COOKIE - 12 Years Old and Loving Life 03/19/08

Dearest Friends and Family,
Since we last "spoke", so much life has gone on! That old saying, "What a difference a day makes" is not truer than in this family! Before you start worring, let me say that it's all good.

Uncle Christopher got married and that was a big deal because he's been such a wonderful addition to our home. We miss him every day but thankfully, he and his new wife live locally and we still see him often. Parker really had a tough time. He simply refused to say that Uncle Christopher lived elsewhere. He kept saying "Amy's house". Now that he's had some time, and he sees that he's still Uncle Christopher's special boy, he's actually calling her "Aunt Amy" and he is always hugging her. Amy has a 9 year old daughter named Sarah and she's become a very familiar little person around our house. The kids are all so excited about having a new cousin and, for Sarah, it's especially sweet because she got two new cousins for the price of one! We're very happy for the new couple and they couldn't be happier together! Isn't love grand?

Speaking of love, COOKIE celebrated her 12th birthday with all of the vim and vigor necessary to make it memorable! The celebration lasted about a week, with flowers and balloons being sent to the house, dinners out and then, a trip to one of COOKIE's most favorite places, Disneyland! Aunt Shannon joined the 5 of us and we actually spent 14 hours at the "happiest place on earth". We had so much fun! It's been over 2 years since we last went and the doctor's finally said COOKIE was strong enough to go. They did tell us not to let her get too tired so we pushed her around in her wheelchair and had one of the most fun times at Disneyland that we've ever had. We rode EVERYTHING at least twice and some rides even more. Of course, I sat out a couple. It's not easy acting 12 when you're, well, not anywhere near 12. hahaha There's no way I could keep up with Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Shannon and the kids! Mommy and Daddy are such good sports! They actually went on Thunder Mountain 4 times!

We tried to break up the day by taking the Monorail over to Disney Walk and having dinner at the Rainforest Cafe'. Then back on the Monorail to Tomorrowland. Later on in the evening, when we were starting to drag a little, Aunt Shannon turned to me and said, "At what point do I just say 'no'." I said you're asking the wrong person. I'm 20 years older than you and I STILL can't say no! hahaha

We didn't get home until 1:30 in the morning and it happened to be the same morning that we had to set the clocks ahead. Yup. We didn't crawl into bed until almost 3:00am. It took me all week to recooperate. At least, I think I'm recooperated!

Parker was in soccer for 8 weeks. He just had his last game on Saturday. What a crack up. This was a HUGE deal for us (isn't everything?) because our boy Parker is not exactly Athelete of the Year. In fact, he's has never shown any interest in any sports but he wanted to do this and we were very encouraging! He's looking forward to signing up again after summer! So is COOKIE. She wants to try her hand at soccer and softball as well. She's really looking forward to starting up her tennis lessons again. The doctor's have agreed that she can do these things "IN MODERATION". It's not ok for her to get too tired. Her body is still rejuvenating itself. Parker is also beginning to show an interest in basketball. Oh boy. We going to be busy!

Both he and COOKIE got instruments for Christmas. They just started lessons, Parker on the drums and COOKIE on the guitar. Look out America! We may just be witnessing the beginning of a really cute ROCK BAND! :)

NEWEST NEWS: Construction in our house is scheduled to begin April 21st. We're adding a 4th bedroom (for Parker) and a new master bedroom for mommy and daddy. (And yet another big deal for this family.) We're all really excited! Cookie is a little more excited about having her own room than Parker is. He's actually never had his own room so it may take some time to get used to. Matt and Shelee, on the other hand, are looking forward to a smaller, more efficient bathroom, not to mention a NEW bathroom. COOKIE will have to leave the house for a few days while they open the walls and demolition is taking place. She'll be going to Aunt Shannons. The rest of us don't have that luxury. We'll be "living the dream" with one bathroom for about 4-6 weeks. Stay tuned! We're having a MONSTER YARD SALE very soon!!! Anybody in the market for "monsters"?

Easter Weekend is upon us. We're going to Palm Desert to color and hunt Easter eggs. It should be a beautiful weekend out there! Happy Easter to all of you.

On a very somber and sad note, please take a moment and say a prayer for a beautiful little boy that COOKIE has been acquainted with since she relapsed at age 5. He was also a patient of Dr. Finklestein's in Long Beach and had his bone marrow transplants at UCLA. Coincidentally, he has been homeschooled by our wonderful tutor, Ms. Dena. Dale could not fight the fight any longer. Our deepest sympathy and most sincere condolences go to his family. Another bright star has been added to the sky.

Take good care of one another and don't forget to give BIG HUGS! Thank you, as always, for showing so much support for so long. We're truly a blessed family.
Until next time,
Cookie, The Grandma