Her Birthday

On Sarah's birthday she picked to go eat at Burger King so that she, Silas, and Phoebe, could play on the indoor play equipment there.  We ate dinner quickly, and then the kids played for about 30 minutes...climbing, crawling, and sliding. 

Sarah opened her presents and read her cards.  We gave her four new chapter books.

Silas gave her a new Wii Just Dance game.

Phoebe gave her the Barbie Vanity furniture set.

And, we also gave her some new clothes and the Barbie car that she had really been wanting.  This was a very exciting gift, as evidenced by the smiles below!

She also opened two presents from Texas... A cute warm-up outfit from Grandma Sharon, and a Bracelet kit from Bret, Andrea, Ayden, and Kallin.

Last, we lit the candles, sang Happy Birthday again, and had ice cream cake.  (Second night in a row. One person, or five, can never eat too much ice cream cake! Right?!?)  

Happy 8th Birthday Sarah Jo!  We love your sweet stubborn spirit.  You are caring and inquisitive.  You are an excellent student and role model to children that are around you.  You lead by example.  You are strong, polite, and intelligent.  We LOVE YOU so much!

The Day Before HER BIRTHDAY

Popee and Nanee came to spend time with Sarah the day before her birthday.  They let her pick the place we ate dinner... She picked IHOP.   As we were being seated she declared that she got to sit by Popee and Nanee because it was HER BIRTHDAY.  Then ordered a hot chocolate like it was HER BIRTHDAY or something too....

After dinner we headed to her basketball award ceremony then came back home where she opened presents from Popee and Nanee.

She was excited to get an American Girl Sheepdog, a Barbie Veterinarian set, some new chapter books, and some new clothes.

Lastly Popee and Nanee heard that she wanted ice cream cake for her birthday so they picked up a DQ ice cream cake on their way into town...  

Popee lit the candles and we sang Happy Birthday to her like it was HER BIRTHDAY.

Happy day before your birthday Sarah!  Popee and Nanee think the world of you and so do we!

Make a wish! And get ready to do it all again tomorrow!

Winter Swimming Lessons

Both girls took swimming lessons in January and February on Wednesday evenings.  The class sizes were very small, so they got a lot of individual help learning to hold their breath, learning to dive, and learning swimming skills and strokes.

Sarah

Sarah made a lot of progress and improvement on her Freestyle and Backstroke.  She also began to learn the kicking and arm motions for the Breaststroke, and the Sidestroke.

She worked on diving almost every Wednesday.  If she could remember to keep her chin tucked down she would have a pretty good dive.  Right now her chin and face pop up and cause her to belly flop or jump in instead of a nice clean dive.

She enjoys jumping off the diving board and swimming to the side or all the way down the length of the pool.

She also liked trying to do handstands in the shallow part of the pool during her free-time at the end of each lesson.

A few nights they got to use kick-boards while they worked on kicking their feet and moving their arms the correct ways.  They also practiced diving off the blocks one night.

Me: What was your favorite thing about winter indoor swimming lessons?
Sarah: "Doing handstands in the water."

Me: What do you think you did the best at in swimming lessons?  What do you think you need to work more on this summer?

Sarah: "Holding my breath (was the best). I need to work on diving and froggy legs."

Phoebe

Phoebe only had one other little girl in her class, and two teachers, so both girls had one on one time with a teacher at each lesson.

Phoebe did a lot of practicing moving her arms (big arms) and kicking her legs hard, both on her belly and back.  She got to use a kick-board a couple of times, but it was hard for her to hold onto and liked to slip right out of her arms and hands.  She also practiced holding her breath, jumping off the side of the pool wall, and had an introduction to diving.

At the end of each lesson time Phoebe got to jump off the diving board 2 or 3 times.  It seemed to make her a little nervous, but she also looked forward to it and told us it was something that she liked.

Me: What was your favorite thing about winter indoor swimming lessons?
Phoebe: "I liked going off the diving board."

Me: What do you think you did the best at in swimming lessons?  What do you think you need to work more on this summer?

Phoebe: "I did good kicking my legs.  Going down and touching the teacher's toe. (is what she thinks she needs to work on)."

MS Awareness Week ~ March 2nd-8th

 MS Awareness Week is here and YOUR CONNECTION counts!

MS Awareness Week is a special week to rally together to recognize progress, acknowledge everyone's connections and contributions, and inspire others to help us move even faster towards our vision of a world free of MS.

What is MS?

Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system (the brain, optic nerves and spinal cord).  It is thought to be an autoimmune disorder.  This means the immune system incorrectly attacks the person's healthy tissue.  MS can cause blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue, problems with memory and concentration, paralysis, blindness, and more.  These problems may be permanent or may come and go.  Most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, although individuals as young as 2 and as old as 75 have developed it.  MS is not considered a fatal disease, as the vast majority of people with MS live a normal life-span.  But the unpredictability of the disease can present many challenges, including the possibility of facing increasing limitations.

Who gets MS?

Anyone may develop MS but there are some patterns.  At least two to three times more women than men have been diagnosed with MS.  Studies suggest that genetic factors make certain individuals more susceptible than others, but there is no evidence that MS is directly inherited.  MS occurs in most ethnic groups, but is most common in Caucasians of northern European ancestry.

What are the typical symptoms of MS?

Symptoms of MS are unpredictable; they can vary from person to person, and from time to time in the same person.  Sometimes major symptoms disappear completely, and the person regains lost functions.  In severe MS, people have symptoms on a permanent basis including partial or complete paralysis , and difficulties with vision, cognition, speech and elimination.

Can MS be cured?

There are now FDA-approved medications that have been shown to "modify" or slow down the underlying course of MS.  In addition, many therapeutic and technological advances are helping people manage symptoms.  Advances to stop disease progression and restore lost function are made every year, and increased understanding of MS and the potential cause(s) brings us closer to an ultimate end of the disease and prevention for future generations.

*above information is from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society - General Information
Click HERE to be directed to the National MS Society's website.

What can YOU do to HELP during MS AWARENESS WEEK and throughout the rest of the year?

Get involved.

~ Fundraising Events

~ Volunteer

~ Advocate for Change

~ Raise Awareness

~ Join the Community

~ Stay Informed

~ Corporate Support

Currently we are gearing up for one of the National MS Society's largest fundraising events of the year... WALK MS.

This is our 4th year to have a team in honor of my Mom, Gloria Hastings, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in April 2009.  Our team "Go For Gloria" has raised over $9000 in the past 3 years for the National MS Society.  We could not have done this without the help of some very generous donors.  This year we would like you to help us again and invite you to join our team on Saturday, April 25th, 2015 in Wichita, Kansas for the Walk MS event.

Here are direct links to our TEAM Page, and some of our TEAM MEMBERS pages.  Please click on over and help us by making an easy online donation to the National MS Society in Gloria's honor today.  Each team member has a fundraising goal they would like to meet and our team has a fundraising goal we would like to collectively meet.  Thank YOU!

Click HERE to be directed to the GO FOR GLORIA Team page.