My daughter has a rare, severe bleeding disorder

 

Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

 

A mother's love is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, it never fails or falters, even though the heart is breaking” Helen Rice

My daughter has a rare, severe bleeding disorder...It took me 6 months to let those words come out of my mouth without tears. It has taken me 6 months to get my brain wrapped around, Type III Von Willebrand's. I don't want this for my daughter and I would take it all from her in a heartbeat if that were possible. It is very rare....one in one million odds. It is very difficult to get accurate information and it is a lonely club. With that in mind, I have created Camy Lizzy's Journey with VWD blog. This blog will serve 3 purposes. 1.) To serve as a record of Camy's journey. It is important in her treatment to have everything documented, etc... 2.) To keep family and friends updated. VWD does not define our lives and I don't want to give it much air time on my regular blog 3.) My greatest hope is that another Type III mama might come across this blog when newly diagnosed and I might be able to provide info, hope and comfort.

~35~

 

 

 

 

This past year was filled with emotion….ups and downs. I learned that my daughter has a bleeding disorder and watched my husband be rushed into emergency surgery. We went on the most memorable and fun family vacation to Florida. We baptized our sissy belle. We spent so many “regular” days together…laughing, loving and dancing. One week in May pushed me to my emotional limits (Camy’s diagnosis and MSW’s surgery happened the same week). In August, we decided I would resign from my job. A week later I was offered a too good to be true offer to stay. I stayed and then announced as a National Teaching and Excellence award winner. Yes, it is fair to say that while not everything in my 34th year was traumatic or bad….it was a year that I emotionally and psychologically grew the most. I would also be remiss not to mention how my faith deepened too. I love more, I laugh more and I appreciate it all so much more after those experiences. Today, I gladly leave my 34th year behind me and move on to 35.
35 is a big year for me….a benchmark. Since I was 31, I have been talking about “when I turn 35...” So many goals I wanted to achieve by 35. I’m on track and happy to be where I am at 35. I still have so much to learn, though. A list of 35 unique things about me in celebration!
1. I sleep with 4 pillows. If I don’t have them, I don’t sleep. Yes, I travel with them.
2. I am becoming almost fanatical about being organic. I buy as much of our food organically as I can. I don’t use chemicals as cleaners and am very conscious about our water, etc…
3. If anyone had access to my google searches they might send me away to the funny farm. I can find all my answers with google searches.
4. I like living in San Antonio but dream of living in Alabama. My favorite Northeastern city is Boston and I could probably live there too.
5. I love to bake but rarely eat sweets so most of what I bake is given away.
6. As organic as I want to be, I still have my hair highlighted regularly.
7. I love my children more than words can describe, even when they drive me nutty.
8. I really love teaching. I get so excited to walk into my classroom everyday and spend a lot of time thinking and planning my lectures.
9. I personify almost everything. My car has a name as well as my ipad, etc…
10. I can recite the preamble to the US Constitution.
11. I am passionate about my faith and politics but keep both very personal. I don’t feel the need to convince anyone to believe in my beliefs.
12. When my friends and family are happy…it makes me in a good mood and happy.
13. I am becoming an early to bed, early to rise kind of girl. I can probably thank my children for this. Amazing how much you can accomplish before 7:30 am.
14. At 35 I have finally found my amazing core group of friends. I know exactly who I can count on, who can make me laugh, who I can go to for prayer, etc…
15. I love to craft and DIY projects. I have 10,000 projects I want to accomplish.
16. I love twinkle lights, Ferris wheels and hot air balloons.
17. My dream vacation is to Italy and Greece….specifically Tuscany and Santorini. It will probably be 10+ years before I take this trip but I am already planning it.
18. I am Methodist but have a very deep interest in Catholicism. I wish I could have a rosary. 
19. I fix everything I possibly can with my glue gun. Yes, she has a name too and it is Rita.
20. I love to garden and my favorite plants are my plumeria and hydrangea. I would like to include my peony on that list too but the truth is that she has never bloomed. Peonies are my favorite flowers.
21. I love music and have a soundtrack for my life. If I had to name my all time, very favorite, could listen to it 100 times and anytime song it would surprise you. It is Pachelbel's Canon in D major. There has never been a sweeter piece of music.
22. I love chalkboards. Maybe it is the teacher in me? I have them all over my house and office. They contain quotes, scripture and music lyrics.
23. I’m an avid reader. I average about 5 books a month…for leisure, work, learning, parenting, etc…
24. My perfect day is sunny, 85 degrees and dining outside.
25. I always have a vacation in the works. I love to travel and experience new things.
26. On my trip to Italy, I am going to take cooking classes!
27. I don’t like to text. I do it and answer text messages but I’m not a fan. MSW wishes that I would text him sweet notes more often and I should do that for him.
28. I take baths not showers. I cannot go to sleep without bathing. Does not matter if it is 4 am, I will bathe before going to bed.
29. I have been on a 5 year break from my doctoral program. I will eventually finish…one day.
30. I love meeting new people and being inspired by others. I love a good success story and always root for the underdog!
31. I see everything through the lens of my camera. I look at something and think of how I would frame it in my camera.
32. I have increasingly bad vision. Come to find out, I had gestational diabetes with Camdyn’s pregnancy that did a number on my vision. I am scheduled for Lasik next January. I have an overwhelming fear that it is going to result in blindness.
33. I am OCD when it comes to being clean and organized. This applies to me, my house, my children and so on.
34. I make all the beds in the morning and fold down the covers each evening…I should start leaving a mint too, huh.
35. I’m very disappointed in my abs. I had no idea that a c-section would do such a number on them and I am determined to get them back this year!

It's Friday....I'm in Love

 

Just recently revived my love for the cure (hence the title) which actually has nothing to do with this post except that it is Friday and I am in love with my new record player!

I have very fond memories of my childhood. It was good stuff. One strong memory that I have is of getting to sleep in the living room on the hideaway bed. I remember my mom putting on a Disney album on the sound system, which at that time was a record player. I would drift off to the tunes of "When you wish upon a star." I think memories like that is what is stirring my love of....hmm...what are they calling it now...oh yes....."vintage".

For instance, I love my instax camera (Polaroid style). You know I love my music so it is only natural that my love of record players is coming back around. For Christmas we got Camy one of those vintage Fisher Price record players. I was totally excited about it!! That got me to thinking about getting me my own. Having never looked into them at this age of digital music, I had no idea where to get one, etc... And if I did get one (assuming it would be second-hand from a thrift store), where could I buy vinyl??? Well, who knew there was this whole vintage revolution out there! So, I find it fitting that for my soon-to-be 35th birthday I bought myself a record player. I love everything about it....lots and lots. I love the color, I love the portability of it and that classic sound...the hum of the white noise as the needle reaches the grooves of the vinyl that takes me right back to the hideaway bed. So far my vinyl collection consists of 3 but, BUT they are my top 3 artists, Norah Jones, Johnny Cash and Bob Marley.

I can't wait for nice weather so that I can host a dinner party in the backyard with tunes pouring from my record player!

a quiet afternoon ramble....

Don't have anything deep or profound to blog...but it's my blog and I can write meaningless rambles {without pictures} if I want, humf! I actually have a rare, few minutes on the computer. Doddle is still at school and Camy is napping. I finished editing my photography session from this morning, so the computer is up and running, the house is quiet...so why not? Camy cannot stand for me to be on the computer. She has learned how to turn it off....not good when I am in the middle of an unsaved document or edit. Oh well, serves me right for taking up "her time." Sweet angel.

I am going to a training tomorrow with a guru in the field of Learning Communities from Valencia College. Should be interesting...we shall see. I am teaching 3 LC courses in the Spring so I could use any pedagogy I can get! I finished that book and test I was working on at the start of the week. It was dreadful down to the last page.

I ran 5 miles yesterday. Felt great. Could have gone more but my time was up and I still wanted to do an ab workout. Those abs refuse to ever be the same after a C-section, but I keep trying! Isn't it funny how one day 2 miles is the worst thing ever and then the very next day 5 miles is a breeze....what is that about?

I have had an eye twitch for 3 weeks. Is it stress, allergies? I don't really feel like I have either but something is causing it. Maybe it is my new MAC mascara? Hmmm...love it so much I might have to learn to live with the twitch? Surely not....right?

Do you know Zee Avi? If not, get to know them...they play on almost every play list on my ipod. I heart my ipad so much, "paddy" is my bff. She goes everywhere with me and handles all my biz-naz. She is currently playing my Zee Avi and in a minute will remind me of my phone conference at 3...oh and then she will pull up my HEB shopping list and show me Sunday night's recipe. She's cool like that.

I am currently reading the book, The Help {yep, you guessed it on paddy} and it has me a little disturbed. Discrimination makes me squirm. I'll give it a couple more chapters before I put it back on the shelf.

Ok...I hear my baby squirming around. 'Till next useless ramble...smile!

Reality calling....

 

It is Monday morning of week 4 of my 4 week vacation. Bittersweet, is probably the best word to describe it. I crawled out of bed early to get doodle ready for school and daddy out the door. I look out my window and it seems the world has gone back to reality. I'm here...kinda in the middle. I am thankful for my time off, so grateful, and know that a week is still alot of time....there are still things on my list I want to get done and special girl time to spend with sissy belle. I also feel a pull to be part of reality too. A schedule, being surrounded by lots of people, a new semester of teaching waiting for me. Maybe it is the acknowledgement of the inevitable. Let's just "get to it" mentality.

This book sits on my desk....it bellows my name. A reminder of the in-between place I am currently in. The middle between still on break but with reality around the corner. A goal of getting three books read and tests taken before I go back. The book is dry and boring. Ten more test questions to answer to be done with it. I should be working on that, instead of blogging. I will get to it...the library due date is the 6th...I've got time.

I miss my boys. I miss doodle's constant requests...wow who would of thought I would miss that???? I wonder how his day back at school is going. Does he miss me? Nope...I'm sure. smile.

Ok...to that list and eventually that book. I will make the most of these last 7 days.

Celebrating 12 beautiful years

 

Snapped right before we headed out for the night.

 

The delicious Lemon Sole that is still calling my name.

 

The divine Upside down pineapple cake.

 

When my mom was taking our picture, sissy was tugging on daddy's leg to also be in the picture. So of course, she needed one too with this amazing man. I love the look of adoration in her face.

He is....
* my soul mate (sounds so cliche but true) He knows how to make me smile, anticipates my needs and treats me like a princess.
* the father to our children that exceeds my hopes. He is sweet, involved, loving, a role model, spends quality time with them and the list goes on. They adore him and that makes me adore him even more.
* my inspiration. He has many traits I wish I was more of...such as, patient, forgiving, stress-free and relaxed.
* still giving me butterflies. After all these years (19 together) there is still no one that can catch my eye, except for him.
* my cheerleader. He gives me confidence, he roots me on, he is my biggest fan.
* my partner. A true partner in every sense of the word. We parent together, cook and clean together, play together, go on adventures together, I try his things, he tries mine. I credit this as one of the major factors to our happy and successful marriage.
* the yin to my yang. We fit together perfectly. My weaknesses are his strengths, and vice-versa... We have learned to accept our "roles" in our marriage, play to them, and it has made us so strong as a couple. I lack in mathematical skills, he is a math wiz. So, I don't question and fully trust in his financial guidance for our family. I'm the "sensitive" one. So, when it comes to parenting choices concerning our children's feelings, he listens and trusts in my way of dealing with the situation. It works....we truly respect what each of us brings to the family.
* a listener to my rambles...I go on and on....my stories take forever to tell but he patiently listens to them.
* my handy man. I need something fixed, hung, or moved...he does it, without complaint. I appreciate all that he does just because I ask him to do it. There have been many a night that he is outside in the dark fixing something that I insist needs to be done before the morning. He takes really good care of us and our things.
* my everything.

Yesterday (1-2-11) was our 12th wedding anniversary. I will be honest in saying that with it coming at the tail end of a very busy holiday season, it is difficult to gear up for our special day together in a huge way. We did not have firm plans until about 5pm. Mimi so graciously came into town to stay with the littles so that we could enjoy a few hours together. We celebrated on Saturday night, New Year's Day, so we were not sure what would even be open. I was in the mood for fish so we tried Wild Fish. LOVED IT! MSW ordered Lemon Sole....it was amazing! The sweet guy that he is, he traded plates with me half way through so that I could finish up the sole. Not that my plate lacked in any way. It was delicious crab-stuffed shrimp, but oh the sole was divine! We finished up with the pineapple upside down cake that the waiter insisted we try. Something neither of us would ever think about ordering...thank goodness the waiter had us order. It was simply put....the best dessert ever!!!!

We were not ready to head home so we decided to do something a little out of character and go watch a movie together. MSW checked the movie times on his phone and found that Little Fockers was about to start right down the street. We both enjoy a comedy so we decided to go for it. Not exactly a romantic movie, but something fun to do, together. We laughed and laughed at the silliness! We then headed home for a cozy sleep.

Mimi woke up with the littles and offered to stay at home with them so Michael and I could enjoy an "easy" morning at church. It was nice to just get myself dressed and leisurely walk into church without worrying about room drop-offs, little tears (sissy is still not a fan of baby church), etc... The sermon was great and MSW and I had a chance to reflect on it as we drove back home. We spent the rest of the day with a mixture of togetherness and a little time to ourselves. I got to go get a pedicure and sweet man went for a run and workout at the gym. Sweet little gifts and cards were exchanged...it was a perfect way to celebrate our 12 years of marriage. I love my husband in ways that I can't even describe.

New Year's: 2011

 

The Wallis kids are ready to ring in the New Year!

 

Us...just before midnight!

 

Right at midnight we went out into the front yard. There were celebrations all around complete with fireworks. The boys were taken with the displays in the sky!

 

Posing with the New Year's Celebration Cake
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