Mixed Nuts: Father/Daughter Dance

Quotes

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." - Helen Keller
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
You may never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.- Unknown
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow' ~Helen Keller
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss
"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
"God doesn't give children with disabilities to strong people: He gives them to ordinary, everyday people, then He helps the parents to grow stronger through the journey. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family."Author Unknown
I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go – Abraham Lincoln
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein
The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step
Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale
Where there is great love, there are always miracles - Willa Cather
The Difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness
There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big Your God is..........
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it
Fall down seven times - get up eight - unknown
Despite our differences, we sink or swim together
Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, we might as well dance
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius

Friday, February 3, 2012

Father/Daughter Dance

Tonight at the kid's school is a father/daughter dance. Arlington really wanted to go - said all of her friends were going, and Mat said of course he would take her. He would have also taken Finley, but she came home from school with a 102 fever. Awesome.

Tonight I was supposed to go to a Home Show party at one of my friend's houses. But alas - I am at home because Arlington REALLY wanted to go to the dance, and I REALLY didn't want to ask a poor unsuspecting babysitter to watch a sick child. So....I am home.

Cainan had his first playdate today. He was so excited. He came off the bus and could barely contain himself until it was time to leave. I have never seen the boy eat lunch so fast. We were invited over to the little boy's house, and I had a chance to meet a new mommy friend. It was great. There are so many nice people here in our new town. We feel very lucky. The boys made plans to play again hopefully next weekend.

Tomorrow, if Finley is fever free, she has a playdate with her BFF. Hopefully her temperature is just due to her cold and will not linger. I know she is excited to have someone over.

Arlington is having a playdate on Sunday with one of her classmates. The little girl called to ask if Arlington could play today, but it was already 4pm, and we had tennis, so we asked if she could come Sunday. I am glad the kids are making friends.

What other random news can I share with you.........Finley's new reporting system started today, and she had an amazing day, despite her cold. She only had to be prompted 2 times during the whole day!! Her teacher gave her a great report and said she had a wonderful day. I was so glad. And she SHARED well with her friends - she asked them what game they wanted to play. (What was happening was the little girls were always letting Finley choose). Off to a good start - let's hope it continues.

Mat talked with Dr. Bennett today. While I cannot share what they talked about yet, I am bursting at the seams, so I wanted to at least say that. For those of you who are new to our blog, Dr. Bennett is the researcher at the University of Pennsylvania that is doing our research for RDH12 (Finley's LCA gene). She had some very exciting things to share with Mat, so after we share with our RDH12 group, I will see what Mat thinks I can share on here. And what he can turn into English language (the guy tends to speak science when he gives me updates).

I will tell you this though. Because I just can't wait any longer to find out our EXACT total. But our foundation has reached our $250,000 raised mark. Can you believe it? We did it. In under 1 year, RDH12 Fund for Sight raised the $250,000 that is required for the safety study for our next step. I don't have the exact number, but I can tell you were are at least at our goal.

Does this mean we are done with fundraising? Not by a long shot. Even though the hope is that someone - with much more money that us - will pick us up for clinical trials - there will always be the need to raise money for our cause. Large amounts of money. The clinical trials are going to cost millions of dollars. Not every penny is going to be funded, so that is where RDH12 Fund for Sight comes in. We are going to keep that annual $250,000 goal and try to make it even higher next year. I know we can do it. The faster we raise the money, the fast our children get cured.

The push continues. While we can take a breath and a sigh of relief that we raised the $250,000, we must continue our push for funding. I am always up for a challenge. Aren't you? I know my super fundraisers and my super supporters are.

Let's go.