David, BeLynda and the Triplets these past 9 months. Okay, Anna and I probably had more fun than Jo, but Jo had a LOT of fun too! In the category of making the absolute best of a less than perfect situation, the Smith Family gets an A+. Thank you for sharing so much of your lives with us this past year! We love you and we can't wait to see what the future holds for our two families.

Jo and Anna flew off to Minnesota early Wednesday morning where they found the high temperatures to be very similar to the Houston winter. I heard it snowed in the Colorado mountains about 10 days ago, so I guess highs in the 60s isn't all that bad!

Do you remember...

A trip to Lufkin is always a trip down memory lane. This one I just had to share.

Headed Out of Dodge!

Jo and Anna left the Houston area last night on a 6-week trip that eventually ends up back in Denver. After 3 weeks in East Texas with Memaw, Jo will do one last visit to see Dr. Anderlini and then they're off to MN for 3 weeks with Meema. If you live in Denver, don't look for them until July.

There are a lot of things I'll miss about Texas. I'll miss knowing BeLynda has always taken care of the details. I'll miss making multiple trips per day with David to HEB. I'll miss Kaden's spontaneous dances in the middle of the living room. I'll miss Zander's dedication to the study of dinosaurs and the universe. I'll miss Montana's 80 lb. greetings at the front door. I'll miss Regina's homemade pizza every Friday night!

What I'll miss most of all is coming into the Smith home and going to look for Anna. More than likely I would find her with Addison and the two of them would be playing together in the Pink Room. Or maybe they would be swimming together in the pool or perched together atop the monkey bars on the swing set.

I know Anna very much enjoyed the boys, but I think it was pretty special to have a sister for 9 months. Yes, they fought like sisters now and then, but much more often they helped each other put on makeup, they helped each other dress their dolls and they practiced their gymnastics together. When Anna gets older, I doubt she'll even remember momma having a bone marrow transplant and I'd be shocked if she remembered anything about momma having 8 surgeries in 25 months. If she remembers anything from her first 5+ years of life, I think she'll remember the experience of having a sister.