One of my friends made this for our Pumpkin Party earlier in the month. It was SO yummy I had to get her recipe. I am hoping to make this today to share with my mom who arrived yesterday to spend Thanksgiving week with us. :^)
Pumpkin Dump Cake
1 can pumpkin (29 oz.)
1 C sugar
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz.)
3 eggs
1 box yellow cake mix
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 C melted butter
1 C chopped pecans
Combine pumpkin, sugar, evap. milk, eggs, spices, and salt in mixing bowl. Beat well. Pour into greased and floured 9x13 glass pan. Sprinkle cake mix evenly over mixture. Sprinkle the pecans over the cake mix. Pour melted butter over all. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. Watch closely, burns easily. (Knife inserted in the middle of cake should come out clean when done.)
If you are looking for a new yummy Thanksgiving recipe you might want to give this one a try!
Happy Homeschooling,
Jamin
I love field trip days. I look forward to the time learning more about nature or history whatever out topic of the day may be in a fun and hands-on way. I look forward to seeing our friends. I just look forward to all the day has to offer.
As our field trip day approached last week, it was raining and the forecast was grim. It was calling for rain and our field trip was an outdoor nature one. I wondered what the day would hold. We were assured that it would be a go - rain or shine - as shelters were available (unless it was storming).
As we drove over to Falls Lake, a few drops were hitting the windshield. A number of people had to cancel for various reasons. When we arrived, we were a small group. It was overcast and dreary ... and yet beautiful.
The haze obstrucing the view. The brilliant colors of the leaves, muted through the fog. Can you see God in views like this? So many times, I want my path to be clear. I want to see where I am going. I want to know what lies ahead. I want God to tell me what His plans are. I want. I want.
What I don't want is to wait, to wonder, to worry. I don't want to let go of my hopes and dreams. I don't want life to be so unfair for so many. Again, it is all about what I want. Sigh. It is hard when you can see so clearly that your focus is on yourself instead of on God.
I want answers to so many things right now. Things I've been praying about for a long time. It is hard to wait and yet I really do want what God wants for my life. I know He loves me. I know He is working in my life. I know He is there - even when I can't see clearly.
There is beauty in so many places if only we will stop and look. There is often beauty in places that may at first not look beautiful at all. My eyes see things so differently now than they did a few years ago. I'm thankful that God has given me that gift. I continue to pray that God would give me His eyes to see things. It is an area in which I fall short often. I think that the many struggles that our family has been through have helped to open my eyes to so much. I'm not the same and for that I'm thankful - and yet there is still so much work left to be done in me. I think the more I learn about Him, the more I can see that I lack. I'm thankful that I don't have to earn His love, but that it has been freely given to me.
Now, on to the field trip. We split into 2 groups. The younger children were learning about Dangerous Plants and Animals. The Ranger talked with us about spiders, snakes, fire ants, bees, ticks, poison ivy and unfamiliar dogs. He gave the children a lot of good information on what to do when you encounter these animals/plants.
We looked at pictures in order to recognize various species such as the Black Widow spider.
And even saw some that had once been alive.
The most dangerous snake in our area is the Copperhead. It was good to see what it looked like so that we could hopefully recognize one we might see. (Though I hope we never see one!)
Due to its coloring, this snake can easily hide among the leaves.
The Ranger also shared the most poisonous snakes have larger triangular shaped heads and eyes shaped like slits. One of the snakes that breaks these rules though is also found in NC, though typically not near us. It is the Coral Snake.
In order to help remember this snake, the children learned a rhyme.
Red and yellow kills a fellow
Red and black, OK Jack
They looked at some snake skins.
We walked around a bit and looked at the poison ivy vines growing on some nearby trees. Then we just played. It is a beautiful area and I'm thankful we had the opportunity to be outside today.
While we were with the younger children, the older kids had a class on Compasses. They learned about how to read and use a compass and then were tested on this by having to put their skills to a test. There were directions given and then they followed them to see where they ended up on a numbered line. The teams were given points based on how close they were to the right numbers. I heard great reports on this class, but unfortunately have no pictures to share. Please check out my friend Lynn's blog (click on her name) for more details and some pictures of this group.
A couple of hours later, some of the fog had lifted and the view was a little clearer. I love the reflection of the trees!
At lunch, we had a scare as Joshua's blood glucose numbers were very, very high. I haven't seen numbers like this since the week he was diagnosed. It was frightening. I had him wash his hands again and then we did a recheck. The number was accurate. We treated it and thankfully he was down 200 points by mid-afternoon and another 100 points by dinner time. Yes, it was that high!
He ALWAYS spikes on our field trip days. Always. I'm not sure if it is just the excitement of being with friends on a fun outing, but I've come to expect higher numbers on those days. Just nothing like this. It usually evens out by later in the day too. I'm not sure if there is more I could or should be doing about it either. I have talked with his doctor about this. I'm going to try to make sure he is well hydrated on these mornings and just continue to do our best. (There is no other factor that is different in terms of food, carb counting or amount of insulin.) It's a mystery as this disease often is. It can be a hard thing.
So often I'm asked if his diabetes is "under control". I'm not sure if it ever will be under our control. We are doing our best to manage it day by day and I think that is all we can do. Just yesterday a friend told me that it was still a struggle for her dh who also have Type 1 and that he still has highs and lows. I think part of the challenge is that so many different factors can affect your numbers. We are learning though and hopefully we'll continue to improve and get better. There is a high incentive to do well and with God's help we will continue to work at it each day.
I feel like I've been rambling and want to end with some things I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for our health. I don't think I'll ever take this for granted again. I'm thankful for a wonderful medical team. I'm thankful for friends. I'm thankful for a great FIAR homeschool group. I'm thankful for the many things in nature that God has made - each pointing back to a wonderful Designer. I'm thankful for my family. I'm richly blessed.
With love,
Leslie
I've had many comments from people asking how I am doing. I thought I would share a prayer I wrote a couple of weeks ago during my quiet time. It will give you all an idea how my life is right now....
Dear Lord,
Thank you for showing me how to study your word. Please give me a strong desire to want to study your word and pray. To be honest, sometimes I just don't feel like it. Right now I am more confused than ever. I don't feel completely happy with my life. I still don't know for sure if I am supposed to stay with Eric. I have serious doubts about his recent "conversion." I truly do not believe that he is sincere. I know it is wrong for me to feel that way. Help me to faithfully keep praying for him. He says he loves me, but I have been pushed so far that I am just tired. There are times I just want him to go away.It seems as if our relationship is based only on sex. And while I do enjoy that with him, I miss having a true-deeper relationship with my husband. I care deeply for Eric, but I do not truly love him. I know in the back of my mind that our relationship is never really going to work. It will never work as long as he chooses to leave You out of his life. It was selfish of me to marry him-I didn't want/was afraid of being alone. Since our marriage, I haven't been as faithful to You-You should be my first priority. The things Eric does and wants to do really bother me and are a source of constant strife in our marriage. The things that bother me are: smoking pot, snorting pills, drinking, cursing all the time, his music-nothing but mind garbage, he makes fun of my music-which is all on christian radio, referring to other girls and my private parts all the time-the vulgarity, his disregard for what is right-he wants to rationalize everything to make it right for him, his constant mood swings(which are brought on by all the drugs he takes), I never know when I get home what kind of mood he will be in-he always wants to pick an argument with me, yet later turns it all around and blames it on me, doing needle drugs, his constant verbal and sometimes physical abuse - he snapped a couple of weeks ago in the car-left 2 bruises on my arm. Really scared me-this is the 3rd time he has shown violent behavior. I am afraid of him.
I think my biggest problem is just letting go of Eric-for good. My fear of being alone just terrifies me. It sounds awful, but I really hoped they would put him in jail(a charge he got for stealing). They didn't...they gave him a year's probation. I have so much to consider...I am pregnant with his child...due in February. I don't want him around the baby, not with his language and all that he does. Then again I am so afraid of how I will take care of this baby alone. Taking off work, paying bills, finding a good daycare(something I am so against)-these things are all constant stressors in the back of my mind. I know my mom will not help-I am a huge disappointment to her. I wish she knew all the struggles I have with my conscience, my faith, trying to let go of Eric. I am still a christian. I still want to do what is right-what God wants me to do. It's just finding that clarity-knowing for sure what He wants me to do. I spoke with people at my church and they encouraged me to keep trying to make it work and just pray for my husband.
And then there is my ex-husband. I am still very much in love with him. I still feel so much guilt for the things I did that led to our divorce. Sometimes I miss him so much I want to die. It still hurts so much. And I miss my children so much. Seeing them only twice a month is just not enough. I feel guilty for not being there for them. And Christmas this year is a constant worry for me. I simply don't have enough money to get gifts for my children, let alone anyone else in my family. I am struggling so much...sometimes I just want to quit.
Please Lord, help me to know for sure what it is you want me to do. Give me the strength to do what I need to do. Keep me and our baby safe. Please take all these things that are burdening me, Lord. Help me not to worry about them. Please take them from me and give me a peace about my situation. In Christ's name, A-men.
What I would love to be able to write is what a sweet fun time we had today making this craft. I don't do crafts all that often and the boys typically really like doing them. I was looking forward to them having fun with this activity. I would like to say that we enjoyed laughter while we talked about turkeys and the day of giving thanks. I would like to say that everyone was happy and cooperative while we were working.
Instead though, I'll tell you what really happened. We waited until the end of the day to do this craft. (That was probably mistake number one, but we had a couple of therapies and a science lab interupting our day). The boys were to have gathered pine cones earlier in the day. One hadn't and went out to find one in the dark. It was a small one and he was not pleased with it. Another boy had gathered two earlier in the day. Well, the first boy decided he wanted the extra one (though wasn't all that nice in asking). The other boy didn't want to give his up. Hearing them argue over a pine cone didn't do a lot to put me in the best of moods either. And no, I didn't take advantage of this teachable moment to talk about sharing or listening or anything else. My first thought was that I needed to remember this when it came time to do Christmas crafts! lol
The boys were a little ... less patient that I would have liked for them to be. I probably was too! The pine cones were prickly and didn't feel good on the hands. The pipe cleaners hard to manuever and the level of difficulty was just too much for my boys at this time. I ended up helping them a lot. (And did I mention that they weren't really being patient?)
In the end, we got them made. And they are cute.
I think the lessons that I need to learn are several.
*Don't wait until the end of the day for crafting when people are tired and the grumpiness comes on faster.
*Check the level of difficulty before starting a craft.
*Patience, patience, patience. I need to model it and teach it through my actions.
I know we'll remember these turkeys - and hopefully not the bickering that went with it. I hope I'll learn. I wasn't at my best tonight, but thankfully, there will be another chance. Thankfully the boys are pretty forgiving and love me in spite of my flaws (and the feeling is very mutual). I'm thankful for the times that I fail for it reminds me that I struggle just like my children do. It reminds me of how much I need a Savior to shape and mold me into the image of the one I want to reflect. So while it may not have been a teachable moment that was used wisely, I did learn from it.
Just thought some might like to see a less than stellar experience. We all have them. Sometimes I think people can feel discouraged when they hear about "all" that someone else is doing. Most of us tend to share the positives (I'm no exception). Just know that we all have those days - and so do our children. I still have much to be thankful for and yes, I will still do crafts with them at Christmas.
Blessings
Leslie
P.S. If you are looking for something fun to add to your November, check out the blog of my FIAR friend Kendra She has posted a great list of activities to do celebrating Thanksgiving.
We had another fabulous co-op day. I feel so very blessed to be a part of this group. The talent, creativity and energy is amazing - and a delight to be a part of. And fun! This is a fun group of children and moms!
We started out talking about fats. Hmmm ... interesting start to the day, isn't it? But, it did weave in through the other topics. The children went to a table to see lots of jars filled with interesting colors and substances. Each had water and a fat in the jar.
The jars were passed around and the children shook them up to see if they could get the fats to dissolve. Some did while others were more resistant to change forms. We heated a couple to see if this made a difference and it did for a short time. It was interesting to learn and observe the difference. The shaking was a hit too.
Next it was time for art. This involved fats too! The children did a crayon resist using light colored crayons on art paper. The crayons were a fat. They drew designs on their cards and then went over these with watercolors. Each child was given 3 cards on which to paint and later send to a friend or grandparent. Look at this beautiful example. Can you see the lightning?
It was fun to see the various designs that the children came up with and how the watercolors just did not stick to or mix with the crayons.
I didn't get a good close-up of the art, but you can see the technique in the red card on the table. The word "Hello" is written in crayon then painted over with red paint. The word just pops out from the paint. It's neat and it a good use for those white crayons!
The next part of the lesson was about taste and the ways in which our body sends messages to the brain. The children formed a chain by holding hands. They were to squeeze the next persons hand and say "ouch" to see how long it too the message to get around the group.
Then we learned about the 5 (yes, one more than I learned about in school) areas of taste. The new one is savory
We also learned that the tongue can taste all of the areas throughout and not just in one spot. That makes more sense to me. This ball was a representation of the various areas of taste (see how the ends on the ball match the chart above?).
We learned about what happens when we eat something hot! The Scoville chart for measuring heat was discussed and various types of peppers listed. (This may not sound interesting, but our energetic teacher made this very exciting and hands-on!)
When we eat something hot and then drink water, the water acts to push the hot further into our taste buds making it seem hotter still. If however we choose to eat or drink something with fat in it like milk or yogurt, then the fat will bind with the heat and pull it away from our tongue.
Now, it was time to put that to the test. The table was lined with 10 containers numbered from 1 to 10. Each person started at 1 which was the mildest with no heat in it at all and then went as close to 10 as they wanted to go!
They each took turns. Some needed some coaxing to keep going. Others were eager to try more.
A lot of the children made it to 10! (It was yummy!)
While the older kids were learning, Rebecca was playing with Eliana and her friend. She even brought some craft things for them to work on during this time. What a thoughtful big sister! She is awesome with younger children!
Daniel was given a neat picture from his friend Miss Lynn. It is the leaves that they gathered at our last co-op. She laminated them and made the page so that it could be hung on a window. He was delighted and loves seeing it in our kitchen. Wasn't that so very thoughtful?! Thank you friend!
Another fun day with friends. I love these days! Hope you enjoyed the pictures.
Blessings
Leslie
A sweet friend recently let me know that I'd been nominated for a homeschool blogger award (thank you Kendra!). I was surprised as I didn't know anything about it. I wasn't sure whether to post anything or not as I didn't want to be asking for votes. I do however want to thank whomever nominated me. Thank you. It was very sweet!
I've been nominated in two catagories. You can click on them if you want to see more.
I appreciate the encouragment. I am thankful for the opportunity to share some of my life and always hope that it may bless and encourage someone else. I feel that we all have great things to share as God is working in each of our lives. I love that He has made us each unique with incredible gifts and talents. I'm fortunate and thankful to be in a place doing what I love. God is good.
I wanted to share a few other things. Daniel has an appt with the specialist (neuro ophthamologist) in 2 weeks. We were told that there would be 3 hours of testing done (to determine why he has optic nerve pallor in one eye). I'm not sure what kind of testing. I'm sure though that it will be a hard time for my sweet little boy due to his sensory issues. We would love your prayers. I confess that it is hard not to worry about what this could mean - especially if I do any googling on the exact words used to describe his eye. We are hoping it is nothing or something fixable. I've been told it may take a month to get the results! I"m hoping that is not right! I'll post more as we get closer to the date. The date and time are also going to be a challenge for us personally. They can only see us on the one day that is worst for us (field trip day) and beginning at lunch time (hard to juggle with Joshua's diabetes needs). I know it will work out and I'm glad to have an appt sooner rather than later.
Isaiah had an OT evaluation today and our therapist said he would definitely qualify for OT (occupational therapy) based on his handwriting and is looking to score his other tests to see if there are any other areas that need to be addressed. He did well during the evaluation and seemed to have some fun with parts of it too. I'm not sure when therapy will start for him. (She told us there is a waiting list, but that it may be shorter for him since we can come during school hours.) It's a step in getting some help for our sweet boy so he isn't struggling. It is hard on a mama's heart to see your child struggle and to want so much to help. I know that some struggle can be good and hopefully I can help him to learn from the struggles, because that is something that can apply to life over and over again.
Joshua is doing pretty well. Diabetes managment can be such a roller coaster though!!! Some days he seems to spike or plummet for unknown reasons. Learning how to treat him is as much an art as it is a science. He has a great attitude most of the time. As an aside, Isaiah is very concerned about him and prays often that a cure would be found.
Lastly, just something sweet.
There are times when I just watch and think how lucky my children are to have each other. One day, Rebecca decided to make cookies. This wasn't a huge surprise as she does like to cook. (I really appreciate this as cooking is not my favorite thing to do.) The surprising part was when she included Eliana. She got aprons for both of them, pulled up a chair and let Eliana help.
Is that cute or what? Doesn't Eliana have the best big sister?!
That's all for now. I need to go finish up school and then get dinner started. Thank you friends for your encouragment and prayers.
With love
Leslie
Our First Thanksgiving Dinner was Friday and it was AWESOME! We had 40 kids from 18 families attend for a total of 60 people in attendance. (Just a few more than the 53 Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving!)
Here is the day in pictures...
Here I am with my 2 youngest. (Oh, come on you knew you would see me dressed like a Pilgrim at some point! LOL My costume was just a black shirt and skirt I had in my closet. Then I wore one of the hats I had made and added a collar and apron made from white felt. Super simple!)
Here are some of the Indians and Pilgrims arrving.
My handsome Indian teenager!
His shirt is a white t-shirt we tea stained and then fringed the edges with scissors. It was super easy! (I boiled about a gallon of water and then seeped 7 tea bags until it was pretty dark. Then I removed the tea bags and soaked the shirt for about 30 minutes. Then I put the t-shirt through the spin cycle of the washer and ran it through the dryer. Once it was dry we fringed the edges with scissors. You could add beads too.)
After everyone arrived and got their hats on I spent a few minutes talking to the kids about the first Thanksgiving. Here are some of the kids listening to me talk.
I asked them lots of questions too so they all got to tell what they know about the first thanksgiving.
Then we had a story.
The First Thanksgiving By: Linda Hayward
Here is my daughter reciting a poem she memorized as the blessing for the food.
The First Thanksgiving
When the Pilgrims
first gathered together to share
with their Indian friends
in the mild autumn air,
they lifted the voices
in jubilant praise
for the bread on the table,
the berries and maize,
for field and for forest,
for turkey and deer,
for the bountiful crops
they were blessed with that year.
They were thankful for these
as they feasted away,
and as they were thankful
we're thankful today.
Author Unknown
She did an AWESOME job. I was so proud of her!
The FOOD!
We had turkey, fish, deer stew, fruit, nuts, cheese, corn chowder, potatoes, cranberry salad, apple sauce, and a lot more! Yummy!!!!
Pilgrims and Indians eating together.
Lots of yummy food!
We also played games. Here are a few of the pilgrim girls heading out to play games.
And my WILD Indian boy!
3 Legged Races!
Corn Toss
The Turkey Shoot!
There was also a corn hunt (Similar to a egg hunt except dry corn was thrown in the grass and everyone hunted for it.) and pumpkin races where the kids pushed a pumpkin with a stick, The games were great!
And lastly we made our craft (Which the kids LOVED and I didn't get any pictures of.) and then played Thanksgiving Jingo!
It was an awesome day. I can't wait to do it again next year!
Happy Homeschooling,
Jamin
Click HERE to read my post on planning out this party. :^)
This week-end our Five in a Row homeschool group hosted our biggest event of the year. This is an event we have done annually and this year marked our 8th event! It is a wonderful co-operative event. I love seeing how it all comes together. Each Mom has a job and is responsible for carrying out that job. Seeing the gifts, talents and creativity displayed is an awesome thing! Many of the children and adults come in costume to just make the day one that is exceptionally fun! (I didn't get a family shot, but think I have photos of all but me to share.)
This year we choose the book The Gullywasher around which to build our day. The story takes place in etiher Mexico or the Southwestern US (it isn't clearly stated). It is a tall tale told by a Grandfather to his grandaughter.
I have lots of pictures and it was hard weeding it down. Hopefully you'll get a good idea of our day as I explain what we did. It started early for some of the gals who were busy getting things set up. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that goes into much of this and this year was no exception. I love seeing how an grassy field and picnic shelter are transformed into something special!
We began the morning with a welcome and a prayer for the day. Then we had a telling of the story. This year it was done with a puppet show.
There were some liberties taken with the story, but the general ideas were all there. The children were mesmerized and it was new way to experience the story.
After the story, we were divided into 6 groups to go through an activity/obstacle course. It was not a race, but rather an activity to do as a group. Our group started with lassoing a steer.
Everyone wanted a try.
Even Roger.
It wasn't easy though and most found it hard to get close to the target!
Next, was the rain from the gullywasher. This one was a huge hit with our group. Each child was givein a water gun.
They were to aim at a rain cloud. (Each group had a different cloud.)
As the water hit the cloud, the paint from the cloud begain to "rain" down on the catci below! This was really neat!
A really fun water event even though it was still a bit chilly at this point in the morning!
Next was building birds nests. Each child was given a baking cup and had to search for items with which to build the nest.
Our fourth station was corn grinding. There were ears of Indian Corn and after grinding the corn off the cob, it was used for a craft activity.
Each child selected a fun foam that had a frame in the shape of an ear of corn. The inside was sticky so you just had to press the corn into the picture along with some of the husks at the top.
Even Eliana enjoyed doing this one.
If you notice the "wheel" around his neck, that shows a picture of each station and the order in which to go.
Our fifth station was "pop, pop, pop". There were two parts to this one. First each child had bubble wrap that they stomped on to make it pop and pop.
Next they were able to choose some popcorn to eat - either plain or spicy.
The last station was a carry the horse station (like in the story). We had one person to be the horse (a small person) and then the rest of the group stood in a circle. The horse was then carried from person to person.
Or if the person was smaller than the horse, they might choose to just push the horse.
There was festive music playing while this was going on. It was the scene of much laughter!
When we finished this event, we gathered for a group photo.
Next it was lunch time! What a beautiful spread of delicious foods we had to choose from. Each family brought a main dish, a side and either an appetizer or a dessert. It was so very yummy.
We ate in a beautifully decorated shelter too. I unfortunatly, don't have any really good pictures. Here you can see some of it - but mostly my little sweetie looking up at a pinata.
After lunch, the children had three choices of activities to enjoy. One was an art area in which they could do sand art (peel a piece of paper off the picture and pour colored sand onto the adhesive background) or sticker art (fiesta theme).
There was a science area in which they could learn about a tornado in a bottle or sand/water erosion. There was a demo of how sand was affected by rain (small hole in a cup of water) and flooding (larger hole).
The children were fascinating to see what happened. There were even had houses to show the effects during flooding.
The last area was a sound discovery station. You could expore sound by trying to discern different sounds. There were group of numbered bottles with different items inside (paper clip, screw, coin, etc.) and you would shake the bottle and try to figure out which of the four items was inside. There were able 7 different groups of these to try out. You could then lift the flaps to find the answers.
You could also choose to make instruments like shakers - with a variety of things to go inside and ways to decorate the outside. Tamborines were made from lids that were hole-punched and then strung with floss, bells and washers. Drums were made from empty containers, a balloon and a rubber band.
There was also a free play area with sand, play-doh, horses (stick and plastic) to play with at any time during the event. I have so many pictures that I haven't posted of the creative signs and the set-up at the stations, lots more of many children enjoying the day. Just too many for one blog post. One last picture I wanted to share of two little cuties. Rebecca made these adorable ponchos for Eliana and her friend J. They even wore them the whole day.
We had a beautiful day! That was a real blessing as it rained and rained and rained the days leading up to it. Someone asked me what our back-up plan was - and the answer is that there isn't one. We are able to use this site for free (which helps tremendously with the budgeting for the event) and it has worked beautifully for us for many years. I'm thankful God planned for this to be a beautiful day weather wise (cool and cloudy in the morning and sunny in the afternoon) which was perfect for our day!
I am so thankful to be a part of this group and thankful for each family in it (whether they were there or not). I'm thankful for the moms (and some Dads too) being willing to invest time, talent and energy into pulling off this incredible event. I'm thankful to have such a sweet group with which to share this homeschooling journey! Thanks friends!
Love
Leslie
Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragment. We spent a lot of time preparing for this event and it was such a sweet time! 
We hit some stumbling blocks before and even during the event, but all worked out well. It was neat to be able to talk with Rebecca about how Satan would love for us to be flustered, frustrated and ineffective - but that God was on our side.
We arrived early and set up and had the help of some of the atheletes too. Everyone was SOOOO nice to us! We were in a large room - and it was full! There were more than 100 - up to 150 student athletes, many of whom were freshmen there.
There was an intro and a gal from campus talking about community service opportunities. Then it was our turn. Just before it was our turn, I realized that I had forgotten to bring in my camera! 
It was too late to go get it too. I quickly called home and asked Christopher to call Roger (who was on his way with Eliana) to ask him to bring it in. Well, he couldn't find it. We do have some video though (which I'll try to post later once I get some blog problems figured out) and one of the staff took some photos (which I'll hopefully get soon).
I spoke first and talked some about our time with Duke Children's. Mainly about Eliana's heart. I got choked up. Why can't I share this story without the flood of emotions, even now? I wasn't the only one though. The pictures of our angel in the hospital are hard to see and I could see that on their faces. I ended with a more current picture though and it brought a lot of smiles! I also took some time to briefly share how her having Down syndrome has been such a blessing to our family and to many others that we know. I just wanted to plant a seed so that they can know that Ds is not a bad thing.
After I talked, it was Rebecca's turn. She was very nervous. It was a big crowd! She did an awesome job!!! I wish I could have recorded her. Can I just say how proud I am of my girl? She shared why she wanted to raise money - so that other children with heart conditions could get help at Duke just like her little sister. Her initial goal was to raise $100. She has to date donated over $8000 to Duke Childrens!
The next part was hectic. It was time for making jewelry. They wanted to help build up Rebecca's inventory so that she would be able to sell more and thus give more to Duke Children's. We underestimated what they would be able and willing to do! They made a lot (more than 100 pieces - earrings, bracelets and necklaces). They seemed to have a lot of fun doing it too. Rebecca was kept very, very busy answering questions and helping finish the jewelry. She did a great job.
Roger and Eliana came in after we talked. They thought it would be nice for the students to meet her. I considered bringing her early, but thought that having her around while we were setting up beads seemed like a recipe for disaster. 
We talked to many students. Many came up to meet her and talk with her.
Several shared cookies with her, which she loved. She gave out some hugs and lots of high fives and fist bumps. They seemed to really enjoy her. Many of them thanked us for coming and sharing our story. It was really a privilege to be able to be there.
I'm honestly always so humbled that anyone is interested in our story. Grateful for the hearts that are open to hear and the many that respond in a positive way. I was very impressed by the Duke athletes! Very! It was a wonderful night and I'm so thankful we had the opportunity to be there!
We have been invited to join one of the teams who wants to help make more jewelry. I'm excited and thankful for this next opportunity. Who knew when she made that first bracelet that it would ever come to this?
Here is a photo of my beautiful girls.
We are hoping to set up a "store" or website as we have been asked about this. If anyone has suggestions or advice for us, we would love to hear it!
Lastly, here is an article you can read about our night at goduke.com.
Love
Leslie
I wanted to share a bit more about our time at this walk. We really didn't know what to expect and only decided to go at the last minute. Joshua had been interested in this walk from the time he was in the hospital. When we found out that his last football game was at the same time as the walk, he wasn't sure he wanted to miss his game.
At his last practice, he decided he wanted to do the walk. So we got registered just a short while before the walk and I posted a note here just a day before the walk. We didn't send out letters or try to do a lot of fundraising. We were all thrilled though that some gave anyway. Thank you! You were an encouragment to us all!
The walk started at 10:30. We left early and thought we had plenty of time. We didn't factor in the traffic. LOTS of traffic. It took about 45-50 minutes to go from the exit ramp to the site. I thought we'd never get there. We arrived after the start time, but thankfully it hadn't started yet. :-)
It was a beautiful day! We checked in and got 2 shirts (based on the money we raised). Then we started walking. It was a 2.5 mile walk.
We learned this week that they estimated that there were 8500 walkers there! Lots of people had unique t-shirts for their "team". Joshua thought he'd like one for our team for next year. If any of you are interested, we'd love to have you join us there.
While we were walking, we saw just one person we knew - Joshua's doctor. His wonderful doctor from UNC hospital. I was incredibly touched that she chose to be there.
After the walk, we split up. I stayed with the younger boys at the walk and Roger took the oldest 2 to their sports games. We had lunch. While we were walking to lunch, the boys saw someone "checking blood sugar". It was a first. We've never seen someone else do that. After lunch, we did some of the fun things there like jumping in the bouncey thing.
Getting our photo made in a photo booth.
Playing foosball
There was concert and we listened for a little bit. The bonus was meeting a really nice man with a pump. I spotted it and pointed it out to Joshua. I told him that I was sure he would be willing to answer any questions he might have about it. Sure enough, he was. He was incredibly kind! He is an athlete and competes in the Bike to raise money for JDRF. He showed Joshua his pump and the pump site and told him about it. It was good to see and to learn more about it.
All in all, a fun day. We learned that next year, we need to go earlier.
I'm thankful that there is a group working to raise so much money to help find a cure. There is a saying "Insulin is not a cure, it's life support". That is so true. We hope that there will be a cure one day soon. I hear that there is hope for it in our lifetime. While I do hope this is true, we know that our true hope is in Someone Else. I'm thankful that God knows, understands and walks with us through each day - both the fun ones like this and the ones that are hard.
Thank you for your support and prayers for our family!
With love
Leslie