The Graduate!

Well.....Sid finally graduated from nursing school! On Friday, June 19th Sid graduated with his LPN. Currently he is still working in ICU at Northeast Georgia Medical Center, but is looking into working in other areas of the hospital. We are all so proud of him and his hard work! It was great to hear Logan shout, "Woo Hoo! Way to go Dad!" when they called Sid's name and he walked across the stage!

So' it has been a while since I have posted anything and for that, I am sorry! I thought I would have more time this summer, but I haven't had one free second! Currently we are at the beach, and actually I have already been here with the three kids for 12 days! Sid got here 4 days ago. We are having a blast and I will be posting pictures soon!

DeAnn

Capping and Pinning

Yesterday Sid participated in the ceremonial capping and pinning for nursing school. Although it is part of graduation, the official graduation will be on June 19th. Logan, Liam, Lainey, and I went tot he ceremony to cheer for daddy! Sid was one of the only men in his class full of women! He has worked hard for this LPN degree, but we have too! We have had to live without him(in a sense) for a year!!

The ceremony took about an hour and a half, but for the most part the kids were really good. Lainey was in a busy and talkative mood. She moved in my lap the entire time! Liam was good for the first half, but soon became annoyed with all of the clapping, hooting, and hollering! It took all I had to catch and cover his mouth before he yelled, "Stop all that clapping!" Of course Logan was fine because he drew and colored the whole time!

Here are a few pictures of Sid in his nursing gear at graduation!

Sid with his Florence Nightingale lamp!

Sid and his classmates ~

it was dark, so many of my pictures did not turn out! Blah!

Sid and the Bug!

Beautiful Bug in her new dress!

Daddy's girl!

We are proud of you Sid!! Woo Hoo, you graduated before the kids went off to college!!

DeAnn

A SMASHING Day!!

Lainey had a "Smashing" Good time at her birthday party! About 4 dozen of our friends and family came out to the park to help Lainey celebrate her first birthday. We were fortunate to have really nice weather ~ not too hot, not too cold, and NOT raining!


Lainey sported her new birthday dress I made her and enjoyed being passed from one guest to another! Everyone enjoyed a meal of BBQ sandwiches, chips, salsa, and birthday cake. Lainey just REALLY enjoyed the cake!!

Although I am still working on getting all of the birthday donations in, so far Lainey has raised $475 for her Great Strides walk in October. Everyone was very generous with their donations and the cute gifts they gave her. All I can say is that she will be one "stylin" chick this summer!!

Presents and donations galore! Thank you everyone for being so generous!

Lainey's friend Reagan.

Campbell and her mommy, Josie!

Dawson

Josie and Campbell, Lainey and I ~ I am not feeling too well in this picture since I had a 103 temperature!!

Lainey opening presents.

Lainey wearing her new Life is Good hat! Thanks Aunt Dayna, Uncle Brad, and Lilly Anne!

Lainey playing with her new little baby doll!

We had a great time and are thankful for the many friends and family that came out to celebrate with our sweet princess. A year ago we were unsure what this year may bring in relation to Lainey's Cystic Fibrosis. We are happy to report that this year, aside from the "normal" milestones, has been quite an uneventful year with Lainey's health. Although having a child with CF is a never ending job that requires a lot of demanding routines and practices, we are appreciative of everything she has taught us. We hope that she has many more uneventful years in relation to her health.

Thank you to everyone who made a donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation! With your help, we are going to beat CF!! Your donations have added years to Lainey's life, and for that we are forever grateful!

Love,

DeAnn

PS ~ For anyone who wondered if I was going to live to see another day since I looked so awful at the party, I did live and I feel much better! Mom took me to the ER on Sunday....103.1 fever, Strep Throat, Urinary Tract Infection, IV fluids, IV Antibiotics, a couple hours of resting on the gurney, Prescription antibiotics 4 times per day for 10 days, and Wa La! I am feeling like a person again.......a person that will live to see another day!! I truly appreciate every one's help at the party since I wasn't quite myself!!

Baby Cakes

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY LAINEY!!!

We love you Lainey Bug!

Mostly FUN Times!!!

Well, prepare yourself for another long post......

This time of the year is always super busy for me as a teacher, mother, and monogrammer! I have started another blog that consists of pictures and prices of the things I make and monogram in my spare time!! Check it out here! I have had numerous orders lately for end of the year teacher, student, and graduate gifts, not to mention the gifts for all the babies being born!! Working until 1:00 every morning to finish these projects has left little to no time to post, read, or comment on my blog or anyone other blogs!

This is the last week of the 2008 - 2009 school year.....and boy am I glad! My class has been the best class I have ever had in the 7 years I have been teaching school, but I am tired! I didn't realize what having a third child would do to me, much less having a sick third child. I literally hit the ground running every morning around 5:30 and usually get in bed at midnight, 1:00 if I am working on a monogramming job! Making 3 different stops to get the kids where they need to be before I get to work each morning makes me tired before I truly begin my day. Teaching 21 first grade students, then picking up my own children, leaves a full day with children!!! Hopefully I can spend some quality time with my own children this summer.....and hopefully I won't be ready to go back to work before the month of June begins! :)

Field Day 2009 ~ in the pouring down rain!!


Eric, the Froot Loop Boy!
I think this is one of the most interesting field day games......shower cap on head, goggles on eyes, Cool Whip on head, sitting in a chair......a big bowl of Froot Loops......racing to see how many Froot Loops stick to the person's head....team with the most is the winning team!!

Logan, Liam, Lainey, and I went to Jack's second birthday, and boy was it interesting! It was already a crazy day....any time you try to get somewhere with 3 little kids, it is crazy! The party was a blast until Liam fell into the pool.....and it was NOT a swimming party! I was too far away, so another parent had to rescue him from the pool! Needless to say, he didn't get near it for the rest of the party!

Lainey at Jack's birthday party

Liam after his "dip."

Jack ~ the birthday boy!

Logan James playing with the bubbles.

On Mother's Day, my niece Lilly was baptized. Luckily I had bought several christening dresses when I was pregnant, in hopes that I would have a baby girl! Unfortunately, I soon found out that I was pregnant with a boy ~ Liam! So, when I had Lainey baptized I used one dress and had one extra....perfect for Lilly Anne! I also made her a cute bow with a cross in the middle to match her beautiful dress! Everyone at church just loved her contagious smile!

Lilly Anne and Dr. Walton

Miss Lilly Anne

Overall, Mother's Day was great. Sid had to work, so I spent my day with my sister and her family, my parents, and my kids. After church we had a yummy lunch at my parents and just enjoyed having another Mother's Day with my mom.

The following Monday was not so lovely! Lainey caught a cold from my mom. She was not drinking and barely urinating. She was quickly dehydrating and coughing a very deep, wet cough. The doctors in town told us to take her to the ER at Egleston, and Dr. Caplan agreed. After 3 hours in the waiting room, several assessments, a chest x-ray, a popsicle, and a wet diaper, 5 hours after we arrived and many germs later, we were released to go home. Lainey is now on antibiotics and she is doing much better!

The Hospital BUG!

On Friday, Logan James Smithson "Love" graduated from pre-k! All of the kids were so cute, but I don't think I could ever teach pre-k kids.....too much energy!

Graduation Rocks!

Logan and his girlfriend, Leigh!

Nolan and Logan

Logan's Pre-k class!

Woo Hoo!! He has made it through his first year of "Big Kid" school!

My love......looking more like his daddy everyday!

Monday was Lainey's monthly CF appointment. Although she has not been drinking much of her formula, or anything for that matter, she still managed to gain 9 oz. She now weighs 20 lbs 9.2 oz. She grew an inch, now measuring in at 29 1/2 inches! Due to her growth spurt in height, she continues to be in the green zone! YEA!

She has some congestion and the nurse could hear it in her chest. She told us to do more "pats" throughout the day as we felt necessary. Lainey was really good and only cried when the nurses and Dr. Caplan held her down on the table!

Now she is able to drink whole milk with Carnation Instant Breakfast....which helps to pack on the weight like the formula did! Since Lainey is doing so well, Dr. Caplan said we do not need to come back for another 6 weeks! We are now going from monthly visits to 6 week visits!!!

Miss Lainey

The new Lainey "look"!

Unbelievably enough, today one year ago, my princess was born! Today Lainey Bug is 1! Little did we know that God had a special plan for our baby and our family.

Check back for pictures......Hope you can come to Lainey's party on Saturday! Click here to see the invitation! :) Instead of gifts, we are asking that you make a donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Click here to donate!

DeAnn

You Are INVITED!!!

HOLDING!!!!!

Yesterday was my 29th birthday and I am holding on! I am not sure what this last year of my 20's will bring, but I think I am ready! There are too many awesome things I have accomplished, participated in, tried, experienced, and lived in my lifetime to list them all.....but here are a few of my favorite things and people!

Mexican Food

Margaritas

Family

My Children

My Friends

Mexican Food (did I say that already?)

El Sombrero

Me, after a LARGE frozen Texas margarita!!

Lainey was so hungry, she was eating the spoon!
(yes, this is Rudolph......she fell off the bed and got a carpet burned nose.....she was under her daddy's care!)

My silly mom (aka: Gigi)!

Dawson, Logan, and my dad (aka: Papa) eating!

Lilly Anne watching everyone eat!

Logan James celebrating Cinco de Mayo and his mommy's birthday!

Liam Scott with a spoon on his head?? You never know what this kid is thinking!!

Lainey was a little self-conscious about her nose, so she covered up the carpet burn with a little piece of cheese quesadilla!

I had an awesome birthday! Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes and wonderful gifts!!

DeAnn

Trying Three

WoW! We have been so busy that every time I begin to Blog, I never get to a point where I am able to publish my post! Here is a post that should catch you up to speed on our CRAZY lives! This post will update the past two weeks and numerous adventures of The Smithson Family!

Friday a week ago (April 24th), Liam turned 3! He wanted to eat, “steak meat, chips, and cheese” for his birthday, so we went to El Sombrero for dinner. That is one of two places where he will actually EAT! The other place is Chick-fil-A, therefore that is where he had his party! Monday night, Liam and several of his friends, as well as some of our friends and family, gathered at Chick-fil-A for an eventful birthday party! It was so CRAZY that we waited until we got home to have Liam open his presents. He got so many cool toys! Thank you to everyone that attended Liam’s party. We really appreciate all of the awesome gifts! Now that Liam has seen the number 3 on his birthday cake, he believes us when we tell him he is no longer 2!

Liam and the Chick-fil-A cow!

Logan and the cow

Elizabeth and the cow!

Lainey checking out the cow!

Liam and his friend Brett ~ they are the reason why Brett's mom and I work!

Kaylah

Lanie ~ Lainey's friend who also has CF (read this previous blog)

Lanie's brother Landon

Last Saturday (April 25th) was Chris and Kelly’s wedding (Chris is my sister’s brother-in-law). The boys stayed with Papa Dan and Rachel, while my friend Jenn, Lainey, and I went to the wedding. Sid had to work and was unable to take off to go to the wedding. They got married at a beautiful house in Greensboro, Georgia. It took about one hour and forty-five minutes to get there, but we didn’t mind! The wedding was beautiful, Lainey was well-behaved, the food was yummy, the cupcakes were to die for, and the dancing was too funny to miss! Kelly was a beautiful bride.....and Chris looked cute, too (can’t leave him out)! Kelly had some wonderful smelling candles as favors......thank you for helping to mask the stinky CF diaper smell at my house!

Kelly and Chris

Lainey Bug

Tuesday (April 28th) we were scheduled to have our pictures taken for the Littlest Heroes Project. Everyone was home early from work and school, clothes were ironed, and all were dressed and off we went to the park to meet the photographer. Problem: The photographer wasn’t there. We waited for over half an hour, went to several parks incase she got lost, called her (no answer), emailed her, text messaged her, and still no photographer. As bummed as we were, we left and will wait to see if she contacts us again! I really wanted to have her pictures ready before her first birthday. As of now, we have yet to have our emails or phone calls returned!

Wednesday (April 29th) we went to Liam’s 3 year check-up! His weight was in the 75th percentile and his height was in the 50th percentile. He checked out well in all areas! Dr. Onal reminded us that SAFETY is the most important thing when caring for a 3 year old child! He can say that again because Liam is in to EVERYTHING! We have only called the poison control a few times (he took birth control, vitamin D, and an iron pill as well as drinking 1/3 of a bottle of Mucinex), there are a at least half a dozen bruises adorning his legs, he very rarely goes one day without a bump or cut on his face, and he is always sporting bite marks on his hand…..Don’t you bite yourself when you are mad?

Thursday (April 30th) began our series of birthday parties! Liam was invited to a party at Monkey Joe's. Sid and Liam went to the party while I attended a meeting at school. Yesterday I took the kids to 3 birthday parties!! We began at 10:00 with Brett’s party at the INK museum (Interactive Neighborhood for Kids), then Katelynn’s birthday party at 11:00 at the Hall County Humane Society, and finishing with Ajay’s birthday party at 2:00 at his house with the Bus Fair! Three birthdays, three cakes, three presents, three plates of food, and three tired children….and one worn out mommy!

Brett's 3rd birthday!

Katelynn's birthday party!

Katelynn turning 2!

Jenn, Ed, and Katelynn

Got cake?

Kaylah enjoying birthday cake!

Logan, Liam, and Dawson

Ajay's 4th birthday!

Lainey

Liam jumping on Ajay and Avery's jumper!

This next week will be just as crazy as the past! I will try to post, even if it is just pictures of our adventures! My birthday is on Tuesday, cinco de mayo! We have a birthday party to attend on Saturday, and then Mother’s Day and Lilly’s baptism on Sunday! We are also planning for Lainey’s First Birthday Bash! She has 17 days until her 1st birthday!! Oh yeah, She just began crawling this past week!! Enjoy the pictures and look for more from our week ahead!

DeAnn

Having A Ball!

Friday was Lainey's 11 month clinic visit. She is finally in the GREEN!!! She was 20 pounds and .02 ounces! Her length was 28 1/2 inches, putting her BMI in the 50th percentile. The antibiotics she has been taking seem to be doing the trick. Dr. Caplan said her lungs sound clear! Yea! We will begin introducing Pediasure, again. This time we will put a little at a time into her bottle to gradually wean her from the formula. I will also begin introducing a sippy cup. It is a pet peeve of mine to see kids older than 15 months drinking out of a bottle, therefore I must begin working with Lainey. Dr. Caplan said that Lainey will come back next month for her 1 year checkup, then we can begin scheduling appointments a little further apart! I won't know what do not having to go to the CF Center every month!

As for now, all of Lainey's meds will stay the same. The only change in Lainey's routine is to begin introducing Pediasure.....after she finishes the antibiotics. Dr. Caplan is unsure about introducing whole milk since it only has 20 calories and due to the milk protein allergy Lainey had when she was in the hospital. We are hoping that she continues to gain a lot of weight now that she is eating table foods. Lainey is taking a liking to french fries ~ salty and fattening ~ just what the doctor ordered!

Lainey and Gigi

A not-so-happy Lainey! She was ready for everyone to leave her alone!

Lainey was a happy girl after everyone quit "bothering"her!

On Wednesday, Logan began PeeWee T-Ball! Although it is called PeeWee, Logan was not so "PeeWee" looking compared to the other children! This team is for 4 and 5 year old boys and girls. Logan just turned 5 but looks like an eight year old out on the field! After practice he said, "Mom I love t-ball and I learned a lot!" Unfortunately Liam is too young to play t-ball. He wanted to play with the big kids so bad that he threw a major fit! When all of the t-ball kids were off the field, my dad (aka Papa the Coach) called him out and told him to run around all of the bases! He was faster than any of the other kids! It was awesome because he crashed when we put him to bed!

Logan is wearing Papa's blue hat. They were learning to catch ground balls.

Liam played on the playground while Logan practiced!

Logan telling his new friends that his "name tag says that his name is Logan, but it is really Peter!" He wants his name to be Peter because he wants to be like Peter Pan!

On Saturday morning the Gainesville Parks and Recreation had their annual T-Ball, Softball, Baseball parade! It took longer to get the teams in groups than it did to see the complete parade from start to finish, but Logan had a blast. Liam and Lainey enjoyed watching their big brother walking in the parade!

Dawson and Logan at the parade.

There were 520 kids and 100 volunteer coaches!

Logan dancing to the music the DJ was playing!

Lainey watching all of the kids!

In addition to the fun time we had at the parade, my mom and I headed to a bridal shower and my dad took the boys to the park. Lainey was the hit of the party! Of course she smiled at everyone and chowed down on the homemade french toast!

This next week brings a lot of fun and not-so-fun things! Not-so-fun ~ CRCT testing! My first grade students will have to take a three hour test on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. BLAH! It is so hard for them to sit still for that long, since we only get one break in the middle of the test each day. Also, progress reports go home on Thursday, so I have a lot of work ahead! Fun ~ Lainey will be 11 months tomorrow. Time is flying by! Liam's birthday is Friday! I can't believe he will be 3! Liam is also going on a field trip to Elachee Nature Center with his day care class. We have been telling him that he will be able to go to camp this summer at Elachee if he goes pee pee and poo poo on the potty! Hopefully this trip will encourage him to use the potty so I can catch a break with buying diapers! This week also brings a wedding. My brother-in-law's brother is getting married. We love Chris and Kelly and are very excited for the two of them! It seems like just yesterday when they got engaged (although it was really July 4th)! The best thing of all ~ Sid's long clinical days are over! From now until he graduates, his clinicals will be 8 hours, so he will be finished with school Monday through Thursday by 3:00 in the afternoon! Now he will be able to go to Logan's t-ball practice and spend more time with the kids and I.

For now, I am off to my busy week! I will post pictures from our many events hopefully by Sunday!

DeAnn

Hoppy Easter!

On Thursday I took the children to the mall for a picture with the Easter Bunny. By the time I had all of the kids dressed and we were walking out the door, Sid drove up. He was suppose to be completing his 12 hour clinical at our local Immediate Care, but was sent home due to illness. He complained about having a really bad headache on Wednesday, but it was so bad that it caused him to get sick. We left him to sleep in a quiet house while visiting with the Easter Bunny.

Even though the line was not very long, we had to wait FOREVER while the mother in front of us required at least 15 photos to be taken of her 1 child...his shirt was crooked, his hair was sticking up, his smile wasn't as big as she thought it should be, the bunny's bow was not formed properly, Blah, Blah, Blah! My kids were great even though we had to wait forever. When my kids were finally on the Easter Bunny's lap, Liam was not up for having his picture taken. Unlike the mother in front of me, I chose one of the first pictures taken and we were out of there!

Waiting in line to see the Easter Bunny.

The Smithson Children with the Easter Bunny 2009

At 3:30 am on Friday, Sid drove himself to the ER. My parents were out of town and I did not want to drag the kids to the ER at that time of day. I hated that he had to take himself, but I think Sid enjoyed the peace and quiet at the ER versus our house! After giving him a lot of fluids, a CT scan, morphine, and numerous other drugs, Sid was diagnosed with a "really bad" sinus infection! My friend Jenn came over to watch the children at 10:30 so that I could pick Sid up from the ER! We are glad to have him feeling better.......because when he is sick, it is like having 4 kids!

On Saturday Lainey began to sound very congested. You could feel the rattling by putting your hand over her chest. She was already on her second week of Bactrim and she sounded worse than before taking any additional medications. After calling Dr. Caplan, he called in another, much stronger prescription....Problem: too late to get the new medication because the pharmacy was closed! Needless to say, Lainey coughed ALL night! I barely slept because I was so worried about her. Lainey NEVER coughs and if she does, she is either faking (mocking my mom) or she is choking on food or formula. I caught myself checking her video baby monitor off and on every half an hour to an hour. After some intense chest physio therapy, she sounded much better.

Logan and Liam decided that their Easter Baskets should go on the rug in front of the door. This picture is after the Easter Bunny visited our house! The Easter Bunny knows that the boys do not need a bunch of candy and would rather have a few new toys! Lainey got some baby food and a movie...Logan decided the movie was really for the whole family, Lainey just had more room in her basket! Sid also got some goodies from Mrs. Bunny.....a huge jar of Gourmet Jelly Beans and some chocolate candies!

The boys were so excited about their Easter basket goodies! They played for a while before we got ready for church! We were actually on time for church! Getting three kids dressed and fed, myself dressed and fed, loaded into the car, and to church on time by myself is a HUGE deal! It felt great to sit down once I got settled into the pew....although we were practically sitting on top of each other! Lainey loved being in church with all of the music as well as sitting next to her Gigi and Papa! After church, my parents, my sister and her family, and the kids and I went to IHOP to eat. YUMMY!

Lilly Anne eying some sausage!


Lainey waiting on her food.

Logan sporting his shark necklace (no he did not wear a t-shirt to church, I made him change before going to eat strawberry syrup!)

Lainey scarfing up egg and pancake!

After eating a yummy brunch at IHOP we all went back to Gigi and Papa's house. The Easter Bunny brought a gift to their house.....another movie for the boys! The boys watched movies while the rest of us hung out and took a few pictures!

Brad, Dayna, and Lilly Anne

Lainey and Gigi

The Girls!

Lainey, me, Gigi, Lilly Anne, and Dayna

(This is a good DIET picture....it gives me even more motivation!)

Liam found Gigi's jelly beans!

We had a great day celebrating Jesus' life and his forgiving of our sins. Now it is back to work and school for the kids and I. Only 29 days left of school! Woo Hoo!!!

Lainey sporting her Baby Leg tights!

Well, That's ALL Folks! Have a good week! :)

DeAnn

Spring Fun!

It is that time of year again....Spring Break! Only, this kind of weather is not that of Spring! Yes, rain, 60 degree weather, pollen, and a week out of school is an indication that spring is here, but SNOW and freezing temperatures?

Our plan to camp at Stone Mountain park during part of our Spring Break was with hopes of good weather. When we left town on Thursday, we were far from having good weather! With thunderstorms, flooding, and tornado warnings, our vacation had an interesting start. Thanks to my dad, our camper was already set up in our camping spot when my parents, the kids, and I arrived at Stone Mountain around 9:00 Thursday evening. Sid was scheduled to work on Friday, therefore we left him at home!

It was rainy all day on Friday and I was stuck in the camper with 3 kids...one which was feeling less than par. Lainey looked as if she had pink eye and was running a low grade fever which caused her to be very sleepy. After a call to her CF doctor, Dr. Caplan, we had a prescription for eye drops and Bactrim. Sid finally made it to Stone Mountain around 8:45 and boy was I happy to see him!

On Saturday we had beautiful weather. Our friends Cindy and Sean, along with their kids Dawson and Kaylah joined us for a day of fun at Stone Mountain. We had a blast meeting Bob and Larry from the Veggietales, making bugs, riding the train, picnicing, shopping, watching the Back Yard Circus, grilling out, and viewing the Laser Show. The best part was when we tried to fit 11 people into my Ford Expedition EL! It is designed to seat 8 people...we managed to fit 11 and we could have fit more! We had about a 2 mile drive within the park to get from our camp site to the Laser Show lawn, so we were not cramped for long. Yes, we could have driven 2 cars, but it is VERY hard to park...plus my mother has a handicap pass, making parking a breeze! Sid and Sean sat in the front, Papa, Lainey, and Liam sat in the middle, Gigi, Dawson, Cindy, Kaylah, Logan, and I sat in the last row, and we filled the back with a wagon, double stroller, and a gazillion blankets! I think it took us loner to get in and out of the car than it did for the 30 minute Laser Show, but we had a ball!

Sunday was much colder, but the sun was out for most of the day. We took my parents over to Stone Mountain park and did a little shopping and playing. Everyone started breaking down around 1:00 because they were cold and hungry, so we went back to our campers. Shortly after we ate lunch Lainey began acting sick again. She started throwing up and was running a fever. Needless to say, she did not hold down much and was very lethargic. Sid watched Lainey and the boys during their nap time, while mom and I went to Target! We rarely get to go shopping without kids and it was so much fun to get out by ourselves!

Monday Lainey was still feeling crummy, but not throwing up. We had to call Eileen, our Littlest Heroes Project photographer, to cancel our session. I really wanted to have our pictures taken, but I wanted Lainey to feel up to it, plus it was super cold outside. The wind was blowing 45 miles per hour and it was 42 degrees! My sister and her husband had dropped Lilly Anne off at mom and dad's motor home around 9:00 while they went to Brad's pre-op. We all ate dinner together and I got some cute pictures of the girls, Gigi and Papa, and all the grandkids! I also managed to fit in a trip to Hobby Lobby, Marshalls, and T.J. Maxx(of course this was when the kids were taking a nap.)

Brad and Dayna left around 5:00 Tuesday morning for his surgery. Sid left for school shortly afterwards. The kids and I were in for the morning due to extremely cold weather and SNOW! Snow on Spring Break is wrong! I packed up the camper while the kids played, watched movies, and ate, and ate, and ate! Sid finally got back from school around 2:15. He worked on hitching the camper to the Expedition, putting away hoses, and preparing to leave while I took the boys to roast marshmallows and make smores. The boys had a bunch of firey, sticky, chocolaty, sugar high of a time! We hated to leave, but Sid had to be back for his 12 hour clinical on Wednesday and Thursday, and work again on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. BLAH!

Brad's surgery went well. The doctor pulled 4 teeth and removed a large portion of his lower jaw bone. He was lucky in that the tumor was contained to one area. For two weeks he will be out of work and they will begin looking into options for replacement teeth. Dayna and Brad are very glad to have this tumor removed and the surgery out of the way. He is doing well and hanging out at home while vegging on ice cream and pain meds!

Well, just a few more days left of my Spring Break and then back to the grind! I had so many pictures from our Stone Mountain trip, that I made a slide show. Enjoy the pictures!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

DeAnn

A "Rock'in " Party and a much needed BREAK!

This past weekend, our family went to a "Rock'in" 1st Birthday Party! Campbell Rock turned 1 and we were there to help her celebrate. Campbell's mom, Josie, and I were in kindergarten together. We always had a blast and we NEVER got into any trouble!

For Campbell's 1st Birthday it was asked of the guests to donate money for Lainey's cause at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in lieu of gifts. This was such an honor! At the party, Sid told a little about Lainey's journey with Cystic Fibrosis, but not without shedding a few tears. Retelling, hearing, thinking about, subtle reminders of, and the reality of what Lainey has been through in these past 10 1/2 months along with the nagging monsters of CF pulling at your strings on a minute by minute basis, will bring me to tears. Sharing Lainey's story is very important to us, as well as Lainey's future. We truly appreciate Josie, Marcus, and Campbell sharing the "birthday spotlight" with Lainey. Below are a few pictures of Campbell's big day!

Lainey loved playing with the stacking boxes!

The Birthday Girl!

Marcus, Campbell, and Josie

"I don't like this Stink'in Hat!"

Lainey and Campbell checking each other out!

YUMMY Cake!

Lainey Bug!

Today begins the second best time of the year for a teacher........SPRING BREAK!! The first best time of the year is summer break! The camper is packed, the Expedition is packed, and the kids are raring to go! Although we aren't going far, since Stone Mountain is only an hour and a half away, we are just happy to be going! Unfortunately, Sid has to work on Friday and needs to be at school on Tuesday. My daddy is driving our camper to Stone Mountain today, then coming back to Gainesville to pack his motor home, only to head back to Stone Mountain to camp with us! I will be flying solo with the three kids tonight and all day Friday, but fortunately my parents will be there to help.

I wish my sister was able to camp with us, but her husband's surgery got in the way of the plans! On Tuesday he will be having 4 to 5 teeth pulled and a large section of his lower jaw removed. This surgery is a result of the spot he found in his mouth (mentioned in this post on my sister's blog), which turned out to be ameloblastoma. They will be coming out to Stone Mountain to spend the night on Monday since they need to be at Emory for Brad's surgery that is scheduled for 5:00 am on Tuesday. The best part is that I will get to hang out with my niece Lilly Anne while they are at the hospital! YEA!

With our season passes to Stone Mountain, we are able to come and go in the park as we please. The boys are looking forward to the 4-D theater (dinosaurs are the theme), the train, putt-putt, Sky Hike, Katy's restaurant, the sky buckets, funnel cake, and their favorite ~ the Laser Show!! Our friends Cindy, Sean, Dawson, and Kaylah will be coming to visit us at Stone Mountain on Saturday. They came last year when we were here for Spring Break (Cindy and I were pregnant with our girls) and we had a blast! Of ALL things, my favorite part about going to Stone Mountain is the BREAK! We do not have internet, our phones don't work well in the park, no cable tv, no school......just family time and going to bed early! Maybe I'll be able to catch up on some much needed rest.

Another cool thing about our trip is our photo session with Eileen Swaney for the Littlest Heroes Project! We are so excited about documenting Lainey's personality with some candid shots in our own element!

We will be back home on Wednesday, so look for some life from us then! Have a good weekend!

DeAnn

Just a Coincidence?

On Tuesday evening I was watching my favorite smart alec doctor, House, and working on my student's grades when the phone rang. I though it was 1 of three people: mom, my sister Dayna, or my friend Jenn. To my surprise, it wasn't one of them. There was a woman on the other line telling me about reading my blog. Reading my blog.....is my phone number posted on my blog? No, keep listening...............

Brittney, the woman on the other end of the phone, explained that she had spent a couple hours reading my blog and viewing all of the pictures. Although she was hesitant about calling, she gave it a go. As you read on you will realize that God works in mysterious ways..........His work is never "Just a coincidence!"

Go to google, type in 'infants with cystic fibrosis in gainesville, ga'. Choose the 'images' button and our photo appears in the middle of the screen. Choose the 'blogs' button and we are the first blog listed. This is how the God's plan began to touch our lives.

Brittney has a 3 year old son, Landon, who seems to be in good health. On February 18, 2009 her daughter, Lanie, was born. YES, her name is Lanie! Sounds just like my Lainey, but spelled differently. A couple weeks after Lanie was born, Brittney and her husband received a call about the concerning results of the newborn screening. She took Lanie to have several sweat test, only to receive the confirmation that she indeed does have Cystic Fibrosis. As any mother, Brittney was concerned, overwhelmed, grief stricken, scared, and looking for answers. It is at this time when her mother-in-law did a google search for 'infants with cystic fibrosis in gainesville, ga'. After finding our blog on Lainey's cystic fibrosis, Brittney's mother-in-law insisted she check it out.

Brittney spent several hours checking out our blog and pictures, when she realized something for the first time. She knows my husband, Sid. Brittney and Sid worked together at the nursing home and he had trained her! She had also seen him at the hospital a week prior. She came to our house for Logan's baby shower! She knew she could call us!

Our phone conversation went on for about two hours. We had so much to share, so many similarities. Both of our precious girls are named Lainey or Lanie! Our boys also have "L" names! She lives in Lula which is just a hop, skip, and a jump from Gainesville! We both are committed to finding a cure for CF! I felt the presence of God within our conversation. He brought us together for the much needed support we both desperately need.

Lanie, Brittney's daughter, has had issues with foul smelling and loose stools. Lanie is also constantly looking for more food! After having her stool tested, she was told that there was no fat found! This is awesome for Brittney and Lanie! She knows that Lanie has Delta F508, but the other mutation is unknown. I shared as much information with her that I could think of.........I just had so many questions for her! Although we live very close to each other, we see different pediatricians. Her pediatrician sent Lanie to the Scottish Rite Cystic Fibrosis Center, while our Lainey goes to the Egleston Cystic Fibrosis Center. We spoke about trying to get her Lanie changed to the Egelston location because it is closer, but we aren't sure if Dr. Caplan would be able to keep Lainey and Lanie straight!

Brittney and I plan on working together to raise money for the Great Strides Walk in Athens, Georgia on October 17th. I feel so much better now that I have someone to help me! Any ideas on a team name for our Lainey and Lanie?

God is so good! HE has so many ways, some subtle and other grandiose, to show his love, care, guidance, support, and commitment. I am truly blessed to be HIS child and to have benefited from his sacrifices. Thank you God for bringing Brittney's family and our family together. Through HIM and my blog, I am thankful our story has provided comfort to others as well as created new friendships. HIS plan will bring great things!

DeAnn

Still seeing YELLOW!

On Friday, Lainey and I headed to Atlanta for her monthly CF appointment. We dropped Logan off at school, Liam off at the daycare, and off we went! I was sure it would be awful trying to get through rush hour traffic in Atlanta, but we made it in less than an hour! I think it was a record breaking drive....first of all I drove all of the way through Atlanta traffic by myself!! I hate driving in Atlanta and even more so in Atlanta traffic at rush hour! Secondly, I made record breaking time driving through rush hour at 7:45! Lastly, Lainey did not make a sound all of the way there! The music was turned up, I was eating breakfast and driving, while Lainey was napping. A perfect drive.....my knuckles were not even white when we got to the Target parking lot! Yes Target......Lainey's appointment was scheduled for 10:00 and we were only 3 miles from the CF Center at 8:15! Lainey and I did some shopping in Target before going to her appointment. I love Target's Clearance way too much!

Well, yellow seems to be Lainey's Zone. The yellow zone means she is at risk and her weight needs to be monitored closely. She only gained 6 ounces and did not get any taller. She now weighs 18 lbs. 12.1 oz and is still 28 1/4 inches long. All she needed to gain was 1 pound and she would have been in green....barely, but she would have been there! Lainey's goal weight for next month's appointment is 19 lbs. 4 oz and to keep a pace of gaining one and a half pounds per month. Lainey's lungs sounded awesome! Although she was screaming like no body's business while the doctor was checking her ears, nose, eyes, and throat, he assured me that her crying was also part of his assessment. He said that if someone with CF can cry as hard as she was without coughing, then they have very little mucous in their lungs! Wow, that is a great feeling!

Lainey preparing herself for her future profession!

Although everything checked out fine at this appointment, Dr. Caplan expressed his concern for the amount of fat in Lainey's last stool sample. He has now upped her pancreatic enzymes from 1 Ultrase MT18, to 1 Ultrase MT18 and 1 Ultrase (plain). As soon as it arrives in the mail, Lainey will also be adding ScandiCal to her diet. ScandiCal is a tasteless powder to sprinkle over food to add calories. Hopefully these changes will help Lainey to gain weight.

Yes.....Lainey is chewing on a stool sample container! No....there is no stool in it! No matter how many toys I pulled out of her bag, this is the one thing she threw a fit to have!

I often feel like I answer the question, "How is Lainey doing?" with the same answer. "She is doing well. We are always trying to get her weight up and keep her from getting sick." I usually get the response, "Well, she looks great! She weighs more than my kids did...she looks big to me...." Unless you have a child with CF, it IS hard to see why we are working so very hard to get Lainey to the 50th percentile. The bigger the better, for a child with CF. Our doctor tells us that he would like Lainey to be a little on the chunky side. The bigger she is, the more room her lungs have to grow. Being bigger also makes her heart and lungs work harder, thus making them stronger. The first three years of her life will give us an idea of how CF will effect her health in the future. Yes she does look big...her height is in the 85th percentile, her head is in the 95th percentile, and her belly is usually distended.....with that, it is easy to look past her skinny arms, legs, and booty! Yes she does look good and if I saw her with other children, I would think she was just as healthy as the kid next to her. If only more people were aware of Cystic Fibrosis!

Just look at those lashes!

With this frustration came a call from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I spoke with Sara whom is in charge of the Great Strides Walk in Atlanta and Athens. With her help I will begin a team for the October 17th walk in Athens, Georgia. Living in Gainesville all of my life and knowing a ton of people between my parents, my sister, my husband, and I, I am hoping for a huge response. Thankfully we have many connections in Gainesville, one being that of a friend, Joel, who works for a local talk radio station. With his gracious offer to help in any way, I am sure we will be able to reach even more people. My only concern is, How will I have time to raise money and start a team with everything I have going on? Well, I manage to make things happen that I never imagined I could do so I am planning on adding this to my list! If you have any ideas, suggestions, etc. on how to organize and raise money for such a worthy cause, please share your wisdom!

The doctor is much more interesting than mommy!

Finally Gigi and Papa are home! Last week was "awful" for Logan since they were not in town! Because of their "mini vacation", we needed to find someone to take care of Lainey while I worked and Sid finished this quarter's finals. A HUGE thanks goes out to Mrs. Martha for taking care of our Lainey Bug! Mrs. Martha is only the second "non-family" member to watch Lainey for us. We are quite particular is who watches her for fear the person will not understand the importance of her health requirements. We invest a lot in her health and we hope any caregiver of hers will do the same, although we know that is hard to find. Mrs. Martha was awesome and Lainey was comfortable with her new arrangements in no time! Mrs. Martha.....ANYTHING you need monogrammed, it is yours.....just let me know and it is done!!! Thank you so much for caring for Lainey this past week.

"Thank you Mrs. Martha!"

Tomorrow Lainey will be going to an appointment with an occupational therapist. This will be her first therapy since she was in the hospital at birth and it is offered by our local agency, "Babies Can't Wait". I am very interested to see what they will be working on with Lainey. I will update later on her therapy. Until then, I have posted a "big girl" picture of Lainey below!

Lainey's 10 month picture! This is the outfit she got from The Children's Place for having a good doctor's appointment!

Thank you for all of the prayers this past week! My parents are back safely from their trip, Sid finished his 3rd quarter of nursing school with awesome grades, we had a good doctor's appointment, and I drove in Atlanta!!! We feel all of the prayers daily and are forever grateful for our family and friends! Have a great week!

DeAnn

Mommies aren't suppose to get sick!

Well....not here! I have felt like stink this past week! I finally went to the doctor on Friday and the verdict is....BRONCHITIS! I think if my doc had performed a chest x-ray, it would have shown more. I am on my third day of antibiotics and I feel a little better. My throat is still killing me, but as Logan says, "Mommies aren't suppose to get sick!"

Last weekend the boys went to Papa Dan's house for the weekend, while Lainey and I went to South Georgia. Thank you Papa Dan and Rachel! You gave me a much needed rest! Since my Grandpa Bob reads my blog, I was unable to blog about going to South Georgia for his surprise 80th birthday party! Lainey and I went with my parents (Gigi and Papa) and it was a whirl wind weekend! It is not easy keeping secrets from my grandpa! We spent most of the weekend sneaking around so that he would not find out that everyone was coming into town for his party. My mom and her four brothers threw an awesome party for him at the Officer's Club on Robins Air Force Base.

We had several people that traveled many miles to make it to grandpa's party. My Uncle David, Aunt Nina, and my cousins Jake and Rachel traveled from Jacksonville, Florida. Uncle Dean and Bill traveled from Tampa, Florida. Uncle Dennis, Aunt Kathy and my cousins Blake & Karen, Bradd & Brooke, and Brooke, traveled from Roswell, Georgia. My sister Dayna, and her husband Brad, as well as my niece Lilly Anne, traveled from Hoschton, Georgia. My great uncle and aunt, Dan and Judy, traveled all the way from St. Louis, Missouri! A few of my grandpa's friends traveled from South Carolina. There were also several local friends that attended the party.

The Club served a wonderful meal of fillet mignon, baked potato, green beans, and garden salad. My Aunt Jenny had a friend make a yummy cake to top off our meal. It was great seeing everyone. It is rare when we are all able to get together.....coordinating schedules for all of us to gather at one time is nearly impossible. I really wish Sid could have come with me, but he had to work! We had a blast, but it was over too soon! Look below for a few pictures from Grandpa Bob's 80th Birthday party!

Yummy!

The Party Bug!

Surprise!

Grandpa is checking out all of his guests.

Papa and Lainey......hey, I know she needs to gain weight, but beer?! At least wait until college!

Wrong bottle, Lainey!

My niece, Lilly Anne

Donn, Dean, Diane (my mom, aka Gigi), David, Dennis, and Grandpa Bob.

These are my mom's brothers. My mom is the oldest, then David, Dennis, Dean, and Donn. Mom and Donn are 15 years apart in age, but she, David, and Dennis are all within 28 months of each other. Dean was born 10 years later, then Donn another 5 years after Dean.

Yes, all 5 of them have names that begin with "D". We all have a "thing" with using the same letter to begin our children's name. My sister and I also have "D" names; DeAnn and Dayna. My cousins are Blake, Bradd, and Brooke......Ryan and Rachel.........Emily, Erin, Evan, and Elizabeth...........my dad's parent's are Dorothy and Dave................and our kid's are Logan, Liam, and Lainey...............CRAZY, I know!

Lainey posing for a few close-ups!

Hopefully I will get back to blogging more this week. I have been checking on all of my blog friends, but I have not had time to leave comments or make a post. Gigi and Papa are out of town this week, so Lainey has a new sitter! A HUGE thanks to Mrs. Martha and her husband for watching Lainey this week. Martha works part time at my school and this week happens to be her week off! YEA! On Friday it will be time for another monthly visit to the CF Center! Hopefully Lainey will weigh over 19 lbs!

Please keep us in your thoughts this week, as we have a ton going on! Sid has nursing finals this week, my parents are out of town, therefore I will have to cook for my family, I will be working on getting rid of this bronchitis, Logan has picture day (this is a BIG deal for my 5 year old....he must look good in his pre-k class picture!), Liam is getting over a double ear infection (STILL), and Lainey is going for her 10 month check-up at the CF Center. Thank you!

DeAnn