beachin it up

Well this past weekend the Elliott's headed to the beach! We decided that since Cam wasn't having his hand surgery that we should take advantage of a free summer weekend and take our first family vacation that didn't involve a hospital stay. So we decided that since this will be my dad's last fathers day before he heads to Iraq in July that it would be really nice to spend it with him at the beach! And that is exactly what we did.

We left Friday morning around 9 a.m. for what is supposed to be a 5 hour drive. We managed to extend that to 9 hours....a very long 9 hours. Well first of all packing for Cameron was exhausting. I felt like I needed to pack his entire room in order to not forget anything important....and then all the toys I thought I needed to pack started to consume a lot of space, and then the idea of a nice stress free weekend at the beach turned into me being completely stressed about packing for the beach, and so I just packed until I was sure I had it all and then we headed out. Paul's aunt lives in Raleigh so we decided that it would be a good idea to possibly stop there along the way to break up the trip. Stopping at her house would have been half way for us, so we called her to make sure it was OK and that is what we did. It was great to get our screaming child out of his seat for a bit so that he could cool off and eat and play a little before we put him back in his seat to scream for another hour until we arrived in Greenville.

We decided to stop in Greenville, because we knew Cam would need to eat again and also because after Paul and I got married we moved to Greenville and lived there for about 6 months. Paul got a teaching job outside of Greenville and so that is where we went. I can't say that I loved Greenville, because it sucked....it was hot, and I didn't have any friends, but I did grow to like it somewhat, and eventually made wonderful friends that I still talk to! Anyhoo, after our pit stop in Greenville, we headed on down the road to the beach.

We ended up making it at about 6 pm Friday evening and boy was Cam happy when we took him to the room, took off his clothes and just laid him on the bed. He was all smiles and giggles. Then we took him down to the ocean for the first time, and let him stand in the water. He didn't seem to mind it and was loving being outside and having the ocean breeze blowing in his face.

Saturday we took Cam in the pool, and then we met up with my dad and step-mom and went to the aquarium. Cam loved looking in all the fish tanks and at all the animals. But towards the end it was definitely getting close to nap time so he had a small meltdown and so my dad bought him a toy from the gift shop to keep him happy. Little did we know this stuffed seahorse he bought him would become one of his favorite toys. So thanks dad!! Saturday night my dad and step-mom came to our hotel and watched Cam so Paul and I could go play putt-putt. It was so nice to go out alone at the beach, and to spend some quality time just having fun with each other.

Sunday, which was fathers day, was spent by taking Paul to Dunkin Doughnuts for breakfast...out of all the places he could have picked that is where he chose to go....? Then we met up with my dad at his campground and played in the ocean for a few hours, then headed back to the hotel to get dressed to go out to dinner with my parents. After dinner my dad wanted to play putt-putt so we decided to take Cam and go play with them. Cam did well and we all had a lot of fun.

Monday we headed home and again spent about 9 hours making a 5 hour trip....but all worth it. All in all we had a wonderful first family vacation. I'm so glad that God has blessed us with this sweet boy that we are able to do these things with. Even though I complain and gripe a lot about how unfair I feel about having to watch my little boy endure so much, I also get to see him experience new things and grow and smile and laugh, and for that I feel blessed!

Feeling blessed!

Well this weekend we were supposed to be spending time cuddling on the couch with our little boy and his casts that he would be getting used to because he would have just had surgery on his little fingers......however, since that didn't happen, we filled the weekend with other fun things. One of those was a fundraiser that a small group from our church did to raise money for our sweet Cam and this upcoming surgery. They called it High Five for Cam....super cute. The fundraiser took place in Blowing Rock, where Art in the Park is taking place this summer, and because our church meets in the blowing rock school auditorium, they were able to have the parking lot for the day, and they charged people to park in the spaces from 9 until for this event.

Well because we weren't at home trying to entertain a 9 month old who can't use his hands, we were able to help out! In the end they ended up raising quite a bit of money, and were also able to get the word out about Apert Syndrome through a little slip they gave people with the blog address! Needless to say we felt so blessed to have our church family reach out the way they did. When Cameron was born our church was amazing and ever since they have been such a wonderful support system, even through the times when church was the last thing on my mind, I knew that our family there was praying for Cam and lifting him up, and that made me feel like when I wasn't able to pray that someone else was doing it for me!

Even though we were only supposed to stay for the 1-3 shift for the fundraiser, since a group of our close friends were doing the closing shift, we decided to stay during that one to and go out to dinner afterwards, so that is exactly what we did. We packed up after the fundraiser and headed to chili's for some good food and conversation! Then we headed to another couples house for drinks...a perfect end to a wonderful day! And the best part was that Cam was so sweet all day, which makes it easier for mommy and daddy to be flexible with their plans. However he did decide that at 9:30 he had had enough and it was time to head home, which was fine because it had been a long day!

Today, we got up headed to church, then had lunch with some good friends then headed home. We spent a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon doing a little cleaning, and a little playing, and now it's time to hit the hay and get ready for the week. I would just like to send out a HUGE thanks to all those wonderful people that got together to raise money for our little Cam. We feel so blessed by all the love and support that you all have shown us, and the love you have for Cam. We don't have enough words to express the gratitude we have, but we are so humbled by your generosity and compassion, and we love you all very, very much!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful start to the week tomorrow!!!

Summer is here

Well yesterday was going to be the big day.....Cam's first finger separation surgery, but Cam has different plans, instead he decided he would catch a cold and put off that pesky surgery until another day. So for now we are waiting to here when that new day will be and trying to enjoy our summer. Cam got a new swimming pool, and although I can't say he loves it, he definitely doesn't mind it, and may even like it a little. We have also gotten a visit from Cam's grandparents from Florida(YaYa and Grandaddy) who he loves!!! They came up this past weekend and although we skype with them pretty regularly Cam needed a little bit of time to warm up, but once he did he was in heaven....being spoiled and held and loved! On Saturday he even got to take his first trip away from the house without mommy to the store with YaYa and Grandaddy while mommy and daddy went out and enjoyed the beautiful weather. It was a perfect weekend that ended Monday morning when we said goodbye to the grandparents as they headed back down the Florida. But we can't wait to see them again...hopefully very soon, and maybe even at their house!!

So I have some goals that I would like to accomplish this summer....They are as follows:

1.I want/need to get Cams first hand surgery over with.
2.Cam needs Ear tubes
3.I want Cam to learn to crawl
4.Go on a vacation
5.loose 15 pounds
6.Get my house painted
7.Plan an amazing going away party for my dad before he leaves for Iraq
8.Get a jogging stroller
9.Plan a huge 1st birthday party for my sweet Camster
10. Not have any unexpected medical emergencies with Cam...I need him healthy and happy!!!!
11.Get a tattoo
12.Maybe consider having another baby at some point in time....MAYBE!!

I look at this list and am in awe at how it has changed from what my list would have looked like years ago, before Cam.....not so many surgeries...:) But I feel blessed that Cameron is with us, that he is healthy(aside from his pesky cold) and that he brings so much joy to my life. Do I feel challenged on a daily basis...ABSOLUTLEY...Do I still have bad days...DEFINITELY.....Do I still question God sometimes....HECK YES, But at the end of the day I get to kiss goodnight the sweetest blue eyed boy I know, and for that time and for right now I'm grateful. So here is to a hopeful summer full of beautiful weather, wonderful friends, and hopefully some fingers!!!!