JDRF Walk for a Cure!

So the JDRF walk has come and gone for this year. It was the first one for our team so it was basically a learning experience for us. It was really sad but empowering to see all of the other teams that had gathered. There was close to 4000 walkers!!!! I was so glad to be there to support my friend. It was very surreal that we were even there in the first place though. I mean to think that her BABY actually has this horrible disease is just mindboggling. I feel horrible saying this but it just reminds me to be that much more grateful for my healthy kids, and that much more dedicated to helping to find a cure for this nasty disease. Cause it really can strike at ANY time and pretty much to ANY one. The statistics really are quite scary and they were posted on signs all along the walk. If you want to read Gretchen's take on the walk go to her blog here.

this is me & my bestie - presley's mom. an AMAZING mommy, woman and friend!

Miss Presley, the reason we walk!

Presley and her Auntie Natalie snacking on some CHeese a diabetic's fave snack ;)

This is our team getting ready for the walk to start

Making a quick stop to check Presley's blood sugar. Diabetes does not wait.

Our team walking on!

Yet Another Reason

***I got this in a newsletter from JDRF this morning***

Imagine working for six years for an exciting non-profit organization dedicated to curing a terrible disease and never thinking that one day your child would be one of the people you would be working to cure. This hap­pened to Esther Swann, JDRF Special Events Coordinator in Palm Beach two years ago. Esther joined JDRF in 2000. She met a wonderful group of families and they formed a tight Walk group. Through the years they built the Walk from $150,000 in 1999 to $375,000 this year. In Esther's first year at JDRF her walk goal was $200,000, and she beat it by $35,000!! Two years ago Esther noticed her daughter exhibiting the signs she knew so well from having worked at JDRF for six years. She had just finished working on the Palm Beach walk and the next day her daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. "You think that you understand what having a child with a disease is like," Esther says, but she had no clue what it was really like....."it is 200%" different!" Her daughter's diagnosis completely changed how she looked at JDRF. She had always loved working with JDRF because the organization is making a difference and they are so efficient at fund-raising. Esther says, "You know that the money you raise is going directly to research." Now it is personal. Her whole heart is in finding a cure for her daughter and the families that she worked with for years. These families are now some of her best friends and part of a support group for her daughter. Esther says, "For years, when I would visit companies and schools I would tell them even if you don't have a diabetes connection, it's so important to still learn the warning signs of diabetes and know that funding research to find a cure is needed. I would go on to say that I've seen personally how well JDRF uses the funds that it raises and that their contributions are making a difference. To explain how important supporting JDRF was even if you do not have an immediate connection, I would say that I have a young daughter who is perfectly healthy, but I've met so many families who have no diabetes connection and then they suddenly have one (or even more) children diagnosed with the disease... and that I want a cure to be found so that my daughter would never have to endure all that someone with diabetes has to handle. Little did I know that in a short period of time, my daughter would be diagnosed with the very disease that I've worked for years trying to secure funding in search of a cure." Esther now understands first hand the commitment she has seen in parents through the years she has worked at JDRF. She always re­members Marilyn Bresman, a parent who has worked with Esther on the Palm Beach walks, who promised her daughter years ago when she got diabetes that she would NEVER stop working for a cure. Even though her daughter is now in her 40's and Marilyn has had a tough year with a variety of family medical issues she was able to raise $25,000 this year!!!! Esther's life is now filled with diabetes; working for JDRF as a staff person, taking care of her daughter's diabetes, going to support groups, helping other newly diagnosed families. It is people like Esther that make JDRF so successful! Thank you, Esther, for all of your hard work.

Only 50 more days!!!

Only 50 more days till I drive down to San Diego to participate in the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Walk for a Cure!I am getting SO excited and am really proud to say that I am about 3/4 of the way towards reaching my goal! Thank you to so many of you that have donated so far and have spread the word to your family and friends! I'm sending this bulletin out as an update on my progress so far but also as a reminder. It's been awhile since I've mentioned it but it has not been long since Presley has had to deal with this disease. This is an every day, all day affair for lil Presley and her family. It does not rest, it does not go away, it is there ALWAYS. No matter how much fun she's having, no matter how many steps her parents take to ensure her healh, it is still there, raging.This is why I am walking. To find a cure. So that this past year of Presley's life will not be in vain. So that we can get one step closer to making it all go away.So I'm asking for your support again. Whether it be through money, or simply by forwarding this bulletin to your friends and family.Please know that any efforts are greatly appreciated!Here's the link to my page - Presley's Blue Suede Shoe Crew

And here's the beautiful reason why I walk -

Just a Reminder!!!!

Presley's Video

You guys have got to head over to my Gretchie's page and see the sweet (sad!) video that she made of Presley's 1st year with diabetes!
It's also on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_mn2x3IkeQ

And as a reminder, here's my fundraising page: http://walk.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=extranet.personalpage&confirmid=87034589

It's BUNCO Time!!!!

For one of my JDRF fundraisers I decided to host a BUNCO night.
For those of you that don't know, BUNCO is a very fun fast paced dice game that requires NO skill whatsoever! It is a BLAST!
I'm hosting this event at a local pizza place and I really think it's going to be ALOT of fun! I know that some of my readers are local or have family that is local so I wanted to put this up here to spread the word!
This is an image of my flyer that I'm having printed so if you'd like some for yourself to hand out please let me know. You could also email the image if you'd like. Again, here's the link to my fundraising page so you can see my progress so far or make a donation yourself. Thank you in advance for any and all help!

She's DEFINITELY worth it!

Please allow me to introduce you to a very special little girl.
This is PRESLEY

Presley is pretty much your typical 2 year old. She is the youngest daughter of my bestie. Presley loves to play with toys, she actually really enjoys dinosaurs and snakes, but also Barbies and ponies too. She does occasionally get mad at her parents or her older sister when things don't go her way but unlike most other children her age, her moods and actions are not always dictated soley by the things going on around her. You see, Presley has Type 1 diabetes. So more often than not, her moods and actions are actually being dictated by what's going on INSIDE of her.

Presley was diagnosed with this horrible disease last summer, at the ripe young age of 18 months old. Her life, and her family's life, changed the instant those test results came back. No more carefree days of living with a toddler. Her mealtimes, her meals themselves, her daily activites, all have to be calculated exactly to determine how much insulin her body will need throughout the day and night. Many people think that Type 1 diabetes can be controlled by insulin. While insulin does keep people with type 1 diabetes alive, it is NOT a cure. Aside from the daily challenges of living with type 1 diabetes, there are many severe, often fatal, complications caused by the disease such as kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, heart attacks and strokes.

I really could go on and on but you just won't get it unless you've lived it. And I pray you never have to "get it". But I am here to ask something of you, that I really really hope you'll consider.

This October, I will be joining my best friend, Presley, and their family, in taking part in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Walk to Cure Diabetes.

So I'm asking you today for your support because now more than ever, EACH of us can be a part of bringing about a cure. Each of us can make a real difference! Won't you please give to JDRF as generously as you're able? Together, we can make the cure a reality in Presley's lifetime!

Can you really say NO to helping out this precious lil girl?

Please visit my Walk Web page if you would like to donate online or see how close I am to reaching my personal goal of $1000: Presley's Blue Suede Shoe Crew