Me Time

So here I sit. It is the first time in quite some time that I have had some "me" time. The house is quiet except for the tinkle of the wind chimes sounding in the breeze through the open windows. It is peaceful and has given me time to collect my thoughts enough to be able to sit down and write this blog.

Since last I blogged (a couple of weeks ago) we went from winter (temps in the 40's) to summer (temps in the 90's). To be fair, we did have about two days of spring (70 degree weather), but I think it is safe to say that "summer is upon us."

I have had lots of questions about David, so let me start there. I am having "me time" today because today was David's first day back at school since surgery. He is going half days to see where his stamina is, but last Monday at his post surgery doctors visit, Dr. Hollenbeck released him to start school this week.

David has once again proven to be a miracle. This surgery which everyone dreaded and in which the surgery and recovery time were very daunting on paper, has turned out to be much easier than any surgery he has had to date. What's more, his doctor and his PT are thrilled at the speed of his recovery and the unexpected progress he has made so far.

David was off pain meds before he even left the hospital and after a talk with the doctor while he was still in the hospital, my confidence in taking care of him was boosted 1000%. Of course there have been those moments where I have been on the verge of a mommy melt-down trying to figure out how to do something where he is concerned and being terrified that I was going to break him, but after a few slow deep breaths and a lot of prayer, the answer always comes and we move forward. So..... you can imagine how surreal it was for me to send him off to school today. This was not something that I thought would happen this school year. Once again....David took the ceiling that the doctors expected and shoved it completely out of the way, in order to reach his own heights.

Truthfully though, in the big scheme of things, he is still taking baby steps in his recovery and will not be given full okay to go back to as much of his pre-surgery life as possible until after June 4th when we see the doctor again. Still though, he is weight bearing, walking some and moving forward every day. Yes, I think this all qualifies as a miracle.

Now onto the situation I have been getting lots of questions about recently.....How are things with the house going? 

I know I have been rather quiet about it all of late and there are reasons for this. The biggest one of course has been that my focus has been on David, his recuperation and his rehab. That has been a 24 hour a day venture and I have had little time to think about anything else.

There has also been the issue that my lawyer has told me to keep $$ amounts quiet and every time the subject is brought up, there are those that want to know exact amounts, which I can't give. I really am sorry about this but I feel as if this situation has been a community effort and I really don't want it to seem as if I am holding anything back. In the end though....all will be revealed. ;)

And it seems likely that there will not be anymore fundraisers as there have been some others with great need come to the for front in our community and the focus is on them.....as it should be. Time, money and resources are going to these families and my attention has been put on helping them too in any small way I can.

Today though, I will fill you all in a bit on our current situation and where I am at personally with it all.

We are now 3.5 months in on this house situation and quite frankly, I am just as confused today as I was February 3, 2018. I have no definitive answers on what is really behind this situation. The only thing I know for sure is that if I don't raise $78,000 David and I lose this house and all we know. The good news is.....we are close. I have had faith since day one that it would happen, even before our first fundraiser..... and I haven't lost that faith for a second along the way. However, I have been hit with a lot of sadness during this time, and each time I learn something new that doesn't mesh with the original story told to me, that draws questions and makes me feel like there might be deception behind the reason for us losing our home. I hope I am wrong, but this nagging feeling is at times unbearable. I spend a lot of time praying that I can keep my focus where it needs to be and that I don't fall into the negative space of anger. Knowing the reality behind it all might make it easier to forgive and move forward, but if I have learned nothing else in this journey it is that even family is fallible and sometimes we simply have to forgive a situation even when we don't have all the answers.

That being said and forgiveness aside, I am wiser and unfortunately, those particular ties maybe irreparably damaged. I really would like to believe that they truly feel bad that David and I were left in this situation, but sadly, nothing I have seen or heard indicates that.

So enough with the negativity. The bottom line is that "it is what it is." I can do nothing but deal with the situation as I know it and move forward and that is what I am doing. Through it all though, I have learned so much about the people in my world, myself and the kindness and generosity of others. I have seen love, kindness, strength and a community of family, friends and strangers come together through prayer, action and financial help for my son and myself. It has been truly amazing. I have been humbled beyond belief and it has set my sights for the future in a whole new direction.

Today, in my quiet solitude....I have come to realize that more so than ever in my life, I am beginning to know myself. I am seeing new and amazing strength in both myself and in David and most of all, I am beyond grateful for the lessons I have been given these last few months and for the grace I have been given in order to get through it all. David and I are blessed beyond words and without a doubt I know......we will Save David's Home.

If you would like to know more about Save David's Home, here is the link to check out the facebook page and to read up on our reality. There is also a YouCaring page if you would like to donate.

My Current Goliath

And time marches on. While I will say that David's surgery is over and we are almost ready to blow this popsicle stand (the hospital), this is not an update on David, his surgery, his less than pleasant current attitude or the perfection of said surgery. For true updates on David though, please go to David's blog, The Incredible Mr. David. All the up to date and current info is there.

No, this blog post is an update on the other Goliath's in my life. By the way, someone asked me the other day why I called these things Goliath's. I actually thought it was pretty creative and obvious, but obviously I was wrong. There is a biblical story where David slayed the giant Goliath. Well my David has been slaying Goliath's since the day he was born and when he is not up for the job, then I/mom take over. So let's talk Goliath's!

Truthfully, I currently have several Goliath's trying to get the best of me, however, only one is probably of interest to anyone but me and that is Saving David's Home. 

For quite sometime, I inundated facebook and all the pages I run and am associated with, with nothing but Save David's Home information, fundraisers and updates. I did it with reason and purpose, to get as many people interested as possible. It worked because with the help of my community, my friends and even complete strangers, we raised more money in two months than I ever dreamed possible. Truthfully though, when we hit the $10,000 mark, that alone was more than I ever thought possible.

In the beginning, I was keeping people posted with regular updates on dollar amounts and upcoming events. It seemed that everyday there was so much to post to keep us relevant and apparently we did such a good job that people that didn't even know us or have friends in common with us were seeing David's picture and story in their news feed. That is pretty amazing. After the first big fundraiser though, my lawyer felt that it was in everyone's best interest to keep dollar amounts private as there were prying eyes around. Since, I have followed my lawyers advice and kept things private. I was also sure that although David has the best face in the world (to me anyway) that those on facebook might like to see someone elses face or read about someone else, so I backed off the constant posting. I went from dozens per day to a couple per week and blessedly, whenever I post, I have a loyal group who share the heck out of them. Thank you!

So where do we stand two and a half months in? Well after three tremendous fundraisers and donations from many, many generous people, I am pleased to say we are getting very close and that by June 30th, God willing, we will be able to not only Save David's Home but to also buy it.

The world has no idea just how grateful I am for the kindness everyone has shown my family and I am very aware that even those who felt they could do nothing more than share and pray did so much. I have no doubt that because of those shares and prayers, the people who could donate were put into our lives.

This particular Goliath has been a huge one. With one punch in the form of an eviction notice, it knocked me down to the point that I wasn't sure how to get up or even if I wanted to. I was blessed with a David though, who needed me to fight for him and his home and the quality of his life and once that realization was set in stone in my head, I did not allow anything else but pure faith in, all the while holding on to the knowledge that some how, some way, I would save David's home.

Once decided, this road has been humbling, exhausting and at times extremely daunting. I am beyond grateful to have had so many people that were willing to step up and help plan and implement fundraisers (no easy task might I add.....especially on such short notice). Many, many people donated supplies, time, skills, talent and lots and lots of effort to help us. These events were a whirl wind that sped by with great success and no one will ever know how much it was all appreciated.

One thing that has truly bothered me through all of this has been the motive behind it all. Try as we might, my lawyer and I have never gotten definitive answers as to why this whole situation was implemented in the way it was. The need is understandable, the way that need was brought to me was not. Still though, I have tried to be positive and open minded about the situation. Even though I will likely never know the motivation, I have tried not to second guess  or assume anything and to take them at their word. I have also tried very hard to be respectful about my father and brother as human beings. Because of this, it bothered me immensely a couple of weeks ago when their lawyer told my lawyer that they asked that "nothing else" negative be said about them, especially if I found myself not being able to raise the money. Both my lawyer and myself were both a bit shocked as to my knowledge nor his, has anything negative been said. Apparently though, my brother was catching some fall out for the situation, to which my lawyer replied, "We are not responsible for other peoples opinions or actions toward him." This is true, but I hope that people aren't doing this. If there is something salacious going on, then Karma is a bitch and they will get to meet her. However, if there is nothing more than what they have said going on, then I am not going to hurt them or ruin their name just because they caught me off guard. So please....don't speak unkindly of them, especially when we simply do not have all of the facts.

Well there you have it. This Goliath is coming down and by Goliath, I mean situation and not people. (tee hee hee) We are getting closer and it is because of all the amazing people out there who love David and genuinely care about others. Your kindness has been inspiring and each and every day I do my best to pay every single act you have shown us....forward.

Love, kindness and faith.....I thank you all.

Excuse Me While I Tantrum!

Excuse me while I tantrum!

Today has been beyond a doubt the most frustrating day of my life. I have been told....and it makes sense, that before I move one inch further with all of this business, I NEED a lawyer who has my back and is in my corner. Sounds simple in theory....right? Trust me....it is not!

I have spent literally hours on the phone calling agencies, lawyers, legal aid, Aging and Disabilities and the list goes on and on. They all agree that this is a BAD situation. That it is not fair and that yes.....I need an attorney, but apparently because of Davids disability issues along with the eviction, I need a specialized attorney that simply does not exist. I have called so much that I think I have killed my phone as I picked it up to make yet another call and it buzzed a pathetic buzz or perhaps it was a gasp.....and then it went dead. Now is it dead dead or just begging for some much needed rest? We shall see. At any rate, without my phone, I am left to ponder my situation and pondering is not good for me today.....so here we meet again. I am three for three.

"I am a woman on the edge", in the words of the great Roseanne Conner. I know exactly how that feels. The kicker this morning was one attorney I talked to told me that I need my parents divorce papers as this house was purchased as an agreement my parents made post divorce. I told the attorney this and that there was no court ordered anything in 1971 as my parents agreed in court to leave the marriage pretty much with what they came into it with aside from minimal child support from my dad to my mom. Once out of court, Mom and Dad came up with their own agreement which both agreed was Dad providing us a home. This was not the first home Dad purchased for us, but it was the one that we eventually called our forever home and long after my brother and I moved out, my dad considered it my mothers home until her death in 2002. That is when he offered it to me with the promise of the home being deeded to me upon his death. Trying to explain this to a lawyer though is like talking to a wall. You simply can't do it.

He insisted I needed their divorce decree. So against my better judgement I went downstairs and went through my mom's trunk of old papers and keepsakes. If she had it that is where I figured it would be. To my shock I found letters my dad had written my mother post divorce, begging her back. I knew how that turned out as I lived it. She succumbed and the idealic life that was promised in those letters died about five minutes after we moved back in. I had never read those letters before nor knew they existed. It was kind of gut punch to read them and in a funny way, relive those events that happened so many years ago.....all over again. This was not the time nor the day to be hit with that kind of nostalgia. And as you may have guessed.....no divorce papers.

Today is the first day that my mind has clearly processed this all. I have been working in auto pilot since Saturday. Today though, reality is setting in and I am more than aware of the daunting task ahead of me. Part of me wants to keep my cool and move forward, but there is a very distinct part of me that wants to scream, yell and throw the tantrum of all tantrums.

No life isn't fair but David doesn't deserve this. David has had a tough road since the moment he left the womb and he has managed to fight through so much and still laugh, smile and inspire, but this.....this will harm David and I just can't allow that, so I straighten my tiara, talk sweetly to my phone and prepare to hit the ground running again this afternoon. Tantrum over. 

It's Simply a Faith Thing

Isn't it just like me? You don't hear from me for nearly a year and now suddenly, it's two days in a row. I promise that it is my intention to blog more in 2018 and more so, that they won't all be about this disaster I am currently dealing with. No....really!!! I have other life disasters that I can talk about! But today....I am processing and still need the writing therapy to get me through all of this.

This weekend was so surreal. Saturday I spent the day trying to understand how family can be so cold. No...not just family but MY family. It just was not sinking in. Yesterday I kept fluctuating between being sad, being angry and trying like hell to be understanding. My friend Marni's words kept going through my mind: There are 3 sides to every story. Your's, theirs and the truth. So what is this particular truth?

My first reaction upon hearing the news was to feel complete and total sorrow for both my dad and brother. I kept thinking how hard this must be for them to have to do this to me. I think I even apologized to them for having to go through such a thing. I remember thinking that because it must be so hard for them, that I had to handle this all with as much class and dignity as possible. Mostly I did not want my dad to be upset as his health isn't great and honestly even with our pasts....I couldn't for a moment think that either of them would deliberately do something like this to me. More over I couldn't fathom that they would do this to David. Hmmmmm I think I managed getting out of there with class and dignity...or at least my version of the two.

Then yesterday....... I didn't sleep much Saturday night, even as hard as I tried to shut my mind down. I prayed a lot and tried to imagine a positive end to this particular chapter of our story. Sleep was not my friend. So yesterday my mind began questioning what was truly behind this situation. Was this really a completely innocent action taken with the sole purpose of giving my dad financial peace of mind? If that was the case then as hard as this all is, it was understandable. BUT, why not include me in on the process and possibility that turned quickly to reality.... that my home was at stake? Why not give me a heads up and let me know that dad felt his living arrangements and financial security were in danger and therefore selling my house might ease that worry? I surely could have helped find other options and helped to ease that worry and not lose my home in the process. Was this whole thing then premeditated with the full intention of not only taking my home but causing me the absolute most stress while doing so? Can people, especially family really be that cruel? I still don't want to believe it, but at the very least, this whole thing was done in a very disrespectful, underhanded and humiliating way. It truly wasn't fair.

What was that? Life ain't fair. Yes, that is glaringly obvious.

Before I went to bed last night, I found myself starting to get angry at the unfairness of it all.Then I remembered that everything has purpose. There is purpose in this. Perhaps I need to appreciate things more and be more grateful. Perhaps I take things for granted too often. Maybe I need to realize that I need to give more, be kinder and not be so trusting of people (even family). Whatever the lesson is, I decided that I could be bitter or be busy. Bitterness takes you to a negative and unhealthy place pulling you down and backwards. If I get busy trying to fix things and improve my circumstances then I don't have time to be negative. All I have time to do is move forward. That is my choice.....busily moving forward.

Today I have been a bit overwhelmed. I hit the ground running but I have felt myself and my attention pulled in so many ways that focus has been hard to achieve. I have however been extremely busy. I have so many questions and so many things I need to check out and find out what my rights are and how I can continue to not only move forward but to also keep our home. It is truly a lot. Blessedly though, I am not doing this alone. My community, complete strangers and other wonderful family members and friends have stepped in and stepped up. Tonight is a community meeting to help plan a fundraiser. I am also told there have been many emails and calls to the Ellen show and the calls, texts, fb messages and donations we have received have been amazing. It just goes to show that blood doesn't have to be shared to be considered family. I don't think that I could be more grateful or more humbled right now.

So I move forward. I will likely never know the true motivation behind my "eviction" but I also can't sit around and worry about it either. All actions good or bad have consequences and this situation will be no different. As for me, I simply have to keep busy, be positive, fight like hell and learn everything from this experience that I am suppose to. I know everything else will eventually take care of itself. It's simply a faith thing!

Saving Our Home

Breathe! I AM strong! Breathe! I CAN do this! Breathe! I DO have faith! And then the old saying....If you worry why pray and if you pray why worry? It has all been swarming in my head like a nest of angry bees for the last 24 hours. What a difference a day makes! Truly.

I won't bore you with all the gory details of my current plight. If you want the details....check out my facebook page. The details are there. This is just me trying to process and figure out how I am going to handle this newest of drama's in my life and how I am going to continue to keep a roof over Davids head (preferably the only roof he has ever known) and how we as a family move forward.

Yes, it has been awhile since last we met here. So much has transpired so fast that I am still processing it all. In the last year, along with David whose health has always been a crap shoot, most everything I know about my world and my life has changed. Anything that I thought was secure has proven to be anything but, however, in this last year....I was reassured once again that upon my father's death, this house.....our home would be deeded into my name and my family would always have a roof over their head. Barring natural disaster, this was our home. Yesterday that all changed.

Now my home is nothing special to the naked eye. My home and I are the same age and since 1976, this home has been where my world began and ended. Except for a few years living elsewhere, just about every memory I have....both the good and bad are in the walls of this house. My late mothers yells of "LisaMarie....get down here," and my late husbands laughter still live in every fiber of it's make up. The parties my friends and I had when we were teenagers, the sleepovers and the smells of my mother canning still live here right along with me. My kids grew up here and David has come to rely on the comfort and security of this place as the one sure thing in his unsure world. His room means everything to him. It is his domain and his safe place and for him to have it taken away is just unthinkable to me.

Last night as you can well imagine, I barely shut an eye. As much as I tried to shut the insanity of the day off and rest, all I could do is think of each room and remember all the moments big and small that happened there. I could hear all the voices that have resided here and through the fighting of tears, think about those I lost here. This home is just such a part of us all. It was beyond heartbreaking to sit my kids down yesterday and tell them that by March 1st, this would no longer be our home. That everything I had ever promised them about always having a home here was just gone in one eviction notice.

And that eviction notice..... a notice that gives us less than 30 days to find a new home (with no money), move everything including our pool, deck and shed (otherwise it would become theirs) and never a word to me when they knew this was going to happen. I never knew an eviction notice could be so humiliating....especially when handed to you by family. So many emotions. "Just breathe," I kept telling myself as they sat their looking at me. The tears were right there but damned if I would let them see them. Damned if I would let them out. I still haven't.

Mixed in with all of this joy is the fact that David is to have a very extensive spine surgery in March. That has weighed on me terribly as I know what a difficult surgery, hospital stay and recovery this is going to be. When I mentioned this to my family while standing their holding eviction papers and trying to make sense of any of it, my brother simply looked at me and said, "Well, it's in March, so you'll be moved out by then." What does that even mean? All I could think was, I don't care how I feel about you or how you feel about me, if the shoe was on the other foot, I would never allow this to happen to you or your family. I would have fought for you. I would have found a way to make it all work without you losing your home. Without your son losing his home. But then again, maybe that is just me.

Then, last night I started thinking that with this, I am losing so much more than just my home. If I had to move right now, where would I go? Likely we will not be able to find a place big enough for us and affordable here in my home town. So then what? David loses his school? The people he has known his whole entire life? Really? And what about our dogs? The dogs we love that are as much a part of our family as the two legged animals running around here? Spud and Gizzy are old dogs and this is the only home they have ever known. What if we can't keep them? What if we don't have a backyard for our beautiful baby Shane? What if I don't have a place big enough for Davids equipment, for my grandchildren and for the few things I really love? The tears almost came. They are almost coming now, but damned if I will let them.

I have many wonderful friends out there who want to help. They are trying to help with advice, suggestions and even financial help. Oh and don't think that wasn't difficult and demoralizing to know that we are such a charity case that I had to air all of this on facebook and beg for help. I truly hope no one I know ever has to feel that much humiliation, but then again, the circumstances of my life made me check any ounce of pride I ever had long ago. I am left humbled with the realization that blessedly there are many good people out there and very undeservedly, I have some very good friends and an amazing community. Whatever comes of all of this, the bottom line is.....I will be paying it forward and giving back every chance I get....for the rest of my life.

I am keeping the faith and praying like crazy. I know that regardless of how this all turns out, life goes on. The world keeps turning and God will see us through. I also know though, that God expects me to fight for my family, for my home and most of all for David.

If you would like to help please head over to our YouCaring page. If you can help financially that would be amazing, but if you can't, please share and most of all, please pray that we get the miracle we need and are able to keep our home. 

The Last Sunday in February

It is the last Sunday in February and according to the immediate/long term (next 15 days) forecast, winter seems to be over and spring time is well on its way. If my allergies are any indication, I would say the forecast seems correct.

So far this new year has been full and yet for some reason, I feel as if I have been standing still. Of course I haven't, although I try to be as lazy as I can every chance I get, but those times get fewer and fewer.

Mixed in with with the usual and the valiant attempts at laziness, there has also been much loss in 2016 for the world in general and also much closer to my own heart. Some have been expected and several have left a gaping hole and the ever present question.....why?! I hate loss.

Then there has been home.

Since David has done home bound school for the last few months, my house has felt small and closed in with equipment and school stuff scattered in the main living space. Add to the mix, more people than usual coming in and out, and it has been down right claustrophobic. Then in the midst of all the chaos, Z decided we needed a furniture rearrangement. He was feeling closed in too. Unfortunately, it was the wrong move at the wrong time. It just closed us in more. Don't ever let anyone tell you that your surroundings don't affect your mood. Luckily for all involved, home bound school is at its end and soon my house will no longer be doubling as a school. Even luckier is that I have worked very hard to keep my jovial persona.....even when I felt anything but jovial,

Speaking of school.....David starts back tomorrow. He will now be attending high school and my heart and head have so many mixed feelings and emotions about this move. It is what is best for him since his seizures appear to be under control and I know he is sick of seeing MOM all day everyday. We both need the break and he needs the socialization, but I have yet to even begin working through this move. It is huge in any parent/child's life, but especially so in ours. So instead of trying to put the effort into processing any of this stuff, I am rearranging furniture. There is also the loading up, cleaning out.....and of course.....blogging. That's all healthy.....right?!

Yes, my head has been full of "things" and as I sat down to write, I had no idea which of those "things" would jump to the surface and end up on the page. Lucky for you it was this. Some of the other things in my head are much darker and a lot less politically correct. So....your welcome!

Okay....so tomorrow starts a new normal for me, which will be interrupted by spring break and then in a blink of an eye.....summer. But for now, I am just looking towards tomorrow and the week ahead. There is much to do, much to organize and much to mentally process. My baby is in high school! It just doesn't seem possible, and yet here we are. Where has the time gone? Lord! I sound like my mother. Sigh........

Does this mean I am back to blogging? Perhaps. But just remember......be careful what you wish for, cause you just might get it! Till we meet again. Happy Sunday!

Project #1 In the Books....Almost!

So it appears that all other projects have taken a backseat to the MAIN project of the summer. Of course that has been David's backyard and pool! To do a little recap.....hoping to get a head start on the summer and get David swimming for therapy early, we went out to open our pool in mid May. Some wonderful people came over to help clean it out and get it ready. We were on top of things and ahead of schedule when the pool began to fill. Unfortunately, the existing liner had somehow shrunk and after running water in it overnight....I went out to find the liner had pulled away, collapsed the pool and about 2,000 gallons of water had "watered" my yard all night. Some other wonderful people came over to try and help me fix the damage (we at this time did not realize the liner was the issue.) After fixing the damage, we tried again only to come out with the same results. NOW we knew it was the liner. The necessary repairs were once again completed and I was about to order a new liner, when we had one of our famous Kansas storms, complete with wind and hail. The pool collapsed and bent to the point of irreparable. So much for being ahead of the game. 

Thanks to the generosity of some other wonderful people....a pool was donated to David. Then, the unbelievable happened. Three men, two of whom were complete strangers before the pool....decided to volunteer and donate their time to put the pool up. Thanks to them and a few others.....Davids pool was going to be a reality. Working evenings and weekends when weather permitted, the project began. No one knew that it would be more than a simple pool raising. Instead though......it truly became a project! 

The original pool was a round pool and the deck had been built around it. The new pool however was an oval shape and thus the old deck had to be reshaped. The guys thought they would simply dismantle the old deck, save the boards, reshape it to fit the new pool and put it all back together. It sounded simple enough, but in Lisaland....nothing is ever that simple. Upon taking the old deck apart, the existing deck boards were rotted and damaged. It was a miracle no one had fallen through it. The only lumber that was usable were the actual posts. The deck also had to be reshaped and lengthened a bit to fit the new pool. So now not only did the guys have a pool to put up, but they also had a deck to basically rebuild. 

Once the old pool was completely dismantled and then removed....other problems began

to rear their ugly heads. One of the biggest problems was that the ground had to be completely redone where the old pool had been sitting. It was terribly unlevel which explained the six inch difference in levels from one side of the old pool to the other and it also explained why the liner no longer fit the old pool. The ground also had to be extended and prepared for the configuration of the new pool. We also found that rocks as well as other debris had worked its way up out of the ground over the years causing a disaster for the new liner. So the guys painstakingly had to map it all out and plant stakes to level it. Then....another kind person donated their time and their bobcat to come dig out the high spots and level it all. While doing this, the guys decided that not only was my pool site unlevel but my entire backyard was unlevel too. They were right of course and this was the main reason that having David in his wheelchair out there was almost impossible. This was when one of the guys brought in his tractor and proceeded to start leveling my entire backyard. Finally....after seven tons of sand was brought in, a couple of arguments with Lowes management and hours and hours of measurements, leveling, tractor work, shoveling sand and hauling lumber.....it looked as if there was going to be a pool and deck! The best part of all of this has been that David got to be a part of much of the process...rolling out onto newly leveled ground, hanging with the guys and getting his first tractor ride. He loved being a part of it all and I think it renewed the guys efforts to make this David's special place!

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This last Sunday....the pool was officially finished and the deck boards were all in place. David got to try his pool out for the very first time. He loved it! In fact....he loved it so much that he stayed in until he was almost too tired to get out. It was all we had hoped it would be for him as the deck is spacious, the new stairs into the pool are amazing for him and the pool itself is big enough to give him a truly amazing workout. He kicked his legs and feet all over that 18 x 33 pool and with the buoyancy of the water, his PT exercises were a breeze. After all....everything in a pool is fun.....right?!

As far as the pool goes...it is complete and the deck is in it's final stages of completion. By

the weekend all of the railing should be completed and another amazing person will move the electrical for all the pools needs. We have had one David fan donate lights to string around the deck and we are currently looking for a couple of pole tents to give the deck a bit of shade in the midday heat. Soon though, Project #1 David's pool will be in the books. I am sure that my wonderful volunteers will be so happy to be able to enjoy the pool instead of work on it. 

Of course, my summer projects are far from over, but with the pool and deck finished.....I will now have more time to devote to other things. And remember the completed firepit? Well it is back on the project list. It seems that with the leveling of the yard, it had to be dismantled. Fear not though.....it is coming back soon....bigger and better!!! 

So there you have it! Project #1 is all but done. Like any project, it had its ups and downs but it was an amazing experience to know that people were willing to give financially and physically to make this a reality for David. You know who you are and you will never know how grateful I am to all of you! I have made wonderful new friends and learned so much about deck building and pool erecting. However, I hope it is a very long time before I have to use those new found skills again.