Friday Fave Five from Philly

I haven't been able to join in on Friday Fave Five for a while, but I am determined to write about the many blessings I have received over the past few weeks that I have been here in Philadelphia.

1. These three - my oldest daughter, my grandson Thomas and baby grand daughter Madeline. They have become my world since we arrived here in Philadelphia for Thomas' treatment. Their smiles, their voices, their laughter and companionship is my #1 favorite thing this summer.

2. American history. I love history and I love America. Putting the two together can put chills up my spine and lump in my throat. That is what happened early this week when I got to see the Liberty Bell for the first time.

Last Saturday, we got to see the Battleship New Jersey. across the Delaware in Camden, New Jersey.

It was another interesting bit of American History that made this a good week.

3. This place - known around here as C.H.O.P.. We go here every week day for Thomas's treatment and I have come to realize that this is truly an incredible place.

Not only does this place have brilliant doctors and scientists who offer cutting edge treatments not even dreamed off a few short years ago, it has programs and caring staff that treat the whole child - body, mind and spirit. Here is Thomas playing "doctor for a day" yesterday with nurses and child-life specialists whose job it is to help sick kids deal with their illness.

Not only did Thomas enjoy himself being "doctor for a day," he got to meet and play with some other kids who are dealing with health challenges at CHOP. He wants to go back and do this again next week too.

4. Walking Philly - We have been doing a lot of walking - back and forth to treatments each day.

My Fitbit is registering that I am walking 7-9 miles a day, which is good because the food here at the Ronald McDonald House is very good, and there is a lot of it.

In the evening, after dinner, I take another walk, and enjoy looking at the old historic buildings, most of which are quite well preserved and still in use.

There are also interesting monuments and sculptures like this one Thomas is standing under..

...and this monument to World War II veterans...

...and this very cool dragon which Thomas really liked. It is the mascot of Drexel University, which is right next to the University of Pennsylvania and right down the street from the Ronald McDonald House.

We also found a couple of great used book stores while walking around the city.

They were fun to browse in, but aside from a few books to read to my grandson, I (so far) haven't bought a thing because bookstore heavy and my luggage on the flight here was already very close to being overweight. I have downloaded some books to my Kindle however, so I am still enjoying my summer reading whenever I have a few spare minutes.

5. Play Therapy and Friends- I think everyone needs a little "play therapy" from time to time - time to kick back and just do something enjoyable. My daughter knows how important this is, especially as Thomas battles cancer so we have visited some fun play grounds to let Thomas just be a kid.

Thomas is friendly and outgoing and loves to make new friends.

He has found an abundance of friends to play with here at the Ronald Mc Donald House.

One of Thomas favorite playmates here is the young man in this picture. He is also a brain tumor survivor who has undergone chemo therapy and now the same kind of proton radiation therapy that Thomas is having. This little guy, whose name is Nicholas, is from Quebec and speaks only French. Thomas speaks only English, but the two of them play together and have a lot of fun. It is fun and interesting to watch them interact when they do not know how to speak to each other.

Thomas also enjoys animal friends that come to the Ronald McDonald House several times a week as "pet therapy." He loves to pet the puppies because he says that he really misses his dog Pearl, who had to stay home.