Sunday Afternoon

 Ashton Jack, my baby, is ... 18 months old. He is just bursting with personality. My little buddy is starting to talk, saying, "daddy bye-bye" and "truck" and "neigh" for horse, "apple juice".

 

Today in church he kept turning around and staring at the teenage girls behind him. I heard some giggles and looked to see him blowing kisses to each one of them. And when he blows kisses, it is a full-on smacking, puckered kiss on his hand before he gives it out.

  

 "DAD-DY. DAD-DY"

I am pretty sure this is just the beginning of their fun/fighting together. Mary asked me if we could get Ashton some "boy headbands" so he doesn't keep stealing hers. He takes Mary's baby she so thoughtfully keeps named India Ruby Addy Claire and hugs it to his chest while saying, "MINE. MINE."

 Can you hear the airplane?

 If I had a nickel for the number of times I kiss these cheeks every day, I would have a whole lot of nickels.

She is off to walk through the "forest".

During Ashton's Nap

 Mary painted on 4 paintings, and decided she was finished after 2.5 straight hours. I pretended to paint alongside of her, but I was just mostly watching her intense focus and decisiveness. Kids are amazingly talented artists right from the start. I hope I can prevent that creativity from being stifled by outside influences. 

To see the finished product, click here...


[Side note: Mary is feeling much better, and will continue to be tested weekly for any signs of kidney damage. So far, she has been all clear. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.]

Henoch-Schonlein Purpura 

kidney damage

bowel obstruction

blood

platelets

stomach pain

urine samples

capillaries

vomit

call immediately

if

when

if

rest

joint pain

bruises

owies

I can't walk mommy

don't worry

it's probably 

normal

watch her

closely

chemotherapy

primary children's

reoccurrence

cyclical

serious

everyone leaves

she'll be okay

my leg is hurting

I can't kneel

Leukemia

These words are constantly swarming through my head right now. Since February 22, Mary has had a rare blood disease. Last Wednesday, she had another cycle of purpura (those bruises you see on her legs). This sent us into another bout of tests. 



Mary didn't flinch when she had her blood drawn, she sat there, perfectly still and talked to me about Sally's new clothes (her little doll in the picture). She got a "monster" for being so brave. Having her blood drawn was way more traumatic for me than for her (I am a baby around blood and needles... uhhh.  I am having trouble typing just thinking about it. My hands are going limp.) But not Mare Bear. She couldn't figure out why I was making a big deal about how brave she was... she said it didn't hurt. Wow. Is she MY daughter??


Glad to report that Mary's blood work has come back normal. The doctors finally told me that they were so concerned about her because she has symptoms of Leukemia. I had an entire day to wait for test results and fear the worst. Although her tests are normal, I probably won't feel relief until her symptoms are gone. We hope that Mary will be all better within the next couple of weeks.  She is on some steroids that are supposed to stop her blood vessels from breaking for good. Mary will be having more and more tests for the coming months. For now, we are praying for the best.


I am just amazed by Mary's courage through all of this. She has only complained a few times when her ankles and knees have been so swollen she had trouble walking. Some of the touching phrases from the past few weeks,
Mary says:
"Mommy, I can't move because I have owies all over me."
"Mommy, my legs hurt."
"Mommy, do we have to go to the doctor today?" (nope, we don't) "Oh, GOOD! Cause yesterday we had to go to THIS many!"(as she holds up 4 little chubby fingers).
"Mommy, hold me, I'm not feeling really good."


Doctor's orders, she isn't allowed to run, jump, do her gymnastics, or anything physically rigorous. Try telling that to a 3 year old... :) 


Thanks to all who have known and have been praying for her, she surely "feels dat in her heart," as she always says. And we do too. 


Love to all who have been, or are going through an illness, or the illness of loved ones. It is an extremely humbling thing to watch one you love suffer, and not be able to take it away. As hard as it is, I feel that physical pain and illness teaches me empathy, reliance on God, and knits me closer to the ones I love. 

Fairies and Princesses

This little gal just turned 3, (not 6, thank goodness!) We had a lot of fun celebrating the big day.

Festivities started with a fairy themed party.

This was her first party with friends... she got to invite 2 friends and 2 cousins. These little fairies danced, decorated fairy houses, and played.

When it was all over... she just needed a cuddle.

 February 8th was the actual day she turned 3...

 Her dad describes her as:

Inquisitive and charming. She loves to dance and sing and have fun. She has a great ability to focus and loves art. She is always concerned about her hair. She is very particular about what she wears. Mary wants to cuddle constantly. But she is just overwhelmingly sweet.

Dreams can come true. I am living one of mine with this little friend.

I would add that Mary loves her friends and family deeply, and is always asking about when she can see them next. She is nurturing and has an amazing imagination. She is sensitive. She is forgiving, she has a great memory, and she has a knack for making us laugh. Her facial expressions tell all. Mary loves story time, is attached to her baby she named India 24-7, and she loves gymnastics. Oh, and I can't forget the color P-I-N-K pink...  she "doesn't love any other colors".

I love this girl, she is growing up so fast. She did assure me the other day that we would still be best buddies even when she is a grown-up.

Twas a Merry Christmas 2011

Filled with lots of traditions...

Lots of Love

And MAGIC.

We are so lucky we have each other.

Happy New Year!