and we're off ...

As I write this, I am sitting in the airport with John in North Carolina waiting for our connecting flight to Las Vegas. John has a conference and I decided to tag along...can't have him going to Vegas alone :) The kids are with my mom back in Pennsylvania and I have only called home 4 times since we left this morning around 7. The last time John and I went away without kids was when Broderick was about 19 months old. Needless to say, I am a little worried.

This has been planned for awhile, but I guess I just forgot to mention it. I can't wait to be there (neither of us have ever been), but I am very nervous about leaving the kids. We will be back on Saturday, so it is a short trip. I will update with photos when we get back.

We fly out around 1 today, but we just found out that it is overbooked by 20 people, so it may end up being later than that, but we plan on being in Vegas sometime early this evening. I plan on updating facebook (love it!!!) with mobile photos, so if you have access to that-check me out there....it not, here we are:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=272156&l=81f86ad695&id=1487943720


Thanks for checking in on us.

always late.....always something....

Well, I was going to submit one of these photos for this week's I heart faces contest, but because of an unexpected incident yesterday, I am too late and can't enter. UGH!!!!

The theme this week was "green" and the photo had to have some sort of green in it. Click on the link to see more "green" photos!!!

Well, here they are anyways! I guess since I was having trouble deciding and I can't really enter I will show you all the pictures. Next week is no flash week...these might work for that too. John actually took these--although I usually do most of the picture taking :)

(Thanks to our neighbor, Danielle, for the yummy St. Patrick's Day cupcakes).



And about the unexpected incident....I found out the hard way that you can actually break your finger if you slam it in the door of a van. Ouch!!! I am in a splint for the next 4 weeks and in a lot of pain. No fun!!! But, honestly, I can't blame anyone but myself. Stupid me shut my own finger in the car door. Like I said....always late....always something.

SnowMudball fight

Yes, you read correctly....the boys had a snowmudball fight!

We sent them outside last Saturday morning to play. We knew it was muddy from all the snow that melted and made sure that they had on old clothes and shoes. They were supposed to be enjoying the 70° weather.Maybe playing football, soccer, riding their bikes or just running around the yard. They had other plans though :)

John and I were inside and he happened to glance out the window just in time to see a huge ball of mud flying through the air. Of course, as mom, my initial thought was to run outside and start yelling. John said at least let him have time to get a picture first. Once the camera came out and I really saw how much fun they were having, I couldn't be mad anymore!

Camden truly thought he was in trouble though-hence all the very sad face pictures and even tears. He also realized (once we got outside) how dirty he was. Adalynn watched for a little bit and even stepped out into the yard for a few seconds, but quickly retreated to the safety of the deck. She was NOT interested in participating in their snowmudball fight! Such a little lady already!

They had fun and continued to throw mud at each other for quite awhile. They made a huge mess and Broderick's white t-shirt was ruined, but they had a blast and that is all that matters. I have the photos to prove it!

boys will be boys!

just a week late....

Sorry it has taken me so long to post a Pinewood Derby update...so much for getting it done that same weekend. I guess it was just wishful thinking on my part.

The Pinewood Derby has been on our minds since Mid-January when Broderick began to work on his car. For those of you who don't know, each boy is given a block of wood, 4 nails, and 4 wheels, and is to design a car of their choice. After a trip to the Scout store, Sears for some tools, the craft store for decals, along with countless hours of sawing, sanding, painting, and accessorizing we finally had a completed car.


Cars had to be turned in the week before the race and were officially weighed and measured. The car could only weigh 5 ounces and there were also requirements for length, width, and height, as well as spacing of the wheels and axles. Broderick's car was 4.99 ounces and although it was a little too long, he passed his inspection and his car was determined to be 'ready to race'. The den leaders held the cars in the "garage" until race day.


Race day started out with each boy receiving their pit pass, refueling tickets (for hot dogs, chips, and soda), and being taken to the pit area (where only Scouts with pit passes were allowed). The boys then went on a parade lap around the building waving flags before the race began. Broderick was a little overwhelmed and wasn't sure what to think, but very quickly warmed up to the excitement of it all.



Broderick was so excited during his first chance to race on the track. His car was neck and neck all the way down the track and was the second to finish his first race. He was elated and came straight over to us to tell us he got second-we assured him that we saw the whole thing. Even Camden was so excited for him!!

The track was 40 feet long and all computerized. That was a good thing, since many times you couldn't really tell whose car won. Everything was projected on a screen (from boys name, rank, and car's name---Broderick's car was "Dragon", to the finishing times and places for each race). Throughout the day each boy was able to race on every lane of the track and everyone had a chance to press the starting button. All of their times were then averaged to determine final winners. This was time consuming, but the fairest way that it could have been done.

Broderick's overall time was 5th in the Tiger den, and 11th in the pack. We were very proud of how he reacted and how he cheered on the other scouts. He was most proud of getting the "Best Driver in the Car" award (he glued R2D2 and a Lego guy on his car). His car wasn't the prettiest out there, but you could definitely tell that he did it. John and I did very little in the building of his car.



They even let the siblings who had made cars (which Camden did) have their own race. Camden had a little more help on his (which may be why his car was a bit faster than Broderick's). Camden's overall time beat Broderick's by about a 1/2 second. Camden came very close to winning his race. His car was only 0.001 second slower than the winning car (in the sibling race). Great thing it was computerized! His race was definitely too close to call!

The event lasted for about 3 1/2 hours and even Adalynn did great. As long as we continued to feed her and let her roll around on the dirty floor, she was happy. It was a great day and we all had a lot of fun!

Just some thoughts

After a recent article in our church's monthly newsletter I have been contemplating my desire to blog and to follow all the blogs that I do. My pastor (from our old church in GA) said that he didn't understand why people blog. He even said that he doesn't have time to live vicariously through others via their blogs. I was more than upset about his comments and even debated writing him and letting him know that blogging is so much more than that. I know that I am grateful for all the families that helped me get through this whole cleft experience. I also know that I love being able to keep my family and friends updated on what is going on in our lives via the posts and the photographs on this blog. I know that I am contacted at least once every few months by a new cleft family that happened upon our blog while googling "cleft lip ultrasound". I feel blessed that Adalynn's story has helped others and hope that they find comfort in her beauty....the same comfort I found when I first began this whole experience. Seeing pictures of children before and after their surgeries was so helpful for me and I had to do the same in hopes that I will help others.

I know many of my "followers" are fellow bloggers and cleft families, but they are also friends and family members who check on us on a regular basis. I also know that I have many more people who regularly check the blog and don't comment...called 'lurkers' in the blogging world...complete strangers to me, but with some sort of connection to our lives and Adalynn's story. I know that I will continue to blog and share our life and Adalynn's journey with the world in hopes that it helps at least one other family.

So this is my blog and my life...I do not think it means that I want others to live vicariously through me and I am not trying to do that with the blogs I follow (though I would love to go Disney as often as you do, Darcy). I just want to share our life with the friends and family that are no longer close to us as well as the families searching for information about cleft lips and palates and of course, all my fellow on-line cleft buddies. In my new header it states "Where ever you journey in life, be sure to take along a friend"...and that is just what we are doing! Thanks for coming along with us!

And now, for photos this week...



I can't imagine my life without her...or her cleft.

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Camden is telling Adalynn to look at his bandage....and yes, he is flipping her off!
We couldn't resist asking him to show us his bandage...

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And here is Adalynn demonstrating her love to write or "color" as she says on anything besides paper. Maybe I need to start painting her toenails so she doesn't have to resort to Crayola marker.

And not to leave out Broderick----who read over 700 minutes for the Read-a-thon at school. If you donated money, you will receive a phone call from us in the next week letting you know what your final total was. And for all my Bethlehem friends (teachers and students). Broderick's reading DRA level is between and M and an N! That is 3rd grade level reading-in first grade! His teacher thinks he can read higher than that, but can't test him any higher because of school rules. What a smart kid!!!!Be sure to check in later this weekend...Broderick has his Pinewood Derby tomorrow for Scouts and I will be sharing the photos from that including the photos of him actually making his car. He did a great job on it and is growing up so fast! By the way, he wore MY SHOES when we went out last weekend. They were just Crocs, but keep in mind, he is only 7 years old and my shoes fit him! The way he is growing, he will probably be taller than me by the time he is in 3rd grade.

thisibelieve.org

thisibelieve.org was just introduced to me by my husband, John....who was convinced that I could write a This I believe statement. I thought he was nuts until I started writing. I just posted the following statement to this website. I won't hear anything for a few weeks as to whether or not they will use it-but it was fun to write and to think about nonetheless.

Hope you enjoy!!!

This I believe....

I believe that everything happens for a reason and that God is in charge of it all. He knew that I would be blessed with a child who would be born with a birth defect. Two years ago, I found out that my daughter was going to be born with a cleft lip. I knew something was wrong before the doctor even told us. God knew that I would think it was something "wrong" until the minute she was born.

My daughter’s birth taught me that beauty is all around us. We are so consumed with what others tell us is beautiful, that we often forget to see it for ourselves. I never saw true beauty until the minute I first laid eyes on my daughter, Adalynn. Her birth made me realize that having a cleft really wasn't anything that was "wrong", but something that just was.

God knows what we will teach others while we are on the earth. He knew Adalynn would be born with a cleft lip and he knew that she had a lot to teach. Much of her teaching would be done before she uttered a single word. She began teaching before she was born. She not only taught me so much, but my family, and even my classroom full of students. She taught me, and so many others, that beauty is not perfect. Perfect is not beauty. We see things that are beautiful when we really look around us and notice the small things. We do not see beauty when we dwell on what society tells us in beautiful.

Two years ago, I never would have thought I would miss that first wide smile, the way her lip spread apart when she grinned. I really thought that I would look forward to that first surgery, when she would be "fixed". That was until the minute she was born and I realized that she was not broken. I didn't realize how everything I once believed would change in just a few seconds.

I quickly learned that a mother's love knows no boundaries. I didn't really understand that until Adalynn was born. I knew how much I loved my two older children. I knew I loved them even when they were misbehaving and that I would love them forever. But when my daughter was born, I learned that a mother loves regardless of what society says is beautiful. I loved her exactly how she was and nothing would change that-not how she looked and definitely not what others said about her. I knew that God gave her to me to teach me how much He loves us. He loves us the way we love our children; regardless of what we do, regardless of how we look, and regardless of what others say about us.

Having a child born with a cleft lip and palate may be considered by doctors as just a fluke. It may be considered genetic. It may even be considered part of bigger syndrome. Honestly, I don't think so. I believe that it happens for a reason. I now understand that reason and that it is all part of God's plan.

That being said....it was two years ago this month that we found out about Adalynn's cleft lip and palate. So much has happened during the past two years and there were many ups and even more downs, but I wouldn't change them for the world! It has been a beautiful journey and I know God has been in charge of it all. Thank you for being apart of this journey with us!