Readers - Car - Rudolph - TSO

I've been bad. I haven't been faithful to my blogging duties. Sorry. I have no excuses worthy of the crime, but I will try to do better. I appreciate the 4 people who in one-weeks time made me realize why it is that I blog. It's nice to know that people read what I have to say and that some even like it. :) So thank you to all of my faithful readers. I appreciate you taking time out of your busy lives to listen to me ramble on about mine.

Let's see...where to start?? The Mustang. I made the mistake a couple days ago of suggesting we take my car to go eat - NOT HAPPENING! Brooke gave us the "Ain't no way" sign and squawked something at me. We took her car. When the weather is nice and the Hankins trio is going somewhere in town...Little Miss Sunshine is the only mode of transportation these days. And yes, I am still riding in the back seat. While it might not be that easy for me to get out of the car...it's a heck of a lot easier than it is trying to get her in and out of the back seat. She does very well getting in and out of the front seat thankfully and she still laughs as we drive down the road. This car did exactly what I had hoped it would...it makes her happy. Or should I say "HAPPIER?" The car got it's first bath from us today and she really cleans up nicely. Mike got the BROOKE license plate put on the front so there's no mistaking whose car it is. Not that Brooke would let us forget it. She is very proud of her car. And we're very happy to be able to have done this for her. It's very much worth it, and I can't think of anyone more deserving of a sporty yellow car than Brooke.

Not sure what's up with the Rudolph obsession this year? We can't figure this one out? Usually the hefty guy in the red suit is #1, but Rudolph and his red nose have Brooke entranced this holiday season. Everything is Rudolph. I bought her the cutest stuffed Frosty the Snowman that sings but she won't have anything to do with him? Hmmmmm....???

We took Brooke to Lubbock Thursday night to see TSO...this was her 3rd time seeing them. Once we finally managed to find a parking lot and a parking space in a parking lot (long story - don't ask)we really enjoyed the show. And we were only 15 minutes late! For any of you who haven't heard of the Trans Siberian Orchestra,or had the priveledge to see them in concert, you've got to check them out. WOW. They are incredible. Very much worth the money to see!!

The Holidays

Brooke loves Christmas so we try to make it as festive and magical as we possibly can. Last Christmas was rough...we were living in a rental house preparing to move into our new home, which happened on Christmas night. So all of the glitz and glamour we usually provide - was sitting in boxes in the storage unit. To help accomodate, we bought a 6 foot tree, had 6-7 ornaments that people had given Brooke throughout the year, and I bought some door clings at Dollar Tree. Pretty sad. It was such a stressful time to be packing and moving! This year; however, hopefully we've made up for "missing" last year. We've got 5 trees up: a 9 footer in the living room that took us 5 hours to complete, the 6 foot tree from last year that now sits proudly in Brooke's room holding all of her Disney and fire truck ornaments, the cute little silver one in the kitchen, the 3 foot one in the entry way that used to hold the Disney ornaments, and the little tiny one in the hall that was given to me years ago by a friend. There's the annoying music box that plays 36 songs, the piano-playing snowman, all of the snowmen collection, the story-book reading Santa, the flashing Santa jar in Brooke's bathroom, and all of the many, many, many Christmas song playing gizmo's that Brooke loves so well. The only thing missing is HO-HO, our big, singing, hip-swinging Santa. Mike says he's in the garage but I have yet to see him. There is a problem. Two years ago when Mike was "assembling" HO-HO, Brooke was curiously watching. HO-HO is spring activated and his head tucks up underneath his body. He goes from 5 foot to 3 foot just by smashing his body down. Anyway...Mike pops him and his body stands up and his head rolls out by Brooke. She was completely traumatized. It was awful. She just stood staring at him for about 5 days following the incident. And she has spent so much time holding his hands while he dances that he now needs a complete hip replacement. He's in very sad shape, but we love our HO-HO. The new rule is that Brooke can't be present when Mike is "springing" him into shape. Ha.It's so much fun. We get to see Christmas through the eyes of a child each and every year! How precious is that!

I'm a little hesitant to say what I'm about to say, because Mike has always prided himself in us being the "blackest" house on the block, but the plan is to put up lights on the outside of the Hankins house for Brooke. I KNOW...YOU'LL BELIEVE IT WHEN YOU SEE IT. Me too! But I know that after spending over $300 last Friday purchasing the necessary equipment, and him calling whoever it is that does this for people on the side...I think it may be a safe assumption to say that it actually might happen. I'll keep you posted!

Lastly, after showing me, showing Mike, showing me again, and showing Mike again...Brooke finally brought the phone to me and told me to call PB Teen to order the kitchen set she's been bugging us for. Does anyone have $897 we can borrow and a place to store this monstrosity? Ha. Why is it that she doesn't like small, foldable, portable toys? I've got a nice piece of Christmas stationary out and we're about to write a letter to Santa. I will BEG him NOT to bring this! Where in the world would we put it? And $897? Shhhhhh...don't let Ma or Papa know she wants this!! You know how grandparents are!

Have a great evening!

Special Olympic Bowling - The Dance - Sledding at White Sands

Friday night we drove to Ruidoso, spent the night and drove to Las Cruces Saturday morning so Brooke could bowl at the Special Olympic state bowling meet (for the Southern side of the state). This has gotten so big over the past 5 years that the state has had to be split in half to accomodate all of the bowlers. I believe there are around 800 now. I have to admit, neither Mike nor I were very excited about making this trip having been in San Antonio last weekend. My mom went with us like she usually does, which is a big help. About halfway through Brooke's second game, she started to melt so I told her if she would bowl strikes, we could finish quicker and go eat. She managed to bowl 3 strikes in a row. Ha! Go figure! She bowled a 287 total (two games) and took the gold medal. That was exciting.

Saturday night was the traditional SONM dance, and most definitely the highlight of Brooke's trip (as it always is). She is a dancing machine! She had a great time, and so did we as we watched her enjoy life. Special people know how to have a good time! I wish everyone could witness that!! Brooke is really in her element at SO sporting events. It's nice to be around people who don't see the superficial things that other people notice. There are a thousand lessons to be learned at a SO event.

This morning we made our yearly stop at White Sands to sled. What a great time! If you've never done it...you need to! It's a blast! Brooke won't sled but she will spin and let us push her around the parking lot. My back is screaming about it now! Mom and I made a few standard runs before we got brave and finally went down the "BIG" hill on our stomachs. OUCH.

I thank God every day for Brooke and for other special people like her. They are put on this earth to teach us how we are supposed to be.

Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine is the name of the yellow Mustang. Brooke LOVES the car. It is so much nicer than we ever imagined!!! It's a super clean car. Brooke was a little unsure at first; like she was in shock. I think she thought it was borrowed or temporary or something? Sunday night she took Mike into the garage and pointed to my Toyota and signed "mom", pointed to Mike's pickup and signed "dad" and pointed to the yellow car and then to herself. It's her car - we keep telling her that. Tonight she wanted to ride in the backseat. Have you ever seen the backseat in a Mustang? There's not much of one...but she insisted. So after 4 trys by mom and a couple of split-looking moves...we called dad over to help. He managed to get her in and she loved it. She giggled all the way down the street. And then we had to figure out how to get her out. And then back in again after supper, and then to ma's to take papa for a ride...at which time we left her in the backseat so we wouldn't have to struggle with it again. We're learning! I usually ride in the backseat because it's easier to get me in and out than her, but she knows the backseat is usually her domain, so she wanted to give it a try.

Mike and I have both been asked, "Can Brooke drive?" No, she can't. She can't ride a bicyle either but she has one that she rides with me. She can't skate but she's been skating. She can't swim but she's played in the water. Let me explain...just because she can't doesn't mean she shouldn't. We do what we do FOR Brooke and BECAUSE of Brooke. I said when she was baby that I wanted her to have as normal a life as possible. And we have been blessed enough to finally make a few of our dreams for her come true. Life is so fragile...it's up to us to make the most of it. Something as simple as yellow makes her happy. And I love seeing her smile!

She is OUR Little Miss Sunshine!!

Frightening Day

Today was rough. It started with me noticing that Brooke's right breast was swollen. This is a new one...we've never seen this before. There were no other symptoms, other than it being swollen. I called the Gyn. and the nurse and I started going down the list of possibilities. No to caffeine, no to a sudden growth spurt, and no to this or that so I finally told her that Brooke is neutropenic. If there's any infection - it's got to be caught and treated. Plus, there are two lymph nodes (one in the right shoulder area) that are questionable, so I didn't feel the swollen breast could simply be written off. Not with Brooke's past. She agreed and recommended that we see the Hematologist. So our new doctor (the one we just got established with two days ago) saw us this afternoon. He doesn't think there is a problem, but told me to watch her closely just in case. Hmmmm...the mystery remains. It's not as swollen now as it was this morning, which is good. Relief. Many things ran through my mind today...most of which I wouldn't have even remotely considered thinking about a year ago. It's amazing how quickly life can change. How the events and situations we endure cause our minds to shift in different directions. Mike and I will have to be on the "look out" for cancery-type things from now on. Brooke's at higher risk. That's just how it is. We won't live in fear or let the possibility of "what might be" deter us from living what really is. We chose to live in the here and the now. Most importantly...we place it all in God's hands. He is the ultimate healer. This is his story, and we are letting him tell it - not us.

Please pray for Brooke as she endures this new issue. Pray for continued health and happiness and security. I ask for a special prayer for my mom as she keeps Brooke this weekend. I ask that everything go as smoothly as possible and that they enjoy their special time together. Pray for safety for Mike and I as we fly to San Antonio Friday and drive home Sunday.

Thank you for our veterans!!! Thank you for protecting our freedom and for representing this fine country so well. God Bless you all!!! This is YOUR day.

Hugs, Kisses, Zerburts and a YELLOW MUSTANG!

Life at the Hankins house pretty much consists of three staples: Hugs, kisses and/or zerburts. I just tried looking zerburt up on dictionary.com to see how to spell it and I guess it's not actually a word? So sad! Brooke loves to give them; they make her laugh. The silly girl is sitting in the living room in her High School Musical pj's, wearing a sweat band on her forehead and asking for progresso soup from an ad in the newspaper. She just handed Mike the phone and told him to call for soup. Now she's in the computer room with me handing me the ad, signing telephone. She's very persistent. "MMMMMMMMMM" she says. Mike just told me that Brooke is now trying to call for the soup herself. He's trying to explain to her that you "can't call for soup." Ha. She cracks me up!

We cleaned out the garage today...making room for a surprise for Brooke. Anyone who know's us well, knows that we've always wanted to get Brooke a yellow car. Not just any car...a screaming yellow Mustang. It looks like it's about to happen. We found one online in San Antonio, so Mike and I are flying there next Friday and will be driving it home on Sunday. So exciting! We can't wait to see her face when we pull up in it. Nothing makes Brooke any happier than yellow cars. (Other than fire trucks, and we really can't afford to go that route.) This car is a 2006 model, low mileage, super clean...and a GT. We're really looking forward to it and using it for our multi-weekly "soda pop" excursions. This is Brooke's car and she deserves it!!! Please pray for our safety as we bring the car home.

Brooke's Hematology appointment got moved to 11:00 tomorrow. Pray for a productive visit and that this doctor can meet Brooke's health care needs locally. What a blessing that would be! Pray for continued protection over Brooke. She and I are both struggling a little right now with allergies...it's like we're both on the "edge." I'm doing everything in my power to stay a few steps ahead of it so we don't get sick.

We serve an awesome God. We are so thankful for our many blessings...most specifically - Brooke. May you all have a blessed week!

A Little of This...A Little of That

Has it been a week since I last posted something? Where does the time go? Please bear with me until the 2nd week of December...I start class at Wayland next week and it and my other for credit class at CCC intersect for about 6 weeks. YIKES! I'll be doing the Monday, Tuesday, Thursday thing for a while.

Brooke is doing well. Her INR went down Thursday (1.7). I give up trying to find any possible explanation for Coumadin levels. Who knows??? It's totally crazy. Brooke feels well, so that's what matters. The right thigh is still big, but I'm not sure that will ever go down in size? Her entire right leg remained bigger than the left after the first clot. Clots can be as challenging and puzzling as Coumadin levels. I know what I don't want to be when I grow up: A HEMATOLOGIST! Ugh. I did finally get an appointment with the new Hematologist in town...yay, I think it's on the 11th. Such a process required for everything!

Brooke dressed herself yesterday. Dark gray Special Olympic bowling shirt, neon pink shorts and her hot pink/orange/lime green/turquoise furry socks that come up to her knees. She was a sight! Hey...at least she tried. And she did it on her own...we didn't ask her to get dressed. We left her in her unique and colorful outfit. That's the beauty of it...in Brooke's world - things like matching are insignificant. She must have got that from her dad. He tends to have "matching" issues where she is concerned, yet is a sharp dresser himself. I, on the other hand, have to be matching or if drives me over the edge. I'm "too" matching if there's such a thing. OCD maybe? Ha.

Our other daughter, Brandi - the Golden Retreiver, had a seizure or something like it Thursday night. It was odd. She always dreams and makes lots of noises, but this time it was different. She kept swallowing like she had cotton mouth. I finally got so annoyed at her sounds that I got up and turned on the light. I thought maybe she was sick so I was trying to get her outside. She couldn't move...all 4 legs were paralyzed for about 1 minute. It was awful. When she finally regained use of her legs - she was disoriented for about 5 minutes. She reminded me of Brooke when she comes out of a grand mal seizure. The look in her eyes was different and she was incoherent or something. Anyway, I took her to the vet Friday morning and $243 later - no clue. Maybe seizure? Maybe I woke her from REM sleep? She has another ear infection that we're aggresively treating. This dog and her ear infections...ugh! We changed her dog food up a little and switched to a lamb and rice formula...we'll see if that helps? She tends to have some allergies, so I'm giving her a benadryl every night before bed. That's made her sleeping a lot less noisy! Yay for me!! I don't get it? A dog and a child with allergy problems, chronic ear infections, clingy-issues, and an obsessive need to please the parents. Go figure!

Have a great week everyone! Thanks for the continued prayers...they're working. All is well at the Hankins House.