Life

Lately our lives have been filled with... uh... well... uh... stuff! I don't feel like I've had much down time, yet I couldn't really think of much to journal about. I've been working really hard at usable food storage. A solid 3 month supply is not so if you don't replenish! (Funny how that works.) I've been remembering to set the alarm on my phone so I don't miss Aaron's speech therapy on Mondays and Thursdays (this only happened 2 maybe 3 times max.), or his T-ball(never missed but thank goodness for that set alarm, Livi's chemo treatment, music class Thursday morning after speech, playgroup on Tuesdays, library storytime on Wednesdays, my YW/mutual, food storage class, volleyball Tuesday night, and... PTA! Whew, I'm glad summer is here and I don't even have kids in "school" yet! It's been really fun to be so involved. It makes time fly and the days seem not as hot. Every evening from 5:30 on we have enjoyed riding our bikes or playing outside. Being up a little closer to the mountains than the valley affords us great breezes in the evenings. The last couple of weeks I've been reminded of Hawaii weather, in the evening. It's been very nice to go on walks to nearby parks or just sit in the driveway and watch the kids play. We have also been able to enjoy, once again, having such great neighbors. While no one could ever replace our "Madera Family", it's nice to have the Bustillos' family across the path. They have 2 children 12 and 8, the older being a boy, that our kids adore. Every day, if Aaron isn't asking for food, he's asking to play with Jared. And Livi and Trinity play together for hours. Terry, mom, told me the other day that Jared said, "Mom, Aaron's my best friend, and he's only 3!" Terry "watched" the kids while Bill and I went for a little run last night. I told Bill, "Not a day goes by that I'm not thankful for where we live and the people we've met." We both feel so fortunate to have had the neighbors we've had since day one of living in Las Vegas. Livi and I often talk about California and our Sacramento home. Today she said, "Mom, I miss our Sacramento house, but Las Vegas is beautiful." I'm so glad that we have found beauty here. It is anywhere and everywhere. It's what you see in your heart. Beauty, I think, is found where there is love.

Note worthy quotes

Aaron is at that fun age of funny sayings. He's really enjoying being understood more and is talking up a storm. Everyday he makes us laugh at least once a day with the quirky things he says. I need to be better at writing them down but here are the ones I remember. And yes, that is in fact his Spidey Man underwear on his head. He came to show me saying, "Look at me!"

 

"Trust me." -he used to say this to me whenever he wanted to try something (ie. throw his                    bouncy  ball up to touch the ceiling).

"It's okay. Accidents happen" -whenever the something he tried didn't quite go as planned (ie.              the bouncy ball hit my bathroom mirror and knocked all the stuff off the counter).

"It's gonna take forever. (or) That's a long time."  -when I ask him to do something (ie. make his                bed, clean his room).

"When' you going ' be done?" -when I'm doing something, usually but not always, to him (ie.                  brushing his teeth, combing his hair).

"Me not happy any you guys!" -this he says as he folds his arms sternly across his chest, bows          and turns his head, pouts his lip, furrows his brow, and glares at you from a sideways stare.     It's actually the most dramatic, and our favorite!

Olivia- "Aaron stop _____________(hitting, bugging, following) me."

Aaron- "It's my job to ______________(hit, bug, follow) people."

Yesterday I caught Aaron opening the car door. 

      Me- "Aaron what are you doing?"

      Aaron- "Going somewhere."

      Me- "Where are you going?"

      Aaron-  very matter-of-factly "I going t' get a Slurpee."

I am so glad for a son that keeps me smiling. For the first 6 months of life when all he did was cry, what a great turnout. Just now, I had to take a break to help him in the bathroom. He's been potty trained for quite some time now, 5+ months. As I was helping him get his shorts back on he says, "Yeah! No accidents! Yeah! I get candy! I GET CAAANDYYYY!" As he's doing a little dance, pumping his fists in the air.

The other day at Costco he had me in a head-lock trying to get me to look at something he had seen. "See mom, see? Look. Over there." As he's squeezing my face between the palms of his hands and twisting my head.

I love my little boy who asks me to sing him "Teach Me to Walk in the Light", and my new favorite. "Sing me the song when I was a baby." (I am like a Star.) As I start to sing he scrunches up his nose in an attempt to close his eyes, and makes little whimpering noises. 

We love you Aaron.

Happy Anniversary "Olivia the Brave"

Today marks one year from when Livi was diagnosed with ALL, more commonly known as leukemia, and even more well known as cancer. (That's still a word I have problems with. I mentioned when this all started that it was difficult to say my daughter had cancer because it was like admitting something was very wrong. She's doing great and it's still hard to say.)

Well, I wanted this to be a look back at the year and all the things she's been through, and fought, and endured, but as I look back all I can do is cry, and if you want to do the same... all the posts are still there. The thing that gets to me the most is the support we received. I look at what was only a few short weeks of intense scariness and replay in my mind the intense friendships and love that we developed with the people around us. The visitors at the hospitals, the prayers the blessings, the meals, the God sent angels to take care of our baby so that we could be with his sister... I owe all of you so much. And I miss all of you so much. (Distance is a funny thing.) 

On Monday (because Bill was going to be out of town) we went out to dinner to celebrate. Of course, we went to Red Robin. We toasted Olivia and her braveness and strength. "What about me?" Aaron asked. So we toasted to Aaron's braveness and love. Bill and I were talking about it... it is so hard to believe that it's only been a year. It feels like so long ago that our world fell apart. That we heard what I had been pushing the doctors on for weeks. I vividly remember speaking to Nikki, my sister-in-law, and saying, "If it's leukemia it's leukemia. Just tell us and we'll get on with it." That morning, May 13th, Dr. B. had come in to Livi's hospital room sat with us for a bit and kissed her forehead on the way out. I knew then. Later that night after all the tests had been finalized he gave us the diagnosis. It was all I could do to not tear that room apart. My "sweet princess".

These first 4 photos were taken just weeks before diagnosis. (When she wasn't in pain.)

The rest of the photos are in chronological order starting with Monday, May 12, 2008

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

January '09

February

March

April

May

One year later and look at her! Look at us! Olivia, you are truly so BRAVE, and our family is still STRONG! Not a single day goes by that I don't thank my Heavenly Father for the choicest blessings in my life.

Saturday, May 9, 2009