Mommy and the Kids

--
--

HaPpY bIrThDaY, POP!

--

Today is Pop's birthday!

--

HaPpY bIrThDaY, PoP! We miss you!

HaPpY bIrThDaY, sAm!

--

Today is my cousin's birthday!

--

hApPy BiRtHdAy, SAM!

--

Update on Pop

--

Nana and Pop are still in Texas - tomorrow (Monday, the 20th of April) will be the start of their 4th week there. Pop spent several days in the Emergency Room at MD Anderson this past week. He had been discharged to the Rotary House but then he developed a fever, so they had to go through the emergency room in order to get admitted; however, there were no rooms available. I think it was Thursday night (or maybe Friday night) when they finally got re-admitted to a "real" room at MD Anderson. He still has a fever - but today it was right around 100.5 - which is better than it has been at 102.5! It is my understanding that once the fever breaks - they can go ahead and start with Round 2 of Chemo!

--

Also in the past week - they've had to give him a couple units of blood because his hemoglobin was low and he shaved his beard and mustache (I've been with Brannon for 12 1/2 years and I have never seen Pop without his beard). The last I heard - they were pleased with his platelet counts and that they were coming up.

--

Hopefully, the fever will break so that he can get onto Round 2!

--

My understanding of his treatment plan is 6 rounds of chemo; 5 weeks of radiation (at 5 days a week) and then surgery. I don't know this for sure - and as everyone knows - things can change.

--

HaPpY bIRtHdAy, ChRiS!

--

Today is my brother-in-law's birthday!

--

Happy Birthday, Chris - hope you have a great day!

Aunt Dee

--

Gloria Cox, aka Aunt Dee, February 4, 1928 - April 14, 2009. She was 81 years old. Aunt Dee is my {maternal} grandmother's older sister. I did not know her very well, but she and my mom were quite close. The biggest thing I do remember first hand was her love for animals! She always had Irish Wolfhounds - two, in particular, that I remember are James and Frog. Frog was a white Irish Wolfhound and James was a BIG gray one who did not know he was big - he literally thought he was a lap dog! The biggest thing I remember hearing my mom talk about was Aunt Dee's ability to grow lollipops when my mom was little.

--

Dee was preceded in death by her husband, Buddy, a son, Bruce and a brother, Ivan. She is survived by two siblings, a sister, Carol and a brother, Garth and his wife Lil, and many others who loved her.

--

Rest in peace, Aunt Dee - you are already missed!

Left to right: Carol (my Grandma), Pauline (my mom), and Aunt Dee, circa 1999.

The kids and their Pop

--

Pop

-

Pop (Brannon's mom's husband) has recently been diagnosed with Sarcoma, a rare cancer. Sarcoma accounts for approximately 1% of all new adult cancer cases per year. We do not know a lot other than it has been classified as late-stage sarcoma. Nana and Pop are in Texas at MD Anderson to finalize the diagnosis and to (hopefully) begin the treatment phase. Hopefully we will have more information today after their appointment in Texas.

--

Please keep them in your prayers!!!

--

Friday night with Nana and Pop

--
The kids and I went up to Nana and Pop's (Bran's mom and her husband) Friday night. Nana and Pop had bought some beads to make bracelets and necklaces!

--

Brooklyn hard at work making her necklace!

--

Pop showing Bella how to do it...
--

More of Mi-Mi's Visit

--
Just a couple more pics of Mi-Mi's visit! Here they are riding the horses at the outlets!
--

--

A Visit from Mi-Mi

--

Mi-Mi came into town for a quick visit - she came down Saturday morning and went back Sunday morning!

--

We headed to the outlets in Foley when she arrived. We stopped at Mellow Mushroom for pizza before hitting the shops!!

--
Here is the best group photo I could get of the kids and Mi-Mi!
--
--
Brooklyn and Mi-Mi
--

--

--

Brooklyn and Mi-Mi coloring together..

--

--

A Sunny Sunday

These are from a few Sundays ago - but....we had a really nice day and decided to go out for a walk to enjoy the weather and get some fresh air! Brady was in the Maya wrap and the girls wanted to take their strollers along!

Brooklyn got tired of pushing her stroller and wanted Daddy to push her instead!! We stopped by our house and picked up her-size stroller for the rest of the walk!

Trip to Anniston - Part 4 - Zach's Birthday Party

--
It happened to work out that we were in town for Zach's (my nephew) 2nd birthday party!!! The kids had a good time playing with all of DJ and Zach's toys!
--

Bella playing with the goggles.

Aunt Angie and Brooklyn!

Bella on the dinosaur - she loved this thing!

Drew and Bella drawing on the chalkboard.

The birthday boy opening his presents!

Brooklyn playing with the goggles.

All the little ones playing in Zach's room!
--

Trip to Anniston - Part 3 - Playing at Da's House

--

There were taken at my dad's house - the kids are Bella, Brooklyn and Whitney (my niece). Brooklyn and Whitney are 2 weeks apart (Brooklyn being the older).

--
--

Trip to Anniston - Part 2 - DJ's Basketball Game

--

While we were in Anniston, we were able to go to DJ's (my nephew) basketball game! Here are the pics! They played a great game - it is Upwards basketball, so there is no score - just a good time! Bella had a blast "cheering" with the cheerleaders! I see ballgames in our future!

--
--
--

Christmas with Nana and Pop

--

After eating lunch at Van and Debbie's - Nana and Pop came back to our house and we "did" Christmas with them! The girls each got a Cabbage Patch Doll, a Princess Barbie Doll (Bella - Cinderella; Brooklyn - Snow White), pajamas and clothes! Brady got some onesies (the good ones that snap on the side and you don't have to pull them over his head), some little pants and a Teddy Bear! Bella is really into opening presents. Brooklyn on the other hand didn't quite get enough of a nap - so she'd only open her presents in Pop's lap! Thank you Nana and Pop!!!

--

Bella is showing Brady his new teddy bear!

--