Monday, June 29, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009 8:10 AM, EDT
Another good week for Ally. This was the chemo week were Daddy and I had to administer the first part of chemo ourselves. This requires us to dress funny (see the picture).
Luckily this only happens the first week, and we don't have to do it next week!
This weekend we are going out to visit the Grampas for Father's Day. Plus, Ally's daddy gets a little celebration.
Mommy is "all done" with school for this academic year. Next year I have a new position in the school, as a Title 1 Math teacher. This requires me to do some training over the summer. I say "all done", because next week I have 20 hours of training at Church Landing in Meredith (poor me)! But enough about me...
We are looking forward to the small amount of sun we are getting this morning, and can't wait for it to be sunny for 2 days in a row.
Have a fun weekend!
Happy Father's Day!!!
Friday, June 19, 2009
You will laugh. I know you will. And you should. . . .
But just squint a little and you'll see the first deer pictures I've ever taken. From *inside* the house. At twilight.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009 10:02 AM, EDT
This past week Ally has been getting GCSF injections (not our favorite activity). These injections stimulate her body to make white blood cells. Normally she gets blood drawn on the 7th day of injections to make sure we can stop. The nurse who comes to the house to do that is away at a conference, and there was some miscommunication. Anyway, after talking to the doctors, and with the knowledge that her counts have been great after each week of GCSF, they told us we can just stop giving the injections and she would not need a blood draw. She will get one on Monday, at the hospital, to make sure she is still good to go ahead with chemo next week. Yeah, one less needle into Ally!
Well, we are off visiting today, and looking forward to a family day tomorrow.
Have a super weekend...the sun is actually out (at least at 11:05 on Sat. morning).
Sunday, June 14, 2009 8:08 PM, EDT
Ally has had a great weekend. On Saturday we got to visit some friends. While we were there Ally thought she would be helpful by picking up lots of rocks and bringing them to the recycling container in the garage. (see picture insert) It was very cute, and she handed out "hot rocks" to all of us.
Today Ally got to go to 2 stores. She was very excited at the grocery store to get some yogurt. She was so excited, in fact, that she was yelling "yogurt!" (which sounds more like yo-gut) throughout the store, and it got louder and louder the closer we got to the dairy section of Hannaford.
Tomorrow Daddy and Grampa are taking Ally to DHMC for day one of chemo. It is chicken finger day in the cafeteria there!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Yesterday, coming home from the store, a new bird flew up out of the river as I came to the bridge. Some hunting, looks like it's a double crested cormorant. Didn't see any crests, but its range is in WV, and the others aren't. He did seem bigger than the description though. His wing span nearly that of the heron.
Today, lotsa new stuff in bloom. Columbine which is never abundant, burning like little candles in the green. The first of the Vipers' Bugloss. Mountain Laurel, several different pinks, every where. Two, just two poppies (not yard poppies). One squirrel and one Whistlepig off to heaven. And. . .
The most lovely happening of all: a doe and her *very small fawn* (scarcely to her knee) on the road. I slowed up a lot when I saw them ahead, thinking I might need to brake to a full stop. As I got within about 10 feet, mama noticed me, and made for the field on the side of the road. Baby was very slow. When he reached the gravel, she bounded away, and he dropped and lay flat, looking directly my way. Just beautiful: dark brown with the rows of luminescent white spots. I drove slowly by, and found myself crying, it was so very beautiful.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 4:46 PM, EDT
Ally is having a good week. Yesterday she went to Grammy and Grampa's house. On the way home all I heard about was chipmunks! Today Grammy came to our house and Auntie Kelly and Auntie Lynn came as well. This morning Ally said "Auntie Lynn come Ally's house." I count that as a complete sentence! Ally gets to go back to Grammy and Grampa's house on Wednesday and Thursday, and then Grammie S. is coming here on Friday to watch Ally. Good week ahead, hoping the sun comes out a little bit!
I just want to send a special hello to our hospital friends reading this! Thanks for checking in, we appreciate your glimpse into our home life!
Monday, June 08, 2009
From Megan
Sometimes I think, or maybe hope, that Tanner knows something I don’t know.
When he was going through treatment 3 years ago, and his future was so uncertain, we would drive past the elementary school where Austin and Noah go. Tanner would always be excited because that was his school, and he was going to go to that school. I guess I had no problem with little white lies when it came to my cancer kid, because my reply would always be “yep.. That’s your school.” We would talk about how he’d go there with his brothers. All the while, my heart was aching, and I was hoping beyond all hope that what I was telling him would be true.
Now, 3 years later, we’re enjoying the summer before Tanner starts Kindergarten!!! He is indeed going to that school. My little white lies turned out to be truth.
With that as background, let me tell you about a conversation Tanner and I had the other day. We were driving in the van to Grandma’s house. Tanner tells me “I’m going to buy flowers for a grill (girl) and give them to her and I’m going to marry her.” Then with a sheepish grin, he says “that’s what people do”
Maybe Tanner knows something … I’m hoping so…
From Walt Whitman
LII
The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me, he complains
of my gab and my loitering.
I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable,
I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.
The last scud of day holds back for me,
It flings my likeness after the rest and true as any on the shadow'd wilds,
It coaxes me to the vapor and the dusk.
I depart as air, I shake my white locks at the runaway sun,
I effuse my flesh in eddies, and drift it in lacy jags.
I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,
If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.
You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood.
Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop somewhere waiting for you.
.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
In the litany of joy
comes the single
petal peony
burning like a candle
Soft glow of ember
children at the campfire
of memory, sharing
as shadow deepens
Twenty five ways to
say I love you
Talking till the river silvers
in early light
The world sleeps
the dolphins in their deep
the loving song
And you
at last
in my arms
jjl
Full Rose Moon, 2009
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Friday, June 05, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009 4:02 PM, EDT
No surprise...another great week for Ally. Normally, at the end of the second week of chemo she is a bit cranky and needs more nap time, but that is not true of this round.
We got a call from Ally's oncologist a couple nights ago. They are very confused about her. Mostly they keep going back to the lesions on her legs in February and the fact that she had no pain. This is very perplexing to them. They have been talking to the doctors at the Jimmy Fund clinic as well. After she gets her next set of scans and they have time to review them they may want to do some more tests. They are kind of keeping us in the dark about what this all means. It is agonizing that now we have this added strangeness to think about, for over a month. I will be sure to let you all know what is going on. I am just thinking Ally is a mini superhero and has a VERY high pain tolerance.
Well, we are looking forward to a super fun weekend. Mommy has TONS of school work to get done, as there are only 9 days left with students. Daddy has a huge project in our extra room. We have lots of visitors and we are going out a'visitin' ourselves on Sunday. Oh yeah, and Ally will be busy being the cutest kiddo around!
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009 9:20 PM, EDT
We got the new camera!
Of course Ally had a great week. Chemo went well. Ally got to go shopping with Grammy today. Mommy and Daddy went out to dinner, and while we were at dinner Ally got to touch a live lobster! (I wish we had brought the camera!)
After Ally went to bed tonight we got some things ready for our yard sale tomorrow. 95% of the things we are selling were once Ally's. We have tons of clothes, annoying toys and other various things. (If you are interested in really old ACs, a loveseat, a mysterious TV that stopped working, but works now, or baby clothes, stop on by tomorrow.) We are curious as to how she is going to react to her things being taken away by strangers.....
Have a great weekend!
(Only 3 weeks left of school!!!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Monday, June 1, 2009 6:49 AM, EDT
Ally had a great time at the yard sale. She was not too upset by her things being looked at. She mostly enjoyed being outside all morning. She even met another little girl named Ally, who was 15 months old, just as tall as our Ally and probably weighed a good 5 to 6 pounds more.
Sunday was a nice relaxing day. Mommy got lots of school work done, and Daddy got Chemo from Ally all day long. Giving chemo is one of Ally's new favorite games. It is interesting to watch how serious she gets with the game.
She also got blood drawn on Sunday. Her counts are good enough, and she will have chemo this morning. We are still waiting for a call from Ally's oncologist to see what is up with the scans.
Have a great week!
Monday, June 01, 2009
The Plant Whisperer
Only those . . . . . . . . . . . . for RSW, sine qua non Only those willing to shoot the moon will know Either the price or joy of loving Only eagle wing rises so high And only eagles plunge so deep The sweet cautious mouse in her corner Fish sequestered in dappled tree root pools Cannot guess To give, to risk, to bet, to let go of all Is the only hope, the only reward and everything there is Naught else Not even a mason jar of wild roses accepting sun on the breakfast table jjl 31 May 2009
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I find myself counting
never aloud
and what, I don't know
(oh, but I do)
in the pattern I weave as I
round bale hay, back and forth
no, side to side
in seach of perfection
pulling windrow to shape
bird nest empty, mowed
do not hide now
in my path fledgling, I am not counting birds.
~~ Phil Specht