Almost a year in our new home!

Hard to believe that we are coming up on a year since we moved into our new home. I know we say it every year...but this year really did fly by. I was so nervous about this new move-

Would we be okay financially? Would the kids like their new school? Would we like the new neighbors?- the area? Well....thankfully the answer to all of those 
questions ended up being "YES!"

We were able to build the pool that Clint has always wanted and even buy a few new things for the interior and exterior of our home. The kids love their new schools and mom does too! The neighbors....well, we hit the jack pot there! I could not love our 
cul-de-sac anymore than I do! 
Love! Love! Love!

However, I never would have been able to imagine the rough patch that we had after we moved in...and quite honestly- if anything much more traumatic happens in the next year- we may have to put the FOR SALE sign up about 15 years sooner than we had hoped! 

Clint and Kaci's accidents still leave me in shock and if it is quiet and I am alone and think about those days.....I actually feel my body shudder from head to toe, I cringe and can get sick to my stomach.  The amount of Emergency room visits, Dr. appointments, prescription pick ups, plastic surgeries, x-rays, dental/oral surgeon visits, physical therapy appointments and hours of lost sleep.....still amaze me to this day! Clint is still not put back together and has to have a few more procedures before he can get his permenant implant. He says it has physically aged him 10 years....I think it has mentally aged me the same (or more).

Losing Chelsea is another hard memory that this house holds for me. So thankful for super neighbors and an awesome dad who helped me out on that awful day.

But despite all of the bad- there is still good. There is always good! Here are some recent pictures of our new home. It is no longer a house- but our HOME! 

I love this place and I couldn't be happier right where we are!

Round 2~~

Here is the latest news I have on Round 2 of Kaci's "Ford Everyday Hero Car Contest"-

I received this email yesterday:

Good morning Andrea,

 

Congratulations on making it to the top 10!!! That is very exciting! As of now, Ford is working with their Regional offices to identify the appropriate Ford dealership partner for each of the Top Ten finalists.  All participating dealers will have the child's poster and be ready to help promote the contest the week of May 5th.That’s all I know as of now, but you will get more information soon.

 

Thanks a lot and go Kaci!

 

Jennifer

Jennifer DeWall| Administrative Assistant, Ford Global Action Team

Thank you so much to everyone who made ROUND 2 a possibility! They are still collecting votes and donations for the cars....so if you have not voted/donated yet- please feel free to do so at the following link-between now and June 6th!

http://www2.jdrf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=%2FFord_Everyday_Heroes_Contest_Home


Winners will be chosen and announced on Friday, July 18th!

Kaci is an "Everyday HERO!"

It has been too long...way too long....

BUT-

I had to post today to share my great news with you!

I am thrilled to announce that Kaci has made it to Round 2 of the Ford "Our Everyday Heroes " Race Car Design Contest for JDRF! She entered this contest 3 years ago and luckily just a few days before the entry deadline I found it online again this year!

We have sold chocolate bars door to door, at work, at school and through facebook. We even had the help of Aunt Amber, Uncle Mark, Grandma Dee and Grandma Margaret to sell! We had a fundraiser with a company called Mixed Bags to help raise funds!- We had wonderful friends and family donate directly to the Ford website! We have emptied piggy banks and counted change until our fingers turned black! 

We will NEVER lose HOPE that a CURE will be found!

Diabetes sure can ...be a pain:

*Over 2, 190 (averaging 6 a day) shots a year and more finger pricks than that, counting every carb that goes in Kaci's mouth 

*2 a.m. blood sugar checks

*Constantly carrying the extra things she needs with her all the time (sugar, meter, poke, insulin)

*Trips to the nurse's office at school throughout the day

*Dr visits

*Blood draws.....

The constant interruption of Kaci's life....stopping after an hour of swim, dance class or other physical activity to poke her finger and make sure she is in range. If low- sugar--

Then, waiting, waiting, waiting 15 minutes after a low to re-prick her finger just to make sure she is back in range....

and if not...

more sugar and more waiting, waiting, waiting to re-prick again! Diabetes can be a real drag!

But for all the bad- there is GOOD! 

*All of the wonderful people we have meet, the cool contests we get to be a part of, and the awesome support from family and friends.

*It is also pretty cool that we can look at a plate of food and make a damn good SWAG (Scientific Wild Ass Guess) exactly how many carbs are in the meal! LOL!

Oh, and most importantly, the ability to know that we are bigger and stronger than this disease and that Kaci can still do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING she wants to do.

We will not let Diabetes get us down or stop us.

Thank you from the bottom of our HEARTS!

We are ready to race in July!!

Let's Do This!!

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."

http://www2.jdrf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=%2FFord_Everyday_Heroes_Contest_Home

Sugar and spice and everything nice!

Meet the newest addition to Grandma Dee and PaPa's family.....SUGAR! 

She is so cute and full of energy-

We can't wait to watch her grow into a big girl.

She is so smart and already ringing the bell on the door to let them know she needs to go potty!

I have not been very good at keeping up with the blog....

Perhaps this is why............

Going to try and do better. Real. Soon.

So cute!

Some mornings you are just so cute that your mom makes you stop before you get in the car so that she can take your picture!

Yup...some days.....

Mom does that!

JDRF 2013 Boo Awards!

Shame on me for not using my good camera to take pictures at the awards this year!  The pictures in this post are not the best quality- but they will have to do!

Once again the JDRF Austin Chapter out did themselves with a great awards ceremony.They make awards day almost as fun as walk day. I am always impressed!This year the theme was Hollywood. When we arrived there was a red carpet rolled out for us and the paparazzi was everywhere! The food was delicious and the atmosphere is great. The decorations are fun, parking is easy- and we love to see all those familiar faces that really understand what it is we go through on a daily basis!

 Each year it seems like raising money gets harder and harder. This year- I really worked on selling our team t-shirts to help raise money. Our profit from t-shirt sales this year was $248.00! WOW! Hoping to double that next year. we would love to get a business (or add an 's) to help sponsor them. Anyone out there have any good ideas on how to get that idea rolling? Anyone interested in helping out? We love wearing our team shirts- even after the walk is over- so we promise that the shirts and your company logo will be seen by many!

This year our team total was $1, 606! Thank you so much to anyone and EVERYONE who donated!
Thank you to everyone who bought a t-shirt and proudly wore it to support our team (ladies at work - I love seeing everyone in Kaci's shirts on Thursdays!) 

No matter how BIG or small your donation was...it makes a difference. Every penny counts. We will NEVER lose HOPE that a CURE will be FOUND! 

Here is Kaci smiling with Clint holding her Golden Sneaker Award. This award is presented to Family Teams that raise over $1,000! 

We couldn't have done it without all of you...so

THANK YOU!