SUCCESS

Thanks to all my family, friends, and neighbors for all their love and support at our BBQ. We had a great turn out and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. Thanks Barb for taking a few pics and capturing the moment:)

Here's the man of the hour, taking a break for a quick pic.

Matt, Brad, Parker, and Grandpa.

Ticket Taker's: Sonnie and Courtney (Matt's sister's, we missed you Rik!!) Thanks girls, your awesome:)))

No better help!! Trey and Kayse all tuckered out:)

Diggin' for drinks, Gma Leak, Mattie, Rylee, and Kristen

Me and Steph

Jayden - looks like your up to something!!!

A BIG THANKS to Eric and Shalice for cooking the dutchoven potatoe's. They were awesome:) What great friends we have.

Thanks Cheri, Natalie, Alida, Joni, Shauna, Merr, Lesli, Barbara, Jordan, Tim, Suzanne, Dan, Courtney, Mitch, Sonnie, Gpa, and to everyone else who made this night happen!

Matt kept asking what his job was for the night. I told him he was in charge of PR. He also did all the set-up with the table's and chairs. He did a great job at both, Thanks babe!

BACKYARD BBQ

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Cornish Park

(13300 N. Hwy. 23, Cornish)

6:00-10:00 p.m.

$8.00 adults

$5.00 children (4-18)

RSVP to me and get $1.00 off each dinner ticket!

All proceeds go toward the Relay for Life event held in Smithfield on June 6th and 7th.

Please call if you have any questions!!

WHY????

Why? Trey's new word. He uses it after everything you say. He makes me laugh!! I love that he is so relaxed and can sleep anywhere. He is so busy when he is awake and hardly takes a nap.

Kayse and I have been busy doing a little yard work. We planted a few tree's this week. He even has a binki line (not bikini line) to prove it. You can't see it very well in this pic but he looks cute with a bit of a tan!!

Front flowerbed. It is only a matter of days before it will be filled with fescue so I had to document that it looked good at one point!

So I have been busy trying to put together a fundraising dinner for the 'Relay'. It has been quite an undertaking!! Between good friends and a great mother-in-law I am confident things will work out fine:)

Thursday we took a quick trip to NewCastle to watch Jordan and Justin graduate from High School. It was great fun. My mom didn't tell them we were coming so it worked out perfect! Merr, Crystal, Jed, Rhonda, and I rented a 15-passenger van. We looked like the Eldorado Relocation Transportation with only one adult male in the vehicle. Thanks for being such a good sport Jed!! We decorated the outside and took it to graduation. I am pretty sure they were embarrassed!! We got home Friday evening just after Matt got home from his trip to Minneapolis. He got to take some customers back on the company jet. It looked like they had a great time.

The grad's and their older, not bigger, sister. Jordan, me, Justin.

The ultimate ride!! Jordan and Justin's FAN VAN!!
Loving the trampoline and the sprinkler!



Mom, don't pass out. This was my attempt to make bread. It turned out pretty good, maybe not blue ribbon but good enough for me. Thanks Nat for showing me a unique way to make it!

It's me again Margaret!! (ha, ha, Ray Steven's song)

Yes, it is me, I am finally updating!! Truth be told I can't find my camara and I didn't get any pics of Wade's wedding or the Race. As luck would have it, Rhonda left her camara in my car over the weekend so I now have pics of both events:)) Thanks sis!!

Little Bro's Wedding: How fun it was to see Wade and his new bride be married!! I think the day went very well. It is fun to all be together and make new memories. I enjoyed getting to visit with people I haven't seen for years, including cousins (sorry Jess). Out of both of our families the Twins are the only one's left to be married. Since they do everything together anyway it will be interesting to see if they get married at the same time. Jordan, that means you have to get a girlfriend:)

Wade and Kayla

Mattie, Kayla, and Brit
Jordan and Justing graduate on the 22nd. Last to leave the nest. What will Wayne and Gaylene do with all their spare time?????

Race for the Cure: What an awesome event!!! Crystal, Rhonda, (my sisters) and I participated in the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure event in Salt Lake on Saturday. What an emotioal event. Most everone wore the name of a loved one(s) who has passed on or is fighting Breast Cancer. Some Teams even had shirts made up with photo's printed on them. Other Teams had shirts that said things like "Big or Small, Let's Save them All". (There were a few more but you wil have to call me if you want to know what they said:) It is great to see people find a little humor during such a tough time in their life. There were many survivors and I noticed one lady, still in the midle of treatments, walking hand in hand with her husband. What a sweet moment! We vowed to do it again next year and would like anyone who wants, to join us. It is the Saturday before Mother's Day so it makes for a great outing!!

Just before the race: me, Rhonda, Crystal

We FINISHED!!!
Speaking of MOTHER'S DAY, I hope you all had a great one!! I had an awesome day other than I had to talk in Church. I have the best husband and kids:) They all brought me flowers!!!

I am getting stoked for the Relay for Life Event!!! If any of you have any questions, don't be afraid to call me. Thanks for all your support!!

P.S. Kudos to Matt for keeping the kids while I raced! Love you hottie!!!

RELAY UPDATE

I am so excited to participate in the Relay for Life Event!! For those planning on participating with "Team Leak" you can register online at relayforlife.org. Go to the Find Relay Event icon and type in 84335 for the zip code. Scroll to the bottom and click on Cache County Relay for Life Event. Click on the Join a Team icon and type in Team Leak and then your information. If you are not able to participate with us and would like to donate, follow the same instructions only click on Donate to a Team instead of Join a Team. It will list the team members and total donations made! WALK ON!!!

Lemonade!!!

When I told Mattie about the Relay for Life event she went to work thinking of how she could help. She came up with the idea of a 'Lemonade Stand'. She set one up on Saturday and made over 13 dollars. She wants to try again for a few more weeks. I am so proud of her!! She has done all the work herself and she knows it is for a good cause. She has even been soliciting kids at school. She gets the 'salesman' side of her from her dad!!! The wind was blowing so bad on Saturday that the jar with the money in it blew off the table and broke and all the bills went flying. We all had quite a time trying to catch it!! Great memories!!

The never ending remodel

So we are trying to remodel our home . . . bit-by-bit. I am sure it will take years but this is what has been done so far . . . windows have been ordered so we are tearing out trim. Kael is good help and he is getting really handy with a hammer and screwdriver.



This is the mantle in our dining room. I wish I had a before pic but here is the finished product.







Closet: Before

Closet: After
Installing a newn patio door. Thanks Jim!!!

Jerome

Barb, Kael, Jayden

We spent a little time in Jerome with Jordan and Barbara's family over Spring Break. We had a great time doing nothing! The kids played and Barb and I just visited (they have a beautiful new home everyone had seen but me so I was excited to see it) Barb watched the kids while Matt took me to dinner and to see a few cows (just a few, like 30,000)!










MOOOOOOO!!


Mattie and Rylee

Kayse trying to catch a little R & R

Tag . . . we are it!!

Since Mattie already had a turn, here are a few things about the boys:)

MATTHEW KAEL

* Kael was one boy name Matt and I always loved. We said we would always have a Kael and a Kole. Kole has just not worked out!! Anyway, we were discussing the spelling of Kael's name and had decided on K-A-E-L. Matt was driving home from Idaho one day and realized that if we spelled it like that it is Leak backwards. That sealed the deal so now Kael's name is the same backwards and forwards:)

* Kael was left at home alone when he was just two years old. It was Trey's blessing and I thought my mom had taken him. Turns out he was hiding from all of us and wasn't scared at all.

* Kael loves balls. Baseballs, footballs, basketballs, soccerballs, ect. He would rather play alone and will run and tackle himself or shoot hoops for hours.

* Kael is our tender heart. Trey has been hitting/pinching lately so I told Kael to hit/pinch him back and he won't do it. He just doesn't want to hurt him!

* Kael loves to do tractor work with his dad. He doesn't want much to do with the cows but is daddy's tractor pal. He loves to be with dad in general, great break from mom, whether on the 'wheeler', going to get parts, or going to Grandpa Leaks. Dad even took him the other day to see one of his customers. He thought this was pretty uneventful!!

* Kael is really into girls lately. He had to break one of his nurses hearts because he found another 'girlfriend' at church. He came in from church a few weeks ago and said 'do you want the good news or the bad news'. I said 'the good news'. Kael: 'Brinley gave me a hug' (good news) but she wouldn't look at me in class.' (bad news).

* Kael is one tough puppy!!! With all he has been through he is such a source of strength and inspiration to his family.

WARREN TREY

* Trey is named after my Grandpa 'Warren' Platt. I was never fortunate enough to know the man, he passed away when my dad was only 14, but people always comment that I share some of his same characteristics, so it was only fitting that I have a 'Warren' in my family.

* Trey loves to act older than he is. He keeps up with Mattie and Kael as best as he can. He doesn't do half bad.

* Trey has gorgeous blue eyes like his dad. What a heartthrob!

* Trey loves animals, especially the cows. He would rather be in the barn milking the cows than doing anything else. It's great we have the perfect fit Kael and Tractors, Trey and Cows!!

* Trey is very outgoing and gives his mom heart failure sometimes. He is not afraid to push the limits. No rules with this kid. Too bad his eyes just melt your heart:)

* Trey loves to give hugs and kisses. I am really going to have to keep my eyes on this one!!

KAYSON BREK

* Mom and dad could not agree on a name, I wanted Brek, Matt wanted Kayson. We thought we would have a minute to think it over at the hospital but we had to put a name on the cord blood so when Matt came back from the nursery he said what about Kayson Brek. I love it and of course he gets called all sorts of nick-names (that's my trade-mark, everyone has at least one nick-name!)

* What a great baby! He has been sleeping through the night now for about 6 weeks. Not just sleeping through the night but 8:30 to 8:30. I have never had a baby sleep so well!! I tease Kael and Trey that they will have to go back to diapers and a bottle if they don't start sleeping through the night!!

* Kayse only cries when he is hungry or has a bubble. He is totally content to lay and watch his surroundings. Of course that is prettty entertaining considering Kael and Trey are your entertainment.

* Kayson is such a happy baby and always smiles. He is just cute, cute, cute!!

We tag who ever hasn't been tagged!!! (ie. Karlie Barlow)

ReLay for Life . . .

for those who are interested in participating or joining "Team Leak" the event is June 6th and 7th in Smithfield. It starts around 6:00 p.m. on the 6th and goes until about 10:00 on the 7th. Please let me know as soon as you can if you will be joining us. Sounds like we can put up a tent and sleep/eat/rest/walk/run/jog/talk or whatever. They would like someone from the team on the track at all times so the more people, the better off we will be. They also have a theme and each camp/team decorates their camp accordingly. The theme for this year is "There's No Place Like Hope". As for the fundraising part of it - they would like each team to come up with a donation of at least $100.00. I will leave it up to each individual as to how much they would like to contribute (don't feel as though you have to donate to walk with us). Those who would like to donate but can't be here to walk can just send donation's to me and I will put it with our team donation. The money raised will go to help with cancer research. I will try to keep a tally of the donation money on the blog. I think it will be exciting! The sky is the limit!!!

CLINIC

We took Kael to clinic today. It was the first time he has had his port accessed so it was a bit traumatic. The nurse was being so sweet and didn't want to make it a bad experience for him but he was very nervous anyway. It took two of us to hold him down but after she got the needle in he decided it wasn't so bad. He got vinc and I will start steroids again tonight for five days along with 6MP and septra, and methotrexate on Thurs. He is so brave and I am so amazed by the strength that he shows. It killed me to hold him down while they did it. I know he just didn't know what to expect and when they come at you with a needle, it is terrifying. I felt like I had ran a marathon after it was all over. It was pretty intense for a minute! Dr. Afify wants to have an MRI done at our next appointment to see if the brain has returned to normal. If it looks good we will put methotrexate back in his spine (back pokes) instead of the ARA-C. Our next back poke is in eight weeks.


Daddy couldn't go with us today and I know how hard it was on him. We made it through and hope he can make it to the next one! We love you DAD!!!!! (I joke with Matt that he has to get on the blog to find out what is going on in his life but it really is true).


P.S. As I was tucking Kael in tonight I asked him about the days events. I told him I was sorry I had to hold him down while they poked him and he said "that's okay, I shouldn't have cried". I can't even put into words the strength and support he is to me!

Tag

So a few months ago Marcy's girls tagged Mattie. We are suppose to write

a few unique things about them so here it goes.

Madison Kyle

1. Madison shares her dad's middle name so that means

they share the same initials (as does Kael)
2. She is an excellent singer and challenges our family to play

American Idol quite regularly (Matt plays Simon and does a wonderful impression).

She is in the school choir and also takes piano lessons.

3. She is a really great helper. One of her chores is to water the horses every day

and she (usually) does it without complaining. She always comes home from school

and does her homework without being asked. She is a great student

and is reading very well.

4. Mattie is my little artist. She drew a pic of the milking barn the

other night, it was quite detailed and even showed the bull and all his parts too!!

She likes to sew with me and has made a doll blanket and pillow. Her current

project is an apron. The rate we are going on it though she will grow

out of it before it is done:)

5. Who doesn't love sweets??? She inherited my sweet tooth and takes it to the next level!

6. She is her dad's best help too! She absolutely loves to be out helping him

with the cows. She helped us move calves the other night and ran the gate for us.

She can't wait to help dad tag and vaccinate the wein calves.

We have put her off for two weeks and she is not letting us forget it.

She loves horses (that's my girl) and is learning how to ride. During the summer she is great help with moving the water (mostly driving the 4-wheeler)!!!

7. Although she is a bit of a tom-boy she also has a feminine

side. Her and I give ourselves pedicures and it is one of her favorite

mom & me things to do. She keeps me in line with which step comes next:)

8. Well, what can I say, she is my favorite daughter:) I always wanted a family of boys but after having her, she makes me want more girls:) I love you Mattie!!

Mattie tags: Hayden, Rylee L., Jackson, Ryanne, Peyton, Jaicee, and Rylee S.

Joke of the Day

My little Mattie K loves jokes. She has been bringing new ones home from school all year but here is her latest: If April Shower's bring May flower's what do May Flower's bring? (Think about it and I will answer at the end.) She usually tells Knock, Knock jokes so that was a change. Even Trey says Knock, Knock who's there!!!
Mattie has also had her first fight at school. I was trying really hard not to laugh when she was telling me last night. She is just my sweet little girl who is the peacemaker so I find it great that she was actually sticking up for herself. Believe me, I won't think it is so funny when it is my boys and it is an every week occurance. Anyway, this girl won't let Mattie be in her running club and has been quite a bully about it so like any kid would do, Mattie started her own 'running club' (complete with boys I might add). It has been going on since last Friday and it came to blows yesterday at recess. Mind you, the prinicipal has put the kibosh on any 'clubs' at school so they are illeagally running these clubs. I guess *Sarah gave her a punch in the arm so Mattie punched her (in the arm) back. Mattie related this story last night at dinner and Matt and I asked her if she had to go to the principals office. She gets this 'deer in the headlights' look on her face and said 'no'. We proceeded to ask her if any of the teachers saw and then explained that when kids fight they have to go talk to the principle. She just smiled and then said "It's okay 'cuz *John said maybe we should just all run and be friends together and not have competition." So that is what they did! Oh to be a kid again!!!

Other happenings:
-Kayson has decided he wants to be a formula drinker . . . oh wait . . . maybe that was me. I think he might have reflux and he is doing a little better on it. I also think he is spoiled and just wants to be held:)
-Matt is staying really busy with work. Good luck to him. It makes my head spin to think of everything he has to keep track of and do!! We love you daddy!!
-Kael is riding his bike w/o training wheels again!! It is still so cold here but he has been out riding it all week. Kael started riding without training wheels just before his 3rd Birthday. We were living in Richmond and he rode on asphalt all the time. After we moved here he quit riding it because of the gravel. We finally put the training wheels back on so he would get on it and it only took him a few days to decide he can do it!!
-Trey . . . is Trey. Our hired help had to dig him out of the mud the other day. I really should have taken a pic but I was rather upset because I was suppose to be picking up a cow at the vet before they closed. What a kid!
-I finally have tap water I can drink!!!!! Yea!!! I had the Culligan man come by and put in a new water softner in and a filter under the sink in the kitchen. I can tell a big difference already. I think the old softner was not working properly at all!
-I am slipping in my standings for the March Madness Bracket . . . HELP!! My only goal is to beat my father-in-law because he chooses to talk smack about the women participating in the bracket challenge. If I beat Matt that is just an added bonus. If North Carolina wins, I do. If UCLA wins, I don't stand a chance. Go UNC!!!!

*Names have been changed to protect identity.

Answer to the Riddle: Pilgrim's

March Madness Continue's

We had a great Easter here, hope you all did too! We had a wonderful dinner at Matt's parents last night and enjoyed the evening with his family. Saturday morning we had a little Egg Hunt at our house. The morning was so cold that we didn't enjoy it much. By afternoon it warmed up a bit and we even got the horse out for a while.

We have been warned (by doctor's) that Kael's skin will be sensitive to the sun because of the chemo. When we came in the house Saturday night I noticed he had blotchy skin and bumps on his face. I kept asking if he was okay and he said yes. We gave him some Benedryl and went to bed. We kept him home from church and it seemed to go away later in the afternoon. I don't know if the sun is to blame or if the shampoo he used is. I hope it is the shampoo. We went back out today for a bit but I made him wear long sleeve's and a cowboy hat. He still had bumps on his face but not the blotchy skin and itching. I guess we will just keep an eye on him unless it get's worse. Anyone have any suggestions???

Trey finally proved he can be scared of something. Saturday afternoon Matt was treating a downed cow and we were all just standing around watching him. (Trey was 'bulldogging' the cow earlier because she can't get up. He has no fear of animals 1000x his size.) Anyway, Matt was giving her a shot and she lunged forward and made some noise and Trey thought she was hurting Matt. He was scared out of his mind. It took him a half hour to calm down. I wish I would have had the video camera, I don't know if we will get that kind of reaction out of him again!!

Church

So Kael made his debut at church yesterday!! He was really nervous to go because he was afraid that the kids would make fun of him. I only took him to Sacrament Mtg. and we snuck out early because we didn't want a bunch of people around him. We will wait until at least April (let flu season pass) to let him go back to Primary. He still thinks he is in nursery though, that is all he talked about yesterday is playing with the toys. It is going to be a sad reality when he has to sit through two hours of lessons and singing:)

Trey continues to give me STRESS!!! Yesterday he loaded the toilet with misc. paraphernalia and then rubbed his food all over the table. Kudos to Matt for cleaning up both messes!!! Today will be something else, I'm just not looking forward to whatever it is. I want to tape mittens on his hands. Is this legal??

March Madness

Do you have your brackets filled out??? The smell of basketball is in the air. To bad our Ag's didn't make it this year. It is probably because 'Coach Matt' didn't get to go to any home games. I know he could have talked them through the WAC Championship game if he would have been there!! All of you know how much he loves his Aggie's (and sports in general) so those wives with husbands of equal addiction know what I am talking about:)
So if I post huge amounts of messages on my blog the rest of the month, it's only because I lack communication with other adults. (Rhonda, I expect to have the same reaction from you!!) Go North Carolina!!!

Wait, there's more

so . . . as I was waiting for pics to download, I was getting kids ready for bed. I am a little out of practice with Kael's meds (three weeks is a long time:)) but I was in the middle of giving them to him when he puked!!! Delicious. He has complained of a headache tonight but I contribute it all to the backpoke he got today. Why am I telling you this???? I don't know, maybe you could all have a laugh with me. Nothing like cleaning food chunks and puke off of a kid that can't have a bath!!

MARCH HAPPENING'S . . . . . so far

As many of you know, Matt's little sister Sonnie Rae was married on the 1st of March, (yes I am slow). We are so happy for her and Mitch and wish them the best. She looked beautiful and it was an awesome ceremony for the family:)

Kayson was finally blessed on the 2nd of March. We just had family come here for the simple occasion. We enjoyed pizza and ice cream for lunch. Thanks to all those who traveled so far just for this. We feel bad we could not have more people but with flu season we felt like we couldn't chance it again. We love you all!!

I was able to spend last weekend with my sisters + mom - children = great fun!!! We went to Alamo, NV (yes it is as remote as NewCastle), a small town an hour or so north of Vegas. My Aunt owns a resturaunt/hotel out there so we spent the night there and tried initiating the newest sister into the family. (That is if she still want's to be a part of us, I think we embarrassed her, sorry Kayla, we love you!!!) We spent a little time in St. George on Saturday shopping, eating, and going to the movie. I had a great time and look forward to it next year already. It was a much needed break for me so kudos to Matt for keeping Mattie, Kael, and Trey. He even took them to Boise to the Aggie game, something they probably wouldn't have enjoyed if I would have been here. Thanks to Barbara, too, for watching the kids while Matt worked. I owe you one:)

So today Kael finally got his much anticipated surgery. It was a success!!! He was so brave even though he knew what was going to happen. When we checked in at 'same day surgery' he started getting nervous but he never cried. The anesthesiologist put him in a wagon to take him back. We walked with him for a while and then had to let him go. We gave him loves and I watched him go down the long hallway. Just before they rounded the corner, Kael looked back at us. Emotional!!!! It only took about an hour. We were lucky to have the same surgeon that put his broviac line in. I went into recovery while he was waking up. The first thing he did when he woke up was grab his chest. I think it was a big relief to him. They put the port on the upper left side of his chest so his arm and shoulder are sore tonight. We were able to do chemo before surgery though so we didn't have to access his line and leave the needle in. Everything went perfect today, even better than some days we only have chemo!!! Thanks for the prayers!!

up, up, and away

Counts are up so Kael will be having surgery tommorow!!!! Say a little prayer for him and we will let everyone know how it goes:)

!!SHARP!!

Have you ever filled a sharps container??? I don't recommend it but here is a picture of the one we just filled and shipped off. Note: this was filled with blood draw and chemo syringes not with the flush syringes we do every day. I took 81/2 months to fill. (Just in case you wanted to know).

I have been able to get out in the sunshine the last two days. It has been nice here and everything is muddy. I don't know how many changes of clothes the boys went through yesterday but they thought it was fun to throw rocks in the puddles and then wade into them. These are not small puddles and Trey was knee deep in water most of the time. Anyway, I have enjoyed being out in the fresh air!

I had a panic attack the other day. I was in my office doing bookwork and Kael came in screaming "Trey just pulled my line out!" He had on a red shirt so when I pulled it up the lint looked like blood in places. I SCREAMED!! The top of his bandage was coming off so I was sure it was all the way out. Luckily everything was still intact. Trey stepped on him and I think it just tugged enough to cause some pain. The other day he was playing and 'tackling' a lot and he managed to pull it through the bandage to the point of breaking but he caught it in time and we fixed it. I'm ready to get it out!!!
Yesterday we went to the grocery store and I was having a hard time getting him to wear his mask. He didn't want to wear it but he didn't want to go home either so I made him a deal. If he wore his mask, I'd put one on. This was much harder than I thought it would be. It was interesting to be on the 'other side' of it. I guess it put into perspective what he deals with day-to-day: everyone can see that something is wrong on the outside but no one knows what he is feeling on the inside. It was interesting to watch people, watch us. Some avoided us at all costs and others looked and quickly looked the other way. Just before we checked out a lady finally asked me if we had colds! I said "No, but we are trying not to get one!" I feel I have been well educated throughout my life but I never thought I would learn life's most important lessons from my precious children:)

Matt is out of town again this week. We can't wait to see him tomorrow!! Sonnie's wedding is this weekend and hopefully Kael's surgery on Monday. We have a busy weekend ahead but look forward to seeing all the fam. We got to spend time with Jackson, Shade, and Aynslee for a while last night. It was a great time:) Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!!!

BORING!!!

Life at our house has been very uneventful this past week. Trey, Mattie, and I have been sick and Kayson and Matt have decided to participate. We are so lucky that Kael has not gotten it yet. I think the only reason he hasn't is because he is on Pentamadine (sp), an anti-biotic. We pray multiple times a day that he won't get it and I'm sure that has more to do with it than anything. Aunt Merr showed up yesterday to help me . . . and this was a life-saver. I am up and functioning today although I don't feel 100%.

We had a blood draw on Tuesday and his counts are up slightly. We just keep praying they will be up on Sunday to continue with surgery on Monday. If it doesn't work out, we will just wait another week.

I have to send a big thank you to Hayden and Tad for the Fun-Dip Valentines they sent. It brought to my attention that my 7-year-old, or any of the others, had never eaten such a thing. We had FUN-DIP EATING 101 and everyone but Trey passed. (He must get his educational drive from his mom) He had his powder all over him and the floor. Crazy I could eat the stuff with one hand tied behind my back and blindfolded and my kids didn't know why there was powder and a stick with a Valentine message on it:)

Aunt Sonnie get's married next weekend and we are so excited to see the Mississippi cousin's. Now Sonnie get's taken off the 'Favorite Aunt' list and is put back in the rotation with everyone else. However, the application deadline isn't until June so feel free to re-apply!!

I can't wait until SPRING!!!!

My Little T-BIRD . . .

. . . is officially potty-trained. He really suprised me with how willing he was. Personally, I was in no mood to start this adventure for another six months, or more. He has been fairly persistant in taking his diaper off the last few weeks so I decided to see what he was made off. He totally suprised me. We sat in the bathroom for 2 hours (3 hours shorter than Kael's first experience), he went, we had a party, and ate chocolate. It doesn't get much better than that:) He had a few accident's that day and I had to put him in a diaper here and there so I could run errands. I thought for sure this would spoil it, but to my surprise it didn't. He has done a great job and is so glad he can be like the older kids. I am so proud of him!!!

To My Valentine . . .

. . . thanks so much for all you do for me. You are such a great example and strength for our family. I am so glad I have had you to lean on and share the good times as well as the rough ones. We have had a great eight years and I look forward to sharing many, many more with you:) Can't wait for you to get home! I Love YOU!!
Lena

Dedicated to my Valentine . . .

What is his name? Matt
How long have you been together? 8+ years
How long did you date? 7 months + 3 month engaged = 10 months
Who eats more? Definitely me
Who said 'I Love You' first? Matt
Who is taller? Me, this is a constant fight. I think I beat him by 1/8 of an inch.
Who is smarter? Definitely Matt
Who does the laundry? Our live-in Nanny. Her name is Lena. Perhaps you all could meet her sometime!
Who does the dishes? Lena
Who sleeps on the right? Matt
Who pays the bills? Lena
Who mows the lawn? Lena
Who cooks dinner? Lena
Who drives when your together? Matt, unless were in a big hurry and I am afraid of him getting a ticket!
Who is more stubborn? Definitely me
Who kissed who first? Matt
Who asked who out first? It was a mutual agreement
Who proposed? Matt
Who has more siblings? He only has four. I double him with 8.
Who wears the pants? We both wear pants, duh!! He will probably say I do but I think it is pretty even.

I tag Matt (because I want to see if our answers match), Merr, Crystal, and Rhonda.

Chemo Treatment

Sorry about the sna-fu with the last blog entry. Not quite sure what happened?!? Okay, it is me, I have no idea what it is I am doing:)

I was trying to put some pics of chemo into a slide show for you. We finished with ARA-C on Thursday and that should be it for liquid chemo at home. We had blood drawn today and have to go to PC tomorrow to get a blood transfusion. He is officially at 0.0 for his immune system. This is a first. He has been as low as 0.1 but that has been as low as he has been until today. He is still playing well though for as low as everything is. The other morning I was wrestling with him to give him his meds (an everyday occurance) and he head-bunted me in the mouth and said "how'd ya like that?" Even though it hurt like crazy, I couldn't help but laugh. He seems to have hit another academic growth spurt. Some of the things he says are really funny and he is doing so well with his letters and numbers.

I took Trey and Kayson to the Dr. on Thursday for well checks. Trey is such a stinker. He was running around the clinic trying to give me heart-failure so I couldn't wait for him to get his shots so he would calm down. His turn came and the nurse and I held him down while she gave the shots to him. He didn't even flinch, let alone cry, and he gave the nurse an 'is that the best you could do' look:) Can you say Matt Jr.
Kayson now weighs 9 lbs. 8 oz. (Keep in mind that Kael weighed 9 lbs. 3 oz. at birth.) He failed his second hearing test. I am not worried to much but will probably FREAK if he fails the next one. The Dr. isn't to concerned about his umbilical hernia and says it should repair itself within the year.

LaLa (Trey's name for Mattie) is such a good helper. Her and I are in charge of FHE tonight. We had a great activity planned but I am in no mood to cook so we may have to alter it a bit. We want to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day and hope you get all the chocolate you deserve:)