Our Newest Cousin

Alan and his wife, Angela have a new daughter, Reese Renae: She was born April 24 @ 9:05 a.m., weighed 6 lb. 11.5 oz., and was 18 3/4" long. Can you believe that head of hair?!

Happy News!

We have a new family member, born this morning!

Jesse and Stephanie are proud grandparents:

"Jackson Lee Adams was born at 5:17 this morning! He weighed in at 8.8 lbs, and is 20 1/4 inches long. He's perfect and in his grandparents eyes, the most beautiful baby ever born!!!"

Amanda and Justin are doing great, too. :)

Caring Bridge page

Dear Friends and Family,
I created a CaringBridge site to keep you up to date on deb rosiu. CaringBridge is a nonprofit organization that helps friends and families stay connected.
You can visit deb's CaringBridge site at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/debsfaith.
If your e-mail program does not allow you to click on the above link, just copy and paste the address into your web browser's address (or URL) location.
Please visit our CaringBridge site anytime. You can use the site to check in on deb, read the journal entries and send us messages by signing our guestbook. When you register with CaringBridge and sign our guestbook, you will automatically receive e-mail notifications each time our journal is updated. Or, you can subscribe to receive these notifications even before you sign the guestbook. (Of course, you can unsubscribe from these e-mail updates at any time.)
Please print and save this e-mail for future reference.
CaringBridge is a free, nonprofit web service that connects family and friends to share information, love and support during a health care crisis, treatment and recovery.
http://www.caringbridge.org

Debbie Update

I talked to Kathy earlier this evening. She said that they have decided to hold off on the feeding tube, as long as she continues to eat o.k. She had her first round of chemo yesterday (friday). I guess that made her pretty sick last night. I believe they are planning on doing 2 more treatments before she gets to go home and then after that she will have treatments like every other week (??). She will probably get to go home in the next few days (hopefully). I guess now it is just wait and see what happens. Keep the prayers going, strength from the Lord is what will help Deb and her family to deal with this whole situation.

Hospital Info:
Middle Tennessee Medical Center
400 N Highland Ave.
Murfreesboro, TN 37130
615-396-4100
She is in room 272

Home Info:
Debra Rosiu
9282 Versailles Rd.
Rock Vale, TN 37153
615-274-6235

I know that she will probably be limited on how much talking she can do but I am sure she would love to have notes and cards to read and enjoy.

Kathy is going to try to set up a caringbridge page so it will be easier for everybody to stay in touch with Deb and Nick and the kids. We will send out the link for that as soon as it is ready. That is such an awesome program. I guess that is all for now. We will try to keep everybody up to date on what is going on. Thanks to you all for your thoughts, prayers, and support. It means the world when you know that you can count on your family and friends in such a time of need. May the good Lord bless you all.

Love & Prayers,
Dee Dee, Jack & Family

Update: early Friday morning

Good morning. Just a quick note - I'm at work and not supposed to be online...

Deb's husband, Nick called me last night and gave me a few details. The cancer is in her neck, throat, and face. It is not in her brain, nor is it below her neck. They are going to start a very aggressive program of chemotherapy.
She is not in Vanderbilt hospital in Nashville. If you got Aunt Sherry's email with an address, that is for the Middle Tennessee Medical Center.
Nick said they are having a meeting this morning with the doctors and will have more details about her treatment plan then, and he will update us.

Prayers Needed

Okay, cousins, it's time to rally around and send up SO MANY PRAYERS that Debbie can't help but feel the love.

In case you haven't heard, Debbie is in Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee. Last night she was diagnosed with metastasized cancer - it started in her throat and is wrapped around her carotid artery, and spread throughout her body.

Here's Barbie's email from this morning:

"Nick took her in last night, She was bleeding in her throat badly. This morning they are going to do a Cat Scan to see how far her cancer is in her body. At this time they know it's in her throat and surrounding her carotid artery. She is refusing chemo or radiation but her doctors say they probably won't help anyway, the cancer is too far spread. She may be trached later because the swelling in her throat is making it hard for her to breath and they are having difficulty keeping the swelling down. There is no room number at this time because they keep moving her and taking tests, we should have one later.

Deedee is going over to stay with mom this morning and to tell her the news. She has been having trouble with her heart again. The nitro is helping but this could be too much for her. I'm so scared but Deedee and Aunt Janet will be with her. I'm sure she'll want to travel to Nashville but I don't think she's up to it physically.

Daniel isn't completely recovered yet from his accident and he relies on his mom a lot so he's been with Kathy all night and she's called our brother Mike in Colo. My sister Jenny is my contact and Kathy's for now. Lee (my ex) is going up to Vanderbilt this weekend and taking frogger. Nick and Lee are friends so it will be of some help to Nick.

If ever a man loved a woman its Nick. He's completely devoted to her and this has to be devastating him. They talk numerous times a day and share everything together. They are just never really are apart.

The cell phone I used is Dylans so if you call that number that's who you'll get. Our home phone is 308-233-5521 and that's the best for getting to me. I will be gone for a while at 1pm to take Vivi to the doctor for her check up then I'll be back home.

Love to you all,
Barb"

I have spoken to Barbie and she will keep us all informed as she gets any news. I'll try to keep this blog updated as quickly as I get any information.

Now here's what I'm asking from you guys - just prayer. Go to the bottom of this post and click on "comments", then leave a message for Debbie & Nick, Jenny, Daniel, Jake, Aunt Sherry and the rest of the family. LET'S LET THEM KNOW WE'RE HERE. Say a prayer for them, for support and comfort and the miracle of healing, and the ability to accept whatever comes. I can tell you from experience that just knowing people are praying for you and your family is extremely helpful during a time like this.

Also, I'm hoping to go to Tennessee if at all possible. I don't know when yet - it'll depend on what all they decide in the next few days - where Debbie will be, etc. If anyone would like to go along and share the cost, I'd love some company. I'll post details when I know for certain what's happening.

New Old photos

Aunt Sherry sent these to me tonight. Hopefully I put the right list of names with the right photos. :o)

Tammy



The first picture is a group picture of mom's family(back)Fay, Ruth, Grandma Lura, Grandpa Henry. Elsie, Orville, Floyd (front) Wilma, Bobby, Leonard, Eben, picture was taken approximately 1930-31. I am guessing by uncle Bob's approximate age,he was 7 yrs. older than me so he was born in 1928, he looks to be 2-3 in this photo, this is my reasoning for date when it was taken.

Picture # 2 Grandma Lura's Family, Back row: Harold, Francis, Lura, Henry, Elsie, Orville, Great Grandma Agnes Dunlevy Colliins, Great Grandpa Willie Collins, Fay and Ruth. No date, but my guess would be maybe 1915-16

#3 Grandpa and Grandpa Giffords Wedding picture.No date but figure it was around 1908-9, mom was born 1911.

#4 Group picture taken when dad was home on leave just before Marilynne was born. I am guessing on some of the names with Janets help, the little ones we couldn't name, here are some of the, Back row: Uncle Ed Hoffschnider, Aunt Fay, holding Tom, Betty Hoffschnider, holding Phyllis, Alice Hoffschnider, dad behind Alice, Mammie Pinneo, holding Barbara P.? Right to left: Junior Hoffschnider, Sherry, Jim, Bill, Fred, Bobby, Dick, Front: Kenneth, Janet, June, taken in Sept. 1944.

Happy Gardening Everyone

Hey all its gardening time! I've found an extra 17 X 9 ft area to plant! Woohoo! More flowers. A few weeks ago we bought a used tiller. Needless to say it is now the neighborhood tiller. Once our friend Monty heard we'd gotten a tiller he was over like a shot, promising to do all the tilling in exchange for getting to use it in his yard. Now Monty's a flower fanatic and he makes a really great salsa so you can see what he grows. In the end he was so excited that he said that he'd furnish all the gas and till for everyone that asked. Ok I said. Last night he came over to test it out on our vegetable garden space. It ran really well and tilled up the soil beautifully. He was so excited. We're planting in raised beds this year and using complimentary planting. This means that we can save space by planting say corn and in between the stalks we can plant melons and pumpkins. See increasing the use of the space. Or planting rosemary and basil in between tomatoe and cucumbers. The belief is that planting complimentary encourages good insects and discourages bad. But then Zinnia's and Marigolds will do that too. So the adventure begins. Happy gardening everyone!

March B-days!

Hello fellow March birthdays!

I can't believe I turned 54 this year! Gaaaaaaaa...

Happy Birthday Bobbi!
Happy Birthday Jody!

Just wait someday you'll be as old as me!

My Luekemia

Hey Cousins its Barb! As many of you know I have Chronic Myelogeous Leukemia (CML). First off it is not a genetic cancer,none of you can get this cancer thru our bloodline. None of my siblings, children or grandchildren are vulnerable to this illness. Basically what has happened is I have developed what is called a Philadelphia Chromasome that has caused a mutation in my blood cells giving me cancer. Now....the good news is that it is a highly treatable cancer with an oral chemo drug called Gleevec. I'm waiting at this time to qualify for a program for uninsured persons that will provide me with this drug. Once I have the medicine its just one tablet a day. After 6 months on the drug I will have another bone marrow biopsy to determine if the chromosone is gone or if treatment goes on. As of friday I have been taken off my med for reducing my white cell count. I take this as a sign that its within normal range again (down from 462,000)or I'm getting the chemo drug soon or both. I'm also taking a drug called Allpurenal to prevent me from developing gout or other similar illnesses due to the cancer. That little pill is only $4 a bottle while the chemo drug is $3000 a month. Yes I did say $3000. Anyway I continue to have an optimistic attitude. I have no doubt that I will win this battle and all things will be taken care of in due time. Feel free to have a fundraiser if you want, I'm 6 weeks in and $10,000 in debt not counting the $36,000 needed for the chemo. Hmmmm...maybe I can qualify for Oprah's Big Give? Well that's my gripe for the week. Wait that's not true I have a bad, bad cold and haven't been able to talk in over a week, now that's a hardship for an Adams woman! I wanted to make sure that you all know that my disease will not affect you, that its rare and attacks people between the ages of 40-65. You are safe as are your children and grandchildren. I love you all and I feel all your arms around me. Thats what keeps me strong. Hug and kisses to you all.

February Birthdays

Yeah, I know. The month is over by next weekend. So we're wishing all the February cousins a Happy Day at once. :o)

Birthday day

Birthday wishes

Yesterday was Audrey's birthday!

Another Christmas photo

I just posted some photos from Christmas 1971 on my personal blog, and then found this one in my "cousins" file. How on earth did we all fit in Grandma's tiny living room?

Vintage Christmas, Adams' Style, 1963

I have a few Christmas photos that I haven't posted. I'd love to hear from you guys about having Christmas at Grandma's and Grandpa's house. We were crowded and loud and chaotic, but those are some of my favorite things about having a house full of family. :o)

Christmas in Kansas

When I was about 10 we moved to a farm between Reynolds, Ne and Mahaska, KS. Dad had gotten a job working for a farm cooperative and they furnished us with a house and farmstead to care for and live on. Now this was the most modern house we had ever lived in. It had electric heaters along the walls, a full basement with shower and storm cellar, plenty of bedrooms, wall ovens in the kitchen and best of all the owners butchered in the fall and we had a full freezer of meat to get thru the winter. It was our best and most comfortable home. We even had a concrete walkway under the clothesline so I didn't have to hang out the laundry walking in mud. We loved that farm it was the best even tho we had rattlesnakes and other poisonos critters around. We had a horse, some dogs and lots of space to play in and explore. To us it was a dream.

Usually we traveled to York for Christmas and Thanksgiving but this particular year grandma and grandad and some of the aunts and uncles came to us. One of the things we did on our farm was raise hogs. The result being that we had baby pigs being born all the time. Well this particular holiday it was warm but we had snow on the ground so us kids were either covered in mud and snow or running and skating in the basement like wild animals. Alcohol flowed freely, food was cooked in the fancy new ovens and a grand celebration was at hand. Then....Dad went out to check on his young sows, some of which were due to birth at any time. Yes of course that's what happened. Unfortunately the sow who was pigging was having her first litter and the babies were in crisis. Dad brought the babies to the house to see if they could be saved. Mom shifted into rescue mode and all adults were ordered to help. I will never forget the look on Aunt Linda's face when mom put a tiny baby pig in her hand and told her to blow in its mouth and rub its chest. Panic and disgust warred as she stood frozen holding that piglet. Then mom handed out some others and began doing what we called pig CPR. Mom was rubbing piglets in towels laying on the open oven door and blowing in the little mouths trying to save as many as she could. Grandma and grandad helped because they knew those babies were our income and having been farmers they understood the neccessity of saving the livestock. Finally some of the others started to help and most of the piglets survived. I think that holiday will always be remembered as the oddest that we ever had....all those city folks doing CPR on pigs. Liquor was liberally had by most adults as they cuddled baby pigs who had fallen asleep all nice and warm in their arms. Us kids we just went on playing, afterall disgusting things didn't faze us much, we were kids, give us fudge and we were happy.

100th post and BIRTHDAYS!

This is the 100th post on our Cousin Connections blog - only fitting that it be celebratory. Before we celebrate, I will apologize again. I haven't been keeping up here, and there are several birthdays to acknowledge. Clear back to the end of October. Sigh. I am sorry I'm so behind. Now, on to the BIRTHDAY WISHES!

Jay's birthday was October 25th: Danny's birthday was November 3rd:

Lisa's birthday was November 8th:


DeeDee's birthday was November 29 (sorry, I don't have a photo!):

Brian's birthday was yesterday, November 30:

And this one is right on time - Kathy's birthday is TODAY!

Thanksgiving wishes

Remember the days when we'd gather on Aunt Sherry's farm and run wild waiting for the men to come home from pheasant hunting so we could eat? Oh, and we did feast. The only specific food memory I have is when Grandma made a mincemeat pie and everyone made such a fuss that she'd used "real" mincemeat, that I just had to have a taste. Ugh. :o) But I know the table was loaded and no one went away hungry. The noise - oh, I'm sure the noise was deafening. We are a loud family. I will never apologize for that. :o)

I hope you are all enjoying your family this day, taking a minute to really think about how blessed you are. No matter what is happening in your life, there is always something to be thankful for.

Oh, and I have to share this photo - I hope you all enjoy the feast!

Belated Birthday Wishes (again)

Yesterday was Jenny's birthday. Jenny is Aunt Sherry's youngest daughter. She is married and has two daughters of her own. Unfortunately I do not have a photograph of Jenny. I'd love if someone wants to post one, or send it to me and I'll put it up.

And Annette's birthday was Wednesday...

Blast from the Past

It's been awhile since we had a Blast from the Past Friday, but I found this a little while ago and thought it'd be fun to post. Taking a photograph of a baby in a cloth diaper had to be risky...