My Journey continues ....

There are no answers yet, it seems with each new test just comes more

questions.  My appointment last week brought a new set of questions along

with a few concerns. But with my family (blood and bond)

my journey will continue until we have concured this ..?????

I can say that since my blood transfusion that I am feeling much better,

My hemoglobin count is up 10.6 ... wow ....

I think i actually forgot how it felt to have a bit of energy, some color in my hands

and not feel tired all the time

I am thankful for that...

Black Friday .....

We survived another one !!!!!

Going back in time .... beginning when I was maybe 10... and we spent every Thanksgiving

weekend at Grandma and Grandpas house in  Palm Desert

we enjoyed a crowded house, great food, lots of games,

and huge thanksgiving dinner and then

Friday morning we woke up to breakfast and then the

boys took off for a day of golf and the women for a day of shopping...

then back together for a repeat of thanksgiving dinner....

forward 2010...

Even though the palm desert house is long gone and some of our family is not with us any more ... the tradition continues...

friday morning the boys went golfing .. now including Ryan....

his foursome consisted of

Papa, Mark, Uncle Ronnie and Ryan...

and the girls went shopping..

What a great day...
We aren't the crazy shoppers, 9:30am is when we met up.

But Nicole and I, along with my mom, my gram
(how many 91 year olds do you know that walked

the mall on black friday), Aunt Joanie, Sheri, Hailey and Austin

spent a fabulous day of family time and good deals..

And then of course all of us back to Joanie's for a

REPEAT of thanksgiving dinner...

Tradition is a fabulous thing....

Thanksgiving 2010

The day began with a lazy morning ....

Still not quite sure how Thanksgiving has come and gone!!

We had a great Thanksgiving full of fun, family, good times and

of course Great Food ...

I am still holding out, I have made it to 44 years old and still have

never made a turkey. My sister in law informed us on Thursday

that she is already practicing for if the time comes...

This year was a day of counting my blessings

and looking forward to many more

Thanksgivings with our family...

" The Little Flock "

"The Little Flock" a Christian worship/rock bank had their first gig last night....

Jordan on guitar and vocals, Gabriel on electric guitar,

Scott on base, Jesse on drums

Nicole and Whitney on vocals...

Yes, Nicole and her band made their debut

on stage at the

Node Coffee Shop and Bookstore...

They were really good and wow as a parent

to see your child doing something they love

was wonderful ...

Nicole had a blast...sang great and can't wait until her next gig ....

and to make it even better

Lauren and Gillian

were there to cheer her on (Friends are so important and she is so blessed)

Nicole has been singing on Sunday evenings at church,

but this was our first time to hear her sing ... WOW ... so fun and yes so proud!!

Braces !!!

The time has come ... Nicole got her braces!!!

We began her new journey

her teenage right of passage...

She looks so cute

can't wait to see what the next

2 years are to bring...

Next step, have a tooth removed and then complete

the top braces...

Bottom to come later...

Shoes ....

On Monday morning Ryan said ... mom I really need new shoes... and yes he does,

he is so hard on his shoes. So after school Ryan, grandma and Mom set off for shoes.

After a few stores he saw the shoes he wanted.. instantly .. these .. were the ones.

Black and Grey Vans...

Perfect he said and home we went with a very happy Ryan already wearing his new shoes....

And just like a loving brother would do, we walked in the house and he said to his sister

Look what I got ... Nicole responded those are the shoes I want...

With a promise a few weeks ago to take her shopping, Tuesday

Nicole and Papa headed for the Vans store....

Long story short ...

who would have thought my 13 year old girl and my 11 year old boy .. would

be so happy to have matching shoes !!!

11 !!!! Wow ...

On November 2nd ... Ryan turned 11 ... that is still amazing to me.. On your birthday you get to pick the restaurant we go out to celebrate, if you know Ryan you can probably already guess what kind of food we were having ... if you guessed Pizza .. you are correct. We had a great evening.... California Pizza Kitchen .... Grandma Bliss and Grandma and Papa .. a whole cheese pizza .... white cake (thanks grandma bliss) and presents ... an 11 year old's heaven.



New Blood !!!!

Something I never pictured myself doing ... today I checked into

Whittier Pres. Hospital at 7:00am

had a private room and received 2 blood transfusions....

Spending the day in the hospital was not on my calendar at the beginning

of this week but after a blood test on Tuesday, the

doctors decided that my body needed a little help. My hemoglobin count was

still low so off for some new blood ...

Transfusion #1, took 3 hours and the blood look like Heinz Ketchup

Transfusion #2, took about 3 hours and the blood looked like Hunts BBQ sauce..

Never knew blood was different colors...

We are hopeful this will be the boost that it needs...

Tuesday, I go again for another blood test...new iron pills & new blood..

i'm hopeful for a rise in my counts...

stay tuned... my journey continues ... 

Halloween !!!!

A Fabulous .. Spooky Night ....  With fun had by all !!!!

Lots of candy, great friends, our favorite cousins, grandma & grandpa, aunts & uncles,

and great gram.... = an evening of fun!!!

My scarry zombie chinese soldier...



The BIKE !!!!

We combined Halloween and Ryan's 11th birthday

and the entire family came to celebrate (blood and bond)

All Ryan asked for was a new bike ...

he looked and looked from Whittier to Huntington Beach in every bike store out there...

When he saw this one... he instantly said "THAT'S IT !!!!"

So with a little help from Grandpa, then entire family stood outside

as he got his new bike.

He had a smile as big as the moon ... he was a very happy 11 year old !!!