Why I hesitated

Dearest Reader,

Thank you for responding as you did to my last post. I received quite a bit of feedback on it, all telling me to write my story, and to share it, and I was very flattered. Before I get going again though, I really need to get something off my chest, and I need to do it on here, on this blog, because that is where it all started.

Late December, 2009, I wrote a blog post about a preacher praying for me in Indiana. This can be accessed by clicking on those underlined words you just read. Reading it back, it is a very well written post, not that I want to toot my own horn, but I'm really captivated by the story and the detail. A talented writer wrote that, and to think it is a work of non-fiction as well! Amazing.

Anyway, this particular post caused me a lot of trouble, and upset a lot of people in my family. Most of the involved people have apologized for their involvement, have been completely forgiven, and any issues concerning them have been resolved. Some members of my non-immediate family did get really upset though, and words were said that were hurtful, tears were shed, and it was just a big ugly mess.

I still am not really sure what happened.

The thing that scared me the most about the whole thing, and the reason why I hesitate to write at times, is the power. The power that words have, that words that I typed have. It is power that I don't want. I don't want to have the ability to do anything that would make people that frustrated and upset. When I expressed this to Mom the other day, she said, "But you do. You do have that power."

Upon reflection, I don't know how right she is. It was their choice to get upset, my words didn't force their reaction. Maybe I say that because I so don't want the responsibility that would come with all that power, but maybe it is true. I don't know. I just never realized that people could get so upset over words, words that weren't meant to upset at all, and it scared me.

I want this blog to be a safe place for me to write my memoirs, my thoughts, my opinions, events as they happened from my eyes. Nothing on here is meant to condemn people. These are just records as one person sees and experiences them, and are not meant to be taken personally in a hurtful way. If you want to use them personally, fine, go ahead, but don't let them hurt you. You do not have to read any of it.

That's what I have to say about that,
I hope to write more in the future,
Miss E.

Back in the Groove?

Dear Reader,

I have decided to resurrect this blog from the dead, at least temporarily. Mom is to blame mostly, she keeps telling me that people miss it, I'm such a talented writer and that I should really consider writing a book someday, etc. Mom has a way about thinking more of her offspring than anyone else.

Anyway, I do not post here without news to share. There is actually a lot of news. Most of you know I had a busy senior year of high school, lots of school, and then a sickly spring time, which I am still recovering from. Currently I am preparing for college, which is very exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. Then there is news with Mom, which is somewhat exclusive as she hasn't really told people yet.

Yes, it is that time again, that time of the month (or what ever time period) that most all sane people dread... Mom just got diagnosed with cancer, again, for the 7th time now. It is still the same Ovarian Cancer, sprinkled here and there. Most of you know it metastasized a few diagnoses ago. There isn't much else to say about that, but here are some interesting things that she and I were talking about today:

1. Neither Mom nor I know anyone or have heard of anyone who has her type of cancer and has survived it/lived with it for as long as she has.

2. Neither of us know of anyone who has a medical history similar to mine either. I couldn't think of anyone I've ever met who had their transplant at an older (above 6 years old) age who is still alive, or anyone who is still alive who got their graft (i.e. their bone marrow donation) from an adult, unrelated donor of the opposite sex who is still alive either.

3. Our story is pretty amazing when we think about it.

4. Scientifically, it makes just about zero sense that we are still alive. What science cannot explain, can be explained with the supernatural... or not at all, which is unacceptable for me. So therefore God must be intervening to keep us here for some special reason.

It seems like maybe we were given such a story to share it. So maybe, we should put it out there for people to find. I hope that doesn't make it less special, or less amazing, or less mine.

Feel free to send me your thoughts on this,
It is nice to be in touch again,
Miss E.

Dear Reader,

I know it has been forever, and I've really thought about letting this thing die, and probably will, but one last post...

I'm at school now! Well actually, not now, in the sense of the immediate present, because it is summer, but if it weren't summer, I would be in school! I'm actually a senior now, and I did the second semester of junior year in the IB program. My first day of school was January 4th.

While I was at school, I picked up a best friend, and before long, he asked my dad if I could be his girlfriend (before he asked me of course).

Mom keeps geting sick all the time. She has cancer for the 5th time now, and has been needing much help, but I am taking good care of her.

Brother is older, more manly looking, and hairier. He is into philosophy and theory, and I think if he could choose any job in the world he would probably want to be a professional thinker. Such a nerd.

Dad is working his butt of as usual, and all is fine and normal. A great summer, and a great rest of my life is a head. Thanks for reading.

Miss E.

The Peace

Hi Reader,

I know I haven't written in a really long time, over half a year, but I knew that when I did write again, I would have feel the need to write about a certain person, and I didn't know how to say the news. However, I have given it much thought, and I think I found a good way.

My friend, though I only met him 2 or 3 times, I would venture to call him such, is not on earth anymore. On September 18, 2010, Iron Man went to be with the Father. Everyone who knew him (or knew of him) knew he was ready. He relapsed again, and he had already had multiple transplants in a short time. His cancer was strong, of course it was, because it was his, and he was strong.

His service was beautiful, my mom and I went, it was a 3 hour trip there and back. There were 3 members of hospital family that came besides us. I was a little disappointed, I thought more would come. I know others loved Iron Man, they talked about him with it in their eyes. I think many people do not understand how important funerals are, for the family, and for yourself. It puts things at rest in your mind, and helps make you wise.

Iron Man's sister sang a song just for him, "Hero," and she sang it beautifully. Iron Man was a hero to everyone. There was music, nobody gave speeches, and those that knew Iron Man well did not cry, they all knew where he was. I think they were thinking of him, or at least trying to. There was a girl whimpering and sobbing behind me, so my thoughts were cloudy, but I didn't cry too much. I knew Iron Man was happy, so I was trying to be too. One of my favorite parts of the funeral was when Iron Man's mother, Big Wig, walked in.

Iron Man's service was held in his high school gym. Iron Man hadn't gone to school for years, but he did love school, not in the way I do, he loved being with his friends, and living. I like that too, but I also like the education part a lot. Anyway, the people occupied one side of the gym, and sat on the bleachers, family sat in folding chairs on the gym floor. When Big Wig walked in everyone in the bleachers bolted up like they were stuck with a hot poker. The bleacher packed with people all showing that respect at once, for Iron Man's family, I liked it.

Anyways, I wanted to tell you about the best thing ever.

When I was younger, maybe 10 or 11, I experienced something I can only call "the peace." It comes sometimes in the hospital at night. You can not tell when it comes, once it came when I was crying. The nurses are still there and there is beeping in the distant, but somehow things seem quieter. I've felt it before, in church, during the part of mass where people are coming back from receiving the Eucharist. There is a song we sing then..

"Surely the presence, of the Lord is in this place. I can feel his mighty power and his gra-ace. I can feel the touch of angel's wings, I see glory on each face. Surely the pre-esence, of the lord, is in this place."

In the hospital, I thought it felt like prayers. The prayers of the parents, families, patients, even employees, running over my body, through it, filling me with warmth. Now, that I think about it with church, and put the two together, I think it is the angels, who carry the prayers and deliver them to Jesus. It is that piece of heaven, of God, that they bring with them when they go places, the feeling of eternal safety, happiness, and love. I wanted to have it forever, so I made a memory, just as I had made when I felt it in church, often I felt it inside of me, and it was gorgeous and great.

I'm not the only one that's felt it either, Mom has, and the few parents I have asked about it have also, some employees too. It is real.

Iron Man is experiencing "the peace" constantly right now. He has such a strong faith... I hope, one day, you will feel "the peace" too, and focus on it hard, and make a memory of it. Don't let it pass over you, or shrug it off, because you won't see its beauty. And who knows? It might just be a hero sending you a message.

Love, Miss E.

I am Alive

Reader,

I know I have been neglecting my blog a lot lately, but I am alive. I thought you might be interested in knowing that. I am a bit behind pace in school, so much of my time spent on the computer is spent doing that.

So, I am alive and doing pretty good. I hope you have a blessed day!

Miss E.

A Good Brother

Dear Reader,

I thought I would write about some things I really like today. However, that would take really long, and I would want to write too much, and it just won't turn out right, which might make me stress out. Stress (as you probably know) can cause hair loss, weight gain, change in hair color (gray hairs), an increase in blood pressure and heart beat, quick changes in mood or behavior, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, head-aches, swollen feet, the formation of disgusting oozing pustules, and more.

Okay, maybe I exaggerated on some of those, but why take the risk?

So, instead of writing about some things I like, I'm going to pick 1.

I pick Brother.

Brother has black hair that is as straight as a straight pin, and probably has the same circumference. His eyelashes are so full that unless you examined him closely (or you knew him) you could easily think him to be wearing "guy liner". He is the most toned guy I have noticed his age, and he also looks the most manly. That isn't why I like him though.

Brother is a good brother.

He is protective. Granted he isn't like a "girl flick movie protective", but he does protect me, even if he doesn't always want me to know it or realize it. I think he's probably the most nervous about me getting out of isolation, because he sees what an utter dork I am at home and worries I may act that way in public. Which I may be prone to do, especially if he is present. He stays away from sick people at school because he knows that if he caught the right kind of sick, I will surely perish. He (and Dad) do the yard work because he knows that I (and my mother much of the time) deteriorate in the heat. He does more protective stuff too, but this is not a post on his protectiveness, and 3 examples is good for a paragraph.

He is trustworthy. If you tell him a secret he will not repeat it. I can do that too, but it seems to be harder for me. I think this is for two reasons A.) I don't get out much, so there is hardly ever anything to talk about B.) I don't understand why people keep "YOU CAN'T TELL ANYONE!" secrets, it makes no sense to me. I think that you could always tell someone, as long as you knew they were a safe person. Brother seems to not care about what anyone tells him for the most part. So, he won't tell people what you tell him because very frankly, what does it matter to other people anyway? He's a "safe" person to talk to.

He is a bunch of other good brother stuff too. He may not be so nice 100% of the time, but he apologizes when he does something uncalled for and hurtful, which mot many people can do. He plays games with me, like chess or gamecube. He's a good listener when you need one, and he tries to understand, and he doesn't judge enough to say he's one who does. He's not stuck on stupid stuff either, he knows there are WAY more important things.

I'm not going to write much more because this post is getting long already. Here are the last few things I would like to mention.

Brother is my friend, I think I am his, though we would probably never be friends if we weren't siblings because we keep different social groups. I love him very much, he is a great brother, and he loves me too, though I can only remember getting an "Okay" on the sister scale. He might have called me good in the sister department once or twice though.

And something that I really like about my whole family:
We aren't weird about things. What I mean by this is, we don't hide from each other or keep secrets (except ones that aren't ours to share) from each other. We don't think our lives are not normal, because to us, they are perfectly normal. What's not normal about them? My mom being bald, barfing every 3 weeks, and me sporting faded bruises like jewelry is normal. If I asked you, "How do you cope with having that gap in your teeth?" What would you think of me?

What gets me, what puts my "Not Normal!" flag up, is when I see families where a member has some a health challenge or sickness and they are all "Ah! We aren't normal! I don't know if I can stand it! When will I/my spouse/my child be normal again!? How can I handle it!?" I mean grow up! You are as normal as the rest of us, your normal is just different, as is everyones'. The thing is, this is your life, this is your normal, so you may as well like it.

Brother and I decided a long time ago. We each have one sibling, only one. We can be friends, we can "get along", or we can choose to do neither of those things. I like our decision.

Sister of a Good Brother, and Member of a Normal Family,
Miss E.

Erg!

I just read my post and I was thinking, "What if I was a kid (a school-goer) reading that? I would think thinks were just fine and dandy! That's not what I was going for!"

The message I wanted to get across to other kids (teens) is:

Just look at what you have! This kid, this sweet 15 year old girl hasn't been to school for 6 years! You think that's fine?! You think, "Oh things are always bright and happy for Miss E. She'll be fine." No! That is not true. Miss E. is NOT fine and dandy, her aura is totally not pink right now. How dare you!

How dare you complain about not getting the classes that you want! How dare you complain about your busy schedule! Is your heart blind?! How dare you complain about getting to go school!

Going to school is a privilege.

Having a job is a privilege.

Oh you know do you? If you know that, they why don't you act like it?

Quit thinking about how bad you got it.... That's what I'm trying so hard to do right now. Other people use me to accomplish this, I use other people....

Yesterday, was Prayer's first birthday. Happy birthday, I'm thinking of you, and thank you for helping me.

Miss E.

School Time

Dear Reader,

I got home from Tennessee a while ago. We had a great vacation.

Brother starts school this Monday. I am very happy and excited for him. This is his first year of high school. He is also excited.

I'm a bit bummed out that I can't go to school, again. Virtual School is great - the teachers are all wonderful, the lessons are good quality, you do learn (or I do), but I just have been waiting a long time to go back to a traditional school. In 6 years, I have attended 9 weeks of traditional (i.e. in a classroom, with a teacher and other students) school, and those 9 weeks were great. I remember so much from them, and I am so very happy that I received the gift of going for that long. I even remember from over 6 years ago, from 1st to 3rd grade about school. I always liked it.

I talk about the days when I used to go to school more often than I should. From how I talk sometimes, people might think I was a normal school-going kid. When I hear myself, I always think, "Like you can talk, you haven't been to school in 3 years, and even then you were only there for 9 weeks." So, I always say, "I remember when I went to middle school for that little bit...."

All my life, I have always been one to see "the bright side" of things. At this point in my life, I don't know if that is because that is just the way I am, or if my parents helped me. Its probably both. So, while I can't help seeing the bright side of not getting to go to school this year, and not going to PIBS at all ever (because you can't start into the pre-IB program in the middle of the year), I see "the dark side" too. I don't like it either, it makes my heart heavy in my chest.

So here is my bright side: Even if I could go right now, I am way too tired. I would never make it. It is actually good that my T-Cells aren't there right now, because it would be way more awful to have the immune system but not be able to go because I'm too out of shape and tired, than to not be able to go because I don't have the immunity.

Bright side to no PIBS: If I do start in the middle of the year, I won't have as much homework. I can still be in the IB program next year.

The thing with the dark-side is, it is all sooo selfish when I say it. "I am sad that I don't get to go to school, because I want to go and I haven't been able to go in almost 6 years. I want to go so bad, and I don't get to." See how that sounds? Icky!

At least I'm getting off some meds, and hopefully that means I'm getting better. I haven't been to the hospital this year, so that is good.

So anyway, I'm trying not to be selfish about this. I can't always get what I want, and I just have to deal with it. I'm still very excited for Brother, and I hope he enjoys his first day very much.

Miss E.

On Vacation!

Dear Reader!

I am on vacation! I am visiting the famous Hills of Tennessee, as mentioned in the song, "Proud to be an American." My great-aunt and uncle live here and I am visiting them along with my Mom, Grannee, and Brother. Today I am at home while Brother and my aunt go zip-lining, and my Mom watches.

It is really nice and relaxing here. I took pictures of the place and tried to upload them here, but I messed it up. So, I'll probably try that again some other time.

Today something exciting happened!

A wild animal escaped into the house! The monster came from the vast unknown through the garage (supposedly) and darted at top speed into the house. My uncle shouted and I said, "Are you serious?" He assured me he was and told me the creature had taken cover in Grannee's room.

I entered the room following my uncle, and there was no creature to be found. Then all of the sudden, a rustling in the curtain, and I saw it. It came at me, and I stood perfectly still until it passed me in the hallway. Then, me and my uncle chased it down fearlessly. He had a net to assist him, while I was left to fight the savage beast with my bare hands. Grannee just watched it from the sidelines, probably paralyzed with fear.

I got it corned in the laundry room and my uncle came. "Where is it?" he said in his deep voice, "Its over there." I said gesturing to the corner. I had already opened the garage door so the thing could get out. My uncle went over it, talking to it (calling it "stupid"), using his net to herd it out into the garage. Then, it was out. We were saved!

So, my uncle opened up both garage doors so the cute sweet darling little wren could go back outside.

Quick Update: Saver to Spender

Dear Reader,

As usual, a whole lot has happened since I wrote last. I will conveniently list the latest events below, as this seems to be a very efficient way to quickly update...


Note: Events are in order of memory at the time of writing.

1.  I made great chicken and dumplings last night! I am very hungry right now, sorry.

2. I bought two new pairs of flip-flops! My cutest pair you can see below (picture and link curtesy of Amazon.com). I got an all black pair, but it is the same as that one rhinestone wise. My other pair is a pair of squishy Under Armour brand ones. 

3. I'm getting pretty good on the violin. The Baby dog doesn't cry so much when I play anymore.

4. Grannee is coming! She should arrive next Tuesday! So excited!

5. I finished Biology! I call my teacher for my final grade stuff tomorrow and I will be officially done. He said that if I ever need a letter of recommendation for anything to give him a call and he would write me a good one.

6. I bought a pink acoustic guitar! Kind of. I actually was playing with it today while waiting for my violin teacher to get to the store for my lesson. It is pink. It burst into tears when I left without it. So, I called up the store on the way home and told them to put a "SOLD" sign on it and I would be back tomorrow to pick it up.

7. I am sooo not liking parting with my money. I am what you call "frugal".

8. I am going on vacation soon! Mom, Brother, Grannee, and I are going to Tennessee to visit my great-aunt and uncle who live there. We are all (minus brother who lacks the ability to be enthused) extremely excited about going!!!!! (I put !!!!! because we are that excited)

9. My T-Cells (main part of immune system) are not growing :( However, I'm still not getting sick :D

10. Because my T-Cells are really very low, I will not be going to school on August 9th like every other average-Joe public schooler in my county. This also means, that Brother is going to go to high school before me... That stinker!

11. It also means that I probably won't have to do all my IB homework :D

I have more stories to tell you, but I don't have more time to tell them. So, good-bye for now, and I will write again later.

~Miss E.

Good News!

Dear Reader,

I know I'm not supposed to be posting (I still have to finish virtual school) but I have 2 things to tell you, okay 4, but I've really got to do homework right now so I'm going to make this very brief.

Thing #1 (medical)
I went to clinic 9 days ago, and I didn't tell you about it. It was great! My BK Virus number (BK Virus is the virus that is trying to kill my kidney) went down to the lowest it has ever been since we started to really worry about it! It is in the 50,000s!!! For me, this is big YAY! news.

Thing #2 (medical)
I went to clinic 9 days ago, and it was great further! My kidney function number went down too! Yay! This is great news, it was down to 2.48!!! For me this is very good, as my doctors were thinking it would never be able to go down past 2.6 due to the excessive damage caused by the BK virus.

Thing #3 (kind of medical but not really)
I went to Wal*Mart 2 days ago!!! I haven't been there since before transplant and it was a big deal for me. They had totally re-done the place since the last time I had been in. There wasn't many people there either so I didn't even wear a mask! Soooo exciting!!! I didn't touch anything really, except the cart which Mom wiped with a clorox clean-up. I was cart-pusher for Mom. It was AWESOME!

Thing #4 (school/ education)
I made a video for my biology class. I wasn't going to post it on here, but my biology teacher thought it was awesome! He even gave me extra credit!!! He says it is the best assignment he has ever gotten for that lesson and he asked me if he could put it on the announcement page for the class! What an honor! So, I told him that he may. I thought you might like to see this amazing video, so here you are:

Miss E.

P.S. Do you like my new blog look? Leave a comment and tell me please.

Also, thing #5: I am finished with all my assignments in Geometry now!

Telethon Weekend 2010

Dear Reader,

My time on the telethon is now over. It was very fun. There is so much energy in that atmosphere and it is bounced around and recycled. Going to the telethon actually seemed to give me more energy.

I was disappointed Saturday because I was going to go on live, and my bone marrow donor was going to try and watch me via the All Children's Hosptial Telethon website. I kept thinking to myself all day long before I went on, "Talk slowly, say each word, and give a shout out." My donor isn't very fluent in American English yet. As soon as I went up there and got on stage with the lights and cameras in my face, I just forgot everything! Poof!

Maybe, if I get invited back to the telethon next year, I can have a pre-recorded segment too so I can say what I want. I wanted to encourage people to consider donating more than money.

Anyway, I have lots of pictures from then that I stole off of flicker. Here is one of me, Brother, and Resi when I appeared live at 8:42pm on Saturday.

Thank you Resi and Helen for my Willow Tree Angels!!!

This picture is of my friends the Hawks. From left to right we have, the Big Hawkuna, Hawk-let, Steve Jerve (The news guy), HawkMan, and HawkMom/Lady Hawk Liver/Lady Hawk (many code names this ones has). Everyone agrees that their family looks made for TV.

These are people who help make it all happen! The coordinator (I think?) and the tech/picture/Internet guy who is also on the Family Advisory Council and whom everyone likes. Everyone likes the lady too, but she isn't on the Family Advisory Council, yet. That's Peter Pan in the background, by the way.

The following are pictures of the Family Advisory Council (which I am on) when we answered phones. Answering phones at the All Children's Hospital Telethon was such a rush! The Big Hawkuna had to visit the lavatory shortly after our shift started it was so exciting. My phone rang twice with a real person on the other end.

The next picture is one of my favorite from the night, taken by on Father Goose's cell phone. It is rather good, don't you think? Going from left to right we have Hawk Lady, the Big Hawkuna, and Father Goose.

This one has me in it!

I hope you enjoyed my pictures and had a great weekend! If you didn't get the chance to call in during the telethon, you can still go to All Children's Hospital's website and donate there. You can help save lives. If you can't donate money, that is okay, you can donate your vital organs instead! Or your other organs! Or your blood, or your hair, or your unopened toys, its your choice really...

The final amount raised from the telethon is $3,343,930! Thank you so much to everyone who donated!

Love, Miss E.

Miss E on TV!

Hello Dear Readers!

I know I haven't posted in a long time, and this isn't really going to be a post post, most like an announcement. I won't be doing real posts until I get my school work done, sorry.

First announcement:

I am going to be on the All Children's Hospital Telethon! I will be appearing Saturday, June 5th at 8:42pm St. Petersburg, FL, U.S.A time. You can watch me live at that time at www.allkids.org/telethon. If you are international and want to watch, there is a list of world clocks here where you can see how your time zone compares to mine, and do the math.

Second announcement:

I can do a back bend! I just did it maybe half an hour ago. I haven't been able to do one in years, and I was so happy that I cried. Mom was very thankful that I cried because she has been really emotional/hormonal/not herself lately and has been experiencing mood swings.

The following events are in the order I remember them, not as they happened. These events have all taken place since the last time I posted something.

Other announcements that aren't as important, but I should probably mention before they get too far out dated:

1. (This actually has happened since before last time I posted, but I didn't have time to write about it) Brother has a girlfriend! You can find a picture of her HERE. She is the blond girl next to the Asian girl (Sleeping Beauty, if you know her) on the far left. Brother has his arm around her in the picture.

2. I learned how to light the grill! I can now complete this dangerous task all by myself without any human supervision!

3. Brother caught his hair on fire, because he thought he already knew how to light the grill! He did loose some of it, and had a tiny burn above his lip. His hair has since grown out and been re-cut.

4. My dad killed one of the foxes that has been hunting his chickens. Don't worry. I looked it up, and it is perfectly legal since we live in a rural area.

Foxes are not afforded protection from humane control measures. However the law does prevent the use of poisons or illegal traps or snares to control foxes, and it is illegal to shoot them in urban areas including parks.

5. I got in my first car accident! Kind of. I was pulling the old van out of the drive way and it had the trailer attached. I miss-judged, or didn't look in my mirrors well enough or something, and when I gave it gas (the old van has a kick) it ripped up the gate. I was very worried that my dad would be very mad, so I made him fresh rice for when he got home.

6. Everything was fine because Dad didn't notice that the gate was torn to pieces. He only noticed that Mom had backed up the van into his big garage and made a crack in the trunk. Pictures available later. He noticed the gate after Mom told on me. Dad said that she should have been watching me better, I have no experience driving. I, sensing her immaturity, explained the situation to her saying, "You are in trouble and I am not." in a sing-song voice with a smile on my face.

7. Mom and I shaved the two hairy border collies for the summer. One of them, who I believe has the code-name "Clown" has a Mohawk down his back and tail because of this. People drive by our house to stop and laugh at him. His life is now fulfilled.

8. I started violin lessons.

9. This Friday is Brother's last day of school!

Okay, that I all I can think of for now. Thank you and have a nice day!

Love, Miss E.

Happy Mother's Day!

To My Mother,

Happy Mother's Day.

You mean too much to me,

I don't know what to say.

So I thought I'd post especially for you on my blog.

Unfortunately, my mind is suffering from writer's fog.

There's too much to say, too much to write.

I can't post it all, never in one night.

You've taken care of me since the day I was made.

You're the kind of mom I would never want to trade.

This poem is corny, but that is okay.

You are my mother, surely you'll like it anyway.

I can't thank you enough for all that you've done.

And as far as that goes, let's just say, "I owe you one."

Thanks for my brother, he is the best.

Thanks for your wisdom, and all the rest.

Thank you Mommy, for all that you do,

and please know, that I will always love you.

Love, Your Daughter

Silent Birthday Party

Dear Reader,

I know I haven't written in a really long time and sorry to disappoint you, but this isn't going to be much of a post either. It is mostly pictures.

Brother had his 14th Birthday party on Saturday the 17th. It was a Silent Library birthday party. Silent Library is a TV show where contestants have to "endure punishment" in a library at an undisclosed location. If the contestants can remain silent while enduring the punishment, they win money. Here is a sample of some of the punishments that took place at Brother's party.

There were two teams. This challenge was a race, which ever team consume their frozen drinks first won the money.

This one was also a race. Contestants had to race each other to the end of the driveway blindfolded.....

while being pelted with water balloons.

For this challenge, the teams raced to see who could pop their balloons first.

This contestant was subject to a make-over.

All this contestant had to do for this challenge was eat pudding...

with help from the leaf blower.

The party was really awesome, and I am not sick from it yet. I have been breaking TONS of my low-microbial rules, and I am not sick yet. I am a bit more tired than usual, but not feeling bad. I have actually been feeling quite good.

I would post more, but this is just a short post. I have been very busy though. I'll do another post soon, maybe, hopefully, probably.

Sorry if you feel like I "left you hangin'."

Write again soon, Miss Ellaneous

PS I have lots of virtual school to do, its a big reason I haven't written in a long time. School and work first, then hobbies, that the rule you know.

Super Quick Note

Dear Reader,

I just thought you guys should know that HawkMan is out of ICU! His family thanks you for your prayers, and so do I.

So, I'll tell you what I've been up to lately.

Friday night, I went to the airport with my daddy. We were on a super secret mission. My aunt was having a birthday and in order to surprise her we thought we'd fly down her daughter (my friend, Pursey) down for the weekend. Dad and I picked her up from the airport at midnight on Friday night.

We had my aunt over for breakfast the next morning and she was so surprised as was Sleeping Beauty (Pursey's sister). Sleeping Beauty even had some tears gleaming in her eyes.

It was sooo fun!

Brother's birthday is tomorrow. We are going to have his party on the 17th. He keeps changing it. I'm really looking forward to it.

Mom is doing better with her chemo. She is doing a lot better this time than last time.

Sorry this is so short, and a bit low in quality compared to what I usually do. I'm going to go now. I hope you have a great week and enjoyed your weekend!

God's blessings!

Miss Ellaneous

Prayers Please + Consider Becoming an Organ Donor

Dear Reader,

I'm not promising any bright, bouncy, cleaver, witty humor in this post.

I have a prayer request for you. Seriously.

It is for my friend HawkMan. I'm going to break the rule about code-names for him so you can pray for him better, plus you already know who he is if you read his page.

His name is Aiden. He is in the hospital right now, actually he is in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). He is really sick, and the doctors don't really know what is wrong. He's been pucking up a lot of blood, he's hurled up over 1/2 a liter and you can see how small he is from the picture. He's been disoriented all day, he just remembered his name and birthday a couple minutes ago (I know because of facebook). Please pray for him and his family. He has a Mom, Dad and a little brother. Your prayers are appreciated.

Aiden playing sick at family centered rounds practice.

Also, I encourage you to please register as an organ donor. I recently started following a blog about a boy named Mason who just got a heart transplant. HawkMan is a liver transplant patient. I am a bone marrow transplant patient (though you can donate that while you are living, it is a bit different). Please register, you could save a life, you could save somebody really awesome's life. Just ask my donor, he'll tell you how fabulous I am, just as I tell you how fabulous he is.

Wouldn't it be just so terrific if you died and your organs went to somebody just totally fabulous? Seriously, think about it.

Thank you! Have a nice day! Please do pray for Aiden,

Even if you don't really pray, please it isn't for you this time, its for Aiden,

Thank you, Miss E.

Happy Easter!

Dear Reader,

My Grannee and Young Cousin are home now. We had a great week with them. They left this morning at about 6:30ish. Things are already back to normal here, very exciting events have already occurred since they left.

I made lasagna for dinner tonight. There were some noodles left over that didn't make it into the dinner, so I fed them to the chickens in the back yard. Stinky was helping me. My dad was washing his car in the drive way, but I couldn't see him very well because my view was blocked by the van, hill, and car-port. When I was done, I went to the garage to wash the wet noodle slime off of my hands. I found Mom pacing around on the phone. She was animated, waving her hands in the air, and had a look of urgency on her face.

I ignored it. She was probably frustrated with some insurance person.

I turned on the sink in the garage to wash my hands.

"There's no water." I said.

"I know." I heard from my pacing mother, "You're dad hit the well."

I got up to inspect the scene of the incident. My dad was not giving his car a bath as I had thought. Instead his car was parked next to a gushing water fountain that was right where our old water pump used to be.

My cup runneth over.

Dancing with excitement, I bounced over to the miniature Ol' Faithful and stuck my hands in to wash off my noodle slime. I went back into the garage, soaped up my hands with a bar of soap, went outside to rinse it off, and discovered the fountain was no longer spewing forth any water.

Holding my hands up in the air, I went back in the garage and discovered that my pacing mother had disappeared. I knocked on the door to the house.

Mom opened it for me. I explained my hands in the air with, "My hands are covered in soap." She was quite humored by this and offered me a baby wipe, which didn't work, and then some hand sanitizer, which also didn't help get the soap off.

Eventually I found an old water bottle that nobody was claiming and Mom poured it over my hands slowly so I could wash the dry soapy sticky off.

Immediately after my hands were free I got the camera and went out to access the damage with Mom. The dogs also felt the need to help with the inspection.

From left to right: Mom's hand, Clown, Baby, and Piggy

The pipes inside were very broken, even with the big concrete box protecting them. Dad just ran right into it. Everyone was having a hard time believing it, especially Baby.

Anyway, we weren't that long without water. The Plumber Man and his wife came over and fixed it straight away. They were very nice people. I gave the Plumber Man some of my lasagna and he said it was really good. They gave us a very good price for fixing the well, I think my lasagna had something to do with that, but I'm not sure.

So, yeah. Things are definitely back to normal at the Ellaneous house.

I hope you had a Happy Easter! May your cup gusheth over!

Miss Ellaneous

The Young Cousin

Dear Reader,

You know how I've been saying at the end of my last couple posts how nervous I am about the Young Cousin coming? The above picture is of the Young Cousin and Grannee. Just look at them. They look so harmless and sweet in that picture right? Well, this picture is a shining example of how looks can be deceiving.

Don't get me wrong, Grannee is great! She does all the Grannee things, snuggles, hugs, cookies, and such, and the Young Cousin is very sweet, but.... well...

I am 15 years old (and really old mentally), she is 11. I am the older cousin, I am a female, I (no matter what I do, or how much she teases me about being nerdy or uncool) am the bee's-pajamas to her. Which is great! However it comes with responsibilities. I work hard to be a good older cousin to her, and sometimes it is really hard work, thus my anxiety.

The Young Cousin likes attention. She calls often, at least once a week, which is also great, she is the only person who calls me on a regular basis. I like that she calls, it makes me feel like I am special to her.

Sometimes all the attention she requires is too much for me though.

The Young Cousin is a victim of her own imagination, and also suffers from EDQD (Extreme Drama Queen Disorder) and YEEMS (Your Emotions Entertain Me Syndrome).

Tragic. I know.

She makes up tons of stuff to get attention so you can't really believe anything she says, which presents its difficulties. She is never wrong either. Like when she was telling me about the Twilight Series, she's read all 4 books you know, and how Jacob Black is a vampire. I have read all the books too (I don't recommend them, the characters are not consistent) and reminded her that Jacob was a werewolf. She said, "No. He's a vampire." and I being the mentally mature 15 year old that I am, told my 11 year old cousin, "No. He's a werewolf."

"Vampire!"

"Werewolf!"

"Vampire!"

"Werewolf!"

"Vampire!"

"Werewolf!"

"Fine! Let me skim through the book and find out." The Young Cousin finally says.

"Okay, try New Moon, it is all about Jacob." I say, thinking there is no way she is "skimming" through those books.

"Okay. Oh yeah!" She exclaims, "Here it is. I forgot, Jacob is a werewolf!"

*rolls eyes*

So anyway, I am a bit nervous about her coming. It is great having somebody crave your attention, but sometimes a respite is necessary. I just worry that I won't be able to stay good the whole week, but I'll try, and the Young Cousin is very sweet and good. When I mess up and lose it with her, she always forgive me. She's a real friend.

I hope you have a great weekend!

The mature, Miss E.

My IB Application Result and Babies

Dear Reader,

Sorry I haven't written in so long! You poor dears. I have news for you though that will hopefully explain everything.

I got an email from Mr. I'm-in-charge-of-the-IB-program on Monday. Here is what is said:

Attached is the official letter concerning your status in PIBS for next year.

Yes, you were accepted. However, there is one small provision to your acceptance for next year. Because PIBS and IB students have to attend school (there are some IB assessments that are given in an interactive group setting), the Application Committee has requested that you have a doctors approval releasing you to attend Lecanto High School full time. Because PIBS and IB teachers need specific training, it is not possible to do PIBS or IB on a homebound status.

Ta-da! So, I'm going to talk to Patch when I go to clinic tomorrow about it. I'm so excited, I signed up for Spanish immediately, and I am already active and activated in the course. I have turned in 3 assignments, so estoy muy bien! Besides those, I have turned in 3 assignments in my other FLVS (Florida Virtual School) classes too, one in each of Biology (Honors), Geometry (Honors), and Life Management Skills. So that is 6 total today. Since Monday, I have been doing very much schoolwork everyday. See even if I don't make it to school this coming year, Mr. I'm-in-charge-of-the-IB-program says that he will work with me so that I pick the best courses so I could start the IB program at it's official start date, which is the 11th grade year.

He also says, Miss E.,"you have struck me as a very articulate young lady with fabulous potential." He is a really professional kind of guy so this really means a lot and it made my week! Mostly because Mom kept teasing me about how much I had worked on my essay and that it won't win any awards and they aren't going to say anything special about it... bwahahahha!

Speaking of Mom...

From Thursday night until Monday evening, I was taking care of Mom and her dog, Baby. Baby wouldn't leave Mom at all. She wouldn't go outside or ask to go potty (she wouldn't mess either, she'd just hold it in), she wouldn't go to drink, and she wouldn't leave to eat. She was hopelessly devoted. When Baby had been in bed for a while I would have to carry her outside, because if I brought her to the door and told her to "Go outside." she would refuse me. I brought both Mom and Baby food and water while Mom was sick, and they had their meals in bed. Baby is a very good dog to Mom.

Mom is doing much better now, she is out of bed during the day and even managed to drop-off and pick-up Brother from school today. Brother, who by the way, got voted as the 8th grade male with the "Best Personality" by his peers. There seems to be sufficient hope that she will be able to handle my clinic appointment tomorrow. I'm very thankful for that. She was really sick from this chemo.

Back to the subject of babies, I thought you might like to know, Reader, that Springs first baby chicks have arrived! My Dad's hobby is chickens, and every year he says, "I am not going to hatch anymore." So, here are is the first hatch of the season! Sorry they aren't totally fuzzy and utterly adorable, they were already about 6 days old when I took the picture.

I hope you have a great day! God's blessings!

Miss Ellaneous, Future IB Student

P. S. The Young Cousin and Grannee are going to arrive here March 30th, which is only 6 days away! I am praying that I keep my head and am a good "favorite cousin" while they are here.