WOW!!!!
today i have been grinning from ear to ear. I was busy all week CLEANING CLEANING CLEANING (and nope, my house is STILL less than perfect)....for my COLLEGE ROOMMATE and her family visiting from South Carolina.
i have not seen Robyn in 4 years (while i was prego with Emery) and they were super duper generous by giving us an AMAZING deal on their minivan (so we would have room for 3 kids).....mind you, they have FIVE and needed to upgrade to a Suburban.
We have been through the ringers apart .....she has Lyme disease....my namesake and their youngest Meredith had open heart surgery ....Cros had cancer....I had a baby with Crazy allergies....one of her twins has Lyme disease....yea, CRAZINESS.....they have moved twice since we seen each other....and well, the list goes on....
HOWEVER, it seems like we were JUST in Williamsburg, VA last year....we picked up RIGHT where we left off (just a few gray hairs, a few more kids, a few more lbs (me) or less (her) and husbands too boot! i just love her to pieces....maybe it was Physical Chemistry lab that cemented our friendship....or her putting up with my "being mer in college' self...she earned crowns in heaven for that. but, mostly i believe it is our relationship with Jesus that has kept us close and praying for one another THRU all the craziness in our life! ; )
I treasure her. I LOVE her kids and I hardly know them....but seeing her oldest twins and Brendley walking around the block tonight warmed my heart. Seeing Eli and Cros playing the wii like they have known one another forever made me smile. To see Caroline hanging out in our living room brightened my night and seeing meredith and emery being SO VERY SIMILAR (see last post)....just made me GRIN from ear to ear over and over and over!
having a house full of 12 people.....priceless.
best. gift. ever.
yea, we may not be doing much with our Chemistry degrees from William and Mary that we studied and studied and studied for....but it was SO worth it for our friendship to become what it is today!
Now, we just need to start planning our trip to South Carolina soon~~~~
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Life with Emery
THIS little bundle is full of FIRE (could be a bit of the redhead in her) or maybe just since she is #3?~ Who knows? I attribute MOST of her craziness to being toted around while an infant to all of Crosby's crap (yes, i can now call it crap)..... She was SO amazing...slept great, traveled amazingly well, went to anyone (minus poor Jamie E who came to help at the hospital in Cincy ), dealt with hanging out in a car seat for hours and traveling up and down hospital halls and 75 N and S too often. SO....we all KNEW that one day she might be.....
- well- Emery! CRAZY, fun, determined to wear BOOTS everywhere, opinionated, lives life on the edge, allergic to EVERYTHING (thus carries an epi-pen at all times), keeps everyone in line, runs EVERYWHERE, loves to dance hip-hop and is pretty good (must be the Philly in her), Bounces like Tigger and well, we continue to PRAY that she would use her powers for good and not evil ; )
Right now she is SPRINTING through the house to put on PJ outfit #3! hysterical!
.here is a glimpse into my diva rocker Emery!
Yes....she needs to have on boots....cowboy, rain or whatever. Yes, usually she is wearing a skirt or dress...and usually she is getting into "something"..... but that is what makes this curly haired wonder- well....WONDERFUL!!!!
So thankful that she is in our life. She was our 3rd and last c-section baby : ) She spent several LONG days in the NICU as the largest babe in there (born our smallest child at 8lbs 11oz)....she was 2 months old when Cros was diagnosed.....after amazing Speech Therapy with sweet Dana at First Steps she finally began speaking around 2 1/2yrs...and THANKFULLY was healed from her kidney bladder reflux after taking Bactrim since she was 1 yr old.......and well....we LOVE LOVE LOVE her to pieces. Maybe she reminds me a bit of me? ( i do LOVE shoes) who knows! She usually walks around with bruised knees from jumping off of chairs or sofas or beds. She also has a fair share of bruises on her head from bumping into something that is head level (shelves, chairs, countertops, etc)....but what a JOY she is!
love ya Em...please don't ever change (well....feel free to grow out of your allergies of course!)
- well- Emery! CRAZY, fun, determined to wear BOOTS everywhere, opinionated, lives life on the edge, allergic to EVERYTHING (thus carries an epi-pen at all times), keeps everyone in line, runs EVERYWHERE, loves to dance hip-hop and is pretty good (must be the Philly in her), Bounces like Tigger and well, we continue to PRAY that she would use her powers for good and not evil ; )
Right now she is SPRINTING through the house to put on PJ outfit #3! hysterical!
Yes....she needs to have on boots....cowboy, rain or whatever. Yes, usually she is wearing a skirt or dress...and usually she is getting into "something"..... but that is what makes this curly haired wonder- well....WONDERFUL!!!!
So thankful that she is in our life. She was our 3rd and last c-section baby : ) She spent several LONG days in the NICU as the largest babe in there (born our smallest child at 8lbs 11oz)....she was 2 months old when Cros was diagnosed.....after amazing Speech Therapy with sweet Dana at First Steps she finally began speaking around 2 1/2yrs...and THANKFULLY was healed from her kidney bladder reflux after taking Bactrim since she was 1 yr old.......and well....we LOVE LOVE LOVE her to pieces. Maybe she reminds me a bit of me? ( i do LOVE shoes) who knows! She usually walks around with bruised knees from jumping off of chairs or sofas or beds. She also has a fair share of bruises on her head from bumping into something that is head level (shelves, chairs, countertops, etc)....but what a JOY she is!
love ya Em...please don't ever change (well....feel free to grow out of your allergies of course!)
Sunday, March 13, 2011
SCANXIETY
well, it is A LOT easier to post about Crosby's scans - AFTER the good report....but even though we get farther and farther away from the entire CHEMO journey...it is never far from the mind
Cros had scans last Tuesday. The usual drill. Mama getting all teary eyed and falling asleep in his room praying for him and playing with his shaun white curly hair. setting the alarm EARLY so we don't oversleep *even if mama doesn't really sleep* and Bret whisking Bren to school early with Cros NOT jumping out in the drop off lane since they are off to UK. I try to get ready and get our fashionista Em ready for Tuesday preschool *so thankful his scans are on the day she HAS preschool*.
OF COURSE, my little 3 yr old opinionated dresser and lover of dresses had trouble figuring out WHAT she was wearing on Tuesday....MAMA was nearly going crazy...it is hard enough getting HER to school on time thinking of her lil guy getting sedated...but wanting to make sure she was THERE when he awoke. Yes, Bret is the parent of choice by all parties for MRI sedation. mama can't take the whirring machines, the kicking during the blood access or the magic milk drinking....SO that is Daddy's job! ; )
However, this morning it was worse. Cros is now able to understand about scans and was excited he got to "play his ds" all day. hmmmmm what is wrong with this picture?! He also gets excited about breakfast at McDonalds *since he knows he can't eat or drink until AFTER scans". thus, you see the scans - hurry and wake up- drink some juice- carry to car- drive quickly thru campus to get to McD's before 1030 RUSH. Since his scans were at 8am and they take about 45minutes...then wakeup....we usually cut it close *especially since things are NEVER on time*.
SO....mama was on edge....eldest child remarks how she wishes she could have McD's for breakfast while chomping on a donut and somehow murmurs "no fair" in the midst. Yep, i about freaked...."NO FAIR????? yea, no fair Cros had CANCER!!!!"....but I think i kept that in my head......
SO en route to drop off Em at Building Blocks *late of course*....she blurts out "when i get cancer can i get McDonalds Breakfast"????
oh yes, crazy-ville for sure.
needless to say after dropping her off in her classroom i bee-lined to my mini-van and proceeded to CRY all the way down Winchester Rd. to the hospital. why did i think makeup was a good idea today????
ANYWAY....remarkedly i arrived, puffy eyes and all, minutes before they called us back.....
Cros always makes me get weepy with things stuck to his chest, monitors beeping and crap shoved up his nose.....
But, he woke up grumpy, gulped down his juice and we carted our sleepy boy to the car and made it for breakfast by 10:22am ; ) nice. He DEVOURED 3 hotcakes and sausage patty plus a juice in minutes and we were back at clinic by 11am.
Of course, there are too many stinkin kids in the Oncology Clinic....one is too many...so when ALL the rooms are booked...never any fun. CANCER DOES SUCK. So, as old pro's, we got our chest xray orders and headed there....Cros had on a skully cap with his curls spilling out and ALL the ladies in xray love it! He did GREAT and we were back upstiars to play ds and wait for Dr. R. If you read my caringbridge site you will know he FREAKED ME OUT this time around. I will spare the details - but the radiologist did not read his scan tuesday (GRRRRRRRRRR) and one crazy mama later we found out Wednesday morning ALL IS WElL!!!!!
super duper thankful!!!! yes, i cried tears of JOY while Emery kept telling me to "calm down". funny now.
anyway, poor Dr. R apologized to Bret two times that he was not sensitive to my nerves...but the funny thing was, at Academic Team Challenge on Saturday...with 1900 Fayette COunty school kids at the local HS, and Bret and I switching cars and kids.....Emery and I run into Dr. R in a hallway in the HS! We were the ONLY people in THAT HALLWAY. poor guy, he probably wished he could RUN AWAY from crazy mom ; ) Yes, poor Romanian Oncologist- he apologized again. I felt bad...but he was super nice and well, thankfully Crosby is STILL CANCER FREE and praying he will ALWAYS be. Mama is still crazy and will probably always be, because he is my boy. our miracle. ; )
SO....back to Tuesday. the good dr. and bret and I were counting up his chart and it looks like we are beginning year FOUR off treatment. he ended 2/28/08 and here we are in march of 2011. So, from what we can tell....we are in year four and scans are SIX months apart. scarey but good. *unless my millions of readers calculate that differently of course -let me know*
SO....scans good. : ) praises abounding : ) thankful for much.
i may just post on my fashionista 3 yr old next.....i know figured out where she gets her crazy-ness from......
Cros had scans last Tuesday. The usual drill. Mama getting all teary eyed and falling asleep in his room praying for him and playing with his shaun white curly hair. setting the alarm EARLY so we don't oversleep *even if mama doesn't really sleep* and Bret whisking Bren to school early with Cros NOT jumping out in the drop off lane since they are off to UK. I try to get ready and get our fashionista Em ready for Tuesday preschool *so thankful his scans are on the day she HAS preschool*.
OF COURSE, my little 3 yr old opinionated dresser and lover of dresses had trouble figuring out WHAT she was wearing on Tuesday....MAMA was nearly going crazy...it is hard enough getting HER to school on time thinking of her lil guy getting sedated...but wanting to make sure she was THERE when he awoke. Yes, Bret is the parent of choice by all parties for MRI sedation. mama can't take the whirring machines, the kicking during the blood access or the magic milk drinking....SO that is Daddy's job! ; )
However, this morning it was worse. Cros is now able to understand about scans and was excited he got to "play his ds" all day. hmmmmm what is wrong with this picture?! He also gets excited about breakfast at McDonalds *since he knows he can't eat or drink until AFTER scans". thus, you see the scans - hurry and wake up- drink some juice- carry to car- drive quickly thru campus to get to McD's before 1030 RUSH. Since his scans were at 8am and they take about 45minutes...then wakeup....we usually cut it close *especially since things are NEVER on time*.
SO....mama was on edge....eldest child remarks how she wishes she could have McD's for breakfast while chomping on a donut and somehow murmurs "no fair" in the midst. Yep, i about freaked...."NO FAIR????? yea, no fair Cros had CANCER!!!!"....but I think i kept that in my head......
SO en route to drop off Em at Building Blocks *late of course*....she blurts out "when i get cancer can i get McDonalds Breakfast"????
oh yes, crazy-ville for sure.
needless to say after dropping her off in her classroom i bee-lined to my mini-van and proceeded to CRY all the way down Winchester Rd. to the hospital. why did i think makeup was a good idea today????
ANYWAY....remarkedly i arrived, puffy eyes and all, minutes before they called us back.....
Cros always makes me get weepy with things stuck to his chest, monitors beeping and crap shoved up his nose.....
But, he woke up grumpy, gulped down his juice and we carted our sleepy boy to the car and made it for breakfast by 10:22am ; ) nice. He DEVOURED 3 hotcakes and sausage patty plus a juice in minutes and we were back at clinic by 11am.
Of course, there are too many stinkin kids in the Oncology Clinic....one is too many...so when ALL the rooms are booked...never any fun. CANCER DOES SUCK. So, as old pro's, we got our chest xray orders and headed there....Cros had on a skully cap with his curls spilling out and ALL the ladies in xray love it! He did GREAT and we were back upstiars to play ds and wait for Dr. R. If you read my caringbridge site you will know he FREAKED ME OUT this time around. I will spare the details - but the radiologist did not read his scan tuesday (GRRRRRRRRRR) and one crazy mama later we found out Wednesday morning ALL IS WElL!!!!!
super duper thankful!!!! yes, i cried tears of JOY while Emery kept telling me to "calm down". funny now.
anyway, poor Dr. R apologized to Bret two times that he was not sensitive to my nerves...but the funny thing was, at Academic Team Challenge on Saturday...with 1900 Fayette COunty school kids at the local HS, and Bret and I switching cars and kids.....Emery and I run into Dr. R in a hallway in the HS! We were the ONLY people in THAT HALLWAY. poor guy, he probably wished he could RUN AWAY from crazy mom ; ) Yes, poor Romanian Oncologist- he apologized again. I felt bad...but he was super nice and well, thankfully Crosby is STILL CANCER FREE and praying he will ALWAYS be. Mama is still crazy and will probably always be, because he is my boy. our miracle. ; )
SO....back to Tuesday. the good dr. and bret and I were counting up his chart and it looks like we are beginning year FOUR off treatment. he ended 2/28/08 and here we are in march of 2011. So, from what we can tell....we are in year four and scans are SIX months apart. scarey but good. *unless my millions of readers calculate that differently of course -let me know*
SO....scans good. : ) praises abounding : ) thankful for much.
i may just post on my fashionista 3 yr old next.....i know figured out where she gets her crazy-ness from......
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