Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the wonderful fathers (and grandfathers) in my life!

Relay for Life 2010

I had the honor of participating, once again, in the Relay for Life of Catonsville this past Saturday. Five years ago, I chose to support this worthwhile event that benefits the American Cancer Society as a way to honor the memory of my mom and try, in some small way, help others who battle the disease of cancer. Along the way, I've met many inspiring people and heard stories of courage, bravery, and grace. I come back each year to honor those who have battled cancer and won and those who have been lost to cancer along the way. I come back so that my children will, hopefully, never hear the words, "you have cancer" or, if they do, they will know that cancer is a survivable or even curable disease.

This year, my girls, Casey and Emma, actively participated with me (as they have each year). And, they brought along a dear friend, Isabel, who walked and played with them throughout the night. The girls made it until 1 am when this tired Mommy drove them home to bed and let the other dedicated members of our team walk through til 6 am. Sadly, Chris and Jacob did not make it due to a bad storm on their way out of Westminster that caused them to turn around.

The girls enthusiastically ran our on-site fundraiser, a Chinese Auction.

That's my little Emma beginning her brave rock-climbing expedition on the inflatable rock wall...

And there's my baby way up high!

Then, up went Casey...

Chris, Casey, Emma, and I raised a total of $634 dollars this year. We'd like to send a very special thank you to everyone who supported us in this event that is near and dear to us!

Piano Girl

Casey just finished her first year of piano lessons and was very excited (and very nervous) about performing in her first recital yesterday. Luckily, three friends and two parents on our street were also performing so there were many familiar faces in the audience.

I did my best to take a mini-movie with our camera of the performance. It's a little shaky because a certain very bored four-year-old tugged on my arm while I was trying to steady the camera, but you get the picture. We had to really turn the volume up on our computer to hear it well. Her first piece, "Ba Ba Black Sheep" is a duet with her teacher, Mr. Paul. The second piece is "Little Indian Brave".

We're very proud of our little pianist and look forward to more recitals in the future!