HAWKE TURNS THREE

My sweet boy, Happy Third Birthday! 

You are the light of my life. 

I was talking with your Bama about making medical decisions and personal choices 
on what will increase somebodies "quality of life". Having a child, is one that could be argued in either direction. For your Mom, choosing to have a baby; choosing to have you, has absolutely been the best decision. The fulfillment you have brought into my life is more than I had expected. "My cup runneth over" is the perfect phrase to describe my heart with you apart of it. The happiness I experience with you is beyond measure, more days than not, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. The only other experiences where I can say "my cheeks hurt from smiling" are on your Mom and Dad's Wedding day and our families Sealing Day. 

You are your Dada's best friend. You two are peas in a pod. I love observing both of you play for hours. Interacting, using your imaginations, going on adventures. You want to do everything your Dada does, and you WILL do it. You are his shadow and I couldn't have picked a more perfect Man for you to emulate. Continue to strive to be like your Dada and success will follow you.

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Your third birthday theme was a "Rhino" (Dino) Party.

You think Rhino's are Dinosaurs - totally understandable.

And you're favorite Dinosaur is the Rhino (Triceratops & Rhinoceros).

We have amazing friends and family that helped to pull off this great Party.

I couldn't have done it myself. But we can't let this day pass without saying how grateful I/we am for where my health is where it is right now. That I did have the energy to pull this off.

Special thanks to Papyrus Prints for designing the invitation.

Special thanks to my friend; Liz Harvey, for brainstorming Rhino party ideas and making decorations with her talents and skillllzzz.
(Including the tree in this background)
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Special thanks to @CurlyCoCreations on instagram, for designing the Dino Posters for your party.

                                 
I actually coordinated the color theme and entire party around these designs! Super sad when I had it printed  and there was no lime green paper available for the stegosaurus :/

Special thanks to Rocklynn and her art as a face painter. We were so lucky to have you!

Special thanks to @JoJosCreations, on Instagram for making your custom Birthday Cake and Rhino Cookies.

Special thanks to Dada for creating your Rhino Piñata all by himself. 
He amazes me every day.

Special thanks to Bama, Papa, Auntie Tole and Dada for helping make and finish up decorations the night before celebrating.

Special thanks to Lindsay Lindstrom (@the_lindstrom_life) for creating this BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING video for us to remember this special day forever.  I will forever remember your face as you walked into your party, in awe; turned and screamed,
 "My MOM!" while you ran my way.

You have a knack of making everyone you love feel special.

                                                                   We love you, Linds.

Special thanks to @LanellLeonePhotography for capturing this party through lenses and angles I'd never be able to snap.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME, DINOSAUR HAIR?!

 Give me aalllll those heart eyes.

Special thanks to our Tyrannosaurus Rex, who came as a last minute decision.

You were the absolute highlight of the party!

Hawke, your Birthday Party was spectacular - nothing short of who you are.
We love you like crazy!

Xx, Mom & Dad

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To everybody who helped, Thank You! I couldn't have done it without all of you.

We threw this whole party on a budget of $200. Would you like to learn how we did it? Leave some feedback and comment if you want a blogpost on: "How to plan a party on a student budget".

Here is a link to my personal Pinterest Account that has all of our ideas. Sadly, some we didn't get enough time to try. Man, we had a lot of fun! 

Here's a direct link to the board:
HAWKE'S DINO BIRTHDAY PINTEREST BOARD

Individual links for Pinterest posts that inspired our ideas:
T-Rex Watermelon
Dino (Nugget) Lunch Ideas
Stegosaurus Craft
Rhino Cookies
Gold Dino Mason Jar Centerpieces
Tree Backdrop & Leaves
Cake

HAWKE'S BIRTHDAY VIDEO

Three years ago today the Dr's placed a tiny, miraculous baby boy in my arms. 
And we called him, Hawke.

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Hawke, your Mom and Dad love you so much.

I will forever remember your face as you walked into your party, in awe, turned and screamed "My MOM!" while you ran my way.

You have a knack of making everyone you love feel special.

Special thanks to our videographer and friend, Lindsay Lindstrom, for making this video for us. One to last a lifetime. We love you and are grateful you were willing to share your talents with our family.

(Blogpost about the party coming soon. Waiting for pics to get back to us!) Thanks for your patience.

Xx, M

I AM A SOULDIER

photo by: LanellLeone Photography 

Remember in 2015 when Rachel Platten released her Fight Song?

Everyone was gaining strength and courage for their personal battles. Children with cancer, adults losing loved ones. It was idolized by many.

Just as the Fight Song, brings strength to many, I find myself turning to a different song for strength.

Back in July 2016, celebrating Independence Day, Ric and I were running a spontaneous weekend 5K. I hadn't done anything athletic of the such, in over a year. My body was (and still is) recovering from pregnancy. (Will it ever recover? The unknown question we all wonder. Whether I do or don't, I've got a dang cute kid to show for it, and that is worth any sacrifice, in my book.) The starting gun went off and I began pacing myself slowly. The adrenaline of the race carried me for a short half mile. Then, I started struggling. Fatigue in my limbs, tightening of the airways, and the mental game. My goals going into this race were simply; 'to not walk', and 'finish'. However, at this point I was truly certain I wasn't going to run much more, and simply 'hoping' to cross that finish line. I turned to Ric and said, "You need to carry me through this race, because I am done. I need you to distract my mind and start telling me a story. Please, assess my body from your eyes and adjust our pace accordingly. I'll focus on my breathing...you distract my mind and you pace my body.' He began recalling the history of our Country, fighting for their independence. Telling stories of military troops and the wars and battles they had had to endure. How quickly my mind shifted. Here I was 26 years old, in a first world country, a beautiful day, perfect weather, my husband by my side and I thought I was having a hard time. I thought I wasn't going to endure. I reflected back on my own two cousins who served in the Marines. The 20+ mile runs with weighted packs on their backs, through the sand. I thought back on all the Troops who went days on end without sleep in battle, days of physical exertion. I became so humbled and grateful I had tears filling my eyes. I could endure and I was going to finish. I didn't finish pretty, but I didn't stop or walk. We finished just over the pace time, I was secretly hoping to finish in -- because, what athlete ever really loses that competitiveness with themselves? ;)

Now, I have never been a soldier fighting for my freedoms or in a war with bullets, camo and the flag on my shoulder. But everyday I fight for my life, for freedom from this illness.

Years ago when I heard The Killer's song, All These Things That I've Done, the line - I got soul but I'm not a soldier; resonated inside me like nothing had before. It was almost as if Brandon Flowers, knew what I was going through, and was speaking to me. This was exactly how I felt about my daily battle with cystic fibrosis. One that will never stop attacking and one that I will never stop fighting back. I knew I wasn't a soldier in camouflage, but I was my own soul-dier. I'd never be on the battlefield with a gun, but I'd be on the daily, the minute, the every second battlefield of my own body. And that takes courage.  

I may not be a soldier, but I AM A SOULDIER.

The past year as this Sherman Army has grown larger and stronger than I ever imagined, I feel your strength as my fellow souldiers. I couldn't do this without you. 
And so, we release to you, and anyone else fighting as a souldier, our new Souldier Tee.

Click HERE to purchase the Souldier Tee.

Xx, M

TRIALS AND MILES

I had the opportunity to record with Kacee Houle, the creator of the podcast: Trials and Miles. She is a darling woman with an amazing story herself, but has chosen to create a platform for others to share there's. She is a light and we laughed and talked much longer than was saved and uploaded for you. You know when you just click with someone? Kacee, move to Arizona!

Pull on those headphones, plug in that car jack or sync your bluetooth to your sound bar. Hope you enjoy todays adventure and education with Cystic Fibrosis.

PODCAST CLICK: HERE

 ^^

link takes you to 'podcasts' on itunes.

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If you'd like to hear more of my story, listen to this podcast with Monica from
About Progress.

Xx, M