Owen!

Can I just say... I can't wait to see this baby!! I don't have any first hand pictures or much to write YET as our relationship is based on Skype and text - BUT that will change!!

On Thursday night, May 26, 2011 at 9:21 ish Owen Howard Griffin was born to Rusty and Collette Griffin in Portland, Oregon. Rick was at the hospital in the waiting room sending updates to me which I passed on to Scott, Jenni, Randy, Annie and Griff.

The last word I had heard from both Rusty and Rick was that it looked like the doctor would either need to use forcepts or Collette might need a c- section. My heart broke for her. I was calling to Owen to help his mom out. I heard my phone beep (for a text) and thought that Rusty was telling me it was going to be a c-section...

Then....... this picture showed up!!!! OWEN was here~

I cried! Grandma's do that a lot

A few hours old:

All cleaned up and ready for a rest

The next morning:

Skype is the new method of communication for long distance relatives

Father and Son:

I cried again!! Such a sweet picture!

Going Home:

Is he precious or what?!!

Dear Owen~
Grandma Jeri loves you very much.
I can't wait to do some big time hugging and kissing.
I am so happy you are in our family.
See you soon!!
xxx ooo Gma Jeri

Out with the old..... In with the NEW!!

Since the day I bought my current house I have wanted to change the counter tops... as they are GREEN. And not just speckles of Green... but end to end Green!! The gal that I bought the house from most have LOVED green. We have 2 bedrooms with GREEN carpet and the vanity in one of the bathrooms is GREEN along with the GREEN kitchen.

While checking out prices - Scott suggested that we do the cabinets as well. I loved my knotty alder cabinets that I had in Highland. Scott called his contractor friend/kindof relative who showed me what we could do. The cost was in my budget so off we went. It took 2 weeks from demolition - which Rick helped Scott accomplish - to the finished product (which was completed 2 hrs before Owen's arrival but that's another blog).

For your viewing pleasure (I want lots of oooohhhs and aaahhhhhs)!!

Before:

It's not ugly.... its just GREEN - and check out the cabinets

After the demolition:

Can I mention here that not having a functional kitchen for 2 weeks is tough!

After the beautiful cabinets and new lights have been installed:

Scott did put the old sink back in for a few days.. THANK YOU!!

New Counter tops:

And FINALLY.... (trumpets please.....)

The finished project!

I really like it! The kitchen looks totally different AND a little bigger!! It was definitely worth the wait!

Now on to that GREEN bathroom!!

Mother's Day and my Favorite Ladies...

Mother's Day can sometimes be one of those days that you are extremely hard on yourself... if you're a mother. You hear all those wonderful talks about the "perfect" mother who never yelled and always had the perfect advice or handled every situation perfectly. Then there are the mushing M day cards with how perfect and wonderful you are. We all know that no one is perfect but we like to beat ourselves up because we're not. Motherhood is a daily challenge but such a wonderful one.

I want to thank the "Mother's" in my life for all they do for the ones I love.

Jenni and Annie!! They are in the wrestling pits of motherhood right now. Raising two boys each and each expecting a new baby in a few months. They are examples of true love and devotion to their families. They are involved and supportive in all the "boy" things their sons do. They show tenderness and concern for their families and others. On top of it all.. they can laugh even when their lives are filled with stress and varies struggles. I think my grandsons are so lucky to have them as their mothers!


Dorothy and Jerry!! I love these two women. I can't really say much more than how much I respect and love them. I miss my mom - she always wanted the best for me. The thing she wanted the most the last few years was to know that I was happy. She helped me out many times in rough spots and was there to listen when I was brokenhearted or happy. Jerry has continued to be a part of my life even though I'm her "ex" daughter in law. She still loves me and cares about my well being. Wonderful women!!


Collette!! Future Mother. It will be "fun" to watch the changes as she and Rusty go from couple to family. Children change you and you actually learn more about yourself during this time. She'll be an awesome mom!



Happy Mother's Day.. you are all perfect in your own way~

Platelets 3 - Jeri 0

It happened!! My platelets came through again.... as in dropping.

Petechiae - shows up on legs and arms

This is the 3rd time since January 20th and the 10th or 12th time since February 2009 that I have been in a 'life threatening" situation. Funny... I've never worried about that status until yesterday.

Yesterday....
I had some new funky things going on - as in signs of low platelets - so I stopped at the AF hospital on my way home from work for some blood sucking. I was home approximately 10 minutes when my doctor called and told me my count was 5. FIVE??? 1 1/2 weeks ago it was 380... FIVE??? Not being a "blood" specialist the doctor wanted me to go over to UVRMC and see the on-call oncologist (as my oncologist is out of town). He told me they might admit me.

I told my kids the situation - probably not my smartest move. I'll rethink that next time

I was in no hurry to go... but he was in a hurry to get me going. Jeri:"ok I'll go after I eat". Doctor: "Jeri how old are you?" Jeri:"just 10 minutes and I'll be on my way" Doctor: "How old are you? " ok ok I get the point. So I go into the bedroom and pull down my little canvas bag.

Now THIS is the scary part. A tag on the bag hit (barely noticeable) the back of hand. A normal, healthy person with great platelets would never notice this. In 3.2 seconds the back of my hand was filled with blood.. I had a huge hematoma. I looked at that and didn't know what to do. I realized at that moment - any type of bump to my body was causing this same thing inside. I finally understood what "life threatening" meant. At that moment I realized that I can actually die from this... I could easily have an aneurysm in my brain - while I sit, walk or sleep! This
thought pretty much humbled me and I was fairly emotional the remainder of the evening.

Right after the incident

This morning (next day)

Not to belabor the depressing story... a decision was made at the ER to give me prednizone (again) to stabilize me until Wednesday morning. So how GREAT is medicine? Costly? yes But how wonderful it is that there are options out there to help in most medical situations. I sometimes get stuck feeling sorry for myself. It appears that now I'll be treated with a weekly chemo drug IV for at least four weeks. I strongly dislike (we don't say hate) IVs!! I don't want to be nauseous for even a minute but how fortunate for me that there is something that might help control my incurable disease so I can hang around for awhile.

My goal is to not look at the meds as punishment but to look at them as a blessing. It hasn't been that long ago where these meds weren't an option for ITP. Besides, hanging with Scott, my kids and grandkids makes it all worthwhile!!