Well we made it..

YES, we are here!! After the longest day of the year..we finally arrived in Rome this morning at 7:30, Rome time and 1:30am your time!! The flight was long long long..and terribly boring, the stewardess were all miserable and at times ignorant, and there must have been at least 2 other tours on our plane. Unfortunately they were teenagers and very loud, there was no sleep being had on that plane. Once we got into Rome, we checked our luggage and jumped on a bus for a tour of downtown Rome. We were honestly that exhausted we didn't even get to enjoy it.
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The girls seemed to do better, but of course Kailey is coming down with a cold and is not feeling well, poor girlie!! Tonight we had dinner at the hotel, there is a good group of us together which makes it fun, the wine is going down well and the laughs are never ending! It is only 7pm here and we are all ready for bed...its going to be an early night, tomorrow is jam packed with goodness! So overall can I say and I enjoying this...well, not so far!! But then again its the first day and I haven't slept in over 24 hours!! I guess the highlight of today would have been the visit to statue of love, the statue featured in the movie "When in Rome".This stop was great, they shared the story behind the statue and if you want to make a wish you had to hold a coin in your left hand and throw it over your right shoulder. It was awesome, of course i had a wish...I always do!! Hope eveyone is doing fine and I hope tomorrow is better for me, here's to a good night sleep!! Good night Paul and Braden..Love ya's!!

Day 1

Ok, so if you are reading this blog today..then I am sorry it means I couldn't upload one from the plane. I am not sure if you know this but in Greece we are 6 hours ahead. SO we boarded the plane on Friday at 5pm, and we would have landed in Greece at 1am our time but 7am their time. Basically we had the chance to go from daylight to nightime then back to daylight within 7 hours. Straight from the airport we are heading to the city town in Rome, we have had NO sleep! We are touring the town then going to our hotel room to freshen up and then have dinner. Guaranteed we will be having an early night, we will be up for 24 hours. I can't wait to send you my first picture, and fill you in on the flight and the town of Rome! Well keep peeking in, I promise to get online as soon as I can! XOX

We are off..

Well here I sit, my last evening at home for 10 days! We ordered Chinese, watched TV and packed! No excitment at all..I originally wanted to go out for dinner with the family, but Paul said I would be out enough over the next week, he was right..it was nice to stay in and just get organized. We have to leave for the airport at 12pm tomorrow, so we get to sleep in. My plans are to continue to blog while I am in Greece, Italy and Rome..I really really hope that we have good wireless connection in the hotel and maybe in some enchanting, charming and intimate bar or coffee house. I promise to have pictures available each day, at least one snap shot of somewhere we have been or we have seen. I cannot promise that I will always have a good reception, so in that case I will make up for lost days...I will NOT miss a day! I will however miss all of you! I want to thank all my readers for all their wonderful support, comments and encouragement. I get many emails expressing some of your feelings and continuous support. Thank you to all of you..without you, I would not have the courage or excitement to keep blogging, I enjoy all your comments and feel so fortunate to have each of you in my life, whether you are here with me daily or living as far away as Calgary..you are all dear to me and I couldn't be luckier!!
With that, I wish you a wonderful, happy march break and remember to do something for yourself this week!! I love you..sweet dreams my lovelies!! xoxo

Wine and Cougarville..

Tonight I went with Kailey to visit my nephew and his mommy! It was nice to see them, Kailey has been "tutoring" him once a week to help him with his reading and his homework book. She does a great job, such an awesome big cousin. He just loves to see her too..they have a very close relationship, even though the age difference is 7 years between them. Once we got home Paul and Braden were watching a favorite family tv program that we love to watch all together.."Family Matters". We have so many laughs watching that show. I then decided to open some wine and enjoy a glass, just to relax after a long day of preparing for our trip! Cougarville is on, so I am sitting here in the living room with my laptop and glass of wine!! I'm a little short on words..lol, doesn't happen often..good night to all..

Here's to March 9th!!

Well here we are 15 years later and still counting. This day in history is not essentially a day that i think about regularily..thankfully life is to busy for that. However every year on this day, I do remember..and I do struggle just to face the changes that occurred unwillingly on March 9th, 1995. Yes many years have past, thankfully we have overcome much of the battles physiclly and emotionally..the wound has healed...for the most part! Today there are only triggers that still effect my ability to accept or acknowledge how our lives have changed forever. The hardest part today is struggling with the on going health concerns and physical challenges. There will always be some sort of health concern that will forever keep us slightly stilled. This part of our life is the most difficult to accept. Another profound difficulty that we have found over the years is how so many people think that they are experts when dealing with individuals who have disabilities. It's the most annoying part of having to work with a few of the "knowledgable people" in this field. I don't mean any disrespect to those who have been more than special to us in our life. We have truly been lucky to have had the best doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, neurosurgeons etc,etc..the small handful of "know- it- all's" linger around giving advice in areas they have no experience in. I have learned to keep them all at arms length and only speak to them when necessary.
What has seemed to work for me over the years is the power of positive thinking. We have choices in moments of despair..do we make a choice to be positive and deal with things or do we get angry and make things more difficult. If those are my two choices..i'm putting in the hard work and finding the positive, life can be much happier and fullfilled with that choice.
Of course If I could change the events of March 9, I would do it in a heartbeat. I hate that Braden suffered so severly, I hate that Paul and I will never be the same people we were the day we met. I wish Kailey didn't have to witness the struggles, battles and suffering that her family has had to conquer over time.
With that said though, I must admit through these life experiences...I have been blessed with the most amazing family you could ever hope for. I have friends who have been by my side since that first day, they have held me up, they have listened, they have encouraged..they have guided me when I was lost. They were often my voice of reason when I felt out of control, for all these wonderful things, not too sure I would change a thing. We have met so many astonishing people through our journey, many of them still give us hope, they keep life in perspective. When hit with tragedy, it humbles you..it gives you a reality that makes you see life in a way that is indescribable, and for that I am blessed. MY life is love..my life is filled with hope, desire, strength, courage and determination. Yes, we are always confronted with barriers, whether its medically, physically or even emotionally, things are not easy..somedays I just want to give up. But, we don't...we fight harder..sometimes its tiring, we are always wearing our battle gear, ready and willing to go at anytime. Really, if I chose to look at the negative side of March 9th..I can honestly say without hesitation..I don't think I would be here today. The pain was deep, its the type of pain that hurts your chest, with every breath you take. It hurts your head, alters your sight and paralyzes your will, your hope and your strength. How do you even begin to overcome that? Day by day...you have to face it, mourn it, accept it and then deal with it. Its not easy, i remember waking up in the Ronald MacDonald House every morning being thankful that today I still have a reason to get up! It wasn't ideal, and certainly not where I was wanting to wake up, but this was my life..it was what I was having to do. There were no choices, I had a child who was depending on me to be there, to care for him, to be sure he was getting the best care possible. I however was looking at it a bit differently, at the time I felt I had a child who I broke..and it was my duty to fix him, I was going to do whatever I had to do to make him better! I guess those words stand true today, I will never give up, lose hope or quit my will to overcome truama to triumph. Some say we have already done that, and I agree deeply. We have beaten many odds, overcame so many conflicts and I am very proud of our accomplishements but we have a long way to go!! So here's to March 9th, 1995..it's nice to see you come every year, it is reason to celebrate..but when the sun sets and we lay our heads and pray..its nice to see you go!!

OMG...its almost time!

Well here we are only 4 more sleeps, and we will be sitting in Greece, strutting the streets of Athens and ripping up the Vatican. Its hard to believe really that Kailey and I are going to have this opportunity in life, I hope she realizes how wonderful this is going to be! Ok, so..I have an intimate secret that I would like to share with all of my blog readers! A long long time ago..like one day shy of 15 years ago, i searched for the highest mountain top in Hamilton. I figured that if I could get as close to god as possible, he would hear my prayers first, he would hear them the loudest and answer them the quickest! Sounds kinda silly, almost desperate..but guess what, I was desperate. I had a gravely ill child fighting for his life, and all hope that was offered was only through god! The doctors told us that he had 3 days to make it, if he survived those three days then we had some hope that things could progress. They had done everything medically possible to save Braden, it was now up to god..I have never reached out to god so deeply or frantically as I did those three days. Paul and I would drive to the top of those mountains almost every night before retiring at the Ronald MacDonald House. We would wait patiently at Braden's bedside, until he fell asleep..sometimes they would sedate him, just so he would settle and Paul and I could leave and feel comfortable knowing that he was going to have a peaceful night. Usually at around 11pm, we would drive to the mountain top, I would get out..and have my words with god. I was in desperate need of answers, I found myself begging for hope searching for a sign that things were going to be ok, desperatley seeking acknowledgement that my prayers were heard. There were moments of panic, I would say to Paul "I really wish I could get closer to him/her", I just wanted validation. So, where in the world do you think would be the closest place to speak to god?? Can you see where I am going with this? ROME!! Exactly..I am actually heading to Rome and having a tour of the Vatican, amazingly another prayer answered! I have memories of crying on top of that mountain, wishing to be at the Vatican just so I knew God would hear my prayers..well, we are 15 years later..maybe 15 years too late, but my hopes, faith and dreams are all still the same and darn it..he/she is going to hear me know!! I had always known that I would never get answers easily, and sometimes I felt that my prayers were never answered, but let me say so far...I have been blesssed with so much I have prayed for, and believe it or not, some are still being answered!! Well, tomorrow is a big day for us..I have many mixed emotions about March 9th, we try not to let the memories over power our day, we do however acknowledge it and sometimes go through the course of events from that day! I can't beleive that we are here..living a wonderful, productive, fullfilled life, couldn't ask for anything more! To all my humble readers, goodnight and godbless!!

Happy Birthday good Ol' Harley

This evening we had a birthday cake mostly for my birthday..due to mom being away and Kailey and I gone, we had to celebrate this Sunday! It was nice, quiet dinner and a great cake!! My parents gave me a gorgeous blanket, with a beautiful saying on it, I got a daughter bracelet and a gift certificate..thanks mom and dad! My husband and kids bought me a small blogging laptop that will make it easy to travel with when I am in Greece. Actually this laptop will be perfect for all the writing I will do over the next couple years, it was a thoughtful gift! Besides my birthday we had to celebrate Harley's, he is 12 years old..Harly absolutely loves his birthday! He totally knows when his day is, he loves his cake and his presents, he gets so excited! Here is a video of us singing happy birthday to our crazy, very loved, beautiful puppy....sorry the video is having trouble uploading but hopefully it will be up soon..xox