Hello all! As you can see above the puzzle is complete! (Well, minus the obvious missing piece and you may notice the two pieces that are a bit distorted due to our sweet Springer Spaniel Riley!) Regardless, Justin and I are completely floored by the love, support and response to our fundraiser. And even though we have completed the puzzle people are still making donations! We really are without words (and I know for me that is a rare occurrence)! THANK YOU for helping us "Dream Big!"
Hello blog readers! Just wanted to give you a quick update on the Puzzle Fundraiser! Justin and I are blown away by the generosity, love and support we have received from family, friends and even complete strangers! To be honest, we had no idea how well (or how ...not well?) this puzzle fundraiser would turn out. Justin and I both like to do things on our own (really just ask Justin about the wooden "stand" he built for a mini fridge...let's just say the fridge is back on the ground where it has a much more stable and flat surface to reside on) but seriously we really try to be "do-it-our-selfers" ok minus car repairs (that's what little brothers are for) or plumbing projects ...do you know exactly how much a gallon toilet tank will spill out onto your floor if it isn't properly sealed? So yes, we all need a little help but when it comes to something as personal as a child we both, in our own ways, felt it was very much our responsibility to make this happen. This adoption is something we are pursuing, we want to grow our family, something that we are so incredibly excited to start and something we hope to have someday soon. With every puzzle piece purchased we are reminded ithas always been more than just us. So incredibly grateful to you all! Thank you! Becky and Justin
Hello all! So we are at the halfway point! Actually, we are 1/2 a piece OVER the halfway point because 513 divided in half is 256.5 and don't you round up when it's .5 , anyway? Justin and I clearly did not go to school for mathematics nor did we pass puppy obedience classes with ourdog, Riley. Riley has now sponsored a total of three pieces...two pieces survived (somewhat) and one is missing all together. One of the pieces is exactly in the center of the puzzle, guess she was just making her claim! Thank you again to everyone who has supported us! Becky (and Justin too!)
Hello all! I know, I know, I know...Justin and I will not be receiving any awards for our lack of blogging. Now, in Justin's defense he did blog while I was at Camp Sioux in North Dakota (an excellent blog post by the way and if you haven't read it you can check it out at Fathers Day thoughts by a wanna-be father.)
So as mentioned above, I recently spent time overseeing the diabetes camp program in North Dakota. The camp's name is ADA Camp Sioux, and for those of you who might not know about it here is a little background. Camp Sioux is a residential camp for kids ages 8-15 living with diabetes. Most of the kids come from North Dakota, NW Minnesota and we even have campers sometimes from far away and exotic lands...like Montana. :) This was my ninth year as Camp Director at Camp Sioux and if you want the textbook definition to what I do, it would be: To ensure that all campers have a safe and fun camping experience, start to gain independence from their families in their diabetes management and meet other children with diabetes. Now when I first met Justin and told him about my job he had this vision of me prancing around with a tye dye shirt on, burning incense and playing guitar...I will admit I have donned tye dye apparel, no incense burning - that could be a potential fire hazard and I WISH I knew how to play guitar but my lack of reading notes is made up in my loud, out of tune, belting of camp songs. I have also been known to unclog toilets, dress up to distract homesick campers, come up with games like "Banana Olympics" or "Sasquatch Hunt" and DJ a dance or two! For those of you that are Facebook friends with me you might recall this post after my return home from this year's venture: Two
weeks of the worst infestation of mosquitoes I have experienced (still
have remnants of bites on my body including my face!), shower and sleep
deprivation, sporting a constant aroma of bug spray and sun screen,
rain, humidity, and wood ticks... and I would do it all again in a
heartbeat! And I would...I love camp. It re-grounds you, it makes you appreciate the simple things in life, it shows you beauty in so many ways, at times it requires hard work but it also reminds you to laugh and to play, it requires you to listen carefully, it teaches and reinforces respect, trust and love and it is a support system like no other. All these things I believe in, all these things I practice and all these things I hope to share with a son or daughter someday. Happy Trails! Becky
