The Henson Family

ONE MORE WEEK...

2010-05-20T19:28:00.000-07:00

OF SCHOOL!!! YEAH!!!

i am ready for the school year to come to an end...probably not as much as my kids though. :) i am ready to hit the river and relax with my family. i am not looking forward to sporting a bathing suit, but what the hell? i think you are expected to look like crap while floating the river. we shall be gone just a short few days then back to work and school.

bryan is busy getting contracts signed by all his production growers and doing field inspections. he is pretty much into full swing and it will only get busier from here on out.

braxtyn will be enjoying most days home with me. i am looking forward to spending some quality time together and hitting up some fun spots along the way. she will be going to school 1 to 2 days a week to spend time with her friends while i am hitting the books.

i will be starting my graduate work this summer. i am excited and scared all at the same time. hopefully i will gain lots of helpful knowledge that will be put to good use. next year at school, i will be teaching 3rd english language arts/reading. sadly though, my buddy traci, is moving to 4th grade. i will miss her being next door. it will be a change, but i will make it through.

so for now...i shall finish up my last week of school...bryan shall continue to get contracts and field inspections done....braxtyn shall continue being the little chicken nugget she is :)

pictures to come once we get back from the river :)

update on dad

2010-05-15T10:55:00.000-07:00

okay, to say the least...we have been pretty busy here lately. i have been horrible at updating anything! i know many of you keep up with dads progress thru this blog and i havent been keeping up with it. so.....here it goes...

dads neighbors have been taking very good care of him...one neighbor got a motorized wheelchair donated to him and another neighbor is letting him borrow his golf cart so that he can get around their property. he is super excited to get out of the house and around.

he had a follow up with his surgeon this past week and everything is looking good. his incision sight is closing up nicely and is about 1/2 way closed up from where it began. he is still on the wound vac due to all the fuild still being produced. hopefully within the next 2 months he will be able to get on the vac...something i know he is looking forward too.

my uncle jr, dads oldest brother, has been coming up to help out as much as he can around the house. we are all very thankful for him. :)

dad has also been out driving, which is another great motivation for him. he doesnt do much, but the little he does makes him feel good that he is able to do things for himself.

he has been getting the travel trailer ready for our family river trip in 2 weeks. we are all excited to leave work behind and relax on the river. my sister and her kiddos will be there, my uncle jr & aunt margaret, mom & dad, amy and us 3 will be there. i am looking forward to spending time with them all.

so overall, dad is improving slowly each day and he seems to be in good spirits. things are moving forward with his lawsuit & hopefully justice will be served to those who overlooked the cancer for so long.

and all the random inbetween...

2010-05-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

i forget to update the blog...so here are some pics of the last few weeks/months ;)

better yet...check out my facebook page....

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/deahenson

sorry for being lazy :)

Braky & her big girl haircut

2010-05-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

the before....

my absolute fav pic!!!

she was such a big girl and did a great job...overall about 4 inches off

dusty kept trying to get her to look down...she wasnt going for it...we sat there with out phones showing her pics

A few days with Kenadi

2010-05-11T20:10:00.000-07:00

James & Tiff spent a few days in Vegas this past week and we kept Kenadi. The girls were super excited to spent so much time together. :)

Relaxing before bed...watching dora

and munching on some popcorn

laying together the next night before bedtime

notice the dora & boots....brax is on a mission to find some for herself

Birthday Dinner

2010-05-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

We went 50 Yard Line for my b-day dinner. Brax loves the soup...she calls it her coffee. :)

Sitting with daddy...

Birthday dessert...i told her to stick her tongue out and she did until bryan snapped the pic...then i got the wierdo look

finally some love

braky drove us home :)

Clay Cafe

2010-05-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

For my birthday this year, I wanted to take Braky to Clay Cafe to make me a special gift. She wanted to color a frog (she remembered from last time we were there) and I wanted a zebra foot print. She really likes going here and has so much fun!

Painting her foot for the zebra print...

and the final zebra print

update on dad

2010-03-10T19:32:00.000-08:00

sorry for not being a better updater...i have been super busy this week at school....so here we go....

dad is still in the hospital, as of today his drs said that on friday he might get to move back over the rehab facility. they want him to get up and walk before they move him and he hasnt been able to accomplish that yet.

you might want to know what has happened in the past week, huh? on friday they went back and took out the whole hip replacement along with some more of his pelvis...they are not going to replace it either. odd? yes...his right femur was placed back up into the hip area with hip to connect to...girdlestone resection arthroplasty...is the procedure they performed. this is used with a hip replacement is rejected by the body. his right leg will be bout 3 inches shorter and only held in place by his muscles, which overtime will grow harder to secure his femur.

this was a lot to handle and accept...i know for me...i cant imagine what he went through. they have a wound vac system in place on his incision. i havent been back down there so i only giving you info that i was given. from what i understand, there is a sponge in the area and every other day they must take it out and replace it with a new one. in between, from what i understand, they are hooking the vac part up and sucking out all the yuck.
a wound care specialist came in talked to dad yesterday about the infection that caused this to happen. it was a big long word and sorry i cant remember it, but basically it was a fluke. bad timing, bad matchup...no explanation as to why it got infected.

i know monday was a very rough day for him, but the past 2 days have brought better times for him. he wears his feelings on his sleeve here lately...i can tell how his day is going just by talking to him. he doesnt want to lead on that anythingis wrong, but he isnt very good at hiding it. needless to say...i would much rather him in a good spirits.

he is getting his heels rewrapped right now...the bed sores are healing well. hopefully he will begin gaining back strength and will be able to thrive at rehab.

we are headed down friday after school and thank god next week is spring break...i am ready to go see him!

my sweet little braky bear

2010-03-04T17:34:00.001-08:00

it seems like the past month has been living in hell...so many things have gone wrong with my dad and it changes everything for everyone. thankfully through this all i have had bryan and braxtyn...ahhh...love them! bryan has been very supportive of me and my mood swings...braxtyn has been somewhat less supportive...but that little nugget has her own way of being supportive.
bryan has been gone every other week the past 6 weeks which has added more stress for me. even though i would much prefer him here...things have been going okay for braxtyn and me. she has her moments when i want to leave her on the curb while driving home. you know...when she is screaming at me to tie her shoe while i am driving, or the sun is in her eyes, or the music she wants to listen to isnt available, or when she wants her pacificer....despite all the bad moments she is such an angel :)
i always sing hush little baby, twinkle twinkle little star and abc's to her each night. last night when i was at my worst after a day from hell...she ran to get in bed and here is our conversation...
me: wait i want to hold you
brax: you want to hold me?
i gave her a big hug...you know the kind...where you hold on and never want it to end...she pats my back and sits up to give me a kiss and we say i love you
she was over the mushiness rather quickly and told me she wanted to lay in bed
so our routine continues...i sing hush little baby, twinkle twinkle little star and abc's just like i do every night
i lean in to give her a kiss and i whisper..i love you braky bear
brax, also whispering: i love you mommy
me: night, night baby...see you in the morning
brax: night night mommy
she makes everything worthwhile:)

out of surgery

2010-03-04T17:32:00.000-08:00

dad went back for surgery at 4:30 today...took 2 hours...dr williams came out to talk to my mom around 6:30. he said everything went fine and he is doing fine in recovery. he should back in his room around 9...i cant wait to talk to him

and the story continues and yet...still no good news

2010-03-03T19:42:00.001-08:00

so apparently my last post was filled with a little too much hope :( after getting a more elaborate explanation of tomorrows procedure plan 1 isnt even a plan! they are going in tomorrow, sometime, to remove every piece of hip replacement they put in on Feb 11. damn it, damn it, damn it!!!!!
now, i am not in the medical profession so i dont completely understand what they are exactly doing...so i hope you can follow me...they are removing all the hardware they used to do the hip replacement, there is apparently still some cancerous cells that were missed so they are cutting off more of his pelvis. they are going to clean everything up to hopefullly get all the bacteria out. his femur bone will be placed up in the hip area and his muscles will be tightly stitched together in order to hold it in place. he will have to use a cane to walk...he will have movement over his ankle...his right leg will be 3 inches shorter than his left and he will have to lifts put on every shoe.
even typing this out doesnt make anything make more sense...i am still so confused and so mad that we are here! what makes me the maddest is that all of his setbacks have been at the hands of the hospital staff. surgery #2 on Feb 19- correct dislocated hip due to pt pulling it out and now surgery #3 due to an infection at the hads of the nursing staff...and you ask why is it their fault? how could you put blame on someone for an infection? easy...he does not have a staff infection which is good news...he has an infection that comes from fecal matter. now why in the world is this even possible? i know i am probably sharing way too much but...due to the surgeries and all the meds they have been filling him up on laxatives...guess what people...the shit will eventually come out!!!!! after asking for assistance because he knew what he needed to do...the assistance offered wasnt much. needless to say, it was a mess and this happened more than once!
i know from personal experience that all medical staff will tell you, aww...the incision looks great! youre doing good! well guys...looking at something from the outside doesnt mean shit! the infection is always within. they sent dad over to the rehab facility with him under then notion that everything looked great, when underneath it was all unraveling. we had hopes of packing the incision in order to heal it. then we thought they might reinsert a drain. it didnt even cross our minds, well...atleast mine, that they would end up taking it all out.
i knew the option of the removal of his leg was always a possibility i just hoped that wouldnt have to happen. at this point...anything is possible and i hate that!!!!
i cant imagine what is going thru his mind...i cant imagine what is going thru my own mind. i know he will wake up tomorrow...he will be here...i just cant help but be scared for him. i know that he is physically going thru all of this and i cant imagine the emotionally hell he is in right now. i just want my dad...plain and simple...i just want my dad

what is exactly is the path?

2010-03-03T15:08:00.000-08:00

i know that god has a plan for all of us, but come on now...what else can this man go through????

the cultures came back on dad's incision drainage...positive for infection

so today...day 21 since his orginal surgery, he was admitted back into the hospital and will undergo surgery yet again! count them people...3 surgeries in 3 weeks!!!!

first plan...clean out all infection and hope for the best

second plan...if infection is unable to be completely cleared, then they must redo the whole hip replacement, so again more surgeries and more risk for things to continue to go wrong

third plan...if nothing else works, the only other alternative is to remove his leg :(

i just wish things would go right...i know that he can get through the physical part of all this crap..i just dont know how he will mentally get through it all...

another weekend gone by

2010-02-28T19:12:00.000-08:00

goodness...time is going by so fast here lately! bryan has been out of town every other week the past 4 weeks and he heads out tomorrow again. :( inbetween all his travel we have managed to go down to see my dad last weekend and this weekend i went down all by myself. i havent traveled by myself in many years...it was strange. not only that, i have spent very few nights away from brax.
i went down thrusday after school to spend some time with dad. i got to the rehab facility around noon on friday. i walked in right behind him coming back from physical therapy. he was braced up and in his wheelchair. as he started taking the front part of the brace off, he noticed that his incision was leaking. leaking would give you thought of a little bit...it was more of a gush. thankfully his nurse got him over into wound care fairly quickly and was seen by a dr. as for right now, we are just changing the dressings every 2-3 hours in hopes that the drainage will stop. he goes over to see the surgical team on monday for a followup.
the rehab facility has an onsite wound care center and he will go back over there on tuesday and then again on thursday. they are seeing him for the drainage at the incision sight as well as the bed sores on his heels. everything seems to progressing along the recovery path...at times it takes a detour, but slowly he is getting there.
since bryan flies out in the morning, my week will be hectic yet again. i cant wait for everything to get back to normal! good news is that spring break is only 2 weeks away! a much needed break. we will head back to san antonio on the 13th in order to spend dads birthday with him. we are hoping that he will be able to go home by then. :)
so...there is an update...i am exhausted! i left san antonio saturday night at 10 and drove back to lubbock. i got in this morning at 4. i only had 2 stops. the first one outside of san angelo because a dps thought i needed to slow down. he was super nice and just gave me a warning...i was so glad he was so nice and only clocked me at 72 instead the 85 i was going! my next stop was in big spring to fill up my poor baby hummer. my poor baby was subjected to abuse over the weekend. it is coming up on 4 years old with only 24000 miles and it sleeps in the garage every night! i am sure it is in shock and is enjoying being back home. a 1000 miles in a weekend is way too much for it!

Monday...day 12

2010-02-22T17:38:00.001-08:00

We had to leave yesterday and make our way back to Lubbock. I really wanted to stay with dad, but I think he is doing okay and I will be back down there this weekend.

Before we left yesterday one of his drs came in and let him sit up in his bed. He was so excited to get to move! I talked with him today and they were planning to get him up walking today...another very exciting step he was more than ready to make. I don't think that he officially got to walk but he was moved into a wheelchair and was able to get out of the room for awhile.

Last night, while getting up to go potty he pulled out one of his drains. This morning when the dr came in they took out the 2nd one and had hopes of removing the 3rd one today. Another step in getting him mobile. With the great steps he has taken over the past few days the drs are hopeful he will be moving to the rehab facility soon.

I was glad that we were there to spend time with him. I saw him actually smile and there was even a laugh! He had gotten Braxtyn a singing monkey for Valentine's Day and when she opened and pushed the button..her face was full of surprise! I am so glad that he was able to smile...it has been a long time since I seen that.

I was very happy before we left yesterday that we were able to get him an air bed to help with his bed sores that were beginning to form. I spoke with him today and he seemed to be in good spirits. I can't wait to get back down there!

here we go again...

2010-02-20T17:14:00.000-08:00

I finally got to san antonio to see my dad on friday morning just in time to see things fall apart before my very eyes. physical therapy had been in once that morning to get him up and walking and during the second try...they really f@#% ed him up! his brace is a very large contraption and requires a lot of effort to get it on correctly. the two girls that came in had not been in to help him before and it was quite obvious. during previous pt times two men came in and helped him get up and then get the brace on...these girls had another plan.

while one of them helped him roll to his left side, the other held his right leg. between the two of them they were successful in pulling his new hip out of socket. i stayed in the room since i hadnt been here and i wanted to know what was involved so i witnessed the whole thing. it so wasnt anything that anyone should have to see their dad go thru...i cant imagine the immense pain he was in.

while we were waiting for them to come get him for surgery, one of the drs came to talk to us. i know that carrie, my sister, had been living through this for weeks now and took everything in. i on the otherhand, live 5 hours away and i have the distance to help me..but on thursday everything began to hit home for me. once talking to the dr everything came into perspective. my dad had chondrosarcoma, cartlidge cancer in his right hip joint. upon getting into the surgery going after the initial tumor, they tested his blood marrow and saw that there was still cancerous cells there. they then had to cut away all his butt muscles to get to the back of his pelvis for the other tumor. so...the hip popping out made sense.

basically, his whole right side had been cut through and only staples and sutures were holding him together. his pelvis was removed on the right side and cadaver bone replaced it, a steel ball atop a steel rod replaced filled in the new socket. it is such a hard concept to grasp for me still. with all of this work done...he is so lucky to be at this point. given the severity of the cancer and placement he is so lucky to be able to still have his leg. the dr told us most doctors would have done the replacement surgery, they would have only taken his leg off.

so...at 5:30 last night they took him back down to the or to put his hip back in place. with any luck they would be able to pop it back it without having to open him up. well, after over an hour in the OR we were thinking that an easy fix wasnt an option. a little over 2 hours after going in, dr williams came out. they were able to pop his hip back in quite easily and decided due to the swelling to open it back up. they were able to take almost a liter of fluid away from the incision sight.

so overall, he went through a lot of pain and had to go back into surgery but hopefully that will all get everything on the right track. with removing the fluid, they are hoping that everything will go back together in less time. another drawback is that after surgery last night he will remain in his brace at all times. talk about uncomfortable...a hard plastic brace to lay on...yay! he is starting to develop bed sores on the heels of his feet. they brought a special little boot to help keep him from applying pressure to it.

on a very good note, friday night was the best night he had in a long time. somehow we got him comfortable physically and mentally. he is on the road to recovering after traveling through hell on friday and we are hoping for the best. :) the drs think he might be able to leave the hospital and go to the rehab facility by wednesday.

i cant imagine the pain he has gone through physically as well as mentally...i am so glad he is going to a rehab that can help him with both.

i have been up here with him all day and he is starting to drift off for the night. we are waiting for his next round of pain meds and then hopefully he will be out for a good while sleeping peacefully.

Total Hip Replacement

2010-02-11T20:34:00.000-08:00

His surgery was a very long process today...8:30-5:30...9 whole hours. The drs removed his whole right hip and pelvis along with 2 cancerous tumors, one of which they didn't even know about. He lost over 2 liters of blood and has gone through one transfusion today and he is still in the recovery room until his blood pressure comes up.
mom and carrie got to go back and see him around 8:30 this evening. carrie reported that he was doing okay, very swollen and still very out-of-it. mom on the otherhand, ended up laying in the hallway trying not to pass out. she just cant take the smell of ether :(

i think through all his surgeries, the times after the surgery are always the most memorable.
after his lower back fusion last christmas, he told me that his drs name was Dr. Zantac :)
today this was the conversation between my sister and him...pretty funny :)

dad...i hear they tape your eyes shut during surgery
carrie...yes, they do
dad...are my eyes still taped?
carrie...well, can you see me?
dad...yea, and i dont even need my glasses

I will be leaving after school next Thursday to go see him once he gets home and if any of you know me at all...i will totally give a hard time about that conversation. :)

i am very much a daddy's girl and i have truely appreciated everyones concern and prayers!

Surgery Scheduled

2010-02-02T19:44:00.000-08:00

My dad had his follow-up today and good news was heard! The cat scan showed no other cancer within his body...it is only in his hip. When I called around 6, they were still in San Antonio. He was getting "fitted" for a cast. As we speak, there is a place in New Jersey getting a hip in route to Texas for him. He will undergo a right hip replacement on February 11th. The dr said he will be in surgery for about 6-7 hours and then will stay in the hospital for about 5 days. I am sure he is super excited to come home in a body cast. :) I am just relieved that there is a solution within his reach and he will soon have no more pain.
I talked to him after they left the drs office and he said he would rather we come down once he gets home. I have been there to see him off to surgery for every major one he has had...this will be the first pre-op visit I will miss. That worries me some, but I do have to admit that I would rather be at home with him than in a hospital with Braxtyn. I bet he would like to remember us being there too. Plus Bryan will be in Memphis the week of his surgery, so it would be better on us all to have Bryan there too.
Overall...I can breathe a sigh of relief for now and hopefully before too long Dad can too! :)

The Story of the Lost Eye...yes, I said EYE!!!

2010-01-26T16:24:00.000-08:00

This morning the office called over the speaker for a child in my class to come to the office to call her mother asap. Ok, so let's call her J, goes down to the office. She comes back a few minutes later and approaches me at my table.

J...do you know why i had to call my mom?

me...no, why?

J...my mom was crying because her eye fell out

me...WHAT??? her eye fell out?

J...very calm...yea

me...what do you mean? is she okay?

J..yea, she is fine she just cant find it

me...WHAT?!?!? she can't find it? how did she lose it?

j...i dont know

me...i dont understand. has this happened before? why can't she find her eye? is it a real eye?

j...yea, it has come out before and she thought i had it...and yes it is real?

i am getting more confused as this conversation goes on and yet i continue...

me...are you sure her eye is real?

j...well, she was shot along time ago and it is kinda real and kinda not

me...okay, so her eye comes out and that is normal and she thinks you have it? why would you have it?

j....i dont know, but i dont have it

me...well i hope she finds it and is okay

This by far is the strangest conversation I have ever had!!! Now, J is identified as special ed and is fairly slow with most things. So here I am thinking that she is just confused herself. To make things more confusing...i have met her mother on several occasions and it is hard not to notice the "crazy eye" which i thought was a real eye. It looks off to who knows where and anyone would think that she had a lazy eye or as I labeled it "crazy". Now, someone explain to me why her fake eye is not focused forward? Why would you have a fake eye that looked off to who knows where? Isn't the point to make it unnoticable?

J is a pretty funny gal and she laughed throughout of conversation and I tried hard to keep it all in. Afterall, I was the adult in the room and there were 17 other pairs of eyes watching me.

When I was sharing this conversation with my teaching buddies another funny story was brought up.

Yesterday, we all received an email to check in a students backpack for something his mother was looking for. Now....what in the world would we say to an email that read like this?

Can you please look in J's backpack from her mother's eyeball?

HAHAHAHAHAHA

The Here and Now

2010-01-16T19:55:00.000-08:00

We found out this week that my dad has cancer...chondrosarcoma to be exact. Cancer always just sounds bad, doesn't it? Whenever I hear someone has cancer you naturally feel bad for them, but somehow I feel just the opposite and it's my dad. How you ask? Well...over the past five years my dad has endured some very scary surgeries and this just, in my mind, doesn't compare. I remember finishing up my first year teaching and leaving the last day to get down to San Antonio for his first big surgery. He became the owner of new steel rod along with 6 screws in his neck. This was the first big surgery that anyone close to me had gone through and it was my dad...we are very close. I remember getting to Kerrville the night before and getting up super early to drive to San Antonio. The surgery seemed to take forever and waiting in a hospital isn't exactly the most comfortable place. Just the fact that they were working so close to his spine and spinal cord, I think was the most scary part. He came through great and healed faster than expected. :) Over the next few years he had various surgeries...his knee, his shoulder, his nose. All relatively minor and he came through just fine.

A few weeks before Thanksgiving in 2008 things started going down a different route. He was stricken with severe sudden pain and was unable to walk. He hadn't been 'right' for months due to an injury at work and was getting the run-around by workers comp. He took a ride in the ambulance and after many, many doctor visits they made the decision to undergo surgery to fuse his lower back. Again working wth his spine, you can't help but keep the thought of being paralyzed in the back of your mind. So for Christmas last year, we loaded up and headed to Dallas for his surgery. I think was sticks with me the most about this particular surgery is the way I saw my dad. I think that is the most important thing for me to see that he was in need of something more than surgery. He and mom do not have a great relationship...hell, it would be a stretch to say they do not have a good relationship. For many years I have wondered how they stay together. My dad has always been a hard physical worker and with all the limitating factors he was encountering over the years, he became unable to do all those things he used to. It is only normal to become depressed when your whole life has changed against your will and you don't have your wife to express your emotions to. Anyway, while in Dallas my dad talked freely about things, mostly because of the meds, but I did learn lots of things. Mostly that he needed help...

So over the past year we have all been dealing with our 'family drama' in our own ways. I live 6 hours away and that alone provides me with distance from it all. My oldest sister, Carrie, wears her heart on her sleeve and it is beginning to take a toll on her. My other sister, Amy, basically rolls with punches. I have always wondered how she internalizes stressful situations. My mom...big sigh...I have always wondered with her as well about how she internalizes anything. The two of us couldn't be more opposite. I rarely understand why she does the things she does. Let's just say that my mom really isn't the talking type. If she is mad, she yells her opinion or opts for silence...there is no negotiation. I can't remember the last time we visited my parents and she and I did not get into a fight. It is just stressful thinking about visiting. In my opinion, I think my parents should have divorced atleast 1o years ago, but instead they opted to move to Kerrville for a fresh start. Well guy...this plan sucks! Nothing good has happened since the move and things have yet to change.

So this brings us to the present...January 2010...and the word...cancer
My dad's right hip has been hurting for months now and since he has been the care of a workers comp doctor, things haven't been handled very well. To make things worse, since he hasn't been working for over a year, my dad's life is fulfilled with phone calls, notes, papers, mri's, catscans, phone calls, paper....do you get it? He is completely comsumed by all the medical stuff. He spends everyday thinking about all the things he can't control and it is taking its toll. We have spent the past couple years worried about his physical health, but it is so apparent now that we should be focusing on this mental health.

So Carrie calls me and tell me that the results are in and she has special privileges of seeing them before his doctors appt on Friday. Dad was aware that this could be a possibility and we asked him if he wanted Carrie to look...he never really gave a straight answer. So I told Carrie I would call him to see how he was doing and if Carrie was going to look at the results. He quickly saw right through me and asked me what I knew. So I told him everything Carrie had told me and we began looking online for answers.

Chondrosarcoma, cancer of the cartlidge. It is the 2nd most come bone cancer, but yet is still quite rare. Only 1% if bone cancer is primary and he fell right into that 1%. Surgery would be necessary due to the fact that sarcoma does not respond to chemo or radiation. Okay, surgery...we've done this before. And since they it was a Grade 1...there was a 90% chance that once removed, it would not return. Great! Due to the fact that he had been so proactive on his healthcare the past few years we are hopeful that there are no other areas infected, we hope this will be confirmed with a full body bone scan.
He met with the doctor on Friday and they gave a more personalized treatment plan. Due to the positioning of the tumor they will most likely be performing a hip replacement. In the few weeks he will be meeting with a sarcoma specialist in San Antonio and hopefully his surgery will be underway before too much longer.
So another surgery is needed, the word cancer is being used and yet I am totally okay with it. We have a solution to the physical pain he has been in for months and it is treatable. Sounds great to me! I just hope that once his is recovering physically that we can work on him mentally too and get my dad back. I need him, Braxtyn needs him, Lauryn, Meagan, Carlie, Chase, Carrie, Amy, Mom...all need him. We all want him to get better and be in a happy place!

I LOVE YOU DAD!!!

Christmas with the Griswald's...uh...I mean, Henson's

2009-12-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

Bryan's parents, brother and niece came to over tonight to celebrate Christmas. As most of you know, I am not fans of his parents, but I was trying my best. After weeks of drawn out crap, they finally decided to come to make it a little easier on us all tomorrow. We will be in Seagraves for Bryan's extended family Christmas then off to Kerrville to be with my family. I know to not to expect much effort on his family's part, but I was hoping things might be different...yeah right.

To start off the evening, his parents were 2 hours late and come to find out, they stopped to do some shopping. What? We had plans people!!! Dinner was on the table, the girls had already eaten, and once I found out they were shopping, I decided not to wait on them. Needless to say, I was a little frustrated by them before they even arrived.
As usual, Bryan's dad was his cheerful self and didn't say a word at the dinner table. It is just akward to sit there with people who you know would rather be somewhere else. We finished dinner and everyone went to the living room. Except Bryan and me...afterall, we cooked all day, ate the cold dinner...why shouldn't we clean it all up by ourselves?

I did however enjoy letting the girls make reindeer food, it was quite messy and I am not sure if I will ever get all the glitter out of my house, but it was worth it! After everyone left, we drove around out neighbor looking at Santa Lights and tossing reindeer food out so that Santa would surely find our house!

Onto opening gifts...
The first packages handed out were not to the girls, but rather to Bryan, Brad and Mike. And can you guess what awesome gifts these were????? helicopters...thats right I said helicopters!! His parents acted like these were the greatest gifts ever and they flew them around my living room like 12 year olds.

So onto Braky Bear....
Braxtyn picked out her first gift to open..."Ooooo, Mommy...potato head, open it!" She had to put Mr. Potato Head together before moving onto her next present. #2 a magnadoodle! Braxtyn has been "eye-ing" Kenadi's since this summer, she is now a happy camper that she can draw like Kenadi. #3 CandyLand...I know we will have hours of fun with this! #4 Cars and Ratattouile from Uncle Brad and Ariah...love it! we watch both of these movies quite often on dvr. #5&6 A Dennis the Menace Christmas and Beethoven's Big Break...can you guess who these were from...thats right...his parents. They are right on target with 2 year olds. #7 a tv/dvd combo for brax's room. This gift was given by Bryan's parents. Why you ask they can suck it up so bad and then pull through with this gift? That's because we had picked it out to get for Braxtyn and they got it. Brax was so excited when she realized that she would be able to watch cowboy woody in her room!

The girls played while the guys flew their stupid helicopters, which by the way, Bryan broke within minutes. Money well spent guys. So here I sit, complaining about these people who I will forever have in my lives. I know I should be nicer, but they make it so hard. I should be packing because we are leaving tomorrow. We are supposed to be in Seagraves by lunch and I haven't packed a damn thing. I think I just might be atleast 2 hours late tomorrow! :)

Christmas is on it's way!

2009-12-06T20:53:00.000-08:00

We are getting ready for Christmas! We have decorated the tree, put lights out on the house, taken pictures with Santa and Braxtyn has even attempted to open presents! Our little baby is becoming a big girl and such a helper. Here are some pictures of our recent adventures.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2009-11-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

On Friday night we took a trip out to the corn maize. We didn't go through the maize but they had lots of other fun things to do. We took pictures in the cut outs, rode the cow train, visited some animals, went on a hay ride and picked pumpkins. My highlight was when Braxtyn was looking at the chickens and got a little close. One took her glove off and you would have thought her finger was missing! Thankfully, she wasn't hurt...it was super funny though! :)

Halloween night! I took Braxtyn down our street then we went with Tiffany, James and Kenadi to Wolfarth. The girls had lots of fun (that is, when Braxtyn wasn't screaming bloody murder for no apparent reasons).

Kenadi came to play

2009-10-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors, James and Tiffany, left Kenadi with us Saturday night as they went to watch the sad Tech vs A&M game. Even though the game totally sucked...we had lots of fun with the girls!

Brax and Kenadi watching football, it wasn't Tech but they both kept yelling "GO TECH!"

The colored on the magnetic board for awhile.

They decided to tackle me, for some reason.

I soon decided it was Bryan's turn to join in the fun!

Such silly little girls...

having too much fun!

Relaxing for just a moment.

Working very hard creating the colorful masterpieces.

brush em, brush em

Munching on some popcorn and taking in Toy Story.

The Pumpkin Trail

2009-10-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

Lubbock debuted the First Annual Pumpkin Trail this week. There were hundreds of jackolanterns donated to luminate the trail. There were also hundreds of people in line to walk. We had about a 30 minute wait just to get on the trail and then we moved as slow as snails, it was all worth it though! Braxtyn oohhhhed and aawwwed at each one. Tonight just started off our pumpkin filled weekend. We are headed to the Corn Maize tomorrow to do lots of fun things but most importantly to go on the hay ride out to the pumpkin patch to get our very own pumpkins!

Fall Festival

2009-10-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

Braxtyn's school had their Fall Festival this past weekend...here are a few of the fun things Braxtyn did.

Momma and Braky before

Daddy and Braky before

hummm...which duckie do I choose?

the ring toss...braky style...walk up and put them where you want :)

braky got a double t and a heart painted on her face

braky thought the best part was the candy! she was super proud of face paint and her pink pumpkin full of candy! she was however sad when we got home and the pumpkin ate all her candy! oh no!

Lil Jump N Jungle

2009-10-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

After Pop left this weekend, we took Braxtyn to the new Jump N Jungle. She just amazes us on how big she is getting. Braky had FUN!

Weekend with Pop

2009-10-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

I was super excited to see Pop this weekend! We had lots of fun...here are a few things we did together.

Playing the guitar and singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

I was pretty good at it :)

See...I can play without looking...hehe

Pop put cable in my room...I got to help with my Handy Manny tools.

I wonder if I will be getting my own tv soon?

Daddy and Pop went to the gun store while I took a nap. When I woke up Mommy took me to find them. "Mommy...Daddy and Pop over there?"

"No, silly Braky!"

When we found Daddy and Pop we went to eat...yummy pizza :)

Then Pop had to go home...."Bye, bye Pop....love you...go see MiMi!"

Dirty Little Girls

2009-09-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share some pics of Braxtyn and Kenadi being silly little girls.

Pancakes

2009-08-23T06:36:00.000-07:00

Brax helping make breakfast this morning.

The "Big Girl Bed"

2009-08-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

Our friends have a little girl that is a week older than Braxtyn. Last week they made the big transition into a "big girl bed." I knew the time was coming, but are we ready? Bryan is still hanging onto his baby and I am too, don't get me wrong. But I do believe she is ready for the transition. So, I mentioned to Bryan today that we convert her crib. He was hesitate, but we did it. Braxtyn was so excited! I crawled in her bed and was quickly reminded that it was "Braky's bed!" She spent the afternoon in and out of the bed.

As nighttime approached, we got ready for bed. She took her bath, got her jammies on, brushed her teeth (so excited that is not a fight anymore), and ran to her room. She jumped right in bed, grabbed her packy and blankie. Mommy and Daddy both got hugs and kisses and told Braky nite-nite. Brax responded with, "no, play momma, play." Then Bryan responds with "what are we going to do if she doesn't stay in?" Well guys, I guess we will see how things go. As soon as we closed her door, we both ran to the our room to see her on the monitor. There our big girl was...drinking her milk, laying in her big girl bed! I am so proud of Braxtyn! What a big girl! Let's hope she makes it through the night!

My crappy day

2009-08-13T17:21:00.000-07:00

Okay usually this blog is all about family...well, about Braxtyn. I need to vent and Bryan is gone to a work dinner so...you guys get it all!

1st: get pulled over for yet another speeding ticket! i havent got pulled over in years and then they just seem to keep coming. I got my other ticket at the beginning of the summer. We left the late one evening and I told Bryan I would drive. I took backs roads for quite a while and I had to drive on I-10 for maybe 5 miles. I get pulled over 80 in a 65...blah, blah, blah. The DPS was a nice guy, just not nice enough :( Just to add to that story...Bryan got pulled over the next morning for 57 in a 40, what does he get? A WARNING! What the hell? Anyway, I am currently taking defensive driving online. Again, blah, blah, blah...So now I get to pay to defer this ticket...that should be a pretty penny. Guess no new school clothes for me. :(

2nd: stop by mickey d's for a sausage biscuit and sweet tea. The sweet tea at mickey d's is great and really, really like it. Except this morning :( It was absolutely horrible. Get to school, grab a dollar and head the other end of the building where the vending machine is along with our staff meetings. Vending machine...empty! What the hell? I had eaten my biscuit and was in need of hydration. Luckily we had a break and I got to walk all the way back down to my room to get some water.

3rd: a full day of anxiety! yay! just what i needed, right? We are structuring our school wide discpline and everyone seems to have an opinion and for some reason feels they need to share it. Again, blah, blah, blah. Overall, the changes aren't bad, just need to readjust a few things. After sitting in meeting after meeting...headache sets in. :(

4th: headache :( i came home at 3:30, took some aleve and settled on the couch. bryan called at 4:50 and woke me up to tell me he was on his way. Crap! Braky! Bryan stopped and picked her up and let me nap until 6:00.

Bryan then left to head off to dinner at the Double Nickel...totally not fair! Brax decided we needed to go bye-bye too. We went and picked up spaghetti at Fazoli's and came home to a nice Mommy/Braky dinner. As I sit here now, she is placing stickers on her fish tank...oh...i totally forgot to blog about the fishie experience! Maybe this weekend...nonetheless, thanks for listening/reading me vent. I think we might head outside to see if Kenadi is out playing...fishie update to follow soon....

Braxtyn's Birthday Weekend

2009-07-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

Here is run down of all the fun we had for Braxtyn's birthday weekend! I have so many pictures I want to share!

Thursday, July 23rd

Braxtyn's birthday - we headed to the mall for some shopping with Carrie, Lauryn, Meagan, Carlie and Chase. Brax didn't care much for the actual shopping, but did have a blast on the carousel, watching the fountains and playing in the play area.

We stopped by Tokio for dinner and when we got home we had some birthday cake!

We ended the night playing games...too much fun!

Friday, July 24th

We decided to hit the pool to beat the heat!

Saturday, July 25th

My parents came in late Friday night so we all decided to pretty much lazy! Bryan, my dad and I ran errands getting the last minute things for Braxtyn's party that afternoon. And before we knew it...the party was ready to start!

We all had a blast at the party but was glad it was over! Once we got home we all headed out for Braxtyn to ride her new 4 wheeler! Kenadi also got one for her birthday last weekend...so now our girls rule the street! haha

The birthday weekend was lots of fun! We are all still off schedule, but we wouldn't have it any other way! Thanks to everyone who made Braxtyn's 2nd birthday special!

2009-07-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

Braxtyn's birthday is just days away so we headed to get our annual birthday pictures taken. Here are a few pics for now...I will get more up after her party on Saturday.

Braxtyn & Daddy coloring

2009-07-12T19:58:00.000-07:00

Coloring has become one of Brax's favorite things to do. Mommy and Daddy both spend lots of time coloring with her...here are a few cute pics of Brax and Daddy.I just love how they have the same pose :)

I finally dug around in the attic and found the playhouse I had in my kindergarten classroom. She loves it! And of course, Bryan and I both have spent many funs times within the house.

The 4th in Kerrville

2009-07-08T23:09:00.000-07:00

Last minute, we decided to go to Kerrville to spend the 4th with my family and of course everyone was super excited to see us. :) Here are a few pics from the evening...

Pop and Braxtyn...she so needs a tan :)
MiMi and Braxtyn

Braxtyn and her favorite cousin ever...Carlie :) Braxtyn was her shadow the entire time we were there. Carlie spent the night with us every night and was Braxtyn's caregiver. Bryan and I are currently trying to figure out how we can get Braxtyn a big sister.

We so wish these guys lived closer....from top to bottom, Lauryn, Meagan, Carlie, Braxtyn and Chase. Braxtyn has total issues with Chase, she is such a brat! She was upset that he tried to touch her...notice his hands...hehe

And last is our family...has Bryan always been that tall? He is starting to make me feel short :(

Mommy & Braxtyn out and about

2009-06-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

Since Bryan is out of town, Braxtyn and I have had lots of time together. We decided it was best to hit the town for some fun! :) Tuesday we went to the Science Spectrum. Braxtyn had a blast! I never thought I would close Science Spectrum down...3 hours non-stop!

Wednesday we met up with my friend, Kristie and Braxtyn's friend, Carson at Jump N Jungle. Carson was a pro! He ran all over the place non-stop! Braxtyn on the other hand...not so pleasant :( She did however have a blast on the slide...keep in mind I had to carry her up there...whew, I was exhausted! We both took a nap today.

She wouldn't even take a picture with Carson.

And imagine this...the little nugget was very excited to sit on the sidelines and eat!

Our little tumble bug tries the potty

2009-06-17T19:47:00.001-07:00

Bryan got pics of stretch time at tumbling...they sing cute little songs to help motivate these little guys to stretch. Can you imagine the chaos that occurs when these sweethearts don't want to comply?

Singing the itsy-bitsy spider...

Duh, duh...duh, duh...duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duuuh....aaaahhhh! Scaring your piggies!

Mean dog and happy dog...

The elephant spraying water...

Jump, jump, jump...

Braxtyn watch another little girl swing in the big swing and decided she wanted to try it...it was only a try :)

And finally...Braxtyn got a potty...she hasn't officially used it, but we have spent hours sitting there! She couldn't be happier about the potty...

And since we first tried it out before taking a bath...she thinks you have to be naked to go potty everytime!

Creeped out!

2009-06-17T19:12:00.000-07:00

The story starts a few months ago when we noticed our driveway was starting to sink. In the past we have had issues with the ground sinking and the fence sinking along with it in that particular area. Anyway, we talked to our builder and they said, "no problem, we'll knock it out and build the ground back up and pour new concrete." Great...except it hasn't happened and after tonight...I really wish I hadn't known the real reason why the driveway is cratering.

Here's tonights events...

When Bryan got home we decided to clean out the garage. He had gone to his grandparents today and brought home some random "guy" things and a John Deere tractor from Bryan's childhood. He keeps telling me that it is a classic and worth something...I still need some convincing on that, but his vision is to restore it and let Braxtyn have it. Cool idea, I have to agree.

Braxtyn's little legs just aren't quite long enough to ride this just yet solo. She finally got her daddy to sit on it, but his legs were way too long. So I get on and take off for a ride, hoping that the thing didn't crater on me! Braxtyn decided that she wanted to ride with me. Thankfully, no pictures were taken of that! So we ride from the back of the house to the front and the dogs start barking like crazy. So we ride back to the back of the house and Daizie just won't let up. Bryan looks over the back of the fence and says, "I think there may be a hornet back there, I hear something buzzing." From this point, freaking out starts in. He looks over the fence and says, "No, more like a hiss...I know what has been living in that hole."

So I have known that the hole was there, but actually knowing what was living in there freaks me out! Bryan went inside to get a gun to kill the "little snake," that's what he told me. Well, since I am in freak out mood, I already have Braxtyn in my arms so now I have to say my dogs! I open the gate, Kyzer immediately ran out and Daizie right behind him. I looked over and "little snake" my ass! That damn snake was at least 4 foot long!!!!! GROSS!!!! I slam the door and all my babies go into the garage and await for Bryan to save us. Bryan shots the giant snake with a 22 rifle...so not to my satisfaction! I told him I wanted to hear a big boom! Kill the nasty thing dead! I have mixed feeling about posting the next pic, but you gotta see this. And notice that you can't even see the whole thing!

After this whole ordeal and Bryan knows jut how freaked out I am he proceeds to tell me his thoughts. This snake is rather large and has to have lived here for awhile. We have lived her for 4 years and Bryan has seen snakes on and off, little ones he tells me, but I have never seen one. He proceeds...the driveway is sinking and th snake holes are right at the site of concern. Could it be possible that we have lived with this snake for years and it has hollowed out the ground below our driveway? Is that possible? Seems unlikely, but makes me wonder?

Ready, Set...Go!

2009-06-10T08:36:00.000-07:00

Braxtyn and her friend, Kenadi, have decided to start gymnastics this summer. Since we were on vacation last week, Kenadi went alone with her mommy and daddy. This week...Brax was back! Kenadi was very eager to show Braxtyn all the fun you could have, but Brax was a little unsure.

Although, it didn't take long for Braxtyn to get the hang of it...

Braxtyn screamed at that the thought of putting the harnass on, but Kenadi was a big girl and endured the unknown and towards the end of her ride, she kind of decided it was cool.

Overall, the girls had a blast and I personally can't wait until next week. Hopefully next week, Bryan will get some pics of the girls stretching. That was absolutely cute!

On our way home we stopped to get some pizza. Brax never eats pizza and to our surprise, the little nugget ate it!

After munching on some pizza, we headed outside...Brax rode her four-wheeler, Daddy watered the yard, Braxtyn helped water the yard, and Mommy followed Braxtyn around capturing all the fun!

I think Tuesday night are going to be fun this summer! Daddy plays softball on Thursday nights, maybe we can get some pics of him in action! :)

Welcome summer!

2009-06-06T17:23:00.000-07:00

With summer now here, I will surely have some extra time on my hands...so I thought...let's blog! I love keeping up with my friends through their blogs so I thought I would share our little journeys. So far this summer we have gone to the river with my parents and sister.

We all enjoyed relaxing in the Frio River and soaking up some sun. Braxtyn started off a little iffy about the water, but soon figured it all out and had a blast. She spent her time on the river throwing rocks and collecting a few in her bubble bottle. And of course, there was all that time hanging around camp. She absolutely loves having tea parties with her Minnie and babies. She quickly caught onto the camping life.