2013 Denver NF Walk

Its time again to get our feet moving and raise money to end NF!!

Our family will again be participating in the Denver NF Walk on Sept. 8th, 2013.  Our team, Sara's Striders, is hoping to raise $2,500 this year, the most we will have ever raised.  We're just shy of half way right now, with only 73 days left till the walk!

I am also on the planning committee like last year, and its great to be involved and helping all of those people with NF so much more than just walking can do.  Its a lot of work, but we have some really fun and amazing people on the committee.

Please take some time to check out the event!  I have posted a link below.  And if you are up for it, come walk with us.  Join our team and spend an afternoon helping others!  And if you can't walk, support our team with a small donation.  Every dollar counts!  Your dollar could be the one that finally finds a cure for NF, or at least some kind of decent treatment option (which we don't have now)!

Click here to see Sara's fund raising page!

Thank you to everyone who supports Sara every year in the NF walk, and all year through.  Sara's journey with NF wouldn't be the same without you!  And if you have any questions, let me know!

Medical Update

Today Sara had her annual MRI and oncology visit.  She was moved into the "once a year" category a couple visits ago since her tumor growth had slowed almost to a complete stop.

And I am thrilled to report that Sara's status remains the same.  Her tumor is stable!!!!  Thank you Lord!

We also saw Sara's orthopedist for her last follow up from her hip surgery in Dec.  Her hip is completely healed and the surgery was a total success.  The stress fracture in her right leg is also completely healed, also great news!  With this news I was able to schedule the last step of this whole thing, which is the removal of the hardware they put in back in Dec.  It has to be removed or eventually it will keep Sara's leg from being able to grow longer.

We will be removing the hardware in late July.  Its a simple outpatient procedure.  Sara shouldn't have much pain at all, just some at the incision site for a couple of days.  No real stitches or big things involved.

So that's it!  I'm happy to be thanking God for his amazing blessing that Sara is doing well.  We got the best possible news we could have hoped to receive today!

We've Moved!

For the last 8 weeks or so, Sara and I have been packing our things and getting ready to move.  Last weekend the time finally came. 

We bought a new house about 30 min north of where we were living.  Its in a small rural town (about 3,500 people).  Its a close knit community, and I'm excited to be able to raise Sara in such a wonderful caring environment.  We have some wonderful and kind neighbors, who have all been very informative as we move into a slower paced lifestyle.

As for the house itself, its a ranch with a walkout basement.  Perfect for Sara with her accessibility requirements.  It has wider doorways, bigger rooms, and overall is just very well fitted to make sure Sara has access to every room and can be as independent as possible.  It has lots of room; so no matter what equipment Sara might need in the future, we will have the room to make it happen.

The house sits on a 10 acre lot on a dirt road.  There's very little traffic, and as you can imagine, lots of room to move around and play.  I'm working with my dad and boyfriend to find a good way for Sara to get around the property, like a small ATV or some other motorized vehicle that she can drive by herself.  Sara loves being outside, and is always excited to crawl up on the tractor to help mow the grass or just drive around.

Sara has developed a new love for mowing!

Besides the house, and a yard the size of a football field, we also have several outbuildings and a huge field.  We have a barn, chicken coop, tool/garden shed, loafing shed, pig pen, and riding arena.   Most of the outbuildings are in very rough shape, and need some serious love.  We are hopeful to get to some of those projects this summer, and that will allow us the ability to have animals next spring maybe.  We're planning to start out small with a few chickens....maybe a goat.  And, of course, my boyfriend is looking forward to having the room to have another dog.  My guess is that will be fairly soon.  Eventually, like on the 5 year plan, we hope to have horses.

I have to admit that what I love most is probably the fact that we still don't have TV.  And I can honestly say, I don't miss it.  We spend so much more time as a family, even when we're working, and its awesome!  Instead of sitting in front of a movie before/after dinner, we plant flowers or water the ones we already planted.  We unpack and organize, we've painted rooms, we do dishes and cook as a family. All the chores go faster and are much more fun when we all do them together.

And the view from our deck isn't half bad either.  We eat out there most nights watching the birds and animals in the neighboring fields.  And our view of the mountains is beautiful!  I'm so excited to start a new chapter of our lives here.  I lived in my old house for 11 years, and had a lot of memories there.  And when I left, it was a little sad.  But my excitement for this new house far exceeds the sadness to leave the old one.  I am very hopeful (and planning) that this is the last place I will ever live in this life time...but God is the only one who knows for sure.

Our new house!