The year of 2011, what a year!!! It started off on January 4 with the most incredible blessing, the birth of our precious daughter Breanne Hope Arink. When the year gets started off with a brand new baby bundle, it can never be all that bad. 

Even though it was an extremely difficult year, I always found that there was so much to be thankful for, and with thankfulness came the joy of living each day. As Gerard so often said to me this year, let's just get through today. 

                                                Little hands, little feet, and little yawns...

I love this picture, so precious.  (reader beware I think most of this 2011 update will have a lot of Breanne in)

Then in March, my fingers started getting discolored. I first thought I had burned myself, but the burn kept growing,(that didn't make sense) and as I had to take Breanne to the doctor I asked him what he thought it was and that started the doctor visits.  At first, it was even twice a week, then once a week, and then every other week, till I was sent out to Vancouver in May.   

      The little baby girl cousins were all born within a couple months of each other.

The next up-and-coming county rock star.

                                                                                Peek-a-

                                                                                -boo-

                                                    Your mama loves you...she sure does.

Had a wonderful family day at Cheam Wetlands, saw tons of frogs, and caught many, right up my little kid's alley and my big kid's.  I will always remember this day especially  (time in life) as being totally brutal.  It was becoming clear that there was something seriously wrong.

I helplessly watched as one finger after the other would become affected.  Here there is my first finger ulcer on my left middle finger.

                              Niessa doing the long jump.  She got three ribbons, the most in our family. 

                                                                    Run Sharleen Run. 

                                                       Timothy giving his best throw.

What can be better on a hot summer day than to wear just a diaper!! and mommy loves all her soft soft skin.  In May I started bottle feeding, as my doctor was not sure about the medications...but then it ended up that the ones I was taking I could continue to breastfeed.  So I can proudly say that I continued to nurse her until the end of October.  Not as long as the other children and not exclusively, but with everything else going on I was so glad that it was still a choice I could make when it felt like so much of life was spinning.  And there is almost something therapeutic about nursing your child, it always felt like everything was going to be ok with my wee one snuggled against me. 

                                                                What a little doll.

Dear mom,

 I hope that you are getting lots of sleep and that you are not going to get sick and I hope you love me.

From Timothy.

As much as we try to not let the kids know or hear too much about me getting sick, it did and does become a part of their lives. Things changed ...