August 25, 2013  The summer is over and now it is time to settle in for the 2013 school year, 1st grade for Grayson.  After a year of trials, it appears that  his Cystic Fibrosis med's and therapy are right on target now.  He is growing, feeling good and what a praise that is for the Brooks and McLaughlin families.  Every minute, and day with Grayson is so special and each time I think of this journey we've been on this past year, I think of the verse~"yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."Isaiah 40:31~
Thank you all for walking with and especially praying for us to never get weary in our fight against Cystic Fibrosis.

Lovingly~Patty
Grayson, Pop, Mommy, Daddy, GP & Noni

I almost can't believe that Grayson starts 1st grade in a few days.

1st stop is for new shoes!  His foot has grown a whole size over the summer of 2013!

Meet Ms. Courtier, his 1st grade teacher.  Grayson is almost as big as she it!  What a great year it is going to be!

August 25, 2013

It has been such a busy and fun summer.  This year, Grayson spent the night with Lollie & Pop each Tuesday evening and on Wednesday, Grayson and Lollie would do something extra special.   It has been really rainy this summer, so most of our days were spent doing things inside.  You will be able to see by the pictures that we loads of fun!

 Grayson & Lollie at the Carolinas Aviation Museum!

 Grayson sitting in a Cessna like Pop use to fly!

 We loved seeing the Miracle on the Hudson!

 We even sat in the cockpit of a 727 Jet!

 We were stilly at the Raptor Center.

 Grayson loved the Harry Potter exhibit.

 Like Grayson's owl?  He named him Hornie!

 Grayson and Pop building a bird house.

 Grayson painting his bird house.

 We made snow in the middle of July!

The Splash Pad was awesome!

Grayson & his cousin Travis!  They are best of pals.

 To finish off our summer, Grayson took his whole family back to the Carolinas Aviation Museum.

 

A speaker came to the library & talked to the children about gold mining.

Grayson's bird house is finished!

A new Praise!

June 19, 2013

For the summer, Grayson is spending the night with Lollie & Pop on Tuesday nights so that Lollie and Grayson can have a "fun" day on Wednesdays.  Today we went on a Nature Scavenger Hunt to find something fuzzy, a noise, something rough, something smooth, a stick, something long, something round and more!  We found them all today....we had such fun at the park.

We had not marked Grayson's growth chart since November, so it was an exciting day for us!  DRUM ROLL please......since November, Grayson has grown 2 1/2 inches and has gained 5 pounds.  It appears that we have finally gotten his medications on target he is eating more and obviously feel so well.

Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers!

Time Goes By Way Too Fast!

Well, it's been a few months since I've blogged!  So much has come and gone.

1st I just have to tell you about our Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Great Strides 5k walk on May 18th.  We had a team of 40 walkers ranging in ages 3-78 and 3 furry friends, who all crossed the finish line!  Team Grayson raised over $14,000 and all the Charlotte Teams, comprised of over 600 people, combined raised over $229,000!  How awesome is that?  The weather was perfect at Freedom Park and the festivities were so much fun.  Team Grayson won the award~ "Most money raised by a new team".

We were one of the 1st teams to start the walk and as I look back over the sea of people behind us circling the pond at the park, emotions just flooded my heart.  To know that so many people are passionate to find a cure for CF is so wonderful and helps those of us with a direct connection to CF know that there is HOPE for a cure.

Thank you to all of our sponsors, family and friends that love and support us each day.  We will begin again in October to raise money again for the 2014 event.  We hope we can count you in!

April 29, 2013

We've been very busy the past few months with our Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Great Strides 5k walk in May.  So far Team Grayson has 33 members and has collected $9,220 in donations.  I am so humbled by how well everyone has done.  When my daughter, Megan, and I attended the CFF Great Strides kick off, we were reluctant to set our goal at $1000, much less ever dream that we could collect close to $10,000.  So many have been generous and dedicated to helping us raise these funds for research and maybe a cure for CF. 

I heard the other day that our government has done a study on how many people live together before marrying.  My heart was broken thinking that we waste money on something like that when there are 30,000 children and adults living in the US that have CF and struggle each day to live.  If you haven't donated, would you consider a small donation?  90 cents from every dollar goes toward this research and no amount is too small.  Our prayer is that maybe a treatment or cure will be in time to help our Grayson.

Grayson....he continues to do well with bumps along the way.  He has lost 5 pounds due to having the flu, but everyone is working hard to get those pounds replaced.  Another infection has surfaced in his lungs which warranted another round of antibiotics.  But, he is so happy,  loves paying t-ball and going to church and school.  Please continue to pray for him.  We are in hopes that he will be healthy enough to join us for our Great Strides Walk on May 18th.

This picture was taken last Friday at a FUNdraiser that we had at our home.  We had a cookout and movie on the lawn at dark.  We had 75 in attendance and raised $650!  In the background, see that huge bounce castle?  The children, especially Grayson LOVED that thing! Maybe next year all of you reading this can join us?

Thank you again for your constant thoughts and prayers.  We feel them each day.

Hugs to all!

February 28, 2013

Grayson is going through a difficult time right now with his health.  He was diagnoised with bronchitis several weeks ago and while in for his re-check yesterday, the doctor had concern for a noise in his chest.  A culture taken shows an infection persistent with CF children, so a very strong antibiotic and an additional medication to his nebulizer were prescribed.  Please pray that he can tolerate this medication with minimal side effects and heal quickly.  Through it all, he continues to be a typical, almost 6 year old, little man.

Hi Friends!
Wow, how time moves by quickly!  My last blog was Grayson saying "Hohoho, Merry Christmas" now we are at "Happy Valentines Day."

Grayson's health right now is very good, especially with all of the flu and stomach bugs going around!  For this we are so very thankful.  He had his mid-term testing done and he is average to above average on most areas of learning and he has adapted well to his visit to the nurse twice daily for his supplements and enzymes.

My daughter, Megan, and I attended a meeting 2 weeks ago regarding the Great Strides Cystic Fibrosis walk on May the 18th.  Of course this is our first year to be a part of this wonderful event.  Did you know that CF affects the lungs and digestive systems of approximately  30,000 children and adults in the USA?  The mission of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a nonprofit donor-supported organization, is to assure the development of the means to cure and control CF and to improve the quality of life for those with the disease.  The Great Strides Charlotte walk is the largest fundraising even the CF Foundation holds in the Charlotte area and the largest Great Strides even in the country.  It attracts more than 1,000 participants each year.  This year, it is being held in Freedom Park and is a 5K event (3.1 miles).  We have formed a team called Team Grayson.

Would you consider participating in this event with me?  It's quite easy~go to:
www.cff.org/Great_Strides/graysonbrooks to either sign up to walk or donate for my walk.  There is no donation too small, each $1 counts.  Together, you and I,  are going to change CF from being an abbreviation for Cystic Fibrosis to "CURE FOUND."  Know that 90% of what you give is used for research for CF and is tax deductable.  If you have any question, please feel free to send me a note.

Thanks again for your constant thoughts and prayers for Grayson and our family.  We treasure those more than words could ever say.

Lollie

December 2012
Christmas is always magical for our family and this year it seems that along with the magic, we are filled with thankfulness and joy that we finally have a diagnosis for Grayson and can move on with treatment~each healthy day is a gift given by God.  We look back now over his 5 years and realize without God's hand on him he would not be here with us today. 

Grayson spent several days over Christmas with Pop and I and while we were preparing dinner one night, we looked up and Grayson had stratigically placed 2 stools together,  had gotten our Rudolph along with his bells, and Pop's Santa hat.  He was so very cute pretending to drive that sleigh!  It was more precious to us just knowing that he had thought all of that up on his own.

So, here is Grayson, wishing each of you a HoHoHo....Merry Christmas!