a whole lot of updates!!!

My head is full of varying topics today and I am not feeling well so let's hope this blog makes sense. I will also try my best not to ramble to much. Jude has been doing very well lately. He looks healthy and he is smiling a lot. Not to mention that he is really looking at us in the eye again. Thursday afternoon he has an appointment at Cooks with an orthopedic doctor. Jude's feet are really turning in and they seem to be starting to hurt him. We put his braces on and he does use the stander, but they still hurt. We will find out more from the doctor.

So this past weekend my family came in from Springfield which was very nice. Emily loves being around my family. She also tends to be very close to my aunt Caron. She kind of adopted her as her grandmother since my mom passed away when I was 7. Emily can get very touchy when it comes to the family doing things without her so we always have to explain to her about immediate and extended family. It's sometimes hard for her to grasp the concept. Anyway, my family does an amazing job of loving and including Emily and they even asked her to join in their family pictures. This is of my aunt and her "grandkids".

 

 

 

The Emily's Smile Box day went fantastic! I cannot say enough about The Ranch At Lonesome Dove! If you need an amazing party, wedding, or charity event contact Mike over there to help you out. The day started at 9:15 when Emily and her dad were registering people for the 3k/5k race that she wanted to support Jude.

 

At the beginning of the Race we had great signs donated by Hawkeye printing. They were so cute and we had one explaining Pediatric Stroke risks and what to do in the event of a stroke.

 

 

Someone actually gave her a bull horn!!! This is Emily announcing the start of the race with Miss Tarrant Katie Sicula. Katie will compete for Miss Texas USA in August and Emily will compete for Texas Teen USA in November. They have become friends and she is a fabulous role model for Emily

 

 
                                          Nurse Allen joined in the festivities along with Jude

 

Emily's best friend, Emily, and Faith enjoy a hay ride after the race

 

 

The official sponsor of the day The Anderson Team with Coldwell Banker in Keller, TX

 

 

We made 250 boxes to benefit local hospitals that were taken and distributed by volunteers

 

So it was a great day! In addition Emily received two more great donations that will fully cover the Christmas box making party and the start of the 2nd annual Emily's Smile Box day next year. We did learn some things. We will have the run either much earlier or later in the day, we will time the racers, and we will have a few more activities on hand. All in all I think it was a success. (Oh and after the event we received two auction donations for next year and Emmitt Smith signed football and a Jim Palmer signed baseball).

Lately there has been a lot of negativity on social networking sites and in the public due to recent tragic events. I enjoy social networking.........I truly do. I love looking at people's pictures they post and staying up with friends lives. I feel it a blessing that were have been given such a remarkable tool I our lifetime. I know some people find it annoying, but I personally love it.  However I read a lot where people can get overwhelmed with the negative. I think it may be the fact that I am getting older, but lately I have just breathed easier. Try not to let life get to you to much and try to see what's important. It's easy to hide someone on a social network site or just skip right past anything you think won't improve your life.  I have decided to just love all my friends and family for each unique contribution they supply to me. Everyone is different, but I firmly believe that everyone in my life has something beautiful to offer if I allow them to. However it takes stepping back and seeing their beauty to truly appreciate them.  

Lastly, I will close with a show I highly recommend you watch. It's called "The Crash Reel". For further information on it you can click here: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/crash-reel-tv-review-article-1.1397400 By chance I stumbled across this program last night and decided to watch it. By the end of the program Mike and I were in tears.........but not bad tears appreciating tears. I became interested in this program when I saw that the parents were not only helping a son with a massive traumatic brain injury, but they were helping their son with Downs Syndrome too. I don't want to go into the whole story and ruin it for you, but it's really worth watching. It's the first time I have wanted to reach out and write a family to tell them how inspiring they are! I also wanted to say, Holy awesome house...I love it!