Introductions

[Guest guest]

Hi I am Gwen. We live in Central Texas. I am Mom to five, four girls, one

boy and Grandma to 7, eight in about one more day if she will go on and have my

grandson. I have six granddaughters and one grandson.

My oldest daughter is 27, married with three little girls, she is District

Court Judge Secretary in our County and she and her hubby have just built a five

bedroom home and the lake,

My second daughter is 26, married with one boy and two girls, she is

Benevolence Secretary at the First Bapt. Church in our town and teaches Kinder

in our

church, her hubby is a Deacon in our church and they play coed softball.

My son is 25, married with one little girl and a very pregnant wife, his son,

will be a New Year's Eve baby if Mom will keep going, she has been in

labor all day My son is a prison guard for a state prison and looking into

becoming a peace officer at the local level.

My 13 year old daughter is a gifted young lady. She sings contemporary

Christian music and is a wonderful witness to her faith. She is a Junior High

student and is my best friend.

My 12 year old daughter just makes the icing on a wonderful multi layer cake.

She was born with Trisomy 21 Down syndrome and is loved and known by more

people than I will ever hope to know. She has allowed me to meet some great

families and was the reason why I started the local support group in our area,

Downs But Not Out. She is a fifth grade student in a Life Skills Program with

great opportunities to make a difference in how kids with special needs are

treated, she is my favorite person and brings out the best in me.

I am 49, single and happier than I have ever been in my life. God Bless you

all in the new year....looking forward to lots of interaction on this list.

[Guest guest]

Hi I am Gwen. We live in Central Texas. I am Mom to five, four girls, one

boy and Grandma to 7, eight in about one more day if she will go on and have my

grandson. I have six granddaughters and one grandson.

My oldest daughter is 27, married with three little girls, she is District

Court Judge Secretary in our County and she and her hubby have just built a five

bedroom home and the lake,

My second daughter is 26, married with one boy and two girls, she is

Benevolence Secretary at the First Bapt. Church in our town and teaches Kinder

in our

church, her hubby is a Deacon in our church and they play coed softball.

My son is 25, married with one little girl and a very pregnant wife, his son,

will be a New Year's Eve baby if Mom will keep going, she has been in

labor all day My son is a prison guard for a state prison and looking into

becoming a peace officer at the local level.

My 13 year old daughter is a gifted young lady. She sings contemporary

Christian music and is a wonderful witness to her faith. She is a Junior High

student and is my best friend.

My 12 year old daughter just makes the icing on a wonderful multi layer cake.

She was born with Trisomy 21 Down syndrome and is loved and known by more

people than I will ever hope to know. She has allowed me to meet some great

families and was the reason why I started the local support group in our area,

Downs But Not Out. She is a fifth grade student in a Life Skills Program with

great opportunities to make a difference in how kids with special needs are

treated, she is my favorite person and brings out the best in me.

I am 49, single and happier than I have ever been in my life. God Bless you

all in the new year....looking forward to lots of interaction on this list.

[Guest guest]

Hi--

I'm enjoying the introductions again. I'm Jill. Mom to Mac and Kit. Both

Mac and Kit came to me through the miracle of adoption and I'm thankful everyday

that we were chosen for each other. I could not ask for better kids. Both of

my kids also have Ds and both are Chinese but both were born in CA.

Mac is 6.5 years old and in the first grade where he is included (without an

aide) all but 30 minutes per day when he spends time with the intervention

specialist and/or speech therapist. He has done very well and we work hard on

his " studies " at home, too. He has a host of friends and is involved in out of

school activities, too, like CCD (church school), soccer league (where he was

awarded most improved player of the year in the whole league and it was a well

deserved award!!), playgroup, swimming... He is a big boy...weighing in at a

solid 64 lbs. He's always been on the upper end of the typical growth charts.

Mac was born with an ASD and VSD which both closed on their own. He was also

born with transient leukemia which resolved itself but he is at an increased

risk for developing a true leukemia. Each year that he gets older that risk is

reduced and by the time he's 10 his chances should be the same as any other kid

with Ds (this is what I've been told and we're thankful everytime we get a

normal CBC done). Mac has always tested for a profound hearing loss in his L

ear and moderate in R, but we all question those results and now the

audiologists are changing their reports to mild loss. He also wears glasses.

His speech is his weakest area, but is getting much better and he supplements

with sign. Mac came home with me when he was 15 months old.

Little Miss Kit (or Kitastrophe as she is affectionately called by family) is

my wild child. She is 3 years old and a constant bundle of energy. The extreme

opposite of Mac. She was born with tetralogy of fallot and duodenal atresia.

She had surgery to correct the duodenal atresia when she was 2 days old. A

g-tube was also inserted at this time. She came home to me at 10 weeks old and

had surgery to repair the ToF at 17 weeks (the scariest time of my life). The

first year of her life she was very " blah " ...very little emotion, very little

eye contact...just a content baby who did very little. This was concerning,

however, after about 12-14 mths. of age, she took off and has not stopped since.

At 16 months of age we had the g-tube removed and she now eats fine, although

she remains tiny...about 25 lbs. and wears 18mth-24mth clothes. She is on the

smaller end of the Ds growth charts. She receives homebased special education

services through our school district. Next fall she will begin preschool at the

same preschool Mac attended in our community. She has had glasses for 2 years,

but it is still impossible to get her to wear the glasses for more than 2

minutes at time. My biggest concern with Kit is her activity level...it will

definitely be an obstacle to her education if she doesn't slow down. She is

only saying a couple of words at this point, but is constantly communicating

through vocalizations, gestures and signs.

I am single, but do have a significant other (who is a good father figure to

the kids) and great support from my family who live close to me and great

friends. I am a special education teacher at our local school working with kids

with learning disabilities. We live in northern OH, right on Lake Erie and

close to the islands and Cedar Point.

Jill

[Guest guest]

NAME:

LIVE: Sydney, Australia

FAMILY:

Tony (very very DH!) - changed jobs this year. Moved away from

telecommunications and now in teleconferencing. While off work, he had a

lovely time lifting pavers and wrecked his back! So, the past few months

have been a chase between dr's and specialists... Ah well, just a reminder

that we're not that young any more...

(13yrs) - bright and beautiful! Started high school this year and

has coped extremely well. Received an academic award at their annual

prize-giving night. Is now on her second " boyfriend " and we're all coping

well! She loves school and dancing, and gives her " all " to her activities.

(11yrs with DS) - challenging year, but satisfying in the end! We

moved away frm the " normal " private school that she has attended all

her school life, and put her 4days per week into a small private Catholic

school for kids with special needs. She was there 4days per week, and then

spent every Friday back in her old school. 4 days per week she was in class

with 9 kids and 2 teachers, and despite her not enjoying it, her reading

skills have improved immensely! We're continuing with the same program this

coming year! After a couple of years with no " real " friends at her old

school, she has made some really good friends at her new school - both of

her best girlfriends also have DS, and it's been lovely watching

develop real friendships with them. They phone each other and love getting

together!

(9yrs) - still our " quiet " boy. Doing very well at school. Loves his

gameboy. Likes getting out to play soccer. Can't be bothered phoning his

friends...

Me - My 3rd year as a Weight Watchers Leader. Have now taken on the position

of Area Co-ordinator for WW. So, now I do my own 2 meetings per week, and

then spend about another 10-20hrs per week visiting other Leader's meetings

and sorting out anything that needs sorting out. This has kept me so busy,

that I've gained a bit of my weight back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not too much,

and not enough to take me up over my Goal Weight, but enough to make me

uncomfortable in most of my clothes. So, my resolution over the past couple

of weeks has been to " find " extra time to go walking (I got up at 5.30am the

other day and headed out for an hour) and start counting those points

again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's it I guess - We're off to North Sydney this afternoon to watch the

fireworks over Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House tonight. Tony's new

offices are in North Sydney, with sweeping views of the Harbour, and the

best bit is that he has a parking space!!!!!!

We'll also be making a donation to the disaster relief fund - because we are

very mindful of the many hundreds of thousands of people who will not and

cannot enjoy their New Year this year due to the tsunami. We continue to

pray for all the dead and dying; the people who have lost family and

friends; and those who are facing starvation and disease. We also give

thanks for all those who are able to help with the relief effort at this

time... Today's newspaper has photos of tourists who have continued to

arrive in Thailand for their vacations, and are sunbaking on the beach and

surfing in the waves, alongside relief workers who are collecting

bodies.........We live in a strange world....

With regards

[Guest guest]

NAME:

LIVE: Sydney, Australia

FAMILY:

Tony (very very DH!) - changed jobs this year. Moved away from

telecommunications and now in teleconferencing. While off work, he had a

lovely time lifting pavers and wrecked his back! So, the past few months

have been a chase between dr's and specialists... Ah well, just a reminder

that we're not that young any more...

(13yrs) - bright and beautiful! Started high school this year and

has coped extremely well. Received an academic award at their annual

prize-giving night. Is now on her second " boyfriend " and we're all coping

well! She loves school and dancing, and gives her " all " to her activities.

(11yrs with DS) - challenging year, but satisfying in the end! We

moved away frm the " normal " private school that she has attended all

her school life, and put her 4days per week into a small private Catholic

school for kids with special needs. She was there 4days per week, and then

spent every Friday back in her old school. 4 days per week she was in class

with 9 kids and 2 teachers, and despite her not enjoying it, her reading

skills have improved immensely! We're continuing with the same program this

coming year! After a couple of years with no " real " friends at her old

school, she has made some really good friends at her new school - both of

her best girlfriends also have DS, and it's been lovely watching

develop real friendships with them. They phone each other and love getting

together!

(9yrs) - still our " quiet " boy. Doing very well at school. Loves his

gameboy. Likes getting out to play soccer. Can't be bothered phoning his

friends...

Me - My 3rd year as a Weight Watchers Leader. Have now taken on the position

of Area Co-ordinator for WW. So, now I do my own 2 meetings per week, and

then spend about another 10-20hrs per week visiting other Leader's meetings

and sorting out anything that needs sorting out. This has kept me so busy,

that I've gained a bit of my weight back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not too much,

and not enough to take me up over my Goal Weight, but enough to make me

uncomfortable in most of my clothes. So, my resolution over the past couple

of weeks has been to " find " extra time to go walking (I got up at 5.30am the

other day and headed out for an hour) and start counting those points

again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's it I guess - We're off to North Sydney this afternoon to watch the

fireworks over Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House tonight. Tony's new

offices are in North Sydney, with sweeping views of the Harbour, and the

best bit is that he has a parking space!!!!!!

We'll also be making a donation to the disaster relief fund - because we are

very mindful of the many hundreds of thousands of people who will not and

cannot enjoy their New Year this year due to the tsunami. We continue to

pray for all the dead and dying; the people who have lost family and

friends; and those who are facing starvation and disease. We also give

thanks for all those who are able to help with the relief effort at this

time... Today's newspaper has photos of tourists who have continued to

arrive in Thailand for their vacations, and are sunbaking on the beach and

surfing in the waves, alongside relief workers who are collecting

bodies.........We live in a strange world....

With regards

[Guest guest]

when I first checked my email today I was over whelmed by all of the messages.

Thank goodness for tim saying hello to everyone ,, cut the messages down by

50%, lol . ty Tim..

My name is , live in Michigan and I have been a lurker that reads almost

all of the messages that have been posted over the last 3 years.

Married to Theresa for 22 years with 4 children

20yo son going to Michigan Tech, 18yo son going to Michigan State,

15yo daughter Tori, at home W/ sore throat right now and our almost 3yo surprise

(DS) that had av canal repaired at 6mos.She was on captopril until this

august when we took her off it. She has had colds and ear infections a little

more than most kids, but overall she is in very good health. She doesnt talk

really , says a few words, but she does understand what we are saying and if

you ask her to do something she will do it (if she wants too). She loves to help

with everything that we do. She is a treat.

Oh by the way I'm old, broke, and have lots of gray hairs now lol.

-------------- Original message --------------

Hello Kim,

Thursday, December 30, 2004, 12:02:27 PM, you wrote:

> I work for DIRECTV as a project manager.

I have Dish Network, but I don't work for them, but I have stayed in a

Holiday Inn Express in the past!

--

Best regards,

Tim mailto:tcasten@...

Click reply to all for messages to go to the list. Just hit reply for messages

to go to the sender of the message.

[Guest guest]

when I first checked my email today I was over whelmed by all of the messages.

Thank goodness for tim saying hello to everyone ,, cut the messages down by

50%, lol . ty Tim..

My name is , live in Michigan and I have been a lurker that reads almost

all of the messages that have been posted over the last 3 years.

Married to Theresa for 22 years with 4 children

20yo son going to Michigan Tech, 18yo son going to Michigan State,

15yo daughter Tori, at home W/ sore throat right now and our almost 3yo surprise

(DS) that had av canal repaired at 6mos.She was on captopril until this

august when we took her off it. She has had colds and ear infections a little

more than most kids, but overall she is in very good health. She doesnt talk

really , says a few words, but she does understand what we are saying and if

you ask her to do something she will do it (if she wants too). She loves to help

with everything that we do. She is a treat.

Oh by the way I'm old, broke, and have lots of gray hairs now lol.

-------------- Original message --------------

Hello Kim,

Thursday, December 30, 2004, 12:02:27 PM, you wrote:

> I work for DIRECTV as a project manager.

I have Dish Network, but I don't work for them, but I have stayed in a

Holiday Inn Express in the past!

--

Best regards,

Tim mailto:tcasten@...

Click reply to all for messages to go to the list. Just hit reply for messages

to go to the sender of the message.

[Guest guest]

For those of you who may not know and Tim may be too shy to say in his

introductions, he really, really loves to discuss cats!

I am Amie, married for a looong time and have two young adults, okay, we have a

son and since he will never mature, I guess only one young adult - , who

is 26 yrs old and works 40 hours a week in the mailroom at the Dept. of Commerce

in DC as a contractor! She is very active in Special Olympics here in No. VA and

with two dance groups - one church and one for adults with brain disabilities

called Rhythms of Hope.

Our son is attending ECU in North Carolina planning on obtaining a BFA with a

major in wood. Hush, Tim.

He has severe ADHD.

Rejoice!

Amie

[Guest guest]

For those of you who may not know and Tim may be too shy to say in his

introductions, he really, really loves to discuss cats!

I am Amie, married for a looong time and have two young adults, okay, we have a

son and since he will never mature, I guess only one young adult - , who

is 26 yrs old and works 40 hours a week in the mailroom at the Dept. of Commerce

in DC as a contractor! She is very active in Special Olympics here in No. VA and

with two dance groups - one church and one for adults with brain disabilities

called Rhythms of Hope.

Our son is attending ECU in North Carolina planning on obtaining a BFA with a

major in wood. Hush, Tim.

He has severe ADHD.

Rejoice!

Amie

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone

My name is Patty and I am usually a lurker but occasionally I respond. I

hope that everyone had a great Christmas and I pray that everyone will

have a great year. I live in NM and I am married my husband name is

Layne. We have 2 daughters Lyndara (DS) and is 12 years old and Tatiana

who is 5 years old. Lyndara is a healthy young lady who also has CP, is

non-verbal, visually impaired, and has started puberty. I do believe

that the starting of puberty is her biggest disability at this time. I

really don't think that it is fair that they are delayed in everything

else why can't this area also be delayed, LOL. I am a RN and I do home

health care for medically fragile children. I have enjoyed being part of

this list for the last couple of years you all remind me that I am not

along in this crazy world fighting for our kids right. Take care and I

will look forward to talking with you all throughout this next year.

Patty

Introductions

Since things have been quiet, let's do introductions again. For those

who

haven't been here when it's been done, you can introduce your whole

family

with a blurb about each one. You can also give your location - and

please

include your child with DS's medical issues - others may be lurking and

prefer private emailing.

---

Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).

Version: 6.0.823 / Virus Database: 561 - Release Date: 12/27/2004

Click reply to all for messages to go to the list. Just hit reply for

messages to go to the sender of the message.

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone

My name is Patty and I am usually a lurker but occasionally I respond. I

hope that everyone had a great Christmas and I pray that everyone will

have a great year. I live in NM and I am married my husband name is

Layne. We have 2 daughters Lyndara (DS) and is 12 years old and Tatiana

who is 5 years old. Lyndara is a healthy young lady who also has CP, is

non-verbal, visually impaired, and has started puberty. I do believe

that the starting of puberty is her biggest disability at this time. I

really don't think that it is fair that they are delayed in everything

else why can't this area also be delayed, LOL. I am a RN and I do home

health care for medically fragile children. I have enjoyed being part of

this list for the last couple of years you all remind me that I am not

along in this crazy world fighting for our kids right. Take care and I

will look forward to talking with you all throughout this next year.

Patty

Introductions

Since things have been quiet, let's do introductions again. For those

who

haven't been here when it's been done, you can introduce your whole

family

with a blurb about each one. You can also give your location - and

please

include your child with DS's medical issues - others may be lurking and

prefer private emailing.

---

Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).

Version: 6.0.823 / Virus Database: 561 - Release Date: 12/27/2004

Click reply to all for messages to go to the list. Just hit reply for

messages to go to the sender of the message.

[Guest guest]

Oh by the way I'm old, broke, and have lots of gray hairs now lol.

>>>>>>>>>>>

If you think you have alot of gray hair now, wait until the little one wandering

gene kicks in. (tho maybe I shouldn't mention that. <G>)

[Guest guest]

Oh by the way I'm old, broke, and have lots of gray hairs now lol.

>>>>>>>>>>>

If you think you have alot of gray hair now, wait until the little one wandering

gene kicks in. (tho maybe I shouldn't mention that. <G>)

[Guest guest]

I'm Kitti married to for over 37 years. We have three children:

is 36, married with 3 step sons and lives in Michigan; is 33

1/2,

married, no children, both geologists with 3 cats and lives in small

community in Ohio. Then there is Meghan, who is 16 w/DS. She's a sophomore in

high

school, in inclusive classes, member of the String Orchestra, plays violin; also

member of The Dance Group. Outside of school, she participates in Special

Olympics figure skating. She has also taken ballet since 5 years old. We live on

the north coast of Ohio. I work part time as secretary to the manager of three

golf courses in our local metroparks and hubby is retiring in February after

37 years with that company.

Kitti in OH

[Guest guest]

I'm Kitti married to for over 37 years. We have three children:

is 36, married with 3 step sons and lives in Michigan; is 33

1/2,

married, no children, both geologists with 3 cats and lives in small

community in Ohio. Then there is Meghan, who is 16 w/DS. She's a sophomore in

high

school, in inclusive classes, member of the String Orchestra, plays violin; also

member of The Dance Group. Outside of school, she participates in Special

Olympics figure skating. She has also taken ballet since 5 years old. We live on

the north coast of Ohio. I work part time as secretary to the manager of three

golf courses in our local metroparks and hubby is retiring in February after

37 years with that company.

Kitti in OH

[Guest guest]

Me too. I'm old, 44 feel like 70, always broke regardless of how much money

comes into my wallet, and the dye I use for the grey hair never covers the

roots!

Dad to , Kristi, (all three Down syndrome) and (Cri du

chat)

Husband to C. in Mo.

Uncle Daddy to and in Calif. (Down syndrome)

Re: Introductions

>

>

>

> Oh by the way I'm old, broke, and have lots of gray hairs now lol.

>

> >>>>>>>>>>>

> If you think you have alot of gray hair now, wait until the little one

wandering gene kicks in. (tho maybe I shouldn't mention that. <G>)

>

>

[Guest guest]

Me too. I'm old, 44 feel like 70, always broke regardless of how much money

comes into my wallet, and the dye I use for the grey hair never covers the

roots!

Dad to , Kristi, (all three Down syndrome) and (Cri du

chat)

Husband to C. in Mo.

Uncle Daddy to and in Calif. (Down syndrome)

Re: Introductions

>

>

>

> Oh by the way I'm old, broke, and have lots of gray hairs now lol.

>

> >>>>>>>>>>>

> If you think you have alot of gray hair now, wait until the little one

wandering gene kicks in. (tho maybe I shouldn't mention that. <G>)

>

>

[Guest guest]

I guess I'll do my introduction as well.

I'm Cari, mom to 11 yo Nick who just happens to have Down Syndrome, 4 (soon

to be 4) yo and 2 (soon to be 3) yo Zachary. I'm wife to Jeff (a

coal miner turn LPN) and step-mom to 14 yo .

I've known the Castens since our boys, Nick and , were born. We met

shortly after 's birth. (Nick is 11 days older than .) I was

a single mom with a newborn with special needs living 2 hours from my

nearest family and was an experienced mom of (with the birth of )

4.

A co-worker of mine and a friend of 's introduced us to each other when

she discovered we had a newborn with Down Syndrome in common.

Nick has been a healthy little boy. He did spend 1 week in the newborn

nursery (back when WVU had those) due to PDA, Aortic Valve Regurtitation and

eating issues. Seems the little guy couldn't figure out the first few days

that

he had to suck and swallow to get the milk down, but he quickly figured out

that by doing so he didn't have to have the NG tube in so started sucking and

swallowing. About two years ago, Nick was diagnosed with Hyperlexion

Development Delay Disorder and was started on .05 mg Clonidine in the morning

and .1

mg. at bedtime, gradually Adderall Xr was added. He was up to 10mg of the

Adderall Xr and I started noticing some things that concerned me. Over

Christmas we forgot to give him the Adderall Xr & the Clonidine (am) and I

noticed

an improvement (no more whiny, nothing can make me happy moods); however, the

implusivity (language wise) was still there. Today DH tried the Clonidine

in the am and some of the implusivity has decreased. Not sure how he will do

once he returns to school Monday, but if there isn't any problem, I plan to

call the doctor and get him off the Adderall Xr. May need to look at

something else if he has too many focus problems once he returns to school.

Cari

[Guest guest]

I guess I'll do my introduction as well.

I'm Cari, mom to 11 yo Nick who just happens to have Down Syndrome, 4 (soon

to be 4) yo and 2 (soon to be 3) yo Zachary. I'm wife to Jeff (a

coal miner turn LPN) and step-mom to 14 yo .

I've known the Castens since our boys, Nick and , were born. We met

shortly after 's birth. (Nick is 11 days older than .) I was

a single mom with a newborn with special needs living 2 hours from my

nearest family and was an experienced mom of (with the birth of )

4.

A co-worker of mine and a friend of 's introduced us to each other when

she discovered we had a newborn with Down Syndrome in common.

Nick has been a healthy little boy. He did spend 1 week in the newborn

nursery (back when WVU had those) due to PDA, Aortic Valve Regurtitation and

eating issues. Seems the little guy couldn't figure out the first few days

that

he had to suck and swallow to get the milk down, but he quickly figured out

that by doing so he didn't have to have the NG tube in so started sucking and

swallowing. About two years ago, Nick was diagnosed with Hyperlexion

Development Delay Disorder and was started on .05 mg Clonidine in the morning

and .1

mg. at bedtime, gradually Adderall Xr was added. He was up to 10mg of the

Adderall Xr and I started noticing some things that concerned me. Over

Christmas we forgot to give him the Adderall Xr & the Clonidine (am) and I

noticed

an improvement (no more whiny, nothing can make me happy moods); however, the

implusivity (language wise) was still there. Today DH tried the Clonidine

in the am and some of the implusivity has decreased. Not sure how he will do

once he returns to school Monday, but if there isn't any problem, I plan to

call the doctor and get him off the Adderall Xr. May need to look at

something else if he has too many focus problems once he returns to school.

Cari

[Guest guest]

I am , mom to 12 and Noah 4 both charming, cute and both with

Down syndrome. We live in beautiful Colorado and we love the Denver Broncos!

This is our 15th year of having season tickets and has gone to all of

the games this year including the snowing, below freezing Sunday night Raider

game! He is the highlight of the South stands where he high five everyone up

and down the steps when the Broncos score.

is in 7th grade and loves everything about middle school, the dances

the best! wrestles and runs track for the school and has lettered in

both sports the last two years. He is fully included with incredible peer

support. He is also learning to play the guitar so he got a new guitar for

Christmas. also enjoys driving a sandrail (dune buggy) and can't wait

for

the day he can drive a car.

Noah is in preschool and is about the cutest little guy I have ever seen. He

is little, 26lbs but gaining weight since his heart surgery in June. He loves

being outside and of course playing with .

I look forward to reading all the intros!!!

[Guest guest]

I am , mom to 12 and Noah 4 both charming, cute and both with

Down syndrome. We live in beautiful Colorado and we love the Denver Broncos!

This is our 15th year of having season tickets and has gone to all of

the games this year including the snowing, below freezing Sunday night Raider

game! He is the highlight of the South stands where he high five everyone up

and down the steps when the Broncos score.

is in 7th grade and loves everything about middle school, the dances

the best! wrestles and runs track for the school and has lettered in

both sports the last two years. He is fully included with incredible peer

support. He is also learning to play the guitar so he got a new guitar for

Christmas. also enjoys driving a sandrail (dune buggy) and can't wait

for

the day he can drive a car.

Noah is in preschool and is about the cutest little guy I have ever seen. He

is little, 26lbs but gaining weight since his heart surgery in June. He loves

being outside and of course playing with .

I look forward to reading all the intros!!!

[Guest guest]

Oh INtros. :-)

I'm Joy, married to Jeff for 28 yrs. We farm in SE MN, and I work at the Mayo

Clinic in Rochester (the one in MN) Jeff farms, up until three years ago we

milked cows (huge pain in the rear, life is so relaxing without them...we

actually have time to go out to eat or just go for a ride)

Our oldest dd is now 28 and getting married in June to Ed, she lives in Phoenix,

AZ where she teaches 2nd grade. They were just up here for the holidays and it

was cold, she's very happy with her choice of warm AZ to live in after being up

here over Christmas. LOL Ed works in the A/C installation.

The next dd is 26, shes been married to Colin for almost 2 yrs. They live in

Woodbury, MN and she works in a hospital in ST. as a nurse. They're in the

process of buying thier first home. Colin is in loss prevention with Fleet

Farm.

The third dd is , 21, she's been married for 3 yrs to . She's still

taking classes for photography, she started out going for something in digital

design, but photography became her passion. :-) drives truck.

The 4th dd is , ds, 15. attends MSAD, (Minnesota State Academy for the

Deaf). No is is not deaf but hearing impaired, she also has very poor speech,

so imersion in ASL was how we decided to give her the opertunity to learn to

communicate after going pre-school-6th grade in her home school district. She

leaves home on Monday mornings and returns on Fridays.

We do wish we had taken advantage of the oppertunies offered by a small

specialized school earlier in her life, since she has grown so much in the 3 yrs

she's been going there. The decision to let her stay in the dorms all the time

was hard, the first year she only stayed a night, then two then the full week by

the last part of the year. The decision seems to have been the best one for

HER. She loves it, it gives her many oppertunies that she doesn't get because

of time constaints at home. :-) Plus it put her in an enviroment where she

finally had reason to look for cars. (not much oppertunity in the middle of no

where, lol) She will remain in the 'nest' through this year and next. This is

a middle school setting, personally we don't see any need to rush her into the

high school setting since she can attend school until she's 21 and she is quite

happy and learning well where she is. Always remember that what is best for

your child may not be the same as someone elses, we tried the

inclusive/mainstreaming thing and quite frankly looking back it was a poor

choice for us and most importantly for her.

She also loves to ride motorcycle with her Dad and I which works out great since

I now ride my own. When she rides with us we use the old-fart bike (83 yamaha

venture) without her Jeff rides his much newer Honda Valkyrie. I ride a Honda

Shadow. We rode out to the Black Hills last summer while was in Summer

school, Jeff won the iron butt award. hehehe (I felt like killing him at one

time, hehe)

Well that's us.

I've enjoyed learning about everyone.

Joy

[Guest guest]

Oh INtros. :-)

I'm Joy, married to Jeff for 28 yrs. We farm in SE MN, and I work at the Mayo

Clinic in Rochester (the one in MN) Jeff farms, up until three years ago we

milked cows (huge pain in the rear, life is so relaxing without them...we

actually have time to go out to eat or just go for a ride)

Our oldest dd is now 28 and getting married in June to Ed, she lives in Phoenix,

AZ where she teaches 2nd grade. They were just up here for the holidays and it

was cold, she's very happy with her choice of warm AZ to live in after being up

here over Christmas. LOL Ed works in the A/C installation.

The next dd is 26, shes been married to Colin for almost 2 yrs. They live in

Woodbury, MN and she works in a hospital in ST. as a nurse. They're in the

process of buying thier first home. Colin is in loss prevention with Fleet

Farm.

The third dd is , 21, she's been married for 3 yrs to . She's still

taking classes for photography, she started out going for something in digital

design, but photography became her passion. :-) drives truck.

The 4th dd is , ds, 15. attends MSAD, (Minnesota State Academy for the

Deaf). No is is not deaf but hearing impaired, she also has very poor speech,

so imersion in ASL was how we decided to give her the opertunity to learn to

communicate after going pre-school-6th grade in her home school district. She

leaves home on Monday mornings and returns on Fridays.

We do wish we had taken advantage of the oppertunies offered by a small

specialized school earlier in her life, since she has grown so much in the 3 yrs

she's been going there. The decision to let her stay in the dorms all the time

was hard, the first year she only stayed a night, then two then the full week by

the last part of the year. The decision seems to have been the best one for

HER. She loves it, it gives her many oppertunies that she doesn't get because

of time constaints at home. :-) Plus it put her in an enviroment where she

finally had reason to look for cars. (not much oppertunity in the middle of no

where, lol) She will remain in the 'nest' through this year and next. This is

a middle school setting, personally we don't see any need to rush her into the

high school setting since she can attend school until she's 21 and she is quite

happy and learning well where she is. Always remember that what is best for

your child may not be the same as someone elses, we tried the

inclusive/mainstreaming thing and quite frankly looking back it was a poor

choice for us and most importantly for her.

She also loves to ride motorcycle with her Dad and I which works out great since

I now ride my own. When she rides with us we use the old-fart bike (83 yamaha

venture) without her Jeff rides his much newer Honda Valkyrie. I ride a Honda

Shadow. We rode out to the Black Hills last summer while was in Summer

school, Jeff won the iron butt award. hehehe (I felt like killing him at one

time, hehe)

Well that's us.

I've enjoyed learning about everyone.

Joy

[Guest guest]

i'm 50 and i tought about dying the gray hairs but i think i would need a total

body immersion....... lol

--------- Re: Introductions

>

>

> >

> >

> >

> > Oh by the way I'm old, broke, and have lots of gray hairs now lol.

> >

> > >>>>>>>>>>>

> > If you think you have alot of gray hair now, wait until the little one

> wandering gene kicks in. (tho maybe I shouldn't mention that. )

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

Yes we did get out to sturgis, almost froze to death that morning, had waited

for the rain to stop before we left for the 25 mile ride up the freeway, gotta

love that 65-70 mph rides. :-) So now I can actually say I've been to STrugis,

maybe not during the rally but I have been there. LOL

This year we plan on trying to get to the UP in Michigan, there are evidently

some really nice roads to ride up there. We were supposed to go there instead

of SD but it was supposed to rain up there all that week, the only place that

didn't have rain almost everyday in the forecast was SD so we went west.

Joy

PS I actually survided hairpin turns going up and sprials coming down them

hills. YIKES. I was happy we went the way we did, since I'm not so sure how

well going up a spiraling road would go for me. :-)

Re: Introductions

Joy,

Did you go out to Sturgis? We've been stationed in SD three times with the Air

Force, so I'm