Not My Idea of Fun

This is what "some people" think is fun to do on a Saturday afternoon. A neighbor of ours found a Mojave Rattlesnake and brought it over so The Chief could skin it. Here's the kicker...it is the most deadly venomous snake in North America! No anti-venom is available...instant death!! Yes, good times.

The Chief's B-day!

Happy Birthday Honey! You are Alexa's and my hero.
We appreciate all you do for our family. You are Alexa's everything, her daddy can do no wrong!

Thanks for being a great husband. You juggle many roles, wear many hats but will always be my BFF. You make our lives complete, challenging at times ; ) and never boring! Love ya!

Homework

Now that Alexa is a reader she gets to bring home her Reading Folder every other night from school to practice her sight words and her reading words. She loves to read but getting her to sit down and do her homework can sometimes be a challenge. I said to the Chief "If this is any indication of what homework time will be like for the next 12 years we are in big trouble." She is excited though and is doing a great job! One of her favorite things to read is the newspaper section which tells the weather report. She will read it while she is eating breakfast and tell me the weather forcast for the week. : )

Back to School

Alexa was so excited to go back to school this morning. We are so happy that she loves school!


I just love her smile!

We always take photos in the front of our house on the first day. We were running sort of late so we didn't have time to set up the tripod and get all three of us.

The look!

Alexa with one of her teachers, Ms. Renee.

Straight to it! She couldn't get rid of us fast enough. Here she is with one of her friends and they got right to work. : )

~Happy days ahead!~

As much as I love summer, I am so glad that school is about to start. This has undoubtedly been the worst summer and I will happily bid it farewell. Don't get me wrong, there have been some fun times but it was not the stress free, lounge by the pool sort of few months. Alexa will be starting the school year on Monday and will be going 5 days a week this year. She is really excited to get back to her routine and see her friends and teachers. At the very end of the last school year she learned to read so I cannot wait to see her progress this year. I think this year will be different for her in so many ways. She is comfortable there now and more confident. I think we will really see her blossom this year. I will treasure her last year of preschool before "real" school starts. I am going to miss her tremendously as we are pretty much attached at the hip but I am not going to lie....I am ready for some "me" time. I have had only about 20 hours of that this summer and I have a ton of projects, goals, and changes that I want to tackle. I am ready to get back to walking my mountain hills every morning, delve into some sewing, complete some house projects, read some books, and maybe sell some more stuff on Eb*y. I know that I am not the only mom feeling this way, I envision mom's everywhere getting in the car after drop off or bus pick up and giving a little giggle of joy or even a "yahoo!" So, let's all take some time for ourselves so we can be the best for our families and kids. I think we deserve it!!! : )

~Just what we needed~

This week we had a much needed visit from my folks. Because I had to cancel our trip out to Chicago and they weren't going to wait another 3 months to see Alexa they made the trip out. The timing was perfect as the stress of everything going on with Georgie was about to whoop my behind. We have had quite a past two weeks with her. She finally went into remission from the Lymphoma and we were so excited only to rush two days later to the Opthamalogist to find out we needed to have her right eye removed, immediately or she would have to be put down. Needless to say it was intensely stressful day and few days to follow. So, when my folks said they were coming out it was a blessing. They actually have a house in our neighborhood so Alexa is able to stay at their house and we go back and forth with ease. It was a much needed break for me to have a few hours to myself and continue giving Georgie the attention she needed.

We had lots of fun too. On Wednesday it was my mom's birthday and we celebrated buy going out to lunch then coming back to our house for cake. Alexa also enjoyed hours of playing with her Papa and as usual she had endless and boundless energy which both my folks keep up with just fine, although I think they slept pretty well at night! We also enjoyed the pool and went out for barbecue. It was a really nice visit for everyone and should get us all through to October when they come out for the whole winter. Thanks Mom and Dad for making the trip, all three of us really appreciate you both and love you!!

Georgie Update

First I would like to thank everyone who has been praying for Georgie. It really has brought me comfort and hope. : )

Here is Georgie at the Oncologist today before her first chemo treatment ( sorry quality is cruddy, I took it on my BB). She was in really good spirits, actually the most peppy I have seen her all week. She was totally pimping for treats and I think she went home with about 7 in her tummy. Whatever makes her happy! Her eyesight has improved but her right eye has a lot of blood in in caused by the Lymphoma, so we are back to the Opthamologist tomorrow morning to have that looked at again.

I will continue her chemo at home for the next 3 days, then we are back again next Wednesday for another round. The plan is to do this for 12 weeks. She will go into remission ( hopefully) soon and should be back to her old self in no time. She has maintained her weight, thanks to some new things in her diet like cottage cheese and sardines, although she has lost a lot of muscle. I plan on adding flax oil, kelp and some other goodies to help her along the chemo road.

The Chief has been a dear throughout this. I asked him today if I should go back to work once Alexa is back in school to help pay for this ( it's that much!). He said no, not to worry about it. I told him I will cut back on all spending and be as thrifty as I can be, which I'm actually good at. My biggest worry is that we will pay all this money and she will only live 6 months. Well, that is my worry anyway, but I will feel guilty about it from a financial standpoint if that happens. It is so hard to put a price on someone you love. We want to do everything we can. I am not ready to say good bye to her. Is that selfish?

Today was the day Alexa and I were supposed to fly to Chicago to spend 10 days with my folks. Of course that had to be canceled. There was no way the Chief could handle all of this on his own and I could not bear to be away from her during this difficult time. So, I had to break the news to Alexa last week and she burst into tears which made me feel horrible. I told her that sometimes responsibilities in families cause you to make hard decisions. All of us were disappointed on all ends but I guess life does that to you sometimes.

So, for now I count my blessings each day for my child's health, my husband's, my own and my family's. I am enjoying every moment with my sweet Georgie and trying to be strong. I said to myself tonight after all the pets were fed, Alexa was bathed, the house was straightened up, and it was finally quiet...."Hey, I should really take care of myself too and go get a massage". Then I laughed and thought, "Hey great idea but you can't even afford it now!" So, I think I'll settle for a hot shower!

Need Prayers Please

My sweet sweet Georgie...how can I find the words to write this? Yesterday you were diagnosed with Lymphoma and we need some prayers. I believe with all my heart that they help so if you are reading this, please just say a little prayer for Georgie to get better.

Her diagnoses was a shock but not a total surprise to me. Georgie came into my life 10 years ago, right before I met the Chief. I was single and it was was me and Georgie against the world. She has been the most loyal loving dog I have ever had. She is a Schnoodle and when I first laid eyes on her she was just about the ugliest thing I had ever seen. It was love at first site. Georgie loves to swim and play Frisbee. She has been my companion and loyal friend. Anyone who knows me, knows of the bond I have with her. I have always been super instinctive with her and usually know the first sign when something is not right. About 4 months ago I just knew something was amiss. I would hold Georgie and she would lay her head on my shoulder and I just knew she was telling me something. I remember calling my mom and telling her that I was so sad because I just knew something was not right with Georgie. Not long after that she developed a sore leg on one of our walks. I ended up taking her to the vet when it did not improve and from that visit the vet talked to us about getting her teeth cleaned. We did this ( they needed it) and also had two benign growths taken off her rear leg. We also had an extensive geriatric blood panel done and everything came back normal. So, I thought " Great, she's in good health, her teeth are clean, we are set for another great 10 years!" Well, here we are 2 months later and yesterday I noticed that she was having trouble seeing and was bumping into things. I immediately took her into the vet and they said she has Glaucoma in one eye and then came the bomb of cancer. Her lymph nodes are enlarged and she has lymphoma.

We are set to take her to the Oncologist on Thursday to start her chemotherapy. She started Prednisone tonight to start shrinking the cancer. We need your prayers so she will go into remission. Realistically we are looking at extending her life by a year at most. I am devastated to say the least. I cannot even say I am hopeful at this point because I still do not have all the details of how bad this is. I will fight tooth and nail to give her extra quality time with our family. She has been such a huge part of my life and I cannot imagine my life without her. Even as I write this I am crying. I am crushed and so sad. Georgie has never left my side when I needed her and I will not leave hers.

**Happy 4th of July***

Lots of fun this past weekend! Will post more later..these are all for my folks who haven't seen Alexa in two months! We'll be there soon!!!

Thelma and Louise

"One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats." Chris Murdoch

Some times you just have to jump in a Bug and get out of dodge! This morning my "small treat" was coffee with my girl Tina at 6:00 a.m. It is always a sure thing that we will be laughing the whole way down the road!

~Small wonders~

Just taking care of business...giving Ned some water. That's his den back there that my dad built.

Hmm...what's that sound?

Chirp, chirp, chirp....

Oh hi! Nope it's not you little one...you just look scared to be out of your nest for the first time.

Oh, hey little buddy! It's you. How'd you get in there?

One thing the Chief, Alex and I have in common is the soft spot in our hearts for animals. We all share the same nurturing, protective love of God's smallest creatures. Alexa and I see wonder each day in the hummingbirds, the quail who sing to us, the butterfly that lands on a branch, the roadrunner that walks along our fence, and the baby birds learning to fly.

When the Chief and I first moved into this house, there was a little baby bird that had fallen from its nest and broken its wing in our backyard. Neither of us could stand to watch it suffer, so I found a place (after many phone calls ) that would take it. It was about 30 miles from our house but at 10:00 that night the Chief and I brought this baby bird to the "bird lady" who takes in injured birds. I think living out here in the desert has made us appreciate all the unique wonders it gives us each day. Don't get me wrong, if I find a scorpion in the house I whack the sucker with my flip flop at a high rate of speed and regularly kill spiders without pause but I never take the small wonders for granted. Alexa has that same spirit in her and I hope she keeps it. I want her to respect her surroundings and see the beauty in the smallest wonders.

Happy Father's Day!

I chose this photo of the two of them because of how happy the Chief looks. Happy Father's Day honey...you are a great dad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Concert at the Park

Last night was a playgroup date with our FCC called Jia Ting. It is for families who have been home with their child since 2005, so a lot of the girls are similar in age. We met at the Railroad Park where they do a free concert on Sunday nights and lots of people show up! It was really fun!

This one is blurry but Alexa's big smile is all I see. Playing with some new friends.

With Amy. I couldn't seem to get a shot of them both smiling but it's still cute.

Alexa dancing to the band. She loved her glow sticks.

Beautiful baby Georgea made her debut last night and everyone wanted to see her!! She is so precious!

Alexa had a blast playing, dancing, doing somersaults, hanging out with her buddies James, Amy and Georgea and eating marshmallows. : )

~The Girls~

Yesterday we went over to see Georgea. Our friends James and Amy just returned from China last week. Bestill me heart...I am smitten with their little girl. Alexa loves her too and proclaimed at the airport last week that "She is darling." That she is! When we came into their house, Georgea wouldn't take her eyes off Alexa. Georgea is so sweet, has the cutest raspy voice and just loves to snuggle on her mom. Alexa gave her some tickles and some "coochy coochy coos" and Georgea smiled and giggled.

Watching Georgea's journey home has been really good for Alexa. It has brought up some really beneficial conversations between her and I about her birth parents( which we are already open about), China and adoption. She has been roll playing with her dolls and pretending that she is a baby and we are coming to China to get her. It has all been positive and I think it is so important that she knows there are other girls like her, who are with their forever parents and are loved and cherished like she is.

I love the fact that her and Georgea share a very special bond and will have each other to lean on as they get older. Best buddies forever!

Introducing.....

Beyonce Shine!