A Letter from Emilie

Dear family and friends,  It has been a crazy few weeks! (I added quite a few activities to the mix to make it busy. I blame myself-- I apologize for my lack of news!)  First things first. I need to thank everyone for your generosity in giving to the fundraiser that Natalie organized. (Just for clarification; she asked for forgiveness--not permission!) I am blessed with a generous, loving, action-oriented family and friends and I love all of you! I have been unsure how to put into words what your generosity means to me. It feels so overwhelming. I feel that I have been at the receiving end of your generosity WAY to many times. There are no words to express my gratitude. The fundraiser raised over $6000, which covered our out of pocket expenses for our medical bills this year. THANK YOU!! It has lowered my stress levels significantly. My favorite part was reading all of your comments of love and support. My heart just wanted to burst. I can not tell you what your support has me...

Dear family: The day finally came and went!  Our cruise! The prep resembled a little bit the scene from "Home Alone" when everyone is rushing and running around like crazy. Lots of suitcases, lots of travel items, lots of packing lists. Check it over and over again.  Here are some of the adventures we experienced:  We almost missed our plane! Too close for comfort. My time conscious husband was stressed out  while the rest of us were blissfully unaware. He walked very fast on the long hike to Southwest gate at the  airport. We could not keep up with him! He broke the speed limit, I'm sure.  The airport shuttle took forever to come! We waited about an hour and watched so many shuttles come and go. We were starting to give up!  It was so crowded when it finally came! It was a very cozy ride to the hotel.  We got to our hotel 2 hours before we could check in. We found a Subway, ate lunch,  and chilled while we waited.  The swimming pool was...