Christmas 2008

The kids had a great Christmas! They had a ton to open between Santa's visit, family and friends. Santa did have to write them a letter because there were things that they asked for that they didn't get. But her explained that he tried his best and that seemed to work well for them! He also had to tell them what good kids they were, Emeri had expressed some concern whether she was going to get gifts on Christmas Eve. Here is our conversation...

Emeri: Mom? Does Santa really not bring gifts if kids are bad??

Mom: Well... If kids are really bad and not sorry for being bad then yes, but if you are bad sometimes and say your are sorry then he still brings you toys!

Emeri: Mom, I am sorry for hitting and kicking Nathan today I didn't mean to! Do you think that I will get presents? I am not sure!

Oh you have to love them! We had a wonderful Christmas we went to our friends the Burgon's house for dinner on Christmas Eve and had our friends the Robbins over for dinner on Christmas day. Then we took the kids to see Bed Time Stories and they loved it! They have had such a great time playing with all their toys! Here are some pictures...

Emeri loves to hug and kiss my belly! I can only imagine how much she is going to love this baby! Here we are at the lights in the Woodlands... She is so sweet!

Here the kids are sporting their new Christmas Pj's! They don't always love that this is the only gift that they can open Christmas Eve but it was a tradition with me when I was a kid and something that we have started in our family!

I love this picture more for Emeri's hair than any thing! It is Medusa! Here Nathan is showing off his Lout! He made out good this year. What is not shown is a game table up in the game room with Air Hockey, Pool & Tennis Table. He has had so much fun playing he is very good and often beats us all!!

Here Emeri is showing off what she got. Her theme this year was littlest pet shop & Polly Pockets. She has loved playing with them all. She was very excited to get her very own pink DS as well. She got a Dr Vet game that she often has to kick mom off of! : )

Thanks to those who helped us celebrate this Christmas season, and for all those who sent gifts to us and the kids! They have loved it!

Cure Kids Cancer Radiothon

I think that I mentioned that Emeri and our family was asked to participate in the Cure Kids Cancer Radiothon. We did a prerecorded interview and then we were able to speak live on the radio. Well I did, Emeri wouldn't say a word. All the money raised went to Texas Children's Cancer Center. They were able to raise $766,801.00. They had a party the last day where the families were asked to come, it was a great night. The kids missed Santa who was there when a lot of the inpatients were there. But they each got a build a bear and a new toy, were able to make some crafts and thank you cards for those who participated. We had a great opportunity to meet a freshman in college who was diagnosed with ALL Leukemia at the same age as Emeri, 22 months old. She is a beautiful girl who has enjoyed cheerleading, tumbling and now taking on college. It was great to talk to her and see where we can be in 14 + years.

(The two guys on the right were the two that we did the live radiothon with, Cactus Jack & Kevin Kline)

(Here Emeri & Daddy are delivering thank you badges that the kids made to all the DJ's for their time and efforts! Surprise she actually did it with a smile. She usually is to shy to do that stuff!)

http://waystogive.texaschildrens.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=819

Here is the site that tells Emeri's story for the Radiothon, you can't hear the recorded interview yet, we are supposed to get a CD of it but we haven't yet! Any way you can read up on her and the other children that were featured!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and your families, we are so thankful for all of you in our lives. We hope that you have a wonderful Christmas! Be safe and happy!

Much Love,
Brent, Trina, Nathan, Emeri and Baby #3

5 Days Til Christmas...

Wow, this month has gone by fast!! We have been so busy with different activities. It would be very hard for me to recap them all. For those of you who know me I am not the most organized or on top if it person. So you are going to get little snips here and there and mostly pictures!! We have had a fun time with lots of Christmas parties, dance recitals, basketball games doing some service projects. We are excited and counting the days until Christmas. We have been so blessed this year with such wonderful family and friends. Please enjoy the pictures and I promise to keep up on this better. Here is some of our happenings...



Nathan playing basketball, he has really come a long way and even made a basket in last weeks game! He is enjoying having daddy as his coach and you can see improvements every week!


We had the chance to go to a Texas Children's Hospital Christmas party. The kids had a blast. There were different bounce houses, games, music and tons of yummy food! Of course Santa and Mrs Clause were there... Here are some of the fun things that they got to do...




Nathan actually roped this his self, he was so proud! You go little cowboy!


They let the kids climb up in the fire trucks and play around... He had a blast!


When we got there we noticed these handsome young men were wearing black name tags... You guessed it there were over 40 Elders, Sisters and Couple Missionaries. I guess they have them come and help with the games, food and to help set up and take down. They were told that they couldn't procolite(sp?) but that they could wear their badges! It was so cool! Here is one helping Emeri play the game. It was fun to talk with them!

Emeri had her holiday dance recital! Her first one that they have done in Ballet! She did great! She was so funny, Brent and I were laughing because they were so cute and in the middle she yelled out, "Dad, STOP!" Here is both the younger and older classes. They all did very well!

Here Ms Michelle had to help her find her spot! We love Ms Michelle!!

After her recital she was running around and hurt her foot, it didn't get better and after taking her to gymnastics the teacher thought we should take her to the Dr to make sure it wasn't broken. Luckily it was just a sprain. Phew... She did great with daddy at her side for the X-ray!! She still is limping a little but it is getting better! No dance or gymnastics for a couple weeks Dr's orders!

This was our family home evening project and treat. We have discovered S'mores and love to make them. Yes, that is Brent roasting marshmallows over our stove! It works, and they taste great!

Here the kids are decorating our premade gingerbread house. I am not crafty enough to baked and assemble. But they still have fun just the same!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We are off again to another Christmas party tonight for the Texas Children's Cure Kids Cancer Radiothon. Our family was interviewed for this and yesterday Emeri and I had the opportunity to go on live and talk with them! It was a very neat experience!

Thanksgiving is over... Moving on to Christmas

I am usually one of those people that doesn't want to hear Christmas music or see a tree or decoration until after Thanksgiving. We usually put up our tree and lights the day after. Because we were gone we decided to do it on the Wed before Thanksgiving. It so doesn't feel like Christmas to me! I am not really in the mood and even with our lights on the house, and the tree up I just can't seem to get in the Christmas Spirit.

Brent was determined to get a new fake tree this year. As many of you know we moved a little over a year ago and our house has a higher ceiling in it than our old one. So to him that translates into a bigger tree!! We spent on night driving from Home Depot to Home Depot looking for the tree that we liked the best. Apparently we were not the only ones that thought it looked the most real because it ended up taking us the next day and the 4th store to find it.

Here Brent and the kids are getting it all set up! The kids were so excited to see the tree go up, to get out the decorations.

The kids did a great job, if you look really closely to the front of the tree there is a huge gob of decorations in one spot! I kept telling them to spread it around the front, back up and down and then Emeri told me that I could do that! Thanks sis! They really are so sweet! I will have to take another picture of them in front of the fully decorated tree!

I have to explain this shirt... My friend Julie made it for me. For those of you who have ever seen me pregnant I carry my babies all out front. I really look like I just stuck a basketball in my shirt. And I have been told that from behind you can't really tell and then I turn around and bamm... Well I was complaining to her how I just get gawked at and the "Oh my when are you due??" "Do you always carry your babies that way?" So she happened to be with me when I got such a comment and she said.. "I am going to make you a shirt so nobody has to ask!" So here it is the shirt! I wore it to my doctors appointment and to the grocery stores and got mixed reviews. But I really like it. Maybe that is why I am not ready for Christmas because it could be as early as 2 weeks later that I have a baby!

Happy decorating to you all, I hope that you are more in the Christmas spirit than I am!

Thanksgiving

Wow, I can't believe that Thanksgiving has already come and gone. This year has gone by so fast with many miles stones for our family. I would feel very ungrateful if I didn't take the time to recognize all the many blessings in my life. First and foremost is my wonderful family. I have been blessed with a wonderful loving husband who if he had known what he was getting into would have run the other way. Instead he loves me through my many moods and craziness! My children are such a blessing not always perfect but amazing and teach me so much! Nathan is such a caring soul, he loves to help others. But even more than that he is his father child and loves to make people laugh! (Though sometimes embarrassing to his mother, I am not the most out going type!) He is such a social butterfly!!

Emeri is a pillar of strength and determination. She has made it through so much more than any child her age should ever have to but she did it with grace and strength. She has a mind of her own and knows just what she wants and how she wants it. Not always seeing that mom knows best and I have learned to let some of my pride and stubbornness go. I know that it is important to let your children make their choices in moderation and Emeri has really chosen to express her self in how she dresses and has her hair done. This has been a very hard lesson for me as a mom to learn. But we are getting their. Just so you know if she is wearing a funky hair style or clothes that don't match it is not because I didn't put up a fight... I love you my sweet princess! :)

The gospel of Jesus Christ is such a pillar of strength for me I am not sure where I would be with out it. I am grateful for my testimony and only hope that I can continue to grow in wisdom and strength.

We have been blessed with amazing extended family and friends, we love you all and are so grateful that you are a part of our lives.

Now down to our activities. Last week was a very fun and busy week. Nathan and Emeri's last day before Thanksgiving break was on Tues. Nathan's 1st grade class had a presentation on the Blue Bonnets of Texas and then a Thanksgiving feast. His teacher Ms Bigler gave him the ending part she said because she needed a strong reader. He had brought home his part a while ago and worked very hard to memorize it. By then end he could not only recite his part from memory but also some of the other kids! He did a great job and it was so fun to watch! Then came the Thanksgiving feast. The parents were asked to bring in chicken nuggets, grapes, carrots and dip and drinks. Well knowing our Nathan I knew he wasn't going to eat any thing. So we packed his lunch and that was what he ate!

The Friday before that we had gotten a phone call from Julie English the principal at Coulson Tough where Nathan goes to school. That is never a phone call that a parent wants to get. At first I was afraid that something had happened to him. They are always good at telling you that it is not an emergency but did let us know that for personal reasons Ms Bigler was leaving. That Nathan would have a new teacher after the Thanksgiving break. It is a teacher that he knows, she was a kindergarten teacher last year and she has spent time over the last 3 weeks in his class room. The only thing is this same thing happened to Nathan last year. They decided that the Kindergarten classes were to big and so they added another one. Nathan was chosen to be put into that class. I hope that he doesn't think that this is a regular thing, although it seems to be the theme in our family. Emeri's preschool teacher also left this year to take a new job and had a new teacher come in. I have been reminded that last year turned out to be a blessing and that his teacher Ms Berkley was wonderful. I only hope and pray that this is the case this year as well. Ms Bigler, we are going to miss you so much, we understand your reasons and wish you all the luck. We look forward to seeing you during lunch and when you come to help out!

Thanksgiving dinner was quite at our house. We usually get together with friends but most every one had family in town or was out of town for the Holidays! So we decided to still have the turkey and few things that we like to eat and then drive to San Antonio to take the kids to Sea World. It was so much fun. And really it was great weather and not to bad for the crowds! The kids had a great time swimming, roasting marshmallows and enjoyed being in the hotel. After Saturday both kids were ready to go home and did great in the car. So all and all it was a great Thanksgiving! Thank you all for being a part of our lives! We love you!!

Service to Mankind Gala

Brent and I had the opportunity to attend the "Service to Mankind Gala" this weekend benefiting and put on by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It has been a growing relationship with many of those wonderful women who work for them through Team in Training and the different organizations that they run. This was for something different and very special. For those of you who didn't know about a year after Emeri was diagnosed with Leukemia we were asked if she would like to be the honored teammate for Team in Training for their cycle team. We of course said yes at the opportunity. When we went to the kick of party and hearing and meeting these people who were interested in training every Saturday for 4 months and then riding their bikes in a race of 109 miles in one day in honor of our child and raising significant funds Brent felt the need to sign up as well. After he did the company that he works for Anadarko sponsored him and made a very generous donation to LLS. Resulting in them getting an award this year as a "Community Honoree". Brent was asked to accept this award on their behalf. Emeri was also honored that night as being the Honored Patient. It was such a proud moment for me with both having their pictures in the program as well as a video clip of them. We were also very honored and excited to have Dr Dreyer be our guest. It was a very fun evening, although getting dressed up like we were going to the prom 7 1/2 months pregnant wasn't as much fun! But still... Brent looked very handsome in his tux! They also honored a nurse from a different hospital and a Transplant Dr that works at numerous hospitals including Texas Children's. I was able to chat with one of the Transplant Dr's who is going to help me get the baby's cord blood banked here in Houston for free! I had found a company because of Emeri and the benefit it would be to her that would do it for free as well but she doesn't like to have it shipped over night and this way it would be here in Houston. We all agreed that it was one of those things that we will do put pray that we never have to use it!

Happy Halloween

Halloween was so much fun! We had Aunt Cheryl here for our Church Trunk or Treat. The idea is like Trick or Treat but instead you go to each car's trunk and get candy. It was so fun, each car was decorated or a game for the kids to play. Of course they had way to much candy already. Then came Halloween night, we have a tradition of eating hot dogs with neighbors in our old neighborhood then to trick or treat in our neighborhood. I kept hearing that people were expecting more kids so they kept dumping candy into Emeri and Nathan's bags. By the time we were done they were both full. Brent and I were sad parents. Half way through Nathan was done, but don't worry we kept on telling him to keep going, you never know what good candy those other houses might have. Now I am regretting that since all day long I hear "Can I have some candy??" I think it is time for me to go through and send the rest with Brent to work.

Here are a few pictures of our little ones, Nathan was Ash Ketchum from Pokemon, Emeri was a Kitty Princess. Not really any thing to do with a princess but because it had pink and a tutu she decided that made her a princess. She was getting upset because every one just kept calling her a cat! Any way she looked pretty cute and Nathan was so excited about his costume!

Trying Something New

After much thought I have decided to try and do a blog. Emeri's Caringbridge site has been such a blessing with her treatments and keeping every one updated that I want to find a way to continue doing that for our family. With Emeri being off treatment our appointments are only once a month which mean that there isn't as much to update on or about her, that being said I will continue to update after each appointment on Caringbridge. I thought that this would be a good way to start our "new" life off treatment and keep you all updated on the happenings of our family. Please be patient with me, I am new at this and still trying to figure it all out! (As Brent can attest to!) It seems to be that I am not as computer literate as I thought. Please check back soon for Halloween pictures and updates. Thanks for you continued love and support! Hope you enjoy reading our going on's!