Arlene’s Army

I wanted to make my mom shirts to show her that we love her as she fights Pancreatic Cancer.  I shared my desire with my family and the idea took off.  Danni designed the front, Kenzie designed the back, and Lauren made it possible.  Lauren had a friend that made the shirts for us for free.  Cortney got her shirt first and showed my mom.   She said that she was very touched that we made shirts for her.  I also bought silicone bracelets for all the family plus friends.  I wanted my mom to know that we loved her and are there for her to the end.  We all belong to Arlene's Army and are fighting alongside her.  Even though she will not win this fight, she is fighting this battle.  Here are the pics of the my family members wearing the "Arlene's Army" shirts.

Supporting my mom by wearing the shirts and bracelets

My family and I wearing our shirts

Even Jay and Manny have shirts

Here is my dad wearing his shirt

Young at Art

Emmy has some art work displayed at the District level. It was pretty cool!! The art exhibit was held in the old Irving building that was at one point Mesa High School. We as a family to see her art work displayed and others too.  While we were there, we ran into her art teacher.  I knew her art teacher from Josh's marching band days.  She had a lot of good things to say about Emily and it was good to hear.  It's not often that your artwork is displayed for others to see.  I'm really proud of Emily for not only her great work, but to have it displayed and judged.

Guardianship Day

Guardianship Day - A year ago today, Jim and I became guardians to this special lady. We are making it a special day for her every year. I took her to lunch and dad took her to dinner and a treat.

Memorable MondayKid's 9th Easter

Another Easter has come and gone, so I'll look up and post pics of the kids's 9th Easter.  I did something a little different and posted them with the family too.  When my kids were younger, they had matching dresses.  I thought that was fun, but when they got older I bought the girls different style of dresses.  I love having Easter outfits, even if I just bought a scarf for my girls.  

Pics with Siblings

Individual Pics

Easter 2019

Brigham and Danni went up to Showlow and did a Easter Egg Hunt up there.  Danni sent me some pics and it looked like they had a great time.

Danni and Manny on Hunt

Manny likes the Easter Eggs

We got together with Debbie, Lisa, and their families and spent a great deal of time with mom and dad the day before Easter.  Debbie and her family came up for the day.  We picked dad up from Sunrise and had yummy pizza at Mod's Pizza.  It was fun to take dad out to get some food and I think he really liked getting out and spending time with the family  After lunch, we headed to see mom.  She was to weak to get out of bed, so we visited her in some groups while the rest of us played a game in the living room.  We had fun even though the circumstances were not the best.

Lunch with Grandpa

Mom on Easter, Debbie brought her some goodies

Spending Time with Grandma

On Easter Sunday, We went to church and I felt the spirit really strong.  With all that is going with my mom, Easter had a different meaning for me this year.  Brigham and Danni came over for brunch and get their Easter baskets.  We spent some time with both my mom and dad on Easter.  

My family on Easter

More Pics

Manny's First Easter

Brigham, Danni, and Manny on Easter

Manny - 7 months

Danni wrote "Manny baby is 7 months old today! Don’t blink, because they’re not kidding when they say they grow up fast. It feels like overnight our son just grew up. He got two teeth, learned to sit on his own, and started scooting all within one week. He is so close to crawling, he just has to figure out how to coordinate his arms with his legs. We love you baby 😭💛 @ Mesa, Arizona"

Manny is seriously one of the cutest 7 month olds

Manny is such a cute 7 month old.  I love how his mom spikes his hair. It makes him look handsome on top of cute.   He is growing up way to fast for us.  I love that we get to see Manny on a daily basis, almost.  I love watching my kids interact with him and get him to smile.  I really enjoy watching Danni as a mom.  She is doing a really great job.  That is one of the benefits of being a grandma - watching your daughter be an amazing mom while playing with the grandkid.

Our cute bow tie pic

Memorable MondayBonding with Mom

My mom never had a sister, maybe that is why her daughters mean so much to her.  My mom had a doctor's appointment with Dr. Yoo, her oncologist, to discuss chemotherapy with her.  Her children felt that chemo would be too hard on her and not be in her best interest.  We knew that chemo would make her more sick and probably wouldn't affect her cancer growth.  Debbie, Lisa, and I wanted to go to to the doctor's appointment with mom to discuss this with mom and her doctor.  The appointment was rough and with the doctor's approval, we convinced her that her quality of life was better than you quantity of life.  My mom didn't want to give up the fight, but we told her that she is not giving up, she is just fighting a different fight.  This appointment was a very bonding moment for us and I felt very close to my mom.  We heard her viewpoint and listened to her fears and concern.  We love our mom and want her to enjoy her last days.  We don't want to lose her, but we know that this cancer will take her fast. 

After the doctor's appt, we went to Seagull Book, my mom's most favorite store in the world.  She talked to Kathryn and my mom cried as she talked to Kathryn about her fears and concern.  Kathryn cheered my mom up and we had a great visit with her.  My mom has found such a true friend with Kathryn and we love to shop at Seagul with my mom.  I think we all love to shop at Seagull.
We went to visit dad at Sunise.  This was my mom's first time to see dad's room.  He moved in just a couple of days before my mom's appt.   We had a nice visit and looked into a room that was reserved for her when we finished her paperwork.  We had a nice visit with dad.

This day was rough but it gave us girls a chance to bond with our mom.  We've realized that every minute we spend together should be cherished and remembered.  We truly love our mom!!!

Pancreatic Cancer

She hasn't been feeling well which prompted a trip to the hospital.  My Mom was diagnosed with stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer.  We were not surprised to hear the news about the guy who performed her endoscopy talked to Lisa, Debbie, and I and told us that he thinks it is really bad.  My mom is devastated and wants to fight the battle, but her children want her to enjoy the rest of her life.  My dad hasn't been feeling well and isn't really himself so he is struggling with the news too.  The life our family home is really sick and we want to help but can't.  It's a helpless feeling. We did the research and the odds of her beating this cancer is very low.  My mom's health has been poor and fighting this battle will be so hard on her.  My mom will always be a fighter in my eyes.  She is a very special woman and we will cherish the rest of days on Earth.