Walk for JDRF - Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Walk for a Cure: JDRF

Saturday morning the city of Plano hosted a 5K walk to raise awareness and to raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The hospital I work for participated in this event. I would venture to guess we had over 500 employees, family and friends participating. There were many other organizations represented. The number of people participating was phenomenal.
For the past several weeks our hospital has been hosting many events to raise funds to support JDRF, from bake sales to dunking booths. In preparation for the walk each department was encouraged to design a flag. I was elected and volunteered for this challenge. For weeks I avoided designing the flag. We are always busy here in my home and this task seemed to keep getting knocked to the bottom of the priority list. It came down to the wire so I had to get it done. My kids pitched in and helped me. They had a blast designing the flag and I think it turned out nicely. Alan really enjoyed getting his feet painted and putting his mark on the flag. Erica helped to paint and design the flag. She painted her hand and placed her mark upon the flag as well.
We participated in the walk. It started at nine in the morning and my daughter had to be to work at ten. She could have opted out of the walk but she didn’t. She supported me and she supported the effort. She walked her three miles and then went on to work. My son, when he woke up he didn’t want to go anywhere and in fact was a little upset for the mere suggestion of getting out and doing anything. When I explained he was helping to make sick children better. He was all for it. My kids amaze me sometimes. They are very compassionate, generous and caring individuals. Wow… I have done something right! One of my friends from the hospital helped me to get Alan’s wheelchair to the walk. Without his help we would not have been able to participate. A big Thank you to him. A couple of the ladies from my office and one’s husband walked with us. We enjoyed the outing and my point-walker. ;) Thanks for clearing the path for us.
Many people from our hospital showed up for this event. One of the gentlemen at the registration tent said our numbers amazed them. We all wore yellow shirts and he said when he looked up when the walk started he saw a ‘sea of yellow shirts!’ It is nice to be a part of such a caring and involved community.

Sharon

Pictures from the event:

           

Anson

Anson

On Tuesday, September 16th at 5:35 pm my great nephew was born. Weighing in at 7 lbs 12 oz and 20 3/4 inches long, Anson came into this world.

Anson is my sister first grandson born to her oldest child, Melissa. Anson had jaundice at birth but is now recovering. My mother, daughter and I went to visit him Saturday. He slept through most of the visit and he is just the cutest little thing. So precious. OH.. and his toes!!! oh my goodness he has the most perfect little toes!!

During delivery my sister kept me updated on the progress. I left work at 5:30 that day. I called my sister's cell phone numerous times in an attempt to get her to put it on speaker phone. I just knew Melissa was giving birth and honestly I just wanted hear him come into the world since I was unable to be there. Unfortunately she couldn't answer the phone because she was busy helping Melissa. My sister did call me after his birth. I told her to kiss him for me and she refused. She was not going to kiss him because they hadn't cleaned him up yet. :) So, I wasn't fortunate enough to hear him come into the world but I was in a sense present shortly after his birth.

I am so very proud for my niece. She was lucky enough to marry a man who is absolutely crazy over her and now they have started their family together. I wish for them many years of happiness and a life filled with simple pleasures.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of Anson and his family.

Sharon

Gallbladder Surgery

Wow... I have been neglecting my blogsite. I will catch you up on my latest news and tomorrow I will write a longer post.


On Thursday my daughter drove me back to Paris. Friday morning I went in for oral surgery. Not fun but to be honest it wasn't too bad. I slept through the procedure, a drug induced sleep but sleep none-the-less. Then afterwards I had some really good meds so I floated through the weekend. In between bouts of nausea and hours of sleeping I felt pretty good. I was on a liquid diet for a while. I'm sorry... there may be the same amount of nutrients ingested in liquid form but it just doesn't seem to fill you up as much a nice juicy steak will. I am feeling better today, four days later. Still a little pain but over-all much better.


Also on Friday my brother went in for a cholecystectomy, Gallbladder surgery. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholecystectomy He went in for the laparoscopy, which is where they make four small incisions and practically suck the gallbladder out. Unfortunately his gallbladder was so diseased they had to do the abdominal incision and open him up to remove the gallbladder. He now has a scar which can rival mine, which ironically is from the very same type of surgery. We went to see him Saturday night and he was having quite a bit of pain. He is doing really well now and will be going home tomorrow.


Saturday we went for a two hour drive to visit my niece, her husband and their beautiful four day old baby boy. He is absolutely adorable. I will write more about him tomorrow and I will post pictures! He is such a doll.


Now, I think maybe I have caught you up on my recent events.

Sharon

Little Boy - Best Watch Dog Ever

Little Boy

Little Boy is a ten month old Shetland Sheepdog. He belongs to my friend's daughter but he is also my friends best buddy and an awesome watchdog. We spent a couple of nights on the beach and Little Boy was on duty the whole time. Protecting us and our section of beach from the invading winged rats and other uninvited guests. I could hear his thoughts as he cleared the beach of seagulls... 'my beach, my beach ... there shall be no birds on my beach !! '

He had a great time running on the beach and visiting the other beach going dogs and other critters. He met lots of people who he charmed with his good looks and outgoing personality. He also stood guard as we slept and alerted us to approaching dangers.

He even participated in the beach fun atmosphere. I was trying to create a Marlin out of the sand.. I would almost be finished when Little Boy would come traipsing up and trample my fish. I decided if he wanted to play in the sand we would play in the sand. So I buried him. I am not so sure he enjoyed the entire experience but I do think he may have enjoyed the coolness of the sand just below the surface.

Little Boy hopes you have enjoyed the pictures of his escapades in the sand and surf of Crystal Beach and Jamaica Beach.

Sharon

Galveston and Houston

Images of Galveston Island and Houston before Hurricane Ike



Sharon

Galveston and Houston before Hurricane Ike

More images taken last weekend from Galveston Island and the Houston skyline before Hurricane Ike.

Sharon

Galveston Island

Galveston Island
As I sit here, over 300 miles from the shores of Galveston, Texas, I watch the rain and the wind whip through the trees as the outer edges of a dying hurricane reach Frisco. I can’t help but imagine how much different it was last night on Galveston Island. My daughter and I feel a special bond with Galveston. I am not certain the exact reason for this connection but it does exist. When I visit the island I feel like I am ‘home.’

With heavy hearts at two o’clock on Saturday morning we sat in our dry, safe living room and watched the destruction occurring in Galveston on our television. As I was just there last weekend I have vivid images of the sights, sounds and smells of the island. Snapshots of smiles, waves, birds and houses flash through my mind. Snippets of conversations echo in my memory. My thoughts keep returning to one young lady, Brandi, on Crystal Beach on the Bolivar Peninsula. She was our waitress at one of the restaurants we visited. She had a pretty smile and a very sweet personality. She is the one who provided us with the name for the disgusting ‘lovebugs.’ She had said her son asked her why they were stuck together and quick-wittedly she said they were married and wanted to hold hands. I have wondered where she and her son are and if they are safe. We met many people when we were there and my heart truly goes out to them. I pray they are all safe.

I have several pictures of Jamaica Beach in Galveston from last weekend, six days before Hurricane Ike made landfall. After hurricane Ike thrashed the island last night many of the homes in these pictures are damaged or completely destroyed. Hurricane Ike was a strong category 2 hurricane. The storm surge began to arrive on the island eight hours before the eye wall arrived severing evacuation routes and stranding those who waited too long to leave. Ike was over six hundred miles across with wind gusts of 110 mph and a storm surge that it has been stated reached thirteen feet above normal tide levels. Many of the landmarks along Seawall Blvd. are no longer in existence. Regrettably I did not take pictures of those buildings.

My daughter and I will be going back to the island in early December. I am apprehensive as to what we will find when we arrive. They will have little time before our visit for their recovery efforts after this hurricane. However, this little island is full of tenacious headstrong people who have been through this before and they have, with time, recovered. I have complete confidence that they will hitch up their bootstraps rebuild and carry on as their predecessors have done in true Texas fashion. Our thoughts are with them as they find their bearings and begin to rebuild their lives.

Sharon

Save $120, Kodak Z990 Digital Camera, only $179.99 at officemax.com