She has Us...

...(her mommy and her daddy) right where she wants us; wrapped around those little fingers!

Our sweet Ashely Kate is absolutely rotten! There is NO denying it. I must face the facts. This little girl has conned us and we have fallen for it. She slept ALL NIGHT LONG from midnight until 8a.m at her Nan's house without her favorite puppy Blue. Can you believe this? My mom came in this morning ready to share all of her wisdom and how she had gotten our little pickle to rest so well. Except I have a little problem. I have ALREADY tried EVERY SINGLE thing that my mom did. NONE of it works for me. I tell you that little girl has set us up! She is absolutely the funniest and orneriest little person I have ever known, and I think she is wonderful. I love this child so very much it doesn't even matter that she has taken us prisoner at night along with her accomplice Blue.

After singing myself to sleep with the words "We just figured out Blues Clues because were really smart" I slept so well. It was fabulous! Today at lunch Dave came home and told me he woke up singing the same song. All I could do was laugh which in turn made our sweet Ashley Kate laugh too. We are so messed up! We actually have been brainwashed along with our little pickle.


We tried switching to the new DVDs that grandma brought. All she did was cry big, huge tears down those puffy cheeks until we turned them off. As soon as she saw Blue running up that sidewalk to her front door she along with her tear stained cheeks began to smile and applaud. It was so funny. What are we going to do with her? I have started using her addiction to my advantage. I know its probably wrong but it works so I'm using it. The only time she is allowed to watch Blue in the daytime is when she is in her stander. Tricky huh! She hates the stander, but she loves Blue so once the show starts she stops crying, lifts her little head up, and stands up straight and tall. I think that's pretty clever. If she is going to veg out on that program she might as well do a little therapy at the same time. I'm telling you we are having to get creative with her. She is just too funny.

In case I haven't shared it lately I love this baby. She is the most amazing person. I love spending every day with her. I love playing with her. I love rocking her. I love wiping those tears off her rosy cheeks. I love watching Blake and Allie talk to her. I love seeing her cuddle up with her daddy. I love who she is, and I even love being the one who "gets" to stay up with her through the night. I just love her and I am so glad to be her mommy. Everyday with Ash is a gift and we are so very blessed.

Monday is coming too quickly for me. I am getting nervous about the trip. I am trying to distract myself by working on her birthday party details, but with all the phone calls back and forth dealing with appointments, hospitals, insurance, hotels and the like it is making me crazy. I really just want it to be behind us. In the back of my mind I know I am frightened about the scans. She will be scanned early Tuesday morning, but we won't be told the results until Thursday. She is scheduled for MRI on Tuesday, an infusion on Wednesday, and appointments with Oncology and Transplant on Thursday. In between all of this we have made plans to have dinner with a couple of our favorite nurses(we are so excited about this!), and we are hoping to make plans with one of our very special transplant friends(we can't wait to see Daisy), and another friend of mine who is one of the nurses moms. These parts of the trip I am actually looking forward too. It will be a crazy week, but hopefully we will bring good news and definite plans back with us. We are praying for clear lungs, no tumors and no signs of spreading or growth. Wouldn't that be great? I know God has done bigger things in Ash's life and this is not too hard for Him.

If you think about it today would you please keep my family members in your prayers. My aunt's son passed away from cancer this morning and my mom is now on the road traveling. I also have an unspoken request on behalf of one of my siblings and any prayers would be so very appreciated. I have been blessed with an amazing family and each of them are precious to my heart. When they hurt my heart hurts for them and how I wish I could take the tough times away from them. Broken hearts, grieving hearts, and frightened hearts are all very familiar to me, and I find comfort in knowing that in these situations just as in my Ashley's that our Father in Heaven is never caught off guard or surprised. As always you are loved and you are appreciated. Thank you so much for coming to Ashley's story today. May God bless you. Trish