Update on DeVontae

  I spoke with Danetta this morning and she gave me an update on DeVontae.  He had his last round of chemo for this session yesterday.  They are hoping to go home on Thursday (Praise the Lord!)!  DeVontae seems to be handling the chemo rather well.  It does cause him to have diarrhea and makes him tired.  He was sleeping as I talked to Danetta.   They will have to return in 3 weeks back to UVA for the 2nd session of chemo (there will be a total of 4 session's, 3 weeks apart) and they will extract stem cells from him, also.  After DeVontae finishes his chemo, he will then undergo surgery to remove the tumor.  He will then have to go through radiation or possibly more chemo at that time.  He will also be going to Richmond (MCV) for his stem cell transplant.  Once they go to Richmond, they will be there anywhere from 1-2 months.   They have got a LONG road ahead of them.
  They have taken DeVontae off of the morphine and he now has pain patches in anticipation of him going home on Thursday.  Danetta said his pain seems to be improving.  Danetta is in strong spirits, asking about Charlie & feeling bad for him because he's been sick while her own son is fighting for his life!!  Please continue to keep them in your thoughts & prayers.

Sick Days....

  Remember when you were in school and you got a certain amount of 'sick days' a year?  Wasn't that awesome?!  You could stay out of school with no consequences- lay around on the couch and veg, catch up on the 'day time' TV shows, have your Mama or Grandma (whoever it may be) wait on you hand and foot.  Yep, those were the BEST 'sick days'!
  We've had the "junk" going around our house over the past week and a half.  First Troy, then me, then Charlie, & still me.  I was thinking this morning, wouldn't it be or have been nice during this past week if I had a 'Sick Day'?!!?  To do nothing but lay on the couch, sleep, watch TV, someone make me snacks & meals- whatever I wanted.  But, that is a thing of the past because no matter how bad I may feel, there's someone who HAS to be taken care of 24/7.  But, I will say- seeing Charlie smiling again after him being sick a couple of days is definitely WORTH it! He was quite pitiful when for no apparent reason he would just start to cry, his eyes red & watering, & try to breath through a stopped up nose.  But, he is on the mend....still just a little congested.
  Last night, Charlie was tired and fell asleep in my arms so, I decided to lay him down on the pallet that I had made earlier. (Since I can't take him and put him to bed being as he's STILL sleeping with us.....I KNOW- shame, shame!)  I was busy doing other things when Troy called me into the living room to look at Charlie sleeping...... Here is what I saw.....

Kode had curled about right against Charlie and they were both sound asleep!  It was quite precious!!  They really do love each other!

....And Around We Grow

Yesterday I was looking at Charlie and I swear it seemed he had gained 2 or 3 inches around over the past couple of days.  I can tell he has grown vertically as well (praying that he takes after Troy) but he really seems to be growing horizontally. :)   He just started wearing 6 month clothes and to tell you the truth, I don't know how long he'll stay in them! This is going by way too fast but, we're enjoying every minute of it!!

Checking out his tootsies!

Mr. Blue Eyes!! (Don't they just melt your heart?!)

Yesterday I put Charlie on the floor and sat him up and he actually stayed this way for a several minutes while I was able to snap some pictures.  I'm sure he'll be doing it on his own before long!

Carrots & Naners

Tonight Charlie had carrots for the first time and he LOVED them.  I had been warned by other mothers that they can be messy (as most food) and they stain.  So, I tried to be proactive and stripped Charlie down to his diaper for dinner.  Here are a few pictures of Charlie's meal of carrots & bananas.

The Beginning

Carrots & Bananas ALL GONE!

= Messy Boy!!!

MAJOR Prayer Request!!

DeVontae

I have a HUGE favor to ask of everyone....that you please pray for this little guy in this picture!! When I moved back to Lynchburg 4 years ago, I started working at the Orthopeadic Center.  I still work as needed to help out but, I have worked with and become friends this little guy's mom, Danetta, since I have been there.  This is DeVontae, he is 22 months old.  To make a long story short, this past week, DeVontae was diagnosed with neuroblastoma (aka: cancer).  The tumor is around his kidney, pressing on his liver.  The bone scan was negative that the cancer has not spread to his bones. (Thank the Lord!)

  They were going to take him to surgery this past week to remove the tumor and his kidney but, now have decided to wait since it is in fact cancer.  DeVontae will begin chemo this week to try and shrink the tumor so, hopefully they can prevent from having to remove his kidney.

  Danetta is a single mother and I know they have a LONG road ahead of them.  They are still at the UVA hospital and are not sure how long they will be there.  (They went on 9/11 to have a CT Scan & were told they had to stay due to the scan results and have been there since.)  Danetta is still in strong spirits but I know that this has got to be traumatic for her.  She also has an older son who she has to be away from while staying at the hospital!!

  Please keep DeVontae and Danetta in your thoughts and prayers!! He's such a cute and sweet little boy!! The picture above was taken at my baby shower in March! (It's the most recent pic I have!)

  Thank You!!!

Exciting Times!!

This past weekend we had some exciting guests!! My dear friend and roommate from college, Christy and her sweet, adorable little boy Jesse came to visit.  Of course Christy had a full schedule while in town because her parents were in town for their college reunion (so we had to share her & Jesse with others). :)

It was the first time Christy and I had seen each other since her wedding in December of 2006!  So, first Troy, Charlie, and I went and met Christy and Jesse for dinner at Neighbor's Place.  This was Jesse meeting his Aunt Chapel for the first time!! I think he was a little in shock (don't 'cha think?) :)

After dinner, we went and met our friend from college, Brian with his two adorable kids for ice cream.  We missed, Kim, Brian's wife, but she was at home sick.  We had such a great time!! Catching up with each other, laughing, and talking about old times and how hard it is to believe that we all have kids now! :)   Even though it's been years (I guess that means we're getting old(er)!) since we've all been together, we didn't seem to skip a beat....it was like we just picked right back up where we left off! It's soo nice to have friends like that!!  Troy didn't know half of what we were talking about but he was a good sport!

Christy and I with our boys (who had just woke up, it was pretty late)

Jesse wondering why Charlie doesn't come & play.  Charlie was wondering why he can't crawl around like Jesse!! :)  

Christy and I had such a nice time together although the time flew by but we did decide that we think we may have "arranged roommates".  We think these boys just might follow in their mom's footsteps.  But, I did make one stipulation! They will NOT attend UT!! :)  Charlie did enjoy watching Jesse crawl and sit up like a BIG boy!! He tries SOO hard to get out of his bumbo seat!!

Charlie wasn't the only one who made a new friend.....Kode REALLY like Jesse!! See how sweet Jesse is rubbing Kode's belly!! :)  I think this boy needs a dog!! (Hint, Hint Christy)

We hope Christy and Jesse come back and visit us VERY soon!!! and that they bring Joshua along, also!

The rest of the weekend we just worked around the house and watched football!!  (How 'bout them Dawgs?!!  It was a close one! whew!!)

Charlie getting ready for the big game!!!

A little brotherly love! 

Football, Family, & Fun!!!

Over Labor Day weekend, we went to Georgia for a visit.  We had a FULL weekend of visiting with lots of family, going to the lake, GEORGIA FOOTBALL, and a family reunion.  We had a great time but, boy did my allergies seem to come back to haunt me by Sunday afternoon! :) I didn't seem to get too many pictures while we were there but here are a few!  

Our 'DaWg' Family portrait!

Charlie is 'in shock' watching his first UGA game!!

Charlie and his Aunt Keri watching the game!

Charlie after the game, "Oh NO! What happened?!?!"

Troy and Charlie in their matching shirts!

Tuesday, Charlie finally mastered something he had been trying to accomplish for a while now!... He rolled over from his back to his stomach!  He's been doing it non-stop ever since!! Here is an action shot!

YIPEE!!! I DID IT!!!!!

New Kicks & New Tricks!!

A few weeks ago, I ordered Charlie some new shoes.  Well, actually this is his first pair of shoes because he's always gone barefooted since it's been summertime! But, these are the cute little handmade loafers! I found them on etsy.com.  (I love that website because it's full of handmade items that are unique and they have some of everything!)  But, the shoes arrived on Monday and Charlie looks adorable in them! Although, he probably won't get much use of them because he seems to have a rather large foot! (We did measure his foot before ordering them) We figured out he would need the 3/6 month size but, now it seems his feet have grown!! So, we'll be on the lookout for some 'new kicks' before long! 

Isn't he stylin'?

Yesterday morning, I was feeding Charlie breakfast and when I was giving him some of his bottle and he kept putting his hands on it, trying to hold it.  Since he was almost finished with it, I let go and he held on to it and finished drinking it.  (Note:  I do not leave baby unattended while feeding himself & it was not a full bottle so the weight of the object was minimal.)  Below you can see the munchkin & his 'new trick'!

GiVeAwaYs!!!!!

  

Thanks to my new friend, Lannae, I have found another blog to follow.  It is natalie's sentiments.  Well, this week is Natalie's birthday week and she is celebrating by giving away REALLY cool prizes EVERYDAY!!!!!!!  Today she is giving away a $50 gift certificate to Lannae Johnson Designs!  Lannae is who made my necklace with Charlie's name on it that I blogged about a few times ago!! and I absolutely LOVE my necklace and get SOOO many compliments on it! It has now become a staple to to my attire!! :)   So, fingers crossed I will win the gift certificate!! :)  (I do get an extra vote for telling all of you about the giveaway!) 

  Be sure and check out both blogs....I know you will be happy that you did!!