Happy Halloween!

Hi Everyone! Trick or Treat! I just had to post a photo of Hanz and Bella in their Halloween costumes! One of my co-workers generously gave me these costumes that formerly belonged to her daughter Jackie's dog, Sammy! We thought Hanz would be a cute Lobster and Bella fittingly a "Lil' Devil"! Gosh she's terrible! Always into something she shouldn't be or barking @ anyone that walks by the window! Mark calls her Yapitty Yap!

I was under the impression from the Petsmart ad, that a girl dressed like a witch would be in the photo with them, but no - to boot, an hour into the event when we arrived, Petsmart ran out of frames, so I ended up making my own! Had gone to Hobby Lobby and JoAnns and didn't find any Halloween photo frames, so got a plain black one @ Michaels and stuck a bunch of adhesive Halloween decorations on their - very cute! One petowner had their little chihuahua dressed like a taco, and another had her bulldog dressed as a princess and there was a french bulldog dressed as a bumblebee!

Well, after those 2 bleeds I recently had, I was a bit shook up for a couple of days. I go through phases where it feels like the world is closing in on me. Then other days where I see the big picture and realize how very blessed I am to have such love and support from everyone! I really DO NOT like when people stare all the time. I rarely go out for lunch, since it's easier to just bring my own, take my time eating and have my "quiet time" that I love - reading during my lunch hour! Well today I decided to go out for a McRib, and sure enough, someone had to ask about my face! UGH! The lady was very nice - approached me and said, "God Bless you"! She asked what I had, whether it was cancer and if she could pray for me. Of course I said Yes! Before I left, she called me over to her table and gave me a couple of miraculous medals and a prayer card. Told her thank you and how much a big part Faith plays in this entire avm thing! Kind of bummed me out for the rest of the day though. Most times I forget what I look like, until times like I was @ Penney's yesterday and saw myself in the mirror. My kerchief was all askew, so you could see I have a trache, and of course right now the left side of my face has a huge black scab from the last procedure, not to mention the hole made from a past embolization! I've been trying to "soften" that scab to get rid of it and do some wound care - so much fun! NOT! Plus, while I was last in CO, a culture was done on that open wound and of course there is a pseudomonous (sp?) infection that I'm taking antibiotics for! The steroids help w/my swelling, but lower my immune system and make healing slower! Not to mention increase my appetite, so I'm a moose! The steroids make me crave carbs like crazy and I go through phases where I have these "addictions" and can't get enough of a certain type of food! For a while I was addicted to candy corn, then it was coconut cake! Now, it's those protein drinks like Ensure, and dairy products! Can't get enough cottage cheese and yogurt and you know what that means don't you? Yeah, phlegm! UGH! That does not help, hacking and trying to get that out when I can't open my mouth very wide and the fear that the strong hacking will end up causing a spontaneous bleed! I have to just hope that doesn't happen - this avm has a mind of it's own and will blow whenever it wants regardless of what I eat or do!

Speaking of being a moose, that reminds me, I'm glad Chaz Bono got voted off Dancing with the Stars - finally! I'm figuring the top two will be JR Martinez and Ricki Lake, right?

I'm currently preparing for BREAKING DAWN PART I in the TWILIGHT series, by reading all the books for the 12th time! Yup! I love to read and when I read those books, I become Bella Swan with Edward Cullen as my cutie boyfriend! :) FX Channel was just showing Twilight this evening! I started watching AS GOOD AS IT GETS on Sat. night to see our inspiration for getting a Brussels Griffon - the little dog in the movie Verdell! He is just precious! Did you know that there were about 6 Verdells used in the movie?! Course our Hanzie and Bella are the cutest! Everyone says that about their own kids though, right?! :)

Ok, this is just a short note so that I could post my kiddos Halloween photo! Hanz and Bella make me so happy! We adore them and they are such a wonderful distraction from my stupid avm stuff! As always, I'll keep you posted on my progress! Thanks for all your love, prayer and support!

Cyndi

By the way, kuddos to my husband Mark that takes such wonderful care of us! From picking up the slack on chores I normally do but don't feel up for, to always cooking our dinner, changing out my trache (tonight), picking up prescriptions, bathing and cutting Hanz and Bella's hair, clipping their nails and taking them for a walk; as well as humoring me by taking them to Petsmart on weekends to "socialize" or visit other Brussels or whatever comes to my mind! Mark is an awesome husband and best friend!

Oh! Adding some photos! Here are Hanz and Bella when we took them to St. Pius X to be blessed on the Feast of St. Francis! Also, see Taco Dog - the chihuahua @ Petsmart! Another photo is on Hanz and Bella's birthday, we had a bubble machine going! Course some photos of Hanz and Bella on their own! My babies!