Another Bit of Sad News

My mom just called. My great-Uncle Bill passed away last night. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer about a year ago, but chemotherapy was started and I thought that he was doing better. His wife, Ms. Betty, said that he had been coughing a lot last night and that he finally suggested she sleep in the guest bedroom so that she wouldn't be disturbed. When she went in this morning to check on him, he had passed away.

Please keep in your thoughts and prayers my Uncle Bill's family.

Flashback

I just had to add this in. I found this picture, taken a year ago today, when my mom and I were still in Omaha with Anthony. Mark had sent tulips to me for our anniversary (got some more this year, too!), and Mama wanted to take a picture of Anthony and I with it. Family will remember that I was sending out daily updates and most came with a picture...this was one of my favorites. Look at the smile on that little boy (and his Mama)!

Fair Days

A couple of weeks ago, Mark's parents, his youngest brother, Mark and I took Anthony to the St. Jude School and Church fair. He had a wonderful time (except on the rides) and won a prize at the Ducky booth. He walked off with a plush Bullwinkle (the moose from Rocky and Bullwinkle), and it's sitting on the washing machine waiting to be disinfected (can't be too careful!) Hope you enjoy! (And, you might notice we had an outfit change in the middle of it all...Huggies won't hold out forever, you know!)


This is my favorite one. Anthony was really enjoying the live band, and you can see some of the band members checking him out, too!


Picking out a duck...which one do I want?


I want THIS one!


I'm not too sure about this train ride...


But I know I'm not enjoying this Merry-go-Round! (And neither was Mommy from the look on her face.)

A Happier Day

Two wonderful things happened this week! First, my BIRTHDAY was Tuesday! I always love celebrating my birthday (who cares if I'm a year older? 27 is still a baby compared to some!), and I love getting cards and presents! Also, last year for my birthday, I was in Omaha with Anthony. Now, my older sister and mom were there to celebrate, but (sorry Kri and Mom) being home is a much better deal.

Also, today, Mark and I celebrate four years of marriage (again, to some, that's nothing)! In the past four years, we've been through some stuff! I'm proud to say that I still want to be married to him! :) It's been nice to share my life with Mark...he keeps me grounded, and I try to keep him in the clouds. I think it's a good mix.

Here's another REALLY cute pic of Anthony (as if there could not be a cute one)...he really loves his cookies.



In Anthony news, his last day with our sitter is tomorrow. On Monday he will start day care. I'm excited about this, but I'm also nervous. Will he catch more viruses? Will the teachers remember to put sunscreen on him before taking him out to play? Will he eat as well as he does for the sitter? I'm sure he'll be fine...these are some of the things I went through when he started with the sitter back in August. He didn't suffer, he's fine...so I know he will be with the day care, too.

Anthony has labs on Monday. I think I might ask to try something new. He seems so frightened when he's laid on his back to have the lab draw done. I wonder if I hold him on my lap if that will help him some. I think he feels so vulnerable when I lay him on his back. We'll see...Cheri? Melissa? What do you guys think? You're my lab techs....my experts!!!

Thanks for checking in on us! Love, Laurie, Mark and Anthony

Coming up in Anthony-land:
Friday: Daddy has the afternoon off; it's Anthony's last day at Ms. Valerie's
Saturday: Nana and Grandpa leave for a week in Las Vegas!
Sunday: Dinner at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's?
Monday: Labs and Anthony's first day at day care
Tuesday and beyond: Stay tuned!

I'm Not Sure I Can Take Anymore

Mark's classmate passed away last night after a fourteen month long battle with cancer. He left behind many loved ones, but most importantly his wife and their twins (almost 3 years old, I think). His journey with cancer started about the same time our transplant journey started with Anthony. The emails we received from Ed, and when he was too sick from his sister, were full of familiar medical terms and situations.

I don't have it in me to write more now, but I will once I'm not so in shock. Ed had a bone marrow transplant (from his sister) between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2004. He was doing well, and was quickly approaching his 100-day post transplant mark. Then we received the news that he had relapsed (day 99). Then, he was hospitalized for pneumonia and was put on a respirator. From there, I'm not so sure what else happened, other than his body did not have the strength to continue fighting.

Please pray for Maydel and the twins, their families, and Mark and his classmates.

I'm In Love

How could you not love a face that precious? And the T-Shirt says, "Kiss Me I'm Irish!"...and he sort of is. In a totally "great-great-great grandparent" sort of way. But, hey! He doesn't need to wear that shirt for me to want to kiss him.

Life is great today. My son learned how to give his mommy a kiss when asked for one.

Viva il Papa!

Today, the cardinals elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany to succeed Pope John Paul II as leader of the Catholic Church. I'm going to find it very interesting to follow this newly elected Pope and see how (if?) his leadership will change the Catholic Church. Viva il Benedictus PP. XVI !

A Heavy Heart

Last night I received a call from my mom. My dad's best friend passed away at 7:00 last evening. Mr. Darrell had been sick, suddenly, with a lung issue. He had been throwing up some blood, and an emergency surgery was performed to remove his right lung. He was sent home from the hospital this past Wednesday, I believe, and was expected to make a full recovery. Unfortunately, he began to feel poorly yesterday so his wife took him back to the hospital. From that point, no one is sure yet what happened. It is assumed that the threw a blood clot and died from complications from that.

What really gets me is that Mr. Darrell had so much to live for! Why did God choose to take him early? I know it's not my place to question God (and it seems I've done so much of that lately), but I'm angry. Mr. Darrell leaves behind his wife, four children (three married, one a freshman in college), and a grandson. Why would God choose now? His family deserves to have him with them. His grandson deserves to have his Opa (German for grandfather).

And at the same time, I realize that this could have easily been my father. Mr. Darrell was in good health before this lung incident. My father is in good health, too. What makes him any different from Mr. Darrell? The thought of losing my father now is unbearable.

I know one thing. I'm going to cherish every moment I have with my dad. Hug your dad today (or as soon as you can) if you're lucky enough to still have him on this Earth.

Rest peacefully in the loving arms of Jesus, Mr. Darrell. You will be so missed here.

I love you, Daddy.

A Music Review, As It Were

Last night, I sang with the Baton Rouge Symphony Chorus (part of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Beethoven’s Mass in C Minor, Op. 86. It’s hard to imagine that someone so profoundly deaf composed something so beautiful. Every time I hear a piece by Beethoven, I am struck by his genius. Beethoven wrote this particular piece during his employ by Prince Nikolaus II as a tribute to the Prince’s daughter, Maria, for her birthday. It was not a success. As usual, the instrumentalists that made up the orchestra were a temperamental lot and were always late or not showing up for their rehearsals. On top of that, they had a hard time resigning themselves to working for someone who was deaf.

For this reason alone, the piece should not have been a success. However, in true Beethoven style, the piece was written well ahead of its time. The music is dissonant in nature, there are many a capella parts, and there are many key changes throughout the piece. Music in the early 1800’s was not for Beethoven.

Last night, however, the piece was greatly appreciated by our audience, even if the soloists did fall a little flat, and took liberties with the tempo (ah, soloists!). Our Soprano section (of which I am a proud member) took the piece by storm. We floated to every high note and nailed every entrance. The Alto, Tenor and Bass sections were equally impressive. A big pat on the back, guys!

Before our performance, the orchestra played two other pieces. The first is a piece with a long title by Edvard Grieg. Suite for Strings in Olden Style from Holberg’s Time, Op. 40 is the full title. The entire piece, composed in 1884, was to commemorate the bicentennial of the birth of the Norweigian dramatist Ludvig Holberg. The five movements in this piece were nice, but it was the third movement that really caught me and stirred my imagination. Gavotte: Allegretto, Musette: Un poco musso – Gavotte reminded me so much of a dance. Think back to royalty in the late 1700’s; women in beautiful dresses, men in crazy clothes with powdered wigs (we’ve all seen that in movies, right?). Now think of their dances. Where they all line up and couples dance down the tunnel of other dancers. Then they all bow to each other, and it’s all in time to a lovely waltz or rondetto. This is what I saw in my mind when listening to the Un poco musso (a little music, literally).

The part of the performance I enjoyed most was when the orchestra played Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring. This piece always moves me, and last night it had me in tears. Originally written for a 13-piece orchestra for Martha Graham’s performance for an “evening of modern ballet at the Library of Congress”, Appalachian Spring is now most commonly played with a full orchestra.

The song, Simple Gifts, written by Shaker Elder Joseph Brakett, Jr (in 1848) is the common theme in Copland’s piece. It’s a beautiful tune, found in almost any Church songbook (find the words here ). Played by an orchestra, and one with a superb flutist as the BRSO has, it’s a compelling piece, worthy of at least one standing ovation.

(I hope you enjoyed my review of the music! Next time I’ll try a review on Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (non-music people will know it as the Ode to Joy)).

On to Anthony news. And I’m done. Really! There’s absolutely nothing interesting to tell you about my precious little man. Well, except that he’s my precious little man! He spent the night last night with Nana and Grandpa so that Mark could come to listen to the concert (dragged him kicking and screaming, really) and so that we wouldn’t have to wake Anthony up to bring him home at 10:30. I stopped by on my way to work this morning, and as soon as Anthony saw me, he waved “Bye Bye” to me! Apparently he was having a blast at Nana and Grandpa’s and was unconcerned that he really hadn’t seen me in a while. I’m terribly hurt.

This evening we will attend our Church fair for a crawfish boil and to let Anthony ride a few kiddie rides. The whole time, you’ll be able to see me cringing in thought of all the germs Anthony will be exposed to on those rides. I’ll be the crazy lady with the gallon jug of Purell!

Oh! I did forget this! (well, almost..thank you, Stacy!)...Anthony will be down to ONE MEDICINE by the end of Sunday!!! On Monday morning, I will only have to serve up his little bitty Prograf pill! Life, truly, is good in our house!

Well, off to bigger and better things (yeah, right!)

Thanks for checking in on us! Love, Laurie, Mark and Anthony

Coming up in Anthony-land:
Saturday: an evening with Maw Maw and Paw Paw while Mommy and Daddy are out to dinner
Sunday: celebrating Uncle Matt’s birthday!
Monday and beyond: stay tuned!

I'm Blue for You; Give me a Cheerio

I took Anthony to his sitter's house today for the first time in a week. And last week he wasn't with her much either. Easter Monday through Wednesday, Mark and I were both down and out with the flu. From Sunday evening until Thursday morning, Anthony spent his days at either Spa Nana (with Mark's mom) or Spa Maw Maw (with my mom). Finally on Thursday morning, Anthony went to the sitter's house. He went back to Spa Nana on Friday since Mark only worked a half day, and then he spent all weekend with Mark and I. On Monday, our sitter was sick so Anthony again rested at Spa Nana. Mark and I made the decision to keep him away from the sitter while we thought she might still be contagious (she also had the flu), so Mark's mom kept Anthony again on Tuesday. Yesterday (finally, we're coming to the end of the prelude to my tale), Mark stayed home with Anthony.

So this morning I took Anthony to his sitter's house. During the drive Anthony was his usual pleasant self. He loves riding in the car, he loves when Mommy sings (really, he does) and he REALLY loves when I reach back to him and tickle his toes. So, we pulled in to the sitter's neighborhood and Anthony got this look of "Uh oh!" on his face. When we got to her house, the whining began. I've NEVER had him do this before (he LOVES his sitter), but I wasn't surprised. He's been so spoiled this past week! When we got in to the house, I put Anthony in the highchair and got his medicine out of the diaper bag. I turned around, and Anthony was holding his breath and turning blue! He was SO MAD that I was leaving him there! I tapped him on his cheeks and he started to cry so hard. It really was funny, but I knew he wouldn't appreciate me laughing at him, so I got ready to hightail it out of there.

Once I was out of his sight, I stood inside the house listening to see if he would calm down. The sitter dumped some Cheerios on his tray and immediately he stopped crying. I was forsaken for some damn Cheerios! Now I must admit that I love the goodness that is Cheerio, too, so I would probably pass over my mother for some of that honey oat yumminess!

Anthony has another round of immunizations tomorrow afternoon. We've got him on a schedule where he'll get shots every other month to catch up on his immunizations. By the time his birthday rolls around in November, he'll be caught up and life will progress normally (ha).

Well, I'll update again soon! Thanks for checking in on us!

Love, Laurie, Mark and Anthony

Coming up in Anthony-land:
Friday: morning with the sitter; afternoon with Mommy and Daddy, and off to Dr Patterson!
Saturday & Sunday: hopefully nothing!
Monday and beyond: stay tuned!

My First Entry

This is from the Caringbridge site I am in the process of closing:

Life in Anthony-land is still going great! He had labs drawn yesterday and everything looked fine. His blood counts have finally stabilized, and Anthony is able to come off of the iron supplement he's been on since August. One less med to worry about! We did switch his vitamins (Poly-vi-Sol) to the one with iron in it, just as a little booster.

With the Iron gone, Anthony is only on two meds related to his transplant. He will take his anti-rejection medicine, Prograf, for life (unless Omaha makes the decision to see if they can wean him from that). He is also on Acyclovir (an anti-viral). The Acyclovir is for the cold sore virus Anthony was unsuccessfully fighting over the winter months. The cold sores finally disappeared with the addition of the Acyclovir, and we've been on a three-month dose of that (ending this April 18th). So once April 18th rolls around, Anthony will only be on his Prograf! Sigh. Mommy's so happy!

With all of that said, I'm working on a new website for Anthony. I feel like he is healthy enough to not warrant a Caringbridge page any more. You'll be able to check for Anthony updates there, and I'll be able to put up pictures, there will be a place to add a comment to my post (so it will be like signing a guestbook). I'll let everyone know when it's up and running. Until then, I'll keep using Caringbridge.

Our sitter is sick with the flu this week, so Anthony has been enjoying time at Spa Nana. He is appropriately spoiled and pampered and loved. It's nice to have such a wonderful support group of family in town that can help us take care of Anthony. That said, Mark and I are thinking of putting Anthony in day care so he will have more exposure to kids his age, and will get experience in SHARING (a small problem right now) and hopefully will meet some play mates.

I've inflated the pool I bought last summer for Anthony. It needs to be cleaned, but I'm sure we'll start spending time in it very soon! If bath time is any indicator, Anthony should love being in the pool this year. Maybe it's time to look into Mommy and Me swimming lessons!

Please keep one of Mark's classmates in your prayers. He has cancer and received a bone marrow transplant from his sister around Thanksgiving. He relapsed in his bone marrow at almost 100 days post-transplant, and got pneumonia. He is now on in the CCU at MD Anderson, and is on a respirator. The next 72 hours are a critical time for him; his BMT doctor has told the family that miracles do happen and that the family should not give up hope. Mark's classmate and his wife have twins (boy/girl) who are about two-years old. Please keep this wonderful family in your thoughts and prayers.

As always, thanks for checking in on us. Please sign the guestbook so we know you were here!

Much love, Laurie, Mark and Anthony

Coming up in Anthony-land:
Wednesday & Thursday: nothing!
Friday: Mama AND Daddy have the afternoon off, but Anthony has to go to the pediatrician for his next round of immunizations! :(
Saturday and beyond: stay tuned!