Hope is turning 2.... at OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Birthday Hope Abigail!!!! We love you and can't believe you are 4 years old today!

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Edward's Eclipse

This is why I love Edward Cullen!!! ***SWOON***

TEAM EDWARD!

The long wait is over I will see my man up on the big screen tonight.... feels like its been a long time coming! I will have the pleasure of enjoying the Eclipse Midnight showing this evening!!! TEAM EDWARD!

Happy Memorial Weekend!!

I would like to wish a very Happy Anniversary to my parents. Today marks 40 years of blissful marriage! Ha - not always but through many years of ups and downs they have done what most these days do not. They have stayed together and loved each all along the way. 3 children, 9 grandchildren and 1 beloved pooch later.....40 years! Love you Mom and Dad! Best Wishes on this Big day and to many, many more!

Gosh, they look soooo young in these pictures!

I must also give a shout out to my oldest nephew Christian Isaac! He graduated from High School Friday night. I cannot believe he is getting ready to embark on the next big stage in his life... COLLEGE! He has turned from this precious little boy into this handsome thoughtful young man. I cannot wait to see what big things he has in store. Congratulations dear Nephew!



Lastly, Happy Memorial Weekend everyone. Hope you have a fabulously fun holiday. Don't forget to pay tribute to all our service men and women who have fought for our freedom.

Heartbroken

My precious pooch passed away this morning. My heart is absolutely broken. She has brought me so much love and joy these past 15 years. Although I am so sad that she will not be around anymore, I know she is in a better place and will suffer no longer. I will miss her dearly..........

RIP
Baylee Noel
November 9, 1995 - May 20, 2010









I love you Baylee-girl!

Hope's HAPPY HEART DAY! May 17th

3 years ago (May 17th, 2007) Scott and I handed off our precious 5 month old baby girl to the cardiology team at Childrens Hospital at OU Medical Center in OKC. It nearly broke my heart handing her to strangers while she cried and held out her arms for me. I will never forget the feeling of complete helplessness, the understanding that possibly she might not make it through this surgery. We were surrounded with the love and support of our families while in the waiting room. The wait was for updates came very slowly. Around 9 that evening we got the phone call that they were closing her up and everything looked good so far, but the next 24 hours were critical. About an hour later Hope's surgeon Dr. Peter came into the waiting room to let us know everything went well and she looked good. Her bypass machine had malfunctioned but luckily not at a critical point during the surgery. Finally sometime after midnight she was moved to the PICU and we were able to see her. The image I saw will be forever burned in my memory. She looked like a pale lifeless doll. I stayed in the room with her until she woke up the next morning from the anesthesia around 8 am. She was extrememly fussy at first but once the groggyness seemed to wear off she recognized me and seemed excited to see me and her daddy. We spent 7 days in the PICU because of a few minor setbacks. By the end of our stay Hope was her happy active little self. It was unbelievable to me that after a major open heart surgery, (other than the healing wounds) 7 days later it was as if nothing had ever happened to her.



Hope is an amazing little girl. Her strength, tenacity, and love of life astound me everyday. She is truly my hero and I cannot imagine life without her in it! HAPPY HEART DAY HOPE!!!

Happy Mother's Day, 3rd Grade Spelling Bee & LLA Spring Program

One more crazy week down. 2 weeks left to go before school lets out and things SLOW down! Whew! My Mother's Day was a super awesome day!!! It started with breakfast in bed (Cinnamon/sugar and butter/jelly toast) made by my girls and overseen by daddy. I know, not the breakfast of champions but at ages 3, 7 and 8 what else could you expect??? We lounged around for a couple hours, snuggled and got lots of hugs and kisses. Gosh, wish everyday was Mother's day!! Finally got around and had lunch at Los Cabos. Did a little car shopping while all the car salesmen were off today. I think we may have actually found something... keep you posted. Momma needs a new ride!! Then we headed to the movie theater and watched Disney's OCEANS. Once we got home Hannah and Hope decided I needed a foot massage. Love my girls and Hubby so much. They made me feel truly special today! Wishing my mom and grandmother Happy Mother's Day! Sorry I wasn't able to spend some of it with you!




Hannah had the honor of participating in the 3rd grade Spelling Bee at school on Friday. So proud of her and her accomplishments this year. She is such a smart girl. She did so well lasting many rounds. Finally she got stumped on the word "NAUGHTY" hmmm.... coincidence?? Kidding!!! So proud of her!




Cannot believe that Hope is about to finish her 2nd year at Lord's Little Army Preschool. She performed in LLA Spring program/Graduation. We have been going here now for 6 years now... Hannah and Hadley started at ages 1 1/2 and 3. What a precious group of ladies that have taught and loved my girls. Thanks to Mrs. Colleen and Mrs. Traci for the love you have shown my precious Hope! Love you all Orange Tigers! Looking forward to becoming a Purple Penguin next year!








Looking forward to getting through next week. We have 3 games scheduled, batting practice, Dance practice/rehearsal/Dance Recital all this week. We can do this! Only 2 more weeks and we can slow down! Happy Mother's day to all of the special mothers out there. Hope your day was as special as mine!

Hadley turns 7!! 4/30/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

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So have to say how proud I am of my little Hadley girl.... After picking her up from school I was looking through her homework. I find an envelope made out to the parents of Hadley Spohrer. I open it to find her test scores for B.A. Gifted Student Education Program. OMG, She tested highest in the range of percentile ranks (96 and above). That means only 96% of the kids tested for this program score this high. I am just absolutely beaming with pride right now. I knew she was super smart but to get this kind of confirmation- WOW!! **Tears of pride rolling down my cheeks**

On another note, Hannah was one of the students picked to represent 3rd grade at her school in the spelling bee!! I cannot wipe this goofy grin off my face. I am SO PROUD of my girls!!!!!

Happy Birthday Hadley! We love you sooooo much! at www.OneTrueMedia.com

MUST show off my little pretties!!

Got the girls all dolled up for dance recital pictures. Hair, make-up, dress-up X 3 girls = worn out mamma!!!! Scott flew in from a business trip right after I got everybody ready and to the dance studio- talk about good timing! Must be nice to show up once all the hard work is already done.;) All kidding aside it makes it worth all my troubles to see them dance their little hearts out across the stage in May every year. I'm trying to enjoy this, Hannah and Hadley do not want to dance next year... looks like this is the last year to see them do it. Hannah's been dancing for 6 years, Hadley 4 and I guess they are ready to move on. At least I have Hope to continue to watch for the next few years.

My Little Orange Flower


Growing out of her pot...






Hip-Hop... not a fan out the outfits!




Haddie-BUG


Hannah

Softball, softball, softball......

Crazy week and weekend. Seems like we have had ball games every night for the past few weeks. Have to say how proud I am of both my big girls. They are coming along. They are batting so much better and seems that it is finally starting to click. Their skills are much improved and I think I can see them starting to love the game. I was so hoping they would love to play as much as I did growing up- Gosh I miss it!

Hannah's team pulled out an awesome win on Tuesday night. They played one of the best teams in the league and won. What an exciting game to watch! Hannah hit like a champ- so proud of her. We had played this team (The Twisters) a couple weeks ago and they killed us like 15-2. Our girls played their best performance of the season and won 12-11. What a game! Hope to see them continue their streak.

Hadley's team is doing great too. Have only lost 2 of their regular season games. We played in a tournament this weekend and unfortunately finished 4th. They hit really well the entire tournament but their fielding wasn't quite good enough to hang. We played 4 games yesterday, winning 3 out of the 4. Went back to play today and it just wasn't meant to be. We lost in the last inning by 1 run. Still so proud of them.

Crazy week coming up again this week. Between Hannah and Hadley we have games Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Ugh, and Scott will be out of town on business Monday-Wednesday. I'm hoping to keep my cool. We also have dance recital pictures scheduled for Wednesday. OMG, if I make it through the week it will be a miracle! Wish me luck..... Oh yeah, and I have my PET scan tomorrow. Wayyyyyy to much on my plate- praying for my sanity!

What a difference 5 years makes....

My brother Zack, me and my dad. I shaved my head the day this picture was taken. They shaved theirs too to show their support. I love them!!! (My younger brother, Patrick, shaved his too but is not in this picture)


5 years ago at this time I was battling cancer. I was diagnosed just before my 32nd birthday. Talk about being thrown for a loop. I never dreamed I would get cancer. As we all know, cancer doesn't care who you are, what color, what race, what age. It can strike any of us at any time. I was lucky. Mine was found early enough (Stage II) that with chemo and radiation I was able to beat it. My family and friends were truely amazing during my treatment. I couldn't have gotten through it with out their help.

I am participating in my home town's Relay For Life this year again. Would love for anyone interested to join us there or if you would like to show your support with a donation that would be great too. Click here to join Laura's Angels or make a donation.

Weekend in OKC

Thanks to the weather, our weekend didn't go quite as planned. Nevertheless, we made the best of it! Saturday morning we participated in the OKC Heart walk. Surprisingly several of our friends still showed up to walk with us. To all of you who braved the yucky weather.... YOU ROCK! We love you all!!

It's all about HOPE! Our little survivor!



Our awesome family and friends who came out



Survivor Breakfast



Warming up!



Playing in the rain....





Our new friends Drama Queen and Diva



Our family and Gaga (my mom)



Sunday... hanging out in Bricktown



OKC Bombing Memorial







We took the girls to the OKC Bombing Memorial and Museum. Today marks the 15 year anniversary. We had never taken the girls to see this and since we were in OKC we thought it would be a good thing for them to experience. It has been several years since I had been and it was so beautiful and peaceful. It was my first time through the museum and to see it was quite sobering.

We had a great weekend away. Enjoyed time with our friends and family. Celebrating the life of our precious daughter Hope. Honoring her and all the other heart survivors as well as remembering those we have lost. And for all of the families affected by the OKC Bombing, we remember.......