COUNTS ARE UP!

Perfect for the Holidays! Ryla's counts are awesome! Her immune system count is a whopping 2,900! Just image the week before she was at 760 and a week before that she was at 160! Beautiful jump! We know her Bone Marrow is clean from cancer! She will be able to enjoy the holidays. She's scheduled for another labs on January 3rd and then she'll receive a spinal tap, Vincristine (chemo) and decadron the week after. I'm only counting on the Vincristines now until her Chemotherapy is offically over. Put it this way, she has 6 more doses of Vincristine after this one coming up until her Chemotherapy is over!

Like I've mentioned before, I will be throwing her a HUGE NO MORE CHEMO/5th BIRTHDAY PARTY next year and I'm inviting everyone who has followed Ryla's story and who has been here for us and the family. It would be great to see all of you there. As soon as the even gets closer, I will start sending information about it.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to everyone!!!

Bone Marrow Procedure

Some of you already knew that today Ryla was scheduled for a Bone Marrow Procedure because her immune system has been low for the past two weeks. Her counts last week was 160 and today her counts jumped up to 783! Even though her counts are now back up, they still wanted to go ahead and do the Bone Marrow procedure anyway, so she did. When they wheeled her in the procedure room, I was carrying the laptop and she was watching her video of her cracking up when she was on the Decadron (That video is posted on her website on the Updates Section). It was funny because she was laughing the moment they put her to sleep and then her laugh got cut off and she dozed off. She did extremely well. She did wake up saying "Owee" and woke up a bit on the cranky side but now, she's playing and being Ryla. I just want to thank everyone who has kept Ryla in their prayers and because of you guys, Ryla's been doing extremely well! THANK YOU!

Procedure

I'm not sure how many of you had already heard but this coming Thursday, they're scheduling Ryla for a Bone Marrow procedure because for the past two weeks, her counts have been low. They want to make sure that it's the Chemo that has caused her counts to be low and not Cancer. It makes me and her daddy nervous for this because the last time she ever had a Bone Marrow Procedure was in the beginning of her treatment. Her original schedule for a Bone Marrow was not supposed to be until the end of her treatment. Please pray that they will find no Cancer and that she can continue to live her life as normal as possible, just like a 4 year old should.

Latest on Ryla

It's been a while since an update so here I am updating you all on some news about Ryla. She's grown 4cm since her last check up so they've decided to up her dosage of Chemo. Her blood count looks awesome! Her ANC count has been up in the thousands (which is a big difference from the times that she was only in the hundreds). We have 8 more months left until her Chemotherapy is over! Then in August of next year, she will go under surgery to remove her port. YAY! Then we're going to throw a huge party for her :)

Next Saturday we'll be heading up to Anaheim to go to Disneyland before the year ends! We're finally going to use the tickets that a very good friend of ours has given Ryla earlier this year. I know Ryla is extremely excited!

She's able to read a few letters now! I have flash cards and she's able to tell me what A,B,C,M,O,R, and Q is. The rest is still a challenge but she's slowly getting there. Her writing though might take a while. Since being on Chemotherapy she's developed this shake with her hands so it sort of stopped her from being able to write properly. She only scribbles for now. She's a few steps back from her age group because of the cancer but I know she'll pull through just fine. It will be hard for the first year of school since she doesn't know how to write any letters or even knows how to draw yet but she'll get there. Anybody have any suggestions on how I can get to her start writing, please let me know. Her attention span is only about less than 5 minutes which is also a challenge. I have to somehow keep her focused on learning and I've tried almost anything I could think of but still after a few minutes, her attention is towards something else and I'm no longer in existence. I've tried emptying out the room so that there's nothing there to distract her but somehow she manages on finding something to do other than learning. It's very frustrating at times because I don't want her to fall behind. But she's a wiz with the computer though! She surprised me that she knows how to go through some of my files without messing anything up! :)

Anyway, I updated her website in her Ryla's Progress page. I added the latest picture of Ryla. So come by and check it out!

TERRIFIC!

Hey everyone! Ryla has been doing great! This month being on steroids was totally opposite from the usual! She was mostly happy! You can view a video tape of her today running back and forth and cracking up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26FoL0ajyNc

We've also updated her Progress page and every month is now covered with a picture! Come check out how fast her hair is growing! So far so good!

GO RYLA!

Ryla has been doing good! I know I haven't been updating you all on her condition. Just put it this way... No news is good news! Last Thursday we had labs. Her ANC (Immune System level) was down to only 190. That is low. So we put the chemo on hold. Today she had labs again and this time it shot up to 600! Her body is working really fast!! I LOVE IT! :) She's doing soo good I'm so happy... We're all happy!

FINALLY A BLOG!

Yes, I know it has been a while since I've posted a blog up. Sorry for that. Recently my laptop's internet connection messed up somehow and so now I can't get on the internet with it. So I am currently on my desktop computer upstairs. It's hard for me to get on the internet without having the kids screaming for me to come downstairs so I've been pretty much busy with them everyday, downstairs. When the laptop had internet, I was able to just sit on the table downstairs and keep an eye on the kids at the same time.

Right now Ryla is at her grandparents house. Alex is here along with Daddy so now I have time to come up here. Ryla has been doing really good lately considering her counts are in the borderline (caused by the chemo). She's up for labs again this coming Thursday. This past week of Steriods was horrible! She was so emotional, moody and so clingy! But it drained out quickly and we had our old Ryla back! I know I haven't posted a picture up of Ryla for the month of May on her website. I wanted to give you guys a two month difference with her hair growth and I'll post up pictures of her on her birthday which is coming up very soon!

MUCH BETTER COUNTS

Last Wednesday on her lab appt, her counts went down. So they postponed the chemotherapy. So all she's taking at home is the antibiotics. Still I was not convinced about the results because of the nurse who drew her labs. But later on today we went again for labs and this time it was one of the usual nurses we've had and the results came out that her ANC is now 860. So it was low but now it has gone up. So we're restarting the chemo again but in half dose.

LOW COUNTS

Her lab results from yesterday's appointment showed low counts. I'm not sure if I should rely on it considering the fact that the nurse who drew her labs had absolutely NO CLUE on how to prick a finger! I was getting irritated but she was such a sweet girl that I just bit my tongue a bit. When you prick the finger, you have to prick it from the side. ALL nurses as well as those who are diabetic should know this. Well this nurse pricked her finger from the middle of her finger and all she had to fill was of the same size as a fingernail but the blood was barely coming out that by the time she was done, the blood in the tube clotted! The nurse besides her finished a boy's lab that came in 2 minutes AFTER the nurse had already pricked Ryla's finger! So she told me that she had to prick her finger again so I spoke up and told her, "You're going to have to prick her from the side of the finger because that's where the blood flows faster". My goodness it was the messiest finger prick I've ever seen! She had blood all over her gloves and on Ryla's finger! How in the world can you mess up on a finger prick?! She was slow on getting the blood too because she kept wiping her finger and when she was done, she didn't even close the tube right away! Luckily it didn't clot this time! But next week when we do the finger prick again, and she happens to be there, I'm going to ask her if I can do it for her hahah!

UPCOMING EVENTS

The next event that we will be attending in Ryla's honor is on the 29th. Ryla is the Honorary Embassador for the Blossom Valley Elementary School! They will be throwing her a party as well as raise money in her honor! What a way to go, huh? Make-A-Wish Foundation is making this happen for us! Rachel from Make-A-Wish is such a sweetheart!! Friends of Scott Foundation is another foundation that supports our family as well. We are very good friends of Scott's mother. She's been the one helping us with gas cards. She is truly such an amazing person!

In June, we will be celebrating Ryla's birthday and in July, there will be an event at the Del Mar Fair Ground. Can't wait for that! It's the horse race and I know Ryla would love it! Seeing all the horses and all!

Celebration of Champions®!

The most AMAZING weekend I ever had...


Just wanted to share with you a video that I made with the pictures that I took over the weekend (with the help of my sisters, Cindy and Joanne). It has been the most emotional yet happiest weekend ever! Tears were falling as I was taking pictures of the event. Seeing the little kids running the marathon and having the sponsors as well as the celebrities run with them. It was such an amazing event! Steve Fiorina from San Diego's Channel 10 News was the celebrity that ran with Ryla. I was so happy that Ryla actually ran the whole way! I thought either she wouldn't walk at all or just halfway... but not only did she do it herself, she actually tried running it! My goodness, the feeling of it was undescribable! Then seeing other people who don't even know Ryla, just screaming, clapping and cheering her on, was so breath-taking! It was definitely my best Mother's Day gift ever!!

BIRTHDAY PLANS

Ryla's birthday is coming up and we've made a decision on throwing her like a pony ride/petting zoo theme. You can actually have them come to you so we have to scout for a location as well as manage the expenses. If it doesn't turn out the way we hoped for, we'll just probably go to the Ranch that we went to on Ryla's Send-Off Party from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. She really enjoyed that day! She didn't want to go home!!! She loved every minute of it! She wasn't scared to ride the horses either!!! I'm so amazed on how brave she was that day!!!

HECTIC WEEKEND

This coming weekend is going to be hectic for all of us but in a fun way. The hectic for me will start tomorrow because I have to run a lot of errands and get everything situated before the Saturday. Saturday will be a fun-filled day for Ryla. We will be having the Celebration of Champions as well as going to the Padres game for the first time! On Sunday we will be heading out to Sea World in the morning for the American Cancer Society's Courageous Kids Day and that will be an all day event! I know it doesn't sound much but we will be pretty much out of the house this whole weekend!

ITS BEEN ONE YEAR....

It's Been One Year...

I can't believe it's been one year since we rushed Ryla to the hospital. This year has gone by so fast but the feeling and the pain is still fresh as if it just happened yesterday. In two days, it will be the one year mark of her diagnosis. To let everyone know, Ryla has fought bravely as she continues to progress everyday! I'm still holding my breath for we're only half-way there. Yes, she is still doing chemotherapy for another year and 2 months. After July 13, 2008 I can finally breathe and my baby girl will finally get to live a normal life again. Everyone is invited to her "No More Chemo and her 5th Birthday Party"! Thank you for those who has stood by us throughout this whole ordeal. We cannot thank you all enough for the love you've given to our Little Super Girl.

BIG EVENTS

There will be a couple of big events for Ryla this month. On May 12th, Rady Children's will be holding a "Celebration of Champions" at the park here in San Diego. It's sort of like a little fair/olympics. All of the cancer patients will run holding a torch and pass it on to the next Champion. Those who are younger like Ryla of course will be carried by either mommy or daddy. After that event, they will be taking us to the Padres game! It will be the first time we EVER went to ANY GAME! They will hold a pre-ceremony at the Stadium to honor our little champions! Yes, we actually get to walk out in the field! Then the next day we'll be heading over to Sea World, for the American Cancer Society's Courageous Kids day. They will have lots of games and food for the kids to enjoy and the mothers as well since it will be Mother's Day. My best Mother's Day gift would be seeing Ryla and Alex having a blast!!

Alex has finally gotten one tooth growing in the back! Yes, he's got a big boy tooth in the back now! At first when he opened his mouth when he laughed, I thought it was like a piece of food that was stuck to his gums but when I took a closer look at it, it was the big teeth in the back! No wonder he's been moody lately.

Ryla's 1 year anniversary is coming up really soon. I can't believe it's been a year since she was diagnosed. Just another year left.. Then everyone is invited to Ryla's 5th birthday and No More Chemo Party!! I think I'll be combining the two events under one party since it'll be rather close to each other. It'll be held more than likely at the end of July! I can't wait!!

BEING SICK

Its so difficult when both kids are sick. Yes they've definitely caught something. Some type of cold or maybe it has to deal with the weather. But they've got the sniffles. They're on Dimetapp right now and it's been helping a lot. So far no fevers! They're still active and everything it's just they got runny noses when the Dimetapp starts to flush out of their system so I have to give it to them exactly every 4-6 hours. So nothing really to worry about. They still got their appetite. Ryla's attitude this week of Steroids is actually one the best ones so far. She's not attached nor bossy like last month! ;)

DR. APPT

Well her Spinal Tap went well today. She actually didn't cry this time when they put her to sleep. The trick is to have her watch her Disney movies on the lap top as they wheel her bed in the procedure room. She's busy watching the movie that she just falls right to sleep! It's getting a lot easier for me to deal with it. The only thing she's still not use to getting poked through her port. I honestly don't think she'll ever get use to it. Her counts look great by the way! All her counts are in the normal range except for her white blood cells. They're slightly low but she's still okay. She's developing the sniffles though. Her and Alex and I just hope it doesn't get worse than it is now. She also started on Steroids again. Yikes.. I hate it when she's on that.

SUNDAYS

Every Sunday (and Thursdays) we always go to church. Never have we ever missed going to church except when she was hospitalized of course. Ryla wore her white and blue flowery dress today. I just can't believe on how TALL she is! She looks like a giant compared to all the kids in her age group! She definitely would fit with the 5-6 year olds, perfectly! Yes Ryla is so tall! I'm 5'4 and she's up to my ribs, no joke! Those you have met Ryla in person knows what I'm talking about. People are surprised when I would tell them that she was only 3 years old. There was this little girl who was going to be 10 years old this year and she happens to be maybe about half an inch taller than Ryla! Hard to belive huh? Yeah I would find it hard to believe too but it's true! ;)

NEXT WEEK

Next week, Ryla will have to be fasting in the morning because she will be getting a spinal tap, then Vincristine, then she will start her 5 days of steroids too. My poor baby girl is going to go through a lot next week. They're gonna access her through her port. I really hate it when they have to poke her like that. I wish there were an easier way. We're almost on the halfway mark! I can't till this year is over!!! I can't wait for Ryla to live a normal, happy life! ;)

MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL

Just letting everyone know that I'm doing a Mother's Day Special with my photography business. Please come by my website to check it out. I will try and get my business into full gear this year and my goal is to be fully up and running by next year. Thank you!


L.Amor Photography

TRAINING

What is so difficult to teach Ryla right now is how to clean up after her mess. I guess it's a problem for all kids. I think it all as to even do with the mood she's in too. There are times where she will clean up her mess and she would even sing at the same time, "CLEAN UP! CLEAN UP! EVERYBODY DO THEIR SHARE! CLEAN UP! CLEAN UP! EVERYBODY DO THEIR SHARE." But this morning she made a total mess of M&Ms (M&Ms that no body eats for some reason) that were in this little jar that we have. She threw them in the air like it was raining M&Ms on her and when she was done getting a kick out of it, she just left them all over the carpet! I asked her to clean it up and she got mad! Ayyii-ya-yay....

My Photography

All day yesterday I've been working on a decent looking business card that I can make my own without having to go out and order and spend $60-$100 getting it made. This was what I came up with. If anyone is in the San Diego area and is interested in taking pictures, I offer prices of just the same amount as ordering business cards! :)

HAPPY FEET KIDS

Ryla and Alex has turned their dances into HAPPY FEET! I should video tape it and show it to you all. Ever since we've bought Happy Feet, their dance moves turned into running in place. They're trying to tap dance. Alex is really good at it. Ryla, I guess you can say it's a very good exercise for her legs! She's getting good at it too! But Alex is super fast! Looks like we got a tap dancer in our hands!

CHEESE!

The kids always have a blast in the front yard. These are just a few out of the many shots I took of the kids having fun! The first picture of Ryla is on her Ryla's Progress page. Come check it out!

Lovin' that smile!!!

MODEL!!

One of Alex's famous "HUH?" face!

HAVING FUN!!! TAG! YOU'RE IT!

APPT. UPDATE

Well, we actually missed her appt. It was scheduled for last Monday but of course they saw us anyway. Luckily it was just labs and not chemo. Her counts looks great! Her ANC is at 1200! She's been having so much color and we love it! She's due though for a spinal tap again next week ;( I really hate it when she has to do that. She has to be fasting and then she has to be put to sleep in order to do it. She gets really upset when she wakes up. Plus it's been a while so it might feel new to her again. It's been a while since we've walked into the treatment room. I guess you can say it's a good thing! But of course since it's been a while, she's going to have to adapt to it again and with all the poking. Her one year mark is coming up very soon. May 9th. I think we will attend church that day...

DR. CHECK

It's been two weeks since Ryla's been at the hospital for a Dr. check. Feels like it's been a looong time! But throughout the two weeks, she's been so active and healthy! Today during our friend's wedding, she decided to ditch the french fries they gave her and ate greens instead! Yes, vegetables! She loves green vegetables and I gotta put all the credit to Elmo from Sesame Street! If it weren't for him talking about how vegetables are delicious on tv, Ryla would never have tried it! :) Wish us luck for her blood counts tomorrow! Or should I say later on this morning (since it is 1:30am) ha!

Raindrops captured in a Photograph

...Heard raindrops falling outside my house. I went outside to capture it. Raindrops seems to deliver strong feelings in a photograph. It can stand for many emotions. It amazes me to see that a countless piece of object such as a raindrop, can somehow deliver such a tremendous effect and turn into this magnificent art. Almost like a graceful dance. San Diego hardly gets rain so this is the first real rain San Diego has encountered this year. Have you ever watched the rain? Each rainstorm is different. Sometimes there is wind. Sometimes it is cold, and sometimes there is thunder and lightning. Have you ever noticed the raindrops that fall from the sky? Sometimes the raindrops are very small and seem to float. Other times the raindrops seem huge, and they splash when they hit the ground.
.[all photos have be taken by me].

THANK YOU

I just wanted to take the time in thanking everyone who has been practically by our side with Ryla's condition. From day one, you all have shown your concern and care and I just feel like you're now a part of our family. Yet again our family has been struck with an eye opener. This time from Ryla's Daddy's side. You can just never tell what could happen. Anyone can be in a critical situation, no matter what age you are! Life is extremely fragile so we have to make the most out of it. With ourselves and with our loved ones. Tell them you love them as often as you can. Hug them when the opportunity is there. Don't ever wait for the "RIGHT TIME". There is no "RIGHT TIME". So many people have come and gone through our lives. Some have been with you from the very beginning but have left either so quickly or suddenly. There are others who have just recently came into your lives and others, just seem to have fade away. Keep those you love, close to you and tell them frequently you love them.

GROWING UP

Ryla is indeed growing up. Her facial features seem to change too! Her baby face is turning into a beautiful little girl. Her walking is even gotten a lot better! I think I mentioned that already. Now the next thing on the agenda is to get her use to just using sippy cups! Yes, Ryla is currently still drinking from the bottle but only at night time. Since her diagnosis, she went backwards with everything so now that she's on stabled condition, I'm going to try and train her as a regular 3 year old or actually she'll be 4 years old in 2 months! I'm trying to get her to write properly but every time I try to help her trace the letters I wrote, she ends up trying to just COLOR them instead! ha! It will take a while but I know she'll learn it! If I can't bring her to pre-school like I wanted to, I'll teach her at home and prepare her for Kindergarden when her chemo is all over ;) By the way, I'll be throwing her a "NO MORE CHEMO" party next year. All of you are invited ;)

RYLA, RYLA!

I finally was able to load Ryla's song from Songs of Love Foundation! Ain't it adorable?! It's also loaded on her Trip of a Lifetime page on her website as well as her Ryla's Progress page. That's the latest update on her page. Ryla's doing wonderful! Her walking is starting to be a lot more normal now! Still a little bit off but her walking and running is starting to make a difference! Her running is faster now haha! Oh we now have a NEW MOVIE... before it was constantly Nemo... then Monsters Inc... then Chicken Little... then Cars... now it's HAPPY FEET! heehee! Alex and Ryla now dances like Mumble from Happy Feet ;)

<bgsound src="http://www.freewebs.com/rylalove/01-Track-01.mp3" loop="infinite">

TALK ABOUT A LIGHT SLEEPER!

So we're trying to teach the kids to sleep in their own bedroom. We try to put their DVD cartoons that automatically replays so that they can fall asleep watching cartoons. That USE to work! Well it still works for Alex but for Ryla, she kinda grew out of that. So recently Arcy and I have been taking turns sleeping next to Ryla until she fell asleep and then we would walk into our room and keep the monitor on in case we hear them cry. That USE to work also! But lately she's been able to wake up the moment she feels that we're not beside her and then we'll see our door open and here she comes! One time Arcy and I were still awake and we heard some shuffling through the monitor and we were like "UH-OH, she's awake" so we're peeking out our door and sure enough she's walking down the hallway, TIP-TOEING hahah trying to be slick about it, thinking that we don't know that she's coming towards us, she's holding onto her puppy, and with her Mimi (Pacifier) in her mouth looking at her shadow on the wall as she tip-toes to our room hahah! It's adorable most of the times but when Arcy and I are extremely exhausted, it's very frustrating to get her to bed so she ends up sleeping in between Arcy and I, and then I would have to bring Alex into our room as well (I don't like it if we're all together and Alex would be alone in the other room). I guess we're just going to have to figure something out haha!

GOING GOOD!

Yes, things have been good since our vacation. Ryla's been having so much energy. She did develop a little attitude but I knew that time had to come someday ;) All in all she's doing great! Her hair is now starting to touch her neck! YAY! It's close to needing a brush now! Looks like I gotta start buying some hair clips soon! I know it's been a while since I've updated you all on Ryla. Just think that the less you hear about her, it's good news ;) Two days ago, all she did ALL day was laugh!! I'm serious! I never seen her laugh so much in my life! She just having fun with Alex and playing with her toys! ;) My family's doing great!!!

A TRIP OF A LIFETIME

Wow, our trip was amazing! I'll give you all the details about it later on today because it's late. Just wanted to let you all know that we got home safe and Ryla is doing excellent! Come see a few of our pictures posted on Ryla's Website!

GOOD NEWS OR BAD NEWS?

I might as well tell you the bad news first. Our doctors appointment's outcome didn't come out as well as we wanted it. Her ANC level went down to the borderline. Actually, slightly below border line. Her counts went down from 1,875 (from 2 weeks ago) to only 473 (borderline is 500).

The good news is... The doctor gave us the GO signal and said that it's still okay for us to go on our trip! He said that there were other kids who went on their trip in a more worse case than how Ryla is and they had a blast and nothing bad happened. The other good news is that her Plateletts are up 175,000! Which is what gave us the OK to go! Just in case, we got the number and address to Children's Hospital of Orange County. But let's just hope that we won't need them. ;)

I am almost done with packing! The only person I have left to pack are my things. *whew* just two more days until Ryla can finally say "THERE'S DISNEYLAND!!"

PACKING, PACKING.

Wow, packing is complicating! I'm packing for 4 people and I don't know if anyone is like me but I'm a pack rat. I feel like things I pack is never enough. This is our first FAMILY TRIP! I just don't want to be enjoying the trip and then next thing I know, "OMG! I FORGOT TO PACK _______ !" So, I created a list of the things that is A-MUST that I have to pack (besides the clothes) like for example, Ryla's Medications. I looked up the hotel that we are staying at and the swimming pool is on the TOP FLOOR of the hotel!

VACATION has been long overdue. I think our last ever VACATION trip was our honeymoon 5 years ago and happened to be in Disneyland! Now we're heading back with our little ones. Ryla is so excited! She knows that our trip is getting closer! Well I can't stay up that long cause we gotta wake up early to take Ryla to her doctors appointment. I get all anxious when we sit and wait for the results. Getting the results is like looking at your raffle ticket and seeing if you won. She has been doing really good these past couple of weeks so I have a really good feeling that her counts will be just fine! Please pray for a good Doctor check tomorrow!! This will determine the "GO SIGNAL" for our trip! ;)

HAPPY! HAPPY!

First off, some of your must be wondering what was that last entry all about?! Well I'll tell you. It's part of my work from home deal. I have companies that pay me to advertise their company through blogging. Crazy huh? But yes they do pay so they needed a blog from me that get hits everyday and Ryla's Blog has had daily hits so, they approved this blog for me to advertise. It'll be once in a while that I blog them up here so don't freak out thinking that someone hacked on this account and is posting bogus entries! ;) Scared ya a bit huh?

Well I'm happy to say that lately, Ryla has been very active and happy! She can't wait to go to Disneyland (which is this coming Sunday). She's been telling me at least once a day that she wants to go to Disneyland and she'll say with her cute little question mode voice, "Peeeese??" Awww.. So yes, we are definitely going. She has Labs and Doctor check this coming Friday before we go just to see where her blood count is at. I think it's up there so I'm not worried about it.

Alex is getting into his terrible 2's waay too early! But I could never get mad at him when he stares at me with that puppy face! UGH! I'm a sucker for that!

I'm also happy to say that I've started a store that will hopefully help us financially since I am not near to getting back to work yet. The new store is called L'Amor Gifts. Come by and check it out! I've got GREAT deals on all these items! There's a few for now because it is a lot of work getting these things on the site. Usually companies hire people to put it up on their site but I'm doing EVERYTHING alone so please bear with me. I've spent a few good hours and posted up about a good amount for now for you all to sample what I'm selling.

All proceeds once again will go to Ryla's Medical Expenses and once I get this store up and running with flowing income, half of the proceeds will go to the children who are currently admitted in Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego. We will be purchasing games, books, anything to keep them busy and take their mind off of where they're at. I will post pictures up as well when that time comes. Starting next year, when Ryla's Chemotherapy is over, I am planning on Volunteering at the HEMONC unit at Rady Children's. I would love to do Photoshoots for the Children for free in their hospital rooms. Of course I would have to ask permission first if I can do that. I have travel size studio lightings and everything. I know the Parents would love that... especially for those who know that their child won't be with them that very long. ;(

But yes, this is about my yearly plan! Wish me luck and I hope you enjoy my new store! Please pass my site around to all your loved ones!

Visit L'Amor Gifts.

NEW UPDATE

Picture taken on yesterday, March 12th

I know it's been a while since I last updated. Things have been a rollercoaster these last few weeks. Most of you already know that we didn't make it to our "Trip of a Lifetime" on the schedule that was planned for us. BUT the good news is that it's on again for the last week of this month!

The reason for us not being able to make is because you know about her counts being low and plus she did catch that nasty virus that was going around. All Chemotheraphy was on hold until her counts go up. Usually it's procedure that if a child has had low counts for about 3 weeks, they would have to undergo a Bone Marrow Test to see if the Leukemia came back.

That was the case for Ryla. Last week, Doctors told me that if her counts are still low by Friday, they were going to do a Bone Marrow Test. The last time she ever had a Bone Marrow Test was back in June! They told me this on Tuesday so Arcy and I had only two days to have Devotional Prayer. On Tuesday, Ryla's counts were only 340 (ANC). By Friday, by only a finger prick for labs, her counts went up to a whopping 1,875!! Once again God has heard our cry! They want to do labs again next Friday just to see where she's at before our trip! She's doing so good!

Today she was riding her little tricycle around the house. Usually she'll just sit and use her feet to push herself around the house. She wasn't able to use the pedals because her legs were still too weak and she didn't know how to use it. Well today she finally learned to use it! Her legs are getting stronger as well! This rollercoaster has now come to a steady pace and I hope it stays this way for a loooong time...

BAD VIRUS!!

Well, she caught the virus that has been going around. Alex just got over it and now she caught it. She's running a temperature around 100.6 right now but we can't admit her until she's around 101.0. We're praying that she doesn't go that far and will start to cool down. Our week trip to Disneyland will have to be postponed until the end of this month. Arcy and I feel like rookies right now because it's been a while since Ryla's had a fever. We're stressing out on this again and so worried (even though deep down inside we know that she'll be just fine). It's just the fact that the last time she was sick, it was back in November and it was during her last phase of the intense chemotherapy. That was the time I had to quit my job to be by her side 24/7. Now, this will be her first fever since being on Maintenance. I know she'll be fine. She's a strong girl, it's just the thought of going back in the Cancer Unit and staying there... well it gives us nightmares just being there. Anyway, I don't want to ramble on and on. Arcy and I will have a really long night tonight. Please keep Ryla in your prayers.

SEND-OFF PARTY!

Ryla had a blast at her Send-Off Party! She barely ate cause she was so excited! Let me have the pictures do all the talking....

Ryla sitting on a pile of hay wearing her Cowgirl hat!

Ryla with Mommy's side of the fams

Ryla with Jill from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They just finished feeding the horse!

Ryla was so brave to ride the horse! She never wanted to get off! She had so much fun!

Everyone in front of the Royal Ranch

Special thanks to Rachel and Jill from the Make-A-Wish Foundation

UNEXPECTED VISIT TO CHILDRENS..

Yesterday we had an unexpected visit to the hospital because Ryla was looking rather pale. Turns out that her HGB was only 7.3 so she had a blood transfusion. We didn't get home till 9pm and that girl was so hyper and happy! She had this burst of energy that lasted until 2am! Yes, this girl was bouncing on the mattress till 2am! I couldn't get her to go to sleep! She was laughing and her lips were so rich with color and her cheeks were super rosey! Oh I miss her having so much color like that! Tomorrow she's going back for another blood test to see if she will need a platellet transfusion because her platellets were lowering as well. They stopped all chemo too until further notice (which will give her a better chance in making it to our trip on the planned date!) Her counts should be fine by then!

YAY FOR ALEX!!

Yay for Alex! He's finally walking on his own! No more crawling!! He started walking on his own on Monday. We also shaved his head again. Now he looks like his sister back in November! His hair grows back super fast! I love his walk. He has this little wobble walk that is so super cute I just wanna bite him! He and Ryla get along so very well... Well, most of the time (of course, each of them have their moments). Now I will have to start chasing him when he tries to run! Ryla can play tag with him now!

Ryla had procedures done today and it went really well. Of course she cried but she didn't cry because of pain like how she use to. She was just scared. Her counts aren't as what I would want them to be but she's still okay. She's just on the border line. I would want to see her go up. She started her Steroids tonight too so hopefully that will help boost up her counts too! I'm trying hard not for her to fall ill or weak like that because in a few weeks from now, we'll be on our way to her "Trip of a Lifetime"! I call it a "Trip of a Lifetime" because with our family, that will be our first ever, most glorious trip! We have been so overdue for a vacation and we're finally gonna feel relaxation and not worry about anything in this life. We're just going to enjoy every minute of it and I know just seeing the look on Ryla and Alex's face will be the best moment ever, throughout this trip.

Just look at how much fun they're starting to have with each other! I love seeing them play and laugh together. My family is complete and I am happy with what I have. I know we don't have much and we go through so many trials, persecutions and hardships... but just seeing them like this, takes away all of that. This is my happiness.

My Pride and my Joy....

THAT'S MY GIRL!!

Her doctors appt today went great! Her counts have gone up and no transfusions! YAY! The amazing thing about it was that, the nurse was saying, "Since her counts are up, you can start giving her her chemo at home again.." and I told her that we've still been giving it to her cause the nurse last week never told us to stop it. She was amazed at still, even though her counts were low and we continued giving her the chemo at home, Ryla still manages to get her counts up! I think I know what was helping her counts go up.... It was the Zija drink. You all have to try Zija! It helps with cell growth and it's 100% natural! I got the OK from the doctors for her to drink it and last week when her counts were down, she drank one everday and look at how amazing she is now! I signed up to be a distributor for Zija so please if you are interested in ordering a case, please let me know!

March 4-9th trip is still on and I just hope that it doesn't rain that week! We've been getting rain here in the westcoast lately and I just hope that the first week of March will be nothing but sunshine!

I also updated her online store! Please come check out the new items for our HEMONC nurses! Please spread the word about the nurse section of her store! Tell your HEMONC nurses about the store! ;) Got lots of goodies for them!
www.cafepress.com/rylaslullabye

HAIR!!!

This picture was taken on December 24, 2006

This picture was taken today on January 25, 2007! Look at the new hair!!! Please come by her website: www.freewebs.com/rylalove to see her progress! Hair progress haha!

FINALLY AN UPDATE

Sorry I haven't kept anyone up to date with Ryla lately. So here I go... I know a lot of people don't like reading long novels so I will make a list of what's been going on recently:

• Disneyland trip of a Lifetime courtesy of Make-A-Wish Foundation is now OFFICIAL! Our trip will start Sunday, March 4 until Friday, March 9! Let's just hope Ryla's counts are good enough to go!
• Ryla's Doctor's check up yesterday wasn't what we were expecting. Her counts are just OK. They're on the low side but not low to the point of a transfusion. Her ANC level went down to 400. So it's something we're definitely keeping an eye out especially as we're getting close to the trip.
• Make-A-Wish Foundation will be throwing a Special Send-Off Party just for Ryla on February 24. Talk about making Ryla feel ROYALTY!
• Ryla's hair is getting longer! It's actually bent and folded everytime she wakes up! I need to buy her a hair brush soon! Oo and some pretty hair ties!
• Ryla's next Doctor's check up is next Tuesday.
• Alex, Ryla's baby brother is taking a few steps on his own now! YAY!
• Ryla said that she wants to go to school! She pretends to go to school at home. She packs her backpack and pushes her toy cart and pretends to walk to school!
• Daddy's career change is slowly falling into place! He's taking things very slowly and carefully. It's scary and yet its very exciting! I won't have to worry about him going out to war anymore and he doesn't have to worry about being away from us, especially Ryla. I just won't be able to handle knowing two people I love are in dangerous situations.
  
  

THANK YOU

Picture taken today. Grandma bought her a Cinderella wig and she finally wore it ;)

I just want to thank those who have been so supportive of my family and Ryla and all of your kind words. You are all right. There will always be someone hating and all that matters is that Ryla is happy and loved. Some of your emails, messages and comments made me laugh... I needed that, thank you.

Tomorrow is Chemo day for her at the hospital. She's going to hate it when they poke her. I hope it won't be as bad tomorrow than usual.

My little girl is growing up. She looks at least 6 years old in this picture! I can't believe she'll be 4 this year! Her hair seems to be growing back with her regular hair color. Didn't look like it got any lighter. The only thing I'm waiting for is to see if it turns out curly or straight ;) Ryla has been doing pretty good this week considering she had a cold. There was probably only one night where we were worried and called the on-call doctor to let him know how she was acting. The doctor told us that during this time, a lot of the cancer patients are getting sick and having a hard time and he told us not to worry. From the what we've explained to him, he said that it sounds like she's acting that way because she's just getting over the cold. As long as it doesn't last that way for a week, there's nothing to worry about. She was fine the next day! Ryla is such a trooper!

SETTING IT STRAIGHT

Today I had a very unpleasant message about Ryla's page that I would like to have cleared up before anymore people start thinking about it. The main objects was the donation page and her wish list. A donation is a donation. I'm not telling anyone to pay us or to give us money. It's been brought up a couple of times from family members far away and other people asking how they can donate and so I thought that putting up a donation page would be more easier for them. NEVER would I ORDER anyone to give us money! That is totally not my intension at all. Her wish list is a list of things that she likes... What's she's interested in! I did not put up PRICES on there looking like WE CANT GIVE IT TO HER and for you guys to get it for her! These are just things that she's interested in! I didn't make that wish list and to tell everyone, "BUY THIS FOR HER!" NO! There were a lot of you asking what she likes and so I put up a page and named it "Ryla's Wish List". They had mentioned that they're not the only ones who felt that way about Ryla's page and if this continues I will DELETE her website. This is really unecessary DRAMA that I will not tolerate right now and I don't want anyone hating on my family because of it. So if anybody else who's reading this was offended by those pages, hopefully now you understand why it was put up in the first place and if you are wondering, yes I am going to delete those pages because I seriously don't like unecessary DRAMA. Sorry if I had offended anyone in making those pages on her website but yes it will be deleted and it will only be given upon request. Good night.

HEY!!!

"LOOK AT MY NEW HAIR!", says Ryla.
Taken on December 24, 2006

Photography by: Mommy!

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

Ryla developed the sniffles just last night. Her and her brother actually. We went to her regular pediatrician and she gave us just some cold medicine to give to them. So far no fevers. Pray that it stays this way. They kept sneezing last night and now they have runny noses. I hope it doesn't get worse.

The good news is that I've added a new item in her store! It's the Ryla Amor Wall Clock! Come check it out when you have the chance! I'm also working on her Online Store Logo. Anybody got any suggestions for the logo? Please send your ideas my way! For now, you can view her store by clicking here: www.cafepress.com/rylaslullabye

The Ryla Amor Wall Clock is located in the "Ryla's Home Decors" Section of the store! More to come!!

MAKE-A-WISH...

I have been keeping in touch with a wonderful lady named Rachel from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. We have to figure out her wish within around 6 months from now but what I can see is that she won't tell us her biggest wish so if it comes down to it, Arcy and I will have to think of it for her. From what we see that she would love. From the looks of it, I think Disneyland is what she'll love. I believe that we would be there for more than a day too. I think she'll love it there, considering that she's revolves around Disney all the time! We were considering Disneyworld but she made a good point about not doing Disneyworld. It's on the other side of the country and Ryla will probably be more exhausted than enjoying her time there. So I think we're leaning more on the Disneyland trip. I mentioned to her about the parade that they do at Disneyland and she blurted out, "I wanna be in the parade with Mickey Mouse" so.... maybe we can ask for that? We'll see.

Today's doctors appt went pretty good. Just a CBC and a doctor's check. Her counts are great! Her ANC level is 1200! YAY! But BOO for next Tuesday because she will be back on the Steroids for 5 days again and she will also get Vincristine (which means, they have to poke her on her port or what she likes to call it, "Buddy")

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

We finally say goodbye to 2006. That year has been the toughest year we ever had to face and I know that 2007 will be nothing but happiness! New plans... New goals... A new beginning....