Is This Thing On?

Wow, let me check out for a bit huh?  As you have read previously, life around here has not been the easiest and I am having to start fresh.  Do I even have to mention how hard that can be?  It really does suck the life straight out of you no matter how happy of a person you are.  And I think my tank is going on empty.  but, I am pushing myself to move on.  Reassessing life can be difficult but I have faith that everything happens for a reason and I will be a better person because of it.  hat being said, life has continued to happen around here.  As much as I have tried to hide in my lonely hole and talk to no one, life has had to continue on.  So, lets catch up a little huh?

A couple weekends ago I was asked to come and help out at an Epilepsy event, to help out at the Danny Did Foundation table.  Danny Did is the amazing foundation that helped us get our Emfit movement monitor.  And not only that, they have been by our side during this new life we live with my oldest.  If you don't know who they are or what they do, please take a moment to stop by their page.  They are an amazing family doing amazing things all in the name of their amazing boy who was taken off this earth too soon.  At this event, I was finally able to meet Cindy and her amazing family face to face.  Cindy has a son named Robert who also has Epilepsy.  He has a dog named Boomer who is always with him and is by far the most amazing dog I have ever met.  And let me say this, when we first got there (after being able to finally hug Cindy), I told her husband Tom that Cass may be a little leery of Boomer, she was attacked by a dog at 3 and has never taken to dogs since.  As I say this, she sits down next to him and he puts his head on her lap.  I don't think they were far form one another the whole day.  Tom looked at me and said "so she doesn't like dogs huh?"  Boomer is a special boy!!!  Not only did I get to help out and spread the word about Epilepsy and SUDEP, I was asked to speak on my personal experience with the Danny Did Foundation.  As I was speaking, I saw some tears and people later thanked me for my words, I am so honored to be able to help in any way I can.  They have done so much for em and my family, I don't feel like any words can ever re-pay what they gave to me!  Here is Cindy, her son Robert, Boomer, Cass and myself, I cannot wait to see them again soon!

The day did not stop there.  After leaving, we were excited because while we were gone, one of our dear friends had come home from Afghanistan.  Sal Vaccaro had been serving for the past several months.  His mom was here and when we got home, we got to give out big hugs, the girls were so excited!!!

We were able to spend some good time with them, we had never met his mother Mary and she was nothing less than a welcomed addition to the family!  My girls loved having here here just as much as I did.  It is always nice to have another woman to talk to!  We even got to take them to some of our favorite spots and we may have convinced Sal to take my girls on this......

Momma doesn't do heights or things that dangle from high places so I stayed on flat land.  Almost a week later, we got to celebrate the birthday of my oldest, she turned 9!!!  How did she grow up so fast?!  I look back to last years post and wonder how one child can grow up so much in one year!!!  She seemed so little then and she still does now, however, she didn't want one single toy this year.  Instead, she wanted clothes, make-up, cd's, gum.......I must admit,spending $1 for gum and getting to mark something off her list seemed way easier than $25 for some toy she will only play with for a small amount of time.  That was indeed good news :)  It is all so very strange though.  And when asked what she wanted to do, she only wanted to have one friend over and to go out and have fun.  So, fun it was.  We took her and a friend down to Downtown Disney and they got to get their hair done.........

By the way, the sweet red head who is doing her make-up, she has Epilepsy.  While Cass was getting her hair done, she keep shaking a little and staring so I kept asking if she was feeling ok.  Obviously, after asking a good 5 times, they asked if something was wrong.  I mentioned she had Epilepsy and I just wanted to make sure she wasn't overwhelmed and possibly having a seizure.  That is when they told me of one of their friends who works there and called her over.  She talked to me for a while, about her journey with Epilepsy, I told her about Cass and she asked if she could help "work on her" and maybe chat.  She basically talked to her about her experience growing up with Epilepsy and how bright her future can be.  And she wasn't the only one employed in that store that has Epilepsy, there was another girl too.  Can I just say how awesome Disney is?!  As much as people don't want to discriminate, ti does happen and to think that someone you hire could possibly have a seizure, it may turn people away.  This place did not, so if you ever happen to go by Downtown Disney, stop by the Disney 365 store, they are pretty amazing people!!!!

After getting all pretty, the girls were hungry and when at Downtown Disney, the coolest place to be is Rainforest Cafe.  Ok, some may concur that it is the coolest however, it is the only place my kids never get bored at.  I actually get to eat my meal because the kids love being there.  And just like last year, the night ended with some fireworks and a nice quiet car ride home since every kid is passed out. 

So as you can see, things may be drastically changing around here and life may be hard, but things keep moving.  I do see the blessings in my life and I feel extremely blessed, and it is in those hard moments that I cling to these times!!!!!  Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, they mean more than you know!!!!