Another big milestone...

We are celebrating another 5 year anniversary today. The most important one of all!! Luke's BFF Ryan was diagnosed 5 years ago today with stage IV Neuroblastoma.

I think that it is safe to say that was the worst day in our lives--we can still hardly comprehend how the Zavaleta's felt.

Ryan had a story with similarities to Rachels...Jill took him into the doctor several times trying to find out why he was so cranky, and having fevers. On the evening of the 15th we had a Christmas party at our house. As Jill and Ernie were leaving the phone rang for them...it was their baby sitter saying that Ryan wouldn't walk or stand...he seemed to be in pain. They rushed home. The next day was a Sunday. Jill was sent by the pediatrician to go down to Texas Children's for some tests. She called to get directions ...after I got off the phone with her I knew Ernie needed to go down and be there too. Sophie and Evan came over for the night--which was a real treat for Rachel and Jonah as they were their BFF's too and they had never had a sleepover.

So after having a tumor removed, 5 rounds of chemo(first started Christmas day I believe), 2 more high dose rounds with bone marrow rescues, 12 radiation sessions and 6 months of accutane...the waiting began. I know it has been hard between each set of scans to wait and pray that nothing would return.

Ryan is the product of a lot of prayers...from all over the world. He is the most amazing kid with the most amazing parents. We learned so much from them as they went through this terrible time. The most Christ-like people we know.

Making a 5 year mark is a big deal! We are so proud of you Ryan for your bravery and determination over the years. You are amazing. And I am always inspired by Jill and Ernie's patience and the love they show those who have such little problems compared to what they have been through.

We miss you so much and the lazy days working in our yards kids running back an forth between houses, movie nights, sitting at the bus stop, drives down to the hospital--and comparing new found faster routes through traffic to TCH. Those were the days! Hope you are celebrating in Chicago!

Welcome little River!!

Jared's sister Angela had her baby on Wednesday. Congrats. He is beautiful. His name is River Carson Spaulding. What a sweet boy.

My apologies...

Jared has expressed some disappointment in the lack of photos with my posts. You want pictures?? You've got pictures!


Our week in photos...

We started the week with a project that puts the paper turkey and tree to shame!! The first graders had a "Teddy Bear Parade". So we had to make a "float" for little Joey Bear. (aka: Tree Hospital) We were instructed to wrap a shoe box with wrapping paper and decorate. Have you ever tried to wrap a shoe box? It's not as easy as it sounds. I aborted that real quick, and found a nice blue box with just a few words on it. We busted out the curling ribbon and wa-la!! The real kicker?? Luke had an appointment with the neurologist Wednesday afternoon, so guess who didn't get to be in the Teddy Bear Parade? (Stop laughing Jen!!)










Jared got to go to Park City from Sunday to Wednesday night for a seminar and a little skiing. We are glad he's back. I watched way too many CSI episodes while he was gone. I'm becoming quite the crime solver.

Seth had his preschool Christmas program. He was so darn cute. Lots of dramatic faces and movements from that boy--not all were supposed to be part of the show. He cracks me up--put him in front of 300 people and he'll dance his little heart out...but if someone at the grocery store acknowledges his presence he hides his face in my legs! Silly boy.


The decorating is complete. I do like my Olive Wood Nativity on our mantle. It looks nice with all the other wood.

Jared and the kids got our tree the other night while I was at a church function. They picked out a nice one. I requested a noble fir this year. I can't take the long needles anymore!

Our tree is a bit of a hodge podge--but we love it. I did get some white glass ornaments this year to try to tie everything together. Every ornament has a story. We started collecting ornaments on trips a while back. It is fun to remember where each came from.

The nicest ornaments on our tree are courtesy of my Aunt Ann who sends the kids beautiful ornaments each year--usually from the Smithsonian. The kids love them. The other nice one's are from our good friends Mike and Sara Olsen who live in D.C. and send us the White House ornament each year. They are so beautiful.

And thanks to the Hoppe's for adding the gifts to put under! We can't wait to open them!!

I just had to share my favorite Christmas thing...my oil burner. It is so cute and smoke comes out the chimney when you burn the oil. My favorite is Peppermint. Jared says it makes the house smell like a dentist office, but I love it--so I just say well open wide!


So the catastrophe of the week?? You know there's always somethin' with me...

My vacuum isn't working and my hair dryer blew up on me the other day. So I have no blowing or sucking powers. You don't realize how important blowing and sucking are until you can't do them.

While Jared was gone, the kids and I drove around the neighborhood to see the lights. A little tradition I had in Houston when Jared travelled a lot and I didn't want to go through the torture of bedtime--I'd just drive around until most of them were asleep--at least whoever was littlest! The kids had fun rating each house. Johnson's--you generously got a 9 from Jonah...it would have been a 10 but the lights on the house were not on. Maybe next time.

PUMP IT UP!

HAPPY 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!

It is so hard to believe that Rachel's been pumping for 5 years. What a blessing it has been to her and our whole family.

When Rachel was 4 her doctor asked if we would be interested in participating in a study they were doing putting kids under 5 on pumps. The purpose of the study was to determine the benefits--if any--on the family and caring for a small child with diabetes. No one had done any research like this before and because we were the star patients at Texas Children's ;) she was asked to be the FIRST of 14 kids.

What an opportunity. The best part about it was that she got to be on a pump for 6 months and if we didn't like it at the end...no commitment. Seeing as the darn things cost upwards of $10,000 not to mention the cost of supplies...we decided we couldn't pass it up. Rachel of course had to give the okay...and although it was scary for her and us to try something new...she decided that being poked in the rear once every 2 or 3 days was a much better deal than 2 or 3 times a day.


Because we were the guinea pigs we went through quite a lot to help them get the whole project started. They would do things and then decide they needed to make a change and start us all over.

One of the things we had to do frequently was have her wear a continuous glucose monitor. A device that takes a blood sugar reading every 5 minutes for up to 72 hours. It was really quite amazing. Jared and I each got a turn wearing one as well...just so Rachel wasn't the only one poked.

The CGM would then show us what her "trends" were and we could use that information to decide how to best program the pump. I can't tell you how many visits to Texas Children's Hospital we had between February 2002 and June 2003 (the guinea pigs took a little longer to get going than they originally thought.)

The hour drive got old quick, but we were so glad to have some of the best doctors and a team of research nurses at our beck and call! They were so great. Oddly the 3 research nurses we worked with were Sue, Susan and Suzanne...we love them so much...

So I'll cut to the chase and tell you what our family got from this whole experience. FREEDOM and PEACE OF MIND...well a little at least. Up until that point it was SOOOO difficult to leave Rachel with anyone...because no one knew how to measure her insulin in the syringes. At the time she was getting sometimes 1/4 units of insulin...which is literally DROPS. If it's not measured the same each time you could easily increase or decrease her dose and have some serious problems. The pump made it possible for us to have other people administer insulin to her. That has made mine and Jared's lives so much better.

With shots you have to give the insulin before you eat. So what do you do when you give your kids a shot and then they decide they aren't hungry, or they don't feel well?? You spend the entire day trying to make up with juice and whatever else you can get in them to keep them from having a hypoglycemic reaction and ending up in the hospital. I remember one time when I couldn't get Rachel to eat or drink anything...I finally had to take her out on the front porch and forcibly pour apple juice in her mouth. She was choking and screaming...we were both crying and a sticky mess when I felt like she had enough in her to sustain her for a bit. It was terrible. With the pump...if you don't feel like eating...then you don't give yourself any insulin. It's also helped in the night when she's low we don't have to wake her up to drink juice at 2 a.m. anymore...we can just shut off her supply for an hour or so.

So...I'm sure you're tired of my ramblings...but I am so grateful for this amazing machine we have to keep our sweet little red-head alive and healthy each day. It certainly makes me appreciate our bodies and how complex and fragile they are. Each time I fill her reservoir I am humbled by the fact that the teaspoon of insulin I put in there is what is keeping her alive for three days until we fill it again. (and a lot of hard work..) What a blessing.

I have to give a shout out to Jill--we couldn't have done it without her. Without complaint she watched Jonah and Luke for every appointment we had. And to Barbara...our favorite school nurse--thanks for your patience and help in figuring it all out!! WE LOVE YOU and miss you!!

Woman of the Year!!

So I just have to brag about our good friend (and kind-0f family member) Michelle who has been nominated for Glamour Magazine's Woman of the year. You can watch her little video at http://www.glamour.com/news/woty/articles/2007/09/michellerodriguez

Michelle and Rolando lived next door to us in California. We miss them and their girls so much--They were the greatest neighbors. Michelle and Ro are both LAPD officers and always had crazy schedules. On occasion they would come over and ask to play with "Baby Rachel". They'd take her to their house for an hour or so--I loved the breaks! I always knew when Ro was home from work because he'd get out of his car and yell, "Baby Rachel!" He loved her and she loved him.

At one point Jared and Michelle commiserated and hooked up her sister Suzanne (who was an Opera singer in Minnesota at the time) with Jared's brother Matt (who was a pediatric oncologist in Michigan)...now they are in Cincinnati with their 4 kids!! So we're all family.

Anyway...I don't know if you can still vote...but I will say that Michelle is one of the most talented and generous people I know. We love you and are proud to know you!

Rachel's poem...

How Can You Make a Difference
By: Rachel Hansen

Have you ever thought, just out of the blue,
that if one person could make a difference it’s you?
And then when you start to think, your hopes slowly begin to sink,
“For what,” you say,” could I ever do to make this world a nicer place too?”
I’ll tell you for one, that you can and you should!
Here are some people that did lots of good…..

Miss Elizabeth Blackwell, wanted to do something big,
not just sit around and sew all day being lazy as a pig.
So she tried to do something different,
and it actually worked out quite nice,
‘cause she became the first woman doctor,
though she had to pay the price.

Neil Alden Armstrong, loved planes from the start,
but when he got put with spaceships he worked with all his heart.
On July 20th, 1969,
Neil and his friend Aldrin, made a record so divine.
For they had set foot, on something no one had before,
the moon, bright and round and white, made every ones hopes soar.

Mr. Fredrick Banting, was interested in a certain disease,
and started thinking about it, this thing called diabetes.
He partnered up with a fellow, (his name was Charles Best,)
and tried to find out what was wrong, and why they were so stressed.
And when he finally figured out what was going wrong,
he told the doctors, helped them out, and the patients got to move on.

Martin Luther King Jr., was tired of being told what to do,
so he planned the “Bus Boycott” and that gave people the cue.
For soon the city was full of protests, and lots of different strikes,
and with that going on Martin Luther gave some advice.
“I have a dream,” he said loud and clear “that we will all be equal!”
And that made a huge difference to lots and lots of people.

So now, dear readers, what will you do?
Will you help the world be a better place too?
You can discover an illness, you can build a machine,
you can go up to Mars, or become a queen.
What ever you do, you’ll help all the while,
and create a new and a better life style.

Not so Jolly...

well, my excitement of dodging the paper turkey was quickly squashed by the paper tree that came home a week ago. Seriously...I do not understand the logic for this project. It was due on Monday. Guess who's loser parent totally forgot about it. That would be Luke. He came home and said he was the only one who didn't have a tree to put up. So I pulled out the glitter and we glittered away so he could take it yesterday. I'm sure it was not as impressive as some. Oh well.

When we left Tomball I though I was leaving the crazy--out do everybody PTO world. Apparently not. I got a note home for Luke's class holiday party GIFT EXCHANGE! It requests a wrapped gift-under $10 for an exchange in the class! $10!!! What?!? I might not be so riled up if it was like $5--or how about let's not do it at all!! I promise that the kids that go to this school will not be going without this Christmas...so why are we giving them even more?? Why not do a sub for Santa for a needy school, or make gifts for each other?? I'm not happy about this one. I'd go get something at the Dollar store, but I'm afraid I'd give some poor child lead poisoning, so I'm hoping I have something in my gift stash.

On a happier note...yesterday we went to watch Rachel perform with the bell choir. It was quite impressive. If I can figure out how to post video I will. She also was informed that her poem she wrote for the Reflections contest will be going to the regional competition. She is excited. I will post the poem.

I had a fun day yesterday. It was my big sister Ann's birthday...we went to lunch together and then later the kids made birthday signs we went and hung on her door for when she got home from work. I hope she had a great day! We love you Annie!