Ice Cream Contest

Entering the contest which you can see here

Updated this post to add: This picture was taken at Give Kids the World, during Alex's Make A Wish trip. He loved the free ice cream shop and we visited it often! The workers in there started making Alex's favorite as soon as they saw them heading towards their shop! It was chocolate chip ice cream in a cone!

Maui was a blast!!!

It was hard to come back home! This was one vacation where I actually wanted to stay! What a great way to celebrate our 10th anniversary!

We had fun parasailing and snorkeling. The water is so clear and blue! We did some shopping and hanging out at the beach. I'd definitely consider going back some time!

Here are some pics for your enjoyment:


A room with a view


snorkeling pic


Sunset


Gorgeous flowers!


Our Anniversary dessert plate at the luau


The happy couple!


Creature from the black lagoon!

Visiting the Puppy People

We had a wonderful time visiting CARES in Concordia, KS. Alex loved the dogs, especially the Great Dane and the St Bernard! Yikes! I'm thinking a tad bit smaller than those!

Alex should be getting his dog in August. These dogs are amazing! I know that Alex is going to benefit from having a dog like this. I can't wait for our training class!

Prayers Please!

My cousin just had a biopsy done on her lymph nodes and it came back cancerous. There wasn't enough tissue to determine which type, but he didn't feel it was a lymphoma. They will be removing her tonsils next week, as they may be the culprit.

She is a survivor of breast cancer too. So she's been thru this hell once already and really doesn't deserve a second round!

She would appreciate your prayers and good thoughts as she starts this journey. I would appreciate your prayers for her as well! We are all scared right now. She is like the sister I never had, we tell each other everything. I am heartbroken right now.

I hate cancer!

I'm so excited!!

We're going to Kansas. Ok I know to most of you...big whoop huh? LOL We're going to the place that is training Alex's therapy dog!!! We get to watch them train and they get to evaluate Alex with the dogs. He'll be in 7th heaven (no not the TV show).

June 3rd! Can't wait!!!

Here's a link if you wanna go visit them: CARES

Hippity Hoppity Happy Easter Day!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter day!

Dear Mr President

You let us down yesterday. Yes you're hip and you're cool. The nation waited with baited breath for you to appear on Jay Leno.

All that charm, all that charisma, so witty. Dazzling smile, so confident. Until...

The dreaded slur againt Special Olympics....all that charisma and charm gone in a split second....and in it's place....Ugliness. Yes Mr President you were ugly.

It's time to take off the shiney armor, put the white steed in the barn and plant your butt in the Oval office. Open your mouth only when you can tell us you've cleaned up the banking system, created new jobs,the auto industry is solvent and the trillions of dollars of debt has been reduced. Otherwise....less is more.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!

For the life of me, I cannot believe I have a child who is 26 yrs old!! Of course I had him when I was 8......I was precocious.....

He is a good kid, always has been. Today he's in Chicago, touring around. They went to Notre Dame to watch UNO play hockey.

A couple of my friends had lunch yesterday, one just had a baby 6 months ago and the other is 3 months pregnant and they were asking me about finding out if my first two were boys or girls. I was like ummm...they didn't do ultra sounds back then unless they were sure you were having problems. I never had an U/S until Alex. I was never offered an amnio (which I wouldn't have done and I'm not even sure they did those either)or any other type of testing. So my first two were suprises. It was fun that way....I guess Alex was a surprise too..only not with sex, just with number of chromosomes!

I don't need to worry about Matt getting all crazy on his birthday in Chicago, getting stupid drunk and not finding his way home. He'll enjoy the sites and go back to the hotel, sober and knowing where he is. It's nice to have one kid that isn't a worry!!!

Updates on Emma Sage and Elliot

Emma Sage is home and the docs believe it's all viral...no cancer! Praise the Lord! Emma's family is grateful for your thoughts and prayers!

Elliot was sent home, but is not doing well. He may be headed to Children's hospital in Omaha. So the family could use your continued prayers!

Prayers Needed!

For two very dear friends of ours.

The first one is Emma Sage. She is in the hospital and they are still running tests. They have used the nasty "C" word, but we are all just very sure it's not that at all!!

The second is sweet Elliot. He is also in the hospital with pneumonia. He was scheduled for surgery on Friday to have his gallbladder removed, but this illness has postponed it.

Thank you for your prayers and positive thoughts! I know their mommies and daddies are very worried and would appreciate it!

A Lazy Saturday

Boy that sounds like I'm laying around, eating bon bons and watching re-runs of Oprah.....but in my reality it means I'm doing laundry at my own pace and filling in the gaps with Facebook!

Not much going on around here. Last week I had the stomach flu and Alex managed a sinus/eye infection combo. We're both on the mend now. My dad also landed in the hospital and required two stents! He's doing fine now, btw.

Next week we meet with a psychologist regarding Alex's behavior (we have to meet with him first, before we see a psychiatrist). It has gone downhill again and has become a PITA for us. As much as I don't want to medicate him anymore, it's obvious he cannot be without something. He is so impulsive, distruptive and down right defiant. School complains, daycare complains and we complain. We can't go anywhere as a family because his behavior is so bad, it's not worth the aggrevation and nasty stares we get. I'm tired of being a prisoner of my own home, where Alex's behavior isn't much better, but at least we can put him to bed without strangers staring at us with distain.

Tonight is Parent's Night Out with our DS Parent's group. Looking forward to it. They provide sitting so we can enjoy adult time. We sure need it! I do pity the sitters though (see above paragraph) but if they keep him playing, he'll be fine.

I'm so excited!

Alex may be getting his service dog in June or Aug. We need to send a video of him, doing everyday things, so they can get a feel of his personality and match a dog to him.

It will be fun times. The two cats will panic and remain panicked for days! LOL I hope I'm ready for a dog.......but I am re-assured that the dog will be will trained which helps!

Alex LOVES dogs. He's going to be so excited!!!

What Internet Symbol Are You?

I Am LOL

The internet is always cracking you up. You could waste the day away finding things to laugh at. You're usually the first one to find a new funny video, picture, or website. You're always up for wasting time online, even if (especially if) you're at work. You also tend to spend a lot of time chatting, especially with people who make you laugh out loud.

What Internet Slang Are You?

I am so ready for Spring!

Who isn't? We have snow on the ground and freezing drizzle on tap for tomorrow.

Come on Spring... let's move it, move it!!! I'm ready! At the very least can we have temps above 35 during the day?? Puh-leeeeaze???

Who's with me??????

What's Your 80's Song?

I am "Time After Time"

If you were transported back to the 80s, your life would be all about reflecting. You're a serious, earnest person - and you couldn't help but think a lot about how things were back then. You'd spend a lot of your time writing, researching, and learning. You would either become a social anthropologist - or a crazy guru with a knack for predicting the future.

What's Your 80s Karaoke Song?

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY!

The birthday boy was excited to head for school today! He knows mommy is bringing cupcakes for treats! And he loves his cupcakes!!

I can't believe it's been 9 yrs! Seems like yesterday, seems like forever. We woke up 9 years ago, me with labor pains, hubby with fear I think, but the whole world was in front of us! Our baby boy would born that day. Boy were we unprepared for the ride we were about to take!!!

I can chuckle at those naive parents of 9 yrs ago. It wasn't funny back then though.... it was dramatic and traumatic and scary and unreal. We were thrown head first into the deep end of the pool, the pool of trisomy 21. We barely kept our heads above water..gasping for air...a life preserver....a floating door...anything.

Today we can breast stroke, back stroke and high dive with the best of them! Today we toss out the life preserver to those who are just starting to tread water...slowly bringing them to the shore. We can now be the lifeguards, watching over and protecting those still swimming....

I should have done a winter analogy huh? Since it's only 9 degrees and snowing today!!! LOL

Happy Birthday Little Man! We've come a long ways baby!!

Is it just me or....

do you have alot of those oh I don't know what to call them... people who dress up or hold up the big cardboard signs and stand out on the street corner and wave at you? Omaha is chock full of them. I don't know how much they make, but holy cow it's COLD outside!!! You couldn't pay me enough!

Today it was women dressed up like the Statue of Liberty.... advertising for Liberty Tax Services (cute eh?). I saw 2 different ones...I actually waved at the one... is that bad? She seemed so nice and COLD. Poor thing. I felt she needed a friendly wave, bless her heart. Hubby thinks they're all crack whores working for their habit!!! LOL

I also saw a person with the big signs....for Old World Market. They're closing our stores here in Omaha.

Halloween brings out the costume shop goodies. Gorillas, pirates, grim reaper and mummies. The Maggie Moo cow is out once a while too... big udders on that one!!!

Also around town are the "Will work for Food" people. The -20 temps drove them indoors to the shelters, but since it's warming up a bit.... they'll be back out.

Is it just a midwest thing? Is it the desperate economy we're in??? Hmmmm things to ponder...

How neat is this?

I got a Christmas present from my grandma today. Yes she passed away in July but I got one!

My mom found 3 cross stitched pictures my grandma had made way back when (before her cateracts became too bad). Two were of ducks and geese and one was a kitchen type scene (jam jar, flowers, mixing bowl). My one brother has his PhD in wildlife biology and his dissertation was on wood ducks and my other brother is an avid hunter and a biologist and arborist. The duck and geese scenes were perfect for them (guess who got the kitchen one?). My mom had them framed and gave them to us today. My grandma only made 3 of them and had them stored away in one of her many sewing bins. They were meant for us!!

I'd like to think she was with us today and even got us gifts! Although rather than have gifts, I'd rather have her here, it was a nice surprise. I think my mom misses her the most!

Thanks Grams!! It's going up in the kitchen tonight! I miss you!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my friends!!!

One year ago today...

The world lost a wonderful mother, wife, sister, daughter, aunt and friend to that ugly disease known as cancer.

Your friends are thinking of you today, thinking of the last time we saw you, talked to you, hugged you! While we wish you were here, we know you're in glorious heaven, watching over us!!

Your faith was so strong, your grace during the most challenging of times was inmeasurable. I can only hope to be half the faithful servant you were, to be half the mother and wife you were. You left big shoes to fill!

Thinking of you also Tom, Kurtis, Ryan and Lisa. You must miss her so.

You can read all about Annette's journey on her blog and now her beautiful sister Lisa is keeping it going at "Grace Between the Lines"

Love you girlfriend! Until we meet again!