Family update

Things are fairly calm for our family at the moment, and we certainly welcome it. Brian is in Maui this week for a space conference. I know, I know...Maui...what a rough life. But I have to say that neither of us like really hot, humid weather anymore, and he says it's not as much fun when I'm not with him anyway. So it's not all fun and games for him. He'll roll in Saturday and leave again on Sunday for 2 weeks...this time for Salt Lake City.

Laura is enjoying her floor this year. The group she had last year as an RA was always into something and she was constantly on guard. This floor is, for the most part, much more cohesive and fun. I think she called them "an RA's dream" or something like that. She deserves it after some of the stuff she had to deal with previously. Wedding plans are kind of slow but steady. We have a long way to go, but at least some of the big things are done. Now that things are rolling along with school, finally Laura & Ian are getting to spend some time together.

Amy is on duty in her dorm a lot, but she said it's because she only has classes 2 days a week. Next trimester she'll be in labs at 6am 4 days a week, so her duty hours should slow down. She's getting by pretty much with her leg braces but is thankful to have the wheelchair on the days she knows she'll be on her feet a lot. She's also taking 22.5 hours of academics since she added the independent study food writing class; she's a busy girl. This weekend she and 3 of "the boys" are coming down. Rumor has it they're cooking Mexican food for us one night!

Bethany's working hard in her classes and is holding onto some impressive grades. She also continues to volunteer several hours a week for the hospital and the fire department. Her boyfriend is gone for a month, and I know she misses him a lot. But we've enjoyed some girl time this week, and I really enjoy spending time with her. She's a great girl!

My big news is that I've begun walking 5 mornings a week with a neighbor, and already I feel better. We walk for an hour with her dog and often one of her two girls, and believe me, we feel rather accomplished when we get home! Having someone waiting at 7am in the cul-de-sac is a great motivator when I'd rather sleep in. Because the walking makes me feel good, I've also begun eating smarter and drinking more water. Baby steps. We're in our 4th week already. One of these days I'm going to look in the mirror and see a new me, right?!!

Annie, the wonder beagle, still keeps us guessing about what we'll deal with each day. She can be perfectly fine at night but wake up with a rumbly tummy in the morning. Because she doesn't always digest her food well, she sleeps in a port-a-crib each night. I'd forgotten how abnormal this is until my neighbor laughed about it...especially when I told her we cover Annie up with a fleece blanket each night. Our little beagle has become a "princess!" But she's almost 11, or 77 in human years. She deserves a little pampering, don't you think?

Blessed...

I have to say that I'm just blown away with the many awesome friends we have. Life is rich and full and we feel so loved. Thanks, all of you, for loving our family thru thick and thin. Despite everything, we're truly blessed.

Mile High Myles

Laura has a tiny little friend at her church in Golden named Myles. She adores that little guy, so on 26 September, we're going to participate in a fundraiser walk for Down's Syndrome in City Park in Denver in honor of Myles. I think it's going to be a blast. Bethany and I are going up the day before to spend the night, and we'll get Amy so she can have a night of air conditioning, too. We'll all take turns pushing her in the wheelchair during the walk. I'm excited about doing this. I've always felt that kids with Down's Syndrome are really God's angels on earth. What fun it will be to walk with them. We'll meet Ian & Laura there, and finally I'll get a chance to meet little Myles after hearing all about him since his birth. I can't wait! Oh, and Mile High Myles is the team name...pretty clever!

http://www.mhdsa.org/step-up-walk/ is the link if anyone wants to join the team virtually! Just don't forget to register under Mile High Myles. It's only $25 until Sept 11 for an adult and $35 after that. And if you feel like actually walking, that's even better! If you're registered, you even get a pancake breakfast. Hope to see you there!

Girls, girls, girls...

There's nothing like hearing the girls voices to warm this mom's heart. Today I was able to talk for quite awhile with Laura for the first time since she left several weeks ago. We were able to get caught up without interruption...huge since she's a really busy girl. And I have to say that she sounds/looks wonderful (thanks to Skype, I also got to see her.) She's happy and her senior year is getting off to a terrific start. The 3 previous years of hard work both as an RA and in the classroom are yielding great benefits for her in terms of experience. I'm really proud of her.
Last night I e-mailed with Amy a bit, and it sounds like she's still kind of flying high from her talks with administrators and teachers the other day. Today her suite mate moves in and I know she's looking forward to that. And she survived her first night of being on duty as a new RA last night. Yep, I'm really proud of this girl, too.
This morning I had the opportunity to drive over by the school to watch (across a field) Bethany ride a mechanical bull with her sports psychology class. She sure is a cowgirl at heart, and it showed in her form. A natural! It was mostly boys who pounced on this opportunity. In the time I watched, she was only the second girl to climb on. Yep, this girl makes me grin and I'm pretty proud of her, too!
My neighbor complimented me the other day on what fabulous girls we have, and it was a sweet thing to hear. But I made sure to tell her that while we'd love to take the credit, it's definitely God in them that she sees. We're their parents, but they're only on loan to us for a little while. They're God's girls! We sure do love them, but HE loves them even more.