A Little Bit Longer - February 22

Note from Brianna's parents:

Before I post tonight's update I would like to remind everyone that a second order for Brianna's Brigade t-shirts will be submitted the first week of March so if you are interested in purchasing and do not have an order form, please feel free to email me at (jensiemann@sbcglobal.net). I hope to receive all orders by March 1 for the second printing. Everyone who received thier shirts from the first round of orders were very pleased and we would like to thank our neighbor Chris Reihs for his help in this fundraiser!!Brianna's new theme song is "A Little Bit Longer," by the Jonas Brothers. If you listen to the lyrics you'll know why! The song was written after one of them (Joe, Nick, what's his name) was diagnosed with diabetes. Brianna, Haley, and Kaitlyn all like the Jonas Brothers and Brianna will play this song over and over singing along.Brianna and Kaitlyn had their weekend at their dad's house but it was cut short by Friday evening volleyball practice for Kaitlyn and then her first volleyball tournament of the year which lasted all of Sunday morning. Brianna shows little support for Kaitlyn's volleyball as she reminds me a million times how bored she is...and now with her illness we will definitely not leave her home alone so she have to find something to keep her entertained. No need to recommmend books as she will have no part of that!!An update on Gizmo...he has learned that our home has an upstairs!! Bob and I were both upstairs when we heard him enter our bedroom and watched him jump around wagging his tail with excitement! I went to bed and Bob went downstairs with Gizmo to watch t.v. However, Gizmo proceeded to sneak upstairs 3 more times and was sitting outside our bedroom door. Bob then decided to put Gizmo to bed in his crate only to listen to his whimpering. Bob decided to let Gizmo come upstairs to say goodnight to me shaking his head reminding me how much he "dislikes" dogs. Bob purchased two gates today to keep Gizmo contained to the family room, though when I went to tuck the girls into bed Gizmo barked incessantly and tried to find someway to squeeze through the gate.I would like to put on record (Bob will still deny) that Bob is just jealous of the fact that Gizmo doesn't give him any attention when anyone else is around and his late night t.v. buddy is no longer.Matt went to visit the Burzynski Clinic in Houston this week in order to see what they have to offer for recurrent DIPG tumors. We certainly pray for Brianna's continued healing and believe we will not need to seek other treatment options, but Matt convinced me it is better to be armed with knowledge and prepare for immediate action if it is ever needed. This is very difficult as it forces us to think about tumor progression when we would rather focus on her current treatment being successful along with prayer and God's healing power. In fact, I have not yet been able to hear about Matt's trip as I am not quite prepared for the discussion, but when we are ready we will let you know what we learned.Finally, as we continue to ask for your prayers for Brianna and all of the children battling cancer, especially our DIPG warriors who inspire us everyday with their courage and spirit!God Bless You!
Jennifer