Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Years 2010!

We bid farewell to this past year with a mix of emotions. We enter into 2010 with much of the same. Uncertain of what lies ahead for any of us but equally confident that the faith by which we have relied on thus far, to see us through, will continue to be our ultimate guide. We look to God tonight and thank Him for His unwavering, unconditional love, even and most especially when we have questioned yet another obstacle placed before our littlest love. We are indeed blessed and look to 2010 with great hope. With that hope and steadfast faith, we will no doubt continue to find our way.

Our family wishes you all a very,very Happy New Year, abundant in love and laughter and overflowing with health and happiness. I have never been big on resolutions but thought I'd leave you with this. My wish is that I might live a little closer to these beautiful, simple words.

"People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, People may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, They may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; It was never between you and them anyway."

Mother Teresa~

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Christmas Bliss....Serenity!



















































































































































































































I'm so blessed....

I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family...precious kids and a loving husband. My husband Beau left me speechless this Christmas. He always goes above and beyond every Christmas and loves surprising me. We always tell each other not to exchange gifts but somehow that never happens. He always seems to amaze me and I always feel that I didn't do enough. Well this Christmas was very special...maybe because of all the ups and downs we faced over the year with our Kaylee bean. I opened my gift, an amazing, amazing diamond cross necklace. I saw it and was a goner from there. Well, Beau didn't stop there...he also wrote me a letter that took my breath away. The love poured onto this letter just gave me goose bumps. I would love to share it with everyone.

To my wife,

To my love...I am forever grateful to you for what you do everyday. You have given me two wonderful children that I would not change for the world. I have grown into a better man because of your dedication and commitment to our family. I am forever in debt to you for what you have done for Kaylee. You and only you saved our little girl! This is what you were put on earth for...saving Kaylee. You saved her from her horrible seizures due to your sense of details and dedication. Your demand of treatment and thereapy have been the success we see today, and that is why I am in debt to you.

You have been instrumental in the growth of our beautiful little Allison. She's so smart, beautiful, and caring...I look at her and see you. You truly are my rock! Everything is meant for a reason. God had a plan for us from day one. For us to meet and have the children we have today because he knew we were the right parents for the job. Still waiting to see what job he has for me though:) I know I'm not the easiest person to deal with but I just handle things differently.

I will be there for you through thick and thin. I will do whatever it takes to provide for this family to ensure we have a bright and loving future. What I gave you today is a small token of my thanks to you for being such a wonderful wife and mother. I love and need you more than you will ever know:) Wear this cross to give you the strength you need and to help you remember what is really important.

Love you today, tomorrow, and always

Beau


Do you see why I lost it?? My gifts finished with another present that revolves around the most important thing in my life, in fact they are my life: my family. I am blessed. Of course I already knew this and it wasn't because of the material gifts I received but rather the love that was expressed so unselfishly to me, by my children. By my husband. Our Christmas was amazing. Simply amazing. But my true gift, the ultimate gift is the gift of these beautiful souls that surround me. They are simply amazing. Not a moment went by on that day, especially in this very moment,that I wasn't reminded how blessed my life is.

A visit from Santa Claus

On Christmas eve, Santa claus came to visit grandmama's house. This Christmas was amazing because we spent it with our family. We are blessed to have such a big wonderful family. This Christmas was very special because we have a new addition to our family....beautiful Isabella Rose. She's 2 months old and is perfect in every way. She's our miracle baby along with our Kaylee bean. We are blessed to have two miracle babies in one room. They both seem to remain amazingly healthy. I think that guardian angels are watching extra vigilantly over them.

It was amazing to see the looks on Allison and Landen's face when they saw Santa Claus at the door. Allison couldn't stop staring and the first thing she did was give him a big hug. She looked very shy with her sheepish smile. She couldn't take her eyes off of him....it was as if she just witnessed a true miracle. Landen on the other hand wasn't to sure about Santa. He too just stared at him with his big blue eyes. At first, he didn't want anything to do with him, but once Santa mentioned toys his eyes lit up. We finally got Landen to sit on Santa's lap with help of bribery. It's amazing what candy and toys can do to a child. Allison was tickled to death when she got a cross from Santa.

A few days ago, we went to the mall to take some pictures with Santa. Allison picked out a cross from the treasure chest at church. At first, she wanted to give the cross to Kaylee which was very thoughtful of her. But as soon we arrive at the mall, Allison changed her mind and decided to give the cross to Santa. She figured that Santa would put her on the top list now. Santa at the mall was very shocked to get the cross. He kept hugging Allison and couldn't stop thanking her. If we looked closely at Santa, I think he had tears in his eyes. It was an awesome moment. Beau and I looked at each other and then to our children...we were overcome with emotion. Hard not to be when you have kids like ours. How the two of us managed to produce these remarkable children is beyond me.

It was a special moment to see Santa holding Isabella. It was so precious...Isabella is so beautiful just like a little angel. It makes you feel so blessed and thankful for these little moments. I just wanted to shout out to God and thank him for letting us witness this moment....it was truly magical. It makes you realize whats important in life. What Christmas is really about....FAMILY and our faith..being surrounded by your loved ones makes all your fears and worries just melt away. When we are all united we can move mountains.

Needless to say, the children really enjoyed Santa. I think our five year old Allison was pondering on Santa's voice. She kept saying wow that Santa sounds so much like uncle Matt. It took a lot of convincing that uncle Matt was at work and it couldn't be him. At the end, she clutched her cross and smiled everytime she looked at it. She kept saying, "mommy he did remember. He got me one too." I have to thank grandmama for that awesome touch. Grandmama has good connections with Santa.

The season for giving....The true acts of kindness.

Once again we are blessed to have such a thoughful family. Our 1p36 deletion support and awareness nonprofit organiaton launched a new website at http://www.1p36dsa.org/ You can support our organization by clicking on our website and donating to our mission of 1p36. Our mission states, "Helping individuals affected by chromosome 1p36 abnormalities overcome the obstacles they face to be able to lead healthy, happy and productive lives. We do this by providing support and education to their families and increasing awareness of chromosome 1p36 abnormalities in the public and medical community."

I am very proud of our nonprofit organization and website. I'm also very excitied that we officially got our 501c status. We are now able to get big named sponsors to support our mission and hopefully this will bring more public awareness worldwide.

A big heartfelt thanks to uncle Tim, aunt Beth, and cousin Erin in Seattle for donating $100.00 dollars to our 1p36 nonprofit organization. Your donation was the best Christmas present ever. We are honored and humbled by your support of our cause to raise much needed awareness of 1p36 deletion syndrome. Once again, thanks for your support. It means the world to us. We missed you guys at Christmas. It wasn't complete without the clan from Seattle and the Culvahouse clan from Florida. Hopefully next Christmas we can all be together...wouldn't that be a true miracle!

We also got an incredible heartfelt gift from Jim & Terri Philomeno (also known as Popeye & Grandmama) for donating $100.00 in honor of us to buy goats for third world countries. We have joined in the amazing miracle that helps children and families in need. These goats nourish hungry children and families with healthy milk, cheese, and yogurt. Goats also give a much-needed income boost by providing offspring and extra dairy products for sale at the market. Thank you Popeye and grandmama for making a difference in someone's life. This is what Christmas is all about...making miracles for others. What an awesome gift...helping a familiy make all their dreams come true.

You can click on www.worldvisiongifts.org/goat and help make a difference in a child's life. Its a great website. You can buy animals, water wells, help with education, hunger...the list goes on. What an awesome feeling to help others in need especially children!

Overall, we had a wonderful Christmas. Its amazing how fast the year goes by. Its been a rough year for us but we are now stronger and better people because of it. I wouldn't change a moment of it. It made us to who we are today....a better united family. We will continue our journey to 2010 with so much love and compassion....a journey of challenges and obstacles, a journey of beauty, grace, and hope.

For now I trust in Kaylee. In God. I circle back to what I have known for a very long time and that is: I never had the control to begin with.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuh