Race for Riley

Abby, Daddy and I ran in the one mile race this morning at the "Race for Riley". It was Abby's second time to run in this race and her third one mile race! She did great and finished in 13 minutes and 45 seconds. She had her race number painted on her face, got to ride a pony and jumped in the bouncey moon jump. It was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect!

Riley is five, too, and also has mitochondrial disease. I met her mother a few years ago when Abby was very ill and Waynette was planning the first race. You can see more about this race and Riley at raceforriley.org.

The first year of the race, Abby couldn't walk... the past two years, she's ran the mile race. God is cool and we are so blessed for the protection and blessings He continues to give her.

She had two seizures on Thursday night. It's the first time in a while she's had two. We continue to pray for protection daily and continue to take it one day at a time. Today has already been a beautiful day and it's just 11:25 a.m.!

Fabulous Friends!

Oh... the Lord has blessed me with some precious, precious friends. Kelly and Alethea are two of my dearest friends and we celebrated Alethea's Fabulous Fortieth Birthday today. She is AMAZING. How wonderful it is to have friends who "know" you... laugh with you, cry with you, spew with you, encourage you, love you, and pray with you!! How blessed I am! Happy Birthday Sweet Girl.

Don't You Dare!

My precious friend almost died when our adorable server came and threatened to sing "Happy Birthday" in Italian for her. I love this picture. This smile beams with the joy this sweet girl exudes to her friends ALL THE TIME. We LOVE you Alethea... you are just a treasure!

Making a Wish!

After Kelly and I sang... oh so quietly... Alethea made her wish and we enjoyed some cake!

My Poor Girl...

Oh poor girl... she is pooped out! She had a dentist appt. on Thursday. It was her first one (teeth haven't been the priority yet) and she ended up having to get a crown. She was so brave but the whole ordeal exhausted her. She fell asleep in my arms at the counter before I could even pay.

We had her latest neurology appt. yesterday. She's had 4 seizures in the past 11 days. Her last one was last night at 12:50 a.m. We have two more increases we can do on her meds and then we have to go back to the drawing board. We will increase it again tonight from 100 mg to 125. She is at 80 mg during the day and so we can up it to 100 and maybe 125... if she is still having seizures... not sure what we'll do. Prayers for direction and of course healing are covetted. Thank you.

Dusty would like everyone to know he's had a rough time too. He continues to chase the squirrels in the backyard to no avail! It's keeping them off the bird feeder though! I'll die a dozen deaths if he actually catches one so we keep praying for fast squirrels.

Hibachi!

I have no idea if I am spelling that right, but our precious neighbors... E.A. and Marcia, took us out to Mt. Fuji for dinner. It was Abby's first time at a Hibachi grill and her first time to use chopsticks... she was a pro but did go back to the fork!

She was so excited to see the chef and was thrilled to get her "own" bowl of soup and salad and her "own" chopsticks... and the flower in her cup of water was just the icing on the cake!

It was like being at a hibachi grill for the first time...

Abby was mesmerized with everything our chef "Bee" did but was a little frightened by the heat from the fire! The poor thing kept a brave face but moved her chair back from the table very quickly. It was too funny. "Bee" is from Laos and is a riot! Our neighbor, E.A., is his biggest fan!

Abby decided she wants Daddy to make pancakes this way on Saturday mornings and that she wants to go back for her birthday!

We went to Houston this weekend to visit Don's aunt Genevieve, cousin Carl and cousin Lucy.

Lucy was kind enough to have us stay with her and take us every where we needed to go... thank you Lucy.

Aunt Gene had a ring she wanted to give Abby that she had given to Don's mother when she was six years old. It's a beautiful gold ring with a blue stone. It will be treasured. Aunt Gene is fighting stage four colon cancer. Your prayers for her as she battles this disease and undergoes chemo are so much appreciated.

We had a lovely time. Abby and I had never met Gene or Carl, it was very special.

Cousin Carl has a lot of "toys" in his garage and Abby was dying to go four wheeling! I'm not sure how she even held this helmet up on her little head but she was lovin it! As Daddy went over his "checklist" to make sure they were safe, Abby was all ready to go.

Am I really going to do this?

Once they got started, she did not want to get off. She was smiling from ear to ear and loved it!

I think we need a motorcycle!

Spring babies...

What a precious surprise we found coming home from the store on the golf cart! This sweet mommy and her SEVEN babies were enjoying some sunshine by the lake. Abby was thrilled and of course wanted to bring them home. They were chirping and stayed so close to their mommy. When they went down into the water, they huddled by her side and when she turned, you could not even see them... very cool. Daddy Duck stayed a few feet away to keep everyone safe.

Nature and instinct are two very

beautiful things!

SPRING FEST!

Abby's school had spring fest this past Friday night and Abby was quickly a fan. There were about five or six inflatable adventures and Abby was hooked. Who needed the duck pond, treasure chest or water gun games when you could climb, slide and bounce! I love her "tom boy" ways!

Abby soon bumped into (literally) her buddy Andrew and they played together the rest of the time. He is so sweet and they are so cute together. After tears were shed for bumping ears and heads... much more fun was had... including Abby's first cotton candy!

Climbing a sturdy rock wall is hard enough, but climbing one that is full of air and bounces is even trickier!

Our adventure girl tried this a couple weeks ago at Stone Mountain on a much larger and sturdier one. Half way up, she looked left and right and then decided she wanted down! This one was much more to her liking and she was up and over in no time!

My two precious little ones. I love this picture!

Happy Easter...

After hiding easter eggs in the igloos... it was time to venture into some sunshine. One second after snapping this photo Abby said, "I want my sweater back!" What a cold Easter it was this year.

Grammy sent this beautiful dress to Abby and when she saw herself in the mirror for the first time, she swished back and forth to watch the bottom sway... very precious moment!

Sweater back on for this one... Daddy and Abby.

Go, Go... Gadget arms

While waiting for Daddy, Abby I took a self-portrait, Dusty just couldn't balance on two legs and hold the camera at the same time.

Much warmer inside by the fireplace... on Easter!

"I'm not wanting to strangle Dusty... really... we're best friends!", says Abby. "Maybe if I don't look at her, mommy won't see I have six foiled chocolate easter eggs in my mouth!", Dusty thinks.....

Riding In Style...

Who needs a car seat (or bicycle basket) when you have bungee cords!? Abby has to take baby Allison and baby Beatrice everywhere with her, including her bike ride. And so... daddy to the rescue... baby's get front view! We went shopping for a bicycle basket on this day and so I had to snap a pic of the "girls" riding in style for the last time. Now, Abby is thrilled with her basket. She can now take their bottles, some spare change, her quacker, and her juice along with the girls on her ride!

Abby Update:

We got the results of Abby's MRI today and everything came back normal. We are so very thankful there were no signs of her lining continuing to thin... great, great, great news. So we continue to daily battle against seizures. She has been having one about every other night for a while now. We have just increased her night dosage of Topamax and continue to be on our face before the Lord for her protection and safety and healing. She is doing great. She is not showing side effects from the seizures (aside from very high and delicate emotions) and we don't see any negative effects from the medication. So PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE... and thanks. We are so thankful for your faithfulness in praying for her. It amazes me how faithful and concerned and loving you all continue to be after so long... God has been so kind in the friends He's blessed us with! Thank you.

Her "new" thing...

Walking into school has become the new highlight of Abby's mornings. It was getting too hard for her to be ready on time for the bus. Sometimes her sleep schedule is later, depending on what kind of night she's had, and so we started taking her to school. One morning as we sat in the car line, I asked her if she wanted to walk into school and to her class by herself. Crazy question. She immediately beamed from ear to ear and shook her head yes! So off she went! These little steps of independence are so precious and we do not take a single one for granted. So here she is, beaming, and walking herself into school and to class! Her smile alone is worth all the wealth in the world!