2 Years Later!!!

     Wow! I can hardly believe it has been two years since I last posted.  Where do I even begin? I"m not sure!
     Well, let me start here: My husband and I just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. Amazing, isn't it!!  We are now grandparents of a beautiful 19mo. old granddaughter. She is such a joy! She is the daughter of our oldest son, Austin.

     Our second son, Aaron, will be graduating from college this May.  He is beyond excited, as we all are! He is graduating with a degree in Bio-Molecular Science.  He has done quite a bit of research in the genetics department.  Ashlee, our third child just tried out for American Idol and made it all the way to Hollywood.  She was eliminated after the third round of Hollywood week.  We couldn't be more proud of what she has accomplished.  She is now working quite hard on a demo of her original music.  The songs are amazing! Can't wait till the public gets to hear her.

     Antonio, is now 10 years old, almost 11years.  Wow! Time has flown by quickly.  He is in the fifth grade and is doing wonderful. His teacher absolutely loves him. Antonio loves school and loves to learn. He is our "bookworm", literally.  He reads, and reads, and reads!!!! Aubree, our gymnast, is now 7 years old. Yes, she competes in gymnastics. She has told us many times that she wants to be the next Gabby Douglas(2012 Olympic Champion). I believe she can rise to that occasion.

     Last, but not least, was have Aedan Sean. He is our newest edition to the family. His adoption was finalized in November of 2012.  He is such a joy!!! Always happy. Just like our other children that we have adopted, Aedan has come a long way healthwise. He was one very sick little boy.  The first 8 mo. of his life was spent at CCMC(Children's Hospital). It has been a blessing watching his health improve.  He still has many issues, but continues to improve. God is good!!!!

 
     Since Alana's death back on December 20, 2009, God has continued to show His love and lead us in the direction He wants us to go.  The past few years have been difficult at times and also exciting at times.  We sure have to be on our toes at all times. I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us this year.

     GOD IS GOOD!!!!!!!!                                                                     

How time Flies!!!!!

     It has been about 7 months since I have last posted.  A lot has happened in those months.  One of the biggest happenings is having two new foster baby boys in our care.  One baby arrived in Nov. 2010 and the other arrived in Feb. 2011.  They are close in age and it's like having twins.  Both babies are medically complex.  The second baby that came to us has many health issues.  They are both doing well and are happy little guys.

     My daughter Ashlee just finished her first year of college.  Boy, time flies.  She had a wonderful year and can't wait to return for her sophomore year.  My second, to oldest son is going to be a senior this fall semester at college.  Wow, time really does fly!!!!  The most exciting news, is that my oldest son and his fiancee are having a baby.  Yes, that means I am going to be a grandmother in my "young age."

     My two little ones are also doing quite well.  Although, not so little anymore.  Aubree is going into first grade and Antonio into fourth.  They are both home schooled and are doing super.  My Aubree has been doing gymnastics for about a year and a half now.  She loves it and will start competing soon.  Antonio is now doing martial arts.  He too loves what he is doing.  These two have come a long ways from their traumatic births and many sickly years.  It is such a blessing to watch them grow stronger each and every year.

      As far as my husband and myself, we are doing well.  Having two babies in the house makes things quite busy, but it is a good busy.  Amongst all the business, our sweet Alana continues to be an ever thought and part of our conversations almost on a daily basis.  The bad memories of her suffering are starting to be replaced by all of the fond memories we had with her.  I am thankful to the Lord for that.

     God is good and continues to show His grace to our family.

     

Remembering Our Sweet Girl

    December 20th is fast approaching.  This is the day our Alana went home to be with the Lord.  Part of me does not want that day to come.  It is hard to explain the loss and the pain in words.  Then there are days when I feel like I can get through that day like a champ.  Everyday I have to ask God for His strength and to fill my mind with happy memories of my Alana Kay.

     The other day I spoke with the Transplant Coordinator at Mt Sinai Hospital where Alana was a patient.  We were both reminiscing about the fun times we all had with Alana while she was in the hospital.  One of the things she remembered about Alana was the way Alana squinted her eyes before her picture was to be taken.  Just talking about Alana helped me remember those sweet moments.  In my mind I am still stuck on my daughter's last days and I do not want to be stuck there anymore.  The picture above is what I want to be in my mind.

     Last night I was lying in bed remembering how much my sweet Alana had suffered.  Unimaginable suffering, in every detail!  At that split moment I was glad that she no longer is suffering.  She is whole and with Jesus.  But I miss her more that words can ever tell.  I would give anything to have her back in my arms.  I want to hold her, smell her, stroke her beautiful hair and tell her how much I love her.  At least I know that when I die someday I will see my "girly girl" again.

   My husband and I do have a request of those of you who can help.  We have not yet been able to get "Alana's Bubbles for Joy Foundation" started yet, but we do want to do something for the children at Connecticut Children's Hospital and the Kravis Children's Hospital in NY.  If you can donate bubbles or bubble toys in memory of Alana Kay and send them to our home, we will get the bubbles to both hospitals.  You can reach either myself or my husband through this blog, FB or email.  Alana loved her bubbles and I know she would be pleased to see other children enjoy bubbles too.

   Thank you for your continued prayers.  God is good.

Family Update

I'm sorry it has been such a long time since I have posted on my blog.  It has been crazy and there is no end in sight.  This time of year for me seems to be quite busy.  I am homeschooling and coaching volleyball.  The homeschooling is going very well.  It's a lot of work but I enjoy teaching.  As for volleyball, the season is half done.  We so far have an undefeated season.  The girls have worked hard this season.  It's been fun.  I hope we can go undefeated for the whole season, that would be fun.  Just don't tell the girls I said that!

Ashlee is doing great at college.  She informs me often that she loves college and loves FL.  I am very happy for her, but miss her dearly.  Ash, definitely is doing much better than I am about her being away.  Right now Ashlee is in the middle of midterms.  Her studies have been going well especially her music.  She is doing a lot of singing.  This month she is preparing for her Opera Theater performance.  I wish I could go to see that performance.

Here are some pictures of our trip to FL when we took Ashlee to college:

 

As you can see, the trip to FL was a blast.  We spent time at my grandmothers, went to the beach, visited the college and stayed at my friend, Cara's house.  The little's ones were great and did very well in the car to and from FL.  It was a long drive!!!

Please continue to pray for the foundation that my husband and I want to start in Alana's memory.  It is called, Alana's Bubbles for Joy Foundation.  A woman's  auxillary did donate money to CT Children's Medical Center for bubbles and bubble toys in Alana's name.  This is exactly what we want to do with the foundation.

Also, please continue to pray for Eithene Rose, she is only four and continues to struggle with serious health issues.  If you can also pray for our family as we will be opening up our home to a new baby boy with many health issues.

God is good

American Liver Foundation

This Sunday I will be walking for the American Liver Foundation. I will be walking for the cause in memory of my daughter, Alana Kay. Alana had sever liver disease and at some point in her life would have needed a liver transplant also. This is a cause near and dear to my heart. My research on the liver needs to be done. Please support the cause if you are able. Thank you for your support.

American Liver Foundation

Florida!!

   We are having a great time in FL.  It was a very, very, very long drive from CT to FL.  My husband and I drove straight through to FL.  The two little ones did excellent in the car, even my 18 year old daughter, Ashlee did a great job with such a long trip.

   It took us almost 30 hrs do get to my Grandmother's house in Port Charlotte, FL.  First of all we had to pull a UHaul behind us (5x8), that was interesting.  In Virginia was sat in traffic for 2 hours.  That was not fun!  When we got into Georgia early Tues. morning(3:30am) my husband and I had to stop at a rest area and sleep for a few hours.  It was not an easy drive.  Hopefully when we leave to go back home it will be a quicker drive.

   We will be leaving Ashlee here in FL Sunday evening to attend college at Southeastern University in Lakeland, FL.  That is going to be a tough day for all of us, especially her.  My heart feels like it is going to burst with sadness when I think about leaving her in FL.  I know at some point we have to let our children go, but it just seems so soon that she is leaving us.  Ashlee is excited for this next phase in her life, and a little apprehensive.  I am thankful that she is only an hour and a half from my Grandmother's house, twenty minutes from my friends house and she has three of her graduating classmates attending to same college.  There are plenty of people that she knows down here in FL.  She'll have a great time and I know the Lord has exciting things awaiting her.

   Ashlee's Detroit trip last month went well.  She said it was one of the best weeks of her life.  It was spiritually uplifting for her. As far as Ashlee's competition, she made it to the second round.  There were over 500 female vocal performers.  She was a little disappointed to not make it farther into the competition, but enjoyed the experience.

   I will post pictures from FL in my next update.  Please add Ashlee to your prayer list while she is away at college.

   God is good.

Off to Detroit!

   Our oldest daughter, Ashlee, just left for Detroit early this morning.  This is the trip I have written about in my earlier blogs.  She will be competing Tuesday morning in the female vocal solo group.  This is the largest group of competitors in the entire competition.  I believe it's about 500 girls.  Ashlee is very excited and nervous at the same time.  I know that she will do well!

   Once again my husband and I are signed up to do foster care again.  We are both ready to help more children.  We are praying for an infant that has some medical issues to come into our home.  This is where our hearts are at, to help children with medical issues.  We have taken care of three children with complex medical needs and adopted them.  We have watched them flourish and have watched them struggle.  We have even watched one of them pass away.  Every moment with the three of them has been worth it.  All three of them have enriched our families lives.  Even though we lost our Alana we know that she would want us to continue helping children with medical issues.

   I will keep you posted when a child does come into our home.  I was telling my husband the other day that we have had all kinds of children come into our home, sick and well.  But the only challenge we have never had is "twins".  Crazy, right!!!  Some of my friends say be careful what you wish for.  It would be fun.  Somebody's has to care for them, why not us.  I'm excited to see what the Lord has for us.

   Please pray  for Ashlee in Detroit this week and for us as we start foster care again.  Also we need prayers as we are trying to figure out how to start up Alana's foundation.

God is good.