Hailey 1st Grade

I thought it was a good time to do a little taking about our beautiful girl.  Hailey just turned 7 on the 19th of last month.  Wow, how time flies!  I know people always said that you blink and they are grown.  I just didn't realize how true it really is.  

Hailey is doing so well in school.  Lets see, she has brought home around 8 awards from school this year.  We have a conference next month with her teacher and will get her 2nd report card.  How can the school year be almost 2/3 of the way done??!!  Again, doesn't seem possible!

Miss Hailey at age 7 is in to:

*Harry Potter -  hence the Harry Potter cake!  I have read all 7 books to her and she loved the story.  Hailey and Pete also like to play Harry Potter.  As you can see, she got a wand and cloak for Christmas.  Pete is usually Hagrid or Harry (however he has been Voldermort quite a bit lately...hmm) and Hailey is either Hermione or Ginny.  She also likes to spend time in her room listening to the books on cd.  Pete bought her a Harry Potter trivia game for Christmas.  If there are any careers that involve Harry Potter trivia, I think Hailey has found her niche!

*The newest "in" thing in Hailey's world are Webkinz.  I got her one when we were back in Memphis at the end of December.  Since then, she has been on the computer everyday playing with, feeding and buying things for her pet.  She got a few more for her birthday and I think I bought her a couple more too.  Right now, she has a total of 5 pets, all with adjoining rooms (on the computer).  The actual stuffed animals reside on her bed.  Lets see, there is a polor bear, an owl, a dragon, a fan tail gold fish and a monkey.  The pets like to visit each other in their rooms (again on the computer).  She has even bought them an outside yard, so that they can all play (yes, again on the computer).

*A couple of weeks ago we signed Hailey up for gymnastics again.  Let me just say that she is no Mary Lou.  But, she is having fun. :-)

*She also really loves going camping at the dunes.  Today, she confessed to Jeff that it is her "favorite thing!"  Jeff was going to take the kids camping this weekend.  However, the weather seems to have other ideas in store.  Hailey was so disappointed!  I'm sure we will go in a couple weeks instead.

Hailey at Olive Garden for her family birthday dinner ~ 1/19/09

Shaka Tutu ~ We Miss You!

It has been two years since my grandpa passed away.  We miss him so much!  Grandpa was diagnosed with metastasized melanoma, right after Hailey was born.  He was given 3-6 months to live.  He decided not to seek treatment and just live out his remaining time.  Well, he lived years beyond what the doctors thought.

Pete still talks about him pretty much everyday.  Grandpa (or Tutu Grandpa as the kids called him) and Pete had a special bond.  They were both battling cancer at the same time.  I really feel that Grandpa didn't allow his cancer to completely take over, until after Pete was done with treatment and he was able to see that he was doing O.K.  Pete was the last person that Grandpa spoke to before he died.  I had taken Pete to say goodbye and was told by my Grandma and Dad that Grandpa wasn't talking anymore.  Pete went to his bedside and said, "I love you Tutu."  My Grandpa actually managed to tell him that he loved him too!  Before he passed away, I sat at his bedside and didn't know if he could hear me or not, but I asked him to watch over Pete when he got to Heaven.  I believe that he is watching and helping to keep Pete safe and healthy.  Every time we fly, Pete looks out at the clouds and claims that he sees Tutu.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Hailey (15 months old) and Tutu Grandpa.  This picture was taken on Easter in 2003.

A little about the man who had so many names - Richard, Bud, Buddy, Dick, Pop, Grandpa, Tutu Grandpa.

Richard Fitzgerald Moffitt was born October 21, 1925 in Hawaii.  From what I gather, it wasn't easy being a light eyed, light skinned kid growing up in Hawaii.  He said the "local" kids would knock him down in the sand and actually try to sand off his freckles.  Kids can be so cruel!  Grandpa was 16 years old when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.  He once told me that he was fishing on the beach that fateful day - December 7th, 1941.  The Japanese planes flew right over him and he could actually remember the faces of the pilots.  He joined the Army and was stationed in Hawaii, New Mexico and various other places.

  

Grandma also grew up in the islands.  Grandma and Grandpa met in Hawaii at the skating rink, when Grandma was about 15 and Grandpa was about 18.  In 1945, at the age of 17, Grandma moved to Palo Alto, California to live with her grandmother.  Grandpa would drive up from New Mexico to visit Grandma.  After serving his term in the military, he moved to California to be closer to Grandma.  He worked at Moffett Field as an airline mechanic.  On March 7th, 1947 he married the love of his life - Leilani (or Betty Lou) Gerard.  Grandpa completed an electrician apprenticeship and ended up working as an electrician for 35 years.  Grandma and Grandpa have two sons, four grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.

My Grandfather was a good man.  He was very stubborn and hardheaded, but he was a good man!  He treated my grandmother like a princess.  She once told me that she liked him when they were dating because he was a gentleman.  They were married almost 60 years and in the time Grandma said that he never farted in front of her...  Not many people can say that!  Sure, he grumbled at her when she spent too much money, but he made sure that she had every thing her heart desired.

Grandpa, we love you!  Shaka Tutu, we miss you!

Merry Christmas to all & to all a Good Night!

Christmas 2008

Season’s Greetings! I can’t believe another year is coming to a close… How is that possible??!! I hope this letter finds you in the holiday spirit! It has been another blessed year in the Martin household, even though cancer has struck our family again. This time the victim was our 10 ½ year old dog Sydney. His cancer spread quickly and we had to put him to sleep last week. Our home has just not been the same without him and he will be truly missed.

On a lighter note, Jeff is going on his third year as president of Jamsill, Inc. He also has a new love in his life… In January, we bought a sand rail (some might call it a dune buggy) and a 28ft toy hauler/camp trailer. It has been fun spending time at the Oregon sand dunes. We are quite comfortable in our trailer too! Jeff has still been finishing up the remodel/rebuild on our house. With every weekend project, the house getting closer to completion!

Hailey is now in 1st grade. She will turn 7 on January 19th. We just got her report card and had a conference with her teacher. Hailey had an excellent report with mostly Es (for excellent) on her report card! Her teacher told us she is at a 2nd grade level on most subjects (including reading) and wanted to make sure she continues to be challenged so that she doesn’t get bored. Hailey has received 6 awards already this year, including “Student of the Month” and an academic award for “Outstanding User of Class Time”. Hailey’s favorite thing right now is Harry Potter. She and I read all 7 books this year! Hailey can really relate to Hermione’s character – Miss Smarty-pants! We are so proud of the beautiful, creative, talented young lady she has become! Like any almost 7-year-old girl, she loves rainbows, sparkles, butterflies, unicorns and horses too. She keeps asking us when she can get a horse… Jeff and I just aren’t ready for such a huge commitment!

Pete just turned 5 on December 8th. He has been off treatment for two years now and is three years from his Pineoblastoma diagnosis. We were back at St. Jude in June and he received his 10th no evidence of disease report! We are scheduled to return to Memphis again for another checkup on the 30th & 31st of this month. Please be sure to keep Pete in your prayers for another excellent report. I will update his website as soon as we hear from the doctor www.caringbridge.org/visit/petermartin

Pete continues to enjoy preschool (he goes M,W&F), even though his girlfriend Kelsey is now in Kindergarten… It is so cute to hear him talk about her! He says that he loves her and is going to marry her and was wondering the other day if she wants kids (he certainly does). Pete keeps getting stronger everyday and is growing leaps and bounds. He is almost as big as Hailey and is bigger than most of the boys in Hailey’s 1st grade class. He loves riding his bike (with training wheels). The other day, we took the kids down to the bike path and Pete actually rode about 1-½ miles! This is huge for him, considering a year and a half ago he was barely walking! Pete has learned to write his name and loves reading books, playing with his cars, watching movies and making art. He is such an outgoing, positive, sweet and smart boy. We are privileged to be the parents of two extraordinary children!

And as for me, I am also still working at Jamsill. With both kids in school now, I am able to go to the office more often and am working less from home. It’s nice to get out of the house and have a change of scenery. In my 33 years, I have acquired many titles – daughter, sister, student, burger restaurant counter girl, girlfriend, college student, receptionist, wife, business manager, mother (in chronological order, not in order of importance). And now, beginning next month, I will take on the title of non-traditional student. That’s right, I’m going back to school! With a lot of hard work, several years and some luck too, hopefully I will earn the new title “Registered Nurse”. Wish me luck!

May you have good fortune in the New Year!

Kellei, Jeff, Hailey and Pete

Poor Old Pup!

Lately, Sydney hasn't been himself...  He just seems to be getting old so quickly.  For the last several months, he has had trouble getting down the stairs and has even fallen down them several times (14 hardwood stairs, ouch!!).  On Wednesday evening, Jeff and I noticed his blue eye had turned slightly pink.  By Thursday morning, it was very red and looked painful.  I took him in to the vet immediately.

Dr. Knox said the eyes often indicate something else going on and was suspicious.  They took blood, chest x-rays and an abdominal ultrasound.  $530.00 later, we found out he has tumors in his spleen.  Poor puppy!!  We don't know if it is cancerous yet, but more than likely, it is.  His chest x-ray looked clear, so maybe it hasn't spread yet.  Our doctor's office wants $2,000.00 to do the surgery.  We have an appointment at a different vet office on Monday to get another estimate on the surgery.

It is such a hard decision.  He has lived a good long life, but by dog years, he is certainly not ancient yet!  If we don't do the surgery and it is cancerous, it will certainly spread rapidly.  It is isn't cancerous and we don't do the surgery, the tumors will likely bleed and cause lots more pain.  Even if we do the surgery, there are no guarantees that he will be cured...

Poor Old Pup!

She Did it Again!

I received a call from Hailey's school at the beginning of last week, letting me know that Hailey was to be named "Student of the Month" at the spirit assembly on Friday.  It was to be a surprise for Hailey.  Jeff, Pete and I attended the assembly to see our girl receive the special recognition.  It was too funny, because as soon as Hailey came in with her class, she and her friend Riley started scanning the chairs where the parents were sitting.   They spotted us right away, so Hailey's big surprise was spoiled!  I know she was excited to receive the honor, but she certainly knew ahead of time...

Way to go BooBoo!!  You make us proud!

Wow! Marvelous! Stupendous! Fantastic! Bravo!!!

We arrived home tonight after spending a couple days in Beverly Hills.

Pete was requested to attend "Runway For Life" to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  It is the single largest yearly fundraising event for the hospital and it was such an honor to be invited!  It was a full house and we got to share Pete's St. Jude story with about 1,000 celebrities and socialites.  It was such an amazing event!

We walked the red carpet and met so many people.

Tinkerbell

Memphis native - Cybil Shepard

From the left - Tony Thomas & his wife, Marlo Thomas (holding Pete's hand) and her husband Phil Donahue, William Shatner, designer Robert Ellis and little Ellen Taylor in front with Pete.

The show was such a neat experience.  It was sponsored by Disney for the release of Tinkerbell's new DVD in benefit of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  So, the fashion show was Disney themed.  They played Disney music, there were dancers and celebrities and models walked the runway.  Dick Van Dike even performed Chim, Chimney from Mary Poppins with chimney sweep dancers behind him.  The whole thing was beautiful and very well done!

Little Ellen Taylor even got on stage and sang Some Where Over The Rainbow.  It was great to meet ellen and her parents!  Ellen was the only other kid there besides Pete.  They were certainly the brightest stars there!!

The played a video of our family that was taken while Pete was on treatment.  Then, we went out on stage.  Jeff started things off with an interview of Pete.  Pete made sure everyone knew that his girlfriend's name is Kelsey and that he is going to be a knight for Halloween. After, I shared Pete's story.  This was the biggest crowd we have spoken in front of and for some reason, none of us were nervous!  I'm sure the 1/2 glass of wine I had before helped a little bit too!

Jeff wasn't looking forward to attending this event, but he had to admit that it was really fun.  We met all kinds of interesting people and had a great time.

We're so proud!

Last week, Hailey brought home an award.  Not even a month in to school and she received an award.  We are so proud of her!  Great Job!  I review all the work she brings home and so far, she has received 100% on everything.  I really hope she doesn't get bored in school, because it seems easy for her.  When she brought the award home, she was alwo allowed to pick out a book to keep.  It was about birds and she read the entire thing on her own.