Brushstrokes for Pediatric Stroke

Hey y'all!

So today was our Brushstrokes for Pediatric Stroke event. We had a nice turnout. Some people were sick and pretty bummed about it, for good reason, because we had a blast! Margie from Margie's Art Glass Studio was so generous to provide us with the room at no cost! We just had to cover the tiles we used. If you haven't been there you HAVE to go! They have a ton of ceramics at great prices and it's so much fun. They also offer stained glass classes, and more. And their coffee is the bomb! If you're not into art get some coffee or an Italian soda or a smoothie!! I know we'll be back for sure! Okay, enough raving, let's get to the point, lol.

Thank you Margie for your support!

For Pediatric Stroke survivors daily tasks, such as drawing and painting, can be a bit difficult, due to the hemiplegia (weakness in one side of the body). At the same time, getting them to do those things with their affected hand can be great therapy. We had Isaiah do a hand print with his affected hand, brushing the paint on his hand stimulated it and forced him to open it. Plus, holding a paintbrush helps work on those motor skills! And isn't anything involving paint and getting messy fun? I sure think so! It definitely showed! The kids had lots of fun and it was awesome to see how much effort they put into their tiles. Check it out!

Ellie made an awesome Father's Day gift for her daddy's office!

Nia working hard on her tile.

Artists at work!

Not sure who had more fun, Isaiah or daddy! Rebecca deciding on her design.

Masterpiece in the making.

Her first time painting ceramics!

Isaiah and his girlfriend Ellie.

Masterpieces drying.

By the way, we raised $102 during the event! The money will go to CHASA (the Children's Hemiplegia and Stroke Association) to support research, scholarships and medical equipment. Thank you all who participated! Next year, we're trying to go bigger so be on the lookout ;)

Isaiah says "Thank you!"

That's it from us for now. We're going to enjoy our Memorial Day weekend, the last holiday together before daddy's deployment! So "Happy Memorial Day" from our family to yours!

Love,

We're streaking!

....nooooo, not what you're thinking! We're NOT running around naked, I promise! We're doing things every day to help raise awareness for Pediatric Stroke! If you've read my last post, you may have an idea of what I'm talking about.

We were able to recruit 2 businesses for Pennies for Pediatric Stroke this year, with one possibly following next month! Soooo, why don't you go grab some coffee or tea at Beaver Brew Cafe and get your lunch/dinner at KFC on N Broadway, thanks guys for supporting our great cause! If you're not in the area but would like to make a contribution, you have the option to go to Isaiah's fundraising page. Just click on the widget in the upper left corner. We're also busy selling awareness buttons! If you  haven't gotten yours yet but would like one, contact me and we'll get one to you. They're $1.50 with 100% of the proceeds going directly to CHASA (The Children's Hemiplegia and Stroke Association).

The "Pennies for Pediatric Stroke" jars

As every year, we've decorated our yard purple. If you remember last year's post I went crazy and did a window mural, took me half the day, and only because I had help. It also took half the day to take off. So a better solution had to be found! A banner!!! We haven't hung it yet, shame on us, which actually turned out to be a wise choice, as we had a storm here two nights ago. We also got some pretty purple flowers, our pinwheels from last year, and Nia picked out a purple butterfly. Not to mention, our purple wreath, although I may retire it next year and replace it with a bigger one. This is how it looks:

Living on base, we're a bit limited as to what we can put in the yard, I really wanted to spray paint the lawn but a) we had snow on the ground til 2 weeks ago, and b) military regulations.... oh well, one day! Here are some close-ups of the flowers and the butterfly:

I actually had to bring the flowers in over night the first couple of days as it was still too cold at night.

Some of you may know that each year we write a petition to the governor, asking to proclaim May as Pediatric Stroke Awareness Month. Well, here is this year's petition! Again, thank you Governor Jack Dalrymple for issuing the proclamation!

 

Another thing we do is wear purple, in all kinds of ways! We try to walk as much as possible across base while sporting our purple, too:

My girls Stacey and Tracy rocking the purple while walking for Pediatric Stroke Awareness!

Sporting my purple, including eyeshadow, while running errands, hence the not so happy face. I don't like waiting forever, lol.

See, purple eyeshadow.

My purple workout gear, I'm NOT bikini ready so I wear a top over that sports bra top!

So, as you can see, we have a bit going on. Next Saturday we will be doing the "Brushstrokes for Pediatric Stroke" event at Margie's Art Glass Studio, I have 3-4 slots left so contact me asap if you and your kids want to come! The walkathon we had planned is canceled as of now. We have too much going on right now, soon you'll know what I'm talking about, so unless something changes last minute, there will be no walkathon. I will try to take lots of pictures at the event next week. Let's see how that'll work between painting tiles and making sure the paint stays on the tiles and not on the walls, ha!

So much for my update, my lovely friends. I will now get back to my exciting - not - household chores and packing, as we'll be leaving to Fargo on Monday! Ahhh, I just realized, I also still need a dress for tomorrow's wedding!!!! What! Alright, gotta go!

Love,