Community of Care for Cora

Many of you may already know about sweet 12-year old Cora Walrond, who was recently diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgins Lymphoma. I don't know the Walrond's that well but as a mother, I can't imagine what the Walrond's are going through right now. 

I met Cora's mom, Galyn a few years ago through mutual friends at church. I believe I was invited to one of her Matilda Jane parties and then we got to know each other over time. Now we live in the same neighborhood, go to the same parish, have been to some of the same events. I consider her a friend and have even had Cora volunteer to help fold, stuff, and address welcome newsletters for my welcome committee at St.Elizabeth's. 

Galyn brought Cora to a Jamberry nails party that I hosted for a friend back in the summer. It was at this time that Cora was introduced to Emily Kai Company, because her mom, (aka Cora because our kids always eventually get our things that they like) won my door prize of an Emily Kai knot. I wasn't EK's first rep at the time but had been meeting with the owners about the possibilities. I just wanted to spread some awareness about the company, which is why I chose that door prize. 

Several weeks ago I read about Cora's cancer diagnosis and my heart sank. I can't imagine everything that the Walrond's are going through right now, but the most incredible thing is sweet Cora's faith in the Lord. She truly is handling this like no other 6th grader that I know. I pray for their family every day, as we are sisters and brothers through Christ our Lord, and with him all things are possible. 

Galyn reached out to me around a week ago to ask about other products similar in material to the one she won because "Cora really likes it." Long story short, after mentioning Cora to the owners of Emily Kai, they decided to donate one of their newest items, which hasn't even been released yet (the head wrap) and a Kai knot to go on top of it. It's so soft, adjustable, reversible, and stylish. I'm overjoyed that Emily would offer to donate before even officially releasing the product. 

This just reassures my decision to be Emily Kai's first rep. I truly feel that God gives us opportunities to change lives, and this is one of those aha moments. 

After wondering what else we could do to help Cora's family out with financials on this unexpected journey, Emily suggested having an EK fundraising drive for the Walrond's. 

Therefore 10% of my sales from now until 1/15/15 will go towards the Walrond family. For every $100 spent, you can pick out a FREE Kai knot or band for Cora that she can use to accessorize her headwrap, and create a personal message to her. I'm also still honoring my specials, so if you were thinking about ordering any EK, and want to help out a sweet 12-year old, now is the time. 

Thank you for taking the time to read  this post & please please please keep the Walrond family in your prayers! 

God Bless,

Amy Minnich 

Mentor Family Ministry

I feel blessed to be a part of one of the most enjoyable ministries at my Catholic Church, the Welcome Committee. There's such a good feeling from connecting others and then stepping away and watching their faith life grow! 

That's exactly what I get to do with the Mentor Family Ministry program at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (St.E's, as I call it). I was asked to help coordinate a welcome ministry at church and then later on to model a mentor program from another large parish in the diocese. After trial and error, I feel like it's coming together, but we still need more established parishioners to be mentors. 

It's such a great way to make our huge church seem smaller to those new parishioners! 

If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please stop by the Ministry Fair this weekend, as the Welcome Committee will have a table after every mass. You won't want to miss entering into the drawing for a Gurgle Pot either! 

I hope to hear from you or see you soon!

Almost to Speech Graduation

Gabe has been in speech therapy since he was 3 years old. My mom, whose a speech therapist by trade, recommended that I get him evaluated. At the time, he was still 2, so I started by calling Indiana First Steps and getting the ball rolling on an assessment. We decided to get him enrolled in speech therapy with the schools, instead of First Steps because of his birthday and the cut-off with that program being from birth-3. When a kid turns 3, they go to speech in the schools.  There's quite a bit of paperwork and necessary evaluations, so if you are thinking that your child might need speech, I'd suggest starting early. 

I'm so glad I listened to my mom's advice and enrolled Gabe in speech. He was at first very hard to understand! Olivia was his translator, but he's come a long way and has worked hard on his speech. 

We've been taking him to Whispering Meadows for his speech and he has Miss German, whose been fantastic! She just told us that he's getting really close to graduating speech! I'm so proud of Gabe!!

The morale of the story is, a speech impediment can happen to anyone, but it's fixable and well worth your time to call and get your child help! 

Peace~

Fort Wayne Ballet's Princess Tea

Today Olivia & I had the pleasure of attending the Fort Wayne Ballet's Princess Tea at the Fort Wayne Country Club. It was an enchanting experience from the moment you walked into the building. A princess handed Olivia a crown, while I checked in by giving my name (super easy), then a ballerina escorted us to where we needed to go. 

They had a nice photoshoot with ballerinas for guests to get their picture taken upon entrance, but of course Olivia was too nervous to get her picture taken.

They handed the adults a glass of champaign (if they wanted it), and the rest was pure entertainment. 

Olivia and I found a place at a table to put our stuff and then went to find the face painting. Sweetcakes Entertainment was there doing a marvelous job with the kids face paint. The lines were a little long, but well worth the wait once you saw the finished product. Olivia got a Frozen snowflake design on her face, which she loved. They even had princesses handing out mirrors and personally writing each girls name on their own mirror, which then the girl could go and decorate her mirror. Very clever! They also had ballerinas stopping to chat with the little girls while they were in line. This also made the time go by much faster, and I have to say that Olivia didn't complain about standing in line, which is impressive. 

After the face painting, they had Story Time, which was incredibly  interactive. Then Olivia wanted to look at the raffle ticket items, but by that time the raffles had closed (oops on our end), so she wanted to color, which didn't last long, because then she wanted to go to the Photo Booth and get her picture with her mommy (love that she still thinks the world of me).

We had fun with that, and then we went to watch the Fort Wayne Ballet's performance, which was phenomenal! 

Then they gave each princess a Cookie Cottage iced cookie as they left. 

The whole event was flawless and I have so much appreciation for the Fort Wayne Ballet! 

I'd highly recommend this event next year! It's only $35/ticket and is well worth the cost, plus it's a fundraiser for a good cause!

Would anyone want to go with us next year???

MOMS

I'm so glad I said yes to joining MOMS with my church (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton)! Originally I was honestly thinking about saying NO because I have quite a lot going on, but how could I say NO to something that would ultimately make me a better mom to my children.

Today was the my first meeting and it was great! We started out by dropping our kids off in the nursery (score)! Then we went to our meeting room and mingled until it started. 

They opened up with a spiritual reflection, we prayed a decade of the rosary, then began our planned activity (Pinterest fall wreath). Fr. Ben hopped in to say how excited he is about this group! I love Fr. Ben!

Then after carefully completing my Pinterest inspired fall wreath (thanks to Kayle Landrigan, Courtney Freiburger, Angie Minnich, Julie Gabriel, & Angie Jurczak...yes it took that many people to help me), we played a fun getting to know you game. 

The ladies who run this MOMS group are incredible! 

So...if you are Catholic & looking for a way to get connected to other young families, please consider joining MOMS. It meets every other Tuesday from 9:00-11am.

God Bless

What's New with Me & New to You

After several years of considering joining Junior League, I've finally took the leap and am now in the New Member Cohort. The reason I really wanted to join Junior League was to make an impact in the community with philanthropy. I miss my Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity days of volunteerism and what a great organization to be a part of...they're established, have the volunteer opportunities right there, you just need to take part! It's also a great way to meet people if you are new to the area. I've been here for 10 years now, so I'm not necessarily on League to make friends, but there are some kind hearted gals there! Plus what got me was their new focus, elementary readiness! This is a definite need and holds close in my heart, as I have 2 kids (almost 6 & 4). Everything that JL does, is to better their mission.

One of the ways in which Junior League raises funds is with their New to You Sale! This is an excellent opportunity to shop name brand items at amazing prices!! Basically JL members have donated tons of their items they can part with to this sale. The date is 11/1 from 8-3 at the Fort Wayne National Guard Armory (130 West Cook Rd). 

So, what are you waiting for?! Bring

your friends and come shop this fantastic sale of quality products in all merchandise categories, so you are sure to find amazing deals! And don’t forget the bag sale which happens from  2:00 pm – 3:00 pm at the end of the sale. Shoppers can fill small bags for $5 and large bags for just $10!

You won't want to miss this event!!

Living It Up

Today was quite the busy day, but none-the-less, worth every minute. As normal, I got Olivia on the bus, Gabe his breathing treatment, and then headed out to run errands.

 Gabe wanted to pick out a craft for his play date with Sam (neighbor friend), so we went to JoAnn's and he picked out a Wilton Gingerbread Halloween House. It was on sale and I had a coupon, so why not. 

Then I dropped Gabe off at preschool and checked out the book fair at his school. I was happy to see Neysa Myers and get her recommendations on good books. I bought 5 books (2 for the kids for Halloween, 2 for Christmas, & 1 for Gabe's teacher). 

After the book fair fun, I went to Olivia's school to volunteer in her Kindergarten class. I wasn't sure what to expect (never volunteered there before) but Olivia was really excited that I was going to be helping out. Her teacher had me help her with some projects and I enjoyed helping out. On a side note, I'm really impressed with Covington so far! My decision to go public seems to be the right, so I hope.

After volunteering at school, I went to pick up Gabe from preschool. Then his friend, Sam came over to play. Gabe was really excited to have him create the Gingerbread Halloween House with him! The boys played really well together and I look forward to them playing more often!

Then Olivia's friends, Annika & Caitlin came over for a play date. They went 100 mph in all sorts of different activities. One minute we were making bracelets, then they were dressing up in princess attire, playing hopscotch, Barbie doll Dreamhouse, and then they were jumping on the trampoline. They are extremely well behaved girls and Olivia is lucky to have them as friends! 

After the play dates, it was bed time, so I let the kids see their surprise (aka, the Halloween books). They LOVED them!!

How awesome is it to make your kids day with something so simple as books?! I love our simple little life and wouldn't have it any other way! God bless each of you!!

Follow-up on Urology Issues

Well, I had my urologist appointment today...biopsy results came back negative for cancer! He said it was a urethral stricture, which is very uncommon in females. He said in 29 years of practice, he's had only 3 (me included) patients with a stricture. 

I had no idea what a stricture was, but Dr. Girod (my family doctor) guessed this from my initial appointment and I'm impressed that she was spot on! A stricture occurs when scarring narrows the urethra. I'm not sure when or how this scarring occurred, possibly during childbirth?? Anyhow, a stricture restricts the flow of urine from the bladder and can cause a variety of medical problems in the urinary tract, including inflammation or infection. I can't believe I put up with this for so long, but so glad to have some answers and am relieved that I had the procedure and am feeling 100% better!!

Thanks for all your support and prayers!!

Restless

Last night I couldn't get to sleep until 2am and tonight I'm still up. I think I'm extremely nervous about my pathology results from the biopsy. 

I shouldn't be because the doctor said he didn't think it looked like cancer, but it's the unknown that freaks me out. 

I called my urologist today to see if they got the results back yet and the nurse told me that it takes 7-10 business days to get results back and "that's why I have my appointment with the doctor on Monday."

I'm sure everything is fine, it just makes me nervous because the doctor told Dan that he should have my results back in 2-3 days. 

Deep happy thoughts...c'mon Mr. Sandman, I need to rest. Gnight friends!!

Found a Dentist!

For reasons not worth mentioning, we were in search of a new dentist. I received lots of positive feedback on Dr. Klinger, who goes to my church, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. 

Back at the end of August, I popped into their office to check it out and I was impressed. It's extremely clean, inviting, the staff seemed friendly, and the dentist himself even waved to me and he had no idea who I was at the time. 

Since then, I researched other dentists, but Dr. Klinger stood out above the rest!

Today I had my first appointment with my new dentist and I was thoroughly impressed! They even let Gabe play with the train table while I had my appointment (they watched him)! I'd highly recommend Dr. Klinger if you are looking for a dentist in Fort Wayne!!

What's Going On with my Health

Ok friends, some of you may wonder what in the world is going on with some of my posts lately...well I do not like the attention, but I'll just give you the scoop, in case any of you ever think about not taking care of yourself either. 

Believe it or not, for the past 4 years I've been having terrible pain whenever I urinate. I've just dealt with it, thinking that it's normal and took care off family, who needs me more. Well then around a month ago the pain increased to the point of intolerable, so I decided to call my doctor and schedule an appointment. It felt worse than labor and delivery & I felt like I was peeing razor blades!! 

Originally the doc thought it might be a stricture, but she wasn't sure. At the appointment she had me take a pee test, to rule out a UTI (which would have been the longest UTI ever, but they have to do these things). 

A few days later her nurse calls me saying that there's blood in my urine and they want me to get a CT of the abdomen. 

I went to The Imaging Center on W. Jefferson and got that done. I was awaiting results...which I was told kidney stones and that I needed to go see a urologist named Dr. Rudolph. 

I went to this appointment by myself and let me tell you about it...mind blowing!! First of all, I went into the appointment and met his nurse, who asked me where I got my images taken. I told her at the Imaging Center. She then tells me that she needs to go check on them and leaves the room. She then comes back and says that "we have to do a procedure." So I'm freaking out thinking that they are going to have to zap my kidney stones right then and there. She comes back and says, "Sorry, we had to do a last min procedure on another patient!" WHEW!! 

Then I met the Dr. and he is a character. He has a sense of humor but when you are by yourself and nervous you don't know how to take him. He checked me out in there and decided to have me try an estrogen cream for 2 weeks to see if that might give me any relief. He also made sure to tell me not to have sex with my husband with it in, "or else he might get boobs, but he might like that sort of thing, bc I'm a guy and if I had boobs, I would love to sit around and play with my boobs all day." Uhm...I guess if your job is a urologist, you have to get past the day with some sense of humor???

So I tried the estrogen cream for 6 days and it did nothing but make my breasts even bigger (oh my)! Dan made me call the urologist and update them on the non-relief. The nurse called me back and said that the doc wanted to get me in for a Cytoscopy under sedation at the hospital. They wanted to take a look and see what was going on in there.

The surgery center scheduled me for 10/2. Then the nerves shot in. I haven't had surgery since my ear tubes and tonsils surgery when I was young. I don't even remember that far back. I checked on Parkview's MyChart, which is to be a great way to communicate with the office, to see if any additional info regarding my procedure had been added. Nothing...up until they stated that I was having a completely different procedure done, which freaked me out. I called them and they said that it was an error and assured me that I was having a Cytoscopy and NOT a retroperitoneal abdominal lymph node dissection, as stated in MyChart. 

I went into surgery on 10/2 and I'm so glad they sedated me because the dr. said that he couldn't even get his scope in me. He had to dialare with a wire guiding tool to get his scope in there. Ouch! 

Apparently I had a bunch of scar tissue somehow and my urethra was almost all closed off; therefore he removed the tissue and biopsied it. He didn't think it looked like cancer, so that's good. The lab results have been sent to pathology and won't get results for a few business days. I'm grateful that he removed the scar tissue though! The pictures truly show what he is talking about, but I'll spare you the details on those pics. 

After surgery, Dan spent the entire day taking care of me. He is incredible and even helped me with my catheter that I had to have for 24 hours. Nasty! 

I felt nauseous most of the day and threw up/dry heaved several times from the anesthia. Luckily, the dr got me some good pain meds for relief down there. 

Then today, I also took off of work because I was still in pain and needed another day to recover. I'm so glad I did because I spent most of the day feeling run down and needed to rest. 

The good news is that now that the catheter is out, I can actually pee like a normal person (the real normal without pain)! It only hurts afterwards from where the dr. took out the scar tissue. 

So here's to getting some relief and answers! Don't do what I did and neglect your health!! 

Peace~

Smart Soaps

There's smart phones, smart cars, and smart people but apparently now there's smart soap. I discovered this at Bath & Body Works about a month ago and LOVE them! They automatically dispense soap onto your hands, like in public restrooms, only you get good scents! These come with batteries and a free soap too! 

I originally bought one for my kitchen sink and it's actually saving me soap because it dispenses just the right amount of soap.

We went in to get refills because I had a coupon and you can't get these online yet, and ended up buying two more (one for my main floor bathroom and one for the kids bathroom). We still have 3 more to get before we finish out all areas, but this is a great start. 

Price point wise, they are a little pricey ($20 which includes soap and $8 if you want the soap alone, but I had a 40% off coupon, which saved me tons! 

If you want the coupon code for 40% off, copy this pic below amd show it to them on your SMART phone! 

Enjoy!!

CRHP at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Looking for a way to get connected in our huge parish??? Need some alone time with God to clear your mind???

Whether you are new to our parish or a long-time member, please consider going on a Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) weekend retreat! 

You won't regret it! I can't believe it has been 4.5 years since my first CRHP weekend!! It was what made St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish much smaller for me and introduced me to a faith-filled life with like-minded friends! 

Women's Weekend: 9/6 & 7

Men's Weekend: 9/20 & 21

This FREE weekend is PRICELESS!! Pick up a registration form in the gathering area or go to 

http://www.seasfw.org/103

Also, if you have any specific questions on CRHP, I'd be happy to answer any questions!!

God Bless you as you consider going on this life changing renewal weekend!!

This is a pic from our CRHP Team 37 reunion that we had a couple years ago. These ladies will always have a special place in my heart!!

Fort Wayne has Livie & Lucas!!

This just in from my personal shopper at Von Maur...they now carry Livie & Luca shoes for kids! Call 432-3244 and ask for Kids Shoes! They can order them in for you from another Von Maur store (free shipping). So excited!!

Also, check out the other cute shoe finds, and my after work retail therapy from today. I just window shopped though, but it was fun to browse! 

Btw, what handbag do you like best??

Thanks friends!!

Welcome New Snuggle Puppy

Since Winston passed away on 8/4, we have since researched and found a great local breeder, not to replace Winston but because dogs become part of your family and are therepeutic. 

We found Karla from KKCavaliers and set up a meeting. From the time we met her, we fell in love with her puppies and felt a sense of trust with her as a breeder. She was very knowledgeable and overall we were impressed with her happy heart, the cleanliness of her home, and how professional she was, yet at the same time she really listened. 

We were able to play with the 7 puppies and found one, Hunter that really called to us. We out a deposit down and waited for him to be 8 weeks old. 

Today we were able to go get him and welcome him into our home. Karla had a nice gift bag full of goodies for him/us, including his baby book (cd with images from the time he was born), a folder with detailed info, including stats on his "puppy firsts"...so amazing!

Karla really cares for her dogs and cried upon us leaving. She has a heart of gold and I'd highly recommend her for anyone looking for a local Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breeder!

Stay tuned for fun times with our new puppy. Maybe he will officially have a name soon! XOX

This is a pic of Karla of KK Cavaliers.

Jefferson Pointe's New Kids Play Area

Jefferson Pointe's new kids play room opened up this past Saturday and it's incredible! I took the kids there today after school and they had a blast. 

Everything is soft, even the floor, and I feel like it's a safe place for kids to play. Kids must not be over 42"...but there's room for them to play in the city scape area. 

Check it out! There's plenty of room to sit too, so you won't feel crowded. Jefferson Pointe really went all out with this addition!!

Your Party Princess

Today Olivia got the pleasure of going to her good friend, Brooke's 5th Birthday Party! We arrived at 1:00 p.m. for the royal event, sang Happy Birthday, had cupcakes, played in her basement, and then a special surprise guest arrived, the Snow Queen, Elsa! 

She greeted the birthday girl and dazzled all of the guests, adults included because we were all amazed at how engaging she is! Then she taught the girls a circle dance. 

Afterwards, the girls went upstairs to do an activity (color Frozen pictures) and Elsa ever so smoothly asked the birthday girl to come with her because she had a special surprise for her. It was perfect because Elsa really made the birthday girl, Brooke feel special with the individualized attention she gave her without making any of the other girls jealous. The other girls didn't even realize she was out of the room because they were all busy coloring. 

I snuck into the other room to see Elsa putting eyeshadows and glitter on the birthday girl. She was loving it! Then at the end, Elsa let her see herself in the mirror. Then she took pics with her. So sweet!

After the birthday girl, Elsa did this to the rest of the little girls, which they all adored!

Next we all went into the basement for a hide n seek snowball game, which I was super impressed because Olivia was still a little shy and Elsa took her back with her to count while the kids hid the snowball. This helped Olivia get more comfortable.

Then after the game, Elsa had a lesson on princess manners and she read them a book. 

This engaging party was one in the books that will never be forgotten! 

You can find out more about having a Disney princess come to your event by going to 

http://yourpartyprincess.com/

I've already got her in the books for Olivia's 6th Birthday in November! Can't wait!!