Sorry for the lack of updates.  We have just been incredibly busy and Nolan is doing so good :-)
He had clinic yesterday and all his blood counts look wonderful!! So amazing! Thank you so much for keeping him in your prayers!  Still haven't heard back on whether he has the pathway or not, we are hoping to hear something within the next week or so...

Please check out the new Rally Video. Nolan, Jessie Claire, Jacob, Kristen, Tori, Welles, Sarah, Lindsey and so many other Rally children took part in this.  They are just so adorable :-)  They did an amazing job!! For every like, Share or retweet Robert Mondavi Private selection will donate a dollar up to $50,000!! Wow! can you imagine what $50,000 can do for researching childhood cancer??? This is a real easy way to help and spread awareness!!

More Awesome news is Kingdom Kids is making Nolan's wish come true!! We are leaving tomorrow to go to Disney World, Universal and Sea World!!!!  We are so excited!! Nolan has been wanting to go back for so long! Please pray we will have good weather and Nolan will feel super!! I want this to be a trip we will never forget!!  To learn more about kingdom kids you can check out their website:
http://supportkingdomkids.com/home/

What an Awesome clinic day! Nolan's blood counts were excellent, he was happy and best of all we got to see so many of our wonderful friends :-)

Now that Nolan has recovered from all the problems he was having and his blood counts have remained stable Dr. Aguilera decided to go up a little on his chemo.  He Started Cycle #4 today of Cytoxan and will alternate between 25mg and 50mg.  He will also start 100mg of thalidomide tonight.  From the time he started this protocol we were supposed to be increasing the thalidomide weekly but Nolan's body wasn't able to handle it.  Now we are at a really good point and Nolan's doing the best he's done in a long time.  Just continue to pray for his strength....Dr. Aguilera said, it could take between 3-4 weeks to see how his body is handling the changes.

After the clinic we went to Georgia Tech to visit his tennis buddies.  It's always sad to see the old friends graduate and go but it is exciting to meet all the new faces.  Nolan just loves hanging out with these guys and we appreciate the time they take to spend with Nolan.  I can't say enough good things about this team! Coach Kenny Thorne does such a good job!

 Exciting news, Nolan was able to spend some time with the Braves Sunday.  You can see a few of the pictures on his flickr site www.flickr.com/photos/pray4nolan.  There was also a short segment done on the Rally Foundation and you can see that tomorrow on NBC sports at 9pm.  The show is called "Caught Looking" a behind the scenes look of MLB.

Thank you to everyone that has helped us raise money For our Cure Childhood Cancer fundraiser!! We are up to $540.  You can still make donations and if you are keeping up with Cure's blog Nolan will be featured on September 22nd. Here's the link...
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/nolanblake/2012-cures-kids-conquer-cancer-one-day-at-a-time

You can also still get your Rally for Nolan t-shirt ;-)
http://rallyfoundation.org/index.php/kids/rally_kid_nolan_tshirt_fundraiser

MRI results

Dr. Aguilera called me this evening with the results of Nolan's MRI.  Everything appears stable...phew! For those who don't know much about MRI's and brain tumors, Stable basically means no shrinkage and no growth.  We were really hoping to see some shrinkage of the tumors but she assured me everything looks good. We will keep on with the metronomic chemotherapy and do another MRI in 2 months.   Nolan has an appointment Friday for his chemo and she will go over more details with me about the MRI. If anything new comes up I will be sure to post it.

After the MRI we picked up Nolan's cool new "slime green" hearing aid molds.  His favorite color :-)

A quick prayer request, Dr. Aguilera asked if I would allow Nolan's tumor tissue to be sent to St. Jude's and tested to see if he has the sonic hedgehog pathway.  If Nolan has the pathway, it would give us more hope for a cure.  Please, please, please be in prayer that he has this pathway.  We don't have a lot of options to fall back on.

If you could please help us with our Cure Childhood cancer fund raiser. If everyone could just donate $5 it could make a big difference in a lot of little children's lives. Here's a few statistics...

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/nolanblake/2012-cures-kids-conquer-cancer-one-day-at-a-time

and if you would like a Rally for Nolan t-shirt, here's the link.  All proceeds from the t-shirt sales goes specifically to research medulloblastoma.
http://rallyfoundation.org/index.php/kids/rally_kid_nolan_tshirt_fundraiser

Thank you for supporting Nolan,

A day at the race track/MRI

Nolan had an AWESOME weekend at the race track!!!  Carl Edwards came out of his trailer wearing a signed subway hat, took it off his head and placed it on Nolan.  They chatted a while, I think Nolan was at a loss for words but quickly warmed up ;-)  Carl asked Nolan if he wanted to check out his car in the garage.  Nolan's eye's just lit up :-) Carl walked him down to the garages and started pointing out how everything works and asked Nolan if he would like to sit in his car?  Nolan was so excited!!! Carl picked him up and placed him in the race car! It was just a dream for Nolan! His pit crew were jacking up the car, changing the tires and doing all that cool guy stuff!  Thank you to our sweet dear friend that made this possible.  Nolan is still in awe of what he got to do...you can check out the picture on the flickr link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pray4nolan

We would appreciate as many prayers as possible.  Nolan has a MRI very early in the morning.  If I get any results I will post them as soon as I can.  There is a slight possibility we will have to wait until Friday's appointment with Dr. Aguilera. 

Don't forget, September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and we are raising money for Cure Childhood Cancer and the Rally Foundation.

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/nolanblake/2012-cures-kids-conquer-cancer-one-day-at-a-time

This is our t-shirt fundraiser link.  All money raised from the t-shirt sales goes specifically for Medulloblastoma research
http://rallyfoundation.org/index.php/kids/rally_kid_nolan_tshirt_fundraiser

Super Nolan

 By the looks of this picture you can tell Nolan is doing SUPER! He just amazes me!  I'm seeing his feisty personality come back :-)  He will be finishing up 21 days of cytoxan on Tuesday and starting his Etoposide on Wednesday.  His blood counts have skyrocketed to the point of it being unexplainable.  The doctors are saying, if he does this well with his etoposide they may talk about raising the dose.  It's lovely how when he starts doing wonderful it's too good to be true, so let increase the dose...lol! (I prefer to laugh not cry.)  We are just enjoying every blessed moment!

Nolan happily holding up his beads of courage as we were leaving the clinic Friday.  He has started his 17th necklace!!!!  So proud of him!

September is childhood cancer awareness month and it will be here before you know it.  We will be raising money for Cure Childhood Cancer and The Rally Foundation.  We wanted to twist things and make them a little fun.  For Cure we want you to join Nolan's Facebook page, post a picture of you or someone you know wearing a cap, and make a donation to Nolan's First Giving Page.  All money will go to researching Childhood cancer.  We are hoping to see about 500 hats and Nolan is excited ;-) Here's the links...

                                  https://www.facebook.com/CapsForACureNolanBlake

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/nolanblake/2012-cures-kids-conquer-cancer-one-day-at-a-time

You are more thank welcome to re-post, tweet or Facebook these links. The more awareness we can raise the better ;-)

I will post info on the Rally for Nolan t-shirts as soon as I have it set up.  If you have ordered a Rally for Nolan t-shirt in the past and have not received it, please e-mail me at britt62084@bellsouth.net


Please remember to be in prayer for Nolan's MRI coming up on September 4th.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  Philippians 4:6

Thank you!

1st week of school

1st week of school was Awesome!!

 Everyone loves their teachers and is adjusting well to their new schedule :-)  

All the kids with their new teachers 

Ready to catch the bus on the first morning

All Smiles! A sign of a good first day....

Update on Nolan:
Nolan has been doing SUPER!!  Ever since starting the thyroid medication he's had so much more energy.  It's just been amazing to see the difference!  All in all we've been doing good.  Nolan's looking a little pale right now... More than likely he needs blood counts checked this evening and Friday he goes in the clinic for a chemo infusion.

Prayer request:
~for good blood counts
~MRI on September 4th.  The MRI will be a routine 3 month check up of the brain and spine.  Were hoping for stability or shrinkage of all the tumors.

Thank you!

Finally feel like we are back in the swing of things! Nolan was able to get his IV chemo today and everything went well.  Shouldn't have to go back for another two weeks :-) At least from the oncology stand point.  We still have a GI and Audiology appointment next week.

Dr. Aguilera called me yesterday with Nolan's endocrinology test results.  Everything looked good except his thyroid.  Basically it isn't functioning normally anymore.  This is more than likely a results of Nolan's radiation he had 2 1/2 years ago. Now that we know, Nolan can get started on medication and hopefully get to feeling better soon.

Rylea and Nolan playing Jenga in the clinic today