Home at Last

Can you believe it? WE ARE FINISHED! There is just so much to say, so much to share, the past 36 hours have been a whirlwind of emotions. May 29th will be a date forever sketched in our memories, a day we have awaited for so long. We have beat this cancer, and there is no looking back. Everyone on 4 Henson helped us get out of the hospital in no time, it was the earliest discharge ever! After a few frustrations with the pharmacy, and 3 wagon loads, we were on the road. I called Ryan to let him know we were an hour away because he said he was going to take off of work early to meet us here. Well, him and everyone else! Grandma and Grandpa C. and Grandma Barb were at home with Ryan and Logan awaiting our return.

It was quite a drive. Chelsea fell asleep before we got on the highway, so I was left alone driving with my thoughts. As I turned onto the highway near our house, I lost it. I just couldn't stop crying. Then to turn onto our street and the familiarity of it all made my heart skip a beat. I was sobbing as we reached our house. I pulled into the driveway and there everyone stood on the front porch. They had balloons and signs decorating the outside and inside of the house. They even created a "finish line" for me to drive through. Ryan got Chelsea out of her seat, and we all just stood there and held each other for a moment, Chelsea in our arms and Logan wrapping himself around our legs. (He would have been in our arms too, but I wasn't sure it would be a great idea to let him share his little frog friend with his sister) ...

As I predicted, Leaving the hospital was difficult as well. There's a relationship formed between families when your children have cancer. Spending so much time with them made it hard to leave. It felt like we were leaving them behind. I wish I could make it all go away. We will continue to stay in contact with you and will visit when we return for clinic visits!

And to answer a few questions:
* yes, I will continue to blog! There's so much more I haven't had time to post, and I'm also working on some special projects reflecting Chelsea's journey.
* I don't know the name of the song from our slideshow, it was put together by our photographer ... does anyone else?

While I didn't have my camera out for our surprise coming home party yesterday, Grandma did, so as soon as I get them I'll be posting some very exciting homecoming shots!