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Thursday, August 25, 2011

Checking In, Finally!!!



Actually, this isn't really much of a checkin as I don't have time to write very much but I thought I would see if anyone even still checks my blog. Most people have already seen this photo on facebook but I figured there are still a few of you whom I am not friends with there that may have missed it. This pretty much shows how "well" little Miss Ella is doing these days (Yes, she wrote on the wall!!!). She is full of beans and we "love" it!! Also, her blood counts continue to be wonderful and she is remaining very healthy!!! Soooo thankful for that!!




Sunday, June 12, 2011

Ella Eating

We finally got some video of Ella eating. This was the first time in a while that she has let someone actually feed her with a spoon :) Emma was doing a great job of making her eat while doing animal sounds. There is also some footage of her "sort of" feeding herself......go Ella!!!

Monday, May 30, 2011

Where is Ella's Ball????

Having a little fun with Ella the other night. I am so very proud of her very clearly spoken sentence at the end of the video :)

Saturday, May 7, 2011

One Year Ago Today!!!




One Year Ago


One year ago today, we found ourselves in the oncology clinic for what we thought was just a blood transfusion because Ella's hemoglobin was low. But when they took her blood that day, they saw the dreaded leukemia cells that we had been waiting to rear their ugly head. Instead of going home that night, we were sent over to the hospital where Ella stayed for the next 28 days. It is almost sureal to imagine that it has been a year since that day already. Of course I am so thankful that she remains cancer free at this time and I can only hope that before too long, we will be celebrating one year of her being cancer free and then hopefully five years etc.





I know this blog has been sort of neglected lately, but as I come back to it, I can't help but remember how important this blog and all of my dear blog friends were to me during all those months spent in the the hospital. I am forever grateful to everyone who was able to visit in person but also equally so to those of you who were there with me in spirit and with their supportive words. Thank you!! And, please, every once in a while, would you mind saying a prayer for Ella and that she continues to remain cancer free!!







Today!!



(Darling outfit courtesy of Darlena Lehnick)





Sunday, May 1, 2011

A VERY Special Meet Up With Carly's Parents, Joany and Paul


Wow!!! What a day yesterday was!! Ella and I along with Zoey and her mom, Heather, separately made our ways north to Bakersfield. Awaiting us there were Joany and Paul George, the amazing parents of the sweet and beautiful Angel Carly. They were in California for a much needed getaway. You see, just one year ago, they lost Carly unexpectantly. Obviously this past year has been an unimaginable one for them full of so much sadness and loss. Joany has been such an open book to us all in sharing her sorrow and I know that I personally have learned a great deal from her. My heart has been so weighted for them all year but finally getting to meet them in person truly gave me a renewed sense of hope. Yes, they are still full of pain and No, the loss of Carly has not gotten any easier BUT they were still glowing with life and it showed in every bit of attention that they gave to Ella and Zoey throughout the day. Life does continue to move forward for them although it will never be the same. Carly was very much alive in our conversations and tears yesterday and I am now even angrier that she was taken so soon because I have seen, in person, what wonderful parents Paul and Joany are and what love they have to give to their beautiful daughter. They should still be giving her that love!! I just hope that they realize what a lasting impression they made on us and that we will always treasure the day we got to spend with them. They are amazing people who have been dealt a horrible blow in life. But I truly believe that Carly is shining through them more than they even realize. Thank you so much Joany and Paul for sharing this day with us. I don't think you have a clue as to how special it was to us!!





Paul warming up to Ella and Zoey at lunch





The Mamas, Heather, Joany and Myself


Ella getting ready for her adventurous afternoon






Ella and Zoey....LOVE these two girls





Paul and the girls






The whole group....what a special day we had!!





Ella saw a gopher pop its head up and waited at least 5 minutes



for it to come back





Ella and Paul waiting for that gopher





Still waiting.......





Now they have moved on to a snake :(




Ella is VERY interested in it.





Ewwwww!!!





The picture that makes me cry every time.....Paul and Zoey



just hung out here for quite some time!!






Ella at the end of her very adventurous day....she needed



a complete clothing change!!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Ella's Birthday Party (and lots of other goodies)

Oh what a fun, whirlwind weekend we had!! Ella's party was all I hoped it would be. It was so amazing to have all of these wonderful families together in one place. And what fun it was to stand back and see people meet for the first time who have only known each other online. There is an instant connection that can't be explained between us all. I mean, how often do you see people flying hundreds of miles to visit someone they have never met....and even stay in their house!! Stephanie and Faith and Jennifer and Abby (no blog) took a gamble on us and came for a visit. And what fun it was!! That was the original impetus for planning Ella's party and then it just grew from there. Next Cammie and Addy made plans to come out for Spring break and to stay with Heather and Zoey. Then Lacey and her family decided to make the trip from Utah. As chance would have it, Bethany and her friend Linda were out here at the same time for a conference and then so many of our Southern California friends who are friends with all of these out-of-staters were able to join us. It was awesome!!! But I do have a few regrets. I feel like I hardly got to spend any quality time talking with anyone. Just a few chats here and there, but I guess that is to be expected when you are the host. I hope no one takes it personally. My other regret is that I didn't get any pictures of all of us Moms or of the Moms holding their cuties. Oh well....can't change that now. In lieu of gifts (although some of you didn't listen :) we raised some money for Lera instead. I am happy to report that we got over $250 in cash the day of the party and I know that in addition, a few people donated directly to Lera's website so hopefully we made a little difference. Although, rumor has it that Lera is going to be getting a large donation and therefore may be fully funded. Once that is confirmed, we will choose another family to donate our money to if Lera's family no longer needs it. How awesome would that be.

The day after Ella's party, Stephanie, Jen and I took our 3 girls on an adventure to Los Angeles. I say adventure because it was literally raining cats and dogs the whole way there and back. But it was worth it because we met up with Heather, Cammie, Addy and Zoey at the Hard Rock Cafe in Universal Studios. It was wonderful to sit at a table with our 5 special girls and be so proud of each of them. After lunch, we did some typical tourist stuff like driving around the big homes of Beverly Hills and driving down Hollywood Blvd looking at the stars in the sidewalk. It was raining so hard and the little ones were either sleeping or crying so I just drove along and every once in a while Stephanie and Jen would jump out to take some photos. It was an exhausting day but definitely worth it. We had hoped to meet up with some other Ds moms for dinner that night but the kids weren't on board with that at all.

Ella wasn't really herself at her party, just not as social as usual. And then the next day when we drove to LA, she was a grumpy mess!! I think she cried almost the whole way home while we inched along in the pouring down rain. This is so unlike her and by Monday, we realized that it was because she was in the midst of getting a yucky cold. Bummer but thank goodness she wasn't a snotty mess at her party. (hope everyone wasn't exposed).

All of our guests are gone now :( and I guess we must get back to life. Tomorrow is Ella's IEP meeting for preschool. Hopefully it will go well. I am not going in looking for a fight. My view is that it is only preschool and my main goals are for her to get some regular socializing with her peers and to start learning how to follow rules in the classroom. I know they will be working with her on some of her therapies and that is all I really ask for. Our Spring break is the following 2 weeks and Ella will turn 3 during that break so will most likely start school on April 11th....I can't believe it!!! She seems so small!!

Anyway, now for a ton of pictures from the party and various events afterward. Thanks again to all of you who were able to make it and to those of you who weren't, you were definitely missed!!


The first spot everyone plopped down to get to know each other

Pure Sweetness.....Jax and Addy


My daughter Emma and her friend, Megan


Ella and her new friend, River (he is a couple
months younger than her..I think she is small)

Ella and Sweet Pea


Ella and her favorite person (herself)

Our resident Ds model, Arina


One of many attempts at getting a picture of the kids....ha ha!!








Ella's cake

Ella and me with her cake

Trying to get her to put her fingers in the cake

She finally touched it but didn't know what to do with the
frosting....silly girl, she has so much to learn!!


Jax and Arina and their family came back to our house for a
bit after the party so we had the opportunity for more Arina pics!!

Sweet Tanner loving on Ella like he always does :)


At the Hard Rock....this pic kind of sums up Ella's day in LA!!
I am not sure if Zoey was annoyed by Ella's crying or showing signs
of her own oncoming cold.

Cammie, Addy and I....a picture we missed the last time we
got together!!

My favorite picture!!! All of us moms and our beautiful daughters!!

Ella, Faith and Abby wearing their matching Old Navy sweatshirts
from Stephanie...love it!!


Girls in pink!!!


Stephanie had these shirts made for us with a wonderful
Ds quote and a picture of daughter on it.


She also had these Tshirts made for our girls since they
were turning 1, 2 and 3 respectively...all within a 2 week period.
This one had better smiles but you can't see the numbers
on the shirts as well!!

So thankful to get to spend so much time with these
beautiful little angels!!

Ella and Faith also had these matching jammies...of
course another failed attempt at a cute picture...but whatever!!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Lookin Good in Green!!!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!



Tuesday, March 15, 2011

It's Almost My Birthday Party!!!




Hmmmm...me thinks that it is almost my 3rd birthday!! And ALL I am asking for is that you would be kind enough to give a few dollars (literally $5 or $10) to the family that is trying to save my friend Lera from life in an institution. You can donate directly here http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorhigbie It would make my day!!

We look forward to seeing soooo many of Ella's friends this weekend. The only thing that would make it better is if the rest of you could make it :)

Tuesday, March 8, 2011