Brinkley update

We got Brinkley's latest CBC results and all his levels were GREAT!! This means we will move forward with his next chemo treatment tomorrow.

On a sad note, for me at least, Brinkley's grooming appointment did NOT go as planned!! When I picked up Brinkley this is what I saw... I started crying because I've NEVER cut Brinkley's hair like this in his 8 1/2 years. He no longer looks like my Golden but instead a yellow lab. Not to knock any lab owners but I'm a golden owner and I love his hair, and it's Christmas, and he's got cancer... and I just cried. :(

I know it's just hair and it should grow back but on this post at least the good news outweighs the bad!

Be blessed,
Jill

Breakfast with Santa and cookies and milk

So this post will jump back and forth a bit. To try to keep everyone on the same page I will put some actual "dates" in the text...what a novel idea. ;-P

Brinkley:
Chemo is going well! On the 6th I made a quick trip to OSU Small Animal Hospital for the most toxic of the chemo with my little man. He was a CHAMP! Even posing for some photos in front of the Christmas tree before we went back. He was so good that they didn't even have to sedate him for the 30 minute IV he needed of doxorubicin.  We made the world wind trip to and from Stillwater and then the waiting was on. The next week when we went in for our weekly CBC everything was low. Now this was to be expected but it didn't make me feel any better. Brinkley had also stopped eating his breakfast and though it was left out all day for him he didn't touch it until Gabby was fed dinner and then he ate it all. I worried about this to but at our appt he had only dropped 2 lbs and for the past 2 months he has been going up and down 5 lbs pretty regularly.  Week fives treatment will depend on the CBC results we get back for him tomorrow. His levels are still okay for where they want to treat him BUT they want to make sure that the last CBC results are as low as he will go until the next doxorubicin. Prayers and happy thoughts that he continues to stay in remission and respond well to the treatment. This Wednesday in anticipation of Christmas he will get groomed at Dog Party! We are going to do our best to see that he doesn't look like a cancer pacient with all the many missing tufts of hair. :-)

The ride home looks very similar to the ride there but I got him a new 16 squeaker toy!

And to combat the CRAZY streets in Stillwater I bout the Wheelers a new Garmin. (our maps were out of date and for $20 we could get a new one with lifetime maps!)

Emma loves to go to Brinkley's Doctor or as she says it "bink ley's docta" and this week she found/cornered the office cat under the tree!

Don't you just want to cuddle up next to this sleepy guy?!?

Mom: (aka NaNa)
My mom celebrated her birthday on the 4th! She is such an amazing woman, Mom and most importantly FRIEND!! I wish I could have been there but for those of you who don't know her well...here are a few of my favorite shots!

These pictures span 8 years but you wouldn't know it cause she looks the same!!! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the BEST MOM in the world!!

Emma:
On the 9th we all awoke with the very real excitement that only breakfast with Santa can bring! My good girlfriend Jamie works with Courtyard by Mariott and this is the 5th year they have had the big guy down for a Christmas breakfast with families. I really don't know how he finds the time to make so many appearances but I am happy he does!

It took a little while but soon Emma was running up to Santa and sitting on his lap without anyone else around!

Making her move on Jack Jack.

This was as close as Jack would get without crying. :-(

One thing we are wishing for this Christmas is for this to stop happening to our sweet little girl.

My baby has been bitten by a friend...three times in a week. Biggest problem is that she isn't crying to alert the teachers and we are pretty sure its happening when they are on the playground with other children from other classes. Breaks my heart but we had a good talk and I told Emma that friends don't bite each other and that the next time it happens be sure to tell your teacher. When it did she did but this time both her teachers saw...cause Emma had sat on her friend. They are no aware which friend is doing the biting and we have gone almost a week with no bites! :-) I soooo love her teachers and am so lucky that everyone who has ever been charged to care for my child has loved her and taken such great care of her!

With the weather getting colder...then warmer...then colder again I decided Emma might need more than one coat. We leave one at school during the week (so i don't forget it and she be without one when she needs it) but that means that if its really cold and we want to walk the dogs after school we are out of luck. I LOVE Once Upon a Child and thanks to careful saving I filled up my stamp card and was able to get 15% off my next purchase. A week earlier I had seen a coat that I knew would be a little big but it was also a little more than I wanted to spend. I decided that if it was still there when I came back it was meant to be. ;-D And it was!! Here is Emma modeling it for me!

This past Saturday the 15th Emma got to test out her gymnastic abilities and enjoy some cookies and milk with her good buddy Elle. Such a wonderful birthday idea and I could tell that EVERYONE there had a great time!

Ready for the rings

 Love to do it herself!

Was so good and well mannered at the table.

And we needed to to this again!

And Chrissy has been flying all over the house! That elf has a lot of energy! ;-D

Michael:
My amazing husband raised $2,305 with only the hair on his face! Now that is talent! Just to recap we had a beard

that morphed into this

 

Which turned into this

and just when we thought it was over... he grew it out again for this!

Santa Wolverine ;-P

I think we are safe from the facial hair until next November. ;-)

Jill:

I have been busy helping Santa! All our gifts are bought and wrapped and most everyone has gotten their Christmas card from us! For those of you not on the mailing list yet...here you go! 

Thank you to Jessica Ritchie for taking such wonderful family photos for us!! I am sooooo glad I brought Brinkley and Gabby too!

 

No more doing this move after the nursemaid elbow incident!! 

  

Also this was right before Thanksgiving, but we did it!! The four of us have seen ALL 5 Twilight movies together! Even with Courtney (in the pink) living in Nashville for 1 and Chicago for 2! :-) 

 

Last Thursday my new desk came in...it was missing a part so it's not all together BUT on Friday I moved in anyway! Here's what it looks like so far. I  haven't actually hung my pictures where I want them to go just using some of the nails that are in the walls until the rest of the desk gets put together and the hutch gets raised up off the floor. :-)

And I have a sitting area for when prospective families come visit!

We have also gotten all the changes for the Tower Room and I think it looks AMAZING if I say so myself! Was a cozy place for my honors students to study, relax, meet and do their thesis defenses!

My great friend and sister in Christ Elizabeth are almost to the end of our 12 week study...don't judge us cause it's taken more like 18. So thankful that we are able to meet and have fellowship at lunch when our schedules permit! Now its about time to look for another book...and maybe even more members! :-D

Now that about wraps it up! We are gearing up for a week with my family in Brinkley and excited to have Michael's Mom with us on Christmas day too!! 

May you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Be blessed!

Jill

This is by far my favorite time of the year!!

I LOVE the holidays!!! Well at least I LOVE Thanksgiving and Christmas. They both allow you to stop and remember all the things you are thankful for EVERYsingle day of the year! Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, family and friends, jobs we love (whether it's in the home or elsewhere!!) and the fact that we live in a country where we can say all of these things without fear of persecution!

This season I am thankful again for my family and friends who help me get through each and every day even when things are rocky (Brinkley's cancer) and celebrate with me when life is good. I am so blessed to have a job that I LOVE to come to everyday and a wonderful school like Fayetteville Montessori for Emma to help nourish and love her when I am not there. I am thankful for a wonderful and loving husband who would literally do anything he could to protect me and our family from ever experiencing any pain. For my beautiful strong willed little angel! I can't even remember my life without you!! I am THANKFUL!! Everyday but even more so this time of the year. :-)

We had a great trip to Alabama to see Michael's side of the family this past week. We both took the entire week off so that we would have plenty of time to travel the 10 hour drive. I am thankful for my little brother who opens up his home to us both going and coming so Emma and the dog's don't have to try and make a 10 drive in a day!

We arrived on Monday and we were all so happy to get out of the car and even happier that we were at Grandmothers! On our first day we made out way to Tuscaloosa to visit Freddy in the nursing home. He was so happy to see Michael and Emma for the first time! (we weren't able to make it to see him last Thanksgiving)

Emma's Alabama dress and tall black boots were a hit with all the nurses!!

Though we have gone to Tuscaloosa every year since we have been married...this was the first time we went to the "other" UofA. We all enjoined walking around campus and seeing how much things had changed since Michael was there last. I mean he could not quit saying "man that is so different" and "that used to be apartments" and even "this one time..." It was a great walk down memory lane and I was able to catch some sweet Daddy daughter moments!

We were even able to squeeze in a date night with our besties! Got to see their new house, eat some yummy sushi and shake my booty with their oldest Lane! :-) It is so great that no matter how much time has passes we all just pick right back up as if it was yesterday. Hopefully this summer we will be able to plan a double family get together in FL!

This year Michael's mom Saundra had the family over to her house again. She is in Birmingham and it's a great meeting place and so much easier than us trying to drag Emma around to another location!!! We had a little photo shoot before the gang arrived and one thing is for sure...Emma is going to be able to wear this dress again next year!

While things were getting ready we needed some alone time with the leaves in the neighbors yard.

and we found a cat!!

 

With all the excitement someone didn't go down for a nap but I was pleasantly surprised that she seemed okay! :-) She slept well that night even if Daddy got home late since he braved the "grey Thursday" crowds. I just coined that phrase since it's the day before black Friday...feel free to use it! ;-P

Friday arrived far to soon for any of us but it was important to me to get back home by Saturday so we could have a day to recoup before the week started up again. We had some Christmas photos taken in the super cute outfit Grandmother got Emma.

For those of you who don't know Emma has 2 uncles...and they are both named Hunter! Confusing I know! ;-) Here is Hunter #2 (as we like to call him since he is the younger of the two) trying HARD not to show those pearly whites!

And the brothers even hugged for the camera!

 

Made a pit stop in Tupelo at Chic-fil-A to break up the trip!

Brinkley and Gabby are so ready to be home! They had a great time in Brinkley but there is NO place like home!!

Broke out our Christmas jammies...

And then went to the ER!!

Let me back track. On Friday after Thanksgiving we stopped by World Market to pick up a few Christmas presents for the family. Michael went to the back of the store while Emma and I looked at jewlery. After looking at that for a while I decided it was time to meet up with Daddy. We walked for a bit then Emma wanted to stop. We did and looked at some toys but it was a full store and I didn't want her to run off. I told her we had to meet up with Daddy and she started to walk while holding my hand then she went limp. Anyone with a 2 year old or one close to it knows what I am talking about. One second you are walking the next you are holding on to a child sized sack of potatoes. I felt 2 small "pops" which worried me...but she looked fine and didn't cry for more than 30 seconds so we were on our way. Now to the next day. Saturday was great but when it came to book time she decided she wouldn't get out of her toy box. I grabbed her hand and gave her a slight tug and she threw herself to the back of the toy box. That time I felt one pop and when I got her out her left arm was limp. I mean pick it up and it drops back to her side. We were freaking out...well Michael was freaking out verbally but I was almost silent. We put her coat on and wen to the ER. They got us in to triage within 30 minutes but by that time we already seeing that she was able to move her arm even though she still wouldn't squeeze Michael's finger. After an hour and a half she was running around the ER. Laughing and playing, climbing up on all the chairs in the room. I went back to the nurses station and they said it was going to be at least another 4 hours before we could see a doctor. We decided that since she was feeling good we would go to the Doctor 1st thing on Monday and if she had anything like this happen again we'd take her to the ER again on Sunday.

Sunday was great. She slept great that night and had a wonderful day. When she got up from her nap there was a new tree in both her room!!!

And the living room! :-)

That night Emma and Mommy made Aunt Donna's sugar cookies. I got Michael to stand in with helping for pictures sake. 

She was such a great helper!

And even put the sprinkles on them!

I think out of everything the eating of the cookies was her favorite part!

We also adopted our very own Elf on the Shelf! Meet Chrissy. (we named her before we read the book...but Emma seems to like the name!)

Monday morning I took her right in and after only seconds with the doctor I now know that Emma had had nursemaids elbow Leaned how to fix it if it happens again but so happy that it wasn't anything more than that!  

Monday night Michael shaved the beard he had been growing for Mo-vember and this was the winner!

Even got a cheesy one in honor of the birth of Pat and Elizabeth Sullivan's newest little girl.

Then on Friday he trimmed it up to this...since there was someone who donated to the cause and he really wanted the "undercover brother"!

Michael had drill that weekend so when Emma kept asking for him. I got him to send us a good pic in uniform so she would understand when I said Michael was at Army.

We went to visit Santa  and while she wasn't pumped but she didn't cry!!

Then we visited with my good friend Jana and her family! She is such a great mommy and we even made ice cream cone christmas trees with M&M's and coconut!

On Sunday Daddy made it back in time for us to go to Elizabeth Burris's birthday party! She is such a Daddy's girl!

After pizza we went to see the lights on the square and we prepared for a great week! 

Be blessed!!! And I will see y'all next week, to catch up on this past one!

Jill