UAB Adult Down Syndrome Clinic

This is a recent article on the Adult Down Syndrome Clinic at UAB. I tried to copy the photo but was unsucessful. But if you click on the health & fitness link you can see the happy couple. The three categories that Dr. Lose refers to is astounding to me. It also goes to show how times are changing and most importantly it goes to show how capable HUMANS who are diagnosed with DS can accelerate in life. They just need guidance, support, understanding and A LOT of love. Edie has already shown us in her short 1 1/2 years what wonderful things she can do some with little assistance. As a matter of fact - she picks up most things all by herself. I have already noticed since being back from a trip that she is now stacking blocks, trying to comb her own hair, brushing her own teeth (well maybe just chewing on the toothbrush) and just this morning she found a pair of shoes and tried to put it on her foot! She is talking a lot too! I know Edie will have a happy fulfilling life I just can't wait to see what her generation will be doing 20 years from now!

§ UAB clinic helps adult Down syndrome patients make progress
Posted by Dave Parks -- Birmingham News June 25, 2009 5:45 AM
Categories: Health & Fitness
Dave Parks/Birmingham News
Heather Larkin and Cody Pope share a happy moment while taking a break recently from medical evaluations at UAB's Down syndrome clinic for adults. Larkin and Pope are both from Tuscaloosa. The clinic is one of a few in the U.S. for adults with Down syndrome. It has been open for about two years, and provides a wide variety of specialized care.
Cody Pope used to be an Auburn University football fan.
"Not any more," he smiles.
That's because his girlfriend, Heather Larkin, is a University of Alabama football fan, and Pope switched loyalties so they would have more in common.
"That's what happy couples are all about," he says. "We are officially a couple."
But Pope and Larkin, both 22 and from Tuscaloosa, have something else in common. They were both born with Down syndrome, a genetic condition that accounts for the largest group of intellectually deficient people in the United States -- more than 400,000 men, women and children.
Pope and Larkin came in recently for evaluation together, with family members, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Down syndrome clinic for adults, one of only a few such clinics in the country.
Medical breakthroughs, particularly open-heart surgery, have extended the average lives of people with Down syndrome from about 19 years old in 1969 to 60 years old today. But a longer life span has created another challenge -- providing special care for adults with Down syndrome.
Caused by an extra chromosome 21, Down syndrome is linked to a multitude of health problems such as hearing loss, heart malformations, high blood pressure, digestive problems and vision disorders. Those with the condition are also prone to early aging and dementia.
People with Down syndrome have distinctive facial features and often are short in stature. The syndrome is usually accompanied by mild to moderate intellectual disability; occasionally the disability is severe.
Dr. Edward Lose, director of the clinic at UAB, said it is important to get adults with Down syndrome into the medical system and connected to a primary care physician.
That can be tough because providing medical care for somebody with Down syndrome require patience, time and wide variety of tests and evaluations.
"It's a lengthy process," he explained. "These people are here for hours."
Also, many doctors are reluctant to accept them as patients because most are covered by Medicaid, a state-operated insurance plan that pays relatively low rates.
The UAB clinic opened two years ago, and so far has evaluated only 75 patients. The clinic has served mostly as a consultant for the patients' regular doctors and has found primary care doctors for some patients.
"There have got to be more than 75 people with Down syndrome in Jefferson County alone," Lose said. "My major concern so far is we really don't know who's out there."
Unfortunately, the history of caring for people with Down syndrome is riddled with neglect. In the past, babies with Down syndrome were often allowed to die, and doctors viewed medical treatment as futile, Lose said.
Even today, the vast majority of women who undergo genetic testing during pregnancy will undergo an abortion rather than have a baby with Down syndrome, according to studies.
Still, there has been a general movement toward acceptance of people with Down syndrome and appreciation of their value as human beings. Most recently, the life and death of John Mark Stallings, the son of former University of Alabama football coach Gene Stallings, touched the hearts of people in this state.
Lose said there is generally a correlation between age and how well a patient with Down syndrome is doing. He sees them falling into three groups:
• Patients older than 45. "They had very little medical care. They also had very little education. They're not doing very well. Some of them have had all their teeth pulled, things like that."
• Patients in their late 20s to 45. "They do better. Their medical treatment was better. Their education was better, although for some of them education was a blank piece of paper and a box of crayons."
• The youngest group of adults. "They are doing very well. They are active, loving members of their families."
Most patients he sees are employed, sometimes in unusual jobs. One patient worked as Chuck E. Cheese in a restaurant, entertaining children.
"They're excellent workers," Lose said. "Unlike all of the rest of us, they love to go to work every day."
The UAB clinic opened with the help of a two-year grant and support from Parent Advocates Down Syndrome. The grant, which provides about $55,000 a year, runs out next spring.
PADS has provided $25,000 in seed money to create an endowment fund named after John Mark Stallings, and contributions are needed, Lose said. The clinic operates two days a week, and Lose would like it to open five days a week.
"We need at least $5 million and probably $20 million in the endowment," he said. "We will do it. I have a feeling that things will come through for us. It may take awhile."
To contact the UAB clinic for adults with Down syndrome, call 205-335-9385.
dparks@bhamnews.com

Happy Father's Day!

We had a great weekend together. Saturday we went the the Farmers Market in Helena and then we worked in the yard a bit and then went out to the pool. The water was so warm but still felt so good! Edie and I were so excited to give Daddy his Father's Day gift we had to give it to him early at dinner Saturday night. Edie worked very hard on a coloring card (I will have to post a photo later). She colored in it, painted in it, put some pictures in it and even left a voice message for Daddy in it. I actually got lucky and recorded Edie saying "Da Da". It was a sweet card. Edie and I also got Daddy a few shirts and a pair of shorts. Edie picked out each of the shirts herself.

Sunday after church we met Stacey and Russell along with Carter and Ross at the Zoo. It was so HOT....miserably HOT....did I say HOT! Our intentions were to meet up and play in the water park area. However, once we got there and saw it-it was not at all what we were expecting. Apparently one side only was working and the other side was filled with big kids hogging all of the fun. There were just a few water spouts that shot out of the ground. And with all of the kids sitting on them, putting their mouths over them, etc. It left little water for Carter and Edie to play. So we went on to the petting zoo, the sea lion and the monkey's. We had a good time but we just could not take the heat any longer so we left and had a snow cone. Edie was a trooper. She had a few moments but I think it was due to the heat mainly and lack of napping. She had a 30 min nap on the way to the zoo. Needless to say after getting home, eating and having a bath she was fast asleep at 6:15!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Yesterday at The Bell Center we were singing Old McDonald and when the teacher held up the cow and asked what this was - Edie replied MOOOO! I was so proud of her! She even signed Dog when prompted during a book we read. She is slowly learning to take steps behind a baby grocery cart. She will take a few steps then sit on the floor and whimper. We know it is only because she does not want to do something that is hard and maybe scary for her - but she can do it. I know she can. We are still working hard on leaning to walk and cruise around tables and furniture. We are also still working hard on learning to not throw toys and to concentrate on one toy at a time. Edie is so active it is hard for her to play with one toy for longer than a few seconds. We have been advised to put away her toys and only pull out a few at at time or divide up her toys to morning, noon and night toys. It is just hard for me to take anything away from her that she enjoys - but I am going to have to be more self disciplined myself and follow the directions we have been given.

After a long day we ended up at the Birmingham Barrons game. Scott's company hosted a tent with food and drinks. This photo shows just how interested Edie was in watching the game. Maybe she takes after her mom?

Little Ladybug

Not the best quality photos in the world, but just wanted to share. This is Edie all dressed up in her ladybug dress for church last Sunday. The nursery workers said she looked like a mini Dorthy in her red sparkly shoes. She even kept her bow in for most of the morning!

15 Month Checkup @ 17 Months

So I had no idea we had to go back to the doc for a 15 month checkup. i thought after the 12 month we were free and clear! But after overhearing a friend talking about how much her baby weighed at her 15 month checkup I looked at Edie's paperwork and realized we had missed it. By about 2 months!! Edie was 2 days shy of her 17 month birthday when we finally went in.

Scott and I just knew chunky monkey had gained some weight and she weighed at least 20 lbs or more. But to our surprise she only weighed in at 19 lbs 12 oz. She does seem a lot heavier these days. She shows 50% in weight on the DS growth chart which is perfect and 90% in length which is really great. Hopefully she will have her daddy's height. She had two shots and did prefect, only a little cry. We are so proud of her and so thankful she is happy and healthy. What more could we ask for?

These are some photos from her big day. This is the norm at the office. As soon as she feels that paper under her she immediately tears it and trys to eat it. Everything is still going in her mouth these days.

PADS

A few months ago I posted on Edie's Golf Team for the 2009 PADS Golf Tournament. Above is a pic of the team - Johnny Mack Jones, Daryl Spears, Scott and Lee Cobb. While we were on vacation PADS hosted a family fun day at the zoo where they played and had a picnic lunch together. They also voted on new officers at this time. Scott was contacted by the previous President of PADS and was asked if he would be interested in being put on the ballot for VP of PADS. Of course he was happy to accept the nomination and to our surprise he was nominated as such. So you are now looking at the new VP of PADS - Parent Advocates Down Syndrome.

This is an honor for both Scott and I. As I know we will both become VERY involved in this organization and be a part of it for the rest of our lives. This is also a big undertaking as PADS has round-the-clock events, the biggest of which is the Buddy Walk and Golf Tournament. They have conferences around the globe as well as local events for people with DS of all ages. They are also very involved in the Aldult DS Clinic at UAB. This will give us a great opportunity to learn a lot and socialize with people of all ages with DS.

We have for the most part been exposed to babies and children with DS due to The Bell Center and the New Parents group. So this will give us great experience and knowledge on life beyond The Bell Center and what we can do to continue to advocate. It will also give us a glimpse of what to expect as Edie grows into a toddler, a teenager and an adult. We are thankful for this opportunity and I know Scott will do a great job in serving for this organization. Congratulations Daddy!!

Beach Bums

We just returned from our First Family Vacation. We have made several "mini" vacations over the past year - but this was our first real, "real" family vacation. We stayed in a house in Old Florida Village in Santa Rosa Beach, FL on Hwy 30A. It was a beautiful home located a few blocks from the beach. The weather was perfect for the most part. It did rain one day and a few times during the night, but it never put a damper on things. We played at the beach, the pool, we shopped, visited a water park in Niceville, FL and ate lots of great seafood.

Each morning Scott would drive down to the beach and set up the tent. He would then run back for his morning exercise and we would pack up the stroller and walk together for a fun day in the sand and sun. We did this so we could make a quick getaway in case Edie got cranky. All we would have to do was pack up the car and drive. However, Edie never did get cranky. She loved the beach - actually a lot more than I anticipated. She would play, take a nap under the tent, eat lunch, and then play more. She loved the water (salt water and all) she also loved to eat sand (a little more than I would have liked for her to). I thought the first time she got a hand full of sand she would think "oh that was a bad idea", but apparently she thought it was a great idea and she would eat more and more.

We ate A LOT of raw oysters. One of mine and Scott's favorite foods next to craw fish. We also cooked at home a few nights. We had a seafood market near our house so we rode the bikes down a few nights and picked up some seafood to cook at home and eat in. One night we cooked shrimp and afterwards I beat Scott in a game of Scrabble. The other night we devoured some excellent crab legs and watched a movie. On the other nights we met Gigi and Giddo for dinner at Stinky's (they came to the beach to and stayed in a condo in Destin). They surprised Edie with a Bear they had made for her at The Bear Factory. She was complete with hair bows, a bathing suit and a birth certificate. We named her Sunshine Bear. Edie loves to pull off all of her colorful bows.

Edie was a great travel companion. She never fussed one single time. We bought her a DVD player before we left so she could watch Baby Einstein videos (her favorite past time). She thought it was the MOST exciting thing in the world! EVERY time it would come on she acted as if she had just opened the best gift in the world! She was so cute and made some of the funniest facial expressions while in the car. We also stopped off at the Peach Park in Clanton and met Nannie for some ice cream and fried apple pie on the way home on Saturday. We had a great time at the beach and made lots of great memories. I can not wait to do it again!

We do have a few 1000 other photos to post. I will get these loaded ASAP - but for now, back to work :(

Happy Memorial Day!

We had a very relaxing Memorial Day weekend. Saturday we spent the day with Aunt Mindy, Chuck and several other friends at Chuck's Smith Lake house. Although it rained and we were not able to go swimming or boating we still had fun being indoors and just hanging out. Edie had fun being with Aunt Mindy and being held and hugged by everyone. She was adorable as always.
After church the Poole's came over and we went out to the pool. Edie had not napped all morning or afternoon so she took a quick nap at the pool before dinner. We had a boston butt Scott had bought and Chris made the greatest baked beans ever!! On Monday we did a little bit of nothing. We did finally venture out to WalMart to get some supplies for our up coming VACATION to the BEACH!!!!
We can NOT wait!! We will be leaving this Saturday and will not be back for a WHOLE WEEK!!! So look for many, many, many photos of Edie's first trip to the beach!
Until then we made a Memorial Day photo collage for you. Edie looked so cute in her Red, White and Blue I had to get some photos of her. My absolute favorite is the one of her on the bottom right with her legs hanging off the sofa. She has such a cute, pretty, perfect smile in this pic. Can you tell we are in love with our baby!

Alex and Edie

Sunday Edie's friend Alex and her parents came over to play at the pool. The water was sooooo cold that Edie did not do any swimming. She enjoyed dipping her hands and feet in - but that is all I could stand for her to do. It was really freezing! But we had a great time just hanging out and later eating dinner and playing some more. Edie and Alex play really well together. She shares all of her toys well and just loves to watch other babies run around. However, I will say that when I shared some of Edie's goldfish crackers with Alex Edie did not like it very much. So she doesn't mind sharing toys. Just not her food!

Monday Night - Date Night

Last Monday night Scott and I did something we have not done in a long time. We went to a concert and a great concert at that! We joined up with our dear friends Jimmy, Vanessa, Russell and Stacey for the Coldplay concert. It was so much fun!! We had awesome seats - they were up there but they were right in the center of the stage which made the viewing easy. During the course of the concert they dropped huge balls which the crowd hit and bounced around the venue. They also had butterfly.... dragonfly...some type of fly... confetti fall from the sky during later part of the concert. But the best part, was when the band moved from the center stage and jumped on a mini stage just a couple of sections over from us and played! It was great! I was screaming like I was 13! When we all left the concert they gave each person a CD of a recently recorded live concert from their tour which was really neat too. The place was packed, the energy was great, Coldplay was Awesome and the company was even better! We had a wonderful time.

Daddy's Girl

While I was out of town last weekend Edie and Daddy had a great weekend together. They went to the Farmers Market in Old Town Helena Saturday morning (picture Scott sent me of the trip on top left). It looks like they are in a swamp - which is what that area turns to with a little rain. Afterwards Scott took Edie to her pal Trebor's birthday party at Pump It Up. As you can see in the photos Edie had a great time jumping on the cushy floors. Scott wanted to take Edie down the slides so badly, but it was just too hard (not to mention dangerous) to hold Edie while climbing up the steep slides. Next time Sweetie......we promise!

Poo Poo Head

So this was a first.......Friday afternoon Edie and I were heading to meet Scott after work for dinner. I went up to wake sleeping beauty after her 2 1/2 hour nap!! She still was not quite awake so to keep from startling her I flipped on her lamp. To my surprise I noticed her diaper was loose. I went to strap it back and realized it actually was not even under her but loose and just lying under her. So I quickly flipped on the room light expecting to find that she had peed in her bed - no worries however because she has a sheet saver under each of the bed sheets. What I did find was a smiling face with poo poo from HEAD to TOE!!!! Stricken with panic I did not know what to do first. I ran to the bathroom to fill the tub with water but stopped to run back to her room because I knew I needed to get her out of her self made finger painting party. So in the tub she went half asleep, half laughing and really smelly!

After the episode I wished I had taken a picture of her in all of her glory. We were able to disinfect her, her bed and her sheets before dinner. It was a learning experience for me. Never again will I put Edie to bed without pants or a diaper cover. I still am unsure if the culprit was the cheap Publix diaper or that she simply took off her own dirty diaper since mommy did not do it for her! Fun times!!

Happy Mother's Day!

I love my Edie and I love my Scott! Sweet daddy gave me a surprise day at the Ross Bridge Resort and Spa on Saturday. He surprised me with a massage and a facial. It was perfect! After being greeted and checked in I changed into my robe and sat in a waiting area where they served snacks of fresh fruit and teas. I then had my massage and afterwards my facial. These were WONDERFUL!! But one of the best parts was after the treatments they did not rush you out. You were actually invited to stay as long as you wanted to enjoy the "Quiet Room" where there were lounging chairs, books, dim lights and a hot tub. You could also use the steam room, showers, etc. So I drank about six cups of tea and a plate full of fruit and nuts while in the "Quiet Room" (where there was no loud talking aloud), I took a short nap, then I sat in the steam room for as long as I could stand it. I then showered. Not because I needed to - but just because I wanted to. It was so fun and relaxing. Actually my treatments only lasted an 1 1/2, but I ended up staying there for about 4 hours! It was a great day!

On Sunday afternoon we had everyone over for a late lunch of hot wings, potato salad, baked beans, banana pudding and homemade ice cream. Edie, Wyatt and Wesley made Gigi, Nan and Kelli a hand towel for the kitchen with their names and all of the kids hand prints on them. They turned out really cute. When Edie was printing her hand on Gigi's towel she wadded her hand up quicker than I could pull it away so it sorta ended up being a "hand blob" rather than a hand print. It was still cute and though and really reflects Edie's personality. Quick, busy, messy, fun and you never know what you are going to get! Happy Mother's Day!!!!!

Me and Aunt Mindy

Aunt Mindy took Edie to her pal Riley's birthday party over the weekend. Riley turned the BIG 1! Aunt Mindy said Edie was an Angel as always and she had a great time. Eide LOVES other babies! She lights up now when we take her to MDO or to the nursery at church. She gets compliments left and right each time on what a joy she is to have. She just loves to play. Doesn't she look so big in this photo! She looks like she is three years old!! Thanks Aunt Mindy and Riely for a great time!!

More Please

Edie can now sign More, All Done, Eat and Dog. She knows Milk but never does it. Funny thing is she used to sign More all of the time and then she stopped and would only do All Done. Now she has gotten to where she does not do All Done as much and is back to doing More. This time she does More really well. She puts her fingers together when doing it insted of just slapping her hands together. (as you can see on the video).

We recieved her latest evaluation from ARC and The Bell Center recently. Edie is doing quite well. These were the results from her ARC evaluation:

Physical/Gross and Fine Motor: 8.5 - 10 months with a >25% delay

Cognitive/Relationships to Inanimate Objects: 11.5 - 13 months with a <25%>

Communication/Expressive and Receptive: 11.5 - 13 months with a <25%>

Self-Help: 10 - 13 months with a >25% delay

Social/Relationships to persons/Emotions and feelings/Coping behavior: 12.5 - 15.5 <25%>

This shows that although she was 15 months at the time of the evaluation she shows being on a 8.5 - 10 month level in physical and fine motor, 11.5 - 13 month level in cognitive and communication, 10-13 month level in self help and 12.5 -15.5 month level in social skills. We were told that in some areas she is doing what an 8 month old would be doing right now while in others she is doing what a 16 month old would be doing right now! So she is basically doing great in the mental learning areas and she is working toward developing the more physical challenges. Which to me is all expected due to her low muscle tone. It is harder for her to pull up, stand and keep her balance, walk, crawl, cruise, etc. All of the things we normally take for granted in a baby and just expect them to learn and do on their own. Edie has to work harder in these areas. However, I will say that once she gets it she "gets it"! She is now crawling and pulling up like a mad man. She is beginning to cruise very well to her left side. We are working on her right side now. All of the therapist continue to comment on her strength and how well she is doing. She no longer has to wear her hip pants (the baby spanx) unless she is showing weakness while standing or keeping her legs too far apart while standing, sitting, etc. So I am soooo happy about that. They can put a kink in a baby girls wardrobe. It is hard to look good in a T-shirt and biker shorts!

Edie is also really showing off with some of her toys. We are still working on "in and out play" and "give". Edie likes to throw. She has a few toys where she has to put a ball in a hole to make it sing or move. She has learned this and so often we will catch her sitting on the floor trying her best to get the ball in the hole. Most of the time she makes it and will raise her hands in the air to show her excitement. She loves to clap and play "peek-a-boo". She is too cute. Sometimes she will put her hands to her face and peek out from her fingers or if she has a cloth of any kind she will throw it on her head and wait for you to say "where's Edie?" then she will yank it off and giggle. I will have to get video of that next.

Edie now has four teeth coming in at once! Three on top and one on the bottom. They are coming in sooooooo slow too. She has not shown any signs of discomfort until this morning. Or so we think it is from her teeth. We gave her teething tablets for the first time to see if it would help with what ever is bothering her. She is drooling like crazy, even blowing bubbles and spitting sometimes. She cried a lot this morning. Not cry, cry but real whine and she woke up early crying out which is unusual. Yesterday I gave her a teething biscuit for snack. She loves them but boy are they messy. She got a bath early since she had it all over her face, chest, arms and in her hair. After her bath while I was putting on her lotion she started sucking her thumb (which she does now to show she is sleepy or hungry). So I picked her up and rocked her to sleep. It was so nice. Just me and her rocking in her room. I wanted to hold her all day and I probably would have if it were not having to get back to work.

She is growing so fast. I know I say that a lot, but she is. Too fast. Honestly, selfishly, sometimes I am thankful she is not walking yet. I feel this way because I know soon she will be. It is only a matter of time and when that day comes we will be so proud of her! But I love being able to hold her longer than most moms get to hold their babies. I love that she is a baby just a smidgen longer than most. I don't want her to grow up so fast that I can't remember where the time went. I want to savor every moment. She has the rest of her life to be a kid,a teenager and then an adult. Right now I am grateful for my baby - just still being a baby.

PADS Golf Day

Scott, Johnny Mack, Darrell and Lee all played golf last week in the PADS Golf Tournament to raise money for PADS and in honor of Edie. This is the sign that Scott and the guys found on their golf carts. I was contacted a few weeks ago and asked to submit a photo of Edie for the tournament. I could not choose so I sent both. I did not want to tell Scott b/c I wanted it to be a surprise for him. He was delighted to see his little girl on their carts. At the end of the day Johnny Mack won a gift certificate for the Longest Drive and Scott won a football signed by Gene Stallings. It is a really cool football with a drawing of Gene Stallings and his son John Mark Stallings , who recently passed due to complications from a heart defect related to DS. If you have the time grab your tissues, smiles and click on this link to hear Gene Stallings talk about his son and the happiness "Johnny" made in his life. http://www.focusonthefamily.com/popups/media_player.aspx?ShowPath=Focus on the Family Daily&broadcastDate=2009-01-21

Brad Hennifer was also present giving golf lessons to other children with DS and playing with the other golfers during the tournament. Brad is Nationally recognized as a great sportsman in Golf and he "happens" to have DS. He travels the globe playing great golf and speaking on behalf of children with DS and those with special needs, and sharing his story of how full his life is. Not only has he been playing golf since the age of three, he also attends public school, plays on his high school basketball team, he works out regularly and has a job too! It is always great to hear these stories even more so when told by the people who live them!

You Make Me Happy

The photo on the left is of Edie sleeping in a TJMax buggy. We had a "mommy - daughter" day last week. Edie was my side kick last Friday while we worked and played. We first went to the local Summer Classics store to do some work and take some measurements for a customer. Then we headed to Home Depot and Lowe's to track down some curtain rods for our Summer Classics Contract booth for our show in Las Vegas in a few weeks (still have not found those darn things). Afterwards we had lunch and headed to The Bell Center for class. Ending the day we somehow ended up at TJMax :) It was Edie's idea! She told me she wanted to go right before she fell asleep. So I made her a mat in the shopping buggy and she took a long nap.

The photo on the right was taken tonight by Scott. Edie is in her new "You make me happy" jammies that Gigi and Giddo bought for her. Scott sent this to me for a "Happy" as well. I have been in Houston for the past two days and I am missing my babies and in need of a "Happy". So Scott knew just what to do and sent me one!

Crash and Burn

My worst nightmare has come true. I had been having problems with my computer making funny noises and doing weird things so last Thrsday I went to Staples and purchased a backup drive just to be safe. Well before I had the time to use it my screen went black and that was that. I have been told the hard drive has gone bad and nothing can be recovered. I have lost work files, customer contacts, but most of all photos and other documents such as addresses, everything from the Ladybug Fundraiser, etc., etc. Luckily I had recently saved all of Edie's 1st year of photos on CD's. So that was a HUGE relief. But everything else that I use on a daily basis is gone.

I have a new computer on the way (I am on Scott's now) but it will not be here for a few more weeks. For now I have a temp computer (which I can not get to work either) and we have sent off the hard drive to see if it can be opened in a "clean room" what ever that is. From there we will be advised if anything can be recovered and how much it will cost to do so. So.......keep your fingers crossed.

I have been working on that computer for over 2 1/2 years. So there is over 2 1/2 years worth of stuff lost. So for me no price is too big. However, I am not sure Summer Classics feels the same way. Lesson learned. Back up your computer!!!!!!!

Anyway if my post are few and far between this is why. I will catch you up more in a few weeks once life is back to normal. It is ashamed how lost I feel without a computer. It makes work almost impossible and just the possibility of not getting ALL of my files back makes my stomach hurt.

A Day Game

Our dear friend Jason Quick hosted a crawfish boil for the A Day game raising over $500 for The Bell Center! Not only was it a successful fundraiser, but also a lot of fun! Hunter Lawley played the guitar and sang some old, new and redos of some of our favorite songs. He was even filmed by ESPN who was there documenting the day on the quad. Hunter was also mentioned in Tuscaloosa Times. Pretty neat! Edie had a ball riding around in the stroller looking at all of the people and playing outside. She got a lot of hugs and kisses from everyone and was a blast to be with. We had a lot of fun visiting and chowing down on over 100 lbs of perfectly cooked crawfish. We had four tents and turned a lot of heads with our tables full of reds, potatoes and corn. We got to catch up with old friends and make new ones. We had quite a few strangers who came to the tables and pitched in a few $$ and in turn got a belly full of cradaddys. It was a great idea and I look forward to next years A Day Game!

After the game we headed to Mack's 2nd birthday party. He had a Circus theme complete with a face painting clown, mini space bounce(s), putting green, bag toss, popcorn and hot dogs. We ate AGAIN and went home with our hands full of cotton candy party favors. (I can't EVER turn down cotton candy! It's my favorite!).