Spina Bifida Walk-N-Roll 2012

On September 8th we did our first ever walk-n-roll for spina bifida at Burger's Lake in Fort Worth, Texas.  We had a blast!  Our team name was Autumn's Army & family joined us in walking.  I had family, friends, & James' co-workers donate money.  Our goal was to raise $500 for the Spina Bifida Association but we ended up raising $2,060.  I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone that donated and/or joined us in walking that day.  It touched my heart to see so many people care for a cause that is so close to our hearts.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! 

The day was perfect.  It began with a 1/2 mile walk around the lake & then we spent the rest of the morning just spending time together, having lunch, & playing in the water. 

Playing pat-a-cake while waiting for the walk to start

Autumn & her cousin, Garrett

Walk begins!

Had to take turns holding Autumn's hands or she would stop her chair & not go.

Finish line

Autumn & her friend, Hayden

My SIL had her friend make some cute & yummy cookies for our team.

Autumn trying to figure out if she likes the water or not

Beach at Burger's Lake

Kids slide & diving board

Big diving board

Slides

Bar swing into the water

Testing out the cold water

Sissy took her to the warmer water

Sweet sister love

Playing in the water with Papa

Autumn's Army

After the walk, we went home to rest & then later had an early birthday celebration for Autumn while all the family was in town.  Autumn was SO good at the walk so it made it such a blessed & stress-free day!  I'm really excited about the walk next year & hopefully more people will join us!

Back to School

It's back to school & mommy is so happy!  I have loved spending the last 3 months with my kids but I live for a schedule & was ready to have some mommy time back.

First day I took Gage to school.  I can not believe my baby boy is in the 2nd grade 

(and would be in 3rd if we did not wait that extra year, so glad we did!)

 Next it was time to take Madison.  

She's in 8th grade & this will be her last year of middle school.

 This year Autumn is going to school from 12-3pm EVERYDAY!  Mondays she has therapy from 10:30-11:30am so after therapy we head straight to school.

Autumn & her nurse Nikki going into the school

Autumn & her teacher, Mrs. Gulley

She always heads straight to the book station when she gets to school

Autumn rides the bus to & from school, such a big girl!

Gage's bus showed up right after Autumn's they got to walk/roll into the house together

It does feel like it has been the longest week ever! I always think once the kids start back, I will have so much time to do things but that has never been the case & I wonder why I still hang onto that hope. Mondays will be the longest days...after dropping the oldest 2 off, I head to the grocery store, come back to put away groceries & then take Autumn to therapy & then take her to school.  I have decided to finally join a gym & do something for myself this year.  :)  This weight has got to go!!! So, after taking Autumn to school, I had lunch then checked out a new gym to join. 

Tuesday, Autumn had a neuro appt in the morning so I was busy all morning with that until she went to school, ran a few errands, then headed to do my first official workout.  By the time I get home from the gym, I have about an hour to do a few things & then the kids are home.

Wednesday I volunteered at the church (another new thing I am doing for myself since I always enjoy volunteering & have not been able to do it since Autumn came along). Got a good workout in & then time for the kids to be home.  :)  I am also the carpool for Madison & her 2 friends...I take 3 mornings a week & pick up 2 afternoons so that contributes to the busyness.  :)

Thursdays Autumn has feed therapy at 9:30, I ran some errands, & then another gym workout.  :) I have to say working out has been giving me a burst of energy in the afternoons to get me through the rest of the day without feeling completely exhausted. 

Today was my "relax" day (which just means I stay in my pj's all day).  I started deep cleaning the kitchen & organized a couple of drawers.  Paid bills, made some phone calls, sent some e-mails, & now catching up on my blog.  :)  It's nice to be able to do it all in COMPLETE quietness.  Well, looks like I only have 30 mins left before the kids return home so I better get a few more things done before the peace is gone. 

Week 11 of Summer

Saturday morning I received a text from my dad to pray for mom because she had been vomiting. Later he texted & said he had called the ambulance to come get her because she was too weak & dizzy to even walk to the car. My brother & I were started to get concerned & we were praying it was just a virus.  They can ALL kinds of tests & eventually diagnosed her with vertigo & found she had a nerve to her heart that was damaged.  She was having an extremely low heart rate.  After more testing, they decided she needed a pacemaker out it.  Madison & I left Saturday late afternoon & drove to my parents.  We got in just a little before midnight.  Sunday morning we visited mom all day while they ran tests & my brother had driven in town too.  Monday morning mom got her pacemaker put it.  Madison & I did some grocery shopping for her & got her house all cleaned & ready for her to come home.  Tuesday she came home & then Wednesday Madison & I left to come back home.  It was a big shock for all of us that my mom actually got a pacemaker.  My mom is the most energetic 59 year old..she has more energy than I do!  She exercises & eats healthy as well.  The drs say her actual heart muscle looks great and it was just that one nerve that was making her heart beat out of sync.  We are so thankful of the vertigo because without it they may of never found this issue with her heart.  She had to take it easy for 5 days & not raise her left arm but should be back to normal soon.

I am so thankful for my husband, SIL, & nurses for jumping in to help so that I could do be with my mom. James had to take off 2 days & switch his schedule from nights to days.  My sister helped take care of Gage & then had his friend here as well that was babysitting for the week & she also helped clean my house.  My night nurse picked up 2 extra shifts so James could sleep at night.  It takes 5-6 adults at my house each week to keep it running.  Autumn is just a little high maintance. :)  The first night I was gone, Autumn decided to pull her trach out while asleep.  The night nurse did not respond well but thankfully James had heard her beeping & was heading to her room to see what was up when the nurse came running down the hall yelling for him.  He got a new trach in but Autumn kept pulling at it until James told her, "Daddy fixed it" & she stopped crying & calmed down.  She knows her daddy takes good care of her.  Everything else ran smoothly after that & I guess they are capable of doing things when mommy is away...may have to leave more often now, yeah right!

Thursday we took a mini vacation to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine which is about a 45 minute drive.  My MIL came into town to stay with the nurses & Autumn so we could have a peace of mind while we were away.  My brother's family joined us as well.  We had a blast! It was exhausting but so much fun!

 They have a fun (& expensive) Quest game.  You buy a wand & then they have artifacts all over the hotel that you have to find & activate with the wand.  At the end of each quest you get points.  There are 10 quests in all.  It's really fun for the kids but a workout for the parents.  There are 8 floors in the hotel & you have to use the stairs to complete the quests.  Some take you from the 2nd floor to the 6th floor, down to the 4th floor, back up to the 8th floor, etc. You may do the entire quest to get to the end & find out you had the wrong item so you need to go back.  Some have to be in order as well.  Oh my goodness, I was sweating!

Gage getting his quest

Gage finding the crystals

  When we first got to the hotel, we swam for a couple of hours, played some games in the arcade, had dinner, then did 7 quests.  The next morning we finished the rest of the quests, checked out, had lunch, then spend about 3-4 hours swimming. Gage rode one of the large slides the first day & was done with slides.  The next day though we made him try the other slides & he LOVED them! 

The group eating lunch

The outside swim park

Gage trying to defeat the dragon after finishing all his quests

This is in front of a little store with goodies at the hotel

They have food places, arcade, shops, spas, crafts, & lots of fun for the kids all in the hotel

Family photo in front of the fireplace in the lobby

A part of the indoor water park

Kiddie area & wave pool inside

Gage & Dean being silly with the bear

Madison & Uncle Chris posing in front of the trash cans

On Saturday, Madison & Gage rode back to Austin with Nanny.  Gage will be staying with her until Wednesday & Madison is going to San Antonio to visit her dad until Wednesday.  I'm having myself a mommy vacation by staying busy with my LONG list of things to do.  There were 29 things when I began this morning then had to add a couple of more things to my list as the day went on but now I'm down to only 22 items left.  :)  It's nice to have a slight break from the kids even though I'm busy because I'm finally getting all the things I've been putting off all summer finally complete!  The kids & I will have Thursday-Sunday & then back to school they go.  I am ready for a routine but will miss all the fun & memories we've had together everyday.

Weeks 9 & 10 of Summer

Our weeks are starting to slow down as school time is slowly approaching.

Last week we took the kids to the Dallas Nature & Science & Children's Museum.  We had planned to bring Autumn with us but she had a cold starting to brew up so we left her home with daddy to be safe.  They had a shark exhibits & both my kids love sharks (especially Madison) so I knew they would have a good time.

A large Tuna next to a shark

A great white shark

Shark tank...I don't think I'd feel safe with those big opening!

My big girl playing with the young ones

Not sure if that small vest is going to help her from getting wet

Gage did not want to take his picture with the bus but did it to make mommy happy

Gage loves ALL animals, even stuffed ones

We also went to the lake twice that week to play on the wave runner.  Daddy was able to go with us for the very first time.  We had a hard time getting him & Gage off when it was time to go.  I wish we had pictures but we met some new friends at the lake.  There were 2 geese that follow us around & hang with us the whole time.  They love to be fed. :)

One day we did a fun activity that I got from one of my friend's blog.  We found small items, put them in a ziplock bag, filled it with water, & froze it.  The next day the boys had to use tools to break up the ice & find all the items on the list.  They had a great time!

One night Madison & I went over to my cousin's house to play games. We also went to Six Flags one evening.  I'm getting too old to keep up with these kids so by the end of the week, I was exhausted!  Okay, week 9 wasn't a slow week after looking back but week 10 was. :)

This week we've been just hanging out pretty much.  I volunteered for a school friend of Gage's to come over half a day for the next 3 weeks to play while her mom starts back to work.  Her & Gage are a mess together but they have a blast so it keeps him occupied as long as they are not getting into something they are not suppose to.  I took them swimming yesterday morning but it started pouring down rain so our outdoor time was cut short.  Madison has drill camp this week, she was nervous since she is an officer this week but I know she will be great at it.  Autumn starts her 6 month appointments which means weeks of different dr. appts.  She has 2-3 appts each month until November plus her weekly therapy appts & school starts at the end of the month.  It gets exhausting getting her in & out & then she cries for appts now so that is an added stress.  We do what we have to do though for our chidren.  :)

No updates on the adoption front.  I have not heard how the court went or anything else.  I know there is just one child out there made specifically for us so I'm sitting in that peace.  When God prepares & allows him in our home it will be on His perfect timing & that is what I want.  :)

Walk-n-Roll for Spina Bifida

This year we will be participating in the Walk-n-Roll for Spina Bifida for the SBA of North Texas.  They use the money raised to support programs & services for those living with Spina Bifida.  We would love for you to help us reach our fundraising goal by donating to our team and/or joining us in walking.  You can click here: SBA Walk-n-Roll to learn more, donate, or sign-up to walk with us.

To Donate: Click on Sponsor a Walker, Enter in Autumn Williams, Click on her name, & then enter your donation.

To walk with us: Click on the Register Here button, click Join a Team, Select Autumn's Army & then follow the directions.

Thank you so much for your support!