Happy Birthday, Jacob!

Today was my youngest son's birthday. He is 8 years old now. Hard to believe he is growing up.

Jacob is a smart boy. He has a kindness about him that touches my heart. He is so polite, and always tries to do the right thing. He loves his video games LOL, what 8 year old doesn't?! Jacob is imaginative and silly :) I hope he knows I've been thinking about him all day, and wishing he has had the best birthday ever!

I love you, Jacob!! Happy Birthday, sweet boy!!



This is the hospital picture taken just before we brought him home.









xoxox~

New pics

I just wanted to add a few new pics of my little "ray-a" sunshine. We had a fun weekend at the park. We LOVE LOVE LOVE our dog, no matter how silly he is (he really needs to be trained, and we are working on that). And just a couple of random wildlife pics.


Raia, and at the park:

Jack-in-the-box Raia!

My pig-tailed cutie :)

I was underneath this big thing she was climbing on at the park, peeking at her through a large step.

A couple of kids use this park and the surrounding woods to shoot their air soft guns. There are TONS of these little plastic ammo balls all over the ground, in all different colors. She was showing me a white one she had picked up. "Great!" I say..."Another thing for you to put in your mouth and swallow!" Ugh!! It was a cute picture though, she was so proud! And Granny, Nana, Doc, and Gran-Gran, don't worry! We never stay if those boys are in sight!!

Going down the slide!


**One thing I LOVE about living here is that all of the neighborhoods, or "villages" as they are referred to here, have several different parks, all within walking distance from your home. Another little PERK of living in our little bubble here in Texas :)

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Gibson:

Spoken in my best Gibson voice, "Mmmm! KONG time!! Treats!! Now leave me aloooone!!" --A KONG is a special toy you can put treats into (Gibson loves treats AND peanut butter in his!), and *"it will periodically release food or treats. The resulting rewards ensure longer enriching playtimes." [It] "will engage and stimulate your dog, while reducing boredom, destructive behaviors, and separation anxiety." *From the KONG website.-- If you don't have one for your dog, you should get one...they are awesome! They even make them for cats!

Raia just loves Gibson...they are buddies :)


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Random Wildlife:

This cute little guy comes at night and eats the cat food on the back porch :( As animal lovers, we just let he and his two raccoon buddies come and go as they please, as long as they keep the peace with the cats. And oddly, the cats don't even seem to be bothered by them, we have even seen them eat together out of two bowls side by side.

While we were at the park, this HUGE bird flew out of the tree above us and took off. I just got the camera in time to snap a pic. This is a cropped version of the original.

And this is uncropped. There were two really big nests in two different trees right there in the park. It was so neat to see it so close!



Thanks for checking in :)


Until next time.....

xoxox~

So sorry I didn't get this post up over the weekend as promised. Raia has been sick, and now I am getting it too. I usually have time to post late at night after she is asleep, but the past couple of nights she hardly slept.

There is lots going on in my/our lives right now. First, and most importantly, Sunday before last I rededicated my life to Christ! I went to the front of the church with Nathan and my sweet friends Cathy and Tammy by my side, and told the pastor that I was ready to rededicate my life. We all bowed our heads and prayed, then a lady took me and Nathan to a room to talk more. It was great! I can tell you though, it has been so hard. I have felt Satan trying to pull me down and make life hard for me. At night, before I put Raia to bed, I rock her, and we say our prayers. Really, she just says the "Dear God" part with me, and then I pray out loud and she is usually asleep within minutes. That is a time when I feel a calm wash over me and I feel completely at peace. I have been doing a lot of reading in the Bible, and I got a few books from another friend, Jenn, one called 'The Relationship Principles of Jesus' by Tom Holladay. I wanted to read that one in particular, to learn how to strengthen my relationship with Nathan, and with God. I am learning so much, it's amazing :) I am so excited about this journey! I am sad that we didn't get to go to church yesterday because Raia was sick. It would have been her first time to go and be in a Sunday school class. But, there is next Sunday! And the Sunday after...and so on! On March 26th and 27th, Nathan and I are attending a parenting conference at the church. We will learn how to raise our child the way God wants us to, I think it will be neat :) I've never been to anything like this, so I am really excited! While we are there, Raia will be in the child care classes with other kids her age. It will be good for her, and for us!

Next, I wanted to let you guys know that Raia is now sleeping in her own bed!! Today is actually 2 weeks that she has slept in her own bed (with the exception of last night since she was sick, I couldn't get her to sleep after 2 hours of trying, so I let her sleep with me). Her little bed is next to mine, and she usually sleeps in it until the wee hours of the morning, 4 or 5 am, and then she comes and crawls into my bed. Nathan has cleaned out her room, and has finished laying the carpet down, so it is only a matter of time before she is in her own room *sigh*. As much as I wanted this, it will be sad that I won't have my little cuddle bug to snuggle up with. She's growing up so fast!


Believe it or not, these pics were taken in the dark. The flash on this camera works!



Next, and this is a doozie.....we are going to Hawaii. A once in a lifetime opportunity for us. Nathan's job is taking him there to work for a week, so his airfare and hotel room and most of the food is covered. He gets 3 days off to spend enjoying Hawaii, and they encouraged him to bring his family along, as most of the other guys do, so YAY! We are going to Hawaii in April for about 8 or 9 days. I am scared to death to fly for 8+ hours with a 2 year old, so if anyone has any tips on that, I'm all ears! There are no overnight flights (we checked); that would have been nice. That way we could have all slept most of the way.

Well, I think that's about all I have for now. Thanks for checking in! I will leave you with a few more pics of Raia, she is such a cutie pie!


Pigtails!!!




This last one is Raia helping me feed Gibson. She helps every day. She just loves that dog! I took pictures of the whole process, and was going to do a blog post about it, but I never got around to it :( Maybe you will see this picture again (you know, now that I have officially made myself feel guilty for not posting about it LOL!).

xoxox~

Please stay tuned...

Sorry I have not put up a post in a few weeks. I promise to do so this weekend! I have lots to write about, I just need to find a time when I can type it all out - it will probably take me a while! Good things are happening in my life...our lives, and I couldn't be more excited! We are all fine, happy and healthy :)

Thanks for checking in, even though I didn't give you much to read today!

xoxox~

I thought this little video was great! It reminds me so much of my Mom and Dad :)

An elderly couple walked into the lobby of the Mayo Clinic for a checkup and spotted a piano. They've been married for 62 years and he'll be 90 this year. Check out this impromptu performance. We are only as old as we feel, it's all attitude. Enjoy! They certainly do!

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Dear Dad,

I remember one year Mom and I made you a cake for your birthday; it must have been your 40th, I only remember the music notes we put on the cake in white icing! Oh, how I wish I could make you a cake now! Sadly, I don't think it would make it 6 or 700 miles in one piece :(

I have always admired you for your intelligence, I don't know if I've ever told you that. I also think it's cool that you can play so many instruments, and that you are a composer. I used to brag about you to all my friends, still do :)

There are many things about you that make me smile or laugh, like your shiny bald head (remember that time at the church in Fayette when you were sitting in the choir loft, and I was in the balcony - we made eye contact and I made motions like I was buffing my head to make it shiny like yours, hahaha! I made you chuckle that day :D I love that shininess!). I will forever cherish and have great appreciation for puns - YOU are the Pun Master! And breaking out into song whenever a moment calls for it! I was SO embarrassed when I was a teenager when you'd do that, and now as an adult I think it's wonderful!

I am proud to be your daughter, and wish I could be more like you in so many ways. Thank you for putting up with me and loving me even when I made it hard to. I love you, Dad. I hope you have a great birthday!

Love,
Sara

Time for another vote!!

Another way to help raise money for SMA! With another vote, you can add $5,000 more to the efforts the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation is putting forth to find a cure for SMA. You can also post it to your Facebook page after you vote so your friends who supported us in the Chase campaign can jump in and help out once again! (I will copy and paste from Victoria's blog)

I'm no hero. No more so than any parent fighting for their child. But, if I win the "Hero Next Door" contest, that means $5,000 more for SMA research and awareness. And so, I am asking for your vote once again.

Care2 -- the company who hosts our PetitionToCureSMA.com, who has been incredibly supportive of our cause, and who we simply love -- has teamed up with Tom's of Maine to create the Hero Next Door contest -- every day people doing more. We were nominated, along with dozens of others, and here is the neat thing -- we made it to the top 10 finalists! Now this is where you come in...

Here is the breakdown:

* Voting ends February 26th.
* You can only vote ONCE.
* The person with the most votes wins $2,500 for their charity and $2,500 for themselves -- which, in my case, would obviously go directly to research and awareness because there is nothing more important! So that's $5,000 for SMA -- all with a simple vote.
* Technically only one person can win and so "Victoria" is the name you see, but the nomination is clearly for all of us -- including Gwendolyn.

How to vote:

1. Go to: Hero Next Door
2. Click on Vote for Victoria. (It is the green button at the bottom of the page.)
3. Fill out the form (name, birthday, email and zip code).
4. Click on the animal picture (to help stop spammers).
5. And then hit "Vote" and that is it.
6. You will see a big "Thanks for voting for Victoria Strong" to let you know your vote went through.
7. Since you can only vote once, help spread the word by also using the "Tell a Friend" features on Facebook, email and Twitter by clicking on the icons on the right.

And again, all $5,000 will go to the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation to support SMA research and awareness! Thanks for once again supporting us and getting your voting skills out! We are all becoming pros :)

I can honestly say, this woman is a true hero...not only to her beautiful little girl Gwendolyn, but to the many families out there fighting along side her to find a cure for SMA. She and her husband, Bill, received Gwendolyn's diagnosis when Gwendolyn was about 6 months old, and have not laid down and let this beat them - OR Gwendolyn. Instead, they are doing everything in their power to raise awareness and money to end SMA forever. They have a BLOG where many people follow the daily life of Gwendolyn and the goings-on of fundraising and awareness. They have had triathletes competing in a triathlon to raise money, the Unite For The Cure program (they challenged 20 families directly affected by SMA to raise $5,000, and the final total raised was $146,643.70!!! The goal was only $100,000, and they passed that by a mile!), they raised $44k in their Sponsor-A-Mile program where they traveled 4,816 miles round trip in an RV from Santa Barbara, CA to Vicksburg, MS and back to introduce Gwendolyn to her 104 year old great-grandfather (WOW!)! These are just a few things this wonderful family has done. I am deeply touched by their love for their daughter, and their passion to end this horrible disease.

If you need a refresher on SMA, here ya go:

SMA is the leading genetic killer of infants. It is a terminal, degenerative disease that results in the loss of nerves in the spinal cord and the weakness of the muscles connected with those nerves. SMA impacts the ability to walk, stand, sit, eat, breathe and even swallow. The mind and spirit are no different from that of a healthy baby, but the body eventually fails. Typical babies with SMA Type 1 have a life expectancy of between one and two years and they require around-the-clock medical assistance and monitoring.

SMA Statistics:

* SMA is the #1 genetic killer of children under the age of 2.
* SMA is estimated to occur in nearly 1 out of every 6,000 births.
* The gene mutation that causes SMA is unknowingly carried by 1 in every 40 people or nearly 8 million Americans.
* There is currently no treatment and no cure, but the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) selected SMA as the disease closest to treatment of more than 600 neurological disorders.
* Researchers estimate that we are as close as only a few years away from finding a treatment and/or cure.
* Because scientists know so much about SMA, SMA is considered a "model" disease with direct impact on research into many other diseases potentially benefiting millions of people.

So, if you've got a minute to spare, and I know you do, please follow the link above to vote for Victoria in the Hero Next Door contest. Actually, click here, it will take you directly to the voting page :) It costs you nothing.
If you have another 30 seconds, and I know you do (otherwise you wouldn't be here, reading my blog), then please go sign the Petition to Cure SMA. Everyone in your household can sign it; you do NOT have to be 18 years old.

On your mark...

Get set...

GO!!!


Thanks for checking in :)

xoxox~