Wednesday, October 16, 2013

AHA Heart Walk 2013

This past weekend was the 2013 AHA Heart Walk and it was amazing! This is always one of my favorite days of the year because we get to celebrate Max as a success story as well as all the other heart survivors. It's such a sweet event, and what made it even sweeter is that we had so many of our friends and family show up to support us. We have an amazing support system and are so thankful for that. It is estimated that there were over 12,000 walkers there on Saturday for the 5K and, so far, Nashville has raised over 1.4 million dollars! Isn't that incredible. Tyler and I are so incredibly happy to say that our team helped contribute to that number. Our goal this year was $10,000, but we blew past that and have raised more than $11,500!!! Additionally, Eric has a separate team devoted to Max and he raised $1,600 all my himself!! Isn't that amazing?! We are so humbled by and thankful to everyone that donated and/or has supported us in so many ways. God has blessed us in more ways than we could ever count!

Here are some photos of our special day and the special people that shared it with us...



Every good morning starts with Lucky Charms


We got to the event super early because Channel 2 News wanted to highlight our story on the live news at 8am. They interviewed Tyler and he did a great job of telling people why the Heart Walk is important to us. The whole time Tyler was talking, Max kept asking for fruit snacks while picking his nose. Silly boy!





The Channel 2 News reporter that interviewed us


The "Top Walker" tent


Uncle E, Chelsea, and Tressa Kate joined us in the "Top Walker" tent early that morning. This is for people that raise over $1,000 for their team. Eric raised over $1,600 all by himself for Max's team. We were so grateful to him for that! We enjoyed a nice omelet, coffee, a photo booth, massages, and an artist that draws caricatures. What a nice thing to do for top fundraisers! 






Getting our caricature done


Tripp, Thomas, and Ms. Abby getting ready to start the 5k`


Meg and Lilly


Everyone seemed to be really excited about the walk except for Max. 


Ms. Abby's friend, Necia, joined us.


Max was most excited the whole day about meeting Shrek


All the boys pushing the babies while sporting our new "Cardio Max" shirts...

Josh, Thomas, Eric, and Nick 


T and E pushing Max and Tressa Kate





Max wanted to finish the race by walking the last 1/2 mile and holding Uncle E's hand.


Our little heart warrior


Crossing the finish line with E.


But before crossing the finish line, he decided it was time to take a short break for some raisins. I thought this was hilarious! Everyone else is walking, and Max just sat down on the road to take a break and refuel.


Laurel, Matt, Mattie Bea and Henry made it the the walk to help support us.


The Three Musketeers!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Fun at Gentry Farm


Allison and I took the boys to Gentry Farm for some Fall fun. They had a ton of fun, for sure!












Of all the things to do at Gentry Farm, his favorite was the sliding down the slides. I wanted to tell him that we can do that anytime, but he was having too much fun to bring it up.


 Walker and Max...what a pair!!


Best friends! What would they do without each other?


 Happy Fall Ya'll!


What a sweet, sweet boy!


Taking a break



We took a fun hayride around the Gentry Farm grounds with Allison and Walker


We saw tons of cows while on our hayride and even saw a brand new baby calf that was born about 5 minutes before we saw it.



What a difference a year makes...



October 2012


October 2013
I can't even believe how much has changed in the last year!


October 2012
Barely walking


October 2013
I can barely keep up with him because he runs everywhere


October 2012


October 2013
From baby to big boy
We went to Arrington Vineyards a few weeks ago to celebrate Mimi's birthday. It was a beautiful September afternoon so we decided to pack a picnic lunch and head out there for some food and wine. We had the best time visiting, and Max and Tressa Kate had fun playing together. 




Max and his Mimi



Max and Tressa Kate strolling through the vineyards. First date?


Max showed me around after his walk with Tressa Kate


Chelsea, Tressa Kate, and Eric
We love the three of them together and look forward to getting to know Chelsea and Tressa Kate




Another cute couple


Christmas card photo?


Silly faces


A boy and his stick


This is probably the best family photo we've ever taken.


Yay! Lets go shopping! Mom got a gift card to one of her favorite stores for her birthday.


I thought this picture was funny because Tressa Kate is doing something very sweet and Max is standing next to her just picking his nose. He's such a boy!