The letter came!

Sarah applied for acceptance to North Georgia University in November and we have been biting our nails since, wanting to know if she made it.  I ran to the mailbox everyday and have walked back in disappointed that there was nothing from the college.  BUT, today arrived a letter in a full size envelope from North Georgia.  Sarah was ACCEPTED!  Over 2,300 freshmen applied for admission.  Of these applicants, only 823 were accepted. That shows Sarah's outstanding achievement.  Well done! 

Congrats Sarah!!

Cheerleading!

Sarah cheered at the first football game this season and it proved to be a little early for her back.  She hadn't fully recovered as much as she thought, so she took another 6 weeks off.  She is back under those Friday night lights and loving it!  There are 2 seasonal games remaining before playoffs.

This year, the Senior girls decided to hold the first annual "Red Out" - a fundraiser for the American Heart Association in honor of their classmate and friend, McKinnley (holding the football in the middle of the picture).  She has been battling a heart condition since birth.  The girls sold t-shirts and heartbeat raffle tickets and raised over $5000!!  The winner of the raffle won the football signed by all of the Trojan football players.

Competitive cheer has been been challenging this year.  They have been faced with so many injuries and coach has had to change the routine week after week.  Of course, Sarah isn't on the mat competing, but she is still very much apart of this team and supports them 110% of the way!  She has been helping with behind the scenes activities and music, and motivates the girls every day at practice.  The Trojan Ladies will compete at the Region competition tomorrow in Columbus with the State competition being held the following weekend, November 10.  We all have hopeful hearts for another State Title this year!  The theme this year is "Back to Back".  Go Trojans!!

Halloween 2012

My children are usually dressed as the popular Super Hero of the year every Halloween.   Not this year!  I was very proud of Tyler for stepping outside of his box and going as an iPod!  Connor was an Angry Bird bomb, which for him, was a little outside of his box as well.  They both received so many cool comments!  Of course, everyone tried to push Tyler's buttons...haha!  But, most importantly they brought home lots of good candy for me and Bo! ;)

Tyler is 11!

Ty had a great time with his friends and family on his 11th birthday.  We started the day out at the skating rink and skated until our feet were sore!  Cake was served at home followed by the cracking of a pinata.  Thank you to all our friends and family that made it out to celebrate his special day!

Fairy Tale Ball

Every year the 2nd graders at Carrollton Elementary School learn about fairy tales.  To conclude their study, they are invited to participate in the Fairy Tale Ball.  Each child dresses up as a fairy tale character and danced at the ball, participates in craft activities, and has a special fairy tale snack.

Connor chose to be The Big Bad Wolf.  The pictures don't show it, but he also has a wolf tail.  Isn't he the cutest...I mean, meanest wolf you have ever seen??

Tyler visits a local radio station

Tyler is busy earning his Communications Badge for Boy Scouts.  His pack took a field trip to Kiss 102.7 and learned the ins and outs of the radio business.

Did you know that most of what you hear on the radio is pre-recorded?  It could have been recorded a week ago from another city!  Many radio personalities work for several stations and record their time and email it to the station.  Technology is awesome!

Fall = Football

Connor tried his hand at tackle football this year.  With this being his first year on tackle, he didn't get a lot of playing time.  When he did, however, he did great!  I am very proud of him for never once complaining about not playing as much as others.  He supported his team every step of the way.  They were undefeated this season and earned a place at the Kiwanis Bowl!  Unfortunately, they lost the first game.  It is important to note, however, that the other team's players were double the size of Connor's team, Trojan Blue, and they gave it their all with a final score of 12 to 20.



Below is one of his great plays.  He is normally # 33, but they had to wear alternate jerseys for this game, so he is #5 in black.  He leaped at # 36 and took him DOWN! Way to go Connor!

Sarah's senior pictures

CLICK HERE to view Sarah's senior pictures.  We headed out to the square in Carrollton with a local photographer and she did such a great job!  They are absolutely GORGEOUS!

Baylee

Upon looking through all of our pictures from this summer, it occurred to me that I never introduced Baylee. 

Let me back up a little....remember tiny, Gracie?  Well, with all the running and jumping that goes on in our house, she was stepped on and injured many times.  Poor baby had her tail broken at some point and we can't even figure out how it happened!  It seemed best for Gracie to live with a calmer family, so she took her wardrobe and moved in with Bo's parents.  She fits in perfectly over there and runs the roost!  We love that we still get to see her often!

Before Gracie moved, the kids were talking of wanting a bigger dog that they could throw the ball with and not injure.  I vaguely entertained the idea, but decided to act when I learned of a brindle 7 week old pit bull/lab mix puppy that needed a home.  A young man gifted the puppy to his girlfriend and, of course, her mother would have no part of it (what was he thinking?!?!).  They planned on taking her to the pound, so I took her.  It happened to be Father's Day, so guess what we got Bo??  A sweet little puppy!

It has been a challenge raising a puppy, but we have loved it.  She is just the sweetest little thing and doesn't meet a stranger.  Looking back over the pictures it is amazing how fast she has grown.  She is already 6 months old!  The funny part is that I have never been much of a dog person, but she has stolen my heart and she is treated like my fourth child.  She even goes to doggie daycare on the days that I work so that she isn't cooped up in the house all day long.....think she is spoiled??

Connor is a smart cookie!

We learned today that Connor tested into the Gifted Program.  This will be a great thing for him.  He will be more challenged in the areas of Language Arts and Math.  Carrollton schools began a STEM initiative last year and he will be pulled out of his normal weekly STEM class and clustered with other gifted students to participate in more challenging STEM related projects. You can learn more about STEM here.

Way to go Connor!

Update on Sarah

Sarah has made amazing progress from the surgery that she had in May.  It will take another 3 months for her spine to completely heal, but the incision has healed very nicely.   Her driving privileges were returned to her at her 6 week check up.  She is no longer in daily pain.  Instead, she gets sore every once in a while as her muscles are adjusting to being used again.  The most pain that she has at this point is from the nerves trying to reconnect and she says it feels like little bee stings.  She no longer has the pain that she felt prior to surgery, either!

Due to the surgery, we did not think that she would be able to cheer with her squad this fall, so she did not try out in the spring.  However, with many limitations, the doctor has allowed her to be apart of the team.  Bo and I approached the coach with this fabulous news and he gladly welcomed her back as a Senior Carrollton Trojan Cheerleader.  She will be ground bound and will not be competing, but being apart of the team for her senior year is what is most important.  We are so proud to see her in her uniform for one last year!

2011-2012 School Year Has Come To An End

School has been out for 2 weeks now.  Sarah, Tyler, and Connor all had a great year!  

Sarah walked away from her junior year with 7 A's and 1 B.  She earned her 3rd academic letter this year! We are so proud of her!  This was by far the toughest year she has had in high school.  She participated in an internship at a Carrollton Orthopaedics and really enjoyed it.  She left school early every other day to learn the ropes of a doctor's office.  While the experience was something that she enjoyed, she did learn that she does not want to be an orthopaedic doctor! Our baby girl is now a SENIOR!!  

Tyler made all A's and B's this year and is moving on up to the 5th grade.  He was accepted into the gifted program this year, which we hope will challenge him more in the years to come.  He was awarded the following awards on the last day of school:

• Certificate of Achievement for Recognition of Excellence in Reading
• Certificate of Achievement for Recognition of Excellence in Social Studies
• Certificate of Achievement for Recognition of Excellence in Science
• Certificate of Achievement for Recognition of Excellence in Language Arts
• Certificate of Achievement for Recognition of an Awesome Achiever - A's & B's during the entire 2011-2012 School Year

Connor is zooming to 2nd grade next year.  He was tested for the gifted program this school year as well.  More testing will take place over the course of the summer and we will know more at the start of the next school year.  Connor received the following awards:

• Music Award for outstanding participation and performance in music class
• Best Attitude Award for always having a positive attitude
• Mathematics Award for outstanding performance on the CRCT

Both of the boys took the CRCT  this year and excelled in every area.  A score of 800-849 meets expectations. A score of 850 and above exceeds expectations. 

Connor's scores:
Reading :854
Language Arts: 879
Math: 903

Tyler's scores:
Reading: 873
Language Arts: 930 (a perfect score!!)
Math: 876
Science: 890
Social Studies: 852

We are so proud of all of them!

Jeremiah 29:11

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord.  "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." 

I searched for weeks prior to Sarah's surgery for the perfect gift.  It finally came to me on a random Google search.  A ring with the scripture above engraved on it.  It was perfect!  Her scoliosis surgery is giving Sarah a future and a hope just as God intends for her to have.  Ironically (or by divine intervention perhaps??), this scripture has appeared in many places since, so it is now referred to as "our scripture".


As long as God, who knows the future, provides our agenda and goes with us as we fulfill his mission, we can have boundless hope.  This does not mean that we will be spared pain, suffering, or hardship, but that God will see us through to a glorious conclusion.


Sarah's surgery was a huge success and a glorious conclusion to a 10 year battle with scoliosis!  We can not be more proud of how brave she was to go through with it.  If I am being honest, I must say that I thought she would back out.  I couldn't have been more wrong.  She was so much braver than her dad and I were.


The surgery itself took 6 1/2 hours.  That was the longest 6 1/2 hours of our lives!  She did great in surgery; although she did lose enough blood right at the end that a blood transfusion was required.  Otherwise, there were no complications at all.  Before surgery, we were told that the doctor would need to fuse the rods down to L3.  This was a huge disappointment because we were counting on no lower than L2.  The lower the rods extend, the less flexibility she would have.  When the surgery was over, the doctor came to talk to Bo and I while Sarah was in recovery.  She happily reported that she only had to fuse to L1.  I've never seen Bo cry so hard (with joy, of course).


She had a 5 day hospital stay.  It was tough getting her pain management under control, which is what extended her stay. The muscle spasms and pain was intolerable most of the time. The change in her anatomy was upsetting because "it doesn't feel right," as she would say. The physical therapist had her walking only 20 hours after surgery, though and was a huge help in her recovery.

Once home, her recovery has been steady. She gets in and out of bed on her own. Dresses herself on her own. Feeds herself on her own. She couldn't do any of this the first day (or even on the 5th day!).

The first picture of the xray below was taken during surgery to assist with the rod placement.  The next picture is a before and after (1 week). As you can see, it's a huge change in her anatomy. My biggest fear in all of this is that she would regret her decision once it was too late to turn back. In the hospital, with all the pain she was experiencing, she said "Mom, I'm already so glad I did this". That was music to my ears.

The time has come.

Gosh, I just don't know where to start. I guess I need to back up several years. Sarah was diagnosed with scoliosis when she was just 7 years old. At that time her spine had an 18 degree curve. The doctors wanted to take the "wait and see" approach, so we did. One year later, her curve had progressed to 28 degrees. 10 degrees in one year is an aggressive progression, so she was braced. Her first brace did nothing and her spine continued to worsen over the years. We tried 2 other types of braces in conjunction with supplements, diet, and therapy for an hour every day for the next several years. Still her curve increased. Surgery has been recommended to her for years, but we always knew that would be a last resort. We have tried every natural way of correction with no avail. In the summer of 2010, she underwent an extremely intensive, week long therapy that gave us some hope. She started the therapy at 65 degrees and ended it at 54!! We were so hopeful that the correction would hold, but to our disappointment, it never did.

The pain has increased over the last year and her lumbar spine is getting stiffer. The x-ray to the left was taken on May 2, 2012. She has returned to having a 65 degree curve. As you can see, she has 2 curves in her spine. The top curve is the main curve of concern. The bottom one is called a compensatory curve. It is simply compensating for the top one.

 At 17 years old, Sarah is mature enough to make her own decisions regarding her treatment. After many months contemplating her course of action, countless sleepless nights, and many tears shed she has made the decision to proceed with surgery.  She will have 2 titanium rods fused to each side of her spine beginning around T4 and ending around L3. The x-ray to the right was taken with traction to show how much correction could potentially be made.  Her body will be tractioned while in surgery to straighten her spine as much as possible allowing the rods to be placed against a straighter spine. We are told that the surgery will improve the main curve to 34 degrees or better and the compensatory curve to 23 degrees.

The surgery will be performed on May 25, 2012 at Emory University Orthopaedics and Spine Hospital in Atlanta. The past 10 years have not been easy on Sarah and we are prayerful that the surgery will improve her adult quality of life.

Sarah's Junior Prom

"They grow up so fast"! "Before you know it, she will be going to prom"! I never believed it would go by as fast as everyone said it would. Sarah went to her Junior Prom last night. She was so stunning! I had so much fun taking pictures of her and Mason before the prom. They had a nice dinner at Sam and Rosco's in Douglasville and participated in the senior walk later that evening. After the prom, several of her friends went to a bon fire. Here are some of my favorite shots:

Connor's 7th Birthday

It's hard to believe it's been 7 years since we brought him home. He had a wonderful birthday celebration with some of his closest friends from our subdivision. They celebrated with a few games of bowling. Of course, he had to have a baseball cake!!

It's Baseball Season!

About 2 months ago, Connor began telling people that he was playing baseball in the spring. This was news to me, so I quickly signed him up to prevent his disappointment. I barely made the cut off. Shew! We headed out to the store to purchase all the necessary equipment. Boy, I had no idea he needed so much stuff ($$$$...ouch!). He has been playing for about a month now and is doing great! He had no idea how to bat, catch, or even the rules of the game when he began. He was pumped for his first game and went up to bat twice. He struck out twice. He has made so many improvements since then and you can count on him hitting the ball every time he comes to the plate now, thanks to his AWESOME dad. This picture was taken before the first game.

Bo was asked to help coach the team. He was reluctant at first, but has really enjoyed it and looks forward to the games now. You can find Connor and Bo in the front yard everyday after school practicing hitting and catching. Tyler has even gone out to practice with them several times and has picked up a lot of skill from it. He is saying that he may try to play next year, too. Here are a few highlights from the games. I love the one where he makes his first hit ever and Bo is at first base directing him in. Priceless! The next one is the high five in the dugout after the run home.

I have enjoyed watching Connor play baseball more than any other sport he has played, but more importantly HE has enjoyed it more as well. I can already hear them announcing "Connor Richardson #10" at the Carrollton High School games!!

Snorkeling with Manatees

We took a trip to Florida to visit with my grandparents and decided to turn the trip into a mini-vacation and swim with the manatees in Crystal River.

At first Connor was scared that he was going to drown and wanted back on the boat. Bo finally got him calmed down and showed him how to use his snorkel and it was easy peasy from there. Our first stop was the natural spring. It was crystal clear and the most beautiful site I've ever seen! You could see air bubbles rising from where the spring was fed, several fish, and a natural area where a tree had fallen in (see picture above), but no manatees. Apparently, we came at the wrong time of year. Our guide told us that there are usually anywhere from 25-100 manatees in the warm spring between December and February. The weather warmed up early this year, so they migrated early.

So, we hopped back on the boat where we were taken to a channel. The water was murky and hard to see anything until all. We were all looking so hard through the dirty water, hoping to see a glimpse of a manatee. Then, it seemed, out of no where there was a manatee directly underneath us! I was impressed at his size. It was as big as my car!! He swam so gracefully for being so large. I watched the end of his tail gliding away from me when the guide yelled "there's another one headed straight for you!". Our heads went straight down into the water again and sure enough, there was another one within arms length. The coolest site ever!

Although, we did not get to swim around in circles with them like the pictures show on the touring websites, we did get to see some very amazing things. It has sparked our interest in snorkeling and we are planning on incorporating snorkeling into our summer vacation this year.

Momma Gets a New Car!

It was time to trade in Eddie, the Expedition. Eddie had many issues. The main one? He drank a lot. And I mean A LOT!! At 13 miles to the gallon (ok, 14 on a good day) it was time to make a change.

I searched and searched until I found this beauty. I just love her (yes, my automobiles have genders and names). She is a 2010 Ford Edge. Leather seats, heated seats, bluetooth, dual sunroof - that is TWO sunroofs! Although, she is 2 years old, you wouldn't know it. She still has that new car smell! The best part of all?? We took her to Florida the first weekend we had her and she squeezed out a whopping 26 miles to the gallon!! I still haven't found just the right name for her, but I'm thinking she looks like a Phoebe.

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day isn't normally something that we celebrate around our house. However, this year, Connor came down with strep throat on the day that his class planned to make Leprechaun traps. When he learned that he would miss the activity, his chin began to quiver and the tears started rolling. Sooo....I told him that we would make one at home. And we did!

This isn't your ordinary cake. There are 2 bundt cakes underneath all that icing. You see, the Leprechaun will climb the pretzel ladder thinking that he has found a pot of gold on the other side. When he crosses the "field" of grass, he will plummet into the middle of the cake. Connor was concerned that he may outsmart us and walk the edges of the cake, so we came up with plan B. If he doesn't fall into the first pit, he will surely fall into the second pit where the pot of gold awaits him.

We brought this into his class room once he was feeling better and everyone loved it. Of course, we had to taste test the cake, so we will never know if it worked or not!

Snaggle Tooth!

Connor's last tooth was removed by attaching it to one end of a string and the door knob attached to the other end. He liked it so much, that he requested this one be pulled with the same method. I love the way that he grabs the seat right before the SLAM! See for yourself:

Jekyll Island Field Trip

Tyler had the opportunity to go on a field trip to Jekyll Island with the Science Club at school. Chaperone names were drawn from a hat and my name was drawn!! I was so blessed to be able to share this experience with him! As you will see in the slide show below, we were able to see some really amazing sights!

This digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Meet Gracie!

On New Year's Day, this sweet baby was heard whining in the creek that runs along side the nature trail in our subdivision. Our neighbor rescued her and we have spent nearly two weeks seeking her owner. Can you believe no one has called to claim her??

During her stay with us, we have all fallen in love with her, so we have given her a forever home! After much deliberation, we have decided to call her Gracie Lou! The veterinarian says that she is a full blooded Miniature Pinscher, but I believe that she is mixed with a chihuahua. She is only 8 inches tall and weighs four pounds!! She is said to be one to two years old. She's the perfect purse dog...and yes, we have already introduced her to the purse and she doesn't mind it at all...hee hee!

We are working on leash training, house training, and crate training. She is very slow at understanding house training, but progress is being made. The first time she wore a leash, she bounced around like a fish out of water. Within a day, she was completely trained on the leash. She never pulls and I lead!! She's a smart cookie!

Welcome Friends and Family!!

We have created this blog to document our family story as a memoir. Sharing our special moments with you is a bonus!

We are a little behind since Sarah is now 16 years old and the boys are already in elementary school, but better late than never, right?? Promises can not be made that we will keep it updated consistently; however, check back every now and then to see what's been happening!