Today was a good day. We had Jules all day and my childhood girlfriend Janice and her husband Dave visited us from Tennessee. I showed her the irrigation ditch by our house because it really reminds me of South Phoenix when we were growing up. There were open irrigation ditches with cottonwood trees just like this little area by our canal here. We walked on the canal bank remembering how often we walked and rode the horse and donkey along the canal when we were kids sometimes riding into the canal even though we weren't allowed to. This is a picture of our donkey Henry. Dad brought him home in the back of the car one day. He opened up the door, and lifted him out. Henry was little enough that Dad wrapped his arms around all 4 legs and carried him out of the car to his new home, our south Phoenix ranch. Jan and Dave are bike riders and are interested in all our bike trails in Phoenix (500 miles of bike paths). Julian felt really good and walked with us. We put Jules in the stroller and she loved it also. We stopped by Mom's house on our way home, visited her and then we all went back to our house and had lunch. We had egg salad sandwiches with lettuce etc and watermelon. It was a great time and a good day. Jules connected with Merlin today. She was on the couch and Merlin was sitting on the couch back purring to beat the band. I said, "Jules listen to Merlin purring" and held her close to him. She then spent a long time squealing with glee, getting real close to his face as Merlin leaned in as if to give her a kiss. She would grab his fur and Merlin didn't bat an eye, just kept purring.
Well, the first round of chemo is finished, Julian is now on his week break. We went to the Walk for Hope at the Wellness Community for cancer families yesterday. This is where we go to our support groups each week. He was feeling pretty well and we walked with many other families fighting all kinds of cancer. Notice all the different colored balloons in the pictures. Each color signifies a different kind of cancer. The balloons signify hope and strength for the journey. We walked 3 K which I think is over 2 miles, seems easy, but for someone fight cancer and going through chemo it is tough. All programs are free here and there is everything from support groups to classes about fighting and dealing with cancer, nutrition and exercise and stress management. If you would like to donate and sponsor us go to www.thewellnesscommunityaz.org. Click on Cancer Connections Walk, 2010 and type in carol & julian under the search for individual or group. He did fine although he might have overdone it because he has felt really bad today. We take it a day at a time, supported by prayers, held up by each other and God. God is good and gives us many moments of joy together. We enjoy simple things like being able to wake up and eat breakfast together each day. This is new for us because we have always had to rush off to work at different hours. Today for breakfast we had scrambled eggs with cream cheese, 1/2 apple blossom (Trader Joe special) with whipped cream and hash browns.
Baby Jules is a joy to us. She is with us all day Tuesday and for about one and a half hours Friday mornings. Here she and her Papa are spending quality "hang out" time. She is amazing in so many ways. She is learning very minute she is awake and wants to be a part of everything. She is eating solids and likes to eat from the table while sitting on someone's lap. She had little bits of scrambled eggs and bits of banana bread. She loved it. She opens her mouth like a little bird and makes "mmmm" sounds like she is really enjoying it! She really lives in the moment. When she looks at someone, she totally focuses her eyes and her attention on you like for that moment you are the only person in her world. She is funny and makes us laugh.
Julianna was baptized last Saturday. Here she is looking happy and angelic in her baptismal dress. She was joined by 12 other babies, but as Julian said, "I looked at all of them and Jules is the most beautiful." He is not at all partial I'm sure. This is St Frances Xavier Cathedral in Phoenix which is their church. You can see all the families up front. Notice the small stained glass windows overhead in the dome, Jules couldn't keep her eyes off them. We were waiting for the ceremony to start and there she was looking straight up focusing on those blue squares of light. Here are her Godparents, Jess and Matt Faye, Javier and Jules Javier holding Jules for the christening. I wonder if there is a reason that the priest used a shell?? Part of the water came from the Jordan river in Israel. It was a beautiful service. This is a delphinium. I saw it at the nursery and thought I'd try growing it. I got 2 and put them in pots, so I can bring them in when it gets too hot. There is a poem by AAMilne about delphiniums and a dormouse which Mom read to us many times when we were little, so I was excited to see what delphiniums look like. They are really beautiful. "There once was a Dormouse who lived in a bed of delphiniums (blue) and geraniums (red). And all the day long he'd a wonderful view of geraniums (red) and delphiniums (blue). A doctor came hurrying round and he said: Tut-tut, I am sorry to find you in bed. Just say Ninety-nine, while I look at your chest....Don't you find that chrysanthemums answer the best." Anyway it is a long and sad story about how they replaced the geraniums and delphiniums with chrysanthemums (yellow and white) and the dormouse was very sad, but the doctor really thought he had recommended the right change. Anyway, I really love AAMilne poems and that was the first thing I gave to Jules.
Talking about Julian, he is doing pretty well all things considering. He had IV chemo yesterday and will take chemo pills, Xoloda, for the next 2 weeks. Then he will have a whole week off till he has to start another 21 day cycle. He will have 5 of these before they reevaluate (probably with another PET scan).
Faye, Jules and Grandma Coral came over today for tea. I was trying to remember that rhyme for bouncing babies and Mom of course the better memory at 87 reminded me of how it goes. "This is the way the lady rides, trot a trot a trot a trot. This is the way the gentleman rides gallopy, gallopy, gallopy, gallopy. This is the way the farmer rides odeleop, odeleop odeleop all the way home." The bounces get higher and higher with each person and Jules loved it. Mom, you had to leave and missed her smiles from this and other songs so I send them to you with thanks via my blog. She has been smiling for sometime, but they haven't been caught on film till now. We're riding like a lady here This is the farmer riding. She was laughing out loud and having a great time Here I'm singing Monkey's jumping on the bed and getting ready to wag my finger and sing, "no more monkey's jumping on the bed." Look at that level of concentration! Papa Jules is doing pretty good. He and I have been concerned because he is still having trouble with fatigue and has not gained any weight since chemo and radiation. So, we went to a Naturopathic Oncologist last week. He is now taking supplements which he hates, but he has started to gain some weight and seems to have more energy so we shall see. He walked 2 miles this morning. He just took the worst tasting one after I doctored it up and said and I quote, "that wasn't bad". Her eyes are still a dark beautiful blue Uncle Ryan and Jules, she liked to be held facing out best so she doesn't miss anything. She is really fascinated by the world, colors and the great out doors. She loves a stroll around the garden. Talking of grandchildren, Kirsten, Rob, Rowan and Dilly have moved back to the states from India. Rob is flying for Delta and they will be living in Salt Lake City. The kids are already in school here, but they have every Friday off. Kirsten and the kids are going to hop a plane (they can fly free) to Phoenix soon on a 3 day weekend. We are so excited to have them back and look forward to seeing them soon! Jules asleep under her heart blanket knitted lovingly by yours truely. Faye and Jules looking at something at the beach. Faye and Jules at the beach. Javier has started back to work and Faye has to start back next Tuesday. She will be staying with Julian and I one day a week and Heather,a friend of Faye's who has a baby boy a little older than Jules. I'm sure they will be good buds when they get a little older. Here are some of my flowers that are blooming currently. It has been hot still in October, but we have mostly had the AC off and opened the windows. When it gets to 98 or 100 degrees we have to turn the AC on for a couple hours. It's just wonderful that it cools down at night and in the morning. I've been enjoying having time to work in my garden. I've been planting seeds: lettuce, snow peas, nasturtiums and larkspur. I've bought and planted tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and sweet pepper. These are my saucy "Rio Samba" roses. They are very prolific, stand up in the heat and are a good cut rose. I just love the way each rose changes color from dark yellow to deep orange to pink to light pink. I caught a bug peaking out from this rose This is a spider lily given to me by Mom, given to her by someone else. All a part of our friendship gardens. I also have a spider lily which is a bright yellow/orange. This is a rain lily which blooms this time of year after a rain. Even a trace amount of rain can bring a bloom the next day! "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". Did I get that quote right? We have been enjoying the parrots all summer. They other day there were 10 parrots on the sunflowers in the back and 5 or 6 more on the sunflowers and feeders in the front. They chomp on the old sunflowers and walk up and down on the stems causing the flowers to sway up and down. I sometimes go out not thinking and startle the goldfinches and parrots. They fly up in the air and just for a second the sky around the sunflowers are filled with moving yellows, greens, and blues. It takes my breath away! This is as close as I've come to catching it, you can see the yellow/green of the goldfinches back.
My last day at work was Sept 1. Towards the end of the day, Marilyn ran into my office saying one of the kids fell off the bleachers, she can't get up and her leg looks bad. Well, I grab my wheel chair and we head to the gym. I walk in and much to my surprise the whole school all 850 plus kids and staff are there for a retirement celebration! I have never have been so happily surprised in my life. The principal gave a little talk about how long I had been the #1 school nurse for 21 years, etc and the kids hooped and hollered and stamped their feet. The teachers gave me a framed picture of a tree that said, "Nurse Ayraud, Thanks for being our giving tree." They said, "We know how much you love gardens and love teaching others about them. Madison #1 is going to plant a tree in your honor on our campus. We appreciate all your nurturing and giving throughout your years here at Madison #1. We love that your passion for growing and giving will last a life time on our campus." I could only remember what they said because they wrote it on the back. I spoke about how much I love this job and that I love all you kids and will miss you. I spoke of how blessed I have been to be here all these years, etc. I started crying and the kids kept cheering and stamping their feet. Then several teachers stood up and said that they wanted me to know that they won't forget my most famous phrase, "don't touch blood". Julian, Mom, Faye and baby Jules were there. It was the best retirement party I could ever have had. Jules and Nana (that would be me) Jules and Grandma Coral Jules and Jules Ryan and Jules. He changed her diaper right after this. His expression changed from this cute smile to apprehension to determination to surprise (when he realized she had a dirty diaper). He did a great job. Didn't even stick Jules or himself with the pin (oh, wait that would have been 30 years ago). Here is Jules working on a pot which he gave to Larry as a thank you for bringing him wood last year and this year. Beautiful, Huh! The story about this rose is that he almost carved it off because he didn't like the first finished he put on it. He sanded all the old finish off and ended up using linseed oil and paste wax to get this beautiful finish.
Larry and Jules
We went to Flagstaff for Labor Day weekend. Mom went with us and this is a picture of a meadow filled with wildflowers. Faye, Javier, Jules and Grandma Here is our family picture in honor of Larry's visit. Notice me retiring on the table practicing for my retirement. I haven't really done the best job at relaxing so far but I can always dream.
Baby Jules was born on July 15 2010 at 7:06 in the morning. She weighed in at 6 lb 7 oz and was 20 and 1/2 inches long. Poetry in motion, personality plus, cute as a button! Just look at how beautiful she is! Faye and Jules taking a very needed rest. Nathan, Niko and Maceo getting to know their little sister. Papa Jules meeting baby Jules Uncle Ryan visits. I know he held her after we left however, I will have to get that picture later. Just look at that cute little face My sister, Jacki was visiting for a week and we were hoping that Jules would be born while she was here. Well sometimes hopes and wishes come true because she decided to come into the world a week early. It was great having Jacki here she got to see Faye while she was still pregnant and get to see Jules shortly after birth! Taking a well earned nap Great Grandma Coral meets Jules. Jules was born on the day after my Mom's birthday. Faye went into labor on Mom's birthday! Four generations I was so blessed to be there for labor and delivery. These pictures are actually backwards in time. The last were soon after birth. They were all taken on her birthday or the next day. Faye and Javier The first picture of Mom, Dad and baby Jules together She has long fingers and toes Grandpa Nick holding Jules. She was so alert for the first couple hours after birth, so she got to meet all of her Grandparents and Great Grandma while still awake and looking around. Nana and Tata Gonzalez meet their new granddaughter. This was taken minutes after her birth Faye did an amazing job of labor and delivery. She was so brave and athletic. After she was 10 cm dilated and the doctor had arrived, Faye pushed through 5 or 6 contractions and Julianna was born! Jules had her eyes open when she was only part way out. It really reminded me of Faye's birth because Faye also had her eyes opened and was looking around during birth! Love at first sight!
