Happy Easter!

And Happy Anniversary, Grandma and Grandpa!!!
Thanks for a great visit!
 

dancing with Dad

The first Girl Scout Daddy/Daughter dance at my school was a smashing success and my sis and I had a great time laughing….singing….dancing….and having fun!  And thanks to Kaiya's mom for always making me such cute hair accessories and helping me feel pretty with my short new hairdo :)
In case you didn't know...I love having my hair back!!!!
And I sure love my Dad a lot, too :)
 

 

 

 

 

 

chemo vacation...literally!

Hi all and happy spring break!  I am having a blast with my family at my Grandma and Grandpa's house in Oklahoma. So, I am on a vacation and ironically, I am having a little vacation from my chemo.  Yes, you guessed it, my counts are down again. Way down....
 When are these docs going to figure out what my body can handle?  It is very frustrating for my whole family but I know they are doing the best they can and that eventually, they will figure out what my optimum amount of oral chemo will be for the remainder of my treatment.  But in the meantime, I am enjoying the fact that I am starting to feel a little better (although my counts are down so I am tired and of course susceptible to just about any ickiness that comes along!) but we aren't even going to go there. Positive thinking....positive thinking.... :)
I hope your spring break is a great one, too!
 

Music Together celebration

Singing, dancing, friends, and raising money for a good cause.  What a way to spend a Saturday afternoon!  It was fun to meet Uncle Jerry from Music Together and see Miss Christy and Miss Kathy and dance around with my friends.  Dr. Canner came and gave a nice talk about the Cure It foundation and that was kind of neat, too.
And the special concert raised $1000.00 for the Cure It foundation!  Wow!  Thanks so much for everything Miss Christy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

open house

I got to show my family my classroom and some of the cool art projects we have done lately at my school's open house.  I was especially proud of the "little person" I made that was supposed to look like me.  I think I did a good job and showed my family that I made my paper doll's hair short just like my own.

 

 

 

 

the luck of the irish

I am hoping that the fact that I am part Irish (and had such a fun St. Patrick's Day!) will bring some lucky charms my way and help me to start feeling better. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not feeling horrible, but my tummy has been giving me some problems and overall I have felt better. We will see what my counts look like on Thursday (my Mom is actually hoping they are down so they hold chemo and I can enjoy my spring break!) and in the meantime, I will be wishing on that shamrock......  

 

 

 

what a difference a year makes!

I hope everyone had a nice St. Patty's Day!  I certainly did!  My Mom and I were looking back at picture from last year's Irish celebration and it is hard for me to believe how much I have changed....for the better!  Last year at this time I could barely walk and was super sick from all of the steroids/chemo I had to take.  This year, I do feel better and I got to spend St. Patty's Day with my family and awesome friends rocking out to Ralph.  YEAH!
And check out my lil' bro in the 2nd picture.  That crazy kid!
 

 

soul sisters

Lolipops….I pads and a best buddy.  Life doesn't really get much better than that..at clinic that is :)
 

the perfect percentage

100%….75%…..or 50%….?????  That seems to be the question of the day, for my oncology docs, anyways.  And while they are trying to fgure out what the perfect percentage of oral chemo (the chemo I take in pill form every day at home) is, I am left feeling great….feeling not so great….and feeling pretty rotten.  
You see, it is all about my "counts" or for those well versed in blood talk…my ANC (absolute nuetrophil count) and as long as my ANC is high (which it happens to be right now!), they will continue to try to bump my oral chemo back up to 100% (where it was when I was feeling really rotten around Christmastime).  Of course my counts eventually bottomed out back then and they may again but until then, I am at my current dose of 75% of the oral chemo they would like me to be taking and they have warned us they will try to bump me back up to 100% after my spinal tap next month.
They still aren't sure how my body is handling this particular chemo so it is a guessing game if you will.  Sometimes it isn't so fun to be in the middle of the game, though :(.

 

Just a reminder....

snow….spring weather….skiing!

I have improved so much on the skis and our ski instructor (and my folks) were awfully impressed at how good I was!  And it was so much fun!
 

 

 

cover girl

We were very surprised when our friends told us they had seen that Chloe was on the cover of the Cadence  Health donor magazine.  There is also a nice article about Chloe and Trina and our friend, Faith, from clinic.
Thanks Shawn and Jenni :)
 

 

tapping princess

Parent observation week in dance class gave us a peek into what the recital might look like in June :)

 

 

please join us.....

Dear Families,

We are so excited about having you join us this Saturday, February 23rd at Cantigny Park and Gardens in Wheaton from 3 -5 PM to celebrate Music Together's 25th Anniversary!  This email is to confirm that we've received your order for both admission and raffle tickets and we will be holding them for you at our Will Call table.  When you arrive at the park, located 1S151 Winfield Rd, please inform the front gate attendant that you are there for the Music Together party.  The $5 entrance fee is being waived for our event, so you can park where you like for free!  

The family concert with special guest "Uncle Gerry" will begin at 3:30PM but please plan to arrive early as it will take time to check in and find seats.  There will be complimentary light refreshments served inside the restaurant and other food available for purchase at the Coffee Shop.  Come have fun in our photo booth and take the opportunity to get a personal autograph from "Uncle Gerry" himself!  

 

To help support one of our very own Music Together families whose 5-year-old daughter Chloe was diagnosed with leukemia last year, we've added a fundraising raffle with lots of incredible items donated to us by local businesses to benefit a very special charity started by one of Chloe's doctors.
 The raffle will be open from 3 - 4PM and winners will be announced at 4:30PM.  Another good reason to come early and place your tickets in the prize box of your choice!  Winners will be selected by random drawing and must

be present to win. Click here to see the variety of prizes available!

The Cure It Foundation is a group of physicians, nurses, therapists, parents, fighters and survivors committed to winning the battle against childhood cancer. They are driven by their passion to find a CURE for all children diagnosed with cancer and to support those currently faced with this devastating illness. The Cure It Foundation is dedicated to beating childhood cancer on both national and local levels, through funding of large-scale pediatric cancer research efforts and by providing individualized assistance to children in our communities who are struggling with cancer.

Despite promising medical developments, pediatric cancer continues to be the most common disease-related cause of death in our children. One out of every five children diagnosed with cancer will lose their fight. The Cure It Foundation is determined to change these unacceptable outcomes.  

Support our fundraising efforts by purchasing your raffle tickets today and 

together we will Face It, Fight It, Cure It!

We still have some tickets available, so please invite your friends to join us!  Tickets can be bought in advance by visiting our website for $10 per adult and $5 per child.  At the door, prices are $13 per adult and $7 per child.  All children under 1 year old are FREE!