My sweet Cody

I feel blessed in so many ways.  For one, I'm so blessed to be living on this earth.

Today, Ken, Cody and I went to eat at Friendly's for an early dinner.  We got stuck in a major traffic jam which put us 1 hour behind schedule.  We were trying to figure out where to stop to eat when I brought up Friendly's and we thought, Cody has never been there, why not?

We had this waitress that was extra friendly to us all, especially Cody.  I didn't think it was odd since he's a like-able little kid.  She brought him extra crayons to draw with, a balloon to take home, and even brought him extra gummy bears and worms on his sundae.  As she brought back the bill for us to pay, she handed Ken a pink pen and said, here's the bill and here's my pink breast cancer pen.  Ken said out loud as he pointed to me that I was a survivor.  She looked over and smiled, congratulating me.  That's when Cody chimed in.  He said, "I help survive her."  "When mommy cried, I told her how beautiful she was."  And he proceeded to tell her his story and mine.

Just hearing Cody describe how he helped me get through cancer almost brought tears to my eyes.  I'll always say, he was my biggest supporter, my little rock, the person who kept me going, the person who helped me survive. Without Cody I don't know how I would have been able to fight this disease.  He gave me the will to live.

As we walked out of friendly's I couldn't help to think how lucky I was to have him in my life.  Just watching him getting excited while running to the car, brings great joy to me and I cherish every single moment we spend together.  He is a true blessing. 

Pumpkins!!!

We stopped for pumpkins on our way home.  I just love this pumpkin patch.  So many pumpkins and so many varieties.  Big, small, fat and tall.  Hay, gourds, and corn stalks.  So much fun!!!

Cody picked three, I picked two and Ken picked one.  Six plus the two we already had at home makes 8 pumpkins for HALLOWEEN!!!  Now, guess who's going to carve them all???  Wonder what I'm going to do.  The basic faces or do I pick out some patterns and do it the hard way?

We'll see.... 

2 months ago

Two months ago today, my sweet cousin Virginia passed away.  It still does not feel real to me, even though I was there.  I know she's gone but I just can't seem to wrap my head around it and accept it.

I'm missing you so very much Virginia.

Eastern Arizona Courier

I found this article in the Eastern Arizona Courier about Morgan.  Still can't believe she is gone.

GRAHAM COUNTY — A woman on her way to Tucson from Safford died early Saturday morning after rolling her car on U.S. Highway 191 the previous night. Morgan May Ellis, 26, of Central, was pronounced deceased at The University of Arizona Medical Center-University Campus at 5:33 a.m. Ellis had been airlifted by LifeNet-8 out of Willcox to the hospital after crashing her maroon 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser roughly seven miles north of the junction of U.S. Highway 191 and Interstate 10. The scene was in Graham County about a half-mile from the border with Cochise County. Officers were dispatched to the scene at 6:56 p.m.

According to Arizona Department of Public Safety Sgt. Dan Long, Ellis was southbound in the right lane when her vehicle went off the right edge of the roadway. The DPS investigation showed Ellis overcorrected to the left and then back to the right and went back off the roadway onto the dirt shoulder. She then overcorrected back to the left and her car overturned, ejecting Ellis onto the shoulder near the right-of-way fence. She was not wearing a seatbelt. The vehicle eventually came to a rest on its wheels on the southbound dirt shoulder facing north.

Ellis was found unconscious but breathing and received initial care by paramedics from a Healthcare Innovations ambulance from Willcox. The LifeNet helicopter then landed at the scene and she was flown to Tucson.

Due to Ellis being unconscious, Sgt. Long said officers were unable to interview her and they did not have any information to indicate what she was doing at the time of the collision. There were no preliminary signs of impairment, according to Long.

Law enforcement shut down the highway during the rescue and recovery but reopened one lane roughly an hour later. Both lanes were reopened about two hours after the closure. The vehicle was towed from the scene by Nutcracker Towing of Pima.

Rest in Peace Dear Morgan