Some Catching Up...

So it's been a while since I last posted anything and I'd like to say I have some great excuse, but honestly, I've sort of been avoiding it... when there's no good news to post, why post at all?

But that's changed!

 But before I get to the good news, let me just update you all (nine of you now!) on what's been going on with London:

She had been accepted to Shriner's Hospital and we were stoked for our appointment! I was anxious to find out what the doctors there thought about her CP (cerebral palsy) and what they suggested in the way of braces that may help her bones and muscles grow properly. The appointment went fine, pretty run-of-the-mill as far as doctor's appointments go (except for the fact that there was NO waiting and Xrays were done on the spot rather than 3 months out! YAY for that!!)...

So they wanted to get London into some ankle braces and a soft back brace to wear while she is using the stander at school and occasionally here at home. *Let me insert this: a stander is one of the pieces of equipment that I oh-so-desperately want once we can have the space and $$ for it! It could do SO much for London!*

So I was excited when our appointment came the following week to have her casted for the molds to make her braces... that is, until we actually got there. Once they started the whole process, my heart just sort of sank. There I was, sitting on a hard exam room table, holding London on my lap, and restraining her while a man put casting material on her skinny little non-functional legs.

 We should have been picking out ballet shoes, not cold, hard plastic braces.

And if I thought that was a moment of heartbreak, what came next was something even more gut-wrenching. To cast for the back brace, London had to be laid on a three-inch-wide strap, balanced and restrained at the legs, arms, and head. I was in charge of holding her head still and her arms up by her ears. London can stretch out like this on her own, but BEING stretched out when she doesn't want to be can cause a serious tantrum. Add that to the fact that she's being balanced on a narrow piece of belting, and she was in complete distress. She began to calm down as I spoke to her and the warm casting material was being wrapped around her torso but something, somewhere (never did figure out what), hurt her BAD and she had a complete meltdown. I also almost had a meltdown! Halfway through wrapping her up, she's writhing in pain and screaming bloody murder, and my job is still to restrain her until the cast is hard enough to cut off and use for the mold. Those minutes were agonizing for us both.

So along with the traumatic casting incident, the news we got at her last neurologist appointment wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear... since medications haven't been working, I was all set to try a VNS in an attempt to further control her seizures (as if we have any control at all...)

Well, the VNS is more of something they go to after they rule out surgery. Meaning brain surgery. BRAIN. SURGERY. They want to see if any parts of her brain that are having the seizures could safely and without detrimental side effects be REMOVED to stop that particular type of seizure. Removed. Gray matter, gone.

So an extended EEG is going to be set up (they'll come to our home, connect the electrodes to her head and she'll wear them from 3 days to 2 weeks, long enough to hopefully capture all the different seizures she's having) and from there we'll discuss possible treatments. Even though we haven't even set up the EEG, I can't help but start weighing my potential options.

Well, now that that's out, I'll get to the GOOD NEWS!

The Scentsy party put on to benefit London was a great success! I can't thank Krista enough for donating her profits from sales to A Home For London! She was able to donate $300 for our fund! I'd say that's pretty amazing!
Thanks again to Krista and to everyone who ordered! It's appreciated more than you could ever know!!

Another little tidbit of happy news is this: we may have a killer deal on electrical work once we get to building our home!! Friends who are willing to talk to their connections (in this case, her dad) are surely incredible friends, indeed!!

So, we have a roof, possibly a killer deal on electrical work and supplies, and about $4000 in the bank for out home.

We just need to keep up the momentum on our fundraising efforts.... so please pass around the blog. There's also a page on Facebook we'd love for you to check out!

Until next time, love from me and London!

Mary Kay for London

Here's the latest! :)

A dear friend of mine, whom I've known so long I can't remember NOT knowing her, has so generously offered to help us out through selling Mary Kay. She is going to donate 100% of her profit from all specific sales NOW THROUGH JULY to A Home For London!
Need to put your next Mary Kay order in? We'd LOVE for you to go through Heather this time!

Here's what ya need to do to ensure that a donation is made for London...

1. Go HERE

2. Shop til ya drop!

3. BE SURE to write 'A Home For London' in the COMMENTS box next to where it asks for the payment method for your order. (You may have to register to complete your order, just FYI)

4. Sit back, relax and wait for your order to arrive! :)

If you can't order online, you can order through Heather by calling or texting her @ 435-695-3700 and let her know that you're ordering for this cause.

Can't tell you all enough how much we appreciate any and all support you give us!

Love and thanks from me and London!

Yard Sale Collections!

So we are organizing a massive yard sale and we are asking for any and all donations! I can come pick the items up so you won't have to worry about that... with Spring cleaning and open-all-the-windows kind of weather, please keep London in mind when decluttering. We would SO appreciate anything you are willing to donate! :)

I have a few ideas for this yard sale... here are just a FEW ideas of what we'd love to take off your hands, and please keep in mind that these are things we'll be trying to sell:

Books
Clothing (mens, womens, kids)
Shoes
DVDs
Electronics (like old *but still working* game consoles!)
Games
Kitchen items (appliances, dishes, etc.)
Crafting items (scrapbook items, fabric from your stash, etc.)
Home decor
Furniture (we'd LOVE some bigger ticket items!)
Baby iems (toys, books, highchairs, strollers, etc.)
Seasonal items (Christmas trees, outdoor lawn decor, etc.)

Contact me if you have anything you'd like to donate: 801.941.7777 (call or text)

Along with this, I kind of think it would be fun to have another boutique happening at the same time... Maybe I'm nuts! I live across the street from a huge park and I want to see if the city would let us do all this in the park... SO if you are a vendor or crafter please let me know if you are interested in setting up a booth! I will get details worked out as soon as I can. So far, I'm thinking about doing this at the end of May/first of June.

Thanks so much for all your support! Whether you've donated, passed the blog or giveforward site along, or even just READ our blog, I appreciate it!!

Ok, so now everyone go through your closets, garages, basements, and storage sheds! :)

Hugs!
Danielle and London

Boutique for London

Yesterday, March 31st, there was a boutique held in Brigham City to help raise money for A Home For London. There were tons of great booths including Paprazzi Jewelry, Scentsy, Jamberry Nails, Tupperware, a photo booth, a BBQ booth were people could buy lunch, and many more! Unfortunately there just wasn't a lot of shopper traffic (General Conference may have affected this, something we didn't think of during planning)...

I had a booth of my randomness that I craft- wood crafts, blankets, bow holders... I sold a whopping $15 worth of items! LOL!!

BUT, the other vendors and crafters who set up booths all donated a raffle and we sold tickets for just $1 each... so from the raffle alone we got $183!! We are SO very grateful for the kindness of those who donated and to all the people who purchased raffle tickets!

Also, to help us raise money, Michelle (the woman who organized the whole thing) charged a $30 booth fee and after paying the rent for the facility we used and paying for an ad that was run in the paper, the rest went to London!

There were also a few jars set out for those that simply wanted to make a donation...

All in all, we walked away with $643.62 for A Home For London!! WOW!!

Thank you SO SO SO very much to Michelle! I can't even express how grateful I am to her for her hard work organizing and arranging and getting vendors for the booths!

Thank you to everyone who set up booths! We will more than likely be doing another boutique of sorts and hopefully we'll get much more customers! :)
(If you're interested in getting involved, please contact me!)

Thanks also to Hillary, who let me get her up early and drag her out to Brigham to help me at my booth (ok, ok, I didn't have to DRAG her, she volunteered willingly... and I'm extra appreciative of that). I have known Hillary my entire life and it was so fun to hang out with her!

Thanks to everyone who came out and checked out the booths and bought raffle tickets!!

Even with so few shoppers, I absolutely consider the boutique to have been a great success for our fundraising efforts!

Oh... I have debated on whether or not to include this thought on my blog, but I feel like if I don't, I just am not being true to myself so here goes:
I was disappointed by something that happened during set-up at the boutique. I won't say from which booth this came from but while we were all preparing our tables, a woman quite loudly said something along the lines of, "Hold it up just like that your retard!" to a man who was helping her set up... Now, I am criticized all the time when I point out that there are a TON of far better words to use in the place of 'retard' in a situation such as this but after everything I've learned and been through and everything that my sweet London has been through, I simply can't NOT say anything. I didn't go over to this woman and make any kind of comment about her words, I let it slide. I didn't want to be that crazy woman who scolds people when it is SO not her place, I didn't want to embarrass her, and I certainly didn't want any bad feelings but I was a little hurt. She wasn't trying to put the man down, it was just a sort of playful remark, and I know that people everywhere use the word 'retard' in the same manner as she did, but I was disappointed nonetheless. I just thought it was an inappropriate thing to say (especially so loudly) at a boutique being held to help raise money for a severely handicapped child. Just saying. Take it as you will- you can criticize me, you can back me up, you can remain completely neutral...

Much love,
Danielle and London