I'm Back!

My computer has been broken for the past month and I finally got it fixed. It is amazing how life changes when something like your computer is taken from you!!! My computer also has all my pictures saved on it. I was really worried about losing them so lesson here is make sure they are saved on a disk or zip drive too. I will be doing that tonight!

We had a wonderful Christmas. This was the year to spend it in Johnson CIty with my family. Cliff and Ty got married this year, Reid has a serious girlfriend, so there were some new additions to the family. The more the merrier! James Thomas got so many new toys. He was really excited when he climbed down the stairs on Christmas morning. It was really special for James and me.

Health wise James Thomas is doing AMAZING!!! He had his port a cath removed on January 5th. The port was a true blessing this past year. It made transfusions and the many many many blood draws bearable. He is such a trooper. However, with the port anytime you get a fever you have to go to the hospital and get IV antibiotics. James Thomas has not received a transfusion since late August so James and I felt pretty confident that it was time to say goodbye to the port. The surgery went smoothly and James Thomas did great. They wheeled him back to the Operating Room in a wagon. He was so brave! He did have another major reaction to whatever they use to disinfect their body. We told them not to use iodine but he is allergic to it all I guess. Hopefully there are no new surgeries in our future.

This week James Thomas got his first fever for the year. I was nervous about him still responding to steroids when he was sick. We went in for a cbc and his body had NO TROUBLE fighting the infection and making blood. I think his hgb was 13.2 and he was sick!!!! PRAISE GOD for this blessing. We were thrilled and so proud of our little fighter.

COOKBOOKS COOKBOOKS COOKBOOKS! Thank you again for ordering so many cookbooks. I know I told you they would be here in January but it looks like it will be February. I will ship or deliver your cookbooks as soon as I get them. I have seen a picture of the cover and it is super cute. I will try to upload it this afternoon. If you have not ordered one it is not too late. They are still taking orders to raise as much money as possible for the DBA foundation.

Besides being Barney obsessed at my house we are doing wonderful. This is a great season for us.

Camel Ride

Last weekend Nancy came in to town for a visit and to watch James Thomas so James and I could go out. Nancy stumbled across this Christmas festival at Christ the King Church and we decided to take James Thomas up there to explore. We got to ride a camel, pet lots of animals, make arts and crafts, and lots of other fun Christmas activities. It took me 30 years to go for a camel ride but James Thomas can check that one off the list at 1 year old!!! He had a great time and his new favorite word was camel. The rest of the weekend all we heard was camel, camel, camel.

That night our neighborhood put together a fun Christmas evening. Down at the park they had santa, smores, popcorn, and "The Polar Express" was playing on a projector. JT did not want anything to with Santa so we didn't stay long. Maybe next year.........

Some of my favorite things.....

First of all I have to say that I have been the worst blogger ever. James Thomas is a very active 18 month old who keeps me on my toes and really busy. I have just organized our photos and now I am back. I have lots of posts to upload over the next few days.

James Thomas discovered the train at Memorial City Mall last week and he is in love! We have been three times already and are planning to head back again soon. It is so fun to watch him explore and fall in love with new things. This is a very exciting time in his life. I just wish I could put one of those trains in my back yard!!!!

Thanksgiving

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to post because I forgot my camera this Thanksgiving weekend. BUT, we had a wonderful time celebrating this great holiday with family. We drove to Ft. Worth to see the entire Garrett family. It was awesome to meet relatives I had never met and to see all the ones we love dearly. James Thomas was perfect and I don't think things could have gone any better.

James and I had a fun Black Friday. For the first time ever we ventured out with the die hards and tried to get us a cheap TV. We arrived to Target at 3:30 thinking that was plenty of time to get in line for the 4 a.m. opening. UMMMMM, we were wrong. There was probably close to a 1,000 people in front of us. We did meet a great young mom from Minnesota who was standing in the freezing cold in flip flops! We unfortunately did not get the door buster deal but we did walk away with a new TV for our living room. We then made a quick stop to What a Burger and crawled back in bed all by 5:15 a.m.! It was pretty exciting. I can honestly say it was an experience like no other. You probably won't catch up ever doing that again but hey you only live once!!!

We did our second annual Christmas card photo shoot with Summer. She is absolutely amazing and did a beautiful job. I was really nervous before our appointment because James Thomas does not always cooperate and is at a very difficult age. He is also puffy because of the steroids so I thought all of this was going to lead to the biggest disaster ever. Summer was AWESOME! She came with puppets, balloons, you name it she had it. Her work is fantastic and that is all I will say, so you will have to wait until you get our card in the mail.

James Thomas is doing well. We go in for labs on Friday. It will have been two weeks so we are praying for great numbers. He is full of energy so I am expecting nothing less that greatness! I have sold lots of cookbooks! THANK YOU THANK YOU to all of you who are supporting the DBA foundation and ordering one. It is not too late. I think we have two more weeks to take orders.

Our house is decorated and we are enjoying this wonderful time of year! I pray each of you reading this is doing the same.

Recipes for Research Cookbook Fundraiser

Recipes for Research
A collection of recipes from individuals with DBA, their family, and friends!

Cookbooks will be available in January 2011.
Place your order now!

Please join our DBA Community in raising money for the Diamond Blackfan Anemia Foundation (www.dbafoundation.org). Cookbooks are $17 each (price includes tax and all shipping costs) and information on DBA, the DBA Foundation, over 400 recipes, and helpful hints and measurements. This money will go towards DBA research and raising awareness of this disorder. Let’s aim big and raise some funds for this amazing cause! There are research studies just waiting for funding! Let’s get started!

There are two methods to pay for cookbooks. You can order on our paypal button or mail me a check.
Make checks out to:
DBA Cookbook Fundraiser
Mail to:
Lindsay Garrett
12422 Rincon Dr.
Houston, TX 77077
Or I can pick them up from you, whatever is easiest.

There are lots of recipes from James Thomas’ family and friends! I know some of you preordered but that was just to get an idea of how many cookbooks were going to be sold. Please reorder your cookbooks through paypal or a check to me. I am not going to order any cookbooks that aren’t paid for so again PLEASE don’t assume I am ordering you cookbooks just because you emailed me with a preorder. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support. If you have any questions or comments email (lindsaywgarrett@hotmail.com) or call me at 281-841-5170.

Food for thought: This Thanksgiving as we all reflect on all we have to be thankful for, like our health, think about buying a cookbook to help out those who daily struggle and battle with DBA!

Happy Holidays from our chunky monkey!

Halloween Weekend

I know this post is a little late but we have been so busy around here. We had a wonderful Halloween weekend which is also my birthday weekend!! I turned 30th this year and had a fun celebrating with family and friends all weekend long. James and I got out Friday and stayed at Hotel Zaza which was perfect. I still can't believe I am 30!

On Saturday we went to Dewberry Farms with my parents. The weather was great and we had a really nice time being outdoors. That night we had our second annual Halloween Party at the Chambers. Everyone was dressed super cute and James Thomas was a monkey!! The kids had a blast and it was a good night. Baylor also beat Texas that night!!! GO BEARS! James was pretty much glued to the tv the entire evening!

The next afternoon we got to attend Miss Mackenzie's 2nd birthday party. Ashley did a fantastic job with her and it was the perfect way to spend our Halloween. James Thomas was obsessed with their lawn mower toy. I know what he will be getting for Christmas this year. We didn't trick or treat but instead came home and passed out candy! All around it was a great weekend! I just love this time of year.

Dewberry Farms




Halloween Party






Mackenzie's Birthday Party

DBA Cookbooks

I absolutely hate asking for money or asking people to buy things but this is so close to my heart. So, I will step out of my comfort zone and ask for your help! One of the DBA mom's that I met and grew close to this summer is putting together a cookbook to raise money for the DBA Foundation. The DBA Foundation is a wonderful organization and has funded lots of medical research to help kids like James Thomas get better treatment options and hopefully, someday find a cure. They also put on the week at Camp Sunshine that James and I got to go to this summer. It was 100% free for the families and was a life changing week. They do so much good, that I have to ask for your help.

They are currently taking preorders to determine how many books to buy. They will run between $10-15 plus shipping. Here is the information I received:

*Ok friends,

*We have reached over 200 recipes in the cookbook and I am still inputting them with the help of some other gracious DBA moms! THANK YOU! At this time, I want to start getting an idea of how many cookbooks I will need to order. *The cookbooks will be hard covered, color cover, with 200+ recipes, some pictures & artwork, including information about DBA, DBAF, and research, and some other extras (recipe abbreviations, spices, measurements, helpful hints, equivalency charts, etc). The cost will be between 10-15$ (depending on # of cookbooks ordered) and they will be available in January if all goes smoothly. S&H will be determined once I know how much the book weighs. *

**

Please check out the DBA Foundation as well. http://www.dbafoundation.org/ If you click on the "contact" tab you will see a picture of James Thomas!

If you would like to order a cookbook or 2 please email me and let me know.

lindsaywgarrett@hotmail.com

I will collect money once I have an exact price. Thank you in advance for supporting our family and this organization that we love!

PS Thank you to all our family and friends who gave recipes. You were such a HUGE help. I can't wait to try all your recipes!