Beautiful Buttons!

I am participating in the March of Dimes' March For Babies on April 26th. As I've mentioned before, my friend Jodi had twins at 23 weeks, 1 day gestation in August 2007. Since then I've learned a lot about prematurity and have fallen in love with a little girl named Olivia. She just glorifies all that is miraculous in this world and has got to be my favorite baby of all time! Jodi had buttons made with Olivia's picture on them as well as ones with her twin brother Logan, who didn't make it.

Olivia Paige was born weighing only 1 lb, 1.5 oz. She's now just over 7 months old and weighs in at over 11 lbs!

I'm excited to participate in the March and have raised almost $400, which has got to be some sort of record for me! I guess I've just never been so passionate about a cause before. I'm also excited to get my buttons, as I have collected buttons since I was young and have lots of them saved, including ones with pictures of Wichita Wings players (remember them?!), old River Festival buttons, goofy ones I made in school, etc.

For everyone who has donated, I thank you. God plays his part, but I truly think that Olivia wouldn't be here and doing so well today if it wasn't for all the research funded by the March of Dimes. In the not so distant past babies born as early as her and Logan did not survive; period. It was rarely even attempted to save them. Even today some hospitals do not view 23-weekers as "viable." Looking at Olivia, how can you say she was not viable? So with the help of the March of Dimes, babies like Olivia have been given a chance at life, and also just as importantly research is being funded to understand why premature birth occurs and to prevent it from happening in the first place. If you're looking for a great cause to donate any extra money you may have laying around the house causing excess clutter, consider donating it to the March of Dimes (to my team please!). Jodi is kicking my butt and I could use a few more dollars!