Hope4Peyton

This morning Peyton got to have her make-up done by a professional make-up artist…but surprise of surprises, so did Mom! I got hair and makeup done so that I could be in a couple of the shots with her and now I'm even more excited to see the end result. They showed me a sample of what we'll be receiving. It's a special portfolio with two black and white 8×10's, one of the both of us and one of her, then a copy of every photo they took (they must have taken at least 40), and a disk so we can have copies made of whatever we want. It is going to be so precious because some of the pictures are with her little head covered in a red kerchief, and then we finally talked her into taking it off so that we could get some shots with her sweet fuzzy hair. She hammed it up pretty good and I'm sure she'll look gorgeous and i'll look….like a mother of three who doesn't sleep enough, who ran out of the house this morning late without a shower, but now has head of perfectly done hair and face full of artful makeup…I told them I'd expect them at my house promptly at 7 AM every morning from now til the end of time!

Radiation…..fun times….I got a few answers to the scheduling snafu. The issues were that we would have to be at two different facilities at two ends of town each day, and during a round of treatment when she's felt the worst I've ever seen her. This really bothered me and I was relieved to work it out with the clinic to change things around. We're going to do our radiation at All Children's Hospital in St. Pete, we're going to do our chemo visits at the St. Pete clinic and we're going to stay at the Ronald McDonald House during the week and come home on the weekends. Pete's already planning to take those two weeks off so that he can be Mr. Mom to Nathaniel and Rachael, which will be both awesome and eye-opening for them all, I'm sure. This means that both facilities will be literally across the street from where we're staying and we don't have to worry about traveling all over the place, she'll have plenty of time to rest and recoup. The added bonus for her (if this is really a BONUS) is that because her counts often require transfusions during this period, we'll have quicker access to blood products when we need them. Wow! And here, I wanted a pony when I was kid, silly me.

I also found out that our chemo schedule had been miscalculated. We were counting by weeks…we should have been counting days…yada yada yada…it all comes down to the fact that we will start our treatment on the 9th instead of the 14th. I was a little disappointed because I was looking forward to that extra time steroid-free, but we roll with it. And then I read a post from Sherry Tucker talking about how she's coping with the anniversary of the day her son Zachary was lost to them to cancer, on May 9th. As a way to honor that day, her family will be going to our clinic to spread some joy with goodies for the kids and I just thought, Wow, what a way for God to remind me to be grateful that I still have the privilege of being allowed to have Peyton here with me now. Forget about a few day's here or there, a little inconvenience in my schedule, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. She is what matters, each day as her mother is what matters, to be with the family that the Lord has gifted me with…that IS the grand scheme of things.

This week is teacher appreciation at our school and today I got the chance to REALLY appreciate Rachael's teacher because I volunteered to hang with the kids while the teacher's had a special luncheon. Every parent should be forced to do this…it should be mandatory! You will respect your teacher in a new and profound way….and I know now why God never called me to be a preschool teacher. I actually had the joy of hearing one of the volunteer parents say to a "tattling" student "No, I don't want to hear it, if it doesn't involve blood it isn't that bad!" I love that. It was such a fun time to spend with the kids and see their happy little faces all excited and enjoy the energy they exude…it was equally rewarding to leave and enjoy the silence after.

I had one of those moments in the car this week when a song came on and it made me cry. Oh yeah, cry like a baby! With the loss of Taylor and thinking of my friend Chris with the loss of her father, the words of the song "I Believe" by Diamond Rio just touched my heart in a special way. And now, I'm going to share the words of this song with you.

Every now and then soft as breath upon my skin
I feel you come back again
And it’s like you haven’t been gone a moment from my side,
Like the tears were never cried,
Like the hands of time were pulling you and me.

And with all my heart I’m sure we’re closer than we ever were,
I don’t have to hear or see I’ve got all the proof I need.
There are more than angels watching over me

I believe
Oh I believe

Now when you die and life goes on,
It doesn’t end here when you’re gone
Every soul has found a flight
It never ends if I’m right.

Our love can even reach across eternity.

I believe
Oh I believe

Forever you’re a part of me,
Forever in the heart of me,
I will hold you even longer if I can.

f.r.o.G….fully relying on God
—Anissa

ps.
Plans have been made for a meeting of the minds on Monday the 6th at 6:30 pm at the home of my good friend Monica. If anyone would like to come and be a part of sharing ideas or plans for the Peyton fundraiser, just let me know at [url=mailto:anissa.mayhew@verizon.net]anissa.mayhew@verizon.net[/url]

Peter and I got the opportunity for a date night tonight.

I know….stop the presses!…DATE NIGHT.

Thanks to Pete's mom, we got to go out to dinner and a performance of the "Lord of the Dance". If you've never had the chance to see it, it really is as cool in person as it looks on tv….but looking at all those people clogging faster than the human eye can comprehend makes my weak little ankles just ache.

As for dinner….that was a questionable event. Lets just say that I have a reputation with restaurants and bugs. The last time involved finding a bean in my soup at Olive Garden…and then finding out my bean had a face and legs…ugggg. Tonight, I'm about to bite into an aromatic, beautifully presented plate of pasta….and a spider crawls into my food. Yes, a spider. Can you believe that? A nice tasty bowl of spider alfredo! It was just creepy to even think of trying to eat it.

Ahhhh, the perfect Date Night kickoff…..if you set the bar low enough, the rest of the night is going to rock!

Regardless of an 8-legged kink in our dinner, we had so much fun and it was spectacular just to have some time to talk and not have to break up any squabbling.

Tomorrow Peyton and I are heading of to the clinic bright and early in the morning for a fingerpoke and CBC check. We are also getting the photo session done after that. Then we run back so we can hangout in Rachael's class while the teacher's have a special luncheon. The list just goes on and on, but while she feels good we have to squeeze in a lot of stuff.

I now have a new concern to go over with the doc tomorrow. Luckily, it's a simple matter of scheduling conflict. Our next chemo phase involves us going to the clinic for 3 weeks, then taking a week off…then we go back on week 5 and start chemo that's 4 days a week, but we are also supposed to start her radiation treatment on week 5. That means that we'll have to be at the clinic in north Tampa each morning, then hike it down to St. Joe's for her radiation and hpoe we can get it all in. It's even going to involve one day that will involve her having to get a spinal AND radiation in the same day….how much does that stink? Unfortunately, I'm not sure we can do it….i''m going to have to figure out how we'll juggle it all. The idea was tossed out that if we did radiation we could stay at the Ronald McDonald house so that we wouldn't have to drive back and forth every day. Because we can get her chemo in St. Pete as well, it might be a better option than dragging her all over town all day long when she's feeling her absolute worst. My poor baby, the things we do to her.

Please pray that gets organized in a way that won't send us all to special padded rooms.

f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
—Anissa

ps. Some very special friends are planning a community yard sale to help with expenses during Peyton's treatment….if anyone wants to be a part of it, just shoot me an email at [url=mailto:anissa.mayhew@verizon.net]anissa.mayhew@verizon.net[/url] and i'll let you know when and where we're meeting to brainstorm. Otherwise, please just keep it in prayers, we are forever amazed at God's wonderful ability reach out to us through those around us.

There's nothing quite as heartwarming as hearing the depth of love a sibling can have for another sibling….that special bond that will hold them together against all odds.

And then there's Peyton.

"Peyton, get your shoes on, it's time to get the kids from school."

"I don't want to!"

"What, get your shoes on or get the kids?" – in retrospect, i probably shouldn't have asked that one.

"Get the kids."

"We have to."

"No, we don't."

"Yes, we do. How are they going to get home?"

"They can walk!"

"They're too little to walk home by themselves, Peyton."

"Oh right, I forgot."

Her love is so deep that she can only express it by ditching them to get home from school at their own peril….ahhh, touching isn't it? They just don't make Hallmark cards for that.

I talked today with Ann Miller from All Children's Hospital. She coordinates the annual telethon that benefits the hospital and they are going to be filming a spot on Peyton at her clinic and using it during the televised event. She's going to be filmed during a treatment, using the virtual goggles that are such a huge blessing through her procedures and interacting with the amazing staff at ACH. I'm so honored that Peyton was selected for this and excited about being a part of this event. I'm hoping that her story touches hearts, that her sweet little smile reaches out to people and that her courageous spirit raises awareness not just for the hospital but for pediatric cancers as a mission.

Nathaniel is a complete goof-ball, but he has these moments when I see in his eyes the incredible young man he's turning into. His class has a field trip planned to Sea World in a couple of weeks and when I found out how much the tickets were my heart sank. I had to explain to him that we couldn't swing both tickets, that he could go but Dad and I couldn't go with him. I offered him the option of a day with Mom instead, we were lucky to get Busch Garden passes for the year and I told him that we could go there for the day instead. I knew it wouldn't be a day with all of his best friends and classmates, but it would be a way for us to do something special and its already paid for. He cocked his head and thought about it for a moment and came to the decision that he'd rather do Busch Gardens. He told me "I'd rather be with you anywhere, Mom." Ok, that seriously IS a Hallmark moment. I want to box it up and keep it to show him in case he gets a little older and won't let me walk next to him at the mall or asks me to drop him off a block from wherever he's supposed to be in sheer embarrassment of the fact that his peers will know he was born and not hatched! He just made my morning.

Everyone has their opinions on the best way to potty train. I've heard to keep them naked indefinitely, bribing, cajoling, all sorts of fun and interesting ways to convince your child that life is much cooler when you don't have to sit in a pile of squishy diaper all day. We may have found the one that works best for Peyton. I call it "bedtime". Attempting to put off the inevitable, Peyton would rather sit on her potty and tinkle than lay in bed and go to sleep. In fact, in the span of 30 minutes she went twice! Now, don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic that she's actually initiating the potty-going experience on her own, but I really want her to sleep also. Yes, she's potty trained, but she's sleep deprived AND her bladder is strained for forcing herself to pee to stay awake!

I'm happy to let you all know that we've gone two nights without pain medication and she's slept through the night without waking up crying. The first night she tossed and turned a lot and there was some pitiful moaning sounds in her sleep, but she never woke up for me to medicate her. Last night she slept solid through the night. I'm praying that this is a sign that the pain is subsiding or at least getting more tolerable. She still took a head dive down the hallway last night, I was with her when it happened and it was still her knees giving out on her, but it was the first time she'd done it in a couple of days, so that's an improvement as well.

We are now off to the Children's Cancer Center this morning, Peyton has play group with her sweet little friends.

f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
—Anissa

Wow…nothing stops a blog faster than these three elements mixed in a blender…a laptop, a frosty glass of ice water and a 3 year old. When these three elements came together this afternoon I had to do a lot of deep breathing exercises to keep my head from popping off. Pictures, special emails, the blog history, the originals to the Relay magazine covers, all sorts of things lost…potentially permanently….it makes me scream a little in my brain just thinking of it. Even after Peter and I pulled out all the little screws, checked everything out and tried to get it to boot up, all it did was give us the computer equivalent to "Na Na Na Boo Boo!!"

So now I’m working on Pete’s computer…it’s a Mac..you know all those commercials about the differences between a PC and a Mac…how they make the Mac guy look all easy to work with and simple…they lie….he's very complicated and confusing. But I'll make do and with no other option it will definitely work. I'm already moving things around and organizing his computer the WAY it should be, of course…he's going to love that!

We got to go to another Tampa Bay Storm game today…it was fantastic! Pretty boring game for the first half, but they really brought their game up for the second half. We were met by Adelaine's family….which was extra fun because we got to have cake and cupcakes for her oldest brother Mason's birthday.

Did I mention that the cupcakes Angela Powell brought were Bucs cupcakes? Lots of black and red icing!! Niiice

This is what i call cupcake overload

We also had our friends the Feakes and the Flints there….apparently it was take your "F" friends to a football game day! We had 10 kids there and it was so much fun!

Eden Feakes

Emily Feakes

The girls…Rachael, Peyton, Adelaine, Emily and Eden didn't catch a single moment of game time….the most attention it got was when they'd play music everyone would dance.

Justin Flint

Nathaniel and James Flint

The boys…Nathaniel, Mason, Bowen, James and Justin all just grooved on the football and food and having lots of guy time. It was awesome!

The Expanded 6-pack!

The parents had time to talk and we enjoyed ourselves so much. Maryellen and Pete even took the boys down to the floor at the end of the game for a chance to meet some of the players and they got autographs on game towels….very cool!

Ok, how jealous are we of that beautiful thick head of hair that Adelaine's grown back…long enough for a barette!

We came home to a mellow house, just gearing up for another busy Mayhew week. Lots of school stuff, clinic on Wednesday and some really exciting stuff at the end of the week! I will share that all with you later….is the suspense just killing you?

I did get some more sad news tonight. My sweet friend Chris Toth lost her father yesterday. He had Hepetitis and received a donor liver last fall. Unfortunately, he never recovered and has been in a coma for months. He had gone home on hospice and he finally went home to be with the Lord in his new and improved Godly body. I can't help but think that he and Taylor will be meeting up there to take keep an eye on all their loved ones together in Brandon.

f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
—Anissa

This morning my mother in law treated the kids to a trip to the shoe store, and for the girls this was delight….for Nathaniel, it was a horror that could only be matched by a trip through the Victoria’s Secret.

Peyton tried on at least 7 pairs of shoes, pranced and sauntered around in each one testing for adorability. It is an inate gift you’re either born with or you’re not. She told the saleslady “I looove shoes!” Don’t we all?

Rachael started trying on shoes the minute we walked in the door and didn’t quit until we finally left. She had her heart set on shoes that would only be appropriate for the high school prom, but we were able to convince her to choose some more sensible shoes….never using the word “sensible” mind you…but she did finally remember that she’s too young to suffer for beauty just yet, to enjoy her years of comfortable shoes.

Nathaniel walked in and got his feet measured. He disappeared around a corner and came back in under two minutes with the pair of shoes that he wanted, they fit, done deal. Boys really do suck all the fun out of shopping. He was thoroughly disgusted with how long it took the girls to make their choices. Once he even nudged me and whispered “Can I just pick some for them?”

Peter and I spent the rest of the day horsewhipping the kids, after which we stapled their earlobes to the floor and made them lick the belly of cockroach! Actually, all we did was make them do housework and lawn work, but it might as well have been. But Nathaniel did make a huge step into manhood. He mowed part of the backyard all by himself. I’m sure Peter’s having fantasies of lounging in a hammock with a beer in hand, pointing out that “Son, you missed a spot over there!”

Breaking news….Peyton was hollering from the bedroom “Help me!! Heeeelp me!! I need you to help me! I’m stuck and it’s freaking me out!” Well, I had to go see what this was all about. Promising myself I wouldn’t rush and nearly kill myself the way I did when she proclaimed herself legally blind. At least if she’s yelling, she’s still breathing, right?

I get to the bedroom and there’s Peyton…let me see if I can actually explain what she’d done…she was trying to climb up her dresser by opening the drawers and using them as steps. She had her left foot in the bottom one, her right foot in the next one….the top drawer had slid open enough to wedge against the foot in the bottom drawer, her pocket was stuck on a handle and she had lost her balance so she couldn’t get enough leverage to move any of the drawers. I just stared at her for a second, trying to figure out how she gets herself into these situations and she says to me “Are you just going to stand there?” Ok….she’s 3!! Seriously! She says that to me like she’s the boss of me! She is definitely spending too much time with adults.

Anyways, all is fixed, the rest of the crew is out washing the car and enjoying a nice water fight. Frankly, if I wanted to go totally white trash I would just hand them all a bar of soap and tell them all to wash themselves up while they’re at it, but I don’t want the neighbors to call DCF on us for making our kids bathe in the front yard.

Tomorrow we’re heading to church and then off to a Tampa Bay Storm game in the afternoon. We’re looking forward to a fun time with Adelaine’s family and some of our other great friends.

Our only scheduled visit to the clinic is for a finger poke on Wednesday, followed by a photo shoot that’s being provided by a photography studio that’s setting up shop at the clinic to do pictures of our special kids. They actually told the child life specialist that they would make sure to have HAIR and makeup people there to help out….I guess someone has to fluff Peyton’s fuzz, I’m not sure what else they could do with it!! Peyton’s counts were fabulous at the end of last week, so I’ve got my fingers crossed for a repeat performance.

I hope you’re all having a wonderful weekend, full of family and good times!

f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
—Anissa

Peyton and her friend [url=www.caringbridge.org/visit/carleevessel]Carlee Vessel[/url] from the Tampa Bay Yankees game

The Awesome Mike Alstott up to bat at the celebrity softball game that raised big money for the Children’s Cancer Society.

Peyton, Samantha Lee (one of our shining Children’s Cancer Center friends) and Mary Ann Massolio, the CCC executive director and one amazing lady.

Peyton getting smooched by Mike Alstott…gotta love those perks! Think if I shaved my head I'd get the same treatment? Yeah, me neither.

The “Fairy Princess Teddy Bear Float”