Elle Marie Durham: January 2010

Monday, January 25, 2010

Best Friends

"Ewie" (Miles' name for Elle) and Miles

Elle and Miles have known each other since they were 8 months old. We met them at church and they have been bff's since the day they met. We are all for it since we love Miles' mommy and daddy too! They play so well together and are always talking about one another when they are at home. It is precious to watch them grow up together! We look forward to many more years playing with this sweet family!!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

So hard to say goodbye

We had to say goodbye to our precious Charley this afternoon. Our vet had told us to be prepared to let him go since he was not looking so good. Dr. Carol did exploratory surgery to see what exactly has been going on. They found cancer in his kidneys and spleen that had metastasized. Devastating news to us! We elected to put him under while in surgery. He went peacefully.
I hope he knew how much he meant to our family. He was the kindest dog we had ever met and had an incredibly sweet nature. He will be very missed! Time will heal our broken hearts. We love you Chuck!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Where has my sweet child gone?

Elle is coming up on her two year birthday and I understand the saying "terrible two's" a little better today! She was such a toot this morning. She usually is so excited to go to school and will say "Majors, Emma, school, bubbles" with such enthusiasm. Not this morning! I told her she was going to school today and she started frantically saying "No school, No school!!" She threw herself on the floor, kicked as hard as I have ever seen her kick and was SCREAMING! What in the world. It continued when I tried to put on her shoes...more kicking to the point I could no longer hold her in my lap. Then it came time for her jacket "No jacket!" I gave up on that one and had to literally drag her to the car. I am honestly sore from wrestling with my 31 pound baby this morning! Please someone tell me this is normal :)

Monday, January 18, 2010

Our little boy

We have always referred to our sweet dog Charley as our "little boy". He is not a small dog but has such a gentle personality. He has loved Miles since the minute he met him and they have had a connection since then.
He is very sick and the doctors can not seem to figure out what is going on. He is not eating (it has been 5 days) and he has lost 12 lbs. in a week. He seems to be in pain but we are not sure where the source of the pain is. Please say a little prayer for our sweet boy. He is only 7 and should have many more years to live! I hope we get good news this afternoon.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Emery Jane

My sweet niece Emery Jane Williams was diagnosed with neuroblastoma (a type of cancer) a week ago today. The call from Bonnie (her momma) was something I thought I would never hear. There is a long back story to how they found it but I can't even think about writing that all out. It seems like forever ago but it was only a little over a week when she went into the hospital. They thought she had pneumonia the first day they admitted her. We were relieved since that is treatable and not too major. But, the next day they did an Xray and found a mass in Emery's lungs. After a care flight to Houston and more tests, they came to the conclusion that it was cancer. Thankfully she is in the very best care. She is at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. They are #1 in the state for pediatric oncology and 4th in the nation. They have started Emery on chemo and are very optimistic it will get rid of this horrible disease. She has responded very well to the treatments and is now through with her first round. They will wait 3 weeks and start the 2nd round of chemo. They are hoping it will take only 2 rounds of chemo to get rid of the tumor. There was talk of surgery in the beginning but since the tumor is putting pressure on the spinal cord, it is too risky. Please add sweet Emery to your prayer list and her precious mom and dad (Bonnie and Dave). I was able to fly to Houston and be with them in the beginning. Their strength is so amazing and something I admire so much. They are two of the best people I know and I am so proud to be their sister. And, my love for that sweet little girl is too much to put into words. I watched her come into this world and am now seeing her battle a horrible disease. It is heartbreaking but so inspirational to watch her be such a fighter through all she is enduring. I love you so much Emery Jane!

This girl cracks me up!

I have been in dire need of a pick-me-up! And Elle has been doin' it for me! She has the funniest personality! For those of you who do not know, my precious 7 week old niece (Bonnie and David's little girl) was diagnosed with a form of cancer called Neuroblastoma. I will go more into it in my next post...

Here are some of her latest favorite thing to say:
Pick you up (wanting me to pick HER up)
I'm sooooooooo tired (guess I say that a little too often :))
Mommy, you're so cute!
Cool mommy
I'llberightback...she says this so fast and turns and walks away
Mommy, cook for you..coffee?
Starbucks, coffee, cookie (she says this when we see a Starbucks!)
TARGET YAY!
Mommy poop?
Flush the poopy mommy (I have started flushing her nasty poops down the toilet and then disposing of her diapers. So anytime she is in the stall with me in public, she says this!)
There are so many more but I can not think at the moment! I am so glad she has the personality she has. It is funny to think back to when she was a baby and Miles and I thought she was so serious. We wanted a vivacious, funny little girl and boy did we get it!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

HELLO 2010!

We rang in the new year with a small group of close friends. We made the party a 20's theme and I was impressed with all the great costumes! We had a great evening that involved watching Jack Allen and Caroline Flores boogy woogy to music and a competitive game of charades! I am happy to say the girls won- well the girls minus Jess. She had to be on the boys team since there was an odd number.