The Kindness of Others

Chloe is still not sleeping very much. On a good night, she/we get 3 hours of shut eye. We are zombies! But thanks to the kindness of others (mostly our parents who are so willing to help out with Chloe, especially my mom who keeps her 1-2 nights a week and those angels who come and attend to her and help entertain her when we've got to get just a few more minutes of shut-eye), we are making it. We are trying to figure out what's causing this sleep-deprived trend, though, so little miss got an EEG last week. It was easier for Oby to take off work than for me to that day, so he got the privilege of hanging out with her. I just love being with her in these situations. She inspires me SO much! She is so happy and brave.

This is one of my favorite things Chloe does. This is her trying with ALL her might to sit up/hold her head up. If I put forth half this much effort in half my life's endeavors, I still wouldn't be half the person Chloe is....

When Chloe was getting the EEG, the technician gave her this present from an anonymous friend. It is a sweet pillow case and touching poem. This touched my heart so much.

After two late nights in a row (Breaking Dawn girl's night and Rachel Yamagata concert with my sweetheart), I knew it was going to be rough to make it to the early morning Turkey Trot. Poor Chloe got up at 2 that morning, so she was EXTRA tired, poor thing!

I'd like to officially introduce you all to the TRUE faces behind ALL the playground fund raisers: Tiffany, Kresta and the rest of the Syracuse City Parks & Rec Dept. They are AMAZING! I am so lucky to know them, let alone call them friend. My heart is so full when I think of them, they constantly AMAZE me with their service and kindness! I could go on and on, but I'll just leave you with a pic of their sweet faces :)

Speaking of AMAZING, SUPPORTIVE, and all-around INCREDIBLE people, check out all these folks -- most of them complete strangers to me -- who came out on an early Saturday morning after a snow storm to come PAY to RUN in the cold, then stay and PAY some more money for stuff being sold at the silent auction. I tell ya what, I will NEVER be able to fully express the gratitude I have for the good hearts of others and how that has touched my life. THANK YOU, everyone!

If you look closely, you'll see Oby and I running in the picture above. We "trotted" 2k, then "waddled" for 3k. But hey, at least I did it this year! haha. That pic only shows about 1/3 of the people who actually came. Amazing, right? It was REALLY cold! :)

The playground has received numerous grants and donations that leave my jaw on the floor. We are being tremendously supported and plan to break ground next spring to complete the 1st of two phases (which is basically everything except for the restroom and splash pad). To see a dream come to fruition like this leaves me incredibly humble. To raise money for the 2nd phase, we have other fantastic things coming up, including a Harley giveaway (you read that right) and a Mindy Gledhill benefit concert! So many fun things to come! And ALL because of the kindness of others.

You're Welcome

Thought I'd share my Christmas playlist. Because I'm nice like that. And if you think it's too early to listen to Christmas music, we're just going to have to agree to disagree.... I've been listening to Christmas music since the end of September! ;)



The free version of this playlist only allows me to show 5 songs on the embedded player, but for the full playlist (100 fabulous, festive songs), go here. Well, my actual holiday playlist is 500+ songs, but the site didn't allow me to upload that many mp3's (for free anyway). If you know much about me and my music choices, then the randomness of the playlist will come as no surprise. I'm sure most people won't like ALL the songs, but hopefully there are a few new ones for you to enjoy or old ones you forgot about! Hooray for Christmas AND Christmas music!!!!!