Fairfax Strollathon

Lauren's team of walkers...These are the wonderful people who work with Lauren and help her make the amazing progress that we see.

Lauren really enjoyed the walk

Lauren with Ms. Rachel...do you think she loves Lauren? : ) We know she does!

Lauren and Daddy dancing after the walk

Our Family

Yes, we did attend our 3rd Strollathon in 6 weeks today. This was the last and was our local Strollathon. This one was special because Lauren had a large crowd walking in her honor...her therapists and teachers. We were so thrilled that so many of them came. We had Ms. Rachel (Lauren's teacher), Ms. Diane and Ms. Gina(Lauren's IAs from school), Ms. Jill (Lauren's hippo and aquatic therapist), Ms. Kristen(her newest teacher at school), and Ms. Christi(one of her OTs) It was a wonderful morning. Lots of families were there and hopefully lots of money was raised. It started out pretty cold but was better by the end of the morning. Emily was excited to win a certificate for pottery painting in the silent auction. That was our contribution to this Stroll. The best thing I heard at the Strollathon?? "Your daughter is very high-functioning!" We have been blessed and we do not take it for granted. Lauren continues to do well. Praise the Lord!

Shawn just finished his last residency for the doctoral program he is in. He now has classes until June and then all that will be left is his dissertation. YAY! The end is almost in sight!

I hope you all have a great week. Thanks for all your prayers.


One last photo of our little star

Finally.....

Lined up and ready to walk!

MY reason to walk!



I know, I know....I've got to get better at updating this blog! It took me longer to recover from the Strollathon than I thought it would. September 27th was a great morning. We had 12 girls with Rett and their families and many, many more people join us. So far we have raised a little over $50,000. So awesome! We are so incredibly thankful for everyone who helped with the stroll, both with time and money. It is a huge undertaking but is so critical. So many girls and women can benefit from this research. And I really want to hear Lauren say "I love you, Mama!"

Lauren and Daddy sharing a bag of chips.

Sarah LOVED the giant slide...thank you "All About Fun" for providing such great entertainment for the children!

Emily is leading the walk with her face painted like a dog!


Lauren finally smiled when we got in the moon bounce! First smile all morning! Thanks James!!

More smiles from the moon bounce!

Yes, I'm training her right...She is a Sundrop girl! Here we are with Pam, Al, and Leigh. We couldn't do this event without them!

Except for writing thank you notes, we are taking a much needed break from fundraising. Emily and Sarah have enjoyed life getting back to normal. We had a lot of fun with school last week. I really, really love homeschooling my girls. I love teaching them, having them home with me, knowing I am the person that gets their questions. I just love it! And yes, for those wondering, at some point we will bring Lauren home for school. Right now she is getting what she needs in public school. Actually, she is not just getting what she needs, she is getting beyond. We have been very blessed with a school who is invested in Lauren developing new skills and they are hard at work to help foster that. This year Lauren is spending time in a non-categorical preschool class for "centers." This class will give her more opportunity for social interaction than her regular class does. Last Wednesday when we arrived at school her friends from the new class started waving and saying, "Hi Lauren!" I realized that she has NEVER had a group of her friends greet her that way. Emily and Sarah's friends are so wonderful with Lauren and they always talk to her, play with her, etc... But Lauren hasn't really had her own set of friends. So that was a really neat moment for me. We are so thankful for the fabulous staff and administration at Little Run. We would love to stay right there until Lauren finishes elementary school or we move home to NC.
As for Anna news...there isn't any! : ) We still wait for God to lead us to her. I know she will be placed on the waiting child list at the perfect time so I'm trying to rest in that. I do believe she is alive and living in an orphanage in China. That does place an urgency in my heart because I don't want her to live in an orphanage one day longer than she has to. She has a family anxiously awaiting her arrival, 2 big sisters who draw pictures of our family and include her, and she doesn't even know we exist. So if you think of her, pray for her to be loved, well cared for, and happy. Our agency thinks we will have her home this time next year! WOO-HOO! Also, pray for my friend, Tami. She flies to China on Friday to bring home her son, Abraham. He will be their 5th child, 3rd from China. Pray for Chris and the children as they wait at home in Kansas.
So that's our update. Thanks for checking in. Thanks for praying for our family. You can still donate to www.rettsyndrome.org if you haven't already. Be sure to go to the Strollathon page and credit it to the "Wrightsville Beach" stroll. Until next time...(and I'll try not to take so long!)