Wow, how easy it is to get caught up in Christmas preparation! Actually, I have been caught up in working on one Christmas gift. Aly's only desire, this year, was a "new" bedroom. She has had the smallest of our bedrooms and since she couldn't think of anything else she wanted, I have been working to switch her bedroom with our guest bedroom. I'm still trying to figure out why I didn't say I'd start the project after Christmas! I'm happy to report I completed the gift last night. The lower half of the room was a navy blue so with Aly's blessing I put chalkboard paint over that. The upper half is an aqua color. All the furniture has been moved and pictures have been successfully hung. I think she is happy with the results. She told me she slept good and said how quiet it is in her new room, so I'll take that as a yes. Her old bedroom was right over our living room so she could always hear the tv and people talking. The new room is in the front of the house and not over any rooms we always use, so yes it is quieter! I still have to get a set of chalk so she can try out the walls!
So, now we will move on to other Christmas festivities! I'm feeling weeks behind now. We are going to make cookies today. I have presents to wrap and some last minute shopping to do! Not to mention what a mess my house is right now! Hopefully I'll be able to whip it into shape during my days off.
Aly is continuing her road to recovery. It was Exploratory Day at school, yesterday. The kids had many activities to choose from. Aly chose to watch Home Alone, which included activities with duct tape and then the other half of the day was swimming. I got a call, from the nurses office, about 45 minutes before the end of the day, telling me that Aly was tired and wanted to come home. I guess she had too much fun! Most days, when she gets home, she seems tired and doesn't want to do much. I'm still waiting for her to feel better and get back to some activities. I think it would make her happier. I've been waiting for her to tell me she's ready to get back into the pool with the swim team. She just hasn't had the extra energy.
I must say a belated "thank you" to the wonderful Middle School East staff who helped put together t-shirt and wristband sales. I've placed an order for 141 shirts and about the same number of wristbands. Thank you to all of the families who have made purchases. We truly appreciate the support. I'm hoping to get the shirts distributed before Rally for Aly day in January!
We feel we have received the best Christmas gift possible, Aly's good health reports. We can only hope and pray that the cancer is gone for good and that Aly will continue to feel better as the days, months, and years go by. We ask for your continued prayers, not only for Aly, but all who are battling cancer. Please help support programs and organizations that support kids with cancer. We have been fortunate to be on the receiving end of such programs and can tell you how important they are.
Merry Christmas to you all and may you find peace and joy this coming new year!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
indulging
I hope you will all indulge me a little. I am missing the writing I was doing during Aly's treatments and all. Maybe I'll have to start a diary or something that I can write in every day!
Today, I've been in a funky sort of mood. Maybe because I listened to the KS95 radio-athon for Gillette's Children's Hospital on my way to work. The story was about a 3 year old boy with a brain tumor, much like Aly's, on his optic nerves with vision loss. I didn't hear the beginning of the story and for some reason his tumor is inoperable. He is being treated with radiation to try to keep the tumor under control. Anyways, it made me sad and brought up all the memories of what Aly has gone through. I was almost happy that I had to go into work because I think I would've sat in my car and just had a nice cry! I know my women friends can understand that! :)
I am so very proud of both my kids. Aly is such a trooper. She still has been having days of being tired and it doesn't help that we drag her out to her brother's hockey games, like last night! She is soooo happy he is a senior this year, so she knows there is an end in sight. We received her report card, in the mail today, and a couple of her teachers had comments about what a positive role model she is! She also got a, "great kid". She sees that and says, "thank you Mr. O, but..." Then she kind of trailed off on her sentence which gave me the impression she didn't know what that was all about. So, I had to tell her, "you ARE a great kid!"
I've got to brag about Tom as well. I know he won't like me doing so, but too bad. It is a mom's right! If any of you attend any of the hockey games, take a close look at the back of Tom's helmet. I had some grey ribbon (brain cancer) stickers sitting around, which I had been using for making cards. He said he wanted one for his helmet. Every time I see that sticker on his helmet, my heart is warm. Not many of you have seen my kids together. All they do is pick on each other and antagonize each other. It is a rare occasion when they show love towards one another. This little sticker means a lot! I told Aly, the other day, "your brother may pick on you more than anything else, but the fact that he put a sticker on his helmet shows that he cares about you a lot."
Anyways, I hope you are all finding some joy during this holiday season. Usually you don't have to look too hard even if you are going through difficult times. Thanks for letting me indulge...
Today, I've been in a funky sort of mood. Maybe because I listened to the KS95 radio-athon for Gillette's Children's Hospital on my way to work. The story was about a 3 year old boy with a brain tumor, much like Aly's, on his optic nerves with vision loss. I didn't hear the beginning of the story and for some reason his tumor is inoperable. He is being treated with radiation to try to keep the tumor under control. Anyways, it made me sad and brought up all the memories of what Aly has gone through. I was almost happy that I had to go into work because I think I would've sat in my car and just had a nice cry! I know my women friends can understand that! :)
I am so very proud of both my kids. Aly is such a trooper. She still has been having days of being tired and it doesn't help that we drag her out to her brother's hockey games, like last night! She is soooo happy he is a senior this year, so she knows there is an end in sight. We received her report card, in the mail today, and a couple of her teachers had comments about what a positive role model she is! She also got a, "great kid". She sees that and says, "thank you Mr. O, but..." Then she kind of trailed off on her sentence which gave me the impression she didn't know what that was all about. So, I had to tell her, "you ARE a great kid!"
I've got to brag about Tom as well. I know he won't like me doing so, but too bad. It is a mom's right! If any of you attend any of the hockey games, take a close look at the back of Tom's helmet. I had some grey ribbon (brain cancer) stickers sitting around, which I had been using for making cards. He said he wanted one for his helmet. Every time I see that sticker on his helmet, my heart is warm. Not many of you have seen my kids together. All they do is pick on each other and antagonize each other. It is a rare occasion when they show love towards one another. This little sticker means a lot! I told Aly, the other day, "your brother may pick on you more than anything else, but the fact that he put a sticker on his helmet shows that he cares about you a lot."
Anyways, I hope you are all finding some joy during this holiday season. Usually you don't have to look too hard even if you are going through difficult times. Thanks for letting me indulge...
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Rally for Aly courtesy of Japan
Hello Everyone!
I am sharing this link, I hope you can all click on it and watch a wonderful video starring our friends in Japan who wrote a song "Rally for Aly". They work with handicapped people in Japan and they have used Aly as an example of courage and strength in making it through a difficult time. It is really amazing and touching to know Aly's story has traveled across the world! Please comment and let me know if you are unable to view it. I'd like to share it with as many people as possible.
Aly is doing good, by the way! :) She had a hard week last week with fatigue and only managed to do half days at school for most of the week. By Friday, she said she was feeling back to normal. I'm hoping the fatigue will stay away now, only time will tell!
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