Now for a Change I Can Handle!

Sooo...I have been bitten by the bug and made the switch. Call it jumping on the bandwagon or whatever but with Carepages acting up and others not wanting/needing an account, I figured now is time. Another Heart Mommy designed it for me of which I TRULY appreciate it!! Thanks Stef!!! I'm still learning how to tweak, post - well I'm still learning how to do everything so please know that this blog will be under construction a lot. I do love how it looks now though! You can subscribe to have copies of my blog posts sent directly to your email too!

We have had a lot of fun things happen to us in the last few weeks!! To start with, my baby sister, Kristy, got married!! While the day started off with snow (REALLY!?!? It's only OCT 10!), it was beautiful and was happy to have Ben officially join our family. Boy Ben-watch out! I'm sure Ashley and Jeremy can give some tips to handle us :-)

The wedding was in Marion. I was one of the Matron of Honors, Jeremy was a Groomsman, Riley and Drew were the Flowergirl Escorts and yep-Jordan was the Flowergirl.

Princess Jordan - Thank goodness Nana made her a shall!! Oh boy - it was COLD!

(L to R) Drew, Kaleb, Kristy, Jordan, Ben and Riley

We had a great time and wish only happiness for them and their already expanding family. Can't wait to meet my little nephew/niece in February!

You may have known (especially if you have me as a Facebook friend) that the Children's Hospital at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics was in the running for an Ultimate Gameroom from XBox and Children's Miracle Network. I know I annoyed people with the CONSTANT reminders (sometimes 2-3 times a day) to vote their 10 daily votes but it paid off. The hospital WILL be getting one of these rooms. It got quite hairy at the end so thank you to all who voted! It was amazing to hear from my Facebook friends who are in Michigan/Vegas/Arkansas -everywhere outside Iowa-who not only voted for us, but had their friends vote for us too!!! WOW! I hope we don't have to use this room, but feel very grateful it will be there for the kiddos who are stuck there!

Jeremy and I also just got back from Vegas! It was a great trip meeting up with some great friends and family. Jeremy and I had our 1st trip to Vegas 10 years ago and now have lost count how many times we have been there. Jeremy's brother, Pat, moved there last November to be with his girlfriend, Megan and son, Gibson. Megan is the marketing manager for the Freemont Street Experience and takes care of the events and obviously marketing of them downtown. She even can take care of the shows shown on the canopy. Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE KISS. Well, it didn't play like it was suppose to on Saturday night at 11pm. Megan made a call and POOF, it was being played at midnight! I loved it!

We went with friends, Jeromy Vance and Julie Kinsinger. They got to go do a ride-along at the Las Vegas Speedway. WHOA! I can't imagine what it was like to go 160 mph near a wall...YIKES! Julie hadn't been to Vegas before (and Jeromy hadn't been there in a long while) and it was nice to see it through fresh eyes again. We went up in the Eiffle tower which is always amazing. Thanks again Julie and Jeromy for inviting us along and making it happen!

It's so FRIGGIN' TALL!

Vegas at Night-You gotta love the lights!

We also got to meet up with some friends we had made the last time we were in Vegas. It was great to hang with Derrick and Nicole again! The next time you go to Vegas, you HAVE to go to the Golden Gate on Freemont. It has great atmosphere, better dealers, and some awesome bartenders. If you see a blond at the bar when you first walk in, just tell her Tracey sent ya!

The most amazing thing happened to us right before we left on Friday. Jordan has been chosen to be the Heart Child for the Johnson County Heart Walk in April 2010! Some time ago we had been approched by the American Heart Association for Johnson County for a short bio on Jordan. I had sent something in thinking she wouldn't be picked. We had an email the day before we left saying she had been picked. I, for once, was speechless. An amazing feat-I know! When Jordan's heart defects were first explained to us, we were told her conditions were on the minor side of heart defects, so when I first got the email-I was shocked!! We feel very honored to have Jordan chosen! So much for Jeremy's desire to be "under the radar"! She's now going to be all over! There will be more info on this soon. If you are interested in joining Jordan's team, please let me know!! We had a great team last year and would LOVE to see it grow!!!

Jordan in her Survivor Hat-Heart Walk 2009

The CHD calendar is out!! This was put together by a Heart Mommy out of Cedar Rapids. She took pics of several kiddos with CHDs and put this amazing calendar together! Jordan is September. The link is on the side bar. Her pic is so cute (I know I'm biased)! Heidi did a great job! We are talking orders with full payment until November 20th. They are only $20 (add $5 for shipping if you like or aren't local to me). They would be great Christmas presents so order many!! The proceeds will be going to the American Heart Association!

One last thing-I am helping Stef get some blankets around for a program she created called Cuddles from the Heart. There is a link on the side bar discribing it more in detail but the main point is that we are looking for NEW blankets to donate to the Children's Hospital. I have a few but would love A LOT MORE! Last year, Stef was able to donate over 300 blankets but I think we can do better this year. These can be homemade OR store bought! Just remember they have to be new! They are going to the hospital for kiddos who are stuck there and need just a touch of home with them as they are struggling in the NICU, PICU, 2JCP, and the Pediatric Cancer. Can you help us? Please contact me ASAP with this. Believe it or not, we ONLY have until November 30th and it's coming up fast!

Until next time~

Tracey