Nathan's One Year Anniversary

Today is a milestone day for our family, particularly Nathan. It was one year ago today that Nathan received his liver transplant. We received the call on Christmas day that a liver was available for him. We had been celebrating the day at Aunt Melinda's house when we received the call. It came as a total surprise even though Nathan had been waiting for a little over a month. We had no idea when the call might come but it was none too soon. Nathan was becoming sicker and sicker. Here he is on Christmas night at UAB waiting to go to surgery.

The picture below is on December 26, 2007, just a few hours after his surgery was completed. Today we are celebrating the gift of life he was given one year ago. Nathan has had a wonderful year of good health with only a few bumps in the road. He is enjoying second grade. He loves his dog, Sunny. He is a huge fan of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Chronicles of Narnia and of course Scooby Doo. Today and throughout the past year it has been hard not to compare each occasion to the one a year before. Nathan's birthday, the start of summer, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas have all given us reason to celebrate. We celebrate Nathan's life. We contemplate how much different this year is than last. We are now concernced with normal stuff, not life and death. We think about the gift of life given by an organ donor and we wonder about what the donor was like and we think of his family. We thank God for loving us and for all of our blessings. Today especially I can't help but remember all of the many people who have loved us and supported us throughout the year. All of those who spent the night at the hospital with us while Nathan was in the surgery and those who took care of every little need we had over those first days, I will never ever forget their kindness and their presence. Nathan actually remembers the night he went to surgery and he remembers so many people who were there and he remembers playing jingle bells on the guitar and singing for everyone. It was a tremendously special night for us and I will never forget the prayers that were lifted up for him. Happy first liver birthday Nathan.

All of the pictures below are from our Make-A- Wish trip to Give Kids the World and Orlando. There were so many pictures I could have included, these are just a few.

It was cold and dreary when we left Birmingham and we packed way to much stuff!

All of the boys were able to go to the cockpit and meet the pilots.

Nathan even got to wear the captain's hat.

Florida was sunny, 80's and beautiful.

Our first day at Disney.

Nathan was thrilled to meet Scooby and Shaggy.

Curious George is another favorite.

Stephen and Harrison with the guys from The Mummy.

At Give Kids the World, Nathan was given a star by the star fairy. He was able to write his name on it and then it was placed on the ceiling in the Castle of Miracles. He was then able to go and find it on the ceiling. His is the last one here on the third row. The room is absolutely beautiful with a star present on the ceiling for each child who has stayed there.

The village had a great heated pool and the boys enjoyed swimming in December.

Each day different characters came to Give Kids the World so we avoided the long lines at the parks to meet them. Here is Goofy, Mary Poppins and Pluto. Pluto is Nathan's favorite.

All of us with Mickey and Minnie

Santa came to visit on Thursday night and gifts were passed out to all of the children. We even had snow in Florida on this special night.



This is the street we stayed on. Our villa is the one on the left. It really is a little village filled with families who have children who have all been through, or are going through amazing challenges. It is such an wonderful place. They go out of their way to make the kids feel special and give them a week of no worries and only happy memories. The very first thing they did was sit us down to go over a few things, and the volunteer told Nathan that he was the boss for the week and that we had to do whatever he wanted to do. Kind of scary, huh? I was a little worried, but he didn't let it go to his head. I know that they do this on purpose to let these children feel like they have a little control in a life full of medical challenges. For Nathan, a life that revolves around us telling him when to take medicine, when to have labs done, go to the doctor, etc.. The village also has a free ice cream shop open all day long. How great is that? The village is staffed by some regular employees but mostly the place is run by a staff of volunteers. The volunteers range from older adults living in the area to college students performing community service, to youth groups spending a week serving others. Truly amazing. I wish that I could tell you all about the place and the many special things that made this trip so wonderful. I just don't have enough space.

This picture was taken yesterday on Christmas day. I love these boys dearly. Wow. What a difference a year makes. Thanks for reading if you made it this far. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the entire Shelton family.

Home Sweet Home

We made it home from Disney and had an absolutely wonderful time. I thought I might post some during the week, but we did not have wireless access in our room. I would have had to walk to the front check in / guest area which was a nice little walk down the road (and after walking all day at the parks, I just couldn't walk anymore!). I can't wait to tell you all about it and post some pictures (hopefully tomorrow). We stayed at Give Kids The World which is an amazing place. They work closely with wish organizations like Make-A Wish who sponsored Nathan's trip to Disney. I am off to unpack and get some sleep. Tomorrow I might actually start my Christmas shopping then I will post again with some pictures. Good Night!

Disney World Here We Come!

Well - tomorrow is the BIG day! We are leaving for Nathan's Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World. We can't wait to tell you all about it. We will try to update some during the week.

Stephen and Lora

Two Posts In One Month! Wow!

Two posts in one month - what's the world coming to? Yes, I know it is rare that I post very often these days, but I have something to share today. Last night our family had the most amazing experience. What could it be you say on a Wednesday in the middle of October? Well, we arrived at church last night and saw a swarm of people wearing red t-shirts lining the walkway into the entrance of our church. Immediately the boys starting asking, "Who are all those people? Is there a party?" Harrison actually asked, "Is it my birthday party?" We had to say, "No Harrison, remember your birthday is in February. IT IS ONLY OCTOBER!" But, you can't blame a boy for wishing I guess.

Wishes. Hmmm. A while back I had a post about Nathan's night serving ice cream for the Make-A-Wish foundation. But, I didn't actually tell you his wish. He wished to go to Disney World at Christmas. Those of you who know Nathan know that he absolutely loves Christmas. As soon as we take down the pumpkins, he will start thinking about decorating his room and his own special Christmas tree. I can't think of a more fun time for him to go to Disney World. So after we saw this big group of people at church, guess who else we saw?

If you guessed Mickey Mouse, you're right! Mickey Mouse comes walking out into the parking lot to give Nathan a big hug. Yep, it seems that Nathan's wish is coming true thanks to the Make-A-Wish foundation and the girls of Chi Omega Sorority at Samford University. These amazing young women are sponsoring his trip. I have gotten to know several of the girls personally this year and I have been blessed to know them and work with them. They threw us a party, complete with surprises for all the boys, mickey mouse ears, dinner, treats, and a very talented man who made balloon creations, including the best goofy, mickey and pluto ever! We also had all of our family there with us as well of some of our very best friends. We were also surrounded by our wonderful church family who has supported us all along the way of our journey with Nathan. I can't imagine a more special place to have received this gift.

Needless to say, the boys are on cloud 9. Getting to bed last night was almost impossible. I did have to explain to Andrew that the trip is a few weeks away. I think he might have thought we were leaving last night! So now we will start counting down the days. Disney World here we come!

Did I tell you how incredibly humbled and blessed we feel? It really feels strange to be going on a trip that someone else has provided for us. But I am so happy and proud for Nathan. Looking at him now, you would never know what he has been through over the past year and a half. I know others have been through so much more. But he has endured 8 hospitalizations, one huge transplant surgery, 2 liver biopsies, many outpatient procedures, I can't even count the number of physician and clinic visits and blood draws. I hope much of the hard stuff is behind us. I feel almost certain it is. Nathan is now living a full and normal life. He is doing normal 7 year old things like playing soccer, attending 2nd grade and playing with his puppy, Sunny Dog. But I think of this trip as a reward for him for all that he has been through, helping him to make happy memories from an experience that hasn't been so much fun for a little boy. I know that he will have an amazing time. I think the boys are perfect ages (9, 7, 4) to remember this trip forever. They will also remember the incredible generosity of a wonderful group of women at Samford Unviersity. They will remember the love and support of their church family and their grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends. At times it is hard to fathom the generosity of others. During the most difficult life events the love, support and care of others is abundantly evident. So with grateful hearts we say, THANK YOU CHI OMEGA, THANK YOU MAKE-A-WISH, THANK YOU LIBERTY PARK BAPTIST CHURCH. We love you all and can't wait to share memories of our trip with you.

Blessings,
Lora

Lots To Be Thankful For

Well, it seems I just pop in every now and then to post on the blog. I just can't seem to get it all together lately - work, managing things at home, soccer schedules...It has really been a struggle. But before I get too carried away complaining about how hard I think my life is.... I must stop myself and be reminded of how much I have to be thankful for. I have found myself being rather grumpy lately and a little bit of a complainer and probably not all that pleasant to live with (Stephen if you read this - please don't agree too whole heartedly!). And to be honest I am really kind of ashamed of myself. So....

For one, Nathan is doing amazingly well and is loving school. Over the summer Nathan had some serious health issues and a couple of hospital stays. He was not able to start school on time. But now things are much better. He is such a trooper and I should learn a thing or two from him about not complaining! When I think about the grace with which he has handled this past year, I might really shape up the bad attitude I have had of late!

I think Andrew is the sweetest little 4 year old ever (maybe I am a little partial). He is so excited about 4K. He actually wants to do "homework" every night like his big brothers. Usually, assigning him to write his name a couple of times is sufficient, but it is very cute. Maybe I can remind him of that in a couple of years when he is in elementary school!

Harrison is an amazing little (big, actually) 9 year old. He is such a smart little boy and is doing great in 4th grade. He has not had any problems with his alpha-1.

I have a wonderful husband who so far is still putting up with me, grumpiness and all.

Even though I can't get the work and family stuff figured out, I have an amazing job that I am thankful for. If anyone has any suggestions on how to do it all please send them my way.

Our families are healthy.

We are able to pay our bills.

I have an amazing God who loves me and who has been very present with me and our family over the past months as we have been on this journey.

I know there is much, much more...I think that sometimes we need to take a moment to be reminded of the blessings in our lives because all the stress of the world can seem overwhelming at times. I think I feel better now.

Now on to something else. I really wanted to share a couple of pictures with you tonight of Nathan but it seems every time I try to download them from the camera I get some terrible error message and the computer shuts down. I wish I was smart enough to figure that out. But, I will just tell you about the pictures instead. I don't know if I have shared with you yet, but Nathan has been granted a wish by the Make-A-Wish Foundation (I will tell you more about that later). So last night, Nathan had the opportunity to spend some time at Cold Stone Creamery passing out spoons to customers and having a grand 'ol time as a Make-A-Wish kid for the World's Largest Ice Cream Social. He had hoped to actually serve ice cream, but couldn't reach the ice cream case! But, he thought passing out spoons behind the counter with the staff was just as much fun. Cold Stone participated in this great fundraiser where the ice cream was free and all donations were given to Make-A-Wish. It seems they are one of the national sponsers of this wonderful foundation who grants wishes to kids who have been faced with life threatening illnesses. If I figure out the computer issue, I will post a couple of pictures of the event. In the mean time, if you have a Coldstone Creamery close to you, go have some ice cream and support this great company.

I think that is about all for tonight. If you are still out there reading, please leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you. Maybe it won't be so long before I post again. Have a great weekend.

Lora