From the FightSMA website:
We are very pleased to announce that legislation to enhance federal support for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) research, H.R. 2149, the "SMA Treatment Acceleration Act of 2009", has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA). On behalf of our organizations and the families affected by this deadly disease, we want to express our gratitude and thanks to Congressmen Kennedy and Cantor for their leadership.

This legislation builds upon the success of the SMA Treatment Acceleration Act introduced in the 110th Congress, which garnered 85 cosponsors in the House and 21 in the Senate, including then-Senator Barack Obama. The new version of the legislation has been modified slightly to ensure resources for SMA clinical efforts and infrastructure are maximized.

SMA is the number one genetic killer of children under the age of two. It is an inherited disease that destroys the nerves controlling muscle movement, which affects crawling, walking, head and neck control, swallowing, and breathing. Approximately one in 40 people, or approximately 7.5 million Americans, carries the gene mutation that causes SMA. Each child of two carriers of the mutant gene has a one in four chance of being afflicted by SMA.

Among more than 600 neurological disorders, SMA has been singled out by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as one of the diseases closest to treatment based on scientists' advanced genetic understanding of the disease and a strong collaboration between families, federal agencies, and patient advocacy groups. Researchers have identified the gene responsible for SMA, as well as a disease modifying "back-up" gene that has opened the door to promising new treatment pathways. This research is providing groundbreaking data for SMA and other disorders, including the muscular dystrophies, Lou Gehrig's disease, Friedriech's Ataxia, Fragile X syndrome, and Huntington's disease.

In order to build on the progress being made by investigators and bring treatments to children affected by SMA, a broad coalition of organizations, including Families of SMA, FightSMA, the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and the SMA Foundation, has united behind the SMA Treatment Acceleration Act of 2009, legislation aimed primarily at supporting a national clinical trials network for SMA.

Specifically, the "SMA Treatment Acceleration Act of 2009" provides for the following:

• Federal support for a national clinical trials network for SMA;
• Federal support to enhance the SMA patient registry and for expanded research on the epidemiology of SMA;
• Establishes an Interagency SMA Research Coordinating Committee to include federal agencies including NIH, SMA researchers, and SMA families, to coordinate government activities relating to SMA, develop a comprehensive strategy for improving and expanding SMA research, make recommendations to strengthen collaborative research across multiple institutes at NIH, and identify barriers to the development of drugs for treating SMA; and
• Provides for the Secretary of HHS to establish a program to provide information and education on SMA to health professionals and the general public

Our organizations are issuing a "Nationwide Call to Action" for all SMA families, researchers, and friends, to help engage every Member of Congress in support of this bill and the great efforts of Congressmen Kennedy and Cantor.

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What does that mean for you? We are going to need EVERYONE to take time to contact their representatives in Congress and ask them to support this bill! Here are some tips on contacting them, as well as sample letters. If you decide to use the template for the sample letter, be sure to change the name of the bill and use the current one listed above! It does not have a name in the Senate yet, only the House. I'm sure the SMA organizations will be putting together new sample letters with the new information, so I will be sure to post those when they do. This is VERY IMPORTANT to me and all the other families affected by this horrible disorder!

Help me out here....

Okay...
I need to get an idea of how many cook books to order, so if you want one, two, or ten, please send an email to cooking4acure@mail.com You can also send recipes, ad requests, or anything related to this project over there. Once it gets closer to printing, I may go ahead and take preorders so I can help pay for the printing cost. It will help having all the email addresses and number of books needed so I can contact everyone to let them know we are ready to go. I really hope this works out. Many of us have dedicated a lot of time and love into working on it for Eli and all the other SMA kids.

ETA: I should have put how much we are hoping to sell them for! Sorry guys. They should be between $10-12, depending on the final count for the recipes. They are still coming in, so I am waiting on that to be complete; it looks like $10 right now.

Just a little vent.

Today is a day of frustration for me. I've been trying to do a few things to help raise money for SMA research, but it is all getting very discouraging for me lately. I really want to start my own nonprofit so I have an actual name and organization to do my projects under. Without that, I feel like I'm useless to do very much. The cook book I've been working on is going to cost me a lot of money to print. They give organizations enough time to sell the books to pay for the printing costs; individuals must pay before they are printed. So, I could possibly ending up sending a few thousand dollars and have a room full of unsold cook books. I have no idea how many to get printed or how "fancy" to make them. I don't know how to talk people into putting in ads or how to design or submit the ads.

I wanted to do another fundraiser around Eli's birthday, but the 5K fun run we were looking into really needs to be done under an organization name. My friend Kim has a great alternate plan, but again, we will see how it goes.

I just feel so helpless to do anything and these projects sometimes make me feel that I'm at least doing SOMETHING. I know it is not much, but it is SOMETHING. I feel like I'm at a point that I can either spend my money for a lawyer to help with setting up a nonprofit and have none left over to do projects OR do the projects but keep encountering obstacles. Ugh.

That's my vent for the day. Sorry. Just a frustrating week for me.

A Day in Pictures

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We went and took the new camera out for a day at the Arboretum. Hope you enjoy the pictures! I can't wait to learn how to use my camera to its full potential! It is great!

If you can, please try to wear pink today in remembrance of baby Georgia.

Flyer

(Here is a flyer I made up to try and get some ads. If you need it, you should be able to copy it and paste it into MS Word. I have the file I can email out too!)

Help Cure Spinal Muscular Atrophy!

• Spinal Muscular Atrophy is the leading genetic cause of death in infants and toddlers.
• SMA is incurable, untreatable, fatal, and underfunded.
• 1 in 35-40 Americans are carriers. 1 in 6,000 to 1 in 10,000 infants are born
  annually worldwide with SMA.
  

This cook book is being done to honor Eli, who became an angel at only 5 months of age.

‘Cooking for a Cure’ is a great cook book being put together to raise money to help find a cure for Spinal Muscular Atrophy. All proceeds from the book will go to FightSMA to help fund scientific research to end this horrible disease once and for all!

If you would like to help out, consider purchasing an ad in the cook book. It will be seen by many people around our area and all around the country. What a great marketing tool!

FULL Page: $75
1/2 PAGE (4 1/8" x 3 1/2") $45
1/4 PAGE (41/8" x 1 5/8") $30
PATRON Only the business or individual name will be listed – approx. 25-33 characters per line. $15

One small thing EVERYONE can do is sign the petition to urge our government to help fund research for a cure! You can find it at www.petitiontocuresma.com

Cats and SMA

Today I was researching a cat breed, Maine Coon, because Jason and I both love them and have considered getting one several times. I think getting a cat from a shelter is by far the best thing to do, but I figure if I have 3 of those already, maybe it is okay for me to get a pure bred cat? They are not cheap, so I decided to look over possible health problems they might have; to my surprise, they can have SMA! I had no idea that cats could have it too! I probably won't ever get one now. I figure we have already dealt with SMA once in our lives and that is enough. I'm glad I'm such a Google nut sometimes.

Many things I have read about losing a child have indicated that most marriages don't survive afterwards. I am glad we are holding things together so far. I LOVE Jason. I can't imagine a life without him. He is the most amazing husband and I feel lucky every single day that he has decided to call me his wife. He loves me and always goes out of his way to make each second of my life better in some way.

Because of this, it hurts me to know that going to work is quite heartbreaking for him. He hardly ever says anything, but the few clues he lets slip tell a big story. There are several pregnant ladies there; I know of at least one baby shower over the past few weeks. That would probably send me to bed in tears for a few days, so I know it is painful for him too. I think he also encounters some people who don't quite get HOW MUCH IT HURTS to hear about their little ones. I have heard a few comments that have been made and I'm glad his job is almost an hour away... I am very protective of him and I wouldn't mind setting some people straight. I get that they are proud of their children, but show a little compassion and sensitivity PLEASE. Ugh.

On a brighter note, I signed up for a history filled summer. From June 1st until August 16th I will be living a life full of American History. Those are the first classes I'll be taking on my journey to being a teacher. I dread it because I HATE history. I've managed to get two degrees without taking history, but I guess that streak has ended. I find it a little strange to have to take history in order to teach kindergarten or first grade, but oh well. It will get me out of the house every day if nothing else. :)

Yet another baby died of SMA this week. I played the lottery tonight in hopes of winning and doing some serious funding of research. Money is useless to me personally right now. It can't buy the only thing I really want. I'd love to have enough to make a difference for someone else though. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Life after a loss is so different than life before. I am up early this morning. I try to get up early (if I can) on the days that Jason has to go to work. I like packing his lunch; I like the hugs before he goes. That's not why I do it though. I do it because I'm afraid I won't see him again. That something will happen and he won't return home. After losing my son, I'm now terrified I'll lose my husband too.

I remember one night a few weeks or maybe a month after Eli died we were in bed and Jason had already fallen asleep. I was still awake, as usual, and noticed that he had gotten really quiet. I tried to see if I could still see him breathing but I wasn't able to tell in the dark. I had to put my hands on him and make sure he was okay...and he was, but in those brief moments I was so afraid. So afraid.

That story wasn't my intention of starting this post today. I was just going to say I was up early today. Sometimes I don't know where my thoughts will lead once I start typing. I came to discuss the headlines in today's paper. I pulled up the e-edition of our local paper this morning and was blown away by the first 6 or so headlines. It makes me sad for our country and our people. So many of us have really lost our way...

The first story was about the increase in gun and ammo sales. Concealed handgun applications are close to double what they were last year. I don't mind people owning guns, but I worry why so many think they need them now. The next story was discussing how Texas was trying to put through a bill limiting access to teacher records. I agree that teachers have a right to privacy, but this bill would seal their criminal records. I may never have a school aged child, but I imagine if I do, I would want to know if their teacher was a convicted felon!

From there we go to the story of the driver who was driving drunk and talking on his cell phone during the horrible storms we had on Saturday... He killed 5 kids, 3 of his own, when he lost control of the car and drove into a flooded bayou. The surviving child, as well as 3 of her siblings, have been taken into custody by CPS after their mother tested positive for drugs. The next article talks about a 12 year-old who has been charged with capital murder of an 10 month old baby boy. At least 5 kids were left alone in an apartment and the mother(s) returned to find the dead baby. The police are having a hard time figuring out where the mothers of the kids were or how many kids were actually in the apartment at the time of the baby's death. I won't go into a bitter rant, but I'm sure you know what I'm thinking.

and finally, the last article I read was about the Morning After pill now being made available over-the-counter to 17 year-olds. I don't even know what to say about that one.

How sad it is that these are the headlines in my area right now? More guns, dead children, and pregnancy-terminating pills to teens.

More cook book stuff...

Sara has talked me into trying to sell ads for the cook book to help lower our cost and raise our profits a bit. I think it's great, but I hate asking businesses! I guess I will put it on my list of things to do for next week and get started! If any of my readers might know of a business that you think would be willing to help, let me know and I can email you the prices and paper work that would need to be completed. In addition, I'd like to do one page, called a Patron page; it is only text, but can list a business or personal name. There are 14 slots on the page and each slot is allocated up to 25 characters. We will be selling those for $15 each. I will be buying one in honor of Eli. :) There are many options though; whole page, half page, a third or fourth of a page, and even a sixth of a page!

A Few Random Pictures

My niece, Lana. Isn't she a cutie?

Mr Crab attended last night's Astros game.

My sweet Bandit.

Thank You

I just wanted to say thank you again to everyone who helped out with our crab project! I got a beautiful thank you card from the group at the hospital thanking us for the donation. We wouldn't have been able to do it without all the support and love you all have offered since Eli's death. It means so much to know that we are helping out and giving back.

I just sent $200 to FightSMA today. That included many donations that were given on Baby Eli day.

My great friend Sara is working hard to help me get recipes for the cook book so that we can get it published before Eli's birthday. If you haven't sent me your recipes, be sure to get them in soon!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Eli was on my mind a lot tonight so I made this.

We attended the baseballl game tonight and it was again filled with mixed feelings. I've been crying since we got home over the loss of baby Georgia. SMA is such a cruel killer and I hate seeing life after life lost to something that none of us even knew existed until we got the bad news. The Lucas family will be in my thoughts tonight and in the weeks and months to come. Good night beautiful angel.

Today I went to Lowe's and decided to look for some sort of lawn "art" that we could add around the house as a memorial for Eli. Look what I found: A CRAB! I was so excited and immediately started crying in the store. I put it in my cart and several people made comments on how cute it was before I made it to the cashier. I'm happy that I found something that already has so much meaning for us. I'm almost tempted to go back and buy all of them that they have. :)
**NOTE: If you are interested in adding one to your garden as a memorial for Eli, you can put in your zip code here and it should tell you if there are any in stock in your area!**

Photography!

We need a hobby to provide some distraction, so we bought a cool new SLR camera today. I'm SO excited and can't wait to sign us up for some classes! Here are a couple of pictures I snapped tonight just on Auto mode. I love how grumpy Bella looks.

Empathy...
If there is one thing I have gained in losing my Eli, that is it. When I read the story of another baby diagnosed or taken by SMA, I cry like I have lost another child. Why? I think it is because I know how those families are going to be feeling. I know what it is like to have a silent house. I know how it feels to have a beautiful nursery, so lovingly decorated, sit empty. I would gladly add to my own pain to stop anyone else from EVER having to experience it. I am already broken so more pain....well, it can't really do much more to me right now. I'd gladly bear it.

I don't even know what to type right now. I've been reading this blog and crying for about 30 minutes. Please keep this family in your thoughts.

Nice Weather We're Having Here....

Our street has turned into a lake...and it is still raining.

Headstone update

We got the revised bear back from the company we were working with originally and we like it MUCH better than the first one they sent us. I can't get the back side to work on here, but it just has his last name and the crab on it. We are waiting to get the final workup for the blocks so we can make a final decision. The square under his name will have a colored picture of him in his Astros shirt.

Lately I've been wondering if there will ever be a day where I wake up and don't feel broken. I think I have forgotten what it feels like to be complete, to wake up and be happy that I've woken up. It is strange what losing your child does to you; crazy how you are forced to go through the motions of life with a broken heart.

My heart was broken even more when I heard my husband tell me he felt like a failure. If you know Jason, you know he is about as far from a failure as you can get. He is an amazing husband. I can't even begin to list all of the things he does for me. He knows my bad days and puts his feelings aside to try to make me smile; he cracks jokes, takes me "CVSing", or just offers up hug after hug. I wish everyone could have watched him play with Eli and what a great dad he was. I had a battle with PPD after having Eli and Jason took care of me and our baby boy. He changed diapers, babysat when I needed a break, and offered me some quality cuddle time even when he was exhausted. Even this week he has worked and worked around the house in hopes of making my week better. He always gives so much of himself. There are days when I feel like I don't deserve him, but he stays by my side through it all.

Tonight is another night of no sleep for me. I can't seem to get my mind to turn off long enough to fall asleep. I finally got out of bed so that my crying didn't wake Jason up. He wouldn't mind if it did; he'd just slip his arms around me and offer his quiet strength. I just keep picturing Eli's battered body and I can't get that image out of my head. I remember Jason getting sad as we realized how much was wrong with him at the end. The scoliosis became evident in those last few weeks; the belly breathing so much more pronounced. I think we both want to delete the pictures we took at the hospital but we can't seem to do it. Every picture is special in its own way. Some days it feels like pictures are all we have...

One day not too long ago I had a moment of panic. I had left the house after making tea and on my way home I realized that I had not turned the coffee pot off after I made it. Eli's pictures were on the laptop and it was in the house. What if my forgetfulness had caused a fire?? I was frantic about getting home and happy when I saw it was okay. I talked to Jason and he put all of our videos and pictures on CDs that are now in the fire-proof safe. The laptop crashed not long after that, so I was so glad he had saved them all. It is crazy how obsessed you can get about pictures. I have another story I'll share later about them.

It has been a long time since I came and wrote so much. I feel like I'm angry most of the time and that is not a nice emotion to share. It clouds my brain to the point that I can't write. I don't feel as angry tonight, so it was nice to come and write a little.

"A Pair of Shoes"
author unknown

I am wearing a pair of shoes.
They are ugly shoes.
Uncomfortable shoes.
I hate my shoes.
Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair.
Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step.
Yet, I continue to wear them.
I get funny looks wearing these shoes. They are looks of sympathy.
I can tell in others eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs.
They never talk about my shoes.
To learn how awful my shoes are might make them uncomfortable.
To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them.
But, once you put them on, you can never take them off.
I now realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes.
There are many pairs in this world.
Some women are like me and ache daily as they try and walk in them.
Some have learned how to walk in them so they don’t hurt quite as much.
Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before they think
about how much they hurt.
No woman deserves to wear these shoes.
Yet, because of these shoes I am a stronger woman.
These shoes have given me the strength to face anything.
They have made me who I am.
I will forever walk in the shoes of a woman who has lost a child.

Through this journey of grief I have met several other moms who lost their babies to SMA. They are all amazing women and it makes me sad to know they once experienced what I am going through now. I already told you about my great friend Laurie, who I have now adopted as my long lost sister, but before I go to bed tonight I'd also like you to meet Helen. She lost her Jeffery to SMA and like me, she shares her story, along with the stories of many others on a blog. She took the other path, the one I'm not willing to go down right now, so I'd like to share a recent blog post from her. She recently wrote one about us and Eli, so be sure to read that one too. While I love the SMA community, I hate what brought, and continues to bring, all of us together. Our kids would have had some awesome moms (and dads) guiding their way through this life.

I thank each and everyone who has reached out and shared their stories and tried to help me on my path to healing. I hope I can do something in the future so that you all can know how much it means to me. ((HUGS))

Jason has been working hard this week!

My Easter Rose Bush!
My craft room. It is a very very light purple. I love it!

Today's project: Before

And after! We went and bought a truckload of little rocks and are going to use those as our landscape borders now. I still have to finish trimming the hedges. I had a rough day with that. It took forever to trim two of them and I finally got mad and threw the trimmers across the yard. I went and bought an electric trimmer and I'll be darned if I didn't catch the electrical cord on the first hedge. I will have to run and grab another cord tomorrow and try it again! It was just one of those days I guess...

We are going to take the grass that Jason dug up and put it out at the cemetery so Eli's grave isn't just bare dirt. It will be nice to know that the grass that covers him came from his home.

Work in Progress

Any choice we make will be in this color granite. We both love it.
I think this is very cute. All the wording would be on the base, along with a picture.

One of the designs we like.

This one appears on a lot of website, so I imagine we could easily find it somewhere...

I found this one while looking for the pictures of the teddy bear ones and we both like it a lot. We will have to send it to the company and see what we get back. It would be very fitting for a cute baby boy I think.

Not trying to make anyone sad by posting these. I just like letting my family know what we are working on and let them see things in progress. I welcome any comments or ideas. Feel free to let me know your favorite!

Easter Sunday

The community basket for all guests!
After much debate, I ended up putting some eggs on to boil last night. I needed some for our deviled eggs today, so I figured we should at least try to have some fun coloring them. It was a nice break and we had a few laughs doing it. I always dye mine several times because I enjoy doing it so much that I am always sad when they are all colored. If you look closely at the yellow one, I put Eli's name on it so he was part of the fun.

Today has been hard and I have cried several times. I'm very lucky that I have such a wonderful husband to hold me when I break down. I did okay while we had company, but didn't make it long after they left. We only had 2 people come for dinner today. I don't know if everyone else is just avoiding us or what. I know we don't get nearly as many phone calls or visitors as we did a few months ago. I won't complain about the lack of phone calls. I hate talking on the phone now. I do miss the visitors though; it was always a distraction from all the sadness. I know we are probably not the best company now so I don't blame people for not wanting to come over. Everyone else has a life that just keeps going; we are the ones stuck on January 14th.

Recipes, Recipes, Recipes!

I still need many more recipes for the fundraiser cookbook! If you haven't emailed me one yet, please do! I especially need bread and roll recipes, but can use all categories! kyann22 @ yahoo.com (just leave out the spaces to email me. If I don't put them in on here, I get way too much spam in my email!)

Why Should I Care?

If you haven't signed the petition or made a donation to help fund SMA research, perhaps this video will help you understand why it is so important to do so.

I realize holidays are going to be hell for us for a long time. It is so hard to watch everyone getting excited about Easter and hiding eggs and making baskets. Everything is so much different on this side of things....

Everyone else in the world has went on with their lives while we seem to be stuck in the same place. People make comments about being frustrated with their kids; before we would have laughed along with them but now all I can think is "well, at least they are alive". I hear about all their kids latest accomplishments and all I can think is "Eli will never get to do that". It is a strange place to be, not one I would wish anyone I know to ever have to be.

I have finally found a little peace by giving up on any ideas of religion. It is much easier to cope with what happened when I just look at it from a science viewpoint. The standard words we get from most everyone are "we are praying for you". I have heard that from people I am pretty sure don't even pray....but if they do pray, what would they pray for really? People prayed for Eli but he died anyway. People pray that we have peace, but that's not happening. I guess that is the only thing they can think of to say at this point. Just realize that there is no comfort in that for me and I probably won't respond to it. If you chose to worship a god that takes babies away from loving homes but leaves others to be beaten and abused, that's your right, but it is not something I want to be a part of. Jason and I have a new saying to live by.... Whatever lets you sleep at night. I actually found an interesting article on this subject that I thought I would share that might help explain a little about where I'm coming from on this.

http://www.archuletaavenue.com/2009/04/project-alicia.html

I thought this was an interesting article... I hope it will raise a little awareness for SMA by reaching the members of David Archuleta's fan club. He has even inspired a group of people to raise money for charities in his honor. I'm glad his fame is benefiting people who need help.

MY MOM LIES

My mom she told a lot of lies
She never did before.
From now on until she dies, she'll tell a whole lot more.
Ask my mom how she is
And, because she can't explain
She will tell a little lie,
Because, she can't describe the pain.
Ask my mom how is she,
She'll say "I am alright".
If that's the truth mom, why is it you cry alone each night?
Ask my mom how she is; she seems to cope so well.
She didn't have a choice, you see... nor the strength to yell.
Ask my mom how is she, "I'm fine, I'm good, I'm coping",
"For God's sake mom! Just tell the truth" just say your heart is broken!!!
She loved me all my life; I've loved her all of mine.
But, if you ask her how she is, she'll lie and say "just fine".
I am in heaven, I cannot hug from here
She'll lie to you, but just don't listen,
Hug her and hold her near.
On the day we meet again, we'll smile and I'll be bold,
I'll say you lucky to get in here mom... with all the lies you told!

The Latest Adventures of Mr. Crab

He went and walked some laps with me on Friday night for the Relay For Life walk.

and tonight he attended the home opener for the Astros. More on that later...

In Loving Memory

Tonight I will be walking in Relay for Life in memory of my papaw Lester as well as my mother-in-law Pam. They were both remarkable people who left great voids in our lives and hearts when they left this world. We love and miss you both and hope you are holding Eli and giving him lots of hugs and kisses.

8 Months...never to be....

Today you should have been 8 months old... I have been having such a hard time lately with missing you. I see your pictures all around the house, but you are not here. Your room is still set up waiting, but it will always be empty. I have to watch Daddy look at your pictures and see him cry. It hurts me so much to see him hurting again. He has been through so much and you were supposed to be the one thing that could make up for all the losses he has suffered. How could you be taken away too? I can't understand that. There is no answer that makes any sense at all. How could loving parents be given the most precious baby boy only to lose him after 5 months? It doesn't seem right that I never got to read you all the books we picked out for you. We never made cookies or those silly handprint turkeys. We never got to do ANYTHING but love you. And I did little one... I loved you so much. Sometimes I wish I hadn't...maybe it wouldn't hurt so much now, maybe my empty arms wouldn't ache so much if you hadn't been so cute with those beautiful smiles that melted my heart.

If you haven't signed the petition yet, please do it. I would give anything to help Victoria and Bill never experience what Jason and I are going through right now. It is too late for Eli, but sign it for Gwendolyn and the other babies who still have a chance.

Vacation Pics

Packed and ready to go!
The sitting area in our room! The fireplace was great this morning; it was a bit chilly!

The Hill Country really needs some rain. This was Onion Creek, minus the water.

The Inn had a lovely flower garden. Fresh flowers were in our room and on the dining tables each day. We sat there and watched hummingbirds one day and it was so relaxing and peaceful. We were even joined by the two Inn cats, which had us feeling right at home.

One of the many bird feeders on the property. It was so relaxing to sit and watch the birds. This feeder had as many as 7 cardinals around it at one time. They were beautiful.

The Inn was on 100 acres of land in Kyle, TX. It was about a mile or so off the beaten path, but still close to San Marcos. We spent yesterday at the outlet malls walking around and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Despite the lack of rain, the bluebonnets were still in full bloom in some spots.

Not quite the picture I had in mind for this spring, but unfortunately, that's all we were able to take. Miss you little man. We took Mr. Crab with us just like we promised.