I haven't blogged for a month. Not because I was lazy, quite the opposite actually. But because this month was all about my husband.
Daddy's Home!!!!
After being gone for SIX months, daddy came home! It was ah-mazing! But only for 30 days. So we made the best of those 30 days! After a few days at home having fun around town, we headed to a hotel in Cincinnati for a 22q conference!
If you haven't met the 22q bus yet, you're missing out!!!
After the conference we said goodbye to the boys (who were left in VERY good hands!) and Jim and I headed to JAMAICA!!! You see, we got married 10.5 years ago, we were both young and we never got to honeymoon. Then we started having babies. In the 10 years we've been married, we've lived in 5 houses (which is impressive considering the last 6 years have been in the same house!), 2 states, and 2 countries. The boys are now 8, 6, and almost 4. It's been craziness. We *needed* this. With him being gone for the past 6 months, the timing was perfect.
Jamaica was...awe-some. It was the perfect mix of fun and relaxation.
And don't forget the food! Breakfast and lunch every day at the resort weren't anything that amazing, but WOW the dinners were fantastic! I literally stuffed myself every single night!
This is tuna that friends of ours caught on a deep sea fishing tour! They brought it back to the resort and asked the chef to cook it for us. It was the best tuna I've ever had!!
We stayed at Sandals Montego Bay, and one of the things that I really liked about the resort is that they have a dress code. By day it's beach casual. But at night everything becomes very classy and elegant. So I had fun dressing up! (sorry for all of the "selfies" lol!)
Don't worry, I have plenty of couples pictures too :)
Can you tell we had a GREAT time??? I mean really, just look at us!!!
This trip was exactly what we needed. To be alone together, to recharge our exhausted souls, to remember what it was like when we were dating (not that we ever dated in Jamaica!)
And when we got back, we kept it up! Just this time with the kids. First, Connor had a HUGE 22q awareness event! He was nominated as a Home Run For Life Hero by Dayton Children's Hospital in conjunction with Blue Cross Blue Shield, so he was honored during a Dayton Dragons baseball game! It was a big deal. He was interviewed for a radio spot, there was a newspaper article about him, his story was in the program the day of the game, we were given a fancy suite, and he was introduced on the field between innings where a video was played about him and he got to run the bases while everyone cheered him on. I was truly blown away by the generosity of everybody, and I took full advantage of the opportunities to spread 22q awareness every step of the way! Here's some of the info that was written about him!
In that link is a short video with his story and pictures of him, plus his sweet little voice at the end! I could listen to that all day :) There will be more pictures and more video from that day, but they aren't available yet. Suffice it to say that the entire event was just out of this world! A friend who was at the game texted me later and said "I guarantee you hundreds of people googled 22q from their phones right there at the baseball field tonight" I sure hope she's right!
After the excitement of that, we all packed up and headed to Michigan where our family is. After all, they hadn't seen Jim in 6 months either! The trip was wonderful! We relaxed on the beach of Lake Michigan, rode bikes around Mackinac Island, rode horses at my mom's house, and rode a dune buggy on the sand dunes!
After coming home it was time for school to start! We're so proud of our three BIG boys! Gavin is in preschool, Connor is in first grade, and Ian is in third grade! Here's to a wonderful school year for everyone!
Whew! And I'm not done yet! There's still MORE! Just this last weekend we had an opportunity to attend a fundraising event for A Kid Again. A Kid Again is an organization that does "adventures" for kids with life threatening illnesses. Every adventure is for the whole family, and every one is just amazing! A wonderful man named Tim Riger was doing an ultra run and raised over $5000 for A Kid Again! We went out to watch him finish his run (some people were out there the whole time!) and there was a news reporter there. I was asked if I wanted to say a few words, so I did! Here's what you get from me with 30 seconds notice on a hot day in the woods, no makeup, no script! HAHA! In the editing they ended up not mentioning that Connor has 22q, but that's okay, the point was that Mr Rieger did something amazing for some wonderful kids. Check out the video and article!
Here's a picture of the boys that day (my three boys plus a friend who came with us!)
Like I said, it's been quite a month! Unfortunately the month has to end, and daddy has to leave again, but we'll make it, just like we did the last six months.
Which brings me back to why I started this blog. How do I keep my sanity while raising three boys, one with 22q, alone for the next six months?
I run.
Obviously there wasn't much running that happened this last month. And that's fine with me. I may have gained a few pounds, and that's absolutely fine with me too. None of that is important. What was important was that I enjoyed my husband and my children. But now it's back to taking care of *myself*.
Today I ran 2 miles then later I walked 2 miles with the family. It wasn't far, and I can already feel it in my shins. But I needed it. I also started a diet overhaul today, something else that I desperately needed to do. Now it's time to set some goals. Right now my next race is a fundraiser run for A Special Wish Foundation, who granted Connor his Wish in 2011. All of the boys are running it with me! Well, okay, Ian is running it with me, Connor and Gavin will be in the jogging stroller and I'll be pushing them! More information to come on that, I plan to do some good fundraising for BOTH A Special Wish AND The Dempster Family Foundation! Here's some info about the race:
Now a 5K race isn't far. I could run that easily today. And I won't be running that one very fast since the boys will be with me. So I have my eyes open for another race sometime this Fall. One that I can really *run*. If anyone reading this is from the Dayton area, if you know of a good race, please tell me! I'm back on track people, give me a few weeks and I'll be ready to go!
Be sure to check back on this blog later this week, I've got a challenge in mind for you followers. I really hope I can inspire some of you to work on recharging your souls, maybe we can support each other!
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