Jace is having a great year and getting really excited to start planning his 6th birthday.  Six.  When I go back and read all of these entries, I remember only 4 short years ago when the Drs only gave him two months to live.  And now he is turning 6.  And he is doing FANTASTIC!  He is growing and learning and just being a boy.

Jarron is growing faster and faster.  Right now he looks identical to Jace.  Though they are 3 years apart, people are constantly commenting on how much they look alike.  What do you think?

We found out in mid-January that we had a miscairrage. We are ok with this. After everything we have been through, we are absolutely confident that God has a plan and obviously something wasn’t right.

A family is a circle of love not broken by a loss, but made stronger by memories. I look at life as a gift from God, who am I to complain if he wants it back.

So we remain 4. But a strong 4.
God bless.
Jamie

We did go to Disney, it was fantastic. The kids had an absolute BLAST! Make-A-Wish is a fantastic organization and our trip was absolutely the best and something we could never ever do for Jace. I could go on and on about Make-A-Wish. The people and the places and the things we did with Jace were amazing. He was completely and totally in awe of everything, as we were.

One of my favorite pictures that sums it up:

Jace started kindergarten this year. I know, kindergarten. He is growing so fast.

Jarron turned 2 and he is growing faster than we can blink.

At Christmas time we learned that we are going to be welcomg a 5th “J” into our family sometime August of 2011.

It has been a very eventful 2010 and we are looking forward to all things new in 2011.
I’ll try to update regularly, but I think I say that everytime.

God Bless
Joshua, Jamie, Jace, & Jarron

I think Jace is finally ready for this.  We have been putting it off for a couple of years until he was ready to enjoy it the way he deserves.  And I’m confident that time is now to where this trip can be about him and what he went through.  He can enjoy it for what it is, instead or being afraid of the characters or too small to do anything he might want to try. 

So we are packing and planning and trying to get ready for this trip that sends us Florida bound in 10 days.

We are taking the laptop, so hopefully I can blog about his time there.

God Bless
Jamie

You are five years old today. When God blessed your dad and I with you, He blessed us REAL good. I cannot think of a time since your birth that you have not been a joy to our hearts and a blessing to our lives. I cannot believe how fast you are growing and how much you are changing. It seems like only yesterday I was holding you in my arms, and now you are my little man.

Every milestone of yours has been a personal victory for me. Your first smile, your first word, your first step…I am just amazed and once again overwhelmed at what a little miracle you are. This year brought so many “firsts.” This year brought your first school experience, Pre-school. I prepared you as much as I could for that first day. You took to it, like you do all things, easily. There were no tears on the first day, no clinging, holding onto my legs, you were excited and thrilled at the idea of going to “big boy school.”

Sometimes I watch, still, and I can’t believe how much you have grown. You are so independent and challenge yourself as much as I challenge you.

So Jace, your existence in my life is a blessing I cherish every day. You are so different from anything I ever imagined. While dad and I chat back and forth on long drives, you stare out the window silently, occasionally piping up with something, always surprising me that you are actually listening. While dad and I strive to keep our environment neat and clutter-free, you have yet to discover that your belongings belong in your room—not scattered haphazardly across the house. And yes, your clothes are perpetually dirty, you like to roughhouse, you break things, and I noticed the other day that the walls in your room are scuffed from hot wheels being dragged across them. You are defiant, stubborn and willful. You try my patience at every turn. You look me in the eye and lie to me with a completely straight face. And yet, despite all of it, when you take my face in your hands, look at me with your big brown eyes and say, “Mama, you’re beautiful,” I forgive you for all of it.

We live our lives in phases. When one ends another begins. This year marked the end of your treatment, the removal of your medi-port and the beginning of your “I’m not sick anymore, mommy” life. So started all things little boy that we had waited so long for: TBall and water slides, bicycles and big jeeps, rock throwing and bug catching, planting seeds and building projects out of wood, writing and reading. Every single time you smile at me from your home plate slide, I think of everything you have been through and everything you have overcome.

I should be writing that you are young and life has yet to take its toll on you, that you will be thrown disappointments and loneliness and struggles and pain in your path. But you are strong and you have gone through more in your five years dealing with pain and struggles than some of us have in our lives. I should be teaching you to press on, to stay strong and keep your head high. But it almost seems silly, since you bug, have taught ME those things.

You are bright and smart and talented and amazing. You lovingly point out my flaws, and I cannot help but see that every part of you makes me a better person. You are sensitive and emotional. Though it gets a little testy sometimes, I realize that that characteristic will last you a lifetime. You are intuitive and curious. Even if you know the answer sometimes, you ask the question again just to make sure. Every now and then, I answer you wrong, just to see if you are paying attention and sure enough, you correct me.

When you say “I love you,” I know that it doesn’t matter how the rest of the world feels about me because I have you. When you tell me that I’m a good mom, all my past mistakes seem to be worthwhile if the course of them got me to you.

When you ask me, “Mommy, why is your name mommy?” If you only knew that you have given me everything I ever wanted. How out of all my dreams, out of all the make-believe kids I could have created in my imagination, I cannot believe God gave me such a beautiful boy, beautiful on the outside with a beautiful soul to match.

I know your little brother is tough competition for my attention. But just know you are who made me mom, you are my firstborn and my miracle. Nothing will ever replace that.

I never imagined that motherhood was my goal, was my calling. I knew that I wanted children. What I was not expecting was just how much you would fill up my heart, fill up my existence, and fill up my world with such bright happiness that I literally close my eyes and try to breathe you in every chance I get.

My favorite time of day is bed time, when I tuck you in and hold you close. We talk about our day and talk about your exciting adventures waiting for you when you wake up. I kiss your forehead, smell your hair, and we talk until you are safely in your sleepy peace. I cherish these moments because I know they are fleeting and one day you will no longer crave the tranquility of your mothers embrace. But for now, I will wrap you up every chance you ask and hold onto those tender moments for as long as possible.

Happy 5th Birthday, Bug.
I love you more than you know.
Mommy.

A lot has happened since our last update in May. I know if I would update more often, I wouldn’t have to write an entire book for you all to read and I apologize for this and can only promise to try and write more often.

On May 20th Jace participated in the Pilot for a day program. I borrowed this from Driscoll Children’s Website to give you an overview:

Pilot For A Day focuses on children that have been stricken with illnesses that have taken over their lives. These children usually end up spending more time in the hospital than they do with their family and friends. Trying to ease the pain of losing a childhood, due to what many would say is an unfair deal in the game of life, is the purpose of the program.

The “typical” day begins with the child traveling to NAS Corpus Christi and meeting with their host pilot, who then outfits the child with a flight suit. Afterwards, the child receives a tour of the squadron, where the young “pilots” are given their wings.
Squadron patches, a flight cap and a scarf are the next items to adorn the uniform, which always seem to add another smile to the lives of these children. The “pilot” then is taken through many static displays of aircraft, where they are shown around and allowed to sit in the cockpit. Additionally the child is given a ride in the flight simulator, has the opportunity to visit the Crash Crew, the Air Traffic Control Tower, and talk on the radio with pilots in the air.

The goal of this program is really just for the child to have a wonderful day, and take his or her mind off of the illness. The staff at Driscoll Children’s Hospital try their best to make this a day that will not only make the children feel very special on that day, but make them feel special and happy for a long time!

Jace had a blast!! He got to sit in all the different planes of the Navy, The border Control Jet, Helicopters of the Coast Guard and even a BlackHawk. Each time we went on a different plane, the pilot would take Jace up into the cockpit and allow him to play with the controls and steering wheels. Every one of them spent a good 10-15 minutes just talking and telling Jace about what they do and how things work. Each squadron he met with gave him a squadron patch. Some even gave him their official pilot’s coin. We ate lunch with the Commander on base. He got to end his day at the fire station where of course they let him ride in the fire engine and took us out to a field where he got to blast the water from the front of the engine.

On June 19th we had our annual Relay for life, which of course we participated in. Jace always has a BLAST running around the field first and then making us run again since everyone is “still going.” This year I got to participate in that run since I wasn’t carrying Jarron in my tummy. I told Josh we were going to have to start training for that little run-a-thon Jace has there. But once again we had a blast for a good cause. Josh’s brother had a student at Calallen High School, Shelby, who created a luminaria in honor of Jace and that is the picture of Jace and the girl sitting next to each other.

Jace continues to see Dr Alter every month to access his meta-port. We have talked to the Dr lightly about plans of removing the meta-port and the Ommaya Reservoir in his head. They have talked about removing the meta-port a year after radiation, which is approaching us more rapidly than we could ever imagine. Can you believe it is already going to be in August – September…a year. But the Dr is hesitant about removing the Ommaya as it will be another major brain surgery to do. I’m not sure if that means they will leave it in forever, or just for now.

He continues on with the maintenance chemo. As usual, he handles it very well. Once, he got sick in the middle of the night, but we think it was my fault as I neglected to give him his zofran beforehand…that is the nausea medicine he takes. I wanted to try his treatment without zofran seeing as he hadn’t been sick on it since we started in November and I thought any less meds we have to give him would be better, but that didn’t work. Obviously it is a necessity and started up again the very next night. Last week he finished a round of chemo and we had some mild nausea in the morning, I think it was a result of morning hunger…but who am I to judge how he really feels??

On June 27th, Jace and his cousin Jonah participated in a golf tournament at the Gabe Lozano golf course. Josh took him to the three clinics every Saturday up to the big tournament on the fourth Saturday. He practiced putting, chipping and driving the ball. On tournament day he competed with fourteen 4 and 5 year olds and ended up placing 4th. They gave him a medal that he hangs in his room with pride.

Right now Jace is BIG into CC Speedway. This is the racecar track that we attend almost every Saturday night. He loves to watch the races and he even has his favorite cars. He screams out at the beginning of the night, “Gentlemen start your engines.” And he hoots and hollers for his favorite cars throughout the races. It’s just a blast to watch him, and I even get into it sometimes too…Josh does the commercials for CC Speedway on 97.5 KFTX and he has included Jace in some of the commercials.

We see Dr Alter again next Friday so this week coming up we will be doing blood work and getting ready for that apt. Over all, everything has been going really well. We continue to be humbled by the prayers and support of everyone and cannot thank you enough for the kind words you send. Every now and then we will get a letter or an email just reminding us that we are not alone and everyone out there is still thinking about Jace.

God Bless
Joshua, Jamie, Jace and Jarron

So, i’m sure most of y’all have wondered… What’s this kid going to do next????

Well, how about Radio????

That’s right… starting Tuesday May 19, Jace will make his Official Radio Debut!

We went to the races at CC Speedway in Corpus Christi for the first time on April 11th and haven’t missed a race yet… cause someone and I’m not going to mention any names… JACE…. has fallen in Love with “The Races”… well that and he has been corrupted since birth by Ashley, his babysitter, who is the Queen of Nascar!!!

CC Speedway happens to be one of my clients on the airwaves and I thought what a better way to let people know that kids of ALL ages LOVE the races… so I had Jace help me out on a commercial for CC Speeway and like I mentioned already it will start airing on Tuesday May 19.

His part of the commercial is at the very end of the spot. I hope you enjoy hearing it as much as I enjoyed cracking up listening to him try to get his lines right…. hey it only took 3 takes! hahaha….
(Currently looking for a way to upload the commercial!!)

Wednesday May 20th, Jace will take part in the Pilot for a Day program at NAS Corpus Christi. He gets his own Flight Suit and everything! No worries… an update and TONS of photos will follow that fun filled event!

Love and God Bless,
Joshua, Jamie, Jace, and Jarron

A friend of mine used this in an email to support her request for donations for her 3 year old son, Kai, who is participating in a Trike-a-thon to help raise money for St Jude Children’s Hospital coming up.  I have been writing an update all week, but haven’t found the right words to say what I was trying to say.  I think her brief paragraph summed up what I was trying to get my thoughts to do.

We are celebrating Jace’s birthday this weekend.  His 4^th birthday! Its easy for us to think back 2 years ago when his diagnosis was grim and the doctors only gave him 2 months to live.  I remember the exact quote was “every day is a blessing and every month is a miracle.”

Praise God for Miracles!

So this week we celebrate FOUR!

To my blessed son, Jace:

I know how clichéd it sounds to say I can’t believe you are 4 years old already.  But it really is incredible to think that 4 years have actually passed. But then I look at you, and I watch you and I know it has been that long.  Right now you pretend, its imaginary box cars made out of diaper boxes and phone conversations with the world.  You’re still thrilled to watch the garbage truck pick up the trash can twice a week and the sand box in the back yard is a deserted island surrounded by a wild safari of animals.  When I ask you what you want for your 4^th birthday, you say a fire truck.  And, as simple as that may sound…you want a REAL fire truck. I smile and wish your innocence lasts for as long as possible and your ability to dream lasts forever. 

Your strengths include your fabulous memory where you remember small little things we said or did from a week to 6 months to a year back.  How you refer to them when something similar happens and you are reminded of those, often leaving daddy and I open mouthed. Your direction sense where you can remember that particular roads take us to certain destinations, identifying places that you have visited a couple of times simply from the road leading to them. We can’t even begin to imagine what all is being registered as you eye things with keen detail. 

You are curious.  Your new favorite word is “Why?”  We have hit the “why” stage with exuberance.  You want to know “why” for everything from, “why the car windows don’t go down every time you presses the button” to “why you can’t play outside in your underwear.”  You want an explanation for everything that moves and questions everything that doesn’t. A bag of questions, a huge one at that, not surprisingly every comment or piece of information or an instruction to do something is met by the big question! Why do I need to wash my hands, brush my teeth, take a bath, drink milk, eat food again and again, go to school, the list is endless.  At times you come up with silly answers to your own questions just because you love being silly. 

You are independent. You want to do everything on your own.  You dress yourself in very flashy non-matching outfits that clash with everything mom.  In fact, we walked into a restaurant a few weeks ago and I caught another mom look at you and comment, “We know who won that battle.”  For a split second, I cringed and then I just laughed. She was right.  Spider man fluffy house shoes, red basketball shorts that are 2 sizes to big with a bright yellow shirt, that is four year old independence at its best.

You are sassy. You have an opinion and you want us to know it.  If you don’t agree with our opinion, you let us know. If I try and pull a fast one on you, you usually catch me and then have some witty comment to back up your being “right.”  Daddy and I are constantly laughing at things you say and many times are corrected with things we say or do with four year old sarcasm.

You are a big brother.  Though this is not a personality trait, it is absolutely a part of who you are.  You love your baby brother more than Teddy or your pillow.  You don’t have much to do with him right now because Jarron is still so little.  But put you both on the floor and watch the laughter just roll out through your bellies.  And don’t try to take Jarron away from you.  If you think someone is taking him that shouldn’t (which is everyone but family), you will throw a fit like never before.

You are growing.  Nothing fits.  Your shorts are getting hard to button.  Your shirts are getting too short.  Your shoes are lasting months instead of years.  Even your socks are getting too small.  You think you are already grown.  What used to be a fight to get your height and weight at the doctor’s office has now become a declaration of growth for you. “See Momma, I’m getting bigger.”

You are imaginative.  Like me when I was a child, you can play for hours in your room by yourself.  We can hear you imagining things and playing with friends and going on rescue adventures.  It is fun to stand around the corner and just listen to you imagine.  Sometimes you will run in the room with your pinky to your mouth and your thumb to your ear and say “Momma, I have been trying to call you.”  At bedtime, in your room by yourself, after prayers and TV time you can continue to play and talk for an hour.  It is amazing your imagination.

You are ALIVE!  Your smile still lights up the room and your laughter still makes my heart burst. Your eyes are the window to your soul and everything I see there is good.  God has blessed you little one.  He has taught us all to believe in miracles and He has shown me the power of Faith and the power of Prayer. 

It’s amazing as I look back and see how much I have written and how much more I feel I still have to say.  It can’t be tough for a mother to talk about her son, right! So here is to 4. With a year ahead that is full of more change and more growth. 

I love you so much.
Happy 4^th Birthday.

Mommy.

Actual Update:
Everything has been going pretty well.  Last week we had some scares with both boys being sick.  Jace actually had it pretty bad and was running fever at times at 103.5.  That’s always scary to us since he is still on the chemo and we are not supposed to let his fever get much higher than 102 before we take him to the Dr or the ER if it’s after hours. 

I don’t know if its because its been 2 years, or because I know Jace, but I felt fairly comfortable with the fever not being anything worse than the cold that it was, so I decided not to even call the Dr that night and just give him tylenol and watch the fever.  I have been told in the past that if it came down within an hour that we were good, it was when the fever was staying high and not controllable with tylenol that we really needed to worry.  Sure enough, it took about an hour but the fever came down to 101.  Then in the morning when he woke, it was still 101 and with tylenol came down to about 98 and stayed there all day.  Needless to say, I am glad we didn’t go to the emergency room.

He has been doing really well since then.  This past weekend was the annual Little Wranglers Party.  That is the Easter party they put on here for Driscoll Childrens Hospital Chemo patients.  It’s such a nice treat for the kids as they have all kinds of activities and games for them to play.  There were cookie decorations and arts & crafts for them to do.  The Easter Bunny made an appearance and Jace even got his picture without crying again.  We also got a good picture with Jace and Jarron on the Easter Bunny.  I will post the pictures soon. 

We continue to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.  Every now and then someone will say something to us or, like Becky above, use Jace’s story and it helps me to know that other people still think about Jace too.

We love you all.

Hope you had a Happy Easter!

God Bless,
The Sandovals.

Quick up date on us:

Jarron is doing great.  He is growing so fast and I wish I could just keep him this small forever.  He is 3 months old and coming in strong at 14 lbs.  These days, he gives us little sleep still, and we are having a good time trying to keep him occupied as he seems to get “bored” easy.  If that is possible for a 3 month old, I tell you, it is.  He likes to stay busy, and keeps us busy as he has no desire to even attempt to roll-over or move for that matter.  His smile, like Jace’s, melts my heart.

I got a new job mid-January and have been going at that full time since then.  It’s in accounts receivable and I love it.  Anyone who knows me knows I love numbers and deadlines.  I like to be busy and I like control.  There is no better place to find that, than in accounting for a corporate company. I am still working part time for the radio station doing their books.

Josh is still working for L&F and loving his job.  He stays busy and we are constantly on the run.  He has been doing a lot more weekend work for them as well which keeps us busy, but also gives he and I time together every now and then.  If we are not here, we are definitely there.  So, not to make excuses but you can probably understand why we are running around in circles trying to find which way is up and have yet to determine that.  However, we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel so that is great.

As to why we’re here:  Jace is doing FANTASTIC.  He has only had 1 MRI since the last update in December, and daddy took him this passed Friday.  Though we don’t have the official reports, we have seen the scans and though Josh and I are not Drs, we are getting pretty darn good at looking of these scans of Jace’s brain.  We have, however, heard from Dr Alter who said the report says there are no changes in scans from the last MRI.  Though that is the result we get every MRI, it does not lose its luster as there are little changes being made every time.  This is the first time we have not done an MRI in at least 6 weeks, so this is the longest we have ever been without and MRI. 

As you know, Jace is continuing with the chemotherapy, Temozolomide, which he takes orally approximately every 4 weeks.  However, we didn’t do any rounds of chemo in February, since we started in mid-January.  So now the time in between rounds of chemo are getting further apart and we still show no signs or symptoms of recurrence. 

In February we went back for our 6 month check-up with Jace’s radiation doctors at MD Anderson.  The questions they asked us were mostly developmental questions and progress questions.  Though Josh and I are his parents, we try and stay outside the box when it comes to Jace, but he truly has us stumped.  They had warned us in the beginning that there could (and most likely would) be all kinds of complications with his growth, his development, his hearing, his kidneys, his nerves…and so on. We have yet to see anything, besides the triangular patch of hair missing on his head that would even entertain the idea that this child had ever been sick.  Praise God.  We gave it all to Him in the beginning and He continues to amaze us every day with his Glory.

I apologize again for the delay in the updates and promise to try and keep up better with what is going on.  I will update with some recent pictures of Jace and Jarron here in the next week or so when I can get to my computer. 

Thank you for the continued thoughts and prayers!

Joshua, Jamie, Jace and Jarron

Jace had a scheduled MRI yesterday (Fri 5th) and I wanted to take a minute and share the results with you! This time around the Dr ordered a “Spec MRI” to be done on Jace as opposed to the regular MRI’s that he’s been receiving for a year now. A Spec MRI is where they use a chemical that would show a difference in enhancement when it had a reaction to Cancer Cells or an Infected area.

Here are the results from his scan:

There is no significant change in the encephalomalacia (the spot they saw before) noted in the high right frontal lobe. No new enhancement to suggest tumor is identified. The shunt catheter is unchanged in position. No new extra-axial abnormality noted. There is evidence of mucoperiosteal thickening in the sphenoid sinus indicating chronic sinusitis. A vexel was placed in the surgical bed for MR spectroscopy. The spectra demonstrates no evidence of a tumor profile.

Impression: (Another words in english):
1. No change in the appearance of the brain. There is no evidence of a tumor recurrence.
2. MR Spectroscopy demonstrates no evidence of a tumor profile.

#2 Meaning - There was nothing in Jace’s Brain for the Chemical to React with!!!

PRAISE GOD!!!!!!

Jace will continue on his oral chemotherapy for atleast another 4 months. The Dr. has told us that this chemo that he is on really isn’t doing anything “to him” as far as long term side effects, so he just wants to continue atleast through February! So after the Dr called Jamie and gave her the results, he tells her “See You January 9th” We couldn’t be any happier and are DEFINETELY BLESSED!!!

A Huge Thank You to all of your continued Prayers and Support! I’m sure we’ll be sending out another email before Christmas, but we want to go ahead and wish each and everyone of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

*** Below is a story that I received in an email and it REALLY HIT HOME with Jamie and I, so I decided to include it on here! It’s a Wonderful Story and I even have a photo to go with the Story and this photo made me SO PROUD! JACE DIDN’T CRY THIS YEAR!!!!!! lol…. GOD BLESS!!!

Beautiful Story….
Three years ago, a little boy and his grandmother came to see Santa
At the Mayfair Mall in Wisconsin . The child climbed up on his lap,
holding a picture of a little girl. “Who is this?” asked Santa, smiling.

“Your friend? Your sister?’” “Yes, Santa,’ he replied. “My sister,
Sarah, who is very sick,” he said sadly.

Santa glanced over at the grandmother who was waiting nearby, and
saw her dabbing her eyes with a tissue. “She wanted to come with me
to see you, oh, so very much, Santa!” the child exclaimed.
“She misses you,” he added softly.

Santa tried to be cheerful and encouraged a smile to the boy’s face,
asking him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas.
When they finished their visit, the Grandmother came over to help
the child off his lap, and started to say something to Santa, but
halted.

“What is it?” Santa asked warmly.

“Well, I know it’s really too much to ask you, Santa, but .” the
old woman began, shooing her grandson over to one of Santa’s elves
to collect the little gift which Santa gave all his young visitors.

“The girl in the photograph… my granddaughter well, you see ..
she has leukemia and isn’t expected to make it even through the
holidays,” she said through tear-filled eyes. “Is there any way, Santa
any possible way that you could come see Sarah? That’s all she’s asked
for, for Christmas, is to see Santa.”

Santa blinked and swallowed hard and told the woman to leave
information with his elves as to where Sarah was, and he would see
what he could do. Santa thought of little else the rest of that
afternoon. He knew what he had to do.

“What if it were MY child lying in that hospital bed, dying,” he
thought with a sinking heart, “This is the least I can do.”

When Santa finished visiting with all the boys and girls that
evening, he retrieved from his helper the name of the hospital where
Sarah was staying. He asked the assistant location manager how to get to
Children’s Hospital.

“Why?” Rick asked, with a puzzled look on his face.

Santa relayed to him the conversation with Sarah’s grandmother
earlier that day. “C’mon…..I’ll take you there.” Rick said softly.
Rick drove them to the hospital and came inside with Santa.
They found out which room Sarah was in. A pale Rick said he would wait
out in the hall.

Santa quietly peeked into the room through the half-closed door and
saw little Sarah on the bed.

The room was full of what appeared to be her family; there was the
Grandmother and the girl’s brother he had met earlier that day.
A woman whom he guessed was Sarah’s mother stood by the bed, gently
pushing Sarah’s thin hair off her forehead.

And another woman who he discovered later was Sarah’s aunt, sat in a
chair near the bed with a weary, sad look on her face. They were talking
quietly, and Santa could sense the warmth and closeness of the family, and their
love and concern for Sarah.

Taking a deep breath, and forcing a smile on his face, Santa entered
the room, bellowing a hearty, “Ho, ho, ho!” “Santa!” shrieked little
Sarah weakly, as she tried to escape her bed to run to him, IV
tubes intact. Santa rushed to her side and gave her a warm hug.
A child the tender age of his own son — 9 years old — gazed up at
him with wonder and excitement.

Her skin was pale and her short tresses bore telltale bald patches
from the effects of chemotherapy. But all he saw when he looked at her
was a pair of huge, blue eyes. His heart melted, and he had to force
himself to choke back tears.

Though his eyes were riveted upon Sarah’s face, he could hear the
gasps and quiet sobbing of the women in the room.

As he and Sarah began talking, the family crept quietly to the
bedside one by one, squeezing Santa’s shoulder or his hand gratefully,
whispering “Thank you” as they gazed sincerely at him with shining eyes.
Santa and Sarah talked and talked, and she told him excitedly all the
toys she wanted for Christmas, assuring him she’d been a very good
girl that year.

As their time together dwindled, Santa felt led in his spirit to pray
for Sarah, and asked for permission from the girl’s mother. She nodded in
agreement and the entire family circled around Sarah’s bed, holding hands. Santa
looked intensely at Sarah and asked her if she believed in angels.
“Oh, yes, Santa… I do!” she exclaimed.

“Well, I’m going to ask that angels watch over you.” he said. Laying
one hand on the child’s head, Santa closed his eyes and prayed. He
asked that God touch little Sarah, and heal her body from this disease.

He asked that angels minister to her, watch and keep her. And when
he finished praying, still with eyes closed, he started singing, softly,
“Silent Night, Holy Night…. all is calm, all is bright…”

“The family joined in, still holding hands, smiling at Sarah, and
crying tears of hope, tears of joy for this moment, as Sarah beamed
at them all.

When the song ended, Santa sat on the side of the bed again and held
Sarah’s frail, small hands in his own. “Now, Sarah,” he said
authoritatively, “you have a job to do, and that is to concentrate on getting well.
I want you to have fun playing with your friends this summer, and I expect to see
you at my house at Mayfair Mall this time next year!”

He knew it was risky proclaiming that to this little girl who had
terminal cancer, but he “had” to. He had to give her the greatest
gift he could — not dolls or games or toys — but the gift of HOPE.

“Yes, Santa!” Sarah exclaimed, her eyes bright. He leaned down and
kissed her on the forehead and left the room.

Out in the hall, the minute Santa’s eyes met Rick’s, a look passed
between them and they wept unashamed.

Sarah’s mother and grandmother slipped out of the room quickly and
rushed to Santa’s side to thank him.

“My only child is the same age as Sarah,” he explained quietly.
“This is the least I could do.” They nodded with understanding and
hugged him.

One year later, Santa Mark was again back on the set in Milwaukee
for his six-week, seasonal job which he so loves to do. Several weeks
went by and then one day a child came up to sit on his lap.

“Hi, Santa! Remember me?!” “Of course, I do,” Santa proclaimed (as
he always does), smiling down at her. After all, the secret to being a
“good” Santa is to always make each child feel as if they are the “only”
child in the world at that moment.

“You came to see me in the hospital last year!” Santa’s jaw dropped.
Tears immediately sprang in his eyes, and he grabbed this little
miracle and held her to his chest. “Sarah!” he exclaimed. He scarcely
recognized her, for her hair was long and silky and her cheeks were
rosy — much different from the little girl he had visited just a year
before. He looked over and saw Sarah’s mother and grandmother in the
sidelines smiling and waving and wiping their eyes.

That was the best Christmas ever for Santa Claus.

He had witnessed –and been blessed to be instrumental in bringing
about — this miracle of hope. This precious little child was healed.
Cancer-free. Alive and well. He silently looked up to Heaven and
humbly whispered, “Thank you, Father. ‘Tis a very, Merry Christmas!”

This really isn’t an update like yall are used to reading, but this really does involve Jace, so I wanted to share the news with each and everyone of you!

Jace became a Big Brother on Friday November 21 at 1:15pm.

Jarron Joaquin Sandoval was born weighing 8lbs 12oz and was 20 1/4in long. Everything went well, baby is doing good, and momma is doing good as well! Jace is so excited to be a Big Brother and we are already loving every minute of watching Jace wanting to be a part of Jarron’s Life!

I’ve attached some photos and I promise, for those of you that remember Jace when he was a day old, that these are NOT photos of him. It’s just his Twin that was 3 1/2 years late!!! hahaha….. No really, the resemblance is uncanny!!! Almost like a Xerox Copy! haha….

Hope everyone is doing well!
God Bless Each and Everyone of You!!!

Joshua, Jamie, Jace, and Jarron Sandoval

It was crazy.  First Jace was not scheduled until 11.  You try telling a 3 year old they cannot eat or drink ANYTHING all day.  Then getting to day surgery and having him sit in a crib sized bed until it was finally our turn at 4:30…yes 4:30.  I understand all things can happen in hospitals.  I understand emergencies.  Heck, we were an emergency MRI once.  But 6 and a half hours after our scheduled appointment is ridiculous.  He was npo.  There was no communication between the hospital staff and myself letting me know a time frame.  We could have fed Jace that morning, and he could have had clear liquids up until 4 hours before his procedure, but instead he had had NOTHING to eat or drink in 19 hours before they finally took him back.

We finally left the hospital around 7pm and since it was Halloween we wanted him to enjoy some of it since he missed his school party and dressing up and all that.  So we went to his God Parents house.  It was fun.  He had a good time once he got over the loopiness of the sedation.  He was a skeleton.  We did not get to go trick or treating because he was not sturdy enough, but I dont think he minded.  We had a good time anyway.

So today the Dr called and we got the results from that MRI.  There is no change.  No new growth and no added contrast from the last MRI.  We started his chemo again on Sunday night and have 3 more nights of the dosage.

I asked the Dr how long he planned on the chemo and he said he was “planning” on a year after treatment.  I asked him if this chemo was really necessary and he said that if there are still cells in his head, then the chemo is most definitely necessary as it is keeping the cancer cells under control.  But if there are not any cells, then the side effects (short and long term) are not that bad to continue for right now.

We have scheduled another MRI for another 4 weeks and at that time, the Dr is going to do a spec MRI which will give us the chemical readings from the cells in his head and hopefully tell us more than “there is nothing to be seen” on the MRI.  At that time, if that MRI tells us anything we will make any changes if necessary.  But for now, we just stay on track with MRIs and chemotherapy every 4 weeks until further notice.

We are elated and praise GOD for all good news that we continue to hear.  And though it feels like no news, it is great news that there are no new growths. We continue on this journey with Jace as we have from day one.  Let God control the results and we just live for him.

As for baby news…I am 37 weeks pregnant today and he is not ready to come yet, so we wait.  Again, another thing only in Gods time and it is not time yet.

God Bless each of you and thank you for your continued prayers.
Joshua, Jamie and Jace Sandoval

The surge of words, feelings, emotions and excitement that runs through me right now is about to consume me.  I want to scream and dance and PRAISE GOD!!!  I just got off the phone with Dr Alter and he has informed us that the enhancement that we saw before radiation has shrunk to almost nothing.  There is no activity on this MRI. 

There is no evidence of Tumor in Jace!!!!!

There is no evidence of Tumor in Jace!!!!!

I can’t even write because I dont know what to say!

We have all pulled together as a community of friends.  We have piled our prayers upon this Great Lord and asked him to heal Jace.  We have beaten so many odds against this horrible disease.  We KNOW how blessed we are.  We KNOW how truly amazing Jace is.  But we are also confirmed on the greatness of our God!!!

Thank you God for being great and being wise!

Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers, I cannot say enough that I truly believe through this, our faith has been tested and we remained faithful all with each and everyone one of your words of praise, support and guidance.  Though we cannot begin to name everyone of you, we do know the names of each and every one of you.

We will start Jace on the chemo again today for 5 days and run another scan in 4 weeks just to make sure that everything remains the same.  Though now more than ever, we are not only hopeful but starting to let ourselves believe we possibly have beaten his cancer!

God Bless each one of you!

Joshua, Jamie and Jace Sandoval

 As of last week, his counts hadn’t dropped any from the heavy chemo he was on.  Dr Alter seems to think that the chemo wont do much to him, that the dramatic fall in his counts last time had alot to do with the combined radiation with the chemo he was on.

We have a Drs appt tomorrow and will have his CBC drawn in the morning before we go, so we should know more about how he is doing then.

Mommy update:  The pregnancy is going really well.  We are about 30 weeks now, so time is winding down.  We had a little scare when I failed the screening for the gestational diabetes test last week…but after the 3 hour fasting test a few days later we are all healthy.  He is just a growing boy.  Guess I wont be having anymore Whataburger chocolate shakes the night before any of my appts anymore (haha). Everything is going great.

Jace has his MRI scheduled for September 30 as of now.  Hopefully this one will tell us alot more and give us more insight as to where we stand with all of this.  Pray for Jace….we want no signs of illness!!!!!!

God Bless you all
Joshua, Jamie and Jace

Dr Alter was there in a matter of minutes. He looked Jace over…cleaned and butterflied the wound. He got a tetanus shot and some antibiotics and we were home within 5 hours.

It just goes to show that God is really and truly in control of everything. I believe he put his hand on Jaces head and said….not this kid, not right now. As he is always doing.

God Bless
Joshua, Jamie and Jace

 The MRI results were as we expected.  There is no change in the slides at all from right before we left for Houston.  Though we knew there would be little or no change, its still hard to process sometimes.  Its the hurry up and wait game we continue to play.  This MRI, though it doesnt tell us much, does tell us there is nothing new.  His spine is clean and the brain is exactly the same as before.  The spot that they think could be recurrance is still there, however it has not changed AT ALL.  This could mean nothing and this could mean everything. 

They are still not 100% sure that it is recurrance and we only pray that it is scar tissue as we hoped before radiation.  When Josh asked the Dr if it “could” be scar tissue, the Dr said he has seen it happen before.  We can only hope and believe for the next 4 weeks that this is what it is.

The plan right now is to wait another 4 weeks and do another MRI that will hopefully tell us more.  I will keep you updated as the weeks go by on Jace and sorry it has taken me so long to update this time.

We are GLAD to be home and back to “as normal as can be.”

God Bless you all and thank you for your continued prayers!
Joshua, Jamie and Jace