It's been a while since I've posted on my blog.  I usually give updates on Todd through Facebook, but I've been thinking about using my blog to give updates on him instead.  I'll use Facebook to let people know that I've updated the blog and other things.

Todd is still working.  I know that some days it's harder for him to get up and go, but he pushes through and does it.  He's my hero.  He still loves to cook for me and I, of course, enjoy it! 😉
He was told at his last visit in May that he's the perfect candidate for a lung transplant.  Besides his lungs, he's a pretty healthy guy.  He's lost 53 pounds since last July.   That's pretty amazing since he can't exercise like he used to.

His next appointment is Friday, July 15th.  He'll have labs drawn, a ct scan, a right heart cath and then see a few doctors.  The day starts early at 7:00 so we hope to be back home at a decent time Friday afternoon.

Have I said how wonderful UAB has been to us? They truly have been amazing! We are so grateful for the staff there.  We were so disappointed when Todd was rejected last year by Vanderbilt, but it has been a blessing.  Just shows that God had a better plan for Todd and He was and still in complete control.

We found out this week that we have an apartment secured for whenTodd gets the call. Yay!!! That's one less worry out of the way.

Please keep praying for Todd as we wait for the call to get his new lungs.

Blessed,
Dawn

To blog or not to blog

Wow! It's been 2 1/2 years since my last blog post.  Facebook and Instagram seem to be the way to keep up with people here lately.  I do still follow a couple of blogs since they update daily.

Maybe one day I'll get back to blogging...who knows.

I'm back!

Yay...it has been 6 months since I have been able to log in.  I hope to get caught up this weekend with pictures.  I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. 

Finally...I am able to blog

For some reason, I have not been able to update my blog.  Every time that I log in, it redirects to a blank page.  It has been very frustrating to say the least.

So to catch you up, we celebrated Mason's 7th birthday last month.  He requested a party at home with the inflatable moon bounce and face painting.  The weather could have not been better.  It was sunny and not too hot.  Everyone seemed to have fun.  Apparently the cake was a hit because there wasn't any left. 

 He looks like he is doing some sort of dance while sliding down.  He had the best time.  He got a ton of gifts and enjoyed having his friends over to play.

I finally got to sit down and rest as the party came to an end. 


Hard to believe he's 7.  Some days I wish he was still 3. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Has it really been 9 years?

March 20, 2001 is a day I will never forget.  It was the day that Shae went home to be with Jesus.  This year seems to be harder than usual, but I will get through it...I always do. 

We will take balloons to the grave tomorrow, one to leave and 3 to release.  I miss that blonde headed, blue eyed boy so much.  

I leave you with a picture of my precious Shae.

  

My boys

Today at Mason's school it was Doughnuts with Dad.  Todd was scheduled to work today, but he took the day off to spend it with Mason.  I think my boys had a good time today.

Wordless Wednesday

Let's Jump!

Two weeks ago, we went to visit Todd's dad and step-mom in Crossville, TN.  It's on the other side of Nashville, so the drive is pretty...mountains and hills everywhere.

Todd's sisters and nephews joined us for this visit to celebrate PaPa's, Todd's and my birthday.  On Saturday we drove about 30 minutes out to Roosevelt Mountain in Rockwood, TN.  It was a beautiful drive up there.  Once we got to the top, we got out to see "God's beautiful creation". (A quote from Mason).

Todd's nephews are always a hoot to have around.  There were some picnic tables there so they starting jumping off the tables doing different jumps.  Of course, I had my camera and took about 175 pictures. 

Here are a few of the boys jumping and a couple of the girls!

 

  

 

  

I highly recommend doing this...it was so much fun.  

I'll be back to post more from that weekend later. 

I need to update

It's been a while since I have been on here to blog.  I don't like how busy I am sometimes.  Of course, if I would get off facebook, I'd probably have more time to blog.

My sweet friend Terri is helping me spruce up my blog.  I am trying to decide what all I want changed on here.  Hopefully, I can make a decision or two soon.

I plan to make time to update this weekend.  Maybe a couple of pictures of Mason and Todd. 

Dawn

YAY Team Shae

This year was our 4th year to have a team in memory and honor of Shae for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend. It's always a great experience. It's bittersweet for Todd and I as we reflect on our time with Shae and his short time at St. Jude.

We were excited this year because we had a corporate sponsor that bought our t-shirts and some of the employees ran the 5K. Our sponsor was YRC Worldwide. (Formally known as Yellow Freight and Roadway) My dad retired from Yellow Freight last December.

In the past years I have always been on the side lines cheering on our runners, but this year I decided to walk the 5K.   I am so glad that I did and wish that I had walked it in the past.  As we walked pass the Memphis Grizzly House you could see children looking out the windows.  I waived to those babies and whispered a prayer for them to be healed.   It was when we walked in front of St. Jude that all the memories came flooding back.  Oh how I miss my Shae.

Thank you St. Jude for doing all you could do to help Shae.  We are forever grateful for you.  We thank God for you!

 This is what the back of our shirts look like.  The front has the YRC logo.  Thank you YRC for being our sponsor this year.  We look forward to you sponsoring us again next year!

Thank you to everyone who donated and who ran or walked.  We appreciate it so much.  

 

My Star Student

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This week Mason was Star Student which meant a lot of fun things for him. He was very excited about this week.  We made a poster with some pictures of him on there.  He was able to be the line leader all week which apparently is a big deal.

 Here he is with his poster we made together.  I, of course, had to include pictures from Disney World since that was our big vacation over the summer.

On Friday Todd and I joined Mason for lunch.  He was so excited to have us there with him.  We enjoyed Wendy's and spending time with him.

Do you think he looks like his dad?

Me and my little guy.

Mason had a great week.  In my book he will always be a Star Student.

 

Wordless Wednesday

Eating at Chili's for a good cause.

Today at Chili's, 100% of it's proceeds went to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Todd had to work so me, Mason and my niece went to have some good food for a great cause.

Mason and Mindy Grace love each other and always have good time playing.

This is Mindy's pepper she colored in honor and memory of Shae.

And here's Mason with his pepper in honor and memory of his big brother.

I hope you were able to get out and support such a great cause. St. Jude will always be near and dear to our hearts.

September

This month is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. What can you do to help? I can think of a couple of ways.

1. Eat at Chili's this month and be sure to create a pepper. Also be sure to eat there on September 28th. On that day ALL the proceeds will go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
2. Do you like to run or walk a lot? Join Team Shae and run a 5k, half marathon, or full marathon. Go to www.stjudeheroes.org to join our team. The race is Saturday, December 5th in downtown Memphis.
3. Don't like to run or walk a lot? Go to www.mystjudeheroes.org/shaesmom to make a donation. $5, $10, or whatever you would like to give will help.

Dawn - Angel Shae's mom

Wordless Wednesday

My 1st grader Mason

Well Mason is officially a 1st grader. Where has the time gone? I am very proud of him. He seems to really like school and that makes me happy. He is one cute little kid.




Here is my 1st grader at his desk. He was proud of having his own desk this year instead of sitting at a table.

I love you Mason. You are so precious to me and dad. I pray that your school days are filled with love and lots of fun learning.

Things that I learned while at Disney World

• There are ALL kinds of people in this world and a good bit of them are a rare breed.

• If you drive to DW, take snacks for the nights you want just one more thing to eat before going to bed. A bag of popcorn is $3.25!!!! (It was worth it though…both times.)

• PLEASE check the mirror before you leave your room. There were several people that must not have had a mirror in their hotel or their spouse lied to them about them looking good in a particular outfit.

• If you loose your sunglasses the first night…check under the bed. That’s where we found Todd’s. Of course, I didn’t look under there until our last day.

• We visited Magic Kingdom 3 days and that was plenty. We probably could have gotten by with just 2 days, but there were several rides that we rode more than once because Mason was having a blast.

• Epcot is all about saving the earth and it makes you really think about how we should recycle more.

• I can survive 7 days without a Diet Dr. Pepper…it was tough, but I did it.

• People will definitely get in your personal space. Seriously folks, stay at least 3 feet away.

• The dining deals/packages are great if you don’t have picky eaters and you eat 3 meals a day. (There were several days that we only ate 2 meals, hence the $3.25 bag of popcorn late at night.)

• Sunblock with 60 SPF is great for young children and it seems to last longer.

• The dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom will scare your young children even if they are tall enough to ride. They really should reconsider the height requirement on that one. I’m just sayin’.

• Buy the spray bottle fans at WalMart…they are cheaper there.

• Disney has the best Coke Icees.

• There are some people that don’t really know that they should shower daily or at least wear deodorant.

• Take your choice of pain relievers with you because I promise you will be taking them at night before you go to bed and when you get up in the morning.

• When you book your trip, I highly suggest that you make reservations at restaurants before you go. I believe you can start making reservations 90 days before your trip. DO IT!

• No matter how hard you try, you and your spouse will have at least one argument.

• Fast Pass ROCKS. But remember that you can only get a fast pass every two hours.

• If you are a people watcher, then you will have a blast at DW.

• If you fly there and decide that you want to take a cab/taxi ride to the mall, it will be at least $45…ONE WAY.

• I thought Epcot would not be very interesting, but we had a blast there. We were there from open till close. It’s awesome. You have to ride Soarin'. It was unbelievable.

We had a wonderful time and I really hope that we go again next year. It was worth every dime spent. I leave you with a priceless picture from our first day.


I'll be back later with more pictures.

Toodles,
Dawn

I'm tired, but it was worth it!

Shake for Jake was once again a blast. We got to Louisiana about 10:00 Friday night and was up early to head out to watch Todd in the 5K. I have no idea how he ran 3 miles in that heat. He did it though and I am so proud of him. I have a couple of pics of him running then the batteries in my camera died. Can you believe that?? Ugh. Anyway, he did great. Our friend Judy ran the 5K as well and it was her first. She did great...way to go Judy.

It was wonderful seeing so many friends and hugging necks. It was also wonderful meeting new people. A little shout out to Lindsay...it was great meeting you. A side note to those of you with little girls, she makes the cutest little tutus. Her website is www.frillyfrances.com. You MUST check out her site.

Anyway, we made it home safe and are beat. Mason had a great time but was glad to get back to his house so he could play with the dog. He slept in this morning...I must say that I was jealous because it was back to work for me today.

Sorry I don't have any pictures to share from the weekend. I should have taken more batteries or at least bought some while I there.

Jin Jin - thanks for opening your house to us again. We love staying with you. Penny - I am so glad that Lindsay convinced you to drive down to enjoy Saturday night with us. Don and Staci - you guys are awesome. I know that Jake is so proud of you two. What a legacy you guys are making in honor of Jakester. He was one special guy and he is missed so much by so many.

JOR Foundation board members - thanks for letting us be a part of such a wonderful time. You guys rock!!

Gotta go get ready for bed. Be back soon.

Oh - Kacy Acree and crew - where were you??? We missed you. You were asked about...so you know that you were missed.

Dawn

Shake for Jake

We are headed to Louisiana this weekend for the 3rd annual Shake for Jake. Todd is running a 5K while we are there. Shake for Jake is a fundraiser for the Jake Owen Raborn Foundation. Jake was a St. Jude patient that had a rare liver cancer. He passed away Oct. '06. His parents started a foundation in his memory and honor to "pay it forward" to other cancer families. Each year Shake for Jake gets bigger and bigger. The biggest part of the event is the dinner/silent auction/live auction/ and then dancing! It's so much fun.

Give your babies an extra hug tonight and pray for the families that are in the midst of the fight against cancer.

I'll be back soon to blog about our weekend.

Toodles,
Dawn