The New Me

More Before Pix

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The last pictures taken of me before my surgery. Here I am playing with Daddy, playing with a crib toy, me and Mommy, me,Daddy,and Dr. Wong. and me and Daddy again.

Beau is Home

Well, we are pleased to say, the Lil Man is home and is doing quite well. Our morning started off at 6:00 am. We had to be at Sutter Memorial Hospital by 7:00am. After we arrived, we began the registration process. Mar came and brought Daddy Mc Donalds and stayed until after the surgery. Mema came to be with Daddy and Mommy too. Auntie Rahni and Auntie Darcie were also there. They were all a big comfort to Daddy and Mommy. Sister Young and the rest of the church ministry prayed for me. Jesus helped us all. Dr. Wong did a GREAT job. I love my new lips and cant stop playing with them. Guess what? I can now blow raspberries (bubbles). My nose look perfect too. Dr. Wong said I would continue to swell over the next few days, but then I should look beautiful. Once again, Daddy and Mommy took over 100 pictures of me before the surgery and after. Mommy will continue to update my blog while I rest. I hope you enjoy the pictures of the new me. Love you all. and THANKS to every one who prayed, and especially to Jesus for hearing and answering the prayers.

13 Days and Counting...

As we approach July 28th, I will be creating a blog for Beaudrick that you can follow. I will post updates on his pre and post surgery days. Thank you everyone for all of your prayers and support. To visit Beaudricks blog, go to Beaudrick.blogspot.com.

Beau's Auditory Brainstem Appointment

Here are a few pictures of Beaudrick during his auditory brainstem evaluation. This was a very torturous morning for baby Beau. It all started at about 9 am when he was awaken from sleep to have his bath. He had not eaten since 6am, and he was hungry. In order to get a proper reading of his brainwaves, he had to be completely asleep. To achieve this, he could not eat or sleep before his appointment.
As my little prince tries to sleep in his cozy car seat on the way to the hospital, I had to fight back with blasting the AC, rolling down the windows, and Hunter sat in the back seat with him rubbing his chest and head every time his eyes started to roll back. By the time I arrived at the hospital, he was MAD. I walked through the doors with Beaudrick showing off his tonsils (and let me tell you, they are BIG). It took all of about 2 seconds for every head to turn in our direction. After about 20 minutes, a lady asked "Man, is he hungry or something?" I said "no, he is not hungry, he is STAAARRRVING and tired from not being allowed to sleep" You should have seen the look on her face. LOL! Needless to say, after that no one else asked any more questions but rather avoided our icy glares. Now I know we are supposed to be happy people and not let others around us know we are less than perfect HAHA but none of you had to endure the hours of torture Beaudrick and I had to go through.
Finally, we were called in a room where the lights were dimmed and I was able to feed my precious little guy, and wrap him in a warm blanket where I could snuggle him for his hour long test. Once asleep, Three monitors were taped to him. One on his forehead, and one on each ear loop. Then a special little tube with a ear piece was placed on his ear canal. He could only have one ear tested at a time, and do to this, I had to keep switching arms so that each ear was exposed for the test. He must have been so tired, cause he slept through his whole exam. That was his reward, a warm baba, cozy blanky, and sleep. My reward came after when I got to eat a Prosciutto, goat cheese and caramelized onion pizza from Sellands YUMMY!!!!
Please keep us in your prayers as Beaudrick approaches his surgery date, July 28th. If he gets sick at all, his surgery will be postponed. I will try to keep you all updated, but with my chaotic life, please be forgive me if I'm a little flaky. :)

Michael English

This is a picture of Sharaya and Natalie on their first day of college. As I have mentioned in past posts, Sharaya wants to be an attorney. What I haven't mentioned is how, when and who inspired her.
It all started when she was 8 years old. She had been talking to a friend of ours who was an attorney. He had asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. Up to this point she had no idea. He began to talk to her about being an attorney. That night, when she got home, she told me that she may want to be an attorney. I asked her "really? why?" She said "because I was talking to Mike, and it sounds like it would be a cool job". Since she thought (and might I add, still thinks) he was so cool, she wanted to be an attorney too.
Sadly we all lost Michael English on July 9th 2005. And what a loss it truly was. Today is the 4 year anniversary of this tragedy. Mike will never be forgotten in our household. Sharaya has never forgotten the conversations with Mike. She is more determined than ever to fulfill the dream of hers.
As part of a final for her summer course, she had to interview someone who has the same degree she is pursuing. My heart broke when she was telling me how much she wished he was still here. As part of her High School plan, she wants to volunteer at at a Law Office. Once again, she reminded me how much she misses him. He may no longer be here on earth with us, but as long as I put my daughter through college, and I see her dreams become a reality, he will always be in our hearts and our minds. I thank him personally for making a life long POSITIVE impact on my baby girl.
Mike was such a fun loving guy. He was the type of person everyone wanted to be with. I can still hear his laugh. I'm smiling now at all the silly things he loved to tease us about. His laugh was contagious. He was such a giver in so many ways. He was my attorney at one point in my life, and every time for several weeks after I used his services, when he would see me, he would ask "Are you doing ok?" He truly cared and loved people. If only more people could carry on his legacy of putting others before yourself, it would be a much happier place on earth.
To Mike's dear family that was left behind, our thoughts and prayers are with you, not just today, but always.