The letter I hope helps!

ok so here is the letter I wrtoe hoping to help for the picnic fundraiser we are having for our neice. I have been insanely busy contacting bussiness in our area. Unfortunately not any monetary donations but stuff ( gift cards, items) for our raffle baskets. So Hopefully we can raise some money. its 10.00 to get in beer, pig roast, hot dogs, burgs, pasta salads, swimming (lake) & fishing..... MUSic
anyway I edit it a little I am still weird about anyone knowing where I live..... except PA......
Maybe some large corperate place will see and donate... email me!! or leave comments



To Whom it May Concern:
I am writing to you with the deepest sadness. Our family has been faced with something no one could predict. Gemma ...Our daughter, granddaughter, aunt, sister, niece, cousin, godmother, and friend has recently fought and beat the battle against ovarian cancer. During this time sadly her father passed away suddenly in November 2007 leaving the family to pull together the pieces.
In May 2008 at 20 years old she was re-diagnosed with cancer and again faced treatment. After several months of treatment our family was informed that her cancer was not treatable and we would need to begin to look into hospice care & pain management. As a family we refused to take this as the final word and have looked into alternative care through other doctors, hospitals and even holistic care providers. Unfortunately the cost of some of this is more than our family can bare.
On Sept 6, 2008 we are having a picnic in honor of her to help raise money for her & her family. This money will go towards the cost of treatment, travel, and other bills collected due to her cancer treatments. The picnic will be held at the ******************************************************. We are still working on the final decisions and arrangements. But we are hoping that our community & local business will pitch together and help us out in our time of need. Any & all donations will go towards her care. If any items are donated we will use them in the raffle, picnic or to help pay for her care. Our family thanks you from the bottom of our hearts!
Sincerely
Our Family



Thanks!

God Hear my prayer

Well its been a while since I have posted. I have been VERY busy! swimming, working, playing, fire works, picnics, dinners with our families...... lots of stuff going on. And I wanted to post this weekend...but we had received news that our 20 yr old neice..Jacob's god mother... was not given a very good outcome concerning her 2nd round of cancer treatments. I do not like to get into details. But it ripped my heart out. So I have had NO WORDS... Blogging seem not so important.I spent hours looking up hospitals...st judes, md anderson, cancer centers on america.... I lay at night thinking of what can I do...

I will admit I do not know her as much as I would like. But for all the times I have shared with her... she is a Great Girl. Very sweet, shy, beautiful & LOVES Jacob and he Loves her. I beg all of you to take a moment & pray for her. We have been seeking diffrent information on treatments and other alternative care... if anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Thanks!!



We Love you Gemma!

Not much to say..

The theory is that you will learn a lot of little
things about your friends that you might not have known!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:50
2. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Juno
4. What is your favourite TV show? Brothers & Sisters
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Life Cereal
6. What is your middle name? Marie
7. What food do you dislike? Red meat
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? I love music so this is tough but favorite group I listen to most is Nickleback
9. What kind of car do you drive? 2006 Grand Vitara Suzuki
10. Favorite sandwich? Turkey w/ cheese heavy pickle, lettuce & italian dressing from subway :)
11. What characteristic do you despise? LIARS & those who think their poo don't stink
12. Favorite item of clothing? Any PJ's... Hey I work from home what do you expect!
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you
go? I always though it would be Hawaii...but no0w I am thinking some where like Bora Bora or Paris... After going to Vietnam it mase me relax more about international traveling
14. Favorite Color? Yellow
15. Where would you retire to? Hilton Head , SC
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Last year... cause I finally got what I wished for every other b-day when i blew out the candles... Jacob My hero my son
17. Favorite sport to watch? I am not a watcher... I like to PLAY... but I guess Baseball
18. Furthest place you have been from home? Vietnam
19. When is your birthday? August
20. Are you a morning person or a night person? NiGHT..... always have been
21. What is your shoe size ? 8 1/2 - 9 depends on shoe
22. Pets? dog
23. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? Not really
26. What did you want to be when you were little? astronaunt... I had BIG Dreams!
27. How are you today? Well rested
28. What is your favorite flower? Gazanias
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Augst vacation
30. What are you listening to right now? Nothing...
31 What was the last thing you ate? Nutty buddy
32. Do you wish on stars? Yes, how do you think I got Jacob.... Hee hee
33 Last person you spoke to on the phone? mom
34 Favourite soft drink? Diet coke
35. Favourite Restaurant? Smokey Bones or Olive Garden
36. Hair Colour? blondish brown
37 What was your favourite toy as a child? Barbies & my little ponies
38. Summer or winter? Summer..... I hate cold
39.Hugs or kisses? Both!!!
40. Chocolate or vanilla? both
41What is under your bed? NOTHING!!! And I mean it... I am a neat freak
42. What did you do last night? went swimming then saw fire works at community days
43. What are you afraid of? Spiders
44. Salty or sweet? both, again!!!
45. How many keys on your key ring? 2
46 How many years at your current job? 8yrs (this november)
47 what are you thinking right now? I should go peak on my little guy ... cause I bet he looks cute sound a sleep


Ok so i had not much to write and someone sent me this....So I figured you could get to know me a little.
Good night.. Hope you are all well...

Happy 4th of JULY

OK so I am late... Like usual....

Well we had a nice 4th of July I guess..... except for we got stood up on a house viewing on the actual 4th of July. Yeah some one asked to see the house on July 4th. Matter of fact the called the 3rd @ 9:30 pm and requested they were going to be leaving on the 5th. So if you want to sell you do it right! So I stayed up till 12:30 mopping floors, sweeping carpets, touching up windows, and glass. Go to sleep and am awaken by the dog freaking out barking... yelled at him... come to find out he is doing his job. Baby is a wake screaming Michael's holding him. I come to check on the dog here the new neighbor girl who bought a house behind us was fighting with her boyfriend telling him to get the *** out and all that. SO I flicked the flood lights on let the dog out and that solved that. He left!

In the morning we took Jacob to the parade which was to be 3 hrs long we stayed 1 1/2 hours he was loving it.... But we had to pull him away for the showing. I felt horrible doing it. We could have left him with my parents but then its a 35 min drive & gas prices are INSANE.... need I say more. To e stood up I called them after 45 mins thinking they ran late in another house ... here they found the house they liked.... and instead of being respectful and calling they just figured heck I will 1 1/2hrs and then call them. RUDE!

Never again on a holiday! Anyway we had our annual 4th July party which we threw in a surprise B-day cake for our moms since they share the same b-day. It turned out nice... My Aunt & Unc came from Erie... always nice to see them. Our friends and neighbors. But it was cut short by rain...which was not in the forecast. Got to love the over paid weatherman. Well her are some pic's.

Erie Pic's

More pic's from our trip to Erie... A sad bye to my cousins as they prepare to move to Washington DC. Yes it is not a far car ride but long enough. But we will have to definitely take a trip down there.... Never been there! I am SO not a history lover or into politics but would love to see the white house and everything else.

Rashes, Er visits, and life

We have been busy!! That's all I can say.. Jacob is allergic to something...breaking out in a rash. At our doctor appt they said it was a reaction to food or something. Not to worry it would clear in few days no need to give med's unless itching. 2 nights later in the ER his rash was RED.. and forehead was swollen. We were terrified. Dose of bendryl, prednisone, and eppi later we were on our way home. They said not nuts, chocolate, strawberries, eggs... etc everything he has already ate and was fine. But we listened. $ days go by on meds. still there make a appt today 6 days... and i9t goes almost all away.. ( knock on wood) See pics of rash above & below.


On top of all this he goes to the dentist cause his 2 front teeth have not looked right since they came in. And our pediatrician said it was nothing but I had to take him. They are saying to pull the m or to do a root canal on both and cap. They believe maybe the mom had scarlet fever, took an antibiotic she should not have, or he had injury to his mouth. All his teeth are beautiful except them. But you can hardly see them since they did not really fully come in. Its hard to know what happen since the first 5 months he was in an orphanage & god only knows who his BIO mom was. But she did the best she could. So no had feelings... we just want to take the best care of him... He is our most valuable everything!
So any thoughts on teeth pull or root canal? Please leave comments so undecided

Anyway I got to go... need to do the check book.... Yeah...I hate money! or the lack of.....

pic's

Thank God were home....

Finally on Sunday we got back from Lake Erie. We had alot of fun~

I must admit I was EXHAUSTED when we came home. I got to be the mommy to 3 kids... Jacob, Sam, & Ash ( my 2 nieces). Dressed, did hair, baths, fed, clothed, etc...you get the idea. Also my nieces were VERY good at pitching fits even more than Jacob.... Believe he is not a saint... but I guess I never that amount of time with them in such a small place and saw another side of them. But I guess it comes down to parenting to..... I really do not give Jacob the attention he wants when he pitches a fit & if it gets to be to much there is always a corner to stick him in...for a minute. Not saying she is a bad parent just we are different in parenting. But I did let them know that they were with me and they would listen to me or else.

I drove my parents van... with Jacob, Ash, Sam, mom, & dad ( Michael had to work). Gave my dad a break since my mom refuses to drive anymore. It drove pretty nice... Maybe I could be a mini van mommy at some point... depends on how many kids we end up having!

So we did alot while up there... 1 we saw my Aunt & Uncle had a nice dinner they prepared for us. Went to the beach, the Erie Zoo ( was VERY nice), Waldamer park, went to the lake swimming, and visited my cousins who will soon be moving to Washington Dc area & out to dinner a few times.

Our trip did not start out smoothly we booked a cabin with a small kitchen and bedrooms. No TV or air. Cost 513.00 we get there and it looked NOTHING like in the picture on line.... The siding was falling off the door shook. We are to be getting a refund by mail ( I got that in writing and signed). We hen had went to a place down the road who except my moms little dog... which they were great. They had a cancellation and called and swapped with another guest rooms. So we could have a room with 2 dbl beds & 1 twin,Heated outside pool, fridge and TV for ......348.00.

But other than that it was alot of FUN~ My nieces love their 1st amusement park....

I got to have 2 girls for a short while... loved it! Doing piggy tails and cute out fits.

For all you have 3 or more kids god bless you..its a hard job!

Also it was funny... picture me with 3 kids in a double bed....

Well I got to go ..very tired.....

Time for a Mini Vacation

Well Jacob & I are off to the lake for a MINI vacation....

Michael has to work and has a golf tournament so we are going with my mother, father, and my 2 nieces Ash & Sam. The weather is not to be the greatest and there is NO TV there. Its a small efficient cabin... so I will be bringing my portable DVD player. Thank god there will be electric.

I am not much of a camp girl.... I like the ocean, sand, sun, pool, and a cozy bed and hot tub if poss.

Anyway you will not hear from me for a few days... but I will have some new pic's when I come back...

Here are some pic's from fathers day. They are of the kids... One is Jacob laughing while he rides daddy the horse. And the pic's with them in Jacobs little pool...if you can see the deck its a mess.. scraping paint in our spare time... pull out and replacing boards... and hopefully painted before our annual 4th of July party.

I will write more about fathers day when I get back..to tired have to get laundry out of dryer....Argh!

Congrats Kim & Carl

Today my good friend Kim that I met while working ( at age 16) for Kmart got married to Carl. They make such a super cute couple. I am beyond happy for her. She was always searching for that one true love.... and I would always say quit looking & that is when it will happen... And it did! So anyway Michael had to work & could not get out of it since he had taken time for the Tom Petty concert. So my date was Jacob. I have to admit it was hard with out Michael for a few reasons....
1. Michael & I met a a wedding reception... so when we go to weddings it reminds us of that day.
2. You ever go and everyone marked for your table does not show... and you truly know no one else except her family which are busy at the moment.

3. and did you ever try to go through a food buffet line pushing a stroller with a child because the thoughts of carrying him or having walk with you would be even harder....
Plus when I got there it was pouring down rain... the day before we took the umbrella out when cleaning. ( Michael's not with me & can not drop us out front) so instead I un hook him in the car run to back grab stroller place him in it... run like crazy and here the brake is on... get in there need to go right to the restroom to get towels to dry us off.... We could have waited even with us being late alot of people were not there yet... How did I know!

Anyway it started out a little ahhh!! But ended great....Let me explain My little guy was a hit.
Once the music came on for dancing he was all over that floor for about the first 12- 15 songs... He danced his little heart out & people got up and joined. Groups of guys were follow his dance moves...( see pics) What a leader he was jumping, shaking his booty, down to the ground. I was so proud. I was told by several he was the life of the party. By the time we left cause he had finally exhausted himself he feel asleep in the car seat..2 mins down the road.
Some girls offer their babysitting services for free.. cause they just loved him... the grown men thought he was so awesome.... they we egging him on while dancing.. Hooting & hollering.
I attached some video of him dancing himself then with the groom for a moment. ( I know it is sides wise but blogger here will not let me turn it!..sorry)

Anyway it was a beautiful wedding & my girl Kim has finally got her man...

Congrats to Kim & Carl.....

pictures are of his dance moves... (He looks like a little John Travolta) & the group he lead dancing

More dancing

Dancing, dancing ...dancing MACHINE!!

Time to ROCK!

I am exhausted!! Last night we went to see Tom Petty. He was really good! We had so much fun dancing & singing. But as always any down time (between bands) we talked about Jacob. Oh he spent the night at grams & pappies. It was my dad's birthday. So my dad was very happy to share it with hims. From what I hear Jacob decided he should be the 1st to try the cake and stuck his finger in it .... tasted the frosting then laughed. Little stinker!
The concert was sold out. We thought we got there early but ended up parked in the last lot ...LOT O... which stands for Oh my god we are really far away. Anyway we decided that since we were surrounded by thousands of drunk & high people it was best to leave a song or 2 early and just listen from the car to try to beat traffic. When Michael asked me if I was cool with that idea I said ...yes... I worked really hard to get Jacob as my son & would love to wake up tomorrow and see his smiling face.
Like I said everyone was drinking ( not us...we are not a stick in the mud just not big drinkers... especially if beer is 7.00 a glass....plus I like Cosmo's... Beer sucks!) so this Young guy sat in the grass beside us w/ 2 beers drank 1 1/2 then fell asleep ...2 woman beside him in their 40's decided to write w/ eyeliner Tom on one arm & Petty on the other... then take pictures laying beside him.... It was funny! Poor kid had no idea what was going on then when he woke up he spilt the rest of his 7.00 beer.
During the concert we dance & sang until some slow songs came on..then we sat down. This young drunk girl start bumping Michael yelling Get the f*** up, stand up, it Tom F*** Petty...He a f*** legend, Stand up! For like 3 mins... Now do we see why alcohol is not always a good thing.... Are these people really going to remember the concert...probably not! But the head ache in the morning will.

I love music which means I love concerts... I've been to alot of them & remember them all. New kids on the block in 6th grade ( I can't believe I admitted to that), stained, disturbed, Aerosmith (3 times), Dixie Chicks, Stone temple Pilots, My fav...nickleback, Lenny Kravitz ( who grabbed my hand and held it), Stevie Nicks, Don Henley, Mark Chesnut, Live, Off Spring, Tencious D, In 9 th grade my fav BUSH, the Clarks, Cheap Trick, Bryan Adams and I could go on and on. Some were music festivals with several bands. Do keep in mind I am only 27 I love all types of music. And hope to see more.

well I better go back to work.. breaks over

More Pics

My new baby..... Nikon D40

I LOVE MY NEW CAMERA......WHERE HAS IT BEEN ALL MY LIFE....

OK so I am over exaggerating it a little...but I do love it! It takes the nicest picture and you can edit them on the camera or when you download. So this is what I have been up to....besides swimming, scraping the deck, playing w/Jacob, packing up a few unnecessary decor or uncluttered the house ( I rally have no clutter) to try to prepare for Open house and just life. I started a new diet and I feel so much better than I have been. And being outside and all makes it even better. Its REALLY HOTT here in PA ...abnormally hot. 94 degrees today. We're cooking!

Anyway back to the kiddie on our deck w/ Jacob.....

Bye for now