SO.MUCH.FUN in one month! Dee Dee is literally sitting here praising the Lord for His goodness in our lives. I am SO amazingly grateful for the month that we have had. You are already 5 years and ONE month and only 11 months away from six. haha! You seem really excited to turn 6 and Dee Dee keeps telling you to SLOW down!
You are smart and analytical, silly and athletic. You are sensitive at times and never stop talking (Dee Dee loves it though. Most of the time! LOL ) You ask "but why" a LOT! Today on the way home from Stone Mountain, you wanted to know how the animal skull we brought home from camping got that way without us seeing it happen. You don't take any answer for "face value!" You need to understand and I LOVE that about you. You are determined too. Pop's seat belt is REALLY hard to buckle but you don't give up easily. You insist on doing it yourself. You don't take the easy way out and I'm so thankful. You've been slacking a little while doing your treatments (not doing your best), so I'm hoping your determination will show up with your treatments too.
We started the month by going to see the Easter bunny at the mall in Athens. You and B had never been but Nelly wanted to take Thomason, so we went too! Y'all are SO cute!
You are awesome with Thomason and it's fun to watch!
Y'all did great!!! :)
We celebrated your birthday with friends! We learned that you should not have a birthday party on the Saturday before Easter. We're so glad that Bennett and Oliver could come though. You were SUPER excited.
There was so much for y'all to do! You played on your swing-set and your plane that Pops build you when you turned 3.
Mommy is the hostest with the mostest! Your cupcakes were YOU!
Frogs and green! Your favorite things...
You painted snakes!
and blew bubbles...
and bounced outside...
and rode your car...
and your plane...
When they left, we dyed Easter eggs! Yep! We fit in a LOT in this weekend. LOL
I love this picture of my three favorite boys!
Dee Dee bought some bunny bread from Great Harvest!
You always ask to hold Thomason! He thinks you're pretty hilarious!
You got a pet frog for your birthday! His name was Kermit. You've since traded him in for a gecko called Mecko! :) Here you are showing Granny!
You love the treats in your Easter baskets...
We had an Easter egg hunt...
You found the golden egg!
The weather was perfect! We played outside ALL day!
Easter night we realized we hadn't sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you... so we found a chocolate chip cookie and sang to you! Cause that's how we roll... we celebrate ALL weekend! :)
So thankful for family time!
You three bring this Dee Dee so much JOY!
You had fun playing with Nicoleeee and Noel!
You are also daring and creative! :)
Riding in the back of your truck with you two can be an experience! ha!
Pops and Dada have been working on a boat that needed repair! You four took it out to the water to find out if it floated! It DID! :)
The week after Easter was Spring break. We went to Stone Mountain. Buying y'all a membership was an amazing idea! We have already used it SO much!
Anything you can climb on or jump on... you LOVE!
You are fast and you are very steady on your feet. You are also sweet to help Bennett!
We rode to the top of the mountain...
We both love exploring the top of the mountain!
You made a penny at "Ride the Ducks!"
The "quackers" they gave out QUACKED loud. ha!
You got to drive the boat on the lake...
Santa Claus was our tour guide! :)
You are silly! And this Dee Dee loves it!
We also saw a 4D movie at Stone Mountain! You loved it... B, not so much! LOL
Dee Dee bought y'all outside JENGA!
Riding your bike is your favorite! You are SUPER fast and scare me and Mommy! You also love to catch lizards!
We went to downtown Monroe and Mommy bought y'all a whistle pop.
Y'all kept Thomason while Nelly and Co-Chri and Dee Dee and Pops went to a funeral... You LOVE playing with him!
We've become Stone Mountain "buddies!" You LOVE to hike the mountain and it overflows this Dee Dee's heart to watch you do it AND to be able to do it with you.
You love to tell me you are a ROCK climber! You are super good for sure!
We found a caterpillar to take to the top of the mountain with us!
My heart was SO happy to watch you climbing the hardest part!
You found your caterpillar a friend on top of the mountain...
I love that we enjoy so many of the same things...
Laughing because it was "easy for me to say smile" cause I had sunglasses! :)
You love to show me your muscles when we're climbing...
"Let me know if a train comes, Dee Dee!" LOL
We worked up quite the appetite. You ate at least 1/2 of your bowl from Chipotle...
Cleaning our fence line! Dada is going to build us a fire pit! :)
We went to Food truck Friday in Monroe... You're too big to slide down the slides now! HA! You run!
We saw your friend, Jackson, and y'all got a snow cone!
We went to a new farm in Loganville and bought some bacon! haha
You LOVE to find frogs and turtles and.... !!!
The CF Foundation asked you to draw a picture and say, THANK YOU! Dee Dee is doing her best to explain WHY we walk and WHY people donate and WHY!!! This is your pet frog, Kermit. And you. Oh... and a flower you picked for me! :)
Dada took Mommy out to brunch for her birthday! It's nasty outside and you decided to wear Pop's beanie! LOL
We went in Target and you picked out this for your prize! :) You are planning to take it to "show and tell" at school...
I love that you LOVE to play games! You're getting really good at this cup game!
Your new pet, Mecko... Or is it, Meko? haha
Bouncing with Mecko!
It's always fun to pick you up from school... You always ask me to pull over so you can show me what's in your folder and to tell me what happened at school. I LOVE to hear it all!
Dada took a day off from work and asked Dee Dee to go with y'all to pick strawberries! SO much fun!
You have amazing balance...
You love playing with your Dada!
I'm so glad I could go with you three...
Dee Dee got y'all some ice cream when we were done! You ate a lot. I LOVE that your appetite has increased! You need to put on as much weight as possible.
Eating with your friends and making silly faces was fun! You were SO excited about the cookies Mommy made for you...
Mommy brought you a happy meal!
And I shared my cantaloupe because you love ALL things fruit!
You got to pass out all your cookies...
You made sure Julia got your favorite cookie! :) You sure do like her..
I love these pictures of you and your friends...
Giving Julia a hug because you were checking out early! LOL You decided to stay for "show and tell" after all...
NO! NO! Dee Dee has limits. ha!
We're in the "height" of fundraising season! This is one of the pictures I posted on Facebook to raise money. Dee Dee works SO hard from Valentines until early May for YOU! It's all for YOU! I want to make a difference in your life and a difference in the life of ALL people with CF! This is going to be our 5th walk. This year we have raised over $11,000! In the past 5 years... we have raised over $60,000! I couldn't be more proud of our team... "Aspen is growing like a tree!" We're grateful for EVERYONE that helps us! This group picture is of our first walk in 2013. The PICC line picture is from your CF related admission in November of 2017, and the baby picture, is when you were in CHOA after your surgery. SO much to be thankful for!
Mommy celebrated her 27th birthday this month! We met for dinner and went to Your Pie and Bruster's for dessert.
Me and Mommy and Dada and Pops went kayaking and you and B stayed with your first babysitter that wasn't a "friend!" You stayed with Miss Audrey and had so much fun. We brought Mommy this cookie cake home to continue celebrating!
Picking you up from school is so much fun when I get to see what you made that day...
I surprised you by taking you to climb Stone Mountain again...
We even shared my walking stick!
I LOVE how excited you get!
You picked flowers... I was trying to tell you about ALL the people that love you and have given for a CURE for CF! It's hard to explain to you at this age but I'm doing my best to let you know! I wish I could let you personally give these flowers to the special people that have given this year!
When you turn around in the kitchen and see this... you bust out laughing! You are a HOOT!
We went camping at Stone Mountain! Our first time. The weekend could NOT have been any prettier!
Your Dee Dee and Pops couldn't love each other more or YOU!
Camping or not... your breathing treatments and working those lungs has to continue! You actually have a cough and are suppose to be doing more treatments than normal. Bennett has an ear infection and we're pretty sure you do too! Clinic called you in an anti-biotic because you have a cough... just like B!
Pops found a king snake near our camper! YIKES!
You almost didn't touch the snake because you were SO mad that you couldn't hold it! You have a little bit of a stubborn/pride issue, so I was glad you caved in and decided petting it and not holding it was ok!
We spent some time kayaking and had SO much fun!
We love laying in our ENO's and I love when you snuggle with me...
When we covered up in the ENO, we turned purple! ha
We docked at an island in the lake... that naturally led to a conversation on what an island was.. ha!
Me and Mommy are "Jackson" buddies!
We met up with Nelly and Co-Chri and formed an ENO tribe! haha Your Mommy got a new ENO for her birthday...
Me, you, Pops and Co-Chri climbed the mountain while Mommy, Nelly and Bennett rode the tram! This is the first time you struggled just a bit! It made me a little sad but I think it's in part because of your cough! I pray every day that you will exercise and run and work those lungs as much as possible and that the Lord will continue to have His hand on you!
Pops took you the last little bit... he's big and strong too! :)
We were POOPED from kayaking all day but I'm grateful we climbed the mountain! That's our first time to climb the mountain twice in one week...
I love that we wore the same shirt... by mistake! It's our last years WALK shirt that says, BREATHE EASY! Perfect timing! :)
Dada stayed back and fished... that dot on the left at the bottom is him. LOL
You rode your bike to the store for an icee! FUN!
You rode home with me and Pops from camping! We found this skull on the island we were on! We talked the entire way home about HOW that skull got like it is and WHY we weren't there to see it! You are so inquisitive and I LOVE it!
You're also smart! You asked me to take a picture of the skull from a different angle so I could see the "details" better! TOO funny!
We got home from camping and realized there was way too much beauty left in this day... so we headed to Lake Varner to have a picnic and to kayak at sunset! What an awesome way to end the weekend. You said this was little Stone Mountain and yes... I believe you are correct! Pops found the perfect place to have a picnic in a crowded park!
You and Dada fished and the rest of us took in the beauty and explored!
Show you a rock and you're sure to climb on it and throw smaller rocks! You always have a blast!
We couldn't have had a more fun weekend! It was pure FUN! But all things must come to and end when it's bed time cause it's VEST time! Tired or not. Camping or not! Holidays or NOT! Your Mommy is so good to keep up with all she has to for you! One day you'll "take over" your own care and your Dee Dee is already praying that you will do it with the same DETERMINATION you already have in other areas of life! Keep on keeping on sweet Aspen! Give it your all! Give EVERYTHING you do your all!
Aspen! Your Dee Dee loves you to the moon and back and to the sun and back and back again and again! :) The older you get, the more clear it becomes that the Lord made YOU exactly how you needed to be made to conquer your Cystic Fibrosis. You have that fighting spirit and are independent to the core! I thank the Lord for that!
I love how you run to give me hugs! I love how you LOVE the great outdoors! I love how you get excited to do things with me and I love your sweet heart. I love how cleaver you are and how you can often see your "wheels turning!" I love how thoughtful and caring you are. I love how friendly you are to everyone you come in contact with.
I'm grateful for YOU and am so thankful this was an amazing month for you.
Our CF walk is coming up this next month! And so many other exciting things. I hope you will always, always, ALWAYS know how much your Dee Dee loves you and fought for you to have a CURE! I can't wait to see that one day. I'm believing.
Love you, sweet Aspen!
Prayer needs -
*Aspen to GAIN weight. The doctor says she will put him on some additional medicines if he hasn't gained weight when he goes back in July! Having a healthy BMI is good for lung function. His BMI is 4%
* This cough to go away with no further treatment (he's on an anti-biotic)
* For Aspen to push himself as hard as possible to do his treatments and do them correctly... there's a method to the madness!
* That there is nothing "additional" going on in his lungs to prevent him from gaining weight
* He cultured staph this time but they don't treat it! Praying it will clear up
* Praying for our walk on May 19th! Praying for Aspen as he begins to understand that the walks are all about him and a CURE! Praying for people's hearts to be opened and to give. Praying for the money raised to make a difference in Aspen's life!
* Please pray for thee drugs in trail that may benefit Aspen in the future. There is a drug in trial that could potentially benefit him that is "due" in 2020.
* Please pray that Aspen will do well as he heads to Kindergarten in the fall. He will be going to Walnut Grove Elementary! More children = more exposure to germs = more chances to get sick!
* Pray for his lungs to stay as healthy as possible!
* Please pray for his determined spirit to continue! He's going to need it! Cf is a hard, time-consuming disease, especially for a child. Many children, as they get closer to the early teen years... aren't compliant with their treatments. I'm already praying that Aspen will be!
* Praying for a great group of friends that will encourage him along the way!
Thank you for praying for our sweet boy!
