From Our Family to Yours...

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I will post pictures of our Christmas adventures as soon as I can.

I also have a prayer request. My dear friend Rachel, her husband Jeremy and her little newborn baby Paxon need our prayers. Paxon was born on Christmas day and came into this world like a champ, giving them much hope and encouragement. Since then, Paxon has had some serious further challenges and they really just need to be lifted up before the throne of our Greatest Physician. Their story and this sweet lil' boy have been touching so many lives. You can follow along at asherolimb.com God Bless and thank you!

Merry Wishes!

Aware...

I came across this video today on facebook and thought it was a pretty powerful video not only to create some awareness about our daily lives and routines, but also to remind everyone (without me always being a hand sanitizer nazi...ha!) that this is a tough time of year for many during the cold and flu season and if there is any extra precaution we can take to keep Reese healthy, we will do it. Of course we want everything to be "normal" (which by the way, what does "normal" mean????) for Reese and we are fully aware that OUR attitudes will affect HER attitude about CF but the fact is she has CF so there are some things that are "different" for us. So hand sanitizer it is... :)

Do Not Forget...

Love love love this time of year! I always have. There is so much joy, wonder, and just all-around jolliness...well most of the time, anyway. From the Christmas songs on the radio, to the stores bustling and sparkling with festive decor and don't forget the Hallmark Christmas movies, Christmastime just makes me downright happy! But for some at this time of year, it is almost unbearable. During this time of family and togetherness, some are haunted by lonliness and unimaginable heartbreak. I was reminded of this by reading a fellow CF mom's blog (you may remember me talking about Sarah who lost her 7 year old son Conner to CF earlier this year) that this can be the most painful time of the year. http://notsobrightandshiny.blogspot.com/2010/11/its-most-wonderful-time-of-year.html
I mention this because this post made me stop and really just think about the people I pass as I go along my daily business as I'm gaily humming "The Little Drummer Boy". Who among those people are included in this category? Ever since I read Sarah's sweet words I have thought about how I can reach out to them. I know there is no magical answer but I think praying for them, and offering up simple acts of love and kindness like making someone smile, offering a helping hand, being patient and kind, and just stepping outside of myself to see their hurting heart could be a start. So while we have been decking the halls and singing jolly Christmas tunes, trying to create wonderful memories for Reese, I will not forget those who long for the touch of their loved ones, and I hope you won't forget either. As Sarah states, "All I ask I guess is this Holly Jolly Christmas Season take a moment to touch someones life. Greatly. More than buying a present…TAKE TIME TO REACH OUT AND TOUCH THEIR HURTING SOUL…so many people are walking zombies of pain…and truly there is no feeling like it in the world…"

So, with that being said, as I mentioned, we have been busy decking the halls and enjoying getting in the Christmas spirit. Reese is loving it! She is in awe of the pretty lights and recognizes Santa, or "Sana" as she calls him. These things are all great, but let's also not forget the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Here are a few pictures of us putting up the tree!

Notice in this picture Reese has on a different shirt. Yeah, the Hallmark Christmas moment I was hoping to have with the hot chocolate didn't work out as I had envisioned. Reese took one drink of her "warm" chocolate and spit it out all over her shirt. Oh well...we still had fun!

Thanksgiving.

As we approach one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving, it's only natural for me to take some time to reflect on the things I am thankful for. I will be honest...while I thought I felt thankful last year at this time, I don't think I really had the deep thankfulness and joy I feel this year. Just to mention a few things I am thankful for...
*I am thankful for our loving Father, who shows me His love and mercy every single day.
*I am thankful for my amazing husband, who would do anything for me and Reese and always makes me laugh.
*I am thankful for our perfectly darling daughter, who lights up my life in a way I never knew possible.
*I am thankful for my family. We love all of you and when I say we could not do it without you, I whole-heartedly mean that.
*I am thankful for the advances there have been in medicine and our care team. Because of these advances and our awesome care team, Reese is healthy and able to live a "normal" life!
*I am thankful for my friends. I truly could not have ask for better friends and love and appreciate each one of you.
*I am thankful for all of the CF mommies I have been able to connect with. Ladies...you are sometimes the only reason I don't have a nervous breakdown or go completely insane! It's such a blessing to be included in the network of friends I have found in these fabulous moms.
*I am thankful for all of the BEYOND BELIEVABLE support we had for Team Reese this year. What an honor to have so many in our corner.
Ok...it's starting to sound like I'm making a speech at the Academy Awards so I will stop there but I just wanted to touch on some of the most important things I am thankful for...although rest assured, the list is plentiful!

Along the lines of CF mommies...in the beginning of November I was able to go on a mini-vacation to Mesa, AZ to visit my closest longtime friend from my childhood, Shannon, and I had the opportunity to meet in person one of my most cherished CF mom's, Rachel. I met Rachel through Shannon when Reese was first diagnosed. I have mentioned her on this blog before and I just hold such a special place in my heart for her and love her to pieces. Her little guy Asher, who is 3, also has CF. We had so much fun together and it was such a joy to spend time with Shannon and her family as well.


My forever friend, Rachel!


Shanny, Rachel and me


A toast to friendship! Love you, Shannon!


The view from the top of Camelback Mountain...STUNNING!


Tough girls...some things never change.

Happy Thanksgiving 2010...I hope you all find much to be thankful for!

Happy Halloween!

tRiCk - Or- TrEaT!

Halloween 2010...fun, fun, fun! We went to Emery to help my mom and dad move back into their house (after a 3 month rennovation) so we decided we would just stay and go trick-or-treating there. We only hit up a few houses but it was so fun to watch Reese toddle around in her little Tigger costume. Last year she was too little to really know what was going on, so this year was much more fun as she totally dug the concept of knocking on someone's door dressed up as Tigger and in return, getting gobs and gobs of candy. Hey, smart kid! I'm sad I didn't get more pictures of her, but let's just say she wasn't feeling in the mood to pose for picture...she had things to do! Hope everyone had a fabulous Halloween!

18 month old cutie!

All I can say is I love this girl...she makes my days. One of my fellow CF momma's (Sarah) said it so beautifully ~ "Every hope, dream, and ounce of love in my heart somehow manages to fit in that little spunky body." ♥

Fall Friday

No flashback today...and no picture even. It's a gorgeous fall day here so Reese and I are going out to take advantage of it! From the looks of the forecast, this may be the last nice fall day we see for awhile...soooooo see ya! We're going OUTSIDE! Happy Friday!

JUST TOO CUTE!

This video just cracks me up...literally makes me belly laugh. Kevin shot this of Reese while she was "talking" on the phone. Keep in mind Kevin absolutely HATES it when the rest of my family and I "yawn talk." And we all do it...poor guy. While our darling daughter may look like her father, she definitely picked up her mad "yawn talking" skills from me. Too cute!!!

Flashback Friday

I missed my "Wordless Wednesday" post so I'm going to shake it up a bit with a "Flashback Friday". Here's a flashback from 1 year ago....awww.

THE VEST

Aaah, the vest...the vest...the long awaited vest. I know I am an emotional person, so I kind of suspected I would maybe feel a little emotional over Reese getting the vest, even though it has been something we have been soooooo looking forward to. The vest came on Tuesday, but today is the first day she used it as we had to wait for a RT to help us set it up. It's hard to even put into words. The vest is just so much more than a vest...it represents everything about CF. I KNOW it will make our lives a whole lot easier, but honestly, it just made me sad thinking that this will be a part of her life forever now. She will have to do this every single day (that is if she isn't rebellious :)) for the rest of her life. And it's just not natural...to see her little body shaking like that just made my heart hurt...knowing WHY she is doing this and the reason she HAS to do it. However, that being said, THIS is OUR normal so we are just so GRATEFUL for such an invention to help keep our Miss Reese healthy and have a good quality of life!!!

Reese really did so well with her new vest!!! This morning when the RT was here, she cried some just because she didn't know what the heck was happening. After about a minute into the treatment, she started to get used to it and did well the rest of the 30 minutes. Tonight when I went to get the vest out, she said, "no, no no" but then did fine once she got it on and started shaking. She even sat in her own little chair for the last half of it. I think the hardest part is going to be getting her to sit STILL for 30 minutes 2x/a day. We're definitely going to beef up our DVD collection!!! :)

Now being the scrapbooker that I am, I just need to get some fun embellishments to jazz up her machine that her vest hooks up to. Maybe some blingy bling!!!! Every girl needs a little bling, right?!?

Reese, you rock. Every day you make us so proud of you. You are our hero and the Lord has blessed you with an incredibly strong and beautiful spirit. I am so thankful to be your mommy and love watching and being a part of every new milestone you reach. I love you, love you, love you sweet darling! Kisses, Mommy

Wordless Wednesday

Lil' Pumpkins

Here are a few pictures of our recent trip to the Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Patch with our friends Tami and Taylor! The girls were a bit too little to get involved with all of the activites but the Harvest Fest atmosphere, some yummy food, a place to run, and a few good pictures were all we needed. This trip will for sure be an annual fall event! Happy fall to all!


Reese lovin' the pumpkins


I think Taylor's first trip to the Apple Orchard was a success


Aahhhh, the fall fun is abounding

My little pumpkin :)


Woah, this is heavy!

Wordless Wednesday

Mirror Mirror...

I love small towns...and I especially love them in the fall! I love the change in the air, the crisp cool mornings, hometown football and HOMECOMING! Reese and I recently had the pleasure of accompanying our friends Emily and Ruthie to Emily's hometown homecoming parade. Emily's parents had a float and asked if we would want to ride on it with Emily and Ruthie. I knew Reese would get a kick out of it so we loaded up the car and headed to Centerville to ride in the parade. The theme was "All Things Disney" so their float said "Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is the greatest team of all?" Cute and catchy and if I do say so myself, we had the two cutest Snow Whites ever!!!! What a fun experience and such a great way to spend a beautiful, warm, fall, hometown day!


Emily with our two Snow Whites


We dressed up as witches to accompany the little Snow Whites


The girls got into the parade candy...oops

The girls with Emily's parents

Two tired turtles reading their books on the way home

Wordless Wednesday

mmmmmmm.....

Kindermusik FUN!

We have embarked on a fun little adventure called KINDERMUSIK! It's a great little music/activity class that allows Reese to be exposed to some music and musical instruments, engage in some learning in a "class" setting, and be social with other children. Since I stay home with her, we try as much as we can to make it possible for her to have opportunities to get together with other children. We participated in the summer session and now are just starting up the fall session. I totally enjoy it just as much as she does and love taking the songs we learn and incorporating them into our daily lives. She LOVES it and so relishes the time she gets to spend with other kids her own age...including her buddy Ruthie!

Wordless Wednesday

Ok, so I need to get crackin writing some other posts other than "Wordless Wednesday" but for now, here is our Wordless Wedenday pic...WE LOVE BUBBLES!

Wordless Wednesday

Pray for Paxon

I have been so blessed by the friendship of someone I have never even met...in person anyway. Rachel and I became friends through my lifelong dear friend, Shannon. Shannon married Rachel's husband's (Jeremy) cousin (Mark). Rachel and Jeremy have a soon to be 3 years old little boy, named Asher. Asher has Cystic Fibrosis. Immediately I felt connected to Rachel and have been so often touched by her kind, loving words of encouragement, her compassionate, caring, Christ-filled spirit, and her ever-giving love. Like I said...I haven't even met her in person, but that doesn't matter...I just love her and she always just gets it. A few months ago, Rachel and her husband Jeremy rejoiced over the happy news of expecting another baby. However, recently, their worlds were turned upside down AGAIN after learning that their unborn baby boy, Paxon, has a deletion of the 4th chromosome. I am not equipped to even go into everything that means, but I will just say it is hearbreaking and I just ask that you pray for them and their family and their sweet baby Paxon. To keep updated on Paxon and their family, visit http://www.asherolimb.com/. Love you friend...the Petoske's are praying.

Wordless Wednesday

Miss Taylor Grace

My best friend Tami and her husband Andy welcomed this perfect lil' beauty into the world on August 20! Meet Taylor Grace!

We couldn't be happier for them and love little miss Taylor (and her darling teeny tiny toes) already so so much.

Her momma is glowing...

...and her daddy is smitten.

So incredibly proud of you, best friend.

Yay for baby girls!

CF Update

It's been awhile since I've been on here so I thought I'd give a quick update on the CF news around here. We are officially OFF of antibiotics after being on for 27 days straight!!! Reese started what we thought was a summer cold and was really "junky" up in her sinuses so her doctor put her on an antibiotic. Thankfully she had her regular CF checkup shortly after that because the antibiotic wasn't helping at all and when she's had a little junkiness in her sinuses in the past, the antibiotic had cleared it right up. Well she ended up culturing a strain of strep that was resistant to that certain antibiotic (I was assured it was not HER being resistant, but rather the strain of strep) so we were put on another antibiotic for 10 days...fast forward 10 days...clearing up but not totally gone so another antibiotic for 10 more days. This morning was her LAST DOSE and she sounds GREAT!!!!! Hopefully our supply of diapers will last a little longer now and we won't be running to Walgreens every other day for more diaper rash cream :) When she was put on her second round of antibiotics we also started her on Culturelle (probiotics) and I think that made a difference in her diapers as well. TMI??? Sorry...you other CF momma's will understand. Anyway, she is doing great and hopefully we are in the clear for awhile. I have to admit I was having some anxiety as she was in the hospital exactly a year ago and I feared that if it didn't clear up, that's where we would be headed. PRAYING SHE STAYS HEALTHY!!! Good news though...she remains in the 97th percent for height and weight which we are so thrilled about! A little old lady even told me the other day I might have to consider putting her on an exercise program...oh if she only knew. Well, that's about it for us CF-wise. Here are some pix of her in the hospital last year...my little babe...so sweet and strong. Your are our hero Reese Lane. We love you to the moon and back. XOXO


IV in her arm...


Now in her head...

What a trooper!

We love you Reese.

A Day at the Lake

Ahhh the lake. Nothing says summer like a day at the lake! I have been so hesitant to take Reese to the lake for fear of her catching some nasty bacteria, but I do also know she has to be a kid. I, of course, did a little research and chatted with a few of my fellow CF mommies and our nurse, and ultimately decided it was ok to take her. I made sure to be very careful she didn't get her mouth in the water and cleaned her up good when she got out. These are just things we have to think about every day and most people don't give them a second thought. I'm positive I will always worry...that's just what mom's do, but I'm so grateful we spent the day at the lake with our friends Emily and Ruthie and Auntie April and cousin Alexis! The pictures say it all!!!