8 years and 7 months - you started TRIKAFTA!!!!

WOOOO HOOOOO! You started Trikafta this month! 

Your Dee Dee has prayed for this medicine for years. We have raised money to help this become a reality. To date we have raised over $165,000. It's one of those days that feels kind of surreal. The Lord has certainly had his hand on you since you were born. I am forever grateful and give God ALL the GLORY for how well you have done. You have many prayer warriors and I give the Lord PRAISE for that as well. 

Your Mom knew that Trikafta was coming but it was arriving from FedEx instead of UPS. FedEx is super unreliable... so I just prayed that it would work out that we would see the driver pull in. 

Pop's and I were out in our driveway when the driver came into your driveway honking the horn. That NEVER happens. Very quickly... she turned around from your driveway and came up to our driveway and asked if this was your house. We said NO but it was OK to leave it. We looked down and you and your Mom and Bennett were running up the hill. Such a time of excitement!!!

I love that YOU are excited to take this medicine. You heard that this medicine will help you live longer and I'm not sure if that's what got you on board but you were excited about it! Now B wants to know if he will live as long as you. SO cute. One day you will understand more what this day means. I have prayed daily and had all my friends praying for YOU! Such an army of friends behind you. 💜

I explained to the driver what she was delivering and she was SOOOO sweet. She said we completely made her day. We took pictures and celebrated. 

Your Mama was so excited! 

This was a text from the FedEx driver. SO sweet that we could have her for a driver and also make an impact in her life. 

💜

I couldn't hardly contain my excitement! 

This is one of my favorite pictures. Oh my heart! 💜

I love when we can FaceTime. You called to say that TODAY was the day! 

You love to shoot frogs in the creek. ha! 

Sam came over and we played outside for a bit! 

That afternoon we went to Scoops to celebrate! 🥳

You were able to get ice cream and candy for this special day! 

You shot a bird with your BB gun. You're still learning which ones are ok and which ones aren't. 😲

Fall Break 2021 was SO much fun. We visited 6 states on our road trip. 

South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. 

We started the week off by doing a hike that I've wanted to do for a few years now. It was near Blowing Rock, NC and was called Hawksbill Mountain! 

I love to hike with you! 

We had to slide down some boulders to get here! 

You definitely have the "let's push the limit" gene from your Dee Dee! 😉

I love that we do a picture of our feet too! 

We left Hawksbill and ate dinner at Mellow Mushroom in Boone, NC

Your Dad is trying to get you to eat a banana pepper. LOL 

We stayed in West Jefferson, NC in a VRBO for 3 days. It was SO peaceful. 

You LOVE to fly fish. It's the cutest! 

This river was right in front of our house...

You are SO cute. 

You are really good at it...

You thought this was hilarious! 

Finding a new spot to fish...

We fished until dark and then ate dinner in downtown West Jefferson. It was cool...

Night time meant we were all whipped! LOL We all had some chill time on our tablets! 

You said the highlight of your trip was catching your fish... SO cute! 

We LOVED Grayson Highlands.... This was also on your top 5. 💙

This was one of the best places for the leaves changing...

This hike goes down as one of my favorites! 

The Wilburn Trail in Grayson Highlands...

We crossed the AT. SO exciting. 

Seeing the wild ponies was such a cool experience...

It was fun watching your Mom in her element...

Some of the ponies were OK with us petting them and some were not...

This is one of my favorite pics! 

🤣😂😆

A lot of rocks... you were in your element too! 

You were SO excited to hike in a "clouds"...

It was so beautiful in the clouds...

SO much adventure...

Memories to last a lifetime...

It's the cutest how you want your picture taken and you swing your legs over... LOL 

Oh my heart! 💙

Pop's ran down and took our picture...

SO serene...

SO peaceful! 

We were hoping to see a bear but we didn't...

You wrote your name with your hiking pole... 💛

Some of the trees were GORGEOUS! 

Riding around the park...

Always climbing... we are at our picnic spot!

We found the biggest leaves! 

We found the best breweries and were able to sit outside. It was about 62 degrees but felt so cold. 

Your Mama let you try a white chocolate mocha and now you think you need one every time we pass by a Starbucks! HAHAHAHA! 

SO many Christmas trees everywhere! 

Shenandoah National Park... they were actually having a heat wave and that made the leaves not change colors. SO many bugs but it was still SO fun! 

Off Skyland Drive at Shenandoah 

The visitors center at the park. It has changed so much because of COVID. 

Loved this hike in Shenandoah. We did a sunset hike and it crossed the AT also. 

Bennett found this see-saw! LOL 

You love a good summit and sunset hike too! 💛

We spent the next night in Woodstock, VA at the Holiday Inn Express. I was super impressed. You two thought it was so fun to go to the vending machine at the hotel. ☺️

Breakfast in the hotel lobby. We haven't been eating "indoors" but we were a safe distance from everyone. 

I was so happy that you rode with us for part of our road trip! 

We left Woodstock for Harper's Ferry, WV. Your Mama LOVES this town. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is here. The AT also leads you straight through the town of Harper's Ferry. Such a cool experience. 

Jefferson Rock... right before we hiked into downtown! 

My favorite family picture of our trip! 

Your Mom talked to you and helped you learn the history of this town. 

What a beautiful church in town...

Your poor Mama was stung 3 more times by a yellow jacket here! 

Such a beautiful historic town!

The streets were gorgeous! It almost looks like I photoshopped you all here. ha! Right behind y'all is the awesome bookstore in town. We each bought you and Bennett a book about the history of the town. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that your sweet Mama is homeschooling you two now. What an answer to prayer. 

Your Mama was excited that the AT took you across this bridge into Maryland. You two were excited about the fish below! 😆

SO beautiful. This is where the Shenandoah River meets the Potomac River. 

Pops saw a man that had a "Cycle for Life" shirt on. He rode his bike for CF in 2016. We told him thank you! 

When me and your Mama and Pops came in 2019... we hiked up to the top of the mountain behind y'all. We spared y'all this time but it brought back sweet memories! 

You found a snake... so funny! 

This was the local hiking store. Your Mama got a cool sweater inside. 

We ate at the Rabbit Hole for lunch! YUM! 

Looking down the street after lunch. Very pretty! 

We walked around downtown learning about the history! 

I took this picture inside the bookstore. You were making an arrowhead out of a rock you found! 

You were SUPER excited about it and did a great job! 

Your Mom is showing you the books we found! 

Your Mom loves this place. When we were here in 2019... they had a gift shop inside. And, a place for the hikers to stop and rest and have WIFI. All of that was gone now because of COVID but it was still a lot of fun to stop by again. 

This day was all about your Mama. She wanted to ENO it up by the Shenandoah River. SO peaceful.... until B fell and slammed his head into a rock. 😭 Thankfully he had a huge GOOSE egg but he was ok! 

While your Mom read in her ENO... your Dad read to you on a rock in the river. He said that was one of his top 5 things for the week. SO sweet! 

We had frozen yogurt for dinner next to the hotel because all of the ice cream places closed in downtown earlier than they said they would. 

Y'all don't get a lot of screen time at home... so you were SUPER excited. 

We left Harper's Ferry and came to the North Entrance to go to the gift shop. I was glad we did so we could get a picture with their sign. We used to do this with your Mom when she was young. 

You had climbed to the top of the sign before we could even say NO! ha

Pop's was showing you how to use your new compass from the gift shop! 

We left Shenandoah for Luray and went to the caverns there. Such a cool experience. 

This is a reflection in the water below. 

You were fascinated! 

I loved this one because it fell over and looked like a tree that had fallen. Can you see it? 😉

The lights went out for a second when we were in the caves. YIKES! LOL 

We drove to Johnson City, TN to stay the night. We stopped to eat Thai and ate in the Walgreen's parking lot. 

You are super strong and you like to show it! 🤣

This is the only night we didn't stay with your Mom and Dad. They stayed in a VRBO about 20 minutes away. You wanted to stay in the hotel with us! SOOO fun! 

Home 2 Suites had a pullout couch. I thought you would love to sleep there but somehow you talked yourself into sleeping with Pops! 💛

We made waffles for breakfast. This was our 7th day being gone and the first time to see rain! What a praise! 

It rained on us pretty bad for about an hour and then the sun came out in a beautiful way! 

We stopped by Hendersonville, NC at Kilwin's and Mast General Store. 

You got a spooky chocolate apple just like your Mama! 

It turned into such a beautiful day! 

We went to Stepp's Apple Orchard and pumpkin patch. It turns out we were here on the same exact day in 2020. Such fun memories. 

You had to carry your own! LOL 

You put your arm around B all by yourself. So sweet. 

These are the 4 pumpkins you two chose! 

I wasn't surprised that you went for the biggest pumpkins you could find! 💛

SOOO big and you always want to do everything all by yourself! #MrIndependant 

Shooting apples at targets! LOL 

You love your Mama something fierce! 

Picking yummy apples! 

I can't remember the type of apple but they sure were good! 

We got apple doughnuts and slushies afterwards! You were a fan! 

Getting SO big! 

We were ready for food that wasn't a hamburger and fries! HA! We stopped in Athens at Taqueria Del Sol and it was the perfect ending for a great trip! 

Your Mama had promised Starbucks on the way home and we FINALLY found one. You were pretty happy! 😍

You bought a boomerang at Mast General Store and let me tell you... you have gotten your monies worth out of it! I'm laying in my ENO and you are throwing over my head. hahaha

We had contests in the pasture! 

Your Dad made y'all a mack Danny guinea pig cage! SO much better! 

I told you if you threw the boomerang and it came back to you, I would give you $10. You did it!!!! ha

Showing Nelly how to throw it! 

Pop's letting you shoot his air rifle! 

You're so much fun! You wanted me to come watch you shoot frogs. I soon learned you meant from this end to the other end of the creek... so I escorted you! ha! 😆

We sure have LOVED Pop's being home. He made a board of meats and cheeses for y'all. You helped him! 

Sweet memories! 

Sam came over and y'all shot at water bottles! 

You now have the family record in golf! The previous record was -16. WHOA!!!! You were SO excited. I was upstairs drying my hair and you came running up to tell me all about it! 💛

Me and Pops and your Mama hiked to the Hike Inn. You two stayed home with your Dad. Y'all caught crappy and made fish tacos! SOOOO cute! 

You were SOOOO excited to see your Mama. I almost cried when you came running up to see her with your arms open wide! SO cute. 

Me and your Mama and Pops got home JUST in time to watch Rocky roll out to his new home. Your Mama is going to be staying home with y'all to do school. What a HUGE blessing. You won't realize it until you are older - probably - but what a sacrifice to make sure y'all are schooled well and make sweet memories. This Dee Dee's heart is overflowing! I'm so grateful. It's such an awesome time because of the state of our country too. 🙏

Your Mom got a cool rental since someone ran into the back of her! 

I tagged along while y'all went to the bank to deposit the money from the camper. Such a fun day to celebrate. Y'all sold it pretty quickly! 

Chilling in the driveway...

You and your Mom went with us to Thomason's first t-ball game! 

We came back to play! You love holding Truett! 

Another boomerang competition! 

You are getting pretty daring with your bike! 

You love to think of things to make with your Dad. Y'all are watching a video on You Tube! 

Finding a Charlie...

Riding your bike the normal way was so "7"! LOL 

Getting ready to go fishing with Pop's and your Dad! 

Sunset at Varner. Your Dad found a new crappy place...

You LOVE to fish in our creek! You have a collection of your findings every day! ha

You and B and your Dad and Pops have been making this on our land. It's going to be so cool! 

You were a little tired of dragging limbs but you are going to be so excited when it's done! 

You are feeding Penny one of our NC apples! LOL She looks excited! 

What a wonderful month this has been for you. From starting Trikafta to going on fall break and catching a trout to petting the ponies and doing a sunset hike. You've had a lot of great weather outside time to explore. Your Mama quit her job and will be done there in a couple of weeks. So many wonderful things. So many wonderful memories. 

I never want to lose sight of the fact that this is a VERY hard time for so many people we know. We are still in the middle of a crazy pandemic - a virus that was released from a lab in China. Covid-19 has devastated so much of our country. We have lost friends. I give praise for the protection our family has had. Our country is in the midst of an insane inflation time and VERY "shady" leadership. We don't know what tomorrow holds... BUT... we do know WHO holds the future. I am so grateful you are growing in your relationship with the Lord. I am so grateful for the time your Mama and Daddy invest in you. 

I'm so grateful you get to explore our 10 acres. I'm grateful that you get to be "all boy" outside while you learn inside in between. What a blessing. 

You started Trikafta this past Sunday. This is your 6th day and so far you haven't had any noticeable side effects. So many people have checked in on you. So many people care. This drug has the potential to be life-changing for you. We give the Lord the PRAISE! 

Prayer Requests - 💜

* Your liver enzymes will remain normal so you can continue the medicine 

* You will gain weight on Trikafta - the doctor will re-evaluate you in December and discuss the potential of a G-tube 

* Your eyes to remain healthy and no cataracts will develop

* That this medicine will do "more than we could EVER ask or imagine" as His Word says in Ephesians 

* You won't culture anything on your next clinic visit 

* Your lungs will remain clear 

* That COVID will stay away from you and our family 

SO SO SO grateful for the friends and family that pray for you. You have a great team that cares about you and celebrates this victory with us. 

Welcome November... I am excited for the memories we will make. This is your Mama's favorite time of the year and Dee Dee is trying to get on board. LOL This will be an unusual Christmas with Pops not having a job but we WILL remember the reason for the season. I am pretty excited about that. 💛

Happy 8 years and 7 months sweet Aspen! Your Dee Dee loves you SOOOO much... to the moon and back and back again. 💛