I knew the moment she ripped out her feeding tube.

Have I mentioned lately that Annalyn was born seven weeks early? No? Because she was. And I kind of talk about it a lot.

You know why? Because it was a miracle.

And not just the fact that she was healthy, but it was also amazing that she was able to come home so quickly.

Every time I hear about a family living in the NICU with their premature baby for weeks, I’m thankful all over again that Annalyn only had to stay in the hospital for nine days longer than I did.

But part of the strong will that kept her warm and strong and breathing well when she was a teeny tiny baby? Um, yeah. It’s the same darned will that’s driving me crazy two and a half years later!

I am not exaggerating. When Annalyn was less than two weeks old – still weighing barely more than four pounds – she ripped out her own feeding tube.

The NICU nurse said that they wouldn’t put it back in unless she needed it; she said they’d try to give her a bottle. But, she warned me, babies never took the bottle that early. They had to be at least 36 weeks (or in Annalyn’s case, three weeks); something in their little tiny brains just clicked at that point.

Every time, she said. That’s how they all were.

Except my tiny baby. Annalyn started eating from a bottle and never looked back.

That strong will was a good thing back then. A real good thing. And, as a friend recently reminded me, it will be a great thing when she’s 16 and dating.

But right now? At age 2 ½? That strong will drives me cuh-razy!!!

A few weeks ago, I had to take her to choir practice with me. She was great. Except for when she said, “No, Mommy! You no hush me! I no hush!”

Yeahhhh.

I know, I know. Some of it’s typical two-year-old stuff. (And don’t even tell me about how the threes are more terrible than the twos. I may have heard it already. Just a time or twenty.)

But you have to admit. The thought of that tiny baby who pulled her feeding tube out – as a teenager? Kind of scary, right?

Over the next several weeks, the March of Dimes will be holding a walk in a city near you. (Or in your city, you know, if you live in a city.) March for Babies gives hope to the 500,000+ babies born early every year. The money raised by these walks supports programs that help mothers have healthy, full-term pregnancies.

As I’ve mentioned before, this is a cause that’s close to my heart. So when I heard (because they told me) that Famous Footwear is supporting the March of Dimes with a special shoe, I was impressed.

For every pair of Dr. Scholl's "Inferno 2" walking shoes for women purchased, Famous Footwear will donate $5 (up to $500,000).

For a, ahem, related discount and a giveaway, visit my other site.

Have you ever walked in a charity walk? What’s your favorite cause to support?

P.S. I love the March of Dimes and this shoe campaign. Therefore, I'm linking up to Things I Love Thursday and Friday Favorites.

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While you're up . . .

When my brother and I were growing up, we played a little game in our family. If we needed a drink refill or a box of Kleenex or the remote or anything, really, out of reach, we wouldn't get up and get it ourselves. We'd wait until someone else took the initiative to get up to do something productive and then we'd say, "While you're up . . . " and make our request!

Sadly, Mark and I have been known to play the same game. But I've heard about some cool "while you're up" ways to give this Christmas, and I think you're going to like them.

Hey, at least I'm not asking you to refill my iced tea while you're up.

First order of business is this: How do you feel about gift cards? Let's just get it out on the table. Do you think they're tacky? Practical? Fun? Boring? What do you think?

A certain mother I know has often said that it’s a tacky gift. Then again, this is the same mother who gave her daughter a Victoria’s Secret gift card.

That’s what I get for mentioning my need for new underwear.

Ahem. Anyway. Here’s my take on gift cards (because, yes, I know you were wondering): I think they’re great.

Now, does that mean I want a gift card in place of every gift I ever receive? No. It just means that if someone can’t think of what to get me or lives far away and doesn’t want to spend part of the gift budget on postage, it’s not going to hurt my feelings if I open up the envelope and find a gift card to Kohl’s. Or Target. Or Walmart, really. I’m not picky.

[Unless your name is Mark. And then you’d better be digging deep, reading and interpreting my innermost thoughts and feelings, so you can buy the 12 perfect gifts that show just how well you know me and how deeply you care for me.]

But everyone else can totally get away with a gift card.

There's no easier gift to give than a gift card. Unless it’s a donation to charity. Have you ever gotten that one before? (Why do I feel like a stand-up comic right about now? No, not because I think I’m so funny. I think it’s how I phrased that or something.)

Anyway. Have you? Or have you donated to a charity in someone’s name as a gift? Did they like it? I’m not sure I’d love that gift. I mean, the thought is nice. And I suppose if the day comes that I never need new underwear (I’m kidding, Mom.), the thought would be enough for me.

But I’m not sure.

How about this, though? What if we combine the gift card that I get to spend with the donation to charity that you get to deduct and we both get to feel good about? What about that?

Well, friends, I’m happy to tell you that that is exactly what Clayton Nicholas and Jeff Jacobs had in mind when they created GiveCard in 2007.

The GiveCard is a prepaid gift card that shares a set value (determined by the giver and starting at $5) with the charity of the recipient’s choice. The balance of the card spends just like a Visa debit card. Because, I think, it is a Visa debit card. It’s just a charitable one.

It’s the gift that keeps on giving. Or . . . it’s two gifts in one! Um . . . it really is the thought that counts?

Well, whatever cliché we decide to use here, this is a great idea! GiveCard can be used to contribute to more than 5,000 charities – and in an age when charitable giving is down around the globe, every dollar (or five dollars) counts.

So, what do you think? Are gift cards in or out this year?

If you’re looking for more ways to help others while doing your own holiday shopping this year, here are a few ideas:

• If you like to shop on Amazon as much as I do (and let's put it this way: I got four packages from them just yesterday), you can donate without actually donating by clicking on this Amazon.com link before making purchases. Thrive Africa gets a small referral fee when you buy anything from Amazon after you follow the link. Thrive is an amazing ministry founded by my sweet bloggy friend, Alece.
• Kraft Foods and American Greetings have teamed up to feed the hungry this holiday season. For every e-greeting you send through Recipe for Joy, Kraft will donate 10 meals to Feeding America.
• And last but not least, Dayspring is offering a 15% discount off their Christmas photo cards. Just design your card and use the code CHILDREN15 when you check out. You’ll get 15% off – and here’s the best part – 6% of the sale goes directly to Compassion International!

What are you waiting for? While you're up, double the giving, double the fun. What, you thought I was finished with the lame clichés? Fine. I'll stop. But giving while I'm up works for me!

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Here's the story of a tiny baby...

You know this girl, right? The feisty one? The willful child? The sweet baby doll who likes to shout, "Hi, Mommy!" and "Thank you, Daddy!" The very kiddo who prays for Elmo and her friends and diapers and her grandparents before bed?

Yep, her.

Well, even though she measured in the 75th percentile for height and weight at her last appointment with the pediatrician, she didn't start out quite so hale and hearty.

She started out like this:

That's right. If you're new around here, you might have missed my long, drawn-out telling of the whole story last fall. Long story short: Annalyn was born seven weeks early because my health was, well, not so healthy.

But despite being born so early and weighing less than 4 lbs., my stubborn little girl never had a problem. She spent two and a half weeks in the NICU, but she never even had to be on oxygen. And when she'd had enough of her feeding tube, she pulled that sucker right out and decided to drink from a bottle from then on!

She was a fighter.

But she was still tiny. And early. And cold. And wrinkly. And cute. But tiny. And she's okay today because of the grace of God - and the years of research that told a whole hospital full of doctors and nurses how to take care of my teeny tiny baby.

I was due to have Annalyn two years ago tomorrow (also known as Thanksgiving Day - what a lesson in giving up on perfect that would have been!). So when I found out that November is Prematurity Awareness Month, I was excited to learn more about other teeny tiny babies. Here's what I found out:

• Nearly 13 million babies worldwide are born prematurely each year, and more than one million die.
• One in eight babies born in our country is premature. That’s more than 1,400 babies each day, more than 543,00 each year.
• The rate of premature birth in America is higher than that of most other developed nations.
• In fact, the rate of premature birth increased by 36 percent between the early 1980s and 2006.
• The cause of premature birth is unknown in 40 percent of cases, but studies suggest that there may be four main routes leading to spontaneous premature labor: infections/inflammation, maternal or fetal stress, bleeding and stretching.
• The March of Dimes funds promising, innovative research into the causes of prematurity. In 2004, the organization created the Prematurity Research Institute, which has already awarded nearly $11 million to 30 grantees.
• Research funded by the March of Dimes demonstrated a potential new approach for diagnosis and treatment of preeclampsia, which is a serious form of high blood pressure that can lead to preterm birth – and what caused my own early delivery.
• The March of Dimes’ NICU Family Support program provides information and comfort to families with newborns in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). In 2008, the program served 84 NICUs and more than 50,000 families.
• You can support the March of Dimes by joining their advocacy efforts and donating to the organization. And I actually learned last night that in November and December, MasterCard is doubling online donations, dollar-for-dollar, made with a MasterCard card!
• You can learn more about premature births and the March of Dimes on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Youtube.
  

Did you know all this?! I sure didn’t. All I knew is that we are so very blessed that Annalyn is healthy. And I knew that many other families have experienced much more difficult struggles with premature births.

This post will be linked up to OhAmanda’s Top Ten Tuesday and Musings of a Housewife's What I Learned This Week. And I’m going to take one more look at my tiny baby.


Who's not so tiny these days!

Do you know anyone who’s had a baby early? Were any of your children born prematurely? Were you born prematurely?

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I do not heart HTML.

I have just spent the last 47 hours fixing the text on this blog. It involved spacing and fonts and HTML and I don’t even know what has happened.

Or, as Annalyn likes to say, “Hap. In?”

I had my first Weight Watchers weigh-in last Friday, and I was down 1.6 lbs. That’s not much, but it’s definitely a start.

And, umm, probably more than I’ve lost this last week. This week has not gone so well. I didn’t eat brownies at the family barbecue. And I had every intention of walking. And I used low-fat sour cream and mayo when I made up six dips for my party on Tuesday.

But this week may also have included pizza. And chips with that dip. And beer bread (oh, my goodness, the beer bread was sooo good!). And no walking, due to rain and crazy schedules. And did I mention the chips?

So. My second weigh-in may not be so hot. I know that. But I’m still looking forward and making goals and not quitting. My goal for next week is to write down everything I eat.

All of it.

Do you have a goal for next week?

I have a big weekend coming up. Tonight is Light the Night (and there’s still time to donate if you’d like to join my team in fighting cancer!). On Saturday, Chelleybutton is coming down for a visit. And on Sunday, we have nursery duty (yay.) and small group (yay!).

What are your weekend plans?

Lighting the night, fighting cancer and enjoying a little healthy competition

Grandpa and me, Christmas Day, 1978.
Also known as the day I came home from the hospital.

My grandpa smoked a pipe. And he was good at building things out of wood. He took me fishing at the park one time. I kind of remember going to a state fair…I think. And if we tried to sit in “his” chair, he’d sit on us.

When I think of my grandpa, those are the things that come to mind. I wish I had more memories; I wish I’d had more time to get to know him.

I'm not sure what we were doing here . . . but we were having fun!

Unfortunately, my dad’s dad died 15 years ago. Cancer was the culprit. In particular, a blood cancer, the exact kind of disease fought by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – my former employer and charity of choice.

Tomorrow I’ll join my grandma, my parents, my aunts and uncles, and my cousins in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk. We’ll carry illuminated balloons, push strollers and wagons, and chat as we walk the two-mile route.

For several years now, we’ve worked together to raise money for research and patient services. And this year is no different.

Except . . . this year, I haven’t done any fundraising.

I got a message from my cousin Steve on Facebook yesterday, informing me that my former co-workers at the Society said hello – and shamed me for not raising any money to fight cancer.

Steve has raised hundreds of dollars.

I’m sure you can understand why my competitive side has started kicking in . . .

• Will you help me beat my cousin?
  
• Or, if you’re a more sentimental sort, honor my Grandpa?
  
• Or, if you’re practical yet giving, support the fight against cancer?

A donation to my Light the Night team will do all of those things and more.

Any amount donated truly does help. During the three years I worked for the Society, I learned that the five-year survival rate for someone diagnosed with leukemia is now more than 50% - it used to be just 14%. And while the survival rate for Hodgkin’s disease used to be just 40%, it’s now more than 85%!

Research – the very kind funded by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – made these things possible.

This progress is incredible, but there’s still so much work to be done. Because while those stats are encouraging, the fact remains that every ten minutes, someone dies from a blood cancer.

Every 10 minutes.

Will you help me fund the research that will end these deadly diseases once and for all? Will you help me provide services – like support groups, financial aid and educational programs – for those fighting cancer?

(Will you help me redeem myself with my family and friends by helping me meet my fundraising goal?)

It’s super easy to donate: just visit my fundraising page and click away.

(I’m linking to Things I Love Thursday this week – because I love online fundraising!)

Be careful: This very well could change your heart.

This Sunday, a group of bloggers will leave their safe, comfortable lives to fly halfway around the world to India. They will visit Compassion International projects and share what they see and what they learn with their readers.

Last fall, I was safe and comfortable, both physically and emotionally. Even though I knew it was disrespectful and possibly tempting fate (well, you know, Fate), I had said several times that I was so thankful that God has not called me to the mission field.

Don’t get me wrong! I’m all for missionaries. I have several friends who serve overseas, and I pray for them and am so thankful for the sacrifices they make. I’m thankful for missionaries, inspired by missionaries. But I didn’t want to be one.

And then Compassion sent a group of bloggers to the Dominican Republic. And they wrote about it. And my heart was changed.

Now another group of bloggers is preparing to leave their families to visit Kolkata, India. I’ve already been reading about difficulty from malaria prevention medication, fears about flying, concerns about leaving children and a hacked blog. And then I got an e-mail today that mentioned other concerns: a 12-hour time difference, oppressive heat, common ailments in the area including typhoid and meningitis.

There’s a lot to pray for. Will you join me?

Here are five ways you can follow the bloggers on their trip to India:

1. Compassion’s website: A snippet of every post, every pic and video will be uploaded to this page.
2. Facebook group: A Facebook group has been created not only to generate prayer and encouragement for the bloggers but also to share links to posts, pics and videos.
3. Twitter: A few of the bloggers will attempt to use Twitter while in India. Follow @theshaungroves, @spencesmith, @flowerdust, and #CompassionIndia.
4. RSS feed: This is the link to the trip's RSS feed. Subscribing to the feed will send a snippet of every post from every blogger to your RSS reader.
5. Individual blogs: If you'd prefer to follow the trip by visiting each blog, here are the bloggers, photographers and leaders: Pete Wilson, Melissa Fitzpatrick, Angela Smith, Robin Dance, Keely Scott, Anne Jackson, Spence Smith, Patricia Jones, Shaun Groves

I can’t wait to read about this group’s experiences in Kolkata. I hope you’ll follow along, too.

And on a related note . . . I’m excited to introduce you to the newest member of my family:

This is Elizabeth. She’s a 6-year-old who lives in Ghana, which is in West Africa. She’s been waiting for a sponsor from Compassion for more than six months. And now she has one!

Finding the Cure for Cancer

This Friday, September 12, my family will be walking as a team in Kansas City's Light the Night Walk for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The organization is close to my heart for several reasons. One, I worked there and know firsthand the good work they do. Not only do they raise money for research, trying to find a cure and put an end to blood cancers (leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma), but they also provide outstanding patient services at the local level to those living with blood cancers, including financial aid, support groups and educational programs.

The second reason I walk in Light the Night is that my grandpa died of leukemia 15 years ago, and sadly, the stats haven't changed much since then. Despite the good work that the Society has done, hundreds of thousands of people are still diagnosed with blood cancers every year. Treatment and understanding of the diseases have improved, but still, every 10 minutes, someone dies from a blood cancer.

Light the Night is a nationwide fundraising event that celebrates and commemorates lives touched by cancer. Participants walk along a 2-3 mile course while carrying illuminated balloons – white for survivors, red for supporters and gold for teams walking in memory of a loved one.

My hope – and the hope of everyone who walks in Light the Night – is that someday, we will no longer have a reason for this event. If you’d like to join the fight against blood cancers, you can donate to my team here. Every dollar counts – so a BIG THANK YOU to anyone who can help!