I just wanted to give you all a quick update.
Dean Elske died yesterday morning after his brave battle with MDS and AML.  He was 73.

He was a good man, a wonderful husband and a loving father and grandfather.  He was also a friendly and fun brother, uncle and godfather.

He will be missed terribly by all who knew him even for just a short time.

Dean Elske Obituary

We are very thankful that we were able to celebrate several huge milestones over the last month!  Charlotte graduated from 4k on May 23rd (which happened to be Erin’s birthday).  What a wonderful day for all involved in Charlotte’s story!  Charlotte and the rest of her class sang a few songs on the stage while Amy and Molly and I, as well as both sets of Grandparents watched with not-necessarily-dry eyes from the audience.  Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch with the rest of her class and she said goodbye to many of her new friends  (until next year).

Friday was Charlotte’s 5th birthday!!  The four of us celebrated by doing what any kid loves to do-go to Subway and eat sandwiches and pizza!!  Yesterday we had a Veggie Tales Pirate themed party per Charlotte’s request and almost the whole family was here to celebrate.  The kids had a great time participating in a pirate scavenger hunt,  taking on a treasure chest pinata, digging for treasure in the sandbox, and enjoying eating a custom pirate ship birthday cake that Amy slaved over!  We really lucked out and had wonderful weather the entire day and all of the kids were completely tuckered out by the end of the night.  It really was a blessing for us to be able to celebrate such a huge milestone.  Every day we thank God, Erin and all of the staff involved in Charlotte’s treatment for these opportunities.

We continue to ask for prayers for my Uncle Dean and Jeremy and Austin, and everyone else who may be in a situation less fortunate than what we may find ourselves in.