Countdown to 5k

Hello friends,

In just 3 days Maya and I will be participating in the Friends of the Orphans 5k, Maya in the Kid Run and me pushing her in the stroller for the walk/run. I'm currently 48% of the way towards my fundraising goal of $1,000 and need your help.

Friends of the Orphans is the organization that Sean works for that supports orphan homes in Latin America and the Carribbean, including Haiti. Sean has visited four of the homes and we both went to the Haiti home last summer. We have seen firsthand the powerful and life-changing work that they do, believe strongly in the mission, and try to support them in every way that we can.

The picture below is of our visit to the Haiti home, where we got to meet Herby and Deristin, the boys that we and Sean's brother sponsor.



If you live nearby, I'd love for you to join Maya and me as we walk through beautiful Highland Park this Sunday. If you're interested in supporting Friends of the Orphans by walking or running, please click on the link below for more info:

http://www.friendsoftheorphans.org/s/769/inner.aspx?sid=769&pgid=880&gid=1&cid=1890&ecid=1890

If you're able to donate to the work of Friends of the Orphans, please use the link below to do so online quickly & securely. I thank you in advance for your support, and really appreciate your generosity!!

http://www.active.com/donate/FOTO5K2010/abreininger

Thanks very much and watch for pictures from the event in the next few days!

Add another "sport" to the list...

In our week of illness, which continues on, we've watched the four episodes of the Backyardigans countless times. One features pom pons, which, of course, prompted Maya to wish for a pair of her very own. When her life-saver of an aunt, Amanda, came to babysit for a few hours pom pons were created out of mere paper towels, tape, and glitter glue. Which led to this...

Egg Hunt

Who knew finding plastic eggs could bring this kind of joy?

A bug?

After a call to the ENT office this morning to report the happenings of the weekend, we were told to head in to the Pediatrician or ER today to make sure Maya wasn't dehydrated. We went in to our Doctor and they took chest x-rays to see if she has pneumonia, which she does not. They think that she just happens to have a bug that coincided with surgery. We're making plans to have her stay home again tomorrow just to give her one more day before being around even more germs.

We're not over-protective...we just wanted to make sure she was warm enough!

Recovery

We were told to bring cameras to document this experience for Maya but were there for such a short amount of time that this is pretty much all we got. I will say that lying in a cozy bed, being asked if I, uh, I mean Maya, needed more pillows or a heated blanket and being brought endless popsicles was quite delightful.

Pre-Surgery Play

We were grateful that Maya's surgery was at a Children's hospital for many reasons. This video shows just one.