Silent Night, Holy Night

Merry Christmas to you all. Have a wonderful night and stay warm - even had snow here in ALABAMA (first time in Birmingham history on Christmas day).

Congratulations to....

Sarah Basile!

You have won the week at the beach! Merry Christmas to you! I will email you more information.

Thank you to all of the generous and thoughtful people who donated to precious little Leeza through Reece's Rainbow.

You can still donate - whenever you have a bit to give - to the site at any time to help with the costs of adopting these children.

Thank you again and have a very Merry Christmas and have a wonderful trip Sarah!

Tomorrow!!!

We'll see who wins the week at the beach tomorrow! Drawing tomorrow around noon CST.

3 more days!

Are you excited? The giveaway will be Christmas Eve if you are still interested on donating! Read my past blog posts to find out the details!

8 days!

You have 8 days to enter my contest. Just a reminder!

17 Days Until Christmas

Am I the only one who gets depressed about Christmas coming too fast? I love the waiting - the wrapped gifts, the decorations, the planning and excitement that goes into it all. The day after Christmas will be a little depressing for me.

But, for now I will do my best to continue the fun and not look too far ahead.

MOST IMPORTANTLY...

Leeza. She still needs donations. And you still have a few days to enter the drawing. $10. Your name in the hat. A week at the beach. It's funny how excited I was at the idea when I came up with it. I was SURE it would be a way to raise my $1,000 for her. Now, it is getting me down. I know this is THE worst time to ask for money for anything. Everyone is struggling. Everyone has their own families to be concerned about.

I watched a show on tv the other night when I actually had a chance to sit - it was about a man and his son. The son had severe trauma during birth when the cord cut off his blood flow to his brain. The doctors had written his life story - and it didn't end up with a great ending. However, his father heard nothing of it and refused to let him live his life in an institution. So - they started running. His son had a seat and the father pushed him in a make-shift wheelchair/bike type thing. You could see the joy in his face as they raced. When his son was a teenager he was able to communicate with the push of a button using his head - the only part of his body he had some control over. AND IT WAS FANTASTIC. This child who was thought to be somewhat brain dead began to "talk" and was indeed very enthusiastic and smart! He and his father had a magical relationship and showed the love that two people can share even when someone is so severely challenged.

This story made me cry for all the children - children like Leeza - who might not look like they are capable. BUT THEY ARE! They are trapped in broken bodies, waiting to be loved. Please consider showing love for someone who isn't "perfect" or "typical" this Christmas with a gift to Reece's Rainbow. If not for Leeza, then a child that you feel needs love.

Thank you.
God Bless.

November 30th.... Countdown to Santa

I am thinking of writing a letter to Santa myself. My sweet 4-year-old son has been possessed by someone evil. The past few months have been very hard. Tonight, he bit his baby brother - hard. I am so pleased with myself for not biting him back! He was sent straight to bed and will most likely be spending most of his waking moments for the next week either at school or in his room. Deep breath, deep breath.... Time to break out the discipline books.

Brothers being sweet.

AND HELLLLLO! Donate today people. TEN DOLLARS! 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, $10... Less than the cost of 2 Starbucks trips! Come on Mommas! Get this little girl closer to going home to her family.

OK, OK - You Want a Better Deal?

So, roughly $95 has been raised since I started the give-away. That's not going to cut it.

Here is the NEW and IMPROVED deal.

Your $10 donation will now win you a chance at a full WEEK of vacation time. That's right. I said it. Sunday to Sunday. Congrats to those who have already donated. Now, who wants to put their name in the hat???

Please pass my blog to your friends and your family. Give them a chance at winning a week long vacation to Panama City, FL.

THANKS FOR HELPING!!!

GIVEAWAY!!! Get excited!!!

Rules -
Follow my blog :)
Donate to Leeza - $10 equals your name in the "hat" one time ($100 equals 10 times in the "hat")
Drawing will be DECEMBER 24th, 2010... Merry Christmas from ME!

WHAT COULD I WIN? One long weekend - Thursday to Sunday - at our condo in PANAMA CITY BEACH. You pick the dates...just have to make sure they are available. I will cover the cost of your cleaning fee, too!!! (That's $150!) The condo is stocked! Sleeps 6 adults and 5 children PLUS a crib for baby! (11 in beds + crib + sleeper sofa!)

We are not responsible for your travel! You can now fly into PCB, using Southwest Airlines! You must travel between Dec. 24, 2010 and Dec. 24, 2011.

****To enter I must have proof of donation amount! Please email your paypal invoice to AUKatie@aol.com****

No more celiac, baby!

A few weeks ago we visited Dr. K. Christopher has shown no significant growth (above his normal curve) since starting the celiac diet. So, we took him off. And guess what - he's doing fine.

The only significant issue he has had since was a BAD case of RSV, which has nothing to do with coming off the diet. He caught a little cold from someone and it turned into a terrible respiratory illness. I even took him into the ER, where he had to have 3 breathing treatments. By the way, breathing treatments and 17 month old boys don't do well together. He stayed the night at Children's for observation and has been doing so much better. Two weeks and he has made a full recovery.

Paul Vincent is doing super in 4K at SFX and we love his teacher and his classmates! We are in full swing with the upcoming holidays - all decorated for Thanksgiving and just itching to put up the tree in just a little under two weeks.