Jaxsons first Buddy walk!

Sunday was a big day for Jax and I. We attended our first Buddy Walk ever! Yes, Jax is almost 7, and never been well enough for a Buddy Walk until this year. The one year we planned and had t shirts made, me and Jax spent it in the hospital, while daddy and brothers walked for us!
It was kind of a last minute thing. We weren't going to go because we hadn't planned anything. We had no team name, no shirts, nothing! But a friend backed out at the last minute with a sick kid, so we took her tickets. One reason we didn't plan on going was I was having a hard time with the cost. It would have cost my family almost 140.00 to go! I think that is ridiculous! I'm all for raising money, but charging the DS families seemed a little much to me.
The day was a little bit of a bummer, as things tend to be with Jax health. It was blasted hot, and we had to leave early because Jax was overheating big time. He didn't get to enjoy a thing, because he was listless and pale. We had to keep a close eye on his color and respirations, so we didn't push him too far. I stripped him of his shirt, and put water on his head, but we finally had to just get him out of the heat.

The highlight of the day was meeting a fellow orphan who was actually in the same orphanage as Arina! I can't even begin to tell you how surreal it is to see these two together. To know one was just upstairs from the other, but they never met. Now they meet, thousands of miles from their birthplace, with opportunities and freedoms they never would have had otherwise! It truly is an amazing feeling!
And every single picture we have of them is blurry! Neither girl would sit still. Arina is especially bad right now. She is going through this manic faze where she is just a holy terror! Hopefully it passes soon because she is making me nuts!

The team we latched on to at the last minute. Notice who's between Jax and Arina? The amazing Sophia, whose momma worked for nearly two years to get home from Russia!!

The walk was at Angels stadium, and my little baseball player was loving every minute of being on a big league field!!

Next year we plan on going all out, with a great team name and even better shirts! Now if we can just get Jax to cooperate with that plan!!