Last week was Thanksgiving and now we are in the full throws of year end holidays. I love this time of year. We had a quiet Thanksgiving this year. We stayed at home and just hung out as a family and enjoyed the day, the parade, and the football games. My Mom and Dad come over for an altogether non-traditional Thanksgiving meal: Fondue, fries, garlic bread, and salad. We fired up the chocolate fountain and dipped fruit, marshmallows and Snickers bars. Yes, you heard that right, chocolate covered snickers bars. Life just doesn’t get much better than that. It was a great day.
The next day, BLACK FRIDAY, Jenny and I braved the crowds and went to Wal-Mart at 4:45 in the morning and snagged the perfect digital camera for Jenny’s mission trip to Nicaragua. They had a 12 megapixel camera that uses AA batteries for $69.00. Not knowing the power situation where she is going I suggested it might be a good idea to not rely on lithium ion. So now we just need to get some SD card so she can bring back 1000s of pictures. I was not feeling so well, so I came home and crashed and Jenny and Brad went shopping. That girl’s shopping stamina is unbelievable. Then we went to my Mom and Dads to assist with the extreme makeover bathroom edition, but they really didn’t need that much help at this time. Maybe next time. But we did go out to see Disney’s “A Christmas Carol” Grandpa and Mickey in 2D and Grandma, Jenny, Brad and I in IMAX 3D. The animation was excellent, the story left a bit to be desired.
On Saturday, the day culminated with the annual trek to IRT for their rendition of “A Christmas Carol” which, of course was wonderful. We always enjoy this as family. It was opening night for the play and they ended it with inviting alumni from the play onto stage and sing the last song with the current cast. It was truly magical. Then Mickey had a special moment. Her class had gone to IRT to see a play called “The Giver” after they read the book in class. One of the main characters in that play was an alumni of “A Christmas Carol” and Jenny asked him to come say hi to Mickey and he did. She was in heaven. It absolutely made her night.
Believe it or not, we have almost all our Christmas shopping done. Want to know what I got Jenny this year?? Do ya? Do ya? Well, so does she, but I’m not telling.
Have a good week, remember people are busy and there is always a blood shortage, so don’t let the festivities get in the way of giving the gift of life. I’m not to thrilled about needles either, but a few seconds of discomfort can literally extend someone’s life. O.K., you have hung with me this long, I have one other challenge: Do something nice for someone else, but don’t tell anyone.
Dep
Well it’s been a while since we have updated the blog. O.K., it’s been more than a while. Anyway, it’s been a busy few weeks culminating in a trip to the west coast, but more on that later. Karate has started up for the fall semester and Mickey is working on her Green Advanced belt and Brad is going for his Black belt. School is in full swing, and we are busy at church. Let’s see if we have any pictures since a picture tells a thousand words.
Mom and Dad Deputy’s 50th Anniversary at Ruth Chris’s Steak House and playing around afterwards.
We also spent a little time at O’Reilly Raceway Park to see the Kroger 200 Nascar Nationwide Series race with our nephews Grant and Joseph. That was a good race, Jenny was able to see her favorite Nationwide driver Carl Edwards win and do his signature back-flip. The Brad and Joseph both waited until the hat dance was over and got autographed hats. We almost turned turned Joseph into a Ford fan, but alas, he is still a Jeff Gordon fan. But that will come.
An awesome day at King’s Island
A phone call and gifts form Monique Coleman
Open house at Grandma Bennett’s
Hanging out at “My Best for You” retreat (Just Dad and Brad)
On the charity front alot has been going on. Mickey is a honored hero for the LLS’s Pennies for Patients program, so she had a photo shoot with Gary Brackett. Again here are some photos:
Jenny also raised over $3,300.00 and along with her mentor credit, she hit the fundraising minimum and we went to San Francisco for the Nike Women’s Marathon. She competed and finished all 26.2 miles in 7 hours and 39 minutes. That is a monumental achievement no matter who you are.
So here’s a glimpse into our lives over the last few weeks. Hope your life has been as much fun.
It’s been a busy few weeks here. Mickey went to Camp Little Red Door at Bradford Woods the last week of July. She had a great time! The next week found us at clinic for her 6 month check up. Her counts were fantastic and she was looking great. We go back in 6 months. On that Friday we went to Kings Island for the last hurrah of summer. We all had a lot of fun. We were there from opening till after the fireworks! It was a super day!
The kids went back to school last week. Mickey started 6th grade at Christel House Academy and Brad started 5th grade at Sidener Academy. We are praying for a good year for both of them!
For fellow Riley kid Tyler Genneken whose leukemia has come back: Meals for Marrow located at Independence Park in Greenwood, IN, on Tuesday, August 4th (11 am – 4 pm) The event is being catered by Gray Brother’s Cafeteria and if you donate blood and sign up for the bone marrow registry – you eat for free! You can purchase a kids meal for $5 and you can also PURCHASE PIES to help cover the cost of the kits.
If you would like to volunteer for Meals for Marrow, please let me know. When I signed up to volunteer I was told there are 4 volunteers so far and they need at least 15. Please send me an e-mail at mjmb@deputyfamily.net if you would like to help out. By the way, the test to get on the Bone Marrow Registry is a simple swab of the inside of your cheek – no needles involved. You can follow Tyler’s story at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tylergenneken.
School’s been out for 3 weeks and it’s been fun times here in Deputyland. Last week was fun simple times - movies, bowling, a visiting cousin. Last Saturday was Mickey’s Challenger Jamboree. She had a great time playing on a nice field and visiting with her friend Jeremy whom she only gets to see once a year at Jamboree. Sunday we took Mickey to Camp HiLite, a Down syndrome overnight camp. She had as much fun this year as she did last year. Michael, Brad and I kept busy but missed her. Wednesday Michael and I celebrated our 20th anniversary by spending the day with Brad going to a movie and an Indians doublheader. We are blessed to be together and to have great kids.
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Mickey and her buddy Jeremy
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Brad and Mickey leaving Camp HiLite
School’s out for summer! Brad finished his first year at the new g/t school with a better than 3.5 GPA. We are so proud of him! Mickey made the honor roll the past 2 nine weeks! We are very proud of her also.
We just finished 4 nights of VBS at church. The message for the week was that everyone is a missionary. The kids packed food for a group in Guatemala last night. It was so cool to see a room full of kids fixing meals to be sent off to kids who often go to bed hungry.
Tomorrow I start training for the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco with Team in Training. Mickey is my team’s honored hero so that makes it even more special. I will be training to do the full 26.2 miles while raising $4000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Please visit my fund raising page and make a donation if you are able. I truly appreciate it! http://pages.teamintraining.org/in/nikesf09/mjmb@deputyfamily.net The event takes place October 18, but I hope to have my fund raising done by mid-July so I can focus on my training. I’m a bit nervous about the distance since I’ve only done a half marathon in the past. Thanks for your support!
WE LOVE YOU!!!
Dad, Mom & Mick
