Hamilton Hams

Energy For Ethan - Facebook Page

2013-01-21T14:57:00.000-05:00

As we prepare for Ethan's 7th surgery, please like his facebook page to keep up to date with Ethan's Status! I will be posting more later on what will be involved with his surgery!

https://www.facebook.com/EnergyForEthan

Psych Appointment

2012-04-07T06:51:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we met with a Child Psychologist at Children's Hospital. We have to get our hands around how to deal with Ethan's behavior issues. When we were at NIH they did a lot of testing and one of the tests (Mullens) showed that Ethan's developmental age is 16-19 months. She shed some light on things...

Ethan is just beginning to enter the "terrible" twos. It is going to be hard, really really hard. He is a big kid who is acting like a baby. I never really thought of that until she said it. Ethan constantly wants to be held, carried, hugged, rubbed and needs constant attention. The first two years of his life Ethan could have cared less if you held or snuggled him. In fact until he was about 2.5 years old he never even held his arms out for you to hold him. We have to remember that when he is "acting" out. We need help in the evenings but we don't have enough "hours" of care to get the help we need. When his aide leaves in the afternoon Chris or I have to give him our 100% attention and that means that one of the other three kids doesn't get what they need from us. Sucks...really really bad. We will figure it out...

She is meeting with Ethan next week all by himself. The following week she will meet with Chris and me to determine a "plan" and go from there. She mentioned that because we don't know why Ethan is the way he is that we are doing a good thing by trying to figure out the best thing for him now. As I left the hospital I passed a child who looked about 17 or 18 who was so excited about a stuffed bunny that he had. He was acting like Ethan does when he is excited. I had a glimpse of my future if Ethan doesn't progress. Ethan didn't' pass his educational or speech goals. He is going to summer school. We will continue to look for answers and do everything in our power to give him the best life possible just like we will for the his brother and sisters.

She is going to

Special Olympics

2012-03-21T14:28:00.001-04:00

Now that Ethan is moving around more he loves to "play", he loves the playground especially!

I looked around for some activities that would be a good fit for Ethan and found that Special Olympics has a program for "Young Athletes". The program is for children with Intellectual and/or physical disabilities who are age 2-7. The nearest class was 25 minutes from our house. I knew that in our area we have a lot of children who could benefit from this type of class so I reached out the Special Olympics and learned what needed to be done to get a group up and rolling in Hanover. One thing I have learned during the last 3.5 years is that if I can't find what Ethan needs I will just jump in and create what he needs!

After some research and begging (just kidding, no begging needed, everyone wanted to help) I was able to get some great volunteers who are students at VCU studying Physical Therapy to volunteer for a once a month class and American Family graciously allowed us to use their exercise room.

Last month we had our first class and it was a success!!!

Can't wait until April for our next class! To learn more about Special Olympics find us on facebook at Special Olympics - Young Athletes Hanover County!

Step up to the Plate Virginia

2012-03-15T09:57:00.001-04:00

Remember when I blogged in January how proud of Gracie I was when she stood up front of the The House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance Committee public hearings and stood up for her brother who is just one of 7,000 individuals with an Intellectual or Developmental Disability who are on a waiting list to receive a waiver from the sate? Remember the news clip that went viral and showed me crying like a baby?

Well, on January 26, 2012 the Commonwealth of Virginia and the U.S. Department of Justice announced a historic settlement agreement that would transform Virginia’s system of care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) from one that is reliant on large segregated institutions to one that is focused on integrated, community-based services. The agreement will help thousands of Virginians with ID/DD avoid unnecessary institutionalization.

The settlement agreement is now in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia. Judge John Gibney will decide whether to approve the agreement. While this is great news, unfortunately some people in Virginia are opposed to Judge Gibney signing the agreement. Can you believe that? Did you know that the state of Virginia ranks 45th in the Country of how we fiscally manage our children and adults with ID/DD? Read this article to learn more about this and the horrific findings from the Department of Justice. What does that mean for Ethan, you ask? Read this letter that I sent to Judge Gibney to find out...

Dear Honorable John Gibney,

My son Ethan is 3.5 years old. Ethan was born with multiple birth defects. He is developmentally disabled, Intellectually Disabled and physically Disabled. Ethan can not feed himself, dress himself, he has just started walking with the assistance of a walker and leg braces. Ethan attends a Special Education Pre-school 4 mornings a week through Hanover County Public Schools. He is unable to communicate with other children or adults his needs or wants. He can be very aggressive and violent due to his communication delays.

Ethan also has many medical issues. He was born with bilateral kidney reflux/Grade 5. He endured five surgeries in the first year of his life. He still struggles daily to fend off kidney infections. Due to this condition, he takes an antibiotic daily. Both of Ethan’s kidneys are damaged. We know that one day he may need a transplant. Ethan has asthma, we must give him 3 nebulizer treatments daily just to keep his lungs clear. He is very susceptible to infection and in his 3 short years has been hospitalized three times for RSV and pneumonia. He also must carry an inhaler with him at all times. Remember, earlier that I told you that he is non-verbal so his caregiver must always be diligent to ensure that Ethan does not has breathing issues as this could quickly take his life. He also suffers from reflux and takes a daily medication.

Typical 3.5 year olds are independent at this age. Ethan is not. Ethan can not be cared for in a regular daycare setting or by a typical babysitter. Ethan functions at the age level of a 12-18 month old baby.

We want to take care of our son in our home so that he can thrive and have the best possible life with us and his brother and two sisters. Ethan needs the services provided in the ID Medicaid Waiver. He needs in-home care so that we can work to provide for our family. He may need behavioral therapy as he gets older to help manage his aggression and not have to be institutionalized.

Ethan is currently on the Medicaid Waiver Wait List with thousands of others in Virginia for the ID/DD Waiver. Please consider signing the DOJ settlement agreement. This would mean that our amazing son would have a life that he so deserves.

If you agree that Virginia needs to step up to the plate and Judge Gibney needs to sign this agreement please write him a letter:

The Honorable John Gibney

Spottswood W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr., Federal Courthouse

701 East Broad Street

Richmond, VA 23219

He is accepting letters until April 9, do it for Ethan and the other 6,999 adults and children who just want to be cared for, loved and grow up with their families and not in an institution.

Do it for him...

Monday Monday Monday

2012-01-30T19:27:00.000-05:00

Ethan woke up this morning feeling great, had not had a fever since Thursday, he was in a wonderful mood and ready to get on the bus. I got him on the bus, Jake and Gracie on the bus, dropped Anna Claire off at Preschool, stopped for some Java and walked into the office when my phone rang. It was the clinic, Ethan threw up as soon as he got off the bus. I hadn't even taken off my coat.

I decided to take him back to the doctor. Turns out the throwing up was caused from coughing, he had crackling on both sides of his lungs and his asthma was acting up.

He is on oral steroids, an antibiotic, an inhaler and breathing treatments every 4 hours.

And right now he is doing this....

I have a couple of hours of work to catch up on and than I will be joining him....

Milestones and Real Life

2012-01-29T13:09:00.000-05:00

Ethan has had some major milestones in the last two week.... no more Binky, no high chair and no more toddler bed!

Those milestones help us to remember that Ethan is progressing and making great strides but weekends like this one makes me forget! He has been sick since Wednesday. He started with a cough on Monday, a fever Tuesday night and by Wednesday he had a nasty cold that has turned into pneumonia. Everything makes him mad, nothing soothes him. He is in a constant state of aggression. He has scratched, bitten and hit everyone in this house. It takes two adults to hold him down to give him his breathing treatment. He is tired, we are tired and the other kids are not getting the attention they need and are starting to act out.

Yep, this is real life, folks, real life stuff! I suppose I could have just blogged about the first two pictures and how awesome everything is but that would not be the whole truth. With the joys of raising a special needs kid comes the heartache. Nothing in a parenting manual prepared me for sure, I feel like a first time parent with Ethan. Raising 3 other toddlers did not prepare me for this. I have a ton of guilt that weighs on me like a ton of bricks. I feel guilty for the frustration that Ethan has, guilty that I can't figure out how to make him comfortable, guilt that my other children are being ignored and guilt that my husband is being neglected.

Tomorrow is another day and it's Monday so we can start over, right?

A Tour of the NIH and Childrens Inn

2012-01-19T07:41:00.000-05:00

We are back....we came in last night and Ethan has some testing today and hopefully we will be back on the road this evening! In the meantime, I thought I would give you a tour of this awesome place!

Very cool, huh?!

National Institute of Health - Day 5

2012-01-14T15:43:00.000-05:00

Friday was our last day at the NIH. We started the day with Ethan attempting to do a swallow test. We were not successful. Ethan has refused to eat most of the week and think some of it may be due to the fact that he was intubated during his MRI and has a sore throat etc. From what the doctor was able to see she was SHOCKED that Ethan eats what he does based on his anatomy and tongue placement. They have requested that we go back next Thursday for more testing. I feel terrible, we have fought with Ethan for the last 2 years to eat and thought it was a behavior issue, he spits his food, screams, throws his food but it might actually be a physical problem.

From there we went over to photography - they took pictures of his features that are considered "different" like his ears, feet, hands, face and scrotum.

After that we had a 3 hour session with a Child Psychologist which was very educational for us! They assessed him using different play sessions and asked us a ton of questions and we had to fill out some questionnaires.

He did get sick during the session and we had to take a break but he bounced back pretty quick. Afterwards he went and took a nice nap! He worked very hard.

When he woke up and his Team came in and went over the results of what they have for the week.

Nutrition - he is 97% for weight and 5% for height. They want us to discontinue the pedisure for supplementing until his weight catches up with his height. We will also be adjusting his diet due to his Pre Diabetic Status.

Neurology - MRI - structurally normal brain

Cardiovascular - EKG and Echocardigram were both normal

Hematologic - anemic due to low iron levels - we have started 2 x a day iron supplements

Endocrinology - HBA1C - elevated tests results but not yet considered diabetic. Is considered pre-diabetic and will need to adjust diet and have follow up with an endocrinologist at Childrens in Richmond. He is also being tested for MODY which is the genetic type of diabetes since both Chris and his Mom are diabetic.

Dental - fused lower incisor teeth (this is a symptom of the main syndrome that he is being tested for)

Dermatology - doughy and redundant skin (he has had this since birth)

Ophthalmology - under anesthesia showed normal retina with a mild clouding of the cornea.

Bone Age - 2 years old.

Psychiatric - not Autistic but does have a Sensory Disorder. We are going back next Thursday for further testing and being referred to a Pediatric Psychologist at Childrens in Richmond.

Rehab - hypermobility in the tendons, gave us some suggestions to share with his pt and are also making him a custom swim vest so he can be independent in the pool.

It will take anywhere from 6-12 months before we have all of the tests back including the Genome study which will tell us positively if he has some of the syndromes that they think he may have. The other kids have to go to the Pediatrician on Monday to have blood work done that will be sent to the NIH so that they can be mapped in the DNA testing.

We got home last night and he was so excited to see his Big Brother and Sisters!

There is no place like home!

National Institute of Health - Day 4

2012-01-12T19:32:00.000-05:00

Another busy day but fun and we again we learned so much!

We started the day with a 3 hour diabetes test.

He did great drinking the sweet stuff!

They took his blood 4 times during the 3 hour period.

During his testing we had other visits and his nurses just came and found us to take blood. It was great, he wasn't confined to his bed all that time!

He had an abdominal ultrasound. Followed by a visit by the nutritionist to talk to us about his diet and changes we need to make to help keep his blood sugar in check.

Next up we had a visit of about 30 different doctors from all over the World stop by to get a look at Ethan. Ethan had a ball. He loved all of the attention! In fact the Director of the Undiagnosed Disease Program picked him up and showed him off - he was in heaven!

After that we travelled over to the Eye Clinic so that the Eye Team could take a look at his eyes. They already looked at the back of his eyes during his sedation but wanted to see how he tracked items. While we waited for our turn, Ethan had fun playing in the kids waiting room. This place is awesome for kids - everywhere you turn they have something to keep them entertained.

When we got back to our room we had a visit from Neurology. They asked a lot of great questions and gave us some insight on Ethan's behavior issues. Turns out some of his issues we are dealing with are due to a Sensory Disorder. Makes perfect sense. A lot of things that I have been stressed about are part of his make-up...things like the constant chewing on everything, slapping his ears, covering his eyes, freaking out in stores or at Romp n Roll when more kids show up than normal. Tomorrow we meet with a behavioral specialist so I can't wait to learn more about ways to help him!

When we were done with that, Ethan was able to get his IV out. I love how the nurse just got right down to his level while he was playing - he was totally not freaked out at all!

Today we finished up around 2 and we were able to come back to the Inn and take a nice long nap! Much needed!!!

We ventured out to Whole Foods to have some dinner and Ethan had a complete meltdown, I think the really loud noises and bright lights were just too much for him after all the stimulation today. We got our food to go and came back to the Children's Inn.

Ethan checked his mail and got some pretty cool goodies!

We ended the night hanging out with Vi the Therapy Dog who lives here at the Children's Inn.

Playing in the elevator - which he is obsessed with by the way!

And taking a ride on a pretty cool ATV in the playroom!

National Institute of Health Day 3

2012-01-11T20:07:00.001-05:00

We stared our day bright and early this morning! Ethan loves taking the "bus" over to the Clinic. You can tell that he thinks he is big stuff sitting up in the seat all by himself!

When we got to the clinic he had some blood work drawn after fasting.

After that we headed over to Rehab to meet with a Physiatrist. I had no idea that Physical Therapy had actual Doctors! He was a wealth of knowledge. In fact he took one look at his AFOs and decided that they needed adjustments made. He wears cascade AFOs, he told us they were too long and was not allowing Ethan any flexibility in his step. He said it would be fine for High Tone kids which is opposite of what Ethan is - he is low tone. They made some adjustments on them and this kid is almost running around now. Crazy!!! He is also setting us up with a Pysiatrist at Children's Hospital in Richmond to follow up with. The PT and OT also gave us some great advice and some things to work with Ethan on. I can't wait to share them with his Team at School.

Dr. Paul was great! He got right up on the table and worked with Ethan!

From there we headed over to dermatology and they took at look at Ethan's skin and birth mark. Nothing really new from that visit.

After that we headed over to Radiology and he had a scan of his left hand to tell what his bone age is. Who knew you could that from your left hand?

We headed back to our room and met with the Endocrinology Team - all 6 of them. We found out that Ethan's sugar level in his spinal fluid was 77. Normal range is 44. His fasting A1C is 5.7. With Chris's diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes and his Mother's Type 1 Diagnosis and Ethan's labs they told us that Ethan is considered Pre Diabetic. They changed his schedule a bit tomorrow to do a 3 hour Diabetes test on him. Based on what they saw on his labs today he may have a diagnosis of Type 1. That was a bit of a curve ball. But when it comes to Ethan, I've learned to just go with it...

They have about 6 different Genetic Syndromes that they think Ethan could have. One of the ones that has been spoken about a couple of times this week is Aarskog Scott Syndrome. This is the same Syndrome that the Genetic Doctor at UNC mentioned but our insurance would not pay for the test. We are having it done here, so we will know for sure. We have been down this road before so until we know for sure I'm not doing much research...but I do know that it is not fatal and that is all I need to know right now :)

We came back to the Children's Inn and hung out in front of this warm fireplace...

I also got to facechat with the other Hams...I'm getting homesick now and am ready to be home with all the Hams!

National Institute of Health Day 2

2012-01-10T20:29:00.000-05:00

Today was the big day of tests. We arrived at the Clinic at 7 am and by 8 they had taken Ethan back for sedation. This was the first time I have ever been allowed all the way back and stayed with him until he was asleep. I can't decide if I like that or not. Either way, handing over your baby to doctors sucks. No other way to put it ...

During his 5 hour sedation he had a spinal tap, skin biopsy, inner eye exam and MRI. While he was having his procedure done, Chris and I went and they took our blood to use in the Genome study that they are doing.

Ethan had a difficult time waking up from the anesthesia this time. That was a first for us.

After he finally woke up we went back to our room. After about an hour we noticed he was very pale, we found out that his iron was very low. They decided he needed a 4 hour IV drip and some iron to help him recover quicker.

Around 4 this afternoon he started running a fever - 103. He has had Advil and the fever has still not broken. Although, his spirits are great tonight! The doctors told us that some children do run a temp after sedation due to the type of drug that is used. Propofol (yep that same stuff that Michael Jackson took). They said if he still has it in 24 hours than we can start to think about infection...so praying that he is just having a "typical" reaction to the drug!

All in all it was a long exhausting day. We did get to have "facetime" with the other kids which was awesome! I miss them very much.

Special thanks to Rompy tonight for taking such good care of our Sweet Ethan, he never left his side all day!

National Institute of Health - Day 1

2012-01-09T19:46:00.000-05:00

We arrived this morning to the clinic at 7:30, we went through admissions and settled into our room in the children's unit.

We met with 4 members of our team, a Nurse Practitioner, Nurse, Genetic Doctor and Dental Resident. They took our history and Ethan's history and did a physical on Ethan. It it is so strange what genetic doctor's look for that we would never even think about - such as the way your hair swirls and the growth pattern of your hair swirl...strange huh?

The doctor's love to check out his "special" ear!

Next up was a blood draw - all 13 viles of it! They will be testing it for so many different things, things I have never heard of. Ethan has had 35 other genetic tests and honestly I thought he had been tested for everything that was possible to be tested for...but I guess not!

He obviously was not a happy camper after that, but who can blame him?

He decided he needed a little break, so he took a nice little nap!

This is Ethan's mode of transportation at the clinic when he goes from appointment to appointment.

He loves it!

After lunch he had an EKG and Echo and did great! They are very good here with the kids, very patient and caring. They put his favorite Baby Einstein Movie in during his procedure and he was good to go!

We finished up at the clinic around 6 and came back over to The Children's Inn and checked his "mailbox" and he was very excited to get mail - a cool chalkboard to keep him busy!

Oh and Ethan got to see snow today, big bonus! Tomorrow is a big day, he will be sedated for 3 hours and have a MRI, inner eye exam, skin biopsy and lumbar puncture. It's been a while since I have had to hand my baby off to a nurse to go in for a procedure without me so I'm not looking forward to it!

Go Go Go

2012-01-06T19:57:00.000-05:00

Tonight I am sitting here trying to figure out how to title this post. Ethan is laying on the bed next to me running his cars up and down Chris's legs and yelling Go Go Go. The girls are down the hall waiting to find out who is going to be the Family Wizard and Jake is hanging with a friend.

My heart is heavy and my contacts are all fuzzy from all the crying that I did today. Gracie and I along with many other families, adults and children with Intellectual Disabilities/Developmental Delays sat in on the The House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance Committee public hearings to tell them our stories of why we must End The Wait for ID/DD Medicaid Waivers in the State of VA. I was so proud of Gracie, she stood up in front of those "old men" as she called them along with two other siblings to show her support for her brother while a teenage boy told the story of his twin sister...how he worries about her and what her life will become without the state's help.

Governor McDonnell's budget has no commitment to fund new waiver spots until July 1, 2014. Right now 7,000 individuals with Intellectual Disability or Developmental Disability are on a waiting list just to get a waiver of those 7,000, Sweet Ethan is just 1. 3,000 of those on the waiting list are considered urgent - some examples of urgent need include living with an aging or ill caregiver, risk of homelessness and risk of abuse, neglect and exploitation.

Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, Teachers all got up for 3 minutes each and told their story. They told of their child being on a list for 15 or more years, they worried about how they would take care of their child once they are gone. What will happen to them? Institutions...well, plenty of stories were told about those institutions ...patients being beaten, staved and neglected. Can you imagine raising your child and knowing that as you age and are no longer able to care for your adult child with a disability this is what would happen to your child? I can tell you that the answer for me is NO!

Ethan is 3 and I will start fighting now to make sure he is taken care of when I can't take care of him any longer...so as Ethan says "GO GO GO" That is what I will do...

To learn more about our fight go here Virginia Budget Hearings.

Hello....

2011-12-29T21:08:00.000-05:00

Long time no blog! One of my New Years Resolutions is to blog at least once a week. Believe it or not I use this blog to track Ethan's Medical History, we are in the process of getting ready for our first trip to the National Institute of Health in a couple of weeks. Ethan has been accepted into the Undiagnosed Disease Program. I have had to gather a ton of info and was able to pull a lot of it from my entries.

My family from out of state also likes to read our blog and catch up on all the kiddos! Here is recap of the Fall/Winter of 2011:

Jake - started 5th grade, played a fun season of football,was an Usher at my Little Sister's Wedding, Celebrated his 11th Birthday was his 2 Best Friends and Dad by going out for wings and go carting because he informed us that he is just too old for a birthday party, took his first communion and is almost as tall as me....

Gracie - started 3rd grade, was an amazing Rebel's Cheerleader,was a Junior Bridesmaid at my Little Sister's Wedding, Celebrated her 9th Birthday by having a Spa Sleepover with 13 girls, played Mary in the Christmas Eve Pageant at Church and has the most giving and loving heart of anyone I have ever met.

Anna Claire - started Pre-K, started taking Gymnastics (which she LOVES), went to her first Nascar race with her Bestie, got her first Pedicure, was a flower girl at my Little Sister's Wedding, Celebrated her 5th Birthday by having a triple birthday party with her 2 Besties and has a sassy and silly style all of her own!

Ethan- started Preschool, turned 3, continues to Love his Romp n Roll Classes, has started communicating with more words, walking all over the place with and without his walker, took his first tractor ride and was not afraid of the loud noise (big huge step for him) and continues to amaze us every day!

It's been an amazing year filled with tons of love and great accomplishment. Here's hoping 2012 is even better!

Big News....

2011-09-07T18:39:00.000-04:00

Jake started 5th grade (last year of elementary, boo hoo hoo) Gracie started 3rd grade

Anna Claire started Pre-K

and Ethan, well, see for yourself....

How do the Hams Keep Cool?

2011-07-24T19:29:00.000-04:00

Wow, it has been a hot weekend. Here is how we stayed cool this weekend...

Summer is great, huh?

Weekend Wrap Up

2011-07-10T22:19:00.000-04:00

We had a great weekend with family and spent a lot of time outdoors! Just the way we like it.

Saturday we headed out to the Hanover Tomato Festival.

The girls had fun at the petting zoo,

learning how to plant herbs,

Ethan and Anna Claire had a tractor race and Papaw will be glad to see the John Deere won,

Ethan loved the corn box - a box full of tractors and corn what else could you want?

Gracie thought it would be fun to have a picture made with her and Ethan in front of cow

Today we went to my Parents for the afternoon. My Sister made the most amazing ribs, they were so yummy! My Uncle and his Family is visiting from Alabama. We had a great time visiting with everyone.

Anna Claire tried ribs for the first time and loved them!

Nannie's Kitchen is always the place to hang out!

Anna Claire entertained us with music and singing

This picture of my Sister and Ethan cracks me up!

Uncle Robert practicing the song that my Sister will walk down the aisle when she gets married.

My Dad and Chris look to be in deep conversation.

I finished the evening up with some couponing....

CVS - before coupons, ECB and sales = $35.93, afterwards = $10.22 (saved $25.71) (Yes, that's 3 packs of Expo Markers - they were on sale for $1.99 and Jake needs 2 packs while Gracie needs 1 for back to school supplies) Walked away with $2 worth of ECB to spend next time.

Rite Aid - before Up rewards, sales and coupons = $20.04, afterwards = $4.05 (savings of $15.99) Walked away with $5 in up rewards to spend next time

Kroger = Before coupons and sales = $72.83, afterwards = $34.09 (savings of $38.74) Yes, that is 8 packs of crayons but hey at .25 a piece and Gracie needed 4, Jake needed 1 and Anna Claire needing 1 you just can't beat it for back to school sales!

Staples and Walgreens have some good back to school sales on some of the items the kids need so I'm going to try and check that out tomorrow!

Good Night!

Living Life...

2011-07-08T23:04:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been over 2 months since I blogged last. I've got to get better about that! I use my blog to help keep my family up to date and also for me to have a place to keep track of all of the kids day to day happenings! So here is what the Hamilton Ham's have been up to for the last 2 months ....

Anna Claire and her Preschool Teacher at her End of the Year Program. I can't believe this girl will start Pre-K in the fall!

We've been spending some time at my Parent's pool and Ethan tried Watermelon for the 1st time, it is a staple of summertime :)

Both boys had strep throat and Ethan had a horrible rash from it.

Anna Claire was in her 1st tap recital. She did great but informed me that she will not be taking dance next year but will be taking Karate.

Celebrated Fathers Day - me and my Dad!

I have become obsessed with saving money with coupons - I might have a bit of an addiction....I've started posting pictures of my deals and posting them on facebook - ....my total before coupons was $96.23. After it was $32.60 and I received $8.00 in store credit to use next time. See, I told you, I've got a problem...

We've been working on time out with Ethan when he hits or bites. It seems to be working.

Took Ethan to Chuckie Cheese and he loved it!

We spent the 4th of July at a sweet hometown parade.

Last night we took the kids to an outdoor concert to see Darius Rucker and had a blast!

So basically we've just been living and that is just fine with me 'cause like my Man Darius says "It won't be like this for long"

Happy Mothers Day!

2011-05-08T20:58:00.000-04:00

I had a wonderful Mothers Day, we spent the afternoon at my parents house, Gracie, Ethan and I went for a 2 mile walk and I spent the day just hanging with these kiddos....

My favorite flowers ever .... Stargazer Lillys and these awesome notes....

From Jake

From Gracie

From Anna Claire

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. Osho

Heavy Heart...

2011-04-30T04:26:00.000-04:00

First off, everything is OK in the Hamilton House and Ethan is doing MUCH better. I hate to jinx myself but today is 4/30 and if we can manage to get through the day without an overnight hospital stay than this will be the first April since Ethan was born that we haven't spent in the hospital :)

Now, on to my "heavy heart". Most of you by now have seen the horrible destruction left by the tornadoes in Alabama.

My heart has been heavy and I have been praying for all of those who lost homes and family members. My "Mom" (ya'll know, the woman who "raised" me) grew up in Alabama and has cousins who lost their homes. Thankfully, our family all survived and we are so thankful. I have been trying to figure out a way to help - through one my favorite webpages that I check everyday in an effort to find the best deals - Living on Love and Cents, she posted a link to a site Saving toward a better life (very cool site that I will be following with great ideas on saving money) who posted another great link to another really cool site that I will sooo be following now (don't you just love the blog world :)) Couponing to Disney. Here is a an excerpt from her site:

Wednesday my town was hit by a tornado. We suffered loss of homes, businesses, vehicles, etc. Praise the Lord we did not suffer many losses of life. Unfortunately, it wasn’t over. Later in the day, more tornadoes touched the ground in Alabama killing at least 194 people. This line of storms spanning 7 states took a total of 298 lives and more than 163 tornadoes reportedly ransacked the south.

Southerners are in dire need of some of the most basic necessities and I am working with my local church to start an online donation drive to help the victims of these storms. If you have any items that you would love to mail to us, we will gladly take them. Here are a few things that we are in need of:

toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, soap, deodorant, dishwashing soap, laundry detergent, hand sanitizer, clothing in all sizes, shoes in all sizes, blankets, small toys for displaced children, ziploc bags, bandaids and other first aid products, femine products, baby formula, diapers, baby food, toilet paper, Kleenex, food, individual juices, pet food and treats etc

We will gladly take anything that you are willing to send.

You can mail your donations to my church. We will ensure they get into the right hands. You have my personal guarantee that all donations will be distributed:

Disaster Relief

c/o First Baptist Church of Moody

902 Church Street

Moody, AL 35004

I prayed and asked God to show me how I could help and as always he answered my prayers. I wish I had big bank account with lots of extra money to donate but since I don't, I can use my sewing skills to help! I am currently working on a University of Alabama Tutu Dress and during the month of May I will be donating 100% of the profit from any College Tutu Dresses that I sell to the Disaster Relief Fund at First Church of Moody. I will have pictures posted on my Etsy Shop - Made in the 'Ville and on my Facebook Page by the end of the weekend. In the meantime here is a picture of a UVA Tutu Dress that I made for a customer. Don't worry if you don't "Roll Tide", I will customize a college Tutu Dress of your college choice :)

Please pray for strength and guidance for all of those affected by the tornadoes last week.

Pneumonia....again....

2011-04-26T21:43:00.000-04:00

I guess the excitement of Spring Break has caught up with Ethan. Poor guy started running a high temp last night and breathing irratically. I could hear some wheezing and was able to get him to the doctor first thing this morning. His pulse ox was in the 80s but with a breathing treatment we were able to stabalize him and he was back in the 90s after his albuterol. They ran a strep test which was negative but even after the treatment the crackling didn't go away so Pneumonia it is. The first two years of his life we have spent some of March and April in the hospital dealing with surgeries and respitory issues. I am still holding out hope that we are gonna fight this one and not end up in the hospital this April! I've got a week so pray with me for this little boy...

The reality is that this kid goes down quick and pneumonia is one of those nasty things that will take a sweet life like Ethan's so we don't take it lightly. The alarm is set for every 4 hours and will be getting up for his treatments for the next 48 hours. We go back on Friday for a recheck unless he gets worse.

In moments like this I hold tight to Deuteronomy 31:8

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T20:34:00.000-04:00

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... ~ 1 Peter 1:3.

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-22T23:22:00.000-04:00

Last week we took Ethan to his last Easter Egg Hunt with the Early Intervention Team :( He had a great time and so much has changed since the hunt last year! This year, he actually was able to participate!

Movin on up....

2011-03-27T20:38:00.000-04:00

Ethan has moved on from the Babies Class at Romp n' Roll but luckily we have our same teacher and we just LOVE Ms. Emily! I'll be honest, I was very nervous about the transition. We were comfortable in the babies class, it was small and quaint but Ethan needed more. He had outgrown the class and so last week we tried out the next class up. This class is designed for toddlers age 10 months to 24 months. Most of the kids are walking in the class but not all so Ethan fit in just fine! He loves all the musical instruments. The drums and symbols are his favorite. I can't say enough great things about what Romp n' Roll has done for Ethan. I love how all of the staff love and treat Ethan just like one of the kids...

This is how we roll....

2011-03-19T18:58:00.000-04:00

We spent most of the afternoon doing this....

Gracie conquered her fear and now can ride a bike without training wheels!

I love how determined he looks here!

Big brother showing little brother how its done!

Watch out Anna Claire, Ethan is coming after ya!

Happy Saturday, go out and get your roll on :)