Bloods, Crypts and Walmart

We have been enjoying a pretty low key weekend. It's been a bit on the humid side and not really too sunny. Your typical August weather for central Virginia. It's better to stay in for us on these days then to venture out. We do have vacation coming up starting next Saturday and we will be heading to Cape Cod. Hopefully it won't be as hot and the sun will be a participant in the weeks fun. Another reason I have been staying in is a sinus infection. I normally can count on one good cold a year. This is it. I am such a baby when I don't feel well. I really cannot believe I have a 6 year old daughter who endured weeks of chemotherapy without one complaint and I cannot even stand a little sinus pressure in my head. Ellie still amazes me each day and she took good care of me while I didn't feel well. I think the worst of the sinus infection is over but now my nose and face hurt from all the nose blowing... see... I am still complaining.

Yesterday Steve took the girls to see G-Force. Ellie wanted to see the little hamsters. She cracks up at the commercial each time they say in unison 'poop in his hand, poop in his hand!'. 6 year olds. I am actually pretty sure, Steve found that funny as well. Unfortunately, I think the hamster scene was the highlight for them and the movie didn't receive rave reviews. They stopped at Target on the way home to buy Nerf bullets for their guns. Yes, the girls have nerf guns. I think we got them 2 years ago but they haven't surfaced until last week when they decided to hold Kanye for ransom and needed a weapon. So yesterday we got to play gangland war. They had to wear glasses and were not allowed to shoot at faces. They are nerf bullets after all and probably couldn't do any damage but it's better to be safe then sorry. They had such fun. Emma really loved the shoot-outs and said she had a dream of being in the Army. (OK...mental note to self, take the guns away before daughter enlists)








Ellie does take her warfare very seriously. I couldn't get her to smile while her finger was on the trigger. We also have learned that Kanye (the cat) loves to be shot. He also enjoys picking up the bullets in his mouth and running off. We have to find him a little pair of protective goggles.

Last night we ventured out to Walmart, and yes that is quite the adventure here. Not one of my favorite stores to patronize but they had some really good back to college type stuff and we are in the middle of redoing Emma's room. Last week while Ellie and I were in Memphis, Steve and Emma painted her room a slate blue color. It looks really great. We went last night to get some new accessories and actually found some bedding she liked. It was really affordable, so I was fine with that. She is not into the Pottery Barn Kids stuff anymore which is good I suppose since it is pricey so I was thrilled when she found a comforter and pillow shams for $38.00. We stopped at Friendlys for butter crunch ice cream cones on the drive home and as the new comforter washed, we watched the X-Files movie. Can't complain about that. I certainly love my Mulder.

so... very...sleepy...

I have been a busy worker girl lately. Creating new designs for Tickle Bellies and for Script and Scribble (http://www.scriptandscribble.com/). I am trying my hand at melamine plates for Script and Scribble this holiday season. SS is the only company I design exclusive pieces for and Lourdes (founder of SS) twisted my arm to do the plates. We are doing a line of the plates using my fun face people. Here is a sneak peek. I think they will be a big hit!

Julie and I have also been busy all week filling orders and brainstorming new ideas to implement on the website as well as some marketing plans for growth. I am excited to have the green light with Ellie's recent cancer free scans to start building the company again. All of this designing and brainstorming has my mind in a puddle by the end of the work day though. One cocktail and I may just fall over.

Ellie's last day of summer school is tomorrow. They are having a big party. Any excuse for a party I guess. Summer school was just 4 hours a day, Monday thru Thursday for 3.5 weeks. But a festive gala at 10am is a wonderful idea and we can all celebrate the 4 weeks of summer that is left before school starts up again in September. Ellie did really enjoy attending summer school though and she learned a lot of math concepts that she needed to grasp. So I am proclaiming that summer school was a success!

I am beat tonight so I am going to let you enjoy this amazing video. I am sure you have all seen it by now. 20 something million people have watched it on youtube but as many times as I have seen it, it still gives me hope and encouragement that if we all just take a step back and breathe and put aside our differences, we can come together. And I so so so love the music and the group dancing just makes me smile from ear to ear. My favorite place on the video is Christmas Island - how cool is that!! A good pick me up, that's for sure.

I ♥ Faces - 'At the Beach'

I have recently been turned onto this site (I ♥ Faces )and many of the photos are really wonderful and inspiring. I thought I would join in the fun this week. This week the theme is 'at the beach'. SO... without further adieu, here is my contribution.

This is Ellie and Emma running for their lives from the Virginia Beach shoreline. They are pretending that the ocean is teeming with hungry sharks. Emma's face just cracks me up. What a drama queen. This was taken over the July 4th holiday.

Hostage Situation

Last night around 9:30 I was in my office organizing some work things when in burst two hooded thugs. They were brandishing a weapon and wore dark glasses. The littler one of the two had a Little Tykes pet carrier and inside was my sweet Kanye. He peered out from the slats and even offered up a paw. I just got a quick look and the little one said "that's enough of a look, we have your cat and you now have to pay!" The bigger one, the brains of the operation, had the weapon directed at my face and yelled "Give us one million dollars or you will never see your baby again!" In fear of my own life but not so much Kanye; he does after all, scratch my furniture and scale the tops of my window treatments, I wrote out a check for a million dollars.

After the two kidnappers had my money, they shot me and ran out the door laughing. I managed to survive and surveillance video was able to capture images of these two dangerous bandits. They seemed to be wearing a clever disguise of pajamas. The little one was sporting a Cinderella outfit and the other one some Hollister bottoms. They wore dark glasses and hats. If you should recognize either one of these individuals, do not attempt to make contact, they are very dangerous. Please just call the police and the task force that has been established. They are on the run and they still have Patty Hearst Kanye as a hostage.

Cancer Free!!

Ellie remains cancer free!! Thank you God! We had our 6 month post-chemo visit Thursday at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. It's hard to adequately describe the roller coaster ride feelings that these check-ups bring. You see with Ellie's type of cancer, there is very little medically they can do should she relapse. I know in my heart that God is fully, 100%, in control regarding our situation. It has been like that since that first night she awoke back in April 08 with a slight cry. The guidance, direction, peace and strength to endure everything we have and the way we have, has only been given to us by the grace of God. This I know and feel in my heart. I also know that Ellie does not belong to us and at any time, God can call her home. But really, doesn't that hold true for any one of us?

The MRI scans are every three months for the next three years. It is that scan, that one electronic piece of information, that holds our daughter's fate. I can honestly say that I hate the scans and wish we never had to return to St. Jude. Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful, on my knees grateful, for this hospital and all it has done for Ellie but part of me wishes we could cut that tie and just forget about cancer and it ever coming back. She fought her illness, followed the treatment plan and she survived and got better. That should be it, end of story, now go live your life without a worry or concern. Unfortunately, that's not the way it works with cancer.

I have followed three other children with the same type of brain cancer as Ellie. They were St. Jude patients and Dr. Gajjar was their doctor too. Two of the children relapsed and one is cured. The two that relapsed were basically sent home on hospice. One child has passed on to heaven and the other, she is a fighter. Her mother left the care of St Jude for a hospital in California and although, it is really the chemo that keeps her alive and she will not be cured, she is still here and her quality of life is pretty good. She is two years out from her relapse. While Ellie has her MRI, all of those kids go through my mind. I won't ever forget them and while I beg God for His mercy on my daughter, I thank Him for letting us know about these children. Life is better, more meaningful, knowing them and I am grateful. I also know to hand over the worry to God and to live one day at a time. The future is a mystery and I have to let it go and accept is as it comes. It's challenging to do at times but I do trust in God's plan, whatever it may be whether I like it or hate it, I trust Him.

Wednesday night as we settled in to our hotel room, I was nervous about the MRI. As Ellie watched I -Carly and snacked on some pizza, I asked her to pick four numbers starting with the number one. She picked 1543. I turned to that page in my Bible and do you know what was listed? 7 reasons why God DOES NOT want us to worry. A load of bricks was removed from my shoulders and I thanked Him for making it clear to me. The signs He has provided us with during our journey have been so clear and I thank Him for leaving no room for doubt. I guess I need that 'in your face' type of message to really get it sometimes.

Steve, Emma, Ellie and I are so relieved and happy that the cancer is gone and has not returned. Each check-up brings us closer to being fully cured in the eyes of the doctors. One day at a time and by the grace of God.

Ellie poses alongside her image on the new St. Jude display at the Memphis airport.

close-up version. This photo was an outtake from the 'Ellie Vs. The Brain Tumor' ad last year. That is why she looks so serious.

Weekend Fun!

We had a very busy but fun weekend. Saturday Ellie went to a birthday party at the Party Fairy Place. It's a retail storefront in town that is all things princesses. The Fairy Godmother was there and she hosted the party. This woman was the perfect Fairy Godmother. She was so kind and reassuring and what a fabulous story teller. There were 12 six year old girls and they were all mesmerized by the tales of fairies and their magic and of the land they were going to soon visit. I was planning on going a few doors down to get a pedicure during the party, but I too was enthralled by the stories so I stayed to experience it all. I brought my camera but forgot my camera card (doh!) so I have no photos. Along with transporting the girls to fairy land, the Fairy Godmother took photos, so I will see them when the birthday girls mom gets them back. Each girl donned a fairy outfit, drank special tea, had their nails painted with sparkles, had candy and cupcakes and made jewelry. All the while surrounded by mushrooms, fairies, unicorns, and a very fun land of imagination. I think Ellie would like to have her party there. She turns 7 in September.

Saturday night we headed to our neighborhood pool for an after hours pool party. It was good to connect with neighbors. I am usually so busy during the week that I don't venture down to the pool too often so I don't get to socialize too much so I enjoy when there are events on the weekends. We have 3 or 4 of these parties each season. I think we will miss the next one in August as we will be on vacation. The girls love to swim at night and the adults can socialize and have a cocktail or two. Definitely a fun time.

Yesterday we headed to Northern Virginia to see Steve's brother Michael and his wife Joann. We always enjoy visiting with them and we were happy to see my niece Meghan make it too. We ate, played hopscotch, put puzzles together, created some serious driveway art and talked about some current events.

Ellie works her hopscotch magic!

Meghan wishes the Olympics would consider hopscotch a sport

Emma and Abby soaking up the rays

After our fun visit we headed here:

I love the Container Store and I always try to go when we are in the area. So many ideas, so many ways to organize, so many colors...love it!! I also like to get my IKEA fix in as well but the traffic was horrid so I think I will plan to stop on our way back from vacation in August or make a special weekday trip. It's a 2 hour drive normally but with summer traffic on I-95 that can really be 3 hours. Ellie and I shopped while Steve and Emma hung back in the van and relaxed. We bought lots of cool stuff. I did have my camera card on this trip so here is all the Container Store fun.

so many ways to organize. I am always so inspired.

Emma is in the market for a new desk chair, she has requested one with wheels.
Ellie test drove the red one and gives her approval.

Orange is the new "it" color. It was everywhere.

zebra pattern bags for storage. How cool!

lots of little boxes in lots of fun colors

we ended our day by going next door for a happy meal :)

Goodbye, Adios, Ciao, Au Revoir!

I am so glad this week in winding down to an end. Although, it doesn't seem to be ending on a quiet note. I am listening to the weather update and we are in for some severe thunderstorms in about an hour. There is currently a tornado warning for counties east of here but hopefully we won't have that type of craziness around here. Living in Virginia is the first time we have lived without a basement. Our go to tornado worthy room is our central bathroom located on the first floor. Once the girls, 5 cats and a dog are in there, there is no room for mom or dad. Our immediate neighbor does have a basement so perhaps there would be time to make a mad dash over there leaving the animals in the bathroom. I don't think Tucker would enjoy that too much though. Here's to a little lightening and some rumbles and that's it. The rain would be nice to cool things off. It's been hot.

So this week was a bit brutal. Wendy's wake and funeral were Monday and Tuesday of this week. So. Very. Emotional. I had a personal release of tears that probably needed to fall for a while. I haven't had a good cry in months and with all that we have been through the last year and a half, I am sure that a good part of those tears were due to our own journey. Happy tears, sad tears, tears of anger, tears of blessings. The celebration of life service was really wonderful and Wendy's eulogy was inspiring and a true testimony to her life. It made me think of when my time here ends, what would people say about me and the life I led and the things I have accomplished. Made me realize there was a lot still to do. Of course, Jesus was the main focus of the day and through Him we can endure this pain and to let the tears come and feel all the emotions but while we do this we need to continue to worship the Lord and what He has done for us and how because of Him Wendy lives on. All very true. Steve was an honorary pall bearer as were some of our other neighbors and the letter I wrote regarding what Wendy meant to me was read. I was honored to have Mike, my neighbor and Wendy's brother-in-law, read my words to the congregation. I know Wendy would have liked it. I am going to miss her.

Ellie finished another week of summer school. Today she met with her reading specialist. They meet every Friday and this was our second session. I know there will be roadblocks in the future regarding Ellie's education. She has had so much damaging radiation to her brain and spine. She has received a life time dose of radiation. There will most likely never be a time when she can have radiation therapy again should the need arise. The radiation, although much more reformed from years past, is still harmful to her brain. She will definitely have cognitive loss. It's all a big trade off. Cancer forces you to make decisions that inevitably will take away some quality of life. Life. Ellie is still alive. The trade off for radiation and chemotherapy is our daughter's life. So she may not be going to Harvard and pursuing a career as a astrophysicist, that's OK. She will find her way. We will continue to bring in specialists and give her the additional boost of educational guidance that she needs. She is on target right now for her age group but I know the future will be challenging. She has a fabulous memory and can remember things I have long forgotten and she picks up the lyrics to songs in a flash. I know she can do it. I will continue to pray as well, I know God can help her through the challenges she may face in the future.

I haven't shared too many photos of Kanye lately. He is still crazy but calming down just a smidge. He is growing up and getting bigger. He still attacks toes from under the bed, climbs into the refrigerator, scales my window treatments and is afraid of Tucker but he is starting to purr more and snuggle. He does love to wrestle with the other cats though. It's really relentless and I think they all end up running away from him at some point. It's great fun for us to watch though.

Kanye lying on my office desk in my studio this morning.