Something New and Something Old

Besides having a great time in Colorado at the Women of Faith conference I drove back with a full truck.  About a month ago Emily started climbing out of her crib so we knew it was time to ditch the crib and find her a bed.   After a little searching I found a very cute and super fun playhouse bed on Craigslist in Fort Collins.  Thanks to my wonderful dad and sister they went and picked it up for us.   Emily just loves the bed and the small little playhouse has been a big hit with her and Caleb. 

Besides the new bed, I also brought back my parents piano.  We are planning to have Taylor and Brandon start piano lesson in January.

A Weekend of Fulfilling a Dream of Hope, Love and Remembrance

About six years ago my Mom expressed a desire that she would love to take all of her girls to the Women's of Faith Conference in Denver sometime. Unfortunately it was not long after she expressed her wish that we found out she had cancer which lead to her passing shortly after that. So this past March when my sister Bonnie called and proposed  the idea of having all of us girls go to Women of Faith the last week in September I was all over the idea.  The week finally arrived and thanks to my amazing husband for playing super daddy and managing all the chaos at home I got to spend an incredible weekend with my sisters in Colorado.    It was a weekend full of tears, praise, prayer, laughter, food, football and great fellowship!  I am so blessed to have two amazing sisters that are my best friends!

So it was fitting that my first stop in Fort Collins was to see mom.

The three girls - Me, Sheri and Bonnie getting ready to leave for Women of Faith



 Thanks to my awesome cousin and dear friend Darci, we had front row tickets to the Denver Bronco game.  Even though the Broncos lost it was tons of fun and an amazing experience.

The view from our seats!

 Tim Tebow

Buddy Walk 2010

 Since the Tri-State Down Syndrome group is kind-of small we only host a Buddy Walk every other year and since this was an off year we decided to attend the Sioux Falls, SD Buddy Walk.  It turned out to be an incredible day and lots of fun for the kids.  One of the great highlights was meeting Chris Burke, a famous actor from the 1980's TV show "Life Goes On".  Seeing Chris on TV as a kid helped me see beyond many of the false stereo types at are associated with people with Down syndrome.  Who would have known that this amazing little boy would change our hearts, lives and souls so much or that because of him we would make friends with some incredible families and build amazing friendships.  It was an honor to celebrate and spread awareness of these incredible individuals at the 2010 Buddy Walk! 

Brandon, Taylor, Caleb and Lori with Chris Burke

 Caleb and his friend Cheyenne

 Caleb and Daddy having fun

Chris Burke

Brandon and his buddy Tavian

Taylor, Caleb, Tavian, Brandon and Kadin

Emily and Caleb - A.K.A  Double Trouble

Emily

The whole family

Taylor and her friend Kadin