beyond expectations...

I didn't know if I would meet my committed goal; however, with friends (old and new), family members, strangers, and neighbors supporting me I have raised $2,565.

That. is. two. thousand. five. hundred. sixty. five. dollars. going towards finding a Cure for breast cancer.

That is amazing.

I am confident that collectively our dollars WILL make a difference.

Thank you:
Bruce, Mary, Kelli, Mike, Courtney, Jana, Jeff, Jayne, Amelia, Katie, John, Amber, Tim, Tiffany, Abe, Holly, Amber, Victoria, Roy, Marcia, Angie, Allen, Papaw, Sara, Casee, Edward, Cherilyn, Todd, Sean, Michael, Patti, Laura, Wes, Stacy, Jules, Lane, Melissa, Lindsey, Steve, Angela, Meridith, Oliver, Janie, Craig, Candice, Babe, Pop, Rob, The Stidham gang, Andy, Kari, Ralph, Marie, Chris, Wilson and Nora.

Thanks to my sitter and my neighbor Mary too for helping me with the kids so I can get some training time in... less than 4 weeks to go!

* update* make that two. thousand. SIX. hundred. sixty. five. dollars.

a bucket of thanks

Papaw,

As I type this Wilson in playing outside in his sandbox. Thankfully it is not filling with water and he is staying dry in the little monsoon we are having.

With all this rain I think I could fill quite a few buckets with water, but I know I could fill even more buckets of thanks for all your help these past two weeks. Thank you for: Coming and spending time with us. Helping me with the housework. Helping with the yard work. Cleaning our cars. Getting groceries. Being laid back. Building a fantastic sandbox and tree house. Wrestling with Wilson. Playing Papaw Robot. Walking the dogs. Helping with bath-time. Tagging along to doctors appointments and holding a screaming little girl. The list could really go on... 

I really don't know what I would have done without you yesterday. It was a busy and rainy day filled with multiple doctors appointments (Wilson has his first ear infection.). A day when another set of hands helped make life a little easier. 

Thank you Dad! We miss you already. Hope you have fun in Colorado!

We love you! 

Beautiful Quilt, Beautiful Friend

Have you ever seen a more beautiful quilt?

I haven’t.


To me our baby girl’s quilt is even more beautiful because it was made by a beautiful and amazing woman. Angie.

Angie is one of my dearest friends. We grew close during our 3 ½ years in Alaska and I hope we remain close until we are old and gray. I have mentioned her, and my other AK friends, on here before. They are ALL amazing women that I truly admire.

Angie is a wonderful mother of two fantastic children- Ashlyn and Christopher. She is a talented artist. She is creative and thoughtful. She is intelligent and inspiring. I am so thankful for her and our friendship. I am also grateful that she and the kids were able to come and visit us this past August. I have neglected to blog about it, but there is no time like the present…


After 3 ½ years apart, Angie and the kids flew up for a visit and it was a wonderful week! (After we left Alaska Angie and her family stayed there for 6 months until the Army sent them to Germany. Pregnancies and grad school had kept us from seeing each other. Now, they live in California and we WILL NOT go three years without seeing each other again.)


I had to work on two days of Ang’s stay but we made the best of it. One of my work days everyone joined me for a couple hours. The kids were able to see the horses and play in my treatment room.

I think the kids were impressed with the horses, but I was impressed with Angie. Later that day, during the kids' nap time, she bravely took all three children (ages: 4, 2.6, and 1.5) to the grocery store (a grocery store she had never been to before) and then came back to the house and made us a wonderful dinner. Now I don't know about you all, but grocery shopping with children during nap time is not always an easy experience. Impressive.


Most of our time was spent corralling kids, laughing, talking (oh boy, there was a lot of talking!) and smiling. We mostly hung out at the house playing and exploring the beach.

But we did make it out to eat a couple times...

and had one memorable trip up to Vancouver, BC where we took the kids swimming in a pool of feces and I made Angie pay for everything (I forgot my wallet).


Oh... are you still thinking about the pool of feces? Okay. I will tell you more... A little boy (NOT one of ours) had an accident in the pool. Angie spotted it and I quickly asked the father if his son may have had an accident. The boy looked embarrassed, but the father quickly said that it wasn't his son and they continued to swim. Thank goodness for chlorine.


Even though the pool trip was memorable my favorite part of their visit was watching our children form friendships:

They pounced on the dogs.

Took baths. (Sorry no naked children pictures here, but we did take them.)


Read stories.

Danced.

Rode bikes.

 And took pictures.

It was a great visit!!

Thank you Angie! Thank you for your friendship.

Thank you for your visit

and this BEAUTIFUL quilt.

We love you, YOU are beautiful!

March for Babies

The March for Babies walk was today and it was a beautiful day, with a beautiful turn out. We walked 3 gorgeous miles along the Spokane River for a wonderful cause. Thanks for all of your support!!!