A wonderful Fall day made it so enjoyable to walk the Yelm Tenino Trail for Chelsea today. The kids laughed , walked, jogged, & had fun! Banyan did amazing considering the amount of dogs we passed on our 2 miles. We celebrated our success at the end with Dairy Queen . Jeremy & Banyan's Journey raised $3,320 + thanks to so many of our family / friends. With out all of your support and the support of our team members across the country this would not have been possible. We have now decided to start the task of possibly holding a Chelsea Walk next year in WA. I love to organize and my friend Dana who walked with me today has talked me into trying. Here are few pictures I loved & thanks for the wonderful support as always we are truly blessed beyond measure.
We are down to the last 5 days to get our last $50.00 to reach our Goal of raising $800.00 for the Chelsea Hutchison Epilepsy Walk on September 23rd. Jeremy is super excited that he is almost to that magic number. With a little more help from our friends we can hit $800.00 I just know it! We received our walking t-shirts in the mail today and that just made the excitement level in the house go even higher! Our team is at $1830 dollars -Go Team Jeremy & Banyan! If we reach our team goal of $2,000 that means another family can get a grant for a life saving Seizure Alert dog. That just makes all the hard work so worth the effort. We love Banyan & would love to know we had a hand in letting another family have the same blessing . You still have time to go to Jeremy's Page to make any donation you like. It is all Tax Deductible so think BIG!! Thanks to all those who have helped us out already along the way. Your all ROCKSTARS!! Watch for pictures this Sunday after the walk with us in our purple.
Yesterday was a crazy busy day with the phone ringing and computer beeping at me all day. I couldn't even complain because it was all people with either ideas on how to raise money or friends offering to host fundraiser for Banyan's trip to Colorado. I have to say everytime we have ever prayed about the next move to make concerning Banyan, God has flung open the windows . Not just a little crack open either a huge gaping picture window open-haha. We now have three separate fundraisers going on to help cover our expenses to Colorado in mid-October. We still have the very beautiful Quillow that is valued at $175.00 up for bid. The current high bid is $75.00 and you have until September 15th to place the final bids.
Remember to BID on the Quillow simply leave a comment below if you don't have a Facebook account. I'll copy& paste to Jeremy's Facebook Page or go to the Facebook page & "like" then comment in the live auction in the NOTES section. You can't miss it!
Now my workout partner and friend Ashley has her own cake decorating business from her home. Say it With Cake is her buisness name where she whips up some of the most delicious cakes I've ever eaten. We've ordered three cakes from her now and have a fourth soon. She can even do Gluten free cakes that taste Yummy! She surprised me by creating a 50% Give back promotion yesterday.
She already has 4 custom cake orders placed & our family will receive a portion of her profits. Super sweet of her to do for us and we are truly touched. Go check her out on Facebook to see all the Awesomeness she can create. If you live in the Olympia, Lacey Dupont or JBLM area she does deliver for a small fee. If your in Yelm it's FREE delivery!
After posting Ashley's cake offer on our local Yelm Outreach Facebook page someone I've never met offered to host an on-line Auction from her home based business as well. I was humbled and so grateful. I know it could be us trying to pay for the airline tickets and hotel cost alone out of pocket. I would have made it happen but generous friends & community people helping makes it easier to not wonder how it would happen. Jackie started up not one but two on-line auctions that anyone anywhere can place bids. Here is one link to the auction at Spot's Corner & here is the second auction as Spot's Corner both for Diaper covers. I had no idea Diaper Covers where so huge right now! The combined total for those two auctions with 100% of the sales going to us is already $127.00-YIPPIE!! With all this we now have enough money to purchase one of the airline tickets at no out of pocket expense. I am so grateful and we are so blessed. We have amazing support behind our efforts to get Banyan the best training possible. I mentioned to my friend Ashley how I always feel like we are fundraising for Banyan and asking for help. She was amazing when she responded that you reap what you sow and I help out a lot in anyway I can. I sure hope I help enough because no amount of volunteering by me could ever say thank you enough to everyone over the past 8 months who have stepped up to help us along our journey. God has truly humbled me with his constant presence & reminders to lay my problem at his feet. He will show us the direction in his time that we are suppose to take. We haven't forgotten those friends who early on in the process helped us get Banyan home & pay for his needs for the first few months. Thank you to the whole Yelm community as well as Army family. With out each and everyone of you we would not be as far along as we are in our journey. Most of the fundraisers go until September so please share them with anyone you think might be interested. The Quillow would make a great Christmas gift and is so beautiful.
Our family is still raising money for The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation & their Epilepsy walk on September 23rd. If you would like to make a donation to us for their cause in raising awareness about SUDEP please follow this LINK
to our donation page. All proceeds go to other deserving families who need Service dogs. We've raised $430.00 of our $800 goal- no amount is to small to make a difference.
There is a place in you where there is perfect peace.
There is a place in you where nothing is impossible.
There is a place in you where the strength of God abides you need only ask * then listen for his reply. ~ Author unknown
I never imagined last October when we started down this path to get Jeremy a Service Dog all the twist & turns we would have along the way. Days of pure joy, days of non-stop tears not knowing how we where going to manage. But so far God has answered every prayer that I have laid before him when I lay in bed at night asking the question "what now, how do I get this done?". We love Oregon Assistance Dogs for matching us with our super handsome smart Banyan. They did an amazing job with him for the first 7 months of his life and I am so grateful. Then we where blessed with All American Dogs here at JBLM who stepped in and said here is a local trainer at No Cost to keep moving forward. With out Jean & Ursula - Banyan would not be as well behaved and super smart as he is today. I know I can take him anywhere in public with out worry. That would not have happened with out the hours spent with Lead Me On training & All American Dogs.
Then we hit a crossroads back in May where AAD needed to find a trainer to meet Banyan's specific needs to help Jeremy in the future. They did their best to find someone local but at this time life has happened and we need to move forward as Banyan is getting older everyday. Thankfully a friend as well as The Hutchison Foundation recommended that we call http://www.noellesdogsfourhope.com/ in Colorado. I sent out an email at 3AM because sleeping was not happening as I worried over how we would pay whomever did have the trainer we needed. As well as I knew in my heart we had to move away from AAD whom we have grown to love. Tina the owner of Noelle's called back immediately this morning & said how can we help? How do we make this work so Jeremy can have the best Service dog available to you all? We talked in length about the needs Jeremy had she even brought up training I never thought we could obtain that she can get for Banyan.
Then I asked about cost.....I actually shed a few tears when I learned I just needed to pay for the plane tickets to get Banyan, Jeremy & I out to Colorado in mid-October to meet her staff as well as the trainer . Paying for two plane tickets verses the thousand's of dollars I had been quoted was such a relief the tears came. They will work with the Hutchison Foundation and use only our Grant money to finish Banyan's training, nothing more. He will live with them for five months which will be sad for us but exactly what he needs to be the best for Jeremy. Which has always been our goal from the beginning.
He will learn Search & Water Rescue since we live on a lake ( I never even thought of this as an option)
Splitting & Blocking since Jeremy can't see out of his right eye should someone approach from that side.
Seizure Alert specifics
Scent tracking in case Jeremy decided to wonder off- which has happened on occasion.
Mobility should Jeremy have a stroke from a seizure and be unable to walk by himself.
He will be CGC & ADI certified when we get to his graduation in hopefully January. I am beyond words with how relieved I am at this moment. We are excited to use the next 6 weeks to so his refresher course at Lead Me On with Ursula as well as a couple new exercises they would like him to learn before he goes to Colorado. We have some work to do but we are more then happy to put in the time to get the best dog possible for Jeremy. Thank you to all our friends who keep helping us along the way. I am sure you get tired of my constant chatting about this- but it consumes my daily life & will until Banyan is back home with us in the new year.
Now we will put up the Service Dog Quillow that is done in Americana Style Handmade by Jeremy's Grammy as an Auction here on Facebook. ALL MONEY raised will go towards our airfare to Colorado. Any of our Fur-Friends who would SHARE our Quillow Auction on their page we would be forever grateful. We know we ask a lot sometimes but we do hope you hang in there a few more weeks of fundraising then we will be all done! What a glorious thought to know we will be done with paying for expenses for Banyan's training. I can barely believe it!
I know that some of our BLOGGY friends aren't on our Facebook Page in order to BID on the Quillow you have to "LIKE" Jeremy & Banyan " Our Journey" on Facebook. Then place your BID in the Comment sections under the note Titled " Moving Along in a GREAT Direction" . If you have no Facebook account but would like to place an Auction BID I can do that for you if you leave a Comment on THIS Blog Post. I will COPY & PASTE it into the Facebook page with your BLOGGY username. Here are the pictures of the Quillow which has Golden Retriever Pups hand sewn all over. It took Grammy over an hour on each pup! We sure love her <3
Please know that we would love any help spreading the word about our Auction. You can share this BLOG Post or you can go to our Facebook Page and share the note with all the details.
Philippians 4:13 :" I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me."
Hi Everyone- we are so EXCITED to pass along the information about Jeremy & Banyan's own Virtual Walking Team for the Chelsea Hutchison Foundation. If this foundation sounds familiar it's because they are helping us get a grant to pay for Banyan's continued training. Jeremy has picked the goal amount of $800.00 to raise by September 23rd the day of our walk. We can't attend any of the walks in the four states that are hosting but we can walk right here in Washington! With the help of you our family & friends we hope to meet this goal.
On September 23,2012 Jeremy, Banyan, & our whole family will walk at least 2 miles in support of this wonderful organization. If you would like to pledge any amount big or small we would be thrilled! If you would like to be a virtual walker yourself JOIN OUR TEAM- that would be amazing! If you join our team you receive an AWESOME t-shirt with the footprint in the logo you see pictured. Just make sure to look for our team when you go register. There is NO limit to how big our virtual team can be so PLEASE SHARE with your friends & family. If they are looking for a great cause I don't know any better cause then helping children with seizures have a safer life with the help of a Service Dog.
Our biggest PLEDGE donation will receive a SPECIAL Thank You from Jeremy & Banyan after the day of the walk. Banyan has his own T-shirt & Dog Tags that could be yours if you make the largest Pledge Donation. Please go check out our page & make a donation so we can have a fun amazing time walking .
We learned Banyan loved the pool if he could watch everything & get treats! It was very hard for him to watch little people jump into the pol & go under water. He kept looking at me like he was asking " are you sure they are ok?". I just treated & told him it was OK so he could try to relax. When Jeremy was around he watched him carefully. Anytime Jeremy would squeal Banyan's ears would perk up to make sure it was a happy squeal. Finally after an hour & a half we knew he needed to go home. He was exhausted & showing us signs that he needed a break. We left the pool to come home & he fell right to sleep.
We will continue to take Banyan to the pool once or twice a week so he can get use to all the distractions. Hopefully by the end of the summer he realizes that all the little people are having fun & he can focus on just Jeremy. Right now he wants to help everyone who goes under the water. He is such a kind soul & we are lucky he is ours.
Today found us heading to the hospital for a very lengthy procedure for Jeremy. They had to do so many blood draws we opted to let them put a temporary port in Jeremy's hand to help keep the pain down. Banyan never ceases to amaze me at how in-tune he is to Jeremy even when I think he is distracted. We arrived & took Banyan for a quick walk around outside so he could stretch since it was going to be a long morning. We headed inside where they quickly had Jeremy head back to a room & lay down. As soon as Jeremy laid down Banyan paced back & forth in front of the bed. I asked the doctor since it was a small procedure room if Banyan could please lay with Jeremy. He was more then happy for us to allow Banyan up with Jeremy . As soon as I pointed to the bed & told Banyan "up" he jumped up with his front paws & waited for me to assist getting the rest of him up. He immediately snuggled beside Jeremy and seemed to calm right down.
As the doctor & nurse got everything ready Jeremy began to whimper because he knew he had to get at least one poke for them to place the port. At this time I noticed Banyan simply lay one paw & his head over Jeremy's lap. Jeremy started rubbing his head and it seemed to calm Jeremy for the moment. As soon as the nurse started prepping Jeremy, Banyan became very alert. When the doctor stuck the needle in & Jeremy cried out Banyan snuggled some more with his eyes never leaving the doctor's hands. The doctor started drawing the first 8 tubes of blood we needed & Banyan still watched. Once the doctor was using his soft fun voice talking to Banyan as he drew the blood and tried to get his attention. Never once did Banyan lift his head from Jeremy's lap or acknowledge the doctor. The nurse was so impressed she asked if she could take a picture while they worked. She commented on how she had never seen a Golden who is only 1 year old stay so calm for so long. We where going on about an hour at this point.
Here they had just finished drawing the first 8 tubes of blood and where going to let Jeremy sit up soon. Banyan finally closed his eyes for a moment but would open them right back up as they began to wrap tape over the port. Soon Jeremy was sitting up a lot more relaxed which in turn seemed to relax Banyan.
At this point we had to wait another hour for more blood draws so I had Banyan hop down to nap on the floor while Jeremy played. Banyan laid down and was sleeping for about thirty minutes before the doctor came back in & he sat right up. I kept him down on the floor at this time because it was so quick to get the next two viles of blood from Jeremy. But what surprised me was when the doctor laid the viles on the bed next to Jeremy, Banyan went over sniffed them then laid his head back on Jeremy's lap. We have had no seizure activity since we brought Banyan home. The blood draw today I think was a great chance for Banyan to really smell Jeremy's scent from the blood in a normal state. Everything we've read said it's a good way to train medic alert dogs because Jeremy's scent will dramatically change should he seize or have a low blood sugar.
Banyan did his job today & he did it well. Jeremy stayed calm as did Banyan. We are so blessed to have God open the doors so wide for us when we where praying about getting a service dog back in October. Today was just more evidence to me that we made the right choice. The two walked together today better the I have ever seen. When the doctor had Jeremy follow him w/out Banyan, I thought Banyan was going to pull me behind the desk to get to Jeremy. Luckily I had a lot of treats & placed him where he could see Jeremy clearly. This whole three hour process was truly made easier by having Banyan by Jeremy's side.
Today was another first for Banyan on his journey to become a service dog for Jeremy. We decided today was the day to take a bus with Banyan from Lakewood, WA up to Seattle. It was a little over an hour ride to & from Seattle. Banyan did AMAZING! He walked right on the bus like he was suppose to be there. He fell asleep after the first ten minutes on the way to Seattle.
He laid down right at my feet and kept them nice & toasty for me!
After we arrived in Seattle he looked around a lot at all the people & vehicles. But he stayed with me and his two trainers at all times. At one point when we three ladies split up to look at different things he actually became slightly distressed. I think he thought he was protecting all three of us from the big bad city people. We had fun seeing the oldest Starbucks around.
Then we walked over to eat lunch at a wonderful little place that made the most amazing macaroni & cheese I had ever tasted. I only had a small portion since it was not on my diet, but so glad I ate it- so yummy! Banyan laid by my feet during the quick meal. Then off we went to walk down to Pike Place Market. The crowds where not to bad but definitely a lot of foot traffic.He handled it like a pro! He got a little excited when we had a Chihuahua on one side of us & a Seattle Guide Pup in training on the other. But he never pulled to go visit just really wanted to look at them both!His favorite part of the day was watching the "tossing of the fish" when someone placed an order.He loved it!
Here is a quick snap shot of some of the pretty flowers we saw.
Soon we made our way into the shopping mall with the glass elevator. Banyan did his up & pushed the elevator button with his paw to open the door. Usually we would want his nose to do the pushing but we where super excited as this was his first attempt at doing this task. He didn't seem to mind the glass elevator as we have ridden in one before.As we trotted through Nordstroms one of his trainers thought that Banyan could carry her Starbucks bag for her. We gave it to him & off he went with her coffee! He loved doing this! We called him back & he handed it to me very gently- super pup! Stephanie was able to get a short video on her phone. I hope she can upload to our FB page later. After shopping it was time to head back to the bus stop & our ride home. We where all worn out from the very windy day.We lucked out and got the larger bus with room to spread out. He laid down and fell promptly to sleep.
Over all for his first experience at city life he did so great! I hope to repeat this at least once a month now so he becomes a lot more familiar with crowds & public transportation. Banyan needs to be super comfortable with all these things. Jeremy will never drive a car & most likely at some point when he is older rely on the bus to get around town. Our biggest thing to work on is most definitely ignoring other dogs. Today there was no pulling but he was wearing his gentle leader. I know he will get it in time with age. I am just so glad to check another big task off our list! We conquered the bus & Seattle.
Resting outside the cutest little store we found full of doggie goodies.
We had a really fun day yesterday celebrating with Banyan his first birthday. A friend from Cake Creations by Christina made an amazing cake for Banyan to share with Panzer & his friend Liberty who is also in training.We decorated with some balloons and made the humans cupcakes as well to enjoy. Liberty arrived after school & Jeremy along with the other boys where super excited. We started off playing with the bubbles a good friend to Jeremy named Devon had given Banyan. Then it was cake time! Liberty enjoyed a lot of the cake as Banyan ate very nicely & Panzer had to be fed the cake-haha He wasn't sure he was allowed to eat it I think.Next was present time from Liberty & his mom. They gave him a great Jolly Ball in red- his favorite color! He also received a great birthday surprise in the mail from Loula & Bear " The Service Pups" & their boys. A great red ball to chew as well as a nice new book for Jeremy to read. Everyone was so nice to him on his special day.
Liberty's mom had plans for the evening so we let Liberty have a birthday sleep over & the boys played until bed time. Then they popped up bright and early to play some more. It was a great first birthday & we are so proud of Banyan. He is making great progress with his training. He deserved a fun afternoon off to play & celebrate. We are really blessed to have him in our lives.
Today after doing the books I realized we are already super low on funds for Banyan's training, uggg. It seems like we have the fundraisers & all the generous donations, then it just evaporates so fast. Where does it all go you ask? We spent $192.33 just on dog food alone in February. No he didn't eat that much in one month-lol He'd be one fat pup! But our Blue Buffalo coupons where expiring so we had to use them. Then the puppy treats, they do add up. Just this week the last trip to Pet Smart we left $48 lighter. Banyan still get's treats a lot for his rewards. Every new task he learns requires affirmations & treats. Plus you add in training sessions & gas to get to those sessions, yep folks it all adds up fast! With that being said as much as I hate to do it we have to start fundraising again now before something comes up we can't afford. I set up an easy link for friends & family to be able to donate even $5 helps. I can now understand how the average service dog costs $10,000 dollars if they come fully trained. We are blessed with amazing trainers from All American Dogs as well as the Chelsea Hutchison Foundation who are currently raising funds for several special children to get seizure alert dogs. But like anyone else they all rely on donations & if the money isn't there then we must help raise funds ourselves. So all I am asking is if your called to help then by all means please go to the link above to donate any amount you feel placed on your heart. But if you aren't able please help spread Jeremy's link & story so that if anyone out there is looking for a great way to help or donate they have options. They can choose to donate directly to the Chelsea Hutchinson Foundation or to All American Dogs , or to Team Jeremy & Banyan . Any of these great choices all lead down the path to helping our family & many others who are working tirelessly to provide a safety net for their child. Banyan is not only Jeremy's constant companion but he one day could save his life. To me that is priceless & I will find the way to make it happen. Thanks for checking in & please help spread the word.
We decided to go on a walk today and enjoy our rare 70 degree afternoon. By we I mean Jeremy, Banyan, & I. Everyone else was too busy playing silly video games or at a friends home. Off we go & the first special moment came when Jeremy asked to walk Banyan by himself. We have never done this before but Banyan was being pretty cooperative. I handed over the leash & off they went!
Banyan never hesitated just went right off when Jeremy said "Let's go". I was so excited! A car soon came and they stopped to wait on me & then Banyan was content to walk in between us for awhile.
Now the story takes a funny turn. As we get to the lake I let Banyan loose with his leash dangling. He decides to help Jeremy dig in the sand for a bit.Then when Jeremy would go fill up a bucket with water Banyan would wonder over to watch very curious.
This is where it got a little funny for mom at least. Jeremy dropped his bucket in the water. As he leans over I watch it happen in slow motion, SPLASH! In fell Jeremy!I didn't jump up because I was maybe 3 feet away & the water was only about 3 feet deep. But Banyan jumped whined then ran over to me. it was hilarious, poor Banyan wanted Jeremy out NOW! At this point Jeremy is giggling & I am laughing so Banyan settled down. But I am sure our handsome boy thinks we are both a little nuts!
We decided to pack it up and head home at this point in our story. Jeremy was a real trooper walking about 1/2 mile soaking wet. At one point we must go up a very steep hill to reach our road. Jeremy grabbed on to Banyan's vest & you could see Banyan help him walk up the hill. Jeremy mentioned during this time how it was hard to walk with the extra weight of the water. You must remember that even though Jeremy is 11 years old he only weighs 57 pounds. He is pretty thin & thank goodness Banyan knew his job was to help. He did it & did it well for an 11 month old pup. All in all it was a fun afternoon adventure we won't soon forget.
Banyan got his first chance today to hit the lake with Panzer our three year old Weimaraner. He had no service vest or leash on & was full of excitement! It took him a while to figure out it was ok to go in the water but when he did I thought I would never get him out! We uploaded some video to YouTube- not sure why they cut the sound. But he had fun & we look forward to more fun lake days.
We had a busy start to our weekend already. Yesterday Banyan finally got to meet up with his new trainer & Liberty the other handsome Golden in training through All American Dogs . We met up at the Yelm park where a lot of ducks come to swim in the pond. The two boys where a beautiful site to see walking around together in their service vests. They where excited to meet but soon settled into a good walking pattern that gave me a chance to talk over some goals & such with Banyan's new trainer. I am really excited she lives so close only about twenty minutes from our home . This hopefully is going to allow us a lot more opportunity to do some training during the days so we aren't so busy at night. It will also give Banyan the chance to work with another well trained pup!
Banyan also made it to the gym with me to watch me do a little cardio & relax in a much needed sauna. I have still been super busy working on my fitness goals while the boys are at school or I have a free moment. This week I had the chance to add a second workout in on Tuesday & Thursday evenings during my youngest son's soccer practice. A couple of the moms asked if I could come bring my workout equipment and help them get beach body ready while the boys practice. I don't claim to be an expert by any means. But having taken the ISSA course & working out like I do with my trainer for so many years I thought, why not? It will give me the chance to get a little extra in and I would just be sitting in the van reading for an hour. I love it when other moms decide to get healthy & work out! We did circuits with the weights & other fun things I was able to bring. We also jogged a really nice lap - I did it twice. It was a good start & I am sure the ladies will get faster and stronger with each passing week. It also gave me the chance to share some nutritional information along . They are eating pretty clean & healthy but there are some tweaks that could be made to drop a few of those pesky pounds.
Today we have our first soccer game of the Spring season and we are ready to go! Banyan will join me in watching the game which should be exciting for him with all the crazy distractions. A lot of kids, fast moving balls, etc. I think it's a perfect training opportunity. But before that I am off to walk the trails around my home in a new 25llbs weighted vest a friend got me. I came home & it was sitting on my front porch- ahh she knows me to well because I was super excited! It'll be perfect for helping me get ready to carry crazy heavy objects from point A to point B in my runs. I love my friends! She thinks I'm a fitness nut but hey she supports my habit!
My husband and I also got the wonderful news this week about Block Leave- you other military wives know what that means! I can see the light at the end of the long dark deployment tunnel! We actually talked & decided to take a much need 6 night 7 day vacation anywhere I wanted to go that we could afford. Let's face it with four kids there isn't a lot of options but I wasn't passing this chance up! With his everyother year deployment schedule we need the time to reconnect & remember why we love eachother. Why we choose to stay married through this crazy roller coaster ride called Army life. I called the grandparents up told them the dates we had in mind & of course my mom said whatever you all need. YAY!! So Ommie (my mom) will fly out in July to watch my boys for a week while we jet off to Hawaii!! That's right folks finally I am going to lay on a beach somewhere with my man & no children! I did some checking and found out that the Hale Koa Hotel that is just for active duty military now offers a special of 30% off for those soldiers who are on R&R or on Block Leave home from a deployment!! We where super excited because that fit our budget! We locked in the dates we wanted and soon will hopefully find some good cheap airline tickets. We have already made a tentative itinerary of activities that we both enjoy & want to do while in Hawaii. My goal is to have everyother day be an activity that one of us chooses that the other participates in whether they love it or not with out complaining. With all these multiple deployments I am very aware of the fact that both me & my husband have grown - changed with every deployment. My husband who was once quiet but would go out with me anywhere to enjoy a night with friends now prefers to stay home alone with his computer or the fmaily. Or he only fishes all day every day all the time. It can be hard & frustrating for me who is beyond out going & never sits still to long. I have turned into the girl who use to be outgoing but because I was forced to do it all alone for years now needs to constantly be moving & yeah well fly-fishing your just sitting in the river all day not talking much- so not my thing. We both know we need to reconnect & find things we can both enjoy doing together as a couple. That will be what Hawaii is all about.
We have a fishing day trip planned for him where I will pick a book I;ve been dying to read grab my camera & sunscreen. I will lounge on the boat in a gorgeous setting snap a picture when I need to of my man and his fish- but I will not complain! I think since I will be surrounded by clear blue waters and sky I should be good! He will go on that romantic sunset dinner cruise with me even though romance has never been his thing- but I crave it since he is gone so much. He will try to not to cringe at the luau with all the other couples surrounding him and enjoy the fact that we can talk about whatever we want with out little ears listening as well as gaze at eachother & be mushy!! Then we have snorkeling planned which we both are excited about as well as a day of hiking because we both love to hike!
This week has been fun and one of the most challenging in my life for several reasons . I am excited about the future & ready to get this deployment over with! I hope everyone out in bloggy land is enjoying the start to Spring with some renewed hopes & dreams . Doing what you can to make them come true for you. We aren't promised a tomorrow with our family & friends. We aren't going to stay the same we are always moving forward and changing. We just have to remember as we do move forward to make sure we take our loved ones along for the ride & enjoy every moment! Have a great weekend everyone.
Yesterday I woke up to another beautiful clear sunshine morning in the Pacific Northwest. The kind of day that tricks you into thinking it is almost Spring time. Of course having lived here in WA eleven years yesterday I know better. But it does not mean we didn't enjoy every minute of the cold but pretty day!
It started off with me taking Banyan to the gym for only the second time. This time I took him inside during my Cardio work out. He laid down beside the elliptical for a whole 32 minutes before he became a little fidgety. I was really excited with this length of time for him seeing as he is only 8 months & the noises where new to him. We then headed to the local park that has ducks. Being as Banyan is a natural bird dog- ducks or any bird has been his issue lately. It doesn't help that Panzer our male Weimaraner sits by our sliding door to watch the birds all day long. At the duck park I tried no haltie on Banyan to start with as we began our walk. It became very obvious he needed the haltie to help him listen & loose his "puppy brain" . As soon as I placed his haltie on him he settled in to watch the ducks very closely with only an ocssional whimper. He did as good as I could have expected for a puppy. So now we will go to the park as often as the weather permits to continue his desensitization to the ducks. We need him to be ok wth all birds around him enough that he will never pull Jeremy along on a bird chase once Jeremy becomes his full time handler.
Watching the ducks swimming all around.
Then it was time to head to Safeway where the Boy Scout Troop 603 had set up for the Raffle Ticket sales. What a blessing we had the sunshine. Our table was right at the entrance & in the shade. My feet eventually went numb at one point & Banyan started to shiver. I went & got a blanket out of the van for him to lay on eventually. He did so well hanging out for about four hours. Barney another wonderful dog from All American Dogs
joined us half-way through the morning. The two of them together impressed the grown-ups and wooed the children. Banyan did perfect by waiting to allow the children to pet him until I asked him "to go say hi". We have been working on it & he is doing quiet well.
Banyan sitting by the table at the start of the ticket sales.
Barney the 3 year old Golden who joined us during the day.
Banyan started to show me signs he was exhausted around 3PM. Some didn't understand why I felt he needed to leave. But all day he was working. Banyan knows now when his vest is on he is working . He may look like he isn't while children are petting him, but it wears him out emotionally. He is letting the kids soothe because he is allowing them to love on him. Also anytime I moved away from him he sat alert to watch me or even joined me as he has to have me in his line of sight. When he laid down on the blanket and looked like he was dozing off I knew he was done & it was time to go.
Banyan showing me he was tired & ready to go home.
We where so blessed with ticket sales yesterday & meeting wonderful people from our Yelm community. We raised a little over $900 in ticket sakes as well as cash donations. The money goes towards the continued training of Banyan over the next 3 years. It was great to talk with people about Service Dogs & the training that goes into them. I was so glad I was able to be a part of it for as long as we where able to be there.
Ticket sales continue this week on-line so we can only hope to break the $1000 mark by this Friday- How amazing!! I know that all the hard work that Jeremy & I put into Banyan right now will one day lead to a better quality of life for my son. That Jeremy will have the independence that his brothers have to go places with out me or my husband. I know I get exhausted at times & feel over whelmed. But days like yesterday remind why we are in this new journey & how much support we really have all around us everyday. Thank you to Devon one of Jeremy's friends & his parents who brought the idea to the Boy Scout Troop. Thank you to the boys and their parents who whole heartily jumped into the raffle with both feet to help benefit one of their own. After eleven years of living in WA yesterday it truly felt like we where home, this is where we belong. How amazing and wonderful it just happened to fall on the exact day that we arrived to WA eleven years ago when Jeremy was just 4 months old.
This was sent to me by a friend who came out yesterday to support our family. The meaning is so true. All this work is so Jeremy can have Good Life.
All American Dogs is a brand new non-profit organization that has been helping our family with my son's service dog from the moment they learned we where in need. They have never asked for any money to pay for Banyan's expenses. For this we are forever grateful & now I am one of their all volunteer staff helping spread the word. If you want to help get the word out about how our Wounded Warriors, Veterans, & their families can get a Service Dog if they qualify please go like the Facebookpage as well as share it on your own. Since we are all volunteer and fairly new Jeremy's schools Boy Scout Troop is doing a Raffle in their honor. We have asked that all proceeds go to All American Dogs to help cover Banyan's continued Training.
We recently found out that Jeremy is now considered legally blind in his right eye that is affected by Glaucoma. He will go into another surgery this Wednesday to see if they can salvage any of his vision. What this has meant to us is not only does Banyan need to alert for seizures, learn mobility, but now he needs to be a guide for Jeremy at times. With this comes enormous expenses & a lot of extra training for Banyan. Since All American Dogs has offered to always pay for the training we wanted to give back. A lot of our wonderful family & friends have rallied to donate a lot of great items.
These items where Hand Quilted by Jeremys Grammy , my man's mom. She is so talented and wanted to help out. The bear pattern is a Quillow which is a throw with a pocket for your feet to tuck inside. You can also roll it up & turn it into a pillow- it's amazing.
Hand etched lanterns donated by a fellow Army wife & friend- amazing!
Our AMAZING Fire Department donating for a good cause!
This is my husband's fishing buddy & friend - who is AWESOME!
These are just a few of the items we have to Raffle off. There are many more to add soon. Some items are for Local Winners only. But some like the Quilts & Lanterns can be shipped to our Winners. If your interested in buying a Raffle ticket (s) they are $5 a piece. If you are out of town just please specify that on your checks so we know which items to place you in the Raffle . All Checks can be made out to Boy Scouts of America Troop 603.
They can be mailed to : Amanda Huston P.O. Box 1164 Yelm, WA 98597
We need all money collected by February 10th - with the Raffle to take place on the 12th.
Remember folks it's for a Great Cause- to help give back to our Soldiers who give so much all the time.
Here is Jeremy & Banyan's Facebook Page to go take a look at all the information. We will add items daily up until the 4th of February. Feel free to share this Raffle on your Blogs. if you do let me know so I can let everyone else know how you are helping out!
OK- now onto a different Post- I posted my First Ever Give Away And NO ONE has commented. I really want to give away this awesome digital scrapbooking download worth $59 to a lucky reader. If you missed the post go take a look & leave a comment super easy to enter.
Jeremy & banyan had their photos taken together about two weeks ago by a friend who does amazing things with her camera. Mrs. Shawnie Deutsch took about thirty five minutes to let Jeremy & Banyan have some fun! She captured some great moments in that short amount of time that I am so excited to have on film. If you want to check out more of her work & your in the Yelm,Lacey, or Olympia area here is her website Shawnie Deutsch Photography she does travel & can come to you! Here are just a few of the proofs before she even does any retouching- which makes them even more fabulous! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Incase you haven't found us on facebook yet here is the link to our page where you can watch all the happenings on our new adventure: Jeremy & Banyan "our Journey"
