Love For Ashley

I am not sure what Ashley means by that, "Dancing is who I am, it heals me" but she said that to me the other day. She has told me in the past that dancing helps her forget her liver disease but she has never said that dancing heals her. Ashley is not a natural dancer, she isn't graceful but she most certainly does not have two left feet. She has problems spotting when she turns, she has problems pointing her toes when she leaps, and she has hard landings after leaping. But Ashley is extremely flexible and even though she has problems with pointing her toes when leaping, she has beautiful feet when she dances. In the last two years, I have seen such growth in Ashley's dancing ability. Each day Ashley learns to love dance even more. I was afraid that pulling Ashley out of the dance company would have an adverse affect on her dance but if anything pulling her out of company makes her try harder to be a better dancer. After all, her goal is to be back in the dance ...

Having a pre-teen son is filled with all kinds of challenges. Actually, maybe I should say teenage son. Brad will be 13 in June, what's a few more months, right? Brad is showing an interest in girls...one in particular. He has a huge crush on her but I am not so sure the feeling is mutual. I know this girl likes Brad, "like a friend." How do I tell Brad that his girl possibly has a crush on someone else? My instinct tells me to just leave it alone. She doesn't know he likes her and he doesn't know she has a crush on someone else. Let them be friends, after all they are only 12/13 years old. Who needs a boyfriend/girlfriend at 12/13 years old anyway. There - the problem is solved...my thoughts will remain my own. Was this a problem, anyway? The funny thing is Brad has always had girls chasing after him. I mean how can you resist, just look at that face. Even as a baby, little girls just loved him. One year, I worked in the school Brad attended while in 3rd grade, ...

Today Ashley was supposed to go to the Shand's Hospital Liver Clinic. However, she came home from school yesterday saying she threw up in her class bathroom. No, my very smart intelligent daughter did not tell her teacher which means she did not go to the school clinic which means I did not get a call from the school to pick her up. So as we are driving home from school yesterday afternoon, Ashley informs me that she lost her lunch in the class bathroom. I rolled my eyes because of course she would get sick the day before we leave to go to Gainesville to see her liver doctor. It's been running around, this virus, at every school in our county, everyone is sick...the kids, the teachers, and even some parents. It seems however that Ashley has been sick with something since Thanksgiving, I can't seem to keep her well. We keep our house clean, sanitize, practice good hand washing and hygiene so why is Ashley getting sick? Last night my husband and I contemplated on whether to ...

First things first, I have 27 Love for Ashley, Recipes for Life cookbooks left. The cookbooks are $12.95 each plus $5 for shipping. If you would like a cookbook, please send me an email at loveashley@loveforashley.com . Remember, by purchasing a cookbook you contribute to Ashley's medical fund and transplant fund. So please buy a cookbook today. Please tell your friends and family, post information about Ashley on your Facebook page, MySpace....send a mass email to everyone on your address book...please help me get these cookbooks out of my living room. Now Ashley was originally scheduled to go to Shands Hospital/Liver Clinic yesterday, February 9. However, we have reschedule it for Wednesday, February 18. Ashley will have labs done tomorrow and we will also submit a stool card to her pediatrician for testing (Ashley still has small amounts of blood in her stool). Right now, I am not sure what the plan is for Ashley's visit to the liver clinic other than the normal exam...

There is only 4 months left of school, 4 months left to plan a summer vacation, 4 months left to enjoy some free time without kids. As the kids get older it has become harder to plan ahead for anything because of their activities. we planned to go home during Spring break to see family in Mobile, Alabama but now that is not going to happen. Brad has a baseball tournament scheduled for the weekend after Spring break and of course he will have practice during Spring break. Ashley and I are planning to go to Lakeland, Florida to watch the Studio 5D Dance Company compete at Star Quest which is the weekend before Spring break. So now we are planning ahead and hope to be in Mobile sometime this summer but we aren't exactly sure when. School is out for the summer on June 5. Brad will have the All Star Baseball Tournament sometime during the first or second week of June and then his AAU Baseball team will more than likely have a couple of summer tournaments. Ashley will attend a summer dan...