Pinetop

We have really enjoyed our trips to Pinetop and love having our own little place we can go with the dogs. Every time we go, the landscape is a little different and the renovations at our favorite lake (Woodland Lake) are complete. They redid all the asphalt on the paths so they are wider now and the lake is now full. They continue to add new playground equipment, and it is a great environment for everyone. Dainis loves to go to the different antique stores and check out the best deals, and we have our favorite restaurants. We usually do take out and enjoy eating at home with the dogs. We are set up outside on our little porch with a table and chairs and small propane firepit so when it is nice, we can eat outside. We even purchased a used gas grill so we can cook out!

Abilities Expo

 We have never attended the Abilities Expo, held in Scottsdale, but decided to go this year to find out more about service dogs. We learned some new things and got some good contacts. I also had the opportunity to meet a fellow stroke survivor named Christopher Ewing. Chris is from CA and is actually a tv producer. He owns his own green room and equipment and when he had his stroke, he decided to use his resources to start helping other stroke survivors. He teamed up with Abilities Expo to be the voice of stroke and started a Stroke TV channel along with a podcast. I would love to be on his podcast at some point and was glad I had the opportunity to meet him in person.

Juan's Job

 Juan continues to work at La Loma Assistive Living, which is a part of Sun Health. We are very proud of him for his dedication and the responsibility he has shown there. He has a tenure of over two years and they continue to promote him in both position and salary. He started out as a part-time dishwasher. He was then trained as an expeditor. He is now a cook. Because he is trained in all three areas, he is quite valuable to them in the kitchen and can jump into any of those roles at any time. As he looks towards high school and technical school graduation with his Coding degree, we are encouraging him to consider the full-time employment options at Sun Health in their IT department. Although he is also looking at college options, using his technical degree, working first, and maturing some first may be a better choice right now.

Juan's First Day of His Senior Year

Juan is not super excited to take pictures unless you get him on a good day so the idea of getting a first day of school picture didn't work so well. Although communication and our relationship isn't as smooth as we would like it to be, we continue to do all the same things we have always done. I have always celebrated special events in the kids' lives like the first day of school, the last day of school, holidays, birthdays, and special achievements. Not only was I brought up with a mom that also went out of her way to always make things special, but I feel like my kids never had this type of love and so if I can make up for lost time, I try to do all I can to show them we care. I hope one day they will look back and realize how hard we really did try. Sadly, their challenges started way before coming to our family and we were just not enough to solve them because they weren't willing to accept the help and guidance we could give them.

An Amazing Speaking Conference

Since I started on this writing journey in winter 2021, I have had the opportunity to attend quite a few wonderful virtual conferences and always learn a lot. When I first heard about Christian Communicators Speakers Conference from a friend in my writer's tribe, I was immediately drawn to it because it is based in TX. I reached out to one of the co-directors and she endorsed my book and supported me before I even signed up for the conference. So, I was very excited to attend for multiple reasons. I was going back to TX, would have the chance to reunite with good friends again, would have the chance to meet authors and speakers I had only met virtually up until now, and I would finally be attending my first in-person conference. It was a wonderful experience and I learned a lot. I made some amazing new friends that I continue to keep in touch with today. I walked away with new headshots that I love and a 3 minute video reel. I am excited for the opportunity to go back again this year and look forward to continue learning and gaining additional speaking skills.

Juan's 18th Birthday!

 Juan celebrated his 18th birthday while we were in TX. At the time we planned the trip, which was a year in advance, he was set to stay with a friend. As the trip neared, those plans fell threw and our communication with Juan sadly continued to diminish. We tried to take him out and celebrate him before leaving, but he was not interested so we left his presents and requested cheesecake for him and he celebrated alone. We have learned so much on this adoption journey and about abandonment, trauma, and mental challenges. There was so much we were unprepared for, and we truly just wanted to love, support, and give kids a forever home that might not have that chance. The fallacy in that was that we were not adequately prepared to deal with all the challenges that came our way and could not get the kids to accept the help they needed to heal. We hope as Juan and his siblings continue to mature and grow into adults, they will make their own way successfully and find the help they need.

Sharing My Story in Texas

Before my speaker conference began, I had the opportunity to share my story on a radio program called Fishbowl Radio. The name of the program is Joy and Company. They interview different authors. Because I was in town, we were able to do the interview in the studio rather than on zoom. It was a great experience!

I also had the opportunity to share my book and story on a faith based internet streaming tv show called the Fanny Minnitt Show. It was another great opportunity to share my story with another audience and I hope that it helped my book sales and also encouraged many listeners.

Texas, Here We Come!

I am so excited to be traveling back to TX once again after being gone for so long! I have the opportunity to attend my first in-person speaker conference in Ft. Worth and Dainis is coming with me. I reached out to several college friends and so excited Kim, Liz, and Jeff will be able to make the trip to Dallas to see us!! I will also have the opportunity to see Traci, my dear friend from high school before my conference begins. It has been years since I have seen all of these friends in person so I am very excited about our time together! 

During my time with Kim, Liz and Jeff, we enjoyed good Mexican Food, visited the church we were married at, our hotel we had the reception at, enjoyed sight seeing, and so grateful for the chance to visit and catch up.

Ingrid's 20th Birthday!

 Although Ingrid is currently living with Sandra and working, we had her over to celebrate her birthday. It has been a challenging time with regards to responsibility, communication, and respect, but we are thankful Ingrid graduated from both high school and West MEC. We are very glad we could celebrate her special day with her and we will see what the future holds.

My 49th Birthday!

 Dainis and my parents always do such a great job celebrating my day and making me feel special. I grew up with a mom who made sure every holiday and birthday was always decorated and celebrated with great presentation. Dainis has been in this family long enough now to know that this is what I always do for others and he does the same for me. The kids did not choose to participate in our celebration this year, but we had a nice time with my parents.