First I wanted to say a thank you to everyone for the comments this week. I really do read each and every one and often gain some sort of insight from them. I appreciate everyone who takes a little time to tell me what they think. It has just been a rough week, emotionally more than anything, and sometimes I just rely on all my friends and family to carry me through the rough patches.
Ally is doing well. She has gone to school three days this week (albeit late each day). I basically let her sleep until she wakes up around 745 or 8 and then she makes her own breakfast (almost always scrambled eggs...good protein!). And then Jerad or I take her. I think she is doing alright. She seems to have come out of that steriod-induced depression that she was in for about a week. It is nice to hear her giggle again. She is still not sleeping at all at night though. She is up much of the night...the steriod (decadron) just won't let her sleep either. I was in there from 3-6:30 last night and Jerad did the night before. We are tired parents to say the least. I am hoping this lets up again soon, but she goes right back onto steriods on Monday. UGH.
Tonight Jerad took her to a dinner event where the WSU Raider team was eating. We are friends with Coach Brownell. Jerad said she was just grinning from ear to ear because four of the players, at separate times, came up to talk to her and ask how she was doing, etc. And several even called her by name. Who knew that she would care about that, but I guess she was pretty tickled. She went to bed looking at her autographed poster of the boys that hangs in her room and identifying which ones knew her. Always has been a loyal Raider fan...since she was 6 months old. We always tell her she is a "rock star" because pretty much everybody knows who Ally Barnett is.
My Dad was just telling me about a friend of his grandson, Granite, who was in K and 1st grade with Ally. He says he is growing his hair out to donate the hair and give the money to Ally. Dad said he really likes Ally and wanted to do it for her. Another one, Emily Fields, who is in Ally's class, just had 10 inches or something crazy lopped off her hair for the same reason. In Ally's honor. And Mrs. H said she didn't even tell Ally....just the sweetest girl. Kids have such big hearts. I never realized that, but now I do.
Trying to keep up with the blog....but so much to do during this holiday season. Forgive me if I miss some days here or there. As long as all is good, I may take a couple of breaks.
Enjoy this holiday season with your family. The spirit of giving is just all around us.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Fear
It has been the weirdest weather day around here today. Sunny one moment, and then the sky was black as night, and then the ice pellets shot out of the sky. And then the cycle repeated. And repeated. And repeated. And the wind was so strong that it nearly picked our extremely large and non-green SUV up and tossed us like a matchbox car. Mother Nature was just not happy today. She could not decide what to do. But at one moment about 4 pm I looked towards the sky (as I often do) and there were those super long bright sunbeams pouring through the clouds...maybe 10 of them. They looked like giant slides in the sky with a free trip back down to earth. I couldn't help but think of Ashley.
We travelled north today...about 90 miles...to attend Ashley's visitation service. You have to know that this was one of the hardest things I have had to do. I have not been into a funeral home since I was the one standing up there...and talking to the whole line of people for Mom's service. I felt strong for about 60 seconds but then I saw all the pictures of our friends...a happy family of five. The force of leukemia ripped them apart. I saw Dr B. How many of these does he have to go to? I REALLY don't want to know the answer to that question. There was Shannon and Ana some of the same people that care for Ally. We truly are a family. And then I saw Ashley's little sister running through the room, happy, putting a stuffed animal up in her sisters coffin. She was laughing and she has always reminded me of Carly...we have always said that. She is too young to know the pain...and good for her. I was wishing that I could feel like her. Because I could barely compose myself, but I tried. Ashley's mom just held onto me held onto me and didn't let me go. She told me she was missing the hospital already. Because that is what we know.
Jerad and I have had a very rough couple of days. Lots of tears. Lots of worry. We never used to be like this. We are strong people, but even the strongest must fall down. When counts are low for these kids, anything can happen. So Jerad and I were talking about how we both just kind of put things out of our mind. It may sound callous, and really most people couldn't understand. But we HAVE to do this. We cannot worry about every little thing or we will be consumed. Instead of rarely sleeping, we would never sleep. Sometimes it is better to be a little ignorant.
Every parent has fears. I am scared a lot. But I hold my three children close to me as a much as I can. I am way more overlooking of trivial irritating things than I used to be. Little things just don't bother me anymore. But big things do. Every night I rock my little Carly girl for just a minute or two, and then I lay her down to go to bed. I usually have 1000 things to get to and it is late...you know the drill. But tonight, I rocked her and rocked her and daydreamed and prayed for a long time. And then I looked down and that little angel was asleep in my lap. A little peaceful gift for me.
Please pray this holiday season for all of those people who are living their fears and that they find some sort of peace to get them through.
We travelled north today...about 90 miles...to attend Ashley's visitation service. You have to know that this was one of the hardest things I have had to do. I have not been into a funeral home since I was the one standing up there...and talking to the whole line of people for Mom's service. I felt strong for about 60 seconds but then I saw all the pictures of our friends...a happy family of five. The force of leukemia ripped them apart. I saw Dr B. How many of these does he have to go to? I REALLY don't want to know the answer to that question. There was Shannon and Ana some of the same people that care for Ally. We truly are a family. And then I saw Ashley's little sister running through the room, happy, putting a stuffed animal up in her sisters coffin. She was laughing and she has always reminded me of Carly...we have always said that. She is too young to know the pain...and good for her. I was wishing that I could feel like her. Because I could barely compose myself, but I tried. Ashley's mom just held onto me held onto me and didn't let me go. She told me she was missing the hospital already. Because that is what we know.
Jerad and I have had a very rough couple of days. Lots of tears. Lots of worry. We never used to be like this. We are strong people, but even the strongest must fall down. When counts are low for these kids, anything can happen. So Jerad and I were talking about how we both just kind of put things out of our mind. It may sound callous, and really most people couldn't understand. But we HAVE to do this. We cannot worry about every little thing or we will be consumed. Instead of rarely sleeping, we would never sleep. Sometimes it is better to be a little ignorant.
Every parent has fears. I am scared a lot. But I hold my three children close to me as a much as I can. I am way more overlooking of trivial irritating things than I used to be. Little things just don't bother me anymore. But big things do. Every night I rock my little Carly girl for just a minute or two, and then I lay her down to go to bed. I usually have 1000 things to get to and it is late...you know the drill. But tonight, I rocked her and rocked her and daydreamed and prayed for a long time. And then I looked down and that little angel was asleep in my lap. A little peaceful gift for me.
Please pray this holiday season for all of those people who are living their fears and that they find some sort of peace to get them through.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
What we have been doing
We have been a little busy lately doing our normal Christmas projects.
Overall, Ally is still doing fairly well. She has finished up the dreaded steriod week. She also got two more doses of chemo on Monday when we visited the clinic. No crying at all with the port accessing...she is just a trooper now. Everyone there is so nice to her that I almost think she likes going. (just not the after effects of the drugs) She has been complaining of headaches still...hopefully this is caused by the steriods and will go away. She is not sleeping very well at night because of them....they make her sleep really lightly. She has also just been very down lately, subdued and almost sad. But then when I ask her if she is sad about anything, she just says no. I think this is the way the steriods are treating her. Some kids have tantrums and fits, but I think Ally handles steriods by just becoming even more quiet and subdued. I am hoping anyway....and this is all before I told her about Ashley.
I didn't tell her until Tuesday night, because I just didn't feel like her mood was very good. But then I had to explain to her where I was going tomorrow (Ashley's service) so I had to tell her. Ally is the type of child who just bottles everything up inside. Whereas Evan is constantly talking about Mom, etc, ...well Ally never says a word unless I ask her. And honestly, I would much rather her talk and/or show emotion. So as soon as we mentioned that Ashley had passed away, she just sat quietly and had a sad look on her face. Heartbreaking to tell her and see her little face react. We continued on by telling her that she does NOT have that kind of leukemia and that she is doing really well and this is NOT going to happen to her, etc. Evan had prayed for Ashley every single night, so we told him too. We talked about Ma being up in heaven and that she would definitely be taking care of Ashley and showing her all kinds of cool stuff. And Evan says: well now I know three people in heaven..Ma, Ashley, and Coachie (the neighbors dog). And he sometimes says Michael Jackson too. And Jesus. Man that kid is smart sometimes. Seriously, what 5 year old says Jesus?
And once again I am angry and sad that my kids are having to learn all these life lessons WAY TOO EARLY for my liking. I go back to wishing that all my kids had to worry about were bad dreams or mean kids or whatever else kids worry about. We have bigger things to cause our worry around here.
I did want to mention one thing that Ally did this weekend that made me just weep with pride. The hospital had invited her to attend a party at Build a Bear for some of the sick kids. She was allowed to make a bear for herself and also one for a friend. Build a Bear has always been one of Ally's favorite things to do, so she was happy to go (well, in her subdued way). When we got there, she decided that she was going to make one for a fellow leukemia friend we have made online who lives in NJ. And then she says she doesn't even want to make one for herself, but rather use the other one for her 10 year old friend Davey who is currently in the hospital battling AML. I never even brought up this option to her...it was all her idea...and I was so proud of her for making that decision that I was just crying through most of the event. I could barely muster up enough words to properly thank the man who owned the franchise and was doing this for the kids. I obviously try to teach her that it is better to give than receive....but when she did it all on her own I felt so blessed. And proud. And on Monday when we gave Dave the camoflauged bear that she made him, the look on his face was priceless. He really seemed touched.
Tomorrow is going to be a very hard day. We are driving about an hour north of here to go to Ashley's visitation. I am not sure if I will make it out of there on my own two feet....it is unbearable, unthinkable, there are no words to describe it. But I must go and pay my respects to our fellow hospital family. I pray this is the first and last time that I have to do this.
Please keep all of our kids in your prayers: Ally, Dave, Amanda, Braden, Skye, Jackie, Alivia, Maggie, Lincoln, Bonnie, Owen, Katie, and Tori...just to name a few.
We made candy on Friday
Christmas Cookies today
They did cookies for almost two hours!
Ally made me some homemade artwork for my mantle display...love it.
Ally always shows Carly how to do things. She is SUCH a good sister.
We made a foam candy cane village and a gingerbread house over the weekend.
That can wear a mother flat out.....
But I loved Ally's creative roof...all her idea.
We have also made our Christmas cookies, done a little shopping, and ordered our Christmas cards. Trust me though, I am still way behind on most of it. And I have the fear inside me that "what if" something goes wrong and we land back in the hospital and I lose precious time. I am trying not to think about that option.
Christmas Cookies today
They did cookies for almost two hours! 
Ally made me some homemade artwork for my mantle display...love it.
Ally always shows Carly how to do things. She is SUCH a good sister.
We made a foam candy cane village and a gingerbread house over the weekend.That can wear a mother flat out.....
But I loved Ally's creative roof...all her idea.
We have also made our Christmas cookies, done a little shopping, and ordered our Christmas cards. Trust me though, I am still way behind on most of it. And I have the fear inside me that "what if" something goes wrong and we land back in the hospital and I lose precious time. I am trying not to think about that option. Overall, Ally is still doing fairly well. She has finished up the dreaded steriod week. She also got two more doses of chemo on Monday when we visited the clinic. No crying at all with the port accessing...she is just a trooper now. Everyone there is so nice to her that I almost think she likes going. (just not the after effects of the drugs) She has been complaining of headaches still...hopefully this is caused by the steriods and will go away. She is not sleeping very well at night because of them....they make her sleep really lightly. She has also just been very down lately, subdued and almost sad. But then when I ask her if she is sad about anything, she just says no. I think this is the way the steriods are treating her. Some kids have tantrums and fits, but I think Ally handles steriods by just becoming even more quiet and subdued. I am hoping anyway....and this is all before I told her about Ashley.
I didn't tell her until Tuesday night, because I just didn't feel like her mood was very good. But then I had to explain to her where I was going tomorrow (Ashley's service) so I had to tell her. Ally is the type of child who just bottles everything up inside. Whereas Evan is constantly talking about Mom, etc, ...well Ally never says a word unless I ask her. And honestly, I would much rather her talk and/or show emotion. So as soon as we mentioned that Ashley had passed away, she just sat quietly and had a sad look on her face. Heartbreaking to tell her and see her little face react. We continued on by telling her that she does NOT have that kind of leukemia and that she is doing really well and this is NOT going to happen to her, etc. Evan had prayed for Ashley every single night, so we told him too. We talked about Ma being up in heaven and that she would definitely be taking care of Ashley and showing her all kinds of cool stuff. And Evan says: well now I know three people in heaven..Ma, Ashley, and Coachie (the neighbors dog). And he sometimes says Michael Jackson too. And Jesus. Man that kid is smart sometimes. Seriously, what 5 year old says Jesus?
And once again I am angry and sad that my kids are having to learn all these life lessons WAY TOO EARLY for my liking. I go back to wishing that all my kids had to worry about were bad dreams or mean kids or whatever else kids worry about. We have bigger things to cause our worry around here.
I did want to mention one thing that Ally did this weekend that made me just weep with pride. The hospital had invited her to attend a party at Build a Bear for some of the sick kids. She was allowed to make a bear for herself and also one for a friend. Build a Bear has always been one of Ally's favorite things to do, so she was happy to go (well, in her subdued way). When we got there, she decided that she was going to make one for a fellow leukemia friend we have made online who lives in NJ. And then she says she doesn't even want to make one for herself, but rather use the other one for her 10 year old friend Davey who is currently in the hospital battling AML. I never even brought up this option to her...it was all her idea...and I was so proud of her for making that decision that I was just crying through most of the event. I could barely muster up enough words to properly thank the man who owned the franchise and was doing this for the kids. I obviously try to teach her that it is better to give than receive....but when she did it all on her own I felt so blessed. And proud. And on Monday when we gave Dave the camoflauged bear that she made him, the look on his face was priceless. He really seemed touched.
Tomorrow is going to be a very hard day. We are driving about an hour north of here to go to Ashley's visitation. I am not sure if I will make it out of there on my own two feet....it is unbearable, unthinkable, there are no words to describe it. But I must go and pay my respects to our fellow hospital family. I pray this is the first and last time that I have to do this.
Please keep all of our kids in your prayers: Ally, Dave, Amanda, Braden, Skye, Jackie, Alivia, Maggie, Lincoln, Bonnie, Owen, Katie, and Tori...just to name a few.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Ashley Bohman, Rest in Peace
It is usually about this time on Sunday night that I sit down to recap our weekend. I was just this morning feeling so grateful that we were home this weekend and not in the hospital. Tonight, I cannot recap our events because I am sitting here in utter sadness. We lost one of our hospital family this morning. Ally's little five year old friend Ashley lost her battle early this morning. We have known this wonderful family since September when they came back into the hospital with Ashley...her AML had relapsed. Ashley was one of those beautiful full of life girls that would go skipping down the hall every chance that she got to go outside. I helped her and her sister Kenzi build a foam house in the lounge on one of the first days that I met them and she was full of spirit. On Ally's last day spent in the hospital, a warm November day, Ally and Ashley were swinging side-by-side at the hospital playground. I sat with Ashley's Dad on a park bench, and we mulled about all the unfairness in life and how hard it is to have a child with cancer. The worry and sadness was evident in his eyes, and I am sure he would say the same about me. I remember feeling guilty when we got to go home, and they had to stay. And that is the last that I have seen them.
You may remember that Ashley was a patron in Ally's nail salon a few weeks back. Here is the link back. http://all4ally.blogspot.com/2009/11/quick-post.html She squealed in delight over the color of her nail polish and soon after her sister and Mom were also at the salon.
I truly do not know what to say or how to feel in times like this. My heart is aching for Mike and Shelly and for her little sister Kenzi and their new baby Hailey. This is a strong reminder that life can be so fleeting and we have to hold onto it while it lasts. I am sitting here looking at a little coloring page that Ashley made us as a thank you when we let her borrow our Wii. It has been hanging on our refrigerator for a month and I just took it down a few days ago. Now it is my treasure.
I have not had the courage to tell Ally yet. I am not sure how to go about this. One more thing I will have to figure out, but not today. We are back to the hospital in the morning for treatment and I am hoping that she doesn't hear about it. I will find a way to tell her soon.
Please pray for strength for the Bohman family...that they may somehow find peace in the hard times ahead. I do know that Ashley is no longer suffering from any more treatments and most importantly she no longer has the cancer ruling her life. She is free of all the suffering and resting in peace. We love you little girl.
You may remember that Ashley was a patron in Ally's nail salon a few weeks back. Here is the link back. http://all4ally.blogspot.com/2009/11/quick-post.html She squealed in delight over the color of her nail polish and soon after her sister and Mom were also at the salon.
I truly do not know what to say or how to feel in times like this. My heart is aching for Mike and Shelly and for her little sister Kenzi and their new baby Hailey. This is a strong reminder that life can be so fleeting and we have to hold onto it while it lasts. I am sitting here looking at a little coloring page that Ashley made us as a thank you when we let her borrow our Wii. It has been hanging on our refrigerator for a month and I just took it down a few days ago. Now it is my treasure.
I have not had the courage to tell Ally yet. I am not sure how to go about this. One more thing I will have to figure out, but not today. We are back to the hospital in the morning for treatment and I am hoping that she doesn't hear about it. I will find a way to tell her soon.
Please pray for strength for the Bohman family...that they may somehow find peace in the hard times ahead. I do know that Ashley is no longer suffering from any more treatments and most importantly she no longer has the cancer ruling her life. She is free of all the suffering and resting in peace. We love you little girl.
Friday, December 4, 2009
PEG shot Friday
Gonna do a quick post here...since I missed last night and tonight is Friday night and I am exhausted. Last night I missed because Jerad and I went to a late night basketball game. We put the kids in bed, had a sitter come, and went to the Raiders game which was also on ESPNU. It was fun, but it was late! I was glad we had the opportunity to have some down time together. Always important when you are faced with our situation.
Ally did go to school both Thursday and Friday. I took her once she woke up, but not all that late (at school by 845 or 9.) I did have to pull her out this afternoon as she had to go get those horrible legs shots. She really did well. I asked her if she was nervous and our cool little cucumber just peeped out a No. She didn't even start crying preemptively when they walked in the room with the shot. Normally she would have gotten anxious. She just keeps learning more and more and is growing up too fast. Jerad held one side of her and I held the other. Nurse Sharon got her right leg and Nurse Amy got her left...after a 1-2-3 count which she always requests. She started to scream just a little, but then came around and no tears were shed. I seriously think I would have cried...these needles are just huge. She is having a little trouble walking and they were definitely hurting her tonight. She wanted to have our friends over for pizza, and we did, but she still didn't seem quite herself. Hopefully they don't make her feel horrible this weekend.
We thought she might need blood, she has had some steady headaches. So she had to fill this pretty big vial of blood with drops from her finger stick for a test and a cross-match. More than a little blood....again she did it in stride. Turns out she didn't need blood, which is good, and they attributed the headaches to the steriods she has been taking.
Her ANC was 5000. An extra zero on there. It worries me a little, because we never see it that high, but they always say not to worry...it will go down. I guess that means she can do about anything this weekend. It usually does its drop after 7 days, which would be Monday. And she does get more chemo again on Monday too.
Please pray that Ally's legs heal up and she will be pain free soon. Please pray the chemo side effects are minimal and she can continue to enjoy this holiday season. Most importantly, we pray that her cancer is gone and never returns.
Ally did go to school both Thursday and Friday. I took her once she woke up, but not all that late (at school by 845 or 9.) I did have to pull her out this afternoon as she had to go get those horrible legs shots. She really did well. I asked her if she was nervous and our cool little cucumber just peeped out a No. She didn't even start crying preemptively when they walked in the room with the shot. Normally she would have gotten anxious. She just keeps learning more and more and is growing up too fast. Jerad held one side of her and I held the other. Nurse Sharon got her right leg and Nurse Amy got her left...after a 1-2-3 count which she always requests. She started to scream just a little, but then came around and no tears were shed. I seriously think I would have cried...these needles are just huge. She is having a little trouble walking and they were definitely hurting her tonight. She wanted to have our friends over for pizza, and we did, but she still didn't seem quite herself. Hopefully they don't make her feel horrible this weekend.
We thought she might need blood, she has had some steady headaches. So she had to fill this pretty big vial of blood with drops from her finger stick for a test and a cross-match. More than a little blood....again she did it in stride. Turns out she didn't need blood, which is good, and they attributed the headaches to the steriods she has been taking.
Her ANC was 5000. An extra zero on there. It worries me a little, because we never see it that high, but they always say not to worry...it will go down. I guess that means she can do about anything this weekend. It usually does its drop after 7 days, which would be Monday. And she does get more chemo again on Monday too.
Please pray that Ally's legs heal up and she will be pain free soon. Please pray the chemo side effects are minimal and she can continue to enjoy this holiday season. Most importantly, we pray that her cancer is gone and never returns.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
December 2
Not too much to report here today....I know you guys will appreciate an abbreviated post after my last two novels. Hah! Ally did make it to school...all day. She also come home and went straight to her religion class at St Luke. It was a busy day. Tonight she was complaining of a headache and also so cold and could not get warm. This usually means one thing: She needs blood. So I am guessing that is in our cards...hopefully we can make it to our scheduled appointment on Friday. That is when she gets the lovely PEG shots that really will make her feel horrible. Just in time for a very busy Saturday where we have three Christmas events to go to. We will just do our best. She is definitely starting to slide downward a little and we are back off our honeymoon.
It is still to be determined as to whether she will feel well enough to go tomorrow. Maybe just part of the day? I can tell you one thing...I hate waking her up in the morning when it is still dark and knowing that she just had chemotherapy. It makes me feel horrible. The girl needs sleep. Tardy is still better than not going at all.
One small little note: Today is my Grandma Josie's 90th birthday!!!!! (my mom's mom) I just got off the phone with her (she lives back in PA) and she is a remarkable lady. I so wish I could have been with her today...and I would have if my daughter was not in this condition. And my Grandpa is 92! And they live in the same house they always did. I aspire to have this life and hope my genes are good like theirs.
The picture of today is our tree...lights, then ribbon, then ornaments. (70% of which were given to me by my Mom resulting in hours of tears by me while putting the tree up...but it is up) I keep telling Jerad it is leaning a little too. Darnit! Gotta go get on that now.....
Thanks for the prayers and all your support.
It is still to be determined as to whether she will feel well enough to go tomorrow. Maybe just part of the day? I can tell you one thing...I hate waking her up in the morning when it is still dark and knowing that she just had chemotherapy. It makes me feel horrible. The girl needs sleep. Tardy is still better than not going at all.
One small little note: Today is my Grandma Josie's 90th birthday!!!!! (my mom's mom) I just got off the phone with her (she lives back in PA) and she is a remarkable lady. I so wish I could have been with her today...and I would have if my daughter was not in this condition. And my Grandpa is 92! And they live in the same house they always did. I aspire to have this life and hope my genes are good like theirs.
The picture of today is our tree...lights, then ribbon, then ornaments. (70% of which were given to me by my Mom resulting in hours of tears by me while putting the tree up...but it is up) I keep telling Jerad it is leaning a little too. Darnit! Gotta go get on that now.....
Thanks for the prayers and all your support.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Big News Day
I have several pieces of big news to report on today. First and foremost, Ally did make it to school. I was so pleased that she went and I never heard a single complaint! I knew I was in good shape when I was driving her (and her sister) to school...we were listening to Christmas songs on the radio and she was just humming away in the back seat. Cute. When she got to school, her guidance counselor, Mrs Kulwicki, was standing at the front door holding it open with the biggest smile on her face. Then two steps in...her art teacher gives her a huge hug. Then our kind school secretaries made her feel welcome. She could not stop smiling. Off to her classroom. As soon as she walked through the doorway, tons of kids were running from their desks to get right up on her and see her. Mrs Hamilton, her teacher, said she had told them Ally was coming, but was gonna be a little late and they were on edge waiting all morning. Midway through the day I got a note that Ally was doing great and I breathed in a big sigh of relief. It may not last, we will see, but she did one day. And one day is better than none.
I was surprised when she got off the bus and asked to play Wii. She is not much of a video gamer type. She wanted to do Dance Dance Revolution. Apparently, they did it in PE class but she felt too uncomfortable to try it there. Afraid she might fall. So we set it up here and she did it for about an hour and a half! I think she may be participating at school next time. Today was a TV free day as a result. She even did her reading before bed. This is big stuff in our household.
She is all set to go to school tomorrow...at normal time. She has already ordered me to make her a tuna sandwich for her lunch. Hoping nothing changes in the night.
Her biggest news of the day, in her opinion, was that she finally FINALLY swallowed a pill. Her steroids are two little pills that she has to take twice a day. (four pills) We are not allowed to crush them...it makes the taste almost unbearable that way, so we cut them into teeny tiny bits. Well today she decided she could swallow them if we cut them in half and served it up with a bit of chocolate chip mint ice cream liquified with a little milk. And she did it!!! Right afterward, she said "Dad, how old is Amanda?" (this is her fellow ALL patient friend from the hospital)...so Jerad said "she is 15" And Ally says "I am only 8!!! And I took the pill!" She was super proud of herself. (Sorry Amanda, I know you will read this, but Ally is willing to teach you!) She should be proud...I know I could not swallow a pill when I was eight.
So while the girls were at school, I promised Evan I would take him to get a Christmas tree for his room. The girls both have normal size trees and he had this pathetic thing that looked ridiculous especially considering he IS after all the decorating boy. (e.g. Halloween) Check it out:
We searched around but could not find a tree that suited me. They were all too big or too small or in ornate looking pots or something weird. So finally, we are at Lowe's and I went to the outdoor area and found a perfect size real LIVE Christmas tree and it was cheap! I wanted a live Christmas tree this year...we always had one growing up...but Jerad will not really allow it. So now, we have a live tree...and we got cute perfect Charlie Brown style lights....colored, as the kids always want but I won't allow on the big tree. And he is hanging all his ornaments that he is making/painting on it too.
On the way home from Lowe's we had an interesting conversation that I must remember...so I am writing it here. Again, for my own benefit, but cute.
Evan: What do you think Ma is doing in Heaven right now? (we discuss this all the time)
Me: Probably golfing. Or maybe having lunch with her friends.
Me: Actually, I bet she is putting up her Christmas Tree right now
Evan: Well I think she is playing with the birds.
Me: Oh, Ma loved the birds.
Evan: Yea, the bluebird right?
Me: Right.
Evan: I think she is holding the bird right on her finger. (something that would terrify him)
Me: Yea, they probably land on you in Heaven and you are not even scared.
A minute or two passes.
Evan: Mom, do birds poop in Heaven?
Me: laughing really hard.....probably not. Well, at least not on Ma.
Here is our little tree. And it is currently making me happy. And him too. And also, I have been doing this thing for years where I take a picture everyday in December and put them in a little book. Decorations, baking, presents, Santa, lights, whatever. So you are probably gonna see a lot of those type pictures out here. If I can keep it up. Today being December 1 and all....I have one day down, anyway.
I was surprised when she got off the bus and asked to play Wii. She is not much of a video gamer type. She wanted to do Dance Dance Revolution. Apparently, they did it in PE class but she felt too uncomfortable to try it there. Afraid she might fall. So we set it up here and she did it for about an hour and a half! I think she may be participating at school next time. Today was a TV free day as a result. She even did her reading before bed. This is big stuff in our household.
She is all set to go to school tomorrow...at normal time. She has already ordered me to make her a tuna sandwich for her lunch. Hoping nothing changes in the night.
Her biggest news of the day, in her opinion, was that she finally FINALLY swallowed a pill. Her steroids are two little pills that she has to take twice a day. (four pills) We are not allowed to crush them...it makes the taste almost unbearable that way, so we cut them into teeny tiny bits. Well today she decided she could swallow them if we cut them in half and served it up with a bit of chocolate chip mint ice cream liquified with a little milk. And she did it!!! Right afterward, she said "Dad, how old is Amanda?" (this is her fellow ALL patient friend from the hospital)...so Jerad said "she is 15" And Ally says "I am only 8!!! And I took the pill!" She was super proud of herself. (Sorry Amanda, I know you will read this, but Ally is willing to teach you!) She should be proud...I know I could not swallow a pill when I was eight.
So while the girls were at school, I promised Evan I would take him to get a Christmas tree for his room. The girls both have normal size trees and he had this pathetic thing that looked ridiculous especially considering he IS after all the decorating boy. (e.g. Halloween) Check it out:
We searched around but could not find a tree that suited me. They were all too big or too small or in ornate looking pots or something weird. So finally, we are at Lowe's and I went to the outdoor area and found a perfect size real LIVE Christmas tree and it was cheap! I wanted a live Christmas tree this year...we always had one growing up...but Jerad will not really allow it. So now, we have a live tree...and we got cute perfect Charlie Brown style lights....colored, as the kids always want but I won't allow on the big tree. And he is hanging all his ornaments that he is making/painting on it too.
On the way home from Lowe's we had an interesting conversation that I must remember...so I am writing it here. Again, for my own benefit, but cute. Evan: What do you think Ma is doing in Heaven right now? (we discuss this all the time)
Me: Probably golfing. Or maybe having lunch with her friends.
Me: Actually, I bet she is putting up her Christmas Tree right now
Evan: Well I think she is playing with the birds.
Me: Oh, Ma loved the birds.
Evan: Yea, the bluebird right?
Me: Right.
Evan: I think she is holding the bird right on her finger. (something that would terrify him)
Me: Yea, they probably land on you in Heaven and you are not even scared.
A minute or two passes.
Evan: Mom, do birds poop in Heaven?
Me: laughing really hard.....probably not. Well, at least not on Ma.
Here is our little tree. And it is currently making me happy. And him too. And also, I have been doing this thing for years where I take a picture everyday in December and put them in a little book. Decorations, baking, presents, Santa, lights, whatever. So you are probably gonna see a lot of those type pictures out here. If I can keep it up. Today being December 1 and all....I have one day down, anyway.
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