Cause I promised I would....

Here are my favorite pictures from Memorial Day on the River! Our precious Harriet invited us to spend the day at her house (near my parent's home in Gadrock)....and it was an awesome day. I love the south in the summertime (well, anytime actually). It is simply amazing! Harriet has built her beautiful home on the river and she was kind enough to extend that joy to our little family.....

Mom made frozen strawberry, ginger ale slushies!

Chris took all the kids out for a spin on the waverunner...

and so did I!

I don't think Lucy expected me to be that much "fun"....

but I proved her wrong!

Mom bought a new paddleboat for everyone and Greer LOVED it!

Can you see that she is sippin' on her coke and lovin' it!?

Greer and Betty connected....

.....so did Lucy and Betty!

This one makes me laugh!

....and we'll call these "yoga at sundown"!

I really want to post more details...but I am hurting! Today I broke my tailbone (well, after much research and self evaluation, that is what I have concluded)! It is terrible, horrible, no good and very bad!!! I am h.u.r.t.i.n.g. It stinks.

Momma can't be broken. She just can't! Please pray for my "booty" to feel better soon. I have so much to do and no time to rest. Working tomorrow is going to be a challenge that I am scared to face, but I have to do it.

School's Out for Summer!

This picture of Lucy and our sweet friend Laura is just one of my favorites from our trip home to Gadsden for Memorial Day. I think I'll post the rest of my favorites tomorrow! Just saying it here makes me accountable to finally get off my DUFF to start blogging again. Oh how I've missed it my friends! Is there anyone still out there who cares? I guess we'll see.

I have a lot of really amazing, really exciting things going on my life right now. Things that I really want to write about here....if only to be able to go back and read about them one day. The trouble with blogging is, it tends to make me feel a bit self indulgent. Like I am expecting someone else besides me to really care about what I am going through in this little life. I've really been praying about when and how to make a comeback to this place. If I'm going to do it, I want it to be right.

I have to tell you, I've quit reading blogs pretty much altogether. Not because I think that bloggers are bad people or full of themselves or whatever....I just have found other stuff to fill my time. And I don't expect that people have continued to check on my blog in my absence of posts. I just haven't really given it any thought....

...but I want to keep posting here for me. For the transparency that it gives in this life here on earth. For the chance to spill my beans in an effort to remember the minutea. The snapshots and the memories. The conversations that shaped these years that sometimes feel like they are passing by in a blur. For moments like these....

a2 Church this weekend.....

Easter was awesome, and we're following it up with a new series on the Book of Ruth.....I have always wanted to learn more about this book of the Bible. If you live in the 'Ham and you are looking for something new or something different.....

....then join us at a2 Church this Sunday at 9:45. I promise you won't regret it! Click here for more info. If you have questions, I'd love to answer them...shoot me an email.

Have an awesome weekend no matter what your plans are! It's gorgeous out there!!!

I do have 2 other children....

....and this post is gonna be about Reeves.

This blog has been a bit "Greer" heavy lately. Port Wine Stain treatment, first trip to Disney World, all around baby-ness! Yeah, she has gotten the bulk of the focus here on the blog, but in our REAL life (yes, I do have a rather busy, crazy, amazingly full life outside of this here blog), the big kids have also been capturing a lot of my attention! Thought I might take a minute to fill you in on a few of the best moments!

For at least the next several posts, Greer will NOT be the star. :)

This one will be about Reeves. My biggest baby. My only boy. My lover boy....(sorry, Charcey, he's YOUR lover boy, too!)

Reeves lost his first "top" tooth today.....

....and it was a big. STINKIN'. deal!

Reeves has been DYING to lose a tooth at school, and today it happened. His teacher sent me an email around 9:30 letting me know that our school registrar (Mrs. Sally) had tugged it loose. He was quite proud to wear it around his neck for the rest of the day! Thanks Mrs. Sally!

So now my big kid is sporting a totally big-kid look, and I am sad. And happy. All at the same time. I love this stuff.

Home from Duke and Happily Healing

I can't believe that I have let 2 weeks go by and no POST! I know a lot of you have been praying for my sweet girl as she has been recovering from her latest laser treatment, and for that I am so very appreciative! We were blown away with the team at Duke. Every single part of the experience was exceptional.....not to mention the precious time we were blessed to spend with our dear, sweet friends the Enseys. Oh how I have missed my Amy!

Dr. Burton and his PA, Corbin, were so very informative and kind. I was able to stay with Greer until she was asleep, and met her in recovery. After what felt like mere minutes, we were heading back to Amy's house to sleep off the good stuff....

...or so we thought! Greer vomited most of the way from Duke to Raleigh, and we decided that next time we'll stick around till she's had a little time to sip some juice and wake up a little more. Live and learn I suppose.

We stripped her down midway home, and she spent the majority of the day in her diaper. By the time we got to Amy's she was feeling much better and asking for food.... "I HUNGY Mommy!" I took these pictures while my very drunk girl ate 3 containers of jello! She was lovin' some jello....

....and the ring pop that Corbin gave her!

....and on Tuesday, she ate gobs of pudding! But didn't she look grand....

....very little swelling and lots and LOTS of smiles! She was back to her old self in less than 24 hours. I did notice her scratching at her face more this time. I had never really noticed that before. Other than that, the healing has gone very, very well. I am already seeing some new fading (in particular, her ear.....there is NO noticeable PWS anywhere. Thanks be to God!). But she is still a bit red (and will be for another month or 2).

This picture was taken on Saturday. She is looking beautiful as ever, and we are praising God for leading us to Duke. It has been another miracle in this journey for our family and we plan to pursue further treatments there for now. Dr. Burton wanted us back in 8 weeks, but his office is booked till August. We are praying for an opportunity to go back sooner than August, but if it doesn't happen....well that is OK, too.

For it's God's timeline, not our own. He has us in His hands, and that is all I need to know!

I need to post, I need to post....I NEED To POST!!!

....but how 'bout tomorrow?

Treatment update, Easter pics, Baseball Frenzy, Lucy Drama....

....what could be better?!

Healthcare Reform hits Home....

Tomorrow morning, Greer and I will drive over to Duke for her 10th laser treatment. We have traveled almost 600 miles to seek the best possible care for our precious baby. Our insurance provider in Alabama has gone above and beyond to make this journey possible....to give our baby just what she needs. What a blessing that is! I work hard for a great company and they provide amazing insurance that seeks to serve my family. God bless America!

We have had a wonderful weekend with the Enseys here in Raleigh, and have been so impressed by the opportunity we have found here in North Carolina. Dr. Burton has a great plan and hope that Greer's birthmark has the potential for a lot more fading. He and his staff are confident and capable, and we were blessed to find them. We want to keep coming back till he makes her birthmark disappear. We feel that God has placed us in the best possible hands, with the best possible hosts here in North Carolina.

The passing of today's Healthcare Reform Bill is very disheartening to me. It could mean terrible things for babies born with Port Wine Stains. I feel like Greer was born in a blessed time. She was born mere months after research proved that early treatment of PWS was beneficial. Because of that, she benefitted from early, aggressive treatment. She saw incredible fading before she was even six months old. She is hopefully going to complete serial treatments before the new healthcare plan effects our benefits. We thank God for that! Even with this great opportunity, we feel as if we are in a race against time. She has a ways to go. Dr. Burton feels that she needs several more laser therapies to reach her maximum fading. I am afraid that we won't get there before Obama's plan goes into effect. We are desperate to give our baby every opportunity to erase a potentially debilitating birth defect that Our Current Government deems merely "cosmetically unfortunate". I am counting on our Great God to overcome this, and I beg you to read this position statement from our point of view.....

Healthcare Reform Position Statement from the Vascular Anomalies groups

Let's give babies like Greer a chance at the best life possible! Pray that something changes quickly and that this current plan is modified. Pray for a miracle for these babies, for there are so many less fortunate than we.