Day 90-Off Roading

We had a scare last night. As you may be able to tell from this picture that I took with my phone camera... We were driving home from a seminar at the clinic, and not being familiar with the roads, we got lost. My Dad decided to make a U turn. It was really late and dark, and we didn't know that there was a big ditch directly off the road. We could feel the car on the verge of tipping and so we all jumped out of the mini van because we didn't want to be in it if it rolled. The back tire was off the ground at least a foot! Some people who were driving behind us stopped and called the police. We finally got a tow truck to come pull the van out of the ditch. It really was quite terrifying. Thankfully we are all safe and the van has no damage! I know that we were being protected.

Day 89-Meeting Burzynski

Today was an amazing day! My Mom had her first appointment with Dr. Burzynski. I was so impressed with him and his office staff. Going into this, we really had no idea what to expect. The only thing we were absolutely certain of is that through prayer we had been guided to this clinic. After reviewing her pet scan and other information, Dr. Burzynski offered a tremendous amount of hope to us. Although Mother has a very rare form of cancer, the doctors assured us that they have seen this particular type of cancer before and that they have had much success in treating it.

Dr. Burzynski has a very different approach to fighting cancer than most other oncologists. He does tests to find which genes are over expressed, and then he uses FDA approved medications that target those specific genes. He uses low doses of medications which do not produce the side affects of high dose chemotherapy. Testing for my Mom begins tomorrow! Thanks for all of your prayers... They are definitely being felt!!!

Day 88-We Made it to Houston!

It's hard to believe it, but we are actually here in Houston, TX. We made it to the Burzynski Clinic! It was about a 2 1/2 hour flight-Phew, glad to have that over with! Although I'm very grateful for air travel, I'm not a huge fan of it. It wasn't easy saying goodbye to Bryan and Tate. Poor boys, hope they can survive without me for the next 3-4 weeks. I will definitely miss them, but I'm so grateful for this opportunity to be here with my Mother at this time. My Dad flew over with us so that he could go to the first appointment and orientation, but he will be leaving Tuesday morning.

Day 87-Ice Skating and Broken Camera Lens!

Bryan, Tate, and I went ice skating tonight! It was Tate's very first time ever. He was really wobbly and enjoyed having Bryan and I on either side of him. We had a great time skating... As we were leaving, my camera lens broke-out of the blue-BROKEN! It now takes blurry pictures and rattles when I shake it. BUMMER!!! The only other lens I have is a 55-200mm lens so I can only get macro shots while I'm in Texas and until I can get a new one. The most frustrating part is that I did nothing to break it. I am always so careful with my camera... Anyways, sorry for being such a grouch on my blog tonight:) Maybe I just need to go to sleep. Tomorrow is another day...

Day 86-Stacy's Engaged!

Bryan's little sister Stacy got engaged to Aaron C. tonight! I think they make such a cute couple! Aaron's a great guy and it will be fun having him in the family.

Update 4/09: They're not engaged anymore:(

Day 85-Tate and his $$$

Tate LOVES money! He prefers coins to dollar bills though. He very rarely goes anywhere without a few coins clutched in his little fist or in his pocket. Sometimes he will carry them around the entire day, then at dinner time he dumps his coins out on the kitchen table next to his plate and proceeds to eat. I almost always have to remind him to wash. Then when he's through washing his hands, he'll come right back up to the table, pick up his coins, and proceed to eat again. Then I remind him to wash again. He doesn't seem to understand that money is dirty! Tate also enjoys lining it up and counting it and he especially likes to pay his tithing. He never fails to remind us EVERY SUNDAY that he needs to pay. I'd say that he pays at least 50% of his earnings to tithing!

Day 84-"I Can Take Care Of Myself"

I realized again this afternoon after a MAJOR meltdown from Tate, that I haven't been giving him as much ATTENTION as normal. With everything that's been happening with my Mother... I think Tate has been just a tad neglected.

The other day Tate wrote me a note that said, "I can take care of myself"-all written out how he thought it should be spelled. If I didn't feel so guilty about not being there for him lately, it would have almost been funny! This afternoon (to make up with him), I took Tate to the park. We spent a very long time playing on the toys, digging BIG holes in the sand, climbing trees, finding rocks, and chasing birds. I'm a little nervous about what's to come (3 weeks away from him), but we'll make it through. He will survive and I'll be doing what I should be doing. And then when I come home... we'll just have to make up again!

Day 83-Mother's Blog, Houston TX, and My Crazy Knee

A large part of today has been spent in front of the computer... I've been trying to set up a blog for my Mother (just a place to post her health updates and also to hopefully raise some money for her future treatments). You can check it out HERE. So much needs to be done, and there is so little time.

After much study and prayer, we have decided to send her to the Burzynski Clinic in Houston, TX for treatments. I've opted to accompany her, and will be staying there for the next 3 weeks. I've never been away from Bryan and Tate for more than a few days, so this is going to be quite the experience. I know that I will miss them tremendously. I know that when we do the right things even when they are hard we will be blessed for doing them...

On a side note- I passed out again from bumping my knee again this morning and found myself on the floor. For anyone who has never passed out, it is an extremely weird experience waking up and having no clue as to who you are. I don't have any bumps or bruises but I do feel pretty sore from the fall. Maybe I should get my knee checked out?

Day 82-Gardening at Grandma and Grandpa's House

We had FHE at my parents house tonight. THE LESSON-treatment options for my Mother and raising money for them. THE ACTIVITY-planting my parents Spring Garden. With everything that's been going on with their health, they have been in no position to be gardening, however they can use the fresh veggies. My brothers and sister and their families all came, and we all worked together harvesting, pulling weeds, and planting. It's amazing how much you can get done when you all work together!

Day 81-Surprise Letter under my Pillow

Last night as I crawled into bed at 5 AM (See post below), I noticed there was something under my pillow. I pulled it out and found this cute picture in an envelope that Tate apparently had left for me before he left to Bryan's parents for the night. Tate is just too cute! Don't you love his "BOX MOM and his cute red heart?" He started drawing box people about a week ago-ha/ha. Also, he must have sounded out Mom all by himself too cause Bryan didn't even know about the letter! I SURE DO LOVE MY TATE!!!

Day 80-GNO and a LONG night at the ER

I got my 2nd EVER pedicure yesterday! Two of my good High School girlfriends (Amy and Gretchen) and I got together for a much needed Girls Night Out. We had so much fun and it was TOTALLY RELAXING.

It seriously felt like heaven with the whole massaging chair and foot rub thing... We had fun chatting and laughing about some old memories. We went to Panda Express for dinner and then shopping at Kohl's afterwards. We were just having a ton of fun and then I got a phone call that my Dad had been taken by ambulance to the ER. It was a big scare to say the least. So, I headed over there and met up with my Dad as well as Bryan.

We waited and waited and waited in HALL BED #6 (can you believe they just have the patients all lined up down the hall? It really is pathetic) for 8 1/2 hours. He was able to get some answers from the doctor, so that was good. And then... we went home and got to bed by 5 AM. I'm just glad that everything turned out okay. Now I just wish that I could get another PEDI now that the ER experience is over :)

Day 79-Surprise Birthday Party for Mother

Yesterday morning I had this IDEA to have a Surprise Birthday Party for my Mother! Even though we only had 2 days to plan for it-we were able to pull it off because of all the help from so many people. My Aunt Mary offered to let us have the party at her house (Thanks Mary!) My SIL Andrea and I planned the party together-although she did WAY MORE than me. Among the list of things she did to prepare, she purchased the majority of the food as well as the beautiful cake (Thanks Andrea!) I made a HAPPY BIRTHDAY banner. It turned out cute, but took quite a bit of time making it (Totally worth it though). I'm not even going to try naming all those who played a part in setting up, decorating, bringing things, and making this party happen. (Thanks Everyone). My Mother loved every minute of the party! It was worth it just seeing her face and her happiness in knowing that there are so many people who love her, care about her, and support her!

Days 77 & 78-Busy, Busy, Busy

Life for us has been pretty much a blur since Wednesday. (That is when my Mother had her lab test results come back) She was diagnosed with a very aggressive type of Lymphoma. Although things may look bleak for her... We are a MIRACLE BELIEVING family. She's been given several Priesthood Blessings that have led us to believe that she will be HEALED and restored to good health.

Bryan and Tate have been so good the last couple of days as they have pretty much been fending for themselves... I thought Bryan was so cute- when I thanked him for doing the dishes and he ended up making a CONFESSION. He said, "I really had selfish motives in doing the dishes. I figured that if I wanted to have a clean cereal bowl for my breakfast and dinner then I'd better wash them".

Tate had an especially ROUGH day yesterday. He was basically traded off between Bryan and I throughout the day. (Bryan was so nice to take him to work with him for several hours). Last night while we were out, Tate just became restless and finally broke down in tears. He didn't even make it into his pajamas before falling asleep. This morning when he woke up... I realized that he had thrown up in his bed all night long. I had no idea that he was so sick! Kinda makes me feel bad for being so hard on him.

Day 76-Cousin's Party at the Dollar Theatre

We went to check out the new Dollar Theatre at the Superstition Springs Mall with my Sister Christina and Sister in Laws Andrea and Carrie and their kids today. This picture is all of the cousins except for Katie. It was really fun and a great cheap way to entertain all the kids. We watched the movie BOLT which none of the children had seen yet.

We ate their dollar hotdogs before the movie (they were very good BTW) and the kids all got a turn on the Roller Coaster ride afterwards (It is a big screen that you watch and the lay down seats move). Check out Emma's face-too funny!

Just for your info in case you haven't heard (they only opened 4 days ago):

Everyday ticket prices are $2

Tuesday prices are $1

Movie Line 480-832-4302

Office Number 480-641-1446

Family Proclamation Page 7

I finally finished making the 7th page of our family proclamation book yesterday. Its got quite a few pictures and it's a lot crammed on one page, but I wanted it that way-he/he.

Day 75-Searching for Gold

So I had all these fun plans for today since it's SPRING BREAK and all... But Mr. Tate, who clearly has a mind of his own-opted to have fun doing what HE wanted to do, and that was to look for Gold. My Dad had told Tate that gold is sometimes found where there is moss. So Tate went on a hunt for some moss and found some on the edge of the lawn next to the rocks. He then searched through the rocks and found that there were tiny gold looking specks on the rocks. He very happily concluded that that was the gold. So, Tate found 10 rocks with gold specks and placed them in his "Little Red Bucket". He now thinks that he's RICH and could quite possibly be the happiest kid in the world.

Later today when we went to the store I insisted that he leave his gold in the car. He was all anxious while we were shopping... When we came back to the car he immediately checked to see if "the pirates had stolen his gold". Tate has such an imagination, it's almost as if he lives in his own little world.

Day 74-Roses from Bryan

Bryan surprised me with some "JUST BECAUSE" roses last night. He is so thoughtful-I love them so much. Thanks Bryan!

Day 73-The Race

I snapped this picture of my older brothers Aaron and Jonathan. They had a race at the family party tonight. Can you tell they are just a little COMPETITIVE? I mean look at their faces-CLASSIC!

Day 72-Winner gets Their Picture Taken

We hung out with our friends Faith & John tonight and played The Construction Game. About 1/2 way into the game, I mentioned that I hadn't yet taken my picture of the day. Since I NEVER win a game when I'm playing against Bryan, I thought I would be safe to say that the winner of the game gets to have their picture taken. I was totally surprised when the winner ended up being me! So this is me with no makeup on and I totally didn't even dry my hair with the blow dryer today-Tate brushed it for me while we were watching a movie this afternoon... JUST MY LUCK!

Day 71-My First Guitar Lesson

I spent the majority of the day at my parent's house trying to help out as needed (My Mother in Law was so kind to watch Tate). I thought my Mother was so cute today as she insisted on giving me a guitar lesson. It was so much fun! She taught me 4 chords-C, F, G, and B7. I was even able to SLOWLY play a couple of different songs. Thanks Mom!

Day 70-Comfort in Trials

Just so you know (I guess I don't HAVE to always admit it) I'm cheating again! I didn't take this picture today- I actually took this picture of my Grandpa's flower garden last week. Anyways, he is an amazing gardener. Everything he plants grows beautifully! His flower garden is always so beautiful, and it makes me happy whenever I see it.

I'll be perfectly honest with you, today was a difficult day for me. I mean there were definitely some good things that happened... Like celebrating my brother James' birthday by eating Subway and hanging out at the house. But it was a really hard day in the fact that things have been very up in the air regarding my Mother's health. We received some bad news today and I'm very concerned. I feel comforted knowing that God is in control but I just wanted to ask you all for a favor... PLEASE KEEP HER IN YOUR PRAYERS IF YOU CAN. Thanks so much in advance-you guys are awesome!

Day 69-Broken Glasses

This morning when I went to put my glasses on...THEY SNAPPED! I was totally disappointed at first seeing as we are tight right now along with almost everyone else in this world right now and it might be a while till I can get some more. But then I decided to look on the bright side. At least I have contacts :) I guess I'll be wearing those a little more now, and that might not be such a bad thing.

Day 68-Clean Carpet at Last!

I cannot begin to understand why anyone would put CARPET in a DINING ROOM. It just doesn't make any sense whatsoever! It's been quite the nightmare for me trying to keep it clean! Even though we are moving soon, I decided that I can't take the dirty carpet any longer... so I borrowed my parents Carpet Cleaner yesterday and got to work. It looks much better. Horray for clean carpet!

Day 67-Bryan & Tate {Best Buds}

Tate has ALWAYS been a Mommy's Boy up until the last few days. All of a sudden... He decided to change. He is now officially a Daddy's Boy. Tate calls Bryan all the time when he is at work begging for him to come home. He started making comments about how Daddy knows best. And now, tonight he announced that I am no longer allowed to tuck him in at night-only Dad can do that. At first I was hurt... now I'm beginning to understand how Bryan has felt all this time!

Day 66-Mesa Southwest Museum

My parents took Tate and I to the Mesa Southwest Museum today. It actually has a new name, but I can't remember what the name of it is. We had lots of fun!

Here's Grandma & Grandpa doing 123 WEEEEEEEE with Tate on the way to the museum.

Tate colored several pictures and my Mom read him some Dinosaur Books.

Here's Grandpa and Tate in front of the Dinosaur Mountain.

Tate was happy to be in Jail.

Grandpa and Tate had fun panning for gold. They found quite a bit-too bad it was only fools gold :)

Day 65-Fun Friday

{Sorry to use another picture of Tate, but this one couldn't go un-noticed. I found it today as I was sorting old pictures. This is what happens when little boys get a hold of Mom's camera. Ha/Ha. This will probably be good blackmail someday}.

Here are a few of today's happenings...

1. Bryan FINALLY finished Mario Galaxy! Yeah, him and Tate have been playing it since around November.


2. I got a break to do some Maria things when Tate was gone at preschool this morning (aka dishes-they needed to be done! I also edited and organized some pictures. Oh and I got to hang out at my Mom's for a little bit.)


3. Tate and I went to the Visitors Center after lunch. We walked around the Temple, saw the Christus, and watched a few of the short commercials.


4. We went by the park afterwards and met some Quadruplets there (2 boys and 2 girls). They were so cute.


5. I took an acidic/alkaline test and was off the chart for being alkaline-crazy huh!


6. Tate took a short nap! He will do anything for a magic trick (I told Tate that if he took a nap then I would pull a quarter out of his ear).


7. We took Tate to his Preschool for Date Night tonight. Once a month, his preschool teachers watch all of the kids + any of their siblings so that the parents can go out on a date. It's awesome!


8. Bryan & I went on a double date with our friends Amy & Rustin. It was so much fun. We ate dinner at Chipotle and then headed over to their house to play games. Amy made some totally yummy Pizookies. We had an amazing time, I just wish I would have remembered to use the camera that was in the truck.


9. Before bed, Tate had Bryan do a candy treasure hunt. He hid everything himself and was totally proud of himself too :)

Day 64- I'm Just a Dad

One of the very first things out of Mr. Tate's mouth this morning was this... "You know what Mom? I'm not a little boy, I'm not a son, I'm just a Dad!" Tate is such a funny kid... Seriously the things he says and the way he says them just crack me up. There is rarely a dull moment with him around!

February 2009-Collage

Day 63-Wacky Wednesday

Today was WACKY WEDNESDAY at Tate's preschool in honor of Dr. Seuss. I let him choose his own clothes. This is what he came up with... Pretty wacky huh?

Day 62-Babysitting my Youngest Cousins

Would you believe these little boys are my first COUSINS? They are the youngest of 63 grandchildren on my Mom's side of the family. I've lost track of how many Great-Grandkids there are now. At the time that my Grandma passed away back in 2005 there were 75 great grandkids. I imagine there are at least 100 by now.

Day 61-Celebrating Dr. Seuss' Birthday

You wouldn't know it by all of the stuff I make... but I really dislike decorating cakes and sugar cookies. I'm serious! It's probably because I don't think that I'm very good at it. I know we all tend to enjoy doing the things we are good at... Anyways, after several cute pleadings from Mr. Tate, he convinced me to make a cake for Dr. Seuss. I found a tutorial on making green eggs and ham. It's not perfect, but that's okay. I'm obviously not a cake decorator but that doesn't stop me from trying every now and again. Maybe one of these days I'll learn to love it.

Day 60-Pet Sitting

We've been pet sitting 5 dogs-Friday/Saturday/and Today. They are all so different from each other as far as looks and personality is concerned. Tate likes the small dogs the best. I think they are less intimidating to him. I can't believe I actually got a picture with them all looking!