Waves

Tricia, Gwyneth and I spent the past 24 hours in Waves, NC with some of Tricia's childhood friends, the Aiello family. The Aiellos are down on vacation for the week and invited us to spend some time with them at their beach rental, and, of course, we jumped at the chance for a break from the norm. Nothing more than spending quality time with friends, which is exactly what we wanted.

Gwyneth loves exploring new places, especially new places with lots of stairs.

Thanks for singing for us!

I kept getting this little one confused with Gwyneth.

Lots of great pasta (and crabs!) when you spend time with an Italian family!

Mario Kart!

Tricia has always spoken so highly of Amy and her family, so it was great to finally meet everyone.

For a rowdy group of yankees, they've certainly got lots of warm southern hospitality. Thanks so much for allowing us to interrupt your vacation!

Nate

65_RedRoses Documentary PreSale!

The DVD of Eva's documentary, "65_RedRoses" is now on presale through the end of May! I'm ordering my copy today Here. I've seen an abbreviated version, and can't wait to see the rest!

Eva did more than just about anyone else I know to raise awareness of Cystic Fibrosis and Organ Donation during her life, and with this film, she'll continue to do the same for a long time coming.

Nate

Goodbye, Sweet Emily

Less than two days after Tricia and I watched Eva's online memorial service together, we received the news that our beautiful friend, Emily Haager has also past away.

We had the honor of meeting Emily a few summers ago...I'm pretty sure she and her family are the only people in the world who travel every summer from the west coast of the US to vacation on the tiny island of Ocracoke, NC. Last summer, Tricia and I made it a point to spend the night in Ocracoke while Emily and her family were here. We had a great time with Emily and the Haager family, and we were looking forward to seeing them again this year.

Here is a video that explains part of the legacy that Emily leaves behind for her family and friends, and the entire CF community.

I know Emily's family would appreciate your prayers today. Tricia and I would also appreciate your prayer. It's been a tough winter for Tricia and the CF...we have lost so many friends to Cystic Fibrosis.

Nate

Walking

This Saturday morning, at Roanoke Island Festival Park, Tricia, Gwyneth and I will be marching for babies with The March for Dimes! If you can, please join us anytime from 9-12!

Nate

First Steps!

We've waited a long time for this! Gwyneth has finally taken her first few steps by herself! They're still very shaky, and it will probably be a while longer before she's really able to walk, but we're very excited!!! We shot the two videos below with my phone tonight before bed!

KidsFest This Friday!

I'll be the official photographer for KidsFest this year! Hope to see you there on Friday with Tricia and Gwyneth!

Nate

GO!

As we were spending several hours together at Duke today, waiting during Tricia's appointments, I taught Gwyneth a new word! Here she is tonight showing it off in her walker!

Nate

Family Photos for Team France!

You may have heard by now that Tricia and I are going to France this summer for a week with my band to play some music and offer our time and energy to serving the people of Grenoble. We're stoked as this will be the first time that Tricia and I will go together on an overseas trip.

My good friend, bandmate and killer photographer, Rich Coleman and I have teamed up for an event that will both offer affordable family photos and help raise support for our trip.

"Family Photos for Team France" will take place on Saturday, April 17.

ColemanShots and Nathan Lawrenson Photography are teaming up to offer family photo sessions in exchange for a donation to the MilePost13 Band's trip to Grenoble, France.

These sessions are specifically available to anyone who wants "family" photos.

Photo sessions will take place outdoors at The Elizabethan Gardens on Saturday, April 17. Sessions with either Rich Coleman or Nathan Lawrenson are available at:
9am
10am
11am
12pm
2pm
3pm
4pm
5pm

This means that there are only 16 sessions available (only 13 sessions now). Photo sessions are scheduled for 55 minutes each, although depending on the size and cooperation of each family, a session could be as quick at 30 minutes.

Photo sessions of this kind are typically valued at around $200, but our goal is both to offer you an affordable option for family photographs and to raise financial support for Team France. To learn more about Team France, please visit http://nhc2france.blogspot.com

You can learn more about this event at our Facebook Event, "Family Photos for Team France". If you are interested in participating in this event, please visit the Facebook event page and follow the instructions for setting up a session.

And, you can check out my latest photo shoot on my Photo Blog!

Thanks!

Nate

Happy 2nd Transplantiversary Tricia!!!

Today is Tricia's second "transplantiversary"! I'll write more about it later, but I wanted to throw this post up for anyone who would like to tell Tricia "happy transplantiversary!"

Nate

Hearing Loss

Gwyneth's ABR went very well. The audiologist was able to get all of the info we needed. We found nothing contrary to her other tests, just more concrete data.

As I've explained before, Gwyneth has severe hearing loss in her right ear and mild to moderate hearing loss in her left ear. With the new information, the audiologist was able to adjust her hearing aids to a more accurate setting. Her left hearing aid was adjusted only slightly, while the gain (volume) in her right hearing aid was turned up significantly.

We're hoping with this new information and the adjustments to her hearing aids that her voice recognition will begin to improve, which will hopefully help her to develop her language skills.

It was also determined that her hearing loss is sensory neural, which is permanent. Again, not a surprise. For those who might ask, Gwyneth is not a candidate for cochlear implants at this point because the hearing loss in her left ear is not severe enough.

Gwyneth came out of her sedation very quickly, and although she was a bit grumpy, she did very well. She slept most of the way home.

Thanks for your prayer and encouragement. It's great to have some concrete information and to know that her hearing aids are now working properly.

Nate