I know no one is sitting around with baited breath waiting for Beth to publish her thoughts but I do know some like to get the updates on our family. So with that in mind ... the past few months in a nutshell.
Manny turned 5 on June 26. Considering the doctors thought he wouldn't make his first birthday, that's pretty amazing. Click this link to see more of those pictures. Here are a few highlights below.
Zoe turned 9 on May 25. She is a complex kid. I watch her some days and wonder what she'll be when she grows up.
Luke turned 11 on May 9. He was adopted at the age of 2 days old! He's private and I've probably already shared too much for HIS comfort level.
Sam will be 13 on August 31. Kind, responsible, capable. What a great young man. And shooting up tall quickly!!
Kaley (14) has started a cake decorating business. She's talented so we wanted to support her in this endeavor.
Just one of Kaley's Cakes (Her first Paid gig... for MDA)
Jacob will be 16 on July 7. He's almost as tall as I am and weighs about 20-25 pounds more than I do. I appreciate his muscles, especially as Manny grows!
In May we did a photoshoot for a new book I'm writing about the relationship of the MDA and the Firefighters. I've just received the final pictures for that so now it's time to do the typesetting and get it edited. To print soonish ... hopefully. Stay tuned.
We also did a photoshoot for the MDA's new fundraising event. This is the invitation to it.
In May, Dan and I did a training for his company's annual corporate training.
June 8 the kids finished the school year. This fall, Manny will be in Kindergarten, Zoe 4th, Luke 6th, Sam 7th, Kaley 9th and Jacob 10th. And yes, we homeschool all of them. And yes, it makes my brain hurt!
June 20th we got our new handicap accessible van! Manny named him "Elvin" and it's awesome. Couldn't be happier.
We still have our 15 passenger van (great condition) that we have for sale if you know of someone who needs one.
June 23 we went to Orlando to an Oley Foundation conference. That night was an awards ceremony and I was nominated for an "Advocate" award. Very honored. I have no clue who nominated me.
June 24 I was a keynote speaker for the conference speaking on how to better advocate for ourselves or our kids. That evening was another awards banquet, this one for our home health. Manny earned a special "Celebration of Life" award. He certainly embodies that!!
June 25 we went to the MDA local summer camp sponsor day.
June 26, on Manny's 5th birthday, he was named Gulfvan's "Person of the Year". He loved the presents and blowing out the candles!
The only other major thing going on is dealing with making sure Manny is getting the right TPN formula. Currently, there are some "issues" (understatement and I'll leave it at that).
I've always said ... if you don't hear from me for a while, picture us out living life to the full! I always think about the line from the Dead Poet's Society movie reciting the poem ... the Henry David Thoreau line about "I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life ..."
That's us.
