Ryan McCormick needs your prayers!

Good Morning!

I have been following the story of this little boy who has been battling the same cancer Isabella had. Only his is much much worse. He is THE cutest little boy and I can't help but feel soooo bad for his mother.

Here is the link to his site : www.caringbridge.org/visit/ryanmccormick

Please take the time to read his story and to say a prayer for this little warrior.

Ashleigh Marie Books

I just found out about this wonderful book... I got this info directly from their site :

WELCOME!

Ashleigh Marie Kieliszewski is the 4 year old who inspired the founding of Ashleigh Marie Books, LLC. One month before her third birthday, Ashleigh was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer. During her 21 month courageous battle, Ashleigh inspired countless people and taught us the importance of loving and living.



We are pleased to offer the first book in a series, ASHLEIGH’S FAIRIES. This book demonstrates a child’s special openness to love that can come from things adults cannot readily explain. During the months prior to her passing in March 2006, Ashleigh spoke often about her fairy friends, inspiring this warm and touching story.



Ashleigh showed us that the most true and pure gift is love. And it’s story.



"A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each book will be donated to the Children’s Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation."


To order a copy of this book, use this link : Order Here!

Dear Babies of the World... (this ones for you Kings Mama!)

***NOTE: I found this on a friends mspace page, I take no credit for the cuteness of it!*****

OK, here's my situation. My Mommy has had me for almost 7 months. The first few months were great-- I cried, she picked me up and fed me, anytime, day or night. Then something happened. Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to STTN (sleep thru the night). At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is only getting worse. I've talked to other babies, and it seems like it's pretty common after Mommies have had us for around 6 months. Here's the thing: these Mommies don't really need to sleep. It's just a habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to sleep--they just don't need it anymore.

So I am implementing a plan. I call it the Crybaby Shuffle. It goes like this:

Night 1--cry every 3 hours until you get fed. I know, it's hard. It's hard to see your Mommy upset over your crying. Just keep reminding yourself, it's for her own good.
Night 2--cry every 2 hours until you get fed.
Night 3--every hour. Most Mommies will start to respond more quickly after about 3 nights. Some Mommies are more alert, and may resist the change longer.

These Mommies may stand in your doorway for hours, shhhh-ing. Don't give in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS KEY!! If you let her STTN (sleep through the night), just once, she will expect it every night. I KNOW IT'S HARD! But she really does not need the sleep, she is just resisting the change. If you have an especially alert Mommy, you can stop crying for about 10 minutes, just long enough for her to go back to bed and start to fall asleep. Then cry again. It WILL eventually work. My Mommy once stayed awake for 10 hours straight, so I know she can do it. Last night, I cried every hour. You just have to decide to stick to it and just go for it. BE CONSISTENT! I cried for any reason I could come up with. My sleep sack tickled my foot. I felt a wrinkle under the sheet. My mobile made a shadow on the wall. I burped, and it tasted like pears. I hadn't eaten pears since lunch, what's up with that? The cat said "meow". I should know. My Mommy reminds me of this about 20 times a day. LOL. Once I cried just because I liked how it sounded when it echoed on the monitor in the other room. Too hot, too cold, just right--doesn't matter! Keep crying!! It took awhile, but it worked. She fed me at 4am.

Tomorrow night, my goal is 3:30am. You need to slowly shorten the interval between feedings in order to reset your Mommies' internal clocks.

P.S. Don't let those rubber things fool you, no matter how long you suck on them, no milk will come out. Trust me

Look who's 8 months old!!

I can't believe he is getting sooooo big!! 8 months already! I think he will be walking soon. He's been crawling for about a month now and gotten really good at getting into things. He loves the cords and so I'm constantly pulling him away from things so he doesn't hurt himself.

Here are the loves of my life! For some reason I can't get them all to look at the camera at the same time. This was the best shot I could get after a couple of minutes calling "Charrito", "David", "Isabella, smile..." and finally I just said... forget it, I'm taking the darn picture! ;o)

Hope everyone had a good Monday!

Out in the Sun, having fun, feeling free....

Here is our little Charrito out at the park today getting a little sun.

Uncle Edgar and Isabella having a littl race. Who do you think won?

Here is Isabella and her friend RJ on her bike.

St. Baldrick's

It's that time of year again! The eighth annual St. Baldrick's Day events are Shaving the Way to Conquer Kids' Cancer as thousands of brave volunteers shave their heads in solidarity with children who have cancer and typically lose their hair during cancer treatment.


Worldwide, more than 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year. While advances have saved many children, childhood cancer still claims the lives of more children in the US than any other disease - more than diabetes, asthma, congenital anomalies, cystic fibrosis and AIDS - combined!


Be brave and go bald, or support a brave shavee, team or St. Baldrick's location near you. Visit http://www.stbaldricks.org/, or call 888-899-BALD to make a donation or register!


Funds raised by the St. Baldrick's Foundation will be used to fund childhood cancer research - to help speed the day when every child with cancer will be guaranteed a healthy future.

CONGRESS AND NHL TEAM UP TO FIGHT CHILDHOOD CANCER

CONGRESS AND NHL TEAM UP TO FIGHT CHILDHOOD CANCER
Young cancer survivors and families will be on the starting lineup with Senate and House members at Wednesday press conference for Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2006

March 7th, 2006 - Washington, D.C. - Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jim Talent (R-MO), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), and Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-OH) will team up with the NHL and CureSearch Foundation, along with children and families who have struggled with cancer, during a Wednesday joint press conference to introduce important legislation encouraging the expansion of research programs aimed at preventing childhood cancer. Cancer is the number one disease killer of children, and more than 12, 500 children are diagnosed with cancer each year.

The bill – Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2006 – is designed to provide funds to raise awareness about childhood cancer and support children and their families who are suffering from this disease. Cosponsors of the bill are Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN), Jack Reed (D-RI), Johnny Isackson (R-GA), Jim Talent (R-MO), Thad Chochran (R-MS), Jim Bunning (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) The press conference is set for Wednesday March 8, 2006 from 11:15 am to 11:45 am in the Senate Radio and TV Gallery (S325).

Each year, cancer claims the lives of over 2,000 children while an additional 10,000 are diagnosed with the disease. The Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2006, which will distribute $20 million dollars over a 5-year period. In addition to creating a biomedical research program aimed at curing and preventing childhood cancer, the legislation will establish a national childhood cancer registry to monitor the incidence of childhood cancers, support a long-term survivorship center and provide informational and educational services.

“I am proud to introduce the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act with my fellow colleagues to fight this terrible disease,” Coleman said. “Cancer is the number one disease killer of children and until we meet the day when every child can live a life free of cancer, we must continue to promote awareness and strengthen our investment in childhood cancer research. Our legislation will give a voice to the thousands of children and families in the United States who have been touched by childhood cancer. It provides the thousands of physicians, nurses and scientists the tools they need to find a cure.”

“I am pleased to join Senator Coleman in sponsoring this legislation that will encourage and expand support for pediatric cancer research and help families deal with this devastating disease,” Reed commented. “Childhood cancer impacts thousands of children and their families each year. While we have made great steps in treating cancer, there is still much more to be done. This legislation will help to provide resources to hopefully one day find a cure.”

“Like so many others in Missouri and around the country, my family has lost a loved one to cancer,” said Talent, who lost his mother, Marie, to breast cancer. “Our legislation seeks to help the thousands of children who suffer from this terrible disease with a new investment in childhood cancer research. We believe this bill will offer new hope in the search for a cure for the children who are coping with cancer and their families.”

“I am proud to co-sponsor this bill to strengthen childhood cancer research, diagnosis, treatment and awareness,” Isakson said. “It is critically important to increase our investment in this field because one child with cancer is one too many. I know that this bill will lead to great advancements in preventing and treating childhood cancer.”

House Republican Conference Chairman Deborah Pryce will also be in attendance at tomorrow’s press conference. Pryce has announced her intention to introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

"While much progress has been made over the last several decades, there is still more to do,” said Chairman Pryce. “Cancer still claims the lives of a great number of our children. Until we meet the day when every child can live a life free of cancer, we must continue to promote awareness and strengthen our investment in childhood cancer research to improve prevention, diagnosis, and treatment."

CureSearch – the world’s largest childhood cancer research organization – has teamed up with the National Hockey League (NHL) to raise money and awareness for cancer, and has worked closely with the senators in highlighting the needs of this important legislation. The NHL’s partnership with CureSearch is an expansion of the NHL Foundation’s “Hockey Fights Cancer” joint charitable initiative to raise money and awareness for cancer patients. Families affected by the disease, the President of CureSearch, as well as leading pediatricians and a representative from the NHL will also be present at the pres conference.

“CureSearch is extremely grateful to the Senate champions who are shining a national spotlight on the issue of childhood cancer by making children with cancer a public policy priority through the introduction of the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2006,” said Paul Burke, President of CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation. “Thanks to their dedicated support and leadership, we are one step closer to reaching the day when every child with cancer can be guaranteed a cure.”

"The National Hockey League is dedicated to the fight against childhood cancer and proud to be associated with CureSearch through the Hockey Fights Cancer program,” said Ken Martin, Director, Community & Diversity Programming, NHL. “We are honored to be present for the introduction of the Conquer Childhood Cancer Act. We believe this event will be a unique opportunity to spotlight the cause of childhood cancer, the tremendous leadership in the United States Senate and our shared effort to find a cure for childhood cancer."

Also attending Wednesday’s press conference will be Dr. Maura O’Leary, a practicing Pediatric Hematologist-Oncologist for more than 25 years and member of the Children’s Oncology Group.

“Over my 35 years in the medical community, I have seen remarkable progress in the treatment of childhood cancer,” said Dr. O’Leary. “This has been due to the government’s commitment to research through the National Cancer Institute and the clinical trials network. Unfortunately, funding is now at 50 percent of our original budges and to continue with the research plans for the next five years, we will need additional support that will allow us to treat successfully the one in 330 children that will develop cancer in their lifetime.”

WHO: Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jim Talent (R-MO) Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R-OH) will join with children and families who have struggled with cancer, Dr. O’Leary, a leading Pediatric Hematologist-Oncologist, and Paul Burke, President of CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation.

WHAT: Press Conference to introduce The Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2006
WHEN: Wednesday March 8, 2006 from 11:15 am to 11:45 am
WHERE: Senate Radio and TV Gallery (S325)

*****this is directly from this site : http://coleman.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=897&Month=3&Year=2006

I wish I could have heard about this sooner. But I wanted to post about it so that we could be aware of what is going on in congress in regards to getting more funding for childhood cancer.

David and I are going to work on a letter that will be sent to Senator McCain. We feel what could be a better time than now since he is running for President. We need to get our facts straight, so if any of you readers would like to send us anything you know, please feel free to email us @ michelleugarte@gmail.com. We need any information on NB, and childhood cancers in general. We will be doing A LOT of reaserch on our own, but help is always welcomed! =)

If you are bored.....

If you are bored and want to help out everyone with cancer please click HERE.

The federal government funds cancer research through the NCI and once again this year cut funding. I think it has gone from 170 down to 120 million in the past five years alone and word is it will be cut again in 2008.

This means new clinical trials can not be funded and the most "at risk" trials to be dropped will include: Sarcoma, Rare childood tumors, as well as Head and Neck cancers.

So, click on this link and please write to your federal officals and ask them to not only stop cutting the funding but to increase it dramatically.

Cute Kiddos

Here is our cute little Princess Fairy. Everyday she wants to dress up in either this dress or her Cinderella dress.
























Here is our little Charrito. I had to stop him in his tracks because he was making a B-Line to the cord from the lamp. Why are they so interested in the cords?!?! =)






Oh yeah and how can I forget?!?!?......................




Happy Birthday to my cousin Brent!!

Home Video

Pictures of the Snow.... or lack there of....

Last weekend we finally decided to take a drive to the snow. There are only a couple of places to go in Arizona to find snow, the Flagstaff area and the White Mountains. We've been to Flagstaff a couple of times so I decided that we should try the White Mountain area.

We get up early on Saturday, get our "Snow Gear" together and pack a bag for a night. The town we headed to is called Show Low, northeast of Phoenix about 3 hours away from our house. Not bad right?

So we are on our way, Isabella can't stop telling us that she's excited about making a snow man. We laugh and say, when we get there Bella, you can make a snow man. We were were about an hour away and as we come around this mountain and we are able to see what's in the distance David looks over and says : "I see some snow on that mountain top waaaaaaaaaaaaay over there". At this moment I'm like..... oh no! We are not going to see ANY snow. But I keep hope up that we'll see more once we get closer. I mean when you travel to Flagstaff, you don't even see Pine Trees until your just about in the city limit so with that it still gave me hope. As we continued to drive we would see patches of snow along the side of the highway. Nothing to get excited about though. Then I see a sign that we are about 8 miles from our destination and that's when I came to the realization that our trip was going to be in vein. We enter the city limits of Show Low and we get from one end of town to the other in probably less than 10 minutes. I see our hotel along the side of the road and can see that they have a patch of snow on the grass where the sun doesn't hit. David and I decide that I was going to go to the hotel lobby and look for those fliers that hotels keep for tourists about the things to do while in town. I find the little cabinet with the fliers and look around for anything that stands out, but I see nothing but coupons for Pappa Johns and some other local restaurants in town. I go back to the receptionist and ask how late I can cancel our reservation without getting charged and she told me I had to do it by 6pm. The I went back to the car and told David what I found. With no snow and then nothing to do, I walked back in and cancelled our reservation for the room and we drove back home. How sad was that?!?! =)

Well, as we were heading back out of the town of Show Low I noticed a dirt road that went back into the Pines. It had one of those signs with images of a tent and hiking and so I figured it was a public road where people could go back there and camp. We decided to try to find a patch of snow that Isabella could make at least a snow ball with, we didn't want the trip to be a COMPLETE waste of gas and time. =) I was taking the dirt road pretty slow and right when I decided I wanted to speed up a little bit to make it so the bumps weren't as bad I looked up and a beautiful black horse standing 100 feet in front of us. I slowed down and came to a stop and then we noticed a whole heard off to the right. BEAUTIFUL wild horses! Here are a couple of pictures that David captured :

The horse that was in the road just stared at us for a little bit before they all ran into the field. It was amazing and they were all so beautiful.

Once they were in the clear, we kept driving back to find our "Patch of Snow"

We drove for a couple minutes longer when we found a patch. Here is a picture of our patch :

For those of you who have been dealing with obscene amounts of snow you are probably laughing your B-U-T-T off right now at this picture.

People in upstate New York got 10 feet of snow in one day while here in our mountains couldn't get 2 inches to save our lives.

Well, it was fun to have Isabella make a few snow balls and then stand 1 foot in front of me, throw it at me and STILL miss me!!! LOL!! She definitely will not be a softball player! We hung out in the wood for a little bit always looking over our shoulder for some wild animal that could eat us. LOL!! We are not experienced out in the woods! We didn't stay out there too long because it was pretty darn cold and little David was still getting over his cold so we hopped back in the car and drove the 3 hours back home.

Here are some pictures from the past couple of days to share with everyone. Little David is learning how to crawl!!! HOW CUTE!!

I absolutely LOVE his smile!

He tries to cheat and puss himself with his foot instead of being just on his knees.

He is practicing his Pirate imitation for Halloween next year.

You know how I LOVE that black and white feature on my camera! ;-)