We are officially out of Boy Scouts. THIS email from our pack leader is why:

Dear Pack ##:

As you know, the Scouts organizations have received a lot of supports from Chick-Fil-A company in many ways!

Chick-Fil-A company and their franchises are under attack from the gay and lesbian supporters for their stand in supporting the basic family tradition of marriage between man and woman! Several cities and politicians are under pressure to ban Chick-Fil-A from operaing their business (Boston, Chicago, San Francisco...)

To response to this wave of attack, Gov. Huckabee proposes August 1, 2012 a National Chick-Fil-A Day to show our support to what we believe!

If you believe this is a right thing to do, help to make a difference on August 1, 2012 (next Wednesday) by just simply visiting a Chick-Fil-A
store and purchase something, small or large, to show our support!

Thanks! (Guess what we will have for dinner, Wednesday?)

For those who will most definitely accuse us of brainwashing our children...I guess we are.  But I ask you: Is it better to brainwash them to LOVE each other unconditionally and without judgement, or should we brainwash them the way the conservative Christians in this country do--with hatred, judgement and conditions? 

I stand firm that we are raising loving, open-minded kids who will someday grow to be exceptional adults. 
Jason and I are sick about this--we felt that we had found a group of loving individuals to lead our boys and provide some fun! Good thing we still have the Girl Scouts!

And yes, our children DO understand our reasons--we are not like others who just say, "because that's the way it is." We explain it and make sure that on their level, they have some understanding of the issues they are standing up for. How else do you raise your children to understand things? Ignorance is NOT an option.

You have two choices: 

1. Be kind and loving. 

2. Or not. 

We choose the first.

FYI...for those of you are vehemently homophobic, read this Savage article!

Happy 8th Birthday, Mimi!

Love.This.Girl.

Our neighbor who is a local school "media specialist" (Librarian!), happened to see us at George's cardiologist office the other day--our sons both see the doctor there--and she had extra Six Flag tickets! We weren't planning on going this year, as it is well over $200 for our family. Not something we will budget in every year!! So...yesterday was our only full, free day and after Lovie's eye appointment, we headed out to the park!! 8 solid hours of FUN! Everyone rode some type of roller coaster--Natan got shut out of some of the ones he wanted due to his height--I love that he loves to ride with Jason! Vinny is our up-and-coming coaster dude!

We finished our day off at The Varsity at 10:30 pm. FUN!!!!!

Some pics:

 What is a theme park without character pictures??

Had to ditch Lovie in the next one because she is getting heavy to hold!

 Dahlonega Mine Train...Jason is behind them!

 We LOVE the Carousel--it was hand-carved in 1908!

Lovie's first ride!

 The Great American Scream Machine! Natan & Jason!

 Bumper Cars= Awesomeness

 George and I sat out the Wheelie! 

George: "No way! I am TOO scared!"

Everyone else rode but I could only get this picture!

 Once again earned my "Best Mom" award (their words, not mine!) by riding the Thunder River Rapids three consecutive times and getting SOAKED--they finally kicked us off because the park was closing!

Best.Day.Ever.

This is the newest addition, Domino--I realized I hadn't posted him lately on my blog!

Here is the scoop:
He was on death row. 
The Gwinnett County Sherriff started a program a few years ago to rescue animals in high kill shelters (umm...pretty much all over GA), and place them with inmates in the county jail who had earned it. I think it's a GREAT program.
Domino is about a year old, so still eating stuff--his poop is very colorful! BUT...he is well trained and LOVES to play catch and chase--just what the kids ordered! You have to put up with being knocked over sometimes--he is fast and doesn't always stop! We love him...and we all agreed that he will definitely pass the "Nana Test"! Although she is partial to Reggie!
He is obviously a mixed breed--most likely Australian Shepherd (hence the serious herding nature), Lab, perhaps a touch of Boxer (yay!), and some Pit. Wait--don't panic. The bit of Pit Bull is what mellows his hyper nature out. Pit Bulls were always called "nanny dogs" because they were so gentle and nurturing to children. I don't think Pits have changed...I think owners have done serious damage to their breed. 
It irritates me when people's dogs get out and are "looking for action" meaning lazy, ignorant owners have neglected to spay or neuter. The reason we have so many high kill shelters here is due to lack of spay/neuter. There are even free and low cost clinics--NO EXCUSE!!!! We took our cat, Timbit, to a mobile clinic last year and only paid $15 to have her spayed. Do you know what these shelters do? They put all the animals in one room and gas them. 
Two ways to stop this, at least in Georgia: stop dog breeders and force people to rescue. SPAY/NEUTER!!!! And is it me, or does Canada not have this problem? Jason has noticed that we never see any stays running around. Off the hook again, Canada--true north, smart and free.
We are the proud parents of two rescue dogs and a rescue cat--I can't imagine seeing any of them gassed to death. I wonder if you can rescue fish...

Lovie Update:
1. ENT: Her ears work, but they have to do an "Auditory Brain-Stem Test" to see if her brain is receiving/processing the sound. 
2. GI: Kids with CP have difficulty with digestive issues--having a swallow study done to see if she has the mechanism. Have her on a specific caloric diet to keep her fed but not to get fat. Agreed with dietitian that an immobile obese child is not OK. 
We've had over a year to prepare ourselves for Lovie's medical situation and it is still very hard to comprehend. I can't imagine giving birth and discovering all these needs with no preparation. It's that story about taking a trip to Italy but getting off the plane in Holland. Different journey, but turns out to be surprising and just as beautiful. 
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Saw George's cardiologist. No changes. He would like to wait until post-puberty to do more interventions. Phew...
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Our lovely neighbor gave us free Six Flags tickets today--heading there tomorrow after Lovie's ophthalmologist appointment!!

Happy Birthday to Jason! The kids and I made him breakfast, homemade cards, and now we get to listen to him playing Rachmaninoff. Great day all round! Surprised him with Celeste's cake tonight (had one hunk saved in the freezer!!).

Celebrations began on Monday with Tanta & Papa!

 Peachtree Diner in Roswell...the kids thought it was pretty fancy!!

 Bring Your Own Cupcakes! We also had lemon Meringue tarts that I made but did not take a picture of--they were DELISH!!!

 Let us eat Lettuce--wedge!

 Papa above and Tanta below holding Miss Lovie!

 Since we were right around the corner, we took the kids to see Bonnie's grave. They were very interested and respectful, and Vinny even found some flowers to give her (on top of the perpetual ones that we originally paid for twelve years ago!). They all said, "Bye, Ma Bonnie..." as we left. She would have loved them...

I have never understood the whole "visit the grave" thing. But, being there, reading the dates and names of other people, the kids learned a little about life and death. And about making every moment count. And they connected just a little to a Memaw they'll never know.

Bonnie and Bill always marked birthdays--I remember one of my birthdays when Jason had a rehearsal so they took me to breakfast...just me! Bonnie said, "Come on, daughter! We're celebrating!!" And we did!

 Today--Breakfast...

and dinner! 

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Lovie update: saw the Neurologist on Monday. he is basically the only person I will defer to on matters of the brain. He is a bit of an expert! He ordered an EEG and MRI, but stated that her brain damage is "global" versus what was reported on her Ethiopian CT report. We meet with her physical therapist in August to evaluate her and then start in-home therapy!!!! Her damage may be more extensive than we thought, but we'll work on it anyway! Hope springs eternal! After the EEG, he will start her on seizure medication for Epilepsy, which he said is a common condition. 

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What's up for the next couple of weeks?? 
Monday--ENT to test hearing (keep your fingers crossed!) followed by cardiologist appt. for George.
Thursday--Ophthalmology
Friday--Gastroenterology
Monday next--Mimi's party followed by gymnastics
Tuesday--leave for Nova Scotia!!!!!!!!!

So...Lovie had a seizure last night during dinner. The kids were very concerned, as was I, as we watched it happen. We don't know if it's her first or hundredth...saw the pediatrician this morning who helped tons!
As a result, we now have a neurology appointment THIS MONDAY!!! Finally!
The following week we see the ear doc, followed by gastro followed by eye. Phew!