Monday, June 15, 2015

Round 2

We just checked in for round 2 of antibody therapy!  We have been warned that this and cycle 4 are the worst and come with the highest risks!  We started this round last week with a half dose of IL-2 and it went very well, all things considered!  Addie ended up in the hospital that Tuesday night with fevers but all in all she did wonderful!  She was in great spirits all week and felt really pretty good!  We were able to leave on Saturday after some begging by me to the doctors!!  Thank you so much Dr. Kambreros, you don't know how therapeutic it was for us to spend two days at home... Such a blessing!  Addie enjoyed time with her sisters and cousins and was all rested up for this big week ahead!  

Addie needs a blood transfusion today before we get started with the big stuff so we will be starting a few hours later than planned!!  Not sure as to why her hemoglobin has dropped?!  That always gives me a little anxiety but we haven't had to have a transfusion in months and I feel very thankful for that!  

I continue to be overwhelmed with thankfulness to our faithful God!!  There have been a lot of very heartbreaking things happening all around us and I am reminded of how incredibly blessed we are and so thankful for where we are in this moment!!  I am so thankful to have my girl here with me and doing so well!!  She turns four in just two weeks and I found myself today thinking about her golden birthday... 29, Lord let that be!!  Thank you Lord that her cancer has responded to therapy and please Lord shield her from it ever returning!  

Please say prayers for my girl this week!  Please pray that her kidneys, heart and lungs will be able to tolerate what this medicine is going to do to them!  Please pray that her body is resilient once again and that she can weather another storm!  Please pray that this treatment is working and that no microscopic disease remains in her body!  Pray that she is truly NED and for a lifetime!  

Please say a special prayer for our friends the Flicks as they are going through a very hard time with their precious daughter Avery (Team Avery).  Please pray that answers will come and miracles will happen!  

Thank you all for your continued love and support and for continuing to help carry us through this storm!  We love you Team Addie!  



Saturday, May 23, 2015

Antibody Round 1

She did it... round one of antibody therapy is in the books!!  She did wonderful, better than I could have ever imagined!!!  Praise Jesus!!! We have a wonderful God!!

She battled some fluid retention the first night and then peed like a champ and ended treatment right around her starting weight... Yay Kidneys!!!  She had some pain the first day, mostly belly pain but the following days the pain was well managed!  Her morphine definitely made her a bit angry but nothing myself and Daddy couldn't manage!! She had sky high fevers (105.6) but was unaffected by them.  She actually seemed to be in the best mood when her fevers were the highest!!  The fevers weren't infectious in nature just a side effect of the antibody itself which made them pretty easy for her to deal with!!  However, it was definitely alarming feeling her that hot and seeing the reading on the thermometer!  She had a slight issue with low blood pressure but otherwise sailed through the treatment!  She was finished Thursday night around 9:00PM and since has felt a little cruddy!  She is battling some tummy issues and diarrhea!!  Praying that soon will subside!  We got home this afternoon and are hoping that she will perk right back up to our crazy little Addie Bean!  

So much to be thankful for!!!  Thank you Lord for seeing us through this first round, for keeping her heart and kidneys strong, for keeping all of the really severe side effects away and for keeping my sweet girl out of harms way!  Thank you Jesus for the wonderful PICU staff!  Thank you Team Addie for all the prayers, and for all of your love and support!!!!  Thank you Grandpa Darwin for taking care of my patients and a big thanks to both Grandpa Darwin and Grandma Carol for taking care of my girls while we were away!! 
Praying for some healing time at home.  Always praying for the cancer to never return... Crazy how anxious I feel about that starting this treatment, like in some way this could trigger things to grow, I was reassured this could not happen!! But as always please say a special prayer for her cancer to never return!!  Praying for a fun summer of quality family time!! 

Addie's next round starts the second week of June!!  In the mean time, we will keep up with the shots and start Addie on Retinoic Acid!  There are some yucky side effects that can come along with that such as depression and suicidal thoughts.  She has to swallow four adult size pills a day, please pray this goes well and she stays my positive "sweet" Addie Bean!! 

Go Team Addie!!!


Thursday, May 14, 2015

Video Message from Mudd Advertising

Amanda & Reed,

My name is Tony Townsend & I work at Mudd Advertising w/ Tim. We’ve met a few times in passing but my wife & I are longtime fans/followers of Addie’s story on Facebook and hearing about her from Uncle Timmy. You may or may not remember that my daughter Aubrey is fighting Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and receives treatment down in Iowa City as well, so your story is particularly warming to me.

I don’t know if I’ve ever told you in person, but your strength and compassion as parents is unparalleled. As a parent of a child with a life threatening condition, I have a lot of the same intense fears about the future & exultant joys in the small daily victories, and find myself in constant admiration of your optimistic & enduring faith.

When I read about your upcoming antibody treatments and the road you’re about to embark on, I made it my mission to make sure you were heading into battle with the biggest & most powerful ammunition in the world: Positivity

I know this process is looming and scary filled with a lot of frightening side effects. I’ve heard a lot in Aubrey’s journey that God only gives us what we can handle, but I’ve found that through the graciousness and thoughts of others that the journey is one that is easier not made alone. I don’t need to tell you to keep the faith, you’ve got that in spades! But what I can do, is assure you that the trip you’re making, you’re not going alone. Every treatment, every trip of uncertainty to Iowa City, every second waiting on blood results while crossing your fingers, & every time Addie is laying in the hospital bed &  looks at you with intense pain in her eyes and says “I love You”, I’ve had those same feelings and my heart goes out to you and your family.

Yesterday morning, I walked into the office determined to make my vision of positivity come to fruition for Addie, but with thought, this message is  in my opinion, moreso for the both of you. With Tim’s blessing /green light, I sought out volunteers to create a video message in our studio for Addie to pump her up for next week. The turnout was tremendous, and the execution was even better. What a thrill this video was to make! I hope this video brings you three things: 1) Comfort in knowing this journey isn’t one to make alone, 2) Motivation & Positivity heading into a long stretch of treatment, & 3) Fortification in your trust and faith in God & knowing things are going to be as they should.

Please enjoy the video on the link below, and remember to show Addie. Again, as Aubrey’s parent, I feel that this video is as much for you as it is for Addie. So much are the parents forgotten in these situations, please accept my love and admiration for you and for your strength in your journey as parents.

Here’s the link:  https://vimeo.com/studio5mudd/review/127612784/958cebef75


With deepest hopes & prayers,

Tony Townsend

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Antibody Therapy

What is Antibody Therapy?! Hopefully this information will help those that are interested in understanding what exactly Addie's next phase of treatment entails.

Here is some information about Immunotherapy/Ch 14.18 Treatment (taken from Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation's website) I borrowed this information from another blog that I follow... Our Little Hazelnut, that mother is incredibly uplifting and so talented in her blogging and I hope she doesn't mind, I thank her for her encouraging words and faith!!
  • Neuroblastoma can elude the immune system by using a number of tactics. Specifically, it is able to suppress the immune system’s capacity to identify and destroy cancer cells. If the patient’s body is to play a role in killing the neuroblastoma cells, the immune system needs some help in its ability to locate the cancerous cells. Helping the immune system find the neuroblastoma cells is the purpose of the ch14.18 therapy. 
  • ch14.18 is a type of “monoclonal antibody” (mAb). The ch14.18 treatment is called an “anti-GD2” treatment because the ch14.18 antibody targets a substance on the surface of neuroblastoma cells called GD2. ch14.18 is a protein which has been designed to bind to the GD2. Once the ch14.18 binds to the GD2, it sends a signal to the body that tells the immune system a foreign substance has been found which needs to be killed. This then stimulates a response from the body’s own immune system to kill the neuroblastoma cell, 1 which is why the ch14.18 treatment is referred to as “immunotherapy.” 
  • The “ch” in ch14.18 refers to the term “chimeric” and means that the antibody has been created from two different sources – in the case of ch14.18, mouse and human cells (25% mouse, 75% human). 
  • ch14.18 is administered over 5 courses, approximately once per month over five months. It is given in conjunction with either GM-CSF or Interleuken-2 (IL-2), agents known as “cytokines” that work to stimulate the immune system once the ch14.18 attaches to any neuroblastoma cells. Each round of immunotherapy is followed by 2 weeks of Accutane treatment at home.
  • GM-CSF is a daily shot that Addie will receive with Cycles 1, 3 & 5.  These shots could make Addie experience things like: bone pain, symptoms of the flu, tiredness, weakness and stomach upset.
  •  IL-2 is a daily infusion she will receive for four days prior to and in conjunction with the Ch 14.18 infusions during Cycles 2 & 4. These rounds are the most intense and likely the most life threatening for Addie.  We will be inpatient for two weeks for these two cycles, in order to closely monitor Addie Bean.
  • Isotretinoin, which is usually referred to as “Accutane”, is derived from vitamin A. It encourages immature neuroblastoma cells to stop dividing and proliferating, and ultimately die.  Addie will receive a two week course of Accutane following each cycle, and will receive one more two week course to serve as Cycle 6 of her Immunotherapy protocol.
     
Antibody therapy is a much different treatment than chemotherapy.  I prefer to call it "The Beast" it is going to knock Addie's socks off but it also knocks the socks off of any remaining neuroblastoma cells that are trying to hide.  Unlike chemo, Addie will finish each infusion and is expected to bounce back quickly, her blood counts are not drastically affected and her immune system remains "normal".  That being said, DURING the infusions, she will likely be in pure misery.  Neuroblastoma is a nerve cancer and when her body is killing these irregular/immature nerve cells it will be painful.  The location of the pain is typically in the abdomen, causing a severe stomach ache, but the pain can be all over her body and can also be more neurologic.  Due to the pain and numerous other things, Addie will likely not have an appetite and is expected to not eat very much while we are inpatient (I am doing my best to fatten her up as much as possible now)!  Addie will be admitted to the PICU for all of her treatments to help manage her pain and also to help manage any of the acute and potentially very severe side effects.  
Common side effects of Ch14.18 include:
  • Allergic Reactions:  Rash
  • Fever:  typically very high fevers
  • Constipation
  • Nausea:  lack of appetite
  • Blood Pressure Changes:  both high and low
  • Fluid Retention: extra concerning for our girl who has shown she doesn't tolerate fluid overload well.  
  • High Heart Rate
  • Flu like symptoms
  • Fatigue
  • Drop in platelets
Severe side effects of Ch14.18 include:  SCARY, SCARY and more SCARY
  • Severe allergic reaction, specifically in the mouth and throat which would make it hard to breathe. 
  • Irritation of the small airways in the lungs that causes coughing and wheezing. 
  • Seizures 
  • Rapid heart rate.
  • Chest pain that could mean heart damage.
  • Sudden stopping of the heart or breathing.
  • Vascular (capillary) leak syndrome that can result in dangerously low blood pressure. This can lead to organ failure and must be treated immediately. Symptoms include pale skin, a fast weak pulse, fast shallow breathing, low total blood amount, and low blood pressure... We experienced this during transplant which likely lead to all of Addie's issues... PRAYERS, Prayers, and more Prayers PLEASE!
  • Severe rashes which can cause a breakdown of the skin and damage to mucous membranes.
  • Bleeding disorder.
  • Swelling in the back of the eye caused by increased pressure in the brain.
  • Damage to the optic nerve.
Severe side effects for IL-2 include:  EVEN Scarier
  • Severe allergic reaction causing difficulty breathing, drop in blood pressure, and irregular heart beat. 
  • Heart attack or severe pain in the chest (angina). 
  • Inflammation of the heart muscle that could lead to heart failure. 
  • Severe drop in blood pressure.
  • Decrease in the ability of the blood to clot. 
  • Bleeding that can occur in the head, stools, nose, urine, and other part of the body. 
  • Seizures. 
  • Loss of consciousness (coma). 
  • Inflammation of the colon leading to diarrhea. 
  • Inflammation of pancreas causing pain.
I am sure after reading through that list you are just as sickened and anxious as me and wondering what more does this little girl have to go through?!! Neuroblastoma, as I have said before, is a killer and it takes an entire bomb squad to knock it out, and even that sometimes doesn't keep it away!). I found great comfort in this statement from the CNCF Neuroblastoma Handbook... 

Most patients experience some side effects during the ch14.18 treatment, although generally, these occur only during treatment and subside soon after it concludes. Some patients will “perk up” within hours of the completion of the infusion whereas others may take a day or more to feel well again. To date, there are no known long-term side effects associated with ch14.18.
Praise Jesus for that!!!

     Our Summer is planned for us, our inpatient schedule is below.  We will do our best to enjoy every single moment of being home and being a family.  I feel so incredibly blessed that we have had so much time at home to just enjoy eachother.... some cancer families never get this chance, the chance to just breathe and be together and we have had almost 5 months.  Many prayers please to carry Addie through this next phase of therapy.  This treatment is intense but it truly has changed the outcome of Neuroblastoma...  Our little Addie Bean needs everything she can get to beat this awful disease.  I pray that she will make it through all five cycles victoriously and unharmed.  I pray that she will sail through the treatment and that she will still be able to have a fun summer with her sisters... She turns four in just a month :)  I pray that those tubes come out in September and we will never have to deal with cancer again... that she will be forever done with cancer treatment and at that point she will only be known as a cancer SURVIVOR.  I pray for her sake she gets to go to CANCUN, that is all my little girl wants to do, she asks me almost daily... "Mom, when my tubes come out, my go to Cancun?!"  Please Jesus let me take my girl to Cancun cancer free... Let it be a celebration of her victorious defeat of Naughty Randall!  I pray that when our guard is down and as we move farther away from treatment, You Lord are watching over Addie and keeping her safe from harm.  That You will continue to keep her cancer free!  I pray that her body can withstand a few more months of torture and that she will come away from all of this unscathed!!  Please Jesus let us always live with our eyes open and our hearts filled with you, let Addie's story bring glory to Your Name!!! 

I read one Dadcologist's blog and he wrote that no doctor can tell you what the outcome will be for your child with Neuroblastoma, they just don't know.  Cancer, especially childhood cancer and specifically Neuroblastoma, is completely unpredictable and each patient and each case is entirely different... what works for one won't work for the next.  I found comfort in this, the odds are definitely stacked against us and Addie's diagnosis was as poor as they come but SHE can do it, she can BEAT this and we have the ONE that really matters carrying us through it all... Thank you Jesus, praise God!!!

Addie's treatment schedule:
  • Cycle #1  May 18-22 PICU, May 26 CLINIC
  • Cycle #2  June 8-12 3 JCP, June 15-19 PICU, June 22 CLINIC
  • Cycle #3  July 13-17, July 20 CLINIC, Week of July 27 possible imaging
  • Cycle #4   Aug 3-7 3 JCP, Aug 10-14 PICU, Aug 17 CLINIC
  • Cycle #5  **Last inpatient stay** Sept 7-11 PICU, Sept 14 CLINIC... HOPEFULLY Tubes can come OUT!!!
  • Cycle #6  Accutane taken home
  • November... MORE Imaging
Thank you all for your continued support and your prayers for my girl!! We need you now and always... Please lift my girl up in prayer and carry her through this next phase of treatment!!
So much love from the Brenden clan



Thursday, April 23, 2015

Well Overdue

I hope with my major delays in posting we still have a Team Addie... Life has been so "normal" I actually find it difficult to get myself to post, I don't know why I feel that way but posting at times takes me back to some rough moments we have had together as a team!!  I thank all of you for being with me in those rough moments and for praying us through it all.  I feel so blessed to be a part of this team!!  I need to be better about posting when things are perfectly normal :) because those are the times I need to share my JOY and THANKFULNESS!  All of your prayers and His faithfulness have gotten us to this point, thank you ALL!

We have been home since December 24, 2014... not a single inpatient stay since then!! Can I get a hallelujah and praise Jesus on that!!  I have found myself looking at pictures from Christmas time and what a true miracle it is to see how far Addie has come in four short months.  It has been since the middle of January that we have done anything to "treat" her cancer... Talk about mixed emotions on that, a part of me is overjoyed that she has had time to rest and the other part of me is so anxious that something could be growing.  I trust that His timing is perfect and things will be exactlty as they are suppose to be!  The battle that goes on in my mind is constant and sometimes exhausting... pushing aside all the fear and anxiety and focusing on the joy that each day brings is a constant struggle for me, but fortunately I have Jesus and He helps me through each day!!!   The more I focus on giving thanks for the present the less I find myself worrying about the future.  I try and remind myself that no day is guaranteed for any of us, and He has a greater plan for all of us, and that His plan is perfect.  I wish there were no doubts in my mind, I wish I could just believe without a doubt that Addie would be ok and rise victoriously from all of this... I hate more than anything the doubt that lingers in my mind!!!  I pray Lord that you would take all that doubt away!!  I constantly remind myself to enjoy each and every day with my sweet Addie girl because they are so wonderful! 

We have received some amazing news over the past few weeks.  Addie had her MIBG scan (Neuroblastoma specific scan) which is the most nauseating of them all and the results showed that there was NO evidence of disease!!! WOOT WOOT, NED baby... that was an amazing day, so thankful for clear scans once again, praying for a lifetime of clear scans!!  She hadn't had that specific scan since October and I think we were all a bit anxious about what that would show, but praise Jesus, it showed nothing!!!  Her bone marrow biopsy, eccocardiogran, CT scan and MRI were all normal as well!  Her kidneys are also doing better and at a level now that we can move forward with the next phase of treatment.  They are still not in tip top shape but are definitely on the road to recovery.  We had some delays with the next phase of treatment due to some insurance coverage issues but thanks to Woolverton's insurance agent, Josh Budke, we are now approved and ready to move forward.  What a blessing he was in getting the information in the right hands, thank you Josh, you were an absolute Godsend.  A special thank you also to Mary, our nurse practitioner, for going to battle with the insurance company for us!!  It is very obvious to me now that the delays we have been facing getting ready for antibody therapy have been purposeful, and have been because of Him... Addie needed time to heal, her body needed time to rest and recover and He gave her that time.  Between Mary (Our nurse practitioner) pushing the team into waiting, her kidney tests, the mishap with the MIBG injection not arriving, and the insurance issue it was clear that up until this time Addie was not ready for antibody therapy and He made sure to not make it possible for her to get that until she was ready.  God is so GOOD!!  I will say it once again, He has got this... He has her and is holding her hand through all of this!  

I will try and post some detailed information on antibody therapy when I get some more time and also let you all know what our treatment calendar looks like.  It is going to be an intense summer, we start on May 18.  More details to come, I will leave you with a few pics of our girl... That hair is getting pretty wild!!





Thursday, March 12, 2015

Update

A much needed update...
Addie had her work up this week.  On Monday she had a CT and MRI, both of which looked normal, no growth in her primary tumor site :)  YAY!!  On Tuesday she was due to have her injection for her MIBG scan (scan specific for Neuroblastoma), GFR test (kidney function) and eccocardiogram.  She had her GFR and ecco that morning but due to the dense fog in Cedar Rapids the injection for her scan didn't come in.  Nuclear Medicine informed us that we would have to reschedule her bone marrow biopsy and MIBG scan.  The following morning I received a call from Mary, our nurse practitioner, and she informed me that Addie's heart looked good but her kidney function was poor. Addie's baseline GFR reading was 140 and currently she is at 64, due to that Addie doesn't meet the minimum requirements at this time to move onto antibody therapy.  Mary recommended that we recheck Addie's kidney function in a month and at that time hopefully it would have improved enough to start antibody therapy. Mary and our kidney doctor are very hopeful that her kidneys are on the mend.  This was definitely not news that I wanted to hear but at the same time I feel so incredibly thankful that we have the ability to test these things.  Reed and I sat down with Mary on Monday and discussed all the awful, difficult things about antibody therapy and she told us how worried she was about Addie and her response to this treatment.  We were told once again that the treatment we would give our daughter to save her life could also kill her.  A major side effect to antibody therapy is fluid retention and with weak kidneys Addie would not fair well.  I am so thankful for this test and having a clear picture of how here kidneys are functioning because had we taken her into antibody without this test or with a false positive reading (that they sometimes do by overloading the patient with fluid the night before) Addie would not have done well during antibody therapy and she could have died.  We need healthy kidneys to go into antibody therapy!!  Antibody therapy is an essential aspect to Addie's treatment, it has drastically changed the outcome of Neuroblastoma... research has shown that it has taken the survival rate from a dismal 40% to near 65%.  These are still not the numbers a mother with a child with cancer wants to hear, but far better than before.  As I have said a million times before I firmly believe Addie surviving this will be a miracle and entirely in the hands of God.  This cancer doesn't mess around and it doesn't prefer its victims alive... it is heartbreaking how many children have died and continue to die from this awful disease!  PLEASE say lots of prayers for Addie's kidneys.  We need her organs strong and healthy in order to go forward in her treatment and in life.  Please Jesus heal my sweet girl.  Please LORD let this lag in treatment not be a set back but merely a pleasant vacation away from treatment.... let it be quality time to spend together as a family, living "normal" life and enjoying our healthy little girl.  Please don't let her cancer grow during this time, please let it never grow again!!!

There are LOTS of things that I have to stop and be thankful for even in the midst of some not so good news... It is obviously disappointing to hear that Addie's kidneys are not "normal"  but incredibly thankful that her kidneys were so strong to begin with.  Both Addie's kidneys and heart were AMAZING pre-Naughty Randall, thank GOD for this because it made her that much stronger to fight the POISON we were forced to pour into her.  I am also hopeful that Addie's heart is good and if we can get her kidneys back to normal her heart will never again suffer.  Addie's blood test this time showed that her kidneys are improving, the one number they watch for has been elevated for months and has just recently come back down, this is a very positive sign that her kidneys may be actually improving.  Her kidney doctor feels that if we had completed a GFR just a month ago, that number would be even less than what today showed... that is good news!!  The other thing that I saw God's hand in, (an obvious, tangible sign) was that she didn't have the injection for her MIBG scan, it just so happened that the injection material didn't come that day due to FOG, when it has been the nicest weather we have experienced in months... praise Jesus for that.  That dye has to be processed by the kidneys and also is irreversible once injected and it was something that Addie didn't need if she failed her kidney test, which she did.  It would have just been an additional radiation exposure.   The scans have to be done within 4 weeks of antibody therapy or they are not eligible... YAY, to avoid that excess radiation.  This is proof that He is in control and watching Addie and her journey so closely... He knows the way and is holding her hand for every step of it!!
It is nauseating to not know what her MIBG scan will show, as sick as it makes me to wait for the results it is so comforting to hear them when they are favorable.  The rest of her life I will experience this nausea... that stomach ache that never really goes away, that pit in your stomach when something just doesn't feel right!  I should name that feeling, every Momcologist knows the feeling!  There is so much fear in the unknown, but I find so much comfort in knowing that it is not unknown to the One who LOVES us more than any other.  It is unbelievably comforting to know that He never intends to harm us and the way He has made is perfect and specifically designed for us!  I get scared when I allow my mind to unravel or when I lose sight of Him... I wish I could pray away all my worry, fear and anxiety, I wish I could go back 10 months and make this all disappear.  I wish so badly my daughter didn't have cancer and we didn't have to pump her body full of TOXIN in hopes of saving her life... there are so many things that I wish.  Those wishes don't get me anywhere, they make me sad and hopeless.  The hopes I have for her future bring me happiness, the faith that I have in His plan brings me JOY!  I have hope that Addie will live a normal, healthy life.  I hope that she will make me a Grandma someday and hope that I will never again hear that she has cancer.  The Lord wants us to have hopes and dreams... BIG ONES.  I am dreaming big because our God is BIG and can do amazing things!!!  Here is to another month with my girl, with her beautiful smile and vibrant personality, her beautiful brown hair growing in and her eyelashes that go on and on for miles... Addie Lynn Brenden, I LOVE you to the Heavens and back!  Thank you Jesus for this amazing little girl!

I found these to be incredibly inspiring and uplifting!! Thank you Jesus for constantly reassuring me!!








Monday, February 16, 2015

Just for Fun

I wish you all could witness first hand this personality... She really is the life of the party.  She has this contagious little smile and continually melts my heart.  There are countless moments throughout the day where I am overwhelmed at how incredible she is and how amazing it is that she is here right now... perfectly herself, my Addie Bean.  I can't even begin to thank Him enough for the countless blessings He has showered upon us... everyday with this little girl is an AMAZING blessing.  I continue to pray that I will forever be able to enjoy this little girl, that I will watch her grow and blossom into an amazing WOMAN.  I want to hold her babies someday and I can't wait to tell her about how she KICKED Cancer's butt... that she beat all the odds and rose victoriously.  I can't wait until she can grasp the true miracle that she is and how her sweet little smile and her journey is bringing GLORY to GOD.  I love you to the heavens Addie Lynn Brenden.  I really am the luckiest woman alive because I get to be your Momma!!
These are videos and for whatever reason they don't show up on my iPhone but they work great on a regular computer?!  

Our little dancer... and WOW does she have some moves!

Our passionate little performer... singing Kari Jobe, Find You On My Knees.  She irritated her sister here a little as you can tell by the dirty look :)  Addie tends to take over whatever she is doing!!  Makes my heart smile whenever I watch her sing!!

First time sledding!

The Bean Boozle Challenge... Thank you big sister for this great idea.  We have had lots of fun with this game!

Just being her silly self :)  What I get to see on a daily basis... this personality, LOVE LOVE!