10-22-05

Blessing of the Animals

As many of you may know, we received some not so positive news about Val's health. She was diagnosed with PLN (protein-losing nephropathy) a few days before we headed to the beach. Basically it is a life-threatening disease that can't be reversed. To say the least, Brian and I were devastated and I will admit that I cried myself to sleep the night we got the diagnosis. What we do know is that we caught it early and it is not in a progressive stage and currently she is being treated with medication.

Val seems to be doing really well - she seems to be back to her normal self and enjoyed her vacation, so we are really hopeful that this was a fluke and she has been misdiagnosed and will be fine - living a long life with us. The thing is, we remembered a quote we heard from my nephew Gavin's baptism. "If you have hope, you can change the evidence." And let me tell you, there has been a boat load of hope coming from Brian and me. And to top it all off, we found out while we were at Stone Harbor, that they were having a Blessing of the Animals. It is fate. Val was blessed and is on the road to recovery. We thank you for all your prayers - Val is our baby girl, the best dog ever, and we love her dearly.

Everyone Has There Own Way of Getting in the Water

One of my favorite parts of the shore is getting in the ocean and riding in the waves with my family. Much of my family are pros at body surfing - my Gramps taught my dad & aunts, and they taught all of us. But one thing I noticed this year is while we all have the same goal of catching the perfect wave, we all have a very different way of getting into the ocean to enjoy the surf.

In October, the air is crisp and can be chilly so getting in the water requires dedication and a little courage. There are those like Josh who show up at the beach with a "nothing will stop me" attitude to get in the ocean. He kind of reminds me of the Terminator - blank expression, taking one step after the other without stopping until he is submerged in the water. Then there is John who confidently walks in and quickly dives in. Then there are others like me, Jessa & Aunt Charlene who take every step with caution, squealing with every step, then waiting until the numbing goes away from the sections of the body before we continue on. It was a little rough this year, a little chilly, but there is nothing that compares to a refreshing dip in the Atlantic to top of your day. Until next year...

Val Vacation Shots

Val just loves her vacation at the Jersey shore - freedom from her leash with a run on the beach, chasing the foam of the ocean, walks all over town, and relaxing in the sun after a long day of nothingness.

First Bike Rides All Around

With Alana approaching 3, David & Ellen took Alana for her first bike ride around Stone Harbor. Geared up with her helmet, Alana was ready for an adventure. From what I understand, she talked the entire way and enjoyed the ride.

And while Alana got to enjoy the wind in her hair while others pedaled around town, we decided to rent a surrey and get Grams & Aunt Tina out on the road too. Aunt Tina told us she never learned to bike ride and it was fun listening to her laugh the entire ride. A special thanks to Josh & Ryan who joined me for almost the entire time. It is a lot of work for those having to pedal, but it was a lot of fun.

Game Nights

Nothing compares to last year's charades game with Dad acting out "Sweating Like a Whore in Church." But we continued the tradition and played some of our favorite games throughout the week like Guesstures, Catch Phrase, & Scattegories. It was a lot of fun and above captures pictures from the game-filled evenings. We captured Grams acting out her clues for Guesstures.

The Grands & the Greats

Grandma Morse is the matriarch of the family. She has pretty much run the show the majority of her life. And one thing I am very grateful for is her insistence of having her family with her for special occasions - whether it was Christmas, another holiday or vacation to Stone Harbor, her family was always there. It was kind of an unwritten rule in her family handbook that everyone just seemed to follow. Which is why it just makes sense that her entire family continues to head down to Stone Harbor each year to celebrate being together. Pictured above is Grandma with her 6 grandchildren (David, Josh, me, Jessa, Brendan, & Ryan), our significant others (Ellen, Brian, John, and Krysten), and her 6 great grandchildren (Marissa, Grace, Brendan, Alana, Gavin, and Alexa). We look forward to continuing to make great family memories for years to come - thanks to our Grandma.

Stone Harbor 2009

It was our fourth year heading to Stone Harbor for our October vacation. It is so peaceful down there during this time of year. We have everything to ourselves and really get to enjoy our time together. We enjoyed the beach when it wasn't so windy, swam in the ocean, enjoyed cocktails throughout the day, and gathered each night for a feast hosted by one of our 3 houses. It was a super fun vacation and as always, we are looking forward to next year. Pictures below contain captions.

Sunrise on last day at the beach.

Above: Brian & Ryan enjoying one of their cocktail concoctions.

Below: Gram & David sun bathing on the deck.

Above: Me, Marissa, Brendan, and Alana in a perfect photo opportunity.They all jumped on my lap to be a part of the picture
Below: My mom with her grandson Gavin