MINI 'FOOTBALL' ALBUM

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL? --HA!! bet you never thought you'd hear ME say that, huh?!

well, I am SO ready for Football... Drake is playing--first time-- and I'M super excited !!! I guess I get to add the "football mom" title to my Soccer/baseball/softball mom one.. ;)

(Coffee sleeve mini album.. super simple..I just don't have the patience to do all the cool embellies LOL-that's not my boy in the pictures.. had to 'steal' my friend's photos for this one)

I wish I were posting some scrap pages but haven't had the time to 'play' at all!! the kiddos are back in school and softball/baseball season is about to start... just wanted to post a pic of my baby girl.... hoping it'll bring my SAINTS some luck this weekend =) WHODAT BABYYYYYY!!!! =)

WOW! I finally got a chance to make a page.. it's been SO long.. but I'm hoping I can scrap more soon.. =)

Soccer Season has started!!!

Devyn LOVES the game, and I

LOVE to watch her play! it's a blast!!

Here we are.. three weeks into school! time is flying by already.. Soccer and baseball start this weekend and soon Girl Scouts and AWANA too----- I have promised myself that this year I will NOT over do it to the point where I drive myself crazy from stress and the kids' busy schedules... =) HEY...  maybe I can get back into scrappin' LOL!!! --- here's my 'babies' on their first day of school.... my big 6th grader and my little 2nd grader =( where DOES the time go??!!!

YEP!! it's my honey!!! =) his 40th birthday is coming up!

Wasn't he a cute baby?--- still is such a hottie! =)
Happy Birthday to my honey!

WOWSERS! check out this yummy blog candy! =)
love Malisa's blog and tutorials! =)

http://yabugginme.blogspot.com/2009/08/blog-candy-big-shot-bigz-top-note-die.html

Softball season has ended! (YAY)
Devyn had such a great time playing softball for the
first time!!! She had such great coaches
this season and we LOVED watching her play!!!
can't wait until next year! =)

WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FINALLY!! our poor boys
needed this win so bad!!
they did such a great job
and I am so very proud of them!
GO TIGERS!!! =)

EASTER SUNDAY!!! --HE IS RISEN!! =)

We had a great Easter!!

California friends, we need your help!!!

California friends, we need your help!!!

Families of SMA (FSMA) is working with California Stem Cell, Inc. (CSC) to secure federal funding for a clinical trial aimed at identifying a cure for SMA via cell replacement therapy. They are at a critical juncture in this process and we need your support!

If you live in California please email Senator Barbara Boxer and Senator Dianne Feinstein requesting their support for the project.

It's simple and shouldn't take more than 5 minutes of your time!

Here are the steps:

For Senator Boxer:

1. Please go to her web form at http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/email/policy.cfm
2. Fill out the required contact information
3. Under “Select a Topic”, choose “Health”
4. Under “Message Subject”, type: “Requested Support for Appropriation for SMA Clinical Trial”
5. Under “Message”, copy-and-paste the recommended message text below (you may wish to include a personal anecdote in the highlighted section)
6. Hit “Submit"

For Senator Feinstein:

1. Please go to her web form at http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.EmailMe
2. Fill out the required contact information
3. Under “Issue / Topic”, choose “Health”
4. Under “Please Write Your Message”, copy-and-paste the recommended message text below (you may wish to include a personal anecdote in the highlighted section)
5. Hit “Submit Information”

That’s it! While there are no guarantees of success, this grassroots effort will significantly improve our chances.

====

Recommended Message Text:

I write to you as a constituent and as someone personally affected by Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) to respectfully request your support for an innovative research project for which the support group Families of SMA (FSMA) is seeking federal funding, in partnership with California Stem Cell, Inc. (CSC), through the fiscal year (FY) 2010 Defense Appropriations bill. The formal funding request for this project, entitled The Phase I/IIA Clinical Trial for Stem Cell Replacement Therapy in Infants with Type I Spinal Muscular Atrophy, was submitted to your office in the appropriate manner by FSMA and CSC earlier this year, prior to your project request deadline.

This research project represents a significant opportunity to identify a cure for SMA, a presently-incurable, hereditary, neurodegenerative disorder that affects about 1 in 6,000 live births and is the leading genetic killer of children under the age of two. [Insert a few sentences about how SMA affects you.]

The project for which FSMA and CSC seek federal support will transplant motor neuron progenitor cells derived from human embryonic stem cells into the spinal cord of infants suffering from Type I SMA, the most common and deadliest form of the disease. These transplanted cells are expected to replace the infants’ atrophied motor neurons and partially restore motor activity.

Preclinical safety and efficacy studies have proven successful and the clinical investigators are preparing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for submittal to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The preclinical components of this research have been privately funded by FSMA and CSC, but a clinical trial is prohibitively expensive; federal support is crucial for moving this project forward.

The project itself has several connections to California . FSMA, the world’s oldest and largest non-profit organization dedicated to curing SMA, has two State Chapters in California, Northern and Southern, with a combined 500 active members. There are approximately 1,500 individuals living with SMA, and nearly 1,000,000 carriers of the SMA gene, currently residing in California.

The clinical trial will be conducted by CSC, a biotechnology company based in Irvine, California. The trials themselves will take place at various CSC-partner academic medical centers throughout Southern California.

Thank you very much for your attention to this critically important matter. I certainly recognize that you receive hundreds of worthy requests for funding through the appropriations process, but I sincerely hope that you will support this project for SMA and help to identify a cure for this deadly disease.

Help cure the #1 genetic killer of children under 2 (you don't have to live in California to sign this one..) =)

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE ,PLEASE:
click below and sign the petition.. It only takes
a few seconds.... =)
thanks =) and don't forget to pass it on to your friends and family =)

Devyn was excited today after her early game...
she says she's "good at softball and I want to
get REALLY good....." LOL just wanted to share
a pic of the happy little 'softball player'..... =)

Softball/Baseball season is here!!
we are so excited to watch Devyn play
Softball for the first time! =)
and Drake has moved up to the Bronco
division this year so the games will be
a heck of a lot more fun and full of action..
Go Drake and Devyn!!!!! Have a great season!!

We had so much fun at the snow this past weekend =)
The kids thought we were not gonna be able to go during our winter break but daddy surprised them and off we went... =)

My kids had so much fun going to see Santa at the mall and then getting to 'mail' their letters to him at Macy's =) I loved seeing how excited they were! and of course I couldn't wait to scrap the pics!--simple LO, but HEY....

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... (at least for Cali it is) ha ha
yep, we can actually see the snow from Simi Valley!! LOL it was a nice crisp 38 degrees this morning when I took the kiddos to school... YAY!! we can finally wear our jackets!!! I am so done witht he 90 degree weather so this change in climate is very nice for us! =)

I just had to share this picture of YUMMY little Everett!!
Isn't he the cutest?!! this is my hubby's cousin's little boy!!
He is SO DANG cute and I cannot wait to meet him and eat
those yummy cheeks!!
---one day soon I hope- since they live pretty far =(

Oh it's that time of year again!! MY FAVORITE!! YAY! we decorated the outside of the house yesterday and put up our tree, but we still have lots of stuff to put out to make our home REALLY christmasy =) just wanted to share these pics I took of the kids yesterday =)
They are growing up so fast! ---I am so blessed to have such AMAZING children! =)