The holidays are approaching

Oh the joy of the holiday season! I am totally kicking myself in the rear for not putting up our lights and decorations this past weekend when it was 60 outside! Oh well, what fun is the holiday season if you can't put things up in the cold?!  Thanksgiving is only a week away and it seems crazy that it is already time to think about that, and of course Christmas, and birthdays!  I love this time of year as I love to bake the cookies and decorate candies and trim the tree... I just wish my family loved it as much as I do! 

So, it's been a few months since my last post, and I am sure you can all agree that we have been quite busy.  Orion has been adjusting to our home quite well, he is the perfectly chill 5th child our family needed.  He does not sleep through the night (though I really didn't expect him too), but loves to sleep most of the day!  He is holding his head quite well, and does not seem to mind tummy time as much as the others did.  He has the greatest 'sissy' to take care of him - Willow is there for every diaper change, every nursing, every peep he makes in order to make sure that one either I doing my job, or two she can fill in when I am not. Sometimes that alone can be a bit much.  

See, she is trying to button the top button here of his pj's. LOL  She is a great helper!

Willow has been doing very well, and we are so very happy for this 'quiet time' where it seems her shunt is doing what it is supposed to be, and she is not suffering.  I have been still working on fundraisers for the MI PHF; in fact the kids elementary school - Palmer Elementary, has been gracious to donate their pop cans from the lounge for the foundation!  Thank you so much Palmer for helping to support hydrocephalus awareness.  We had a Griffins game last Friday evening, which we enjoyed (took Evan with us), and it seems our co-director, Jason, has a Pistons game on Dec. 15th. So we have a lot going on still! 

It is one of those things that I wish more people knew about and understood - I will be honest with you all, for Willow hydrocephalus is a secret disability.  She appears 'fine' or 'normal' as so many have said.  We are truly blessed that our daughter who started this journey with a diagnosis of not even having a brain, has come as far as she has and is doing as fantastic as she is.  But the reality of it all is she still has hydrocephalus and a shunt that could, at any moment without notice, quit working and potentially kill her, or give her much more brain damage.  

So I am going to ask my followers (the few out there - LOL), that while you are out and about this holiday season filling your carts with material greatness you also stop for a moment and think of all the children out there fighting various disabilities.  Whether you can see them or not, there is a daily fight so many face.  Some of you may ask how can I help out this holiday season, I am in the giving spirit.  Here are a few ways you can help financially the PHF: 

http://www.active.com/donate/phfmi  (the link to the MI PHF donation page)

http://smile.amazon.com/   If you shop online, check out this link, if you select the PHF as your organization, then a Amazon will donate a percentage to the PHF - so easy right?! 

Now if you don't want to give money, that is fine too, there are so many other ways to help a family who has a child with disabilities.  You can start by asking when was the last time the parents went out together? I bet you will find it has been a VERY LONG TIME since they have had some time to themselves.  Or bake a meal, snack, or even hang out and chat over some holiday coffee!  

Either way, make this holiday season one about giving and enjoy what it all has to offer :) 

I was trying to catch a smile :) 

If you look closely she has a stick of some sort in each hand and she put it on either side of her head all on her own :) Silly girl. 

Tummy time for my little ones