A Message from Santa.....

Watch Addison's reaction as she gets a message on the computer from the one and only man in the red suit.  Thanks for the recommendation Kevin - as you can see she loved it!!

Click play and make sure to turn up your volume!! 

If you want a santa video for your child visit: http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

Neurologist Vist & Bake Sale Cake

This past Tuesday we took Addison to her Neurologist for a visit about her "episodes".  Since her MRI and EEG were clear there is still no evidence that these are seizures, although they do still appear to be.  She wants us to keep a log of each episode for the next 2 months so we can look at the frequency of them.  At that point we'll decide on medication or further testing.  She's had a cold this week, so other than the doctor visit we've been laying low.

Last weekend I made a cake for a bake sale to benefit one of the family member's of Erik's co-worker.  Since the bake sale was on a game day, I did a replica of Addison's birthday cake.  I think it came out super cute.  Plus I made 2 dozen cupcakes, in purple and gold cupcake papers of course!  The word was everything sold quickly - I think that's a good sign!  Here's some photos of my work:

Organ Donation - the Gift of Life!

This past Saturday Mom (and her family) was invited to the Annual Gift of Life Picnic that Tulane gives every year for its living organ donors and recipients.

Let me back up a little bit.  To those of you that may not know, my mom donated one of her kidneys to a friend (Mark Austin) this past January.  Mark is married and has a 7 year old little girl.  Kidney disease runs in his family and he has even lost some family members because of it.  When mom heard his story, she knew instantly that she would be the one to donate.  She really felt led by God to do this.  I thought she was NUTS!!  Yeah, I said it.  I mean seriously, let them cut you open and take out part of you for someone you're not even related to?  I'm very protective of my mom.  We've been through a lot together and I didn't want her to do anything that might take her away from me.  Plus, I was thinking what if I need a kidney one day?  Yes, I was being selfish.  And scared!  But I realized she was going to do this no matter what, so we rallied around her and prayed - a lot!!  The surgery was successfull although hard on her.  Mark is doing well now.  He's had a few setbacks, but overall feels so much better than he did and the kidney is doing great.  You can keep up with Mark here:  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/markaustin. 

Ok - back to the picnic!  It was so nice.  They had lots of food and cake!

They also had inflatables and face paiting for the kids and a costume contest (also for the kids). 

The doctors and nurses from the transplant unit were there to help celebrate.  This is mom and her surgeon Dr. Paramesh:

They had a ceremony to honor the donors.  They gave them each a beautiful painting by a local artist.  They also got to speak and tell about their experiences and how their recipient was doing.

Sometimes the stories were happy, like mom's.  But sometimes they were sad.  One lady had just lost her brother that she had donated a kidney to five years ago.  But, as she said, that is five extra years they got to spend time with him.  What a gift!

After the ceremony they held the costume contest, and would you believe that a certain Princess Tinkerbell Addison won 3rd place!!  And a $25 visa giftcard :)  She IS pretty darn cute....

They also had a raffle where the proceeds benefits other donors and recipients.  Would you believe that my mom won an X-Box?  Everyone said we had the lucky table!  And the announcer did give the disclaimer, that no you don't get an X-Box just for donating a kidney.  But think of what you do give - the gift of life!!  I'm so proud of you mom.  You are a true hero!

Here's some more shots of Tinkerbell with Nana and Paw Paw.

We plan on making this a yearly event for our family.  We hope the Austins can be there next year too!  Want to comment on this post?  Feel free!!  Don't know how?  Scroll down to read the comment tutorial in the previous post.

Comment Tutorial

I've heard from several of you that you love to read my blog and you always want to comment, but you can't figure out how.  I am going to try my best to walk you through it.  Because I love to hear what you all have to say!!

At the end of each post you will see the time that I posted the blog and you will see the number of comments.  It may even be 0.  You can click on the word "comment".

This will then bring you to a new screen with a box that says "post a comment".  You can type your comment in the box.  It can be as long or as short as you like. 

Underneath the box is a dropdown menu that says "comment as" and you must select one.  This is where most people get confused.  You can just click the Name/URL option and then a new box will pop up that you can type your name into (you can leave URL option blank).

Then click continue.  You can also choose the "annonymous" option and just tell me in the body of your comment who you are.  Then you can proceed with posting your comment.  It will make you type a "word verification" which is where it shows you a series of letters/numbers and you have to retype them in the little box.  This is just a security feature. 

Now you can just click the "post comment" button and you're done!  See, that wasn't so bad, right?  Want to comment on this comment tutorial?  Please do!!  :)

Mustard Seed Family Shoot

We got together last Sunday with our favorite photographer Lindsey to get some family shots of us since Addison has turned 2.  What a milestone!  Seriously folks, seems like just yesterday when I was pregnant and trying to imagine what she would look like.  We had so much fun.  It was just like meeting up with a friend and playing with our little girl.  And these are our sneak peeks so far...

 If you live in or near our area and would like some mustard seed pictures for yourself, you can contact her through her site http://www.mustard-seed-photography.com/.  Can't wait to get the rest of the images!!  Thank you again Lindsey :)

Pumpkin Patch

Me and Jada took the kids to the pumpkin patch this last Tuesday.  It was HOT, but the kids seemed to enjoy themselves.  Lots of pictures!!  I even put a little special editing into some of them.  Enjoy :)

Introducing... Princess Tinkerbell Addison

That's what she calls herself.  And we think it's pretty accurate :) 

This post is mainly for Nana who doesn't have a facebook account so she didn't get to see the pictures I posted.  Get a facebook Nana!  :)

Addison's 2nd Birthday Party

The theme for Addison's party this year was LSU.  Believe it or not, that really is one of her very favorite things!  She loves her Tigers!!  We spent lots of time preparing for her big day.  Her daddy made her a custom birthday banner:

I made her cake myself!  It was my biggest cake project to date.  (Click on the collage photo boxes to see them bigger - this goes for all of them)

I made the pom balls hanging from the light fixtures, and the LSU helmet you see on the table is a real helmet from a former player.  Thank you Marcus!!

I made the cupcake toppers too :)

Now for fun and games!  We had an inflatable ball pit, plus we played "pin the tail on the tiger" and throw/kick the ball through the uprights that Erik fashioned out of pvc pipe.  The kids all seemed to really enjoy themselves.

Then it was time for presents!  Addison really got into opening her gifts this year.

   

After presents, we went inside for cake and ice cream.  Addison blew out her candle herself!

This is the slideshow that I had playing on the TV inside.  The quality is not as good on the computer - sorry.

After the party we got back in the ball pit and played just the 3 of us.

It was a great day!  Thanks to all who came and helped us celebrate!

EEG also normal...

So we went to Addison's follow up with her Pediatrician today.  She told us that the EEG also was normal.  She said that she still thinks someting is going on with Addison, we just weren't able to catch it on the tests.  She is sending us to see a Neurologist on November 16th.  We are also on a cancellation list in case its possible for us to get in sooner.  So really, we don't have a lot of new information.  But thanks so much for the prayers and comments.  We really appreciate them all!  I need to get busy on a birthday party post!!  Maybe later in the week...

MRI is NORMAL!!!

We just got our MRI results back and they are normal!  This means no big scary things like tumors, etc.  Now we are still waiting on the EEG and epilepsy report.  Maybe we can get another normal??  Although, then I have to wonder whats going on during her "episodes".  Will still do a follow up with her doctor on Monday morning.  Thanks for the prayers!  I'll keep the updates coming.

Waiting...

As of 9:48 this morning the only thing we know is that Addison's bloodwork came back normal.  We still don't have results on the EEG or MRI.  And her doctor is out of the office today and tomorrow, so unless the nurse calls then it could be Monday before we find out.

As for yesterday, Addison had an adverse reaction to the oral sedative that they gave her.  They ended up having to give her a double dose.  Then for bloodwork they had to stick her twice and really dig around to get her vein all while we held her down and she screamed.  It was pretty awful.  Last night she was still very disoriented and upset from being sedated.  They told us if we ever have to do this again, then she will have to have the IV sedation. 

So that's all we know for now.  Thanks for the continued prayers!

Please Pray for Addison

This will be quick and to the point because I don't have a lot of time this morning.  Addison's doctor thinks she is having what is called "petit mal" seizures.  When it happens she zones out for a few seconds and can't hear or see us.  She doesn't respond at all, and then she comes right back.  You almost don't even notice it.  It's been going on for a few months and we are running some tests to get her checked out.  This morning is her sleep deprived EEG.  We had to keep her up until midnight and then back up at 6 this morning.  Very hard for our good little sleeper!  Then on Wednesday she has to do bloodwork and be sedated for an MRI of her brain.  We are staying positive but are still asking for lots of prayers.  So please pray for our little angel!  Here is a picture of her on her birthday (more birthday pics later when I have time):

2 years ago today....

A real life miracle was born.  It was about 4 weeks too early, but Addison was ready to make her entrance into the world.  I'll never EVER forget the first time I held that tiny little baby.  She was the most beautiful thing I had every seen.  Just a few pictures from her first 2 years:

Addison Claire 4lbs, 14oz, 17.5 inches long

1 Month old courtesy of http://www.mustard-seed-photography.com/

3 Months

6 Months

9 Months

12 Months

18 Months courtesy of http://www.mustard-seed-photography.com/

And here she is at 2 years old looking so big. 

Happy Birthday my sweet angel girl.  We love you more than you'll ever know.  Can't wait to share your special day with you.