Fun with our cousins from Colorado

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, we had relatives visiting from Colorado and so we took advantage of their trip out here and went to Disneyland. My cousin has three girls, Miranda (10), Maycie (3) and Emmy (1), so I knew that Caiteyn and Carlie would have a ton of fun with them. Caiteyn spent most of the time going on the big rides since she had Miranda and Mike to go with her. The rest of us hung out and watched the parade and waited in line to meet the Princesses (Caiteyn made sure that she didn't miss that!). We had so much fun that the next day we decided to go back after Caiteyn got out of school to meet up with them again. I only wish that their stay was longer so that we could have spent more time together...

Here are some pictures from our visit...enjoy!

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Charity Softball Game Update

The softball game was a lot of fun and ended up being pretty successful for our first one. There were around 200 people who showed up and we took in about $4000. I am so thankful that people were so generous, especially given economic times, and the Loma Linda PCICU children and families will be very appreciative as well. Hopefully this will become an annual event that will continue to grow and grow.

Thanks again to everyone for your support...oh and we won! Rancho Police beat Rancho Fire 23-11. Way to go guys!

Rancho deputies and their children before the game started.

Del Mar Beach at Camp Pendleton

This past weekend my cousin Jeremy, who is from Colorado, graduated from the Marine Corps. My Aunt, Uncle and cousins flew out to watch his graduation and so we took advantage of being able to spend some time together. We headed down to Camp Pendleton Thursday afternoon and stayed at the base campground that is right on the beach; it was beautiful. As soon as we got there the girls wanted to run down to the water so I grabbed my camera and we walked down to do some shell searching and play in the water.

The first thing Caiteyn did was grab a stick and start writing our names...

I told Carlie that she was too far in the water, but she refused to listen to me. Right after I took this picture, she fell and this is what she looked like...

But she was still all smiles...

and Caiteyn was too.

Congratulations Jeremy! Thank you for dedicating yourself to our country; we are proud of you and your accomplishments.

Bad boys, Bad boys...

If anyone knows Mike, you know that on Saturday night at 8:00PM you will find him in front of the TV watching an episode of COPS. My dad has always teased him saying that the show COPS is what made him want to go into law enforcement (although Mike isn't lucky enough to have that much action EVERY night!). So you can imagine how excited Mike was when he learned that COPS would be coming to the city of Rancho Cucamonga to do some taping. When the Lieutenant pulled Mike into his office to tell him that he was going to be one of the deputies that the crew would be riding with, he was thrilled! Mike is known around the station to be a s%@& magnet so they were counting on him to get something 'good'. COPS is in its 21st season and they were able to catch their first bank robbery "story"...guess who the deputy was? Mike. Anyways this Saturday COPS will be airing one of Mike's "stories" and he is very excited to see the final cut. If you'd like to see it and you missed it on TV, you can view the whole episode here. There is also a site that gives previews into future shows; Mike said that he should have about four shows airing this season. Hope you enjoy...

Charity Softball Game

This Saturday, September 20th, the Rancho Cucamonga Police Department will be playing in a charity softball game against the Rancho Cucamonga Fire Department. Before I give more details, let me give some background to those who aren't familiar with our family.

In April 2005 Mike was hired by the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department and was assigned to one of the county's detention centers. After spending six months in the jails, he was given the opportunity to become a patrol deputy and gladly took the position. He was assigned to the Victorville station, which is about 35 miles away from our home, and continued to do well for himself. He enjoyed working with the other deputies and liked the pace the city offered; he often said that there was always something to do. After a couple of months on Mike being on patrol, we learned about Carlie's heart defect. Mike went to his Sergeant to give him a heads up on our situation and soon after Mike was pulled into the Lieutenant's office to discuss what was ahead for our family. They wanted to make sure that we were doing okay; being a part of law enforcement is really like having a second family. After Mike's meeting, the Lieutenant went to the Captain to explain our situation and the two of them decided that it would be best for our family if Mike were transferred down to the Rancho Cucamonga station where he would be closer to home (we live in Rancho Cucamonga) and the hospital. In February 2006 Mike began working at the new station and had a very warm welcome. A month later Carlie was born and many of the deputies, Sergeants, Lieutenant and other staff offered support to our family as we traveled down an unknown road. The station's chaplain even drove out to the hospital the day after Carlie was born to say a prayer with us. The station allowed Mike to come and go so that he could spend time at the hospital as needed. A couple of days after Carlie was finally able to come home, we were greeted by the station's Captain and a Sergeant; again they wanted to make sure that we were all doing well. Throughout Carlie's life, I have received calls from various Sergeants and deputies checking in to see how Carlie is progressing. The department has been a great source of support and we are very thankful for all that they have offered.

Now back to the softball game...A couple of months ago it was decided that the police and fire departments would play in a charity softball game against each other to benefit a local charity. After talking about it, they decided to choose the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU) at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, the very unit that treated and saved Carlie's life. We are once again thankful for the department's generosity in helping raise money for the unit as they are in need of a makeover.

If you are in the area, we'd love for you to come out (I'd love to meet other heart families!) and enjoy what I am sure will be a great game. We will be raffling off some prizes and Heather Froglear, from the local country station KFROG, will be joining us as she also has a daughter born with a CHD that was treated at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital PCICU. The game is Saturday, September 20 at the Rancho Cucamonga Epicenter located at 8408 Rochester Ave. The gates will open at 6:00 and the game starts at 7:00. We hope to see you there!!!

How to Look Good Naked

Tonight Lifetime will be doing a special about women with CHDs on the season finale of How to Look Good Naked. I learned about the show from an older CHD survivor that belongs to the same online support group that I belong to. The following is the post that she left the group:

I'm Jeni born with HLHS in 1985. I wanted to let you all know that I will be on TV tonight on the Lifetime show How to Look Good Naked. It's the season finale about women who have CHD and feeling self conscious about the scars on their chests. I had a blast filming it and being a part of this wonderful event. Hope you all can watch and enjoy it. Take care and God bless!
~Jeni Busta (23 yr old HLHS survivor)~

As a mother of a young daughter with a CHD, I am very curious to hear the stories of older survivors and to see how their CHD has affected their lives...thanks for checking in and I hope that you enjoy the show.