Texas Andersons

What a rollercoaster of a December! We had a wonderful teddy bear picnic at the gymnastics center and had a great time! Granmom Loretta took Ben to the Christmas parade and then he got to spend the night at their house while Nathan and I enjoyed Rackspace’s Christmas party. Then, next thing I knew I was terribly sick and admitted to the hospital.

But things got better just in time for a gingerbread-building playdate with our friends at Morgan’s house. We then had a terrific time at Mary’s gymnastics birthday party at The Little Gym. We decorated Christmas cookies at Madison’s house. The Mother’s Day Out kiddos performed their Christmas show (Ben sang his little heart out!). And we headed to the Riverwalk with Mary and Robert to see The Polar Express at the IMAX and for lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Then I was unfortunate to lose a half-day to the morning sickness just two days before Christmas.

But the holidays unfolded beautifully… We had the pleasure of having Myk in town for a Christmas visit. Larry, Debbie, Jenny, Nathan, Ben, and I all drove down to Orange Grove for a great Christmas Eve with my grandparents and family. Then we had everybody over to our house Christmas Day. Between the three days, we ate more food than we should have, opened present after present, and had a wonderful time. Ben got lots of gifts- and he says they’re all his favorites!

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful and thoughtful presents. It was so great to see all of you during this special time of year. And Merry Christmas to all that we did not get to see. We hope you all had a very blessed and special holiday.

I also wanted to express our appreciation to our special friends who helped with Ben, cooked us dinners, and sent me flowers after I was home from the hospital. Your thoughtfulness was much appreciated.

Nathan and I adopted Daisy in November of ‘99, when she was six weeks old. It was easy to choose her over the six or seven other brothers and sisters because of her robust personality and sweetness (she was adorable!).

She was an immediate part of the family and a part of our home. She came along on vacations, on trips to visit family. She was spoiled.

When Ben was born, an immediate bond was formed between the two of them. Over the years we’ve seen her go from attentive “mommy” to him to being his best bud. But because Ben became our priority and joy, Daisy was no longer brought on vacations or trips.

When my business was started and clients began to start coming into our home, Daisy was made an outdoor dog. For two years she was still loved, but regretfully not a big part of our lives. You could tell she could not wait for our nightly walks or playtimes in the backyard with her.

Things turned around for her when we created the studio and moved the business to just that space. She was an indoor dog again! She was so loved again!

Why am I recapping all of this? We were given terrible news about Daisy’s health this week. Some time while I was sick, a large tumor began to form and grow on her back. By last weekend, it was oozing and had to be bandaged. When we got her to the vet this week we were instructed to leave her that day for surgery the following day. During the course of surgery they removed the large tumor and several others (a couple that were in her lymph nodes). Seeing many situations like this, the vet decided to take x-rays where they found three large masses in her lungs.

What this means for Daisy is a diagnosis of cancer. We may have as little as six more months with her.

So we’re now in the process of figuring out a course of treatment, discussing how we should tell Ben this news, and trying to decide when we’ll want to let her go.

Tough news to get during the holidays. Hard decisions to get ready for…

Similarities/slight differences between my two pregnancies have led so many people to give me opinions about what they think about this next baby (”It’s a boy!” “It’s a girl!”)…

Big difference though… with Ben, I don’t remember having any good days in between the really bad ones. I remember being camped out in bed and on the bathroom floor for two straight months, not being able to function much at all. But with this pregnancy, I am SO fortunate that I have some decent days to work, play with Ben, and try to be “normal”. So as I’ve said before- THANK GOD for good days!