Dog Chat from Rei- Mission Trip to Chicago South side

Mom started packing and putting stuff together, getting my food and stuffing all this stuff into a bag so I knew we were about to head somewhere. She said something about going to the south side of Chicago to a very rough neighborhood to help out Ms. Pearl, of the the Roseland "Good News" Daycare. She said that Ms. Pearl is an amazing woman that provides free childcare for teen moms in the poverty stricken area to finish school and try to make something better of themselves. Mom and I had went up to Ms. Pearl's back in December, but it was just a day trip and we stayed there in the daycare all day and helped with stuff inside, but mom said this time we'd be staying overnight for a couple of days and get to make some new friends, help with the daycare, do some chores for Ms. Pearl, and help feed the homeless throughout the weekend.

So we got up early Friday morning and Mr. Ed, our trip leader came by and picked us up in the church mini-bus and we met up with the other people going on the trip with us. We all loaded up tons of bags and boxes of clothes that Mom said were going up to be given to the homeless in the area. So once the stuff was loaded up, everyone split up between the mini bus and the 15 passenger van that the group was going in. Mom and I rode in the bus so I could lay in the aisle and have a little more room to spread out since all the seats were taken with all the stuff in the back seats. We took off and made our way up north from Indianapolis to the Merrilville area and made a pit stop to eat some lunch and stretch our legs and more importantly so I could go break!

Everyone loaded up again and it was about another hour before we pulled into the neighborhood and got out. Ms. Pearl was loading up her daycare kids with another church group that had been there for the week and doing VBS for them, to head to the park. We were standing and waiting as everyone unloaded and hear the sirens of police cars and shouting as we were greeted by the norm of this area, and it was explained to Mom that someone had jumped in someone Else's car and taken off with it.

Everyone took their bags and bedding to their sleeping areas and Ms. Pearl warned us that no one was to be in the building besides us and to be mindful and not to hesitate to tell someone to get out. She was going to the park to take the daycare kids as on the third Friday of the summer months and with the end of VBS week, they always go to the park and cook hot dogs and have chips to feed the homeless. We all then worked on getting all the clothing out and set in the yard and then we put up the tent in the yard for the "street fair" we'd be having on Saturday morning.

Mom tied me down with some water in the shade as it was doggone hot out there and the guys that stayed behind started working on the deadbolt lock for Ms. Pearl's garage, since people keep breaking in and stealing things. The gals that that stayed behind and Mom started going through all the clothes and sorting them by sizes. After they spent a couple of hours sorting, Mr. Ed came and rounded up the group and we all loaded up in the van and went to the park too. We were to go walk around and play with the kids and give testimony to the people there. Ms. Pearl told everyone that the homeless all congregate in the park during the day with their children since it's shaded, there is the water pad to cool people off, and the kids can play and be near by.

Mom and I got out and we went and walked over to the area where the other group was passing out hot dogs and chips to the homeless and people that came up and we kind of kept our distance as Mom was worried for some reason about people being afraid of me. Ms Pearl had told Mom that in that area, that all dogs are mean fighting dogs and that the people are afraid of big dogs like me. So we walked up to some of our friends we came with and there were several little girls with them and talking. Mom asked if I could come up and sit down with them and the little girl said yes, but she was very afraid. Mom put me on the other side of her from the little girl and the girl asked what my name was. She asked Mom if she was going to tell me to bite her over and over again. Mom was patient and told her no, that I was a good girl and began to rub my belly. I rolled over on my side and the little girl started to try to pet me. Mom kept telling her that I was a good girl and wouldn't bite. After about 20 minutes,the little girl was petting me and had become comfortable with me and wasn't so afraid anymore.

The other people watched Mom and I very closely and kept their distance from us, so Mom and I went over and sat down on a bench with one of the other church group ladies who was holding a daycare baby that had fallen asleep. Then when the groups began to gather up and the food was all gone, Mom and I went over and stood with the rest of the group. JD, who is Ms. Pearl's grandson, he came running over and asked if he could visit with me as soon as he saw us since he loves me from when Mom and I visited before. Mom told him that he could pet me and then the other kids saw this and became curious about me. They came over and after some re-assurance that I wouldn't bite and seeing that JD was loving all over me and I wasn't being mean, the other kids began to pet me too, which I was all over it, rolling over on my back so they could rub my belly! Mom's friends laughed and Ms. Janice commented that I can make a friend anywhere I go!

Before long it was time to leave and head back to the daycare so we all loaded back up in the van and went back to Ms. Pearl's place. After we got back, Mom checked to see if there was anything she could help with and since everything was pretty much done and ready for Saturday, everyone was pretty much taking it easy and sitting around the yard. JD had come back with us and asked if he and I could play, so Mom went and got out my Kong and took off my harness. OH BOY! Was I a happy pup! JD and I played for nearly 2 hours as Mom watched us. He'd throw my Kong and I'd run and get it and come running back and lay down in the shade in front of Mom. If she hadn't have told him the command to "drop it" I'd have had it made! I knew though that since Mom was sitting there, I had to be a good girl, so I'd drop the Kong so JD could grab it and throw it again. He even went inside and got my bowl and filled it up with fresh water for me too. Boy we had so much fun playing together!

Ms. Pearl soon fried up a bunch of fish for everyone and goodness, no one shared any with me! Too bad us guide dogs have to be such good dogs and leave the people food alone. Mom was sitting in a circle of people and everyone had such yummy smelling food, and yeah I was watching for someone to drop something, but no one did. Boo! After dinner, it had cooled off and the weather was really nice, so Mom and everyone else went outside and sat and talked about various things until the mosquito's came out and started to bite. So then everyone went inside and started to get settled in for bed. Mom and I slept on a double air mattress with all the other ladies in the downstairs room to the daycare.

Everyone got up early on Saturday morning and began to set up all the stuff for the street fair. Ms Pearl had probably 10 large boxes of clothing and Mom's group had brought up a bunch of clothing in bags and boxes along with some baby gear to give to the homeless. Mom and all the people set up 8 big tables of clothing and stuff to give to the homeless and there was a ton of toys too. It was amazing, as many of the people we saw at the park came and so did many in the neighborhood, who were unemployed and the ladies of the women's shelter came by and Mom and the others were happy to see the smiles on their faces as they left with nice clothes to wear for them and their children. Was was even more amazing is that in 2 hours nearly everything was gone.

Everything had been set up outside the fenced yard to keep most of the people from coming into the daycare itself and to minimize the possibility of things being stolen. Mom stayed inside the fence so people wouldn't be afraid of me and helped with sorting out the clothes held back for reserve by size as did Mr. Ed and several of the other guys who were re-roofing the back porch that had lost all it's shingles in the latest storm. The street fair lasted from 9am to 1pm and then everyone helped with cleaning up the remains of things and then worked about the daycare with several repairs that were needed. They cleaned the gutters of the 3 story building and trimmed tree limbs that were overhanging the neighbor's house. Mr. Ed finished the roof and they put a dead-bolt lock on Ms. Pearl's garage since people kept breaking in and taking things. Mom and I actually went and laid down for a bit because Mom had a headache from the heat that day. When she woke up, Ms. Pearl had suggested the group eat dinner and then go to downtown Chicago to Navy Pier and walk around.

Mom let me snooze on the air mattress while she got a quick shower and then we went upstairs and oh man, Ms. Pearl had made some finger licking good ribs. Mom and everyone else was eating like uncivilized dogs, using their hand and chowing down on them ribs and they call us dogs messy. Several people asked Mom if I could have the bones, but noooooo, Mom wouldn't let me have just one. I gave the people all around Mom the saddest puppy dog eyes I could muster, but they still didn't give me any.

After dinner, everyone loaded up in the van and Ms. Pearl drove us to Navy Pier and we hung out for a couple of hours and Mom and I walked up and down the Pier. There were lots of people and things to do. There were all kinds of boat rides, food to eat and shops. Mom said there were some amusement rides up on the upper level, but we didn't go up there. Mom was looking for some gelato, but she couldn't find what she was looking for, so she and Ms. Sherry got a waffle cone from the Ben & Jerry's stand. Mom took some pictures too of the Chicago skyline, the light house, and one of me with some flowers too. The group met back up and walked through the indoor corridor and through the stain glass exhibit which Mom said was just beautiful. We all loaded back up in the van and headed back to Ms. Pearl's place for our last night in south Chicago.

It was an interesting ride home, as Ms. Pearl drove along Michigan Avenue and we got to see the parks along the lake front and the Taste of Chicago was in town. There was also a Dance Summer event happening with a lot of people and loud music too. I just hunkered down between mom's legs though so I wouldn't be stepped on as people were all tight together in the van. Then as we got close to Ms. Pearl's place, we had to turn around and go down a different street since all the power lines had come down for some reason and was laying across the road. Then we saw another strange sight since there was this big fire because some people had set fire to a log or something, right on the sidewalk! Mom couldn't believe it because it wasn't even 10 feet away from the house, but they were burning something right on the sidewalk and the fire was shooting up 2-3 feet in the air too. Crazy humans!

After we got back to the daycare, everyone started getting ready for bed right away since we had to leave the daycare to head to Ms. Pearl's church at 5:30 to fix breakfast for the homeless. Mom decided to put some more air in our air mattress since she was hitting the floor the first night. So she pulled out the 10+ year old air pump to do this. You'd think that Mom would have realized something was wrong when she got a bit of a zap when she took a hold of the handle and pressed the on button to make sure it was plugged in. She continued on though and hooked it up to her air mattress and hit the button again. Holy Smokes, I don't think Mom has ever moved that fast! Sparks went flying into the air and Mom kept hitting the floor where they'd landed. Ms. Emily that was right beside Mom let out a yelp too and I didn't know what was going on! All I know is that Mom told Ms. Emily to unplug that sparking contraption and went and threw it in the trash saying something about the wire was broke and she nearly caught Ms. Pearl's daycare on fire with it and that her heart was beating faster than anything! Of course I had to get my nose in to make sure Mom was OK and sniffed her fingers and hands all over and gave her quite a scolding look for all this!

Sunday morning, Ms. Emily's alarm clock didn't go off on her cell phone, so Mom and Ms. Emily woke up late. They had both laid their clothes and stuff out the night before, so they both were able to get ready in amazing time. Mr. Ed offered to take me out to break and since I had drank so much water the day before in the heat, I was more than ready to do my business quickly even though it wasn't Mom on the end of the leash telling me to get busy.

So everyone as all gussied up and pretty and we all loaded up again and headed the several blocks to Ms. Pearl's church. Everyone pitched in to carry stuff inside and I guided Mom down the stairs and into the church ever so carefully since there were all these uneven spots on the floor. Most of the ladies immediately went to work in the kitchen to start preparing the pancakes, sausage patties, and stuff to feed nearly 90 homeless people and our group too. Mom and I went into the dining hall area with the others and Mom put me at a down-stay in front of a podium. Since it was well lit, she was helping set up the tables and chairs and before long, she realized that the podium had been moved and she couldn't find me. Mom started calling for me in a frantic voice, which I don't know why as I was right behind her. Mr. Ed started laughing at Mom and told her to turn around. She did and saw that I'd been right behind her as she'd been walking around looking for me. I don't know why she didn't think I'd stay with her!

Once the room was all set up, Mom and a few other people sat down at a table in the corner. I took the opportunity to snooze at Mom's feet and the homeless began to come in and sit down at the tables. Mom said she was going to stay put so she wouldn't cause an alarm amongst the people and I had an itch and so I stood up and shook. Mom just looked to see what the reaction would be and of course everyone in the room heard my harness rattle. One gentleman came running over and sat down next to us and he asked if he could visit with me. He missed his dog terribly, as he was now homeless, but was working hard to stay sober and to be an example to the others. He talked with Mom and Mr. Ed for a good while, while rubbing my ears and you could just tell as he became more relaxed and a big smile spread across his face.

Before long, it was time to head up to the worship service, that would precede breakfast, so everyone moved upstairs to the sanctuary. Thankfully it was much cooler up there. Most of Mom's group tried to spread out through the sanctuary to try to intermingle with the people that came in. I laid at Mom's feet, just as I do when we go to our church and pretty much everyone didn't even know I was there. Unfortunately for Mom though, this was a smaller church and she didn't have any assitive listening devices, so she was able to make out very little of the sermon. The Chicago accent along with the deep guttural voice of the pastor was very hard for her to understand, but I was proud of Mom as she stayed awake through the sermon even though her eyes were getting quite droopy! Right before the end of the service, Mr. Johnathan tapped Mom on the shoulder and told her we had to head downstairs to finish with set up for breakfast. Mom stood up and I did my usual shake out the willies, and you could have heard a pin drop in that room. EVERYONE turned and looked at Mom and the looks of surprise and stares at Mom and I was very intense. Everyone knew I was there then!

Mom and I went on downstairs and we manned the juice station. I laid quietly at Mom's feet and she handed out cups of juice to the people coming through the line. After everyone had been through line, Mom and I want through line too and she got some breakfast for her. We tried to sit down with some people but the silence was thick and Mom kept trying to come up with something to start a conversation. She couldn't refer to the sermon since she didn't hear it and being that these were homeless people, she couldn't ask what they did for a living, where they lived, or about their kids. Before we knew it, the people around us had cleared out and we were soon sitting on our own. So when Mom was done eating, we got up and started to pick things up and clean up since the men of the church had their Sunday school in the same room. Mom and I started getting the folding chairs and carrying them over to the rack to hang up.

Mom went to get some chairs from the table along the wall and there was an older man sitting at the end of the table, just all dressed in black. Since Mom still has central vision, she could see and nearly feel his piercing eyes following us about the room, so when she needed to approach and go around him to get to the chairs she wanted, she asked him if she could go around him. The man jumped up out of his chair and grabbed the chair and practically ran across the room. Mom just shook her head and we continued on our way and could feel the searing stares as the people watched us moving about the room. We quickly ran out of time and it was time for Sunday school to start. The homeless had all left and it was church members still around helping with things. The ladies all went down the hall to join the women's Sunday school and the men stayed there and joined in on the men's Sunday school class. It was a good lesson in I Thessalonians and we were warmly received there.

As we were in Sunday school, a very strong storm came through and as one lady was giving her testimony, she talked of how she felt that God was telling her, "Be Still! Be Still!", we heard a loud crack of thunder and the power in the whole building went out and stayed out. Everyone just gasped in awe and one lady said, OK Lord, we hear you!. LOL! Once through our lesson there, we went back to the entry way and it turns out the men were longer winded than the ladies, so the ladies helped bring some food in for a dinner later on in the day. We also went on out to get to the van and found nearly the entire parking lot under water as it had rained so hard in such a short period of time. A couple of Mom's friends just took their shoes off and waded through the water. The water felt so good to me since the blacktop was hot from the sun. If Mom had let me, I'd have rolled and played in the huge puddle, but since I was working I had to be a good girl.

Mom and I hopped into the van and the men soon came out and got in to go too. We all went back to the daycare and unfortunately had to miss the main service since we had to leave to head back to Indiana. Everyone finished packing all of their things and got everything loaded up in the vans. We all gathered up at the front steps of Ms. Pearl's place and got the neighbor to take a group picture of everyone. So we all loaded up and headed back to Indiana and boy was Mom and I ever glad to be back home in our own beds and some good working AC! We had a lot of fun though and Dad will be going back to see Ms. Pearl in August, since he is going to help her set up a new computer.

Mom and KT and I will be going back in December too. When we go back, we'll be helping Ms. Pearl fill gift bags with baby goodies for Ms. Pearl to take to the 5 area hospitals to give to all the moms that are in the Labor & Delivery or Maternity wards on Christmas eve. Ms. Pearl and her friends will share the good news about Jesus and give care packages to these moms so they have some nice things for thier new babies.or to pray with them if they've experienced loss.

Mom says that she and Ms. Char have plenty of blankets, but they are still needing baby bottles, small bottles of baby shampoo, baby powder, baby lotions, onesies, and sleepers for the babies. If you have any or come across some that Mom can take to Ms. Pearl, please give Mom a buzz! So I'm really looking forward to going back and seeing Ms. Pearl and JD again!

High paws and puppy kisses,
Rei

P.S. Mom says she'll post pictures tomorrow probably, after she gets some of the pictures from a couple of other people.

The Spoon Theory- written by Christine Miserandino

I received an email from my stepmom with this link, and it is truly the best way I have seen to explain it... Sooo true and well written. I hope you enjoy and learn:

Here is the link which the following article is at. Check it out.

The Spoon Theory

Advanced RP'rs

Living with Advanced RP (Retinitus Pigmentosa) These things are soooo true!


**I'm one of those "advanced RPers" who didn't jump in to the
discussion about the later stages of RP when it first came up. I
think this is because I am more focused on the emotional aspects
than the physical characteristics, and I wasn't sure I wanted to
post about how I'm feeling. The heavy grieving that comes with the
near-total and total vision losses of the later stages of RP is the
other side of RP that we don't talk about much. **

** **

**I'm down to less than one degree of a foggy tunnel, and
transitioning from low vision to no vision. I can't see Andy's
facial features across the dinner table anymore, my photophobia is
so severe I often find myself doing my chores and gardening with
both eyes shut tight against the glare, and when I call my guide dog
Trace to saddle up and go out, I don't even bother looking to see
whether it's Trace or my retired guide April there ready to go. I
just feel the difference in their fur.**

** **

**I'm learning Braille, honing the one cochlear-implanted ear of
hearing I have, learning how to access my computer with a screen
reader, improving my mobility skills, and learning other strategies
for functioning without vision. Indeed, I've been cleverly figuring
out how to function with little or no vision in my kitchen and the
rest of my house for years. **

** **

**A cure would be glorious, but I'm not sitting around waiting for
one. Life goes on and I'm going with it. One way or another I will
land on the other side of sight still connected to my world, still
functioning, still surrounded by people I want to be with, still
having a Life (and a good one at that). And yet, even with all this
determined resolve and resilience, I'm awash in an ocean of grief. **

** **

**We RPers and Usher folks have no corner on the disability and
grief markets, but there's no getting around the fact that loss and
grief are a big part of our territory. One grieves and mourns just
as deeply for loss of a life function as one does for the loss of a
loved one. Grieving is one of those universal Life lessons that
every human must learn, and for whatever cosmic reason, our lesson
comes in the RP format. **

** **

**It is not just the loss of the physical sight, but the loss of the
livelihoods and life routines that go with sight. Quitting driving
and losing independent private mobility... losing the ability to
keep up with the hearing sighted workplace... getting rid of all the
print books in our bookshelves.... Right now my signature is an
issue for me. I used to be a lawyer, and lawyers cultivate their
handwriting and especially their signatures, along with their
mastery of the language, for clarity of both expression and
personality. As my vision goes, the clarity of my signature goes,
too. It's a heartache every time I take pen to paper. **

** **

**Years ago, when the losses and the grieving were nowhere near as
hard and painful as they are right now, I talked about all this with
my cousin shortly after she had buried her husband after a long bout
with cancer. "It will get worse," she told me, "and it won't get
easier until it's over." I knew exactly what she meant. Just as she
had to walk through the unbearable grief of watching her husband
die, and could not start to put herself back together and move on
until AFTER he died, nor can I escape my own losses and grieving
pain. I just have to walk through it, and it is not going to get
easier until it's over.**

** **

**And you know what? That's okay. It's damn hard, and it's the way
Life goes. It's part of the process. My resolve is to walk through
this as fully and completely as possible, so that I can move on as
soon as possible, as whole in spirit as possible. I'm learning that
going blind now is harder than being blind is going to be, and even
as my spirit aches with the losses, I reach for a peace in resolute
resilience and most of all, hope and faith in myself and the love
and support I am so fortunate to have in my life. **

** **

**Thinking about the "being blind" part is still hard, but getting
easier. I know and admire so many who have no sight, some who have
never had sight at all, and when I watch them I am reassured that
Life is not only going to be do-able, but just fine. I recall a
recent conversation with a friend who has been blind from birth
about perceiving the world with and without sight. I told him about
a blind person I know of who just can't get the concept of
transparency, and is mystified how anyone can see through a pane of
hard, solid glass.**

** **

**"Oh, I don't have a problem with that," my friend said. "My
problem is pictures."**

** **

**"Pictures?"**

** **

**"Yeah, pictures. How do you put a three-dimensional world onto a
flat sheet of paper? That just blows me away."**

** **

**That blew ME away. It dawned on me that my friend experiences the
world in a much deeper way than I ever have with my sight. He has a
physical, kinesthetic and "up close" sense of his world that is not
possible to achieve when you rely on sight to perceive a
three-dimensional world that can be put onto a two-dimensional piece
of paper. **

** **

**He has helped me realize that my world without sight will not
necessarily be diminished. It will be different, and probably more
difficult, but not diminished. To know this does not make it any
less painful to lose the sight, any more than the fact that my
cousin was able to move on and love again after her husband died
makes it any less painful that she had to lose him in the first
place. **

** **

**But somehow, it does make it easier to know that on the other side
of sight, the other side of RP, the livelihoods and life routines
can still be good even if they are different. **

** ** ** **

**Mary Dignan**

We DID it!!!! - continued

We made our way quickly down Main street in Speedway, which had the most spectators thus far and rounded the turn onto 16th street and very quickly made the turn to head down the hill and back up into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway grounds. We went up the hill and there were a group of cheerleaders waiting for us and cheering people on, which we soon found there were cheerleaders nearly all the way around the track cheering for all the participants.

Here at the track we had our second hitch of the day as Steve needed to make a pit stop and he got in line for the port-o-lets and I kept on going, as he said he'd catch up to me. So we kept right on moving and had just merged onto the track itself when a young girl was doing something silly up higher on the track, to my right and she spun around and came down in front of us. She wound up between Rei and I, so I dropped the harness handle to keep from getting my arm yanked off and she was somewhat tangled in the leash. She apologized profusely and I said no problem and as soon as she was clear, picked up the handle and we kept on going. Steve came up behind us pretty quickly after that, a little out of breath as he was jogging it to catch up with us. LOL!

So we worked our way around the track and it was pretty fun, as the cheerleader groups got really loud and were a lot of fun as they noticed Rei and were specifically cheering us on. It was on the track that I started to feel the blisters form. I think it was from the angle of the track, but I was determined to walk through them and we did! We got around to the straight away and Steve let me know that they took pictures as you cross the bricks, so I took my wrap-around sunglasses off and put them on my hat and turned the hat around too so I didn't look quite like a Dude in the pics. The sun actually made a peek from behind the clouds about this time too, which was nice and the within the track it was really nice to be protected from the winds that had been blowing so hard all morning. So we made our way on around and I was feeling pretty good at this point and we were just past Mile 7 and then we went out onto an access road and down around the end of the Grandstands along 16th street. We did a sharp turn off of this road and around the corner out onto 16th street and a guy came running over to the curb, peering to read my bib- as the bibs have your number, your first name, and the corral you started in. He immediately yells back to a woman, I assume his wife, "IT'S KACIE!!!!!" and runs to her and as we round the corner there is a dark hard lady with a camera snapping all kinds of pictures and screaming at the top of her lungs "GO KACIE & REI!!!!"

I later learned from Mike that our good friends Julie and Suzette had arrived at the finish line/Military Park about this time and as they were walking around that they heard my voice and looked up on the large screens and the interview was being aired at that time. So while I don't think it was someone I knew - though it very well could have been since I was trying to focus on Steve in front of me and the terrain we were going over at the time, but it could have been too the person had just seen the story on the big screen that Mike said was there at the end of the grandstands too and then we came around the corner. But that was kind of a surprise as it happened and Steve and I got a little bit of a chuckle out of it.

We then quickly turned onto Olin Ave and there were several turns to negotiate here and it was obvious that people were starting to get tired and slowing down, as we seemed to start passing more and more people at this point. We then passed the 15K marker which is 9.1 miles and I was telling myself OK, 3 more miles! and was feeling pretty good. We turned left onto 10th street and the 10 mile marker, people were really starting to slow down, so we walked a good ways down the middle of the street where it was more open and not as many people to fight to get around. As we approached the 11 mile marker, Rei then started pulling hard to the left side, as that meant one of two things. She was really starting to get tired or she was needing bathroom stop. She wasn't indicating the latter so we moved to the left and she really began to slow down. I told Steve to slow the pace a bit as we'd been moving along at about a 15 minute mile pace most of the way after mile 4ish and I was trying to watch for her cues and such.

I had arranged with our small group friends, Joe and Julia to be just past mile marker 11 across from the water station, however they had water stations on both sides and we missed them. Which since Rei was really sagging at this point I was looking hard for them as they had a banana and a bowl of water for her, but alas it wasn't meant to meet up. They were looking for us too and missed us as well since we were on the other side of the road from them. Steve and I did grab water from the water station and stopped and gave her water as she was panting pretty good. We were soon rounding the corner to head back onto White River Parkway - along the river and Rei pulled real hard to the left and to the grass indicating that she did need a bathroom break, which upon taking the harness off, she really had to pee. She seemed good so we harnessed up and she took off at full speed again so I thought we were going to make it to the end without another stop, but just before the 12 mile marker, she pulled over again needing to finish the job. So once done with that, she was ready to move again and was feeling much better.

Mile Marker 12 was right before the left hand turn onto New York Street- the last stretch to the finish line! We rounded the corner and went over the bridge and she started pulling to pass people again, which the break in the stops she needed to make did us both good to rest even for those short periods of time. So we head over the bridge and walk down the middle of the street again as people could see the finish line so they were pushing hard and then very soon running out of gas as they had just over a mile left to go. We maintained a steady pace and had 3/4's of a mile left and Rei started to slow down as Steve was walking on my right side and she was becoming lax in where she was headed. I asked Steve to move to Rei's left side just at her head and she immediately picked up pace as she now was following him with a sense of direction on where she was to head. So we plugged on full speed ahead at back to the mile eating 15 min mile pace again. Soon we were down to 1/4 mile left and there were people on both sides and Mike was to our right yelling out to us that we were almost there and he followed us along. People were yelling and cheering as we approached the finish line and I honestly couldn't believe we'd did it!

Julie and Suzette had come down- to have stuff for Rei once we finished and she got some pictures as well as Steve's wife of us approaching the finish line. Here we are nearly there:

Here are are about to cross the timing devise that crossed over the street that was the finish line and Steve is on my right in the white coat with his hand raised for the photo finish. I raised my hand once, but not sure if my timing was right, we'll see what the picture winds up being. LOL!

Steve and I then received our Medals and he insisted on one for Rei too, which we put on her as well. We then went through the lines and got our goodies to eat and went over to the finish line pictures and each of us had individual pictures taken and then one of the two of us too.

Then his wife, Marta, took some pictures of us together as we were kneeling down with Rei between us all with our medals on- I just have the biggest grin on my face! I wasn't so sure I was gonna be able to get up though after kneeling down!

Here is Rei and I together with our medals. A picture definitely worth framing!

Then after we came through the exit from the participants area, Mike, Julie, and Suzette were waiting for us and Julie snapped several pictures of us here. Here is Rei and I- I'm standing and Rei is like DUDES! WHERE are my bananas! LOL! She knew they were coming!

Mike, Rei and I together

Here is Marta, Steve, Me, Rei, and Mike all together.

A really good close up of Rei with her medal AFTER she got several bananas and some water. She was a happy camper then.

We then went over to the official time tent and picked up my official time which I was very pleased with! We did the entire 13.1 miles in 3 hours 22 minutes and 25 seconds!

Here are my official results out of 30994 Finishers - 14420 Males / 16574 Females :

KACIE W

Gender: F
Distance HALF MAR
Clock Finish Time 3:46:21
Chip Finish Time 3:22:25
Gender Place 13498th place of 16574 female participants
Division Place 2379 / 2767
Age Grade 32.8%
Overall place 26929 of 30994 finishers
Ctz US
5Mile time 1:14:23
10Mile time 2:30:10
Division FEMALES 30-34
Divt 2767
Sext 16574

So after we got my official results, we went on back to the Connection Pointe Christian Church tent and met up with the Mini Training Group people and there were LOTS of hugs and congrats of all the people there who we have become friends with over the last few months as we walked/ran together each week. I need to say a HUGE Thank you to Christie from CPCC for taking such good care of all of us there and all during the training program. She is such a sweetie and has been supportive and behind Rei and I even before we signed up for the program, as we started looking into trying lose weight and get into shape. So as usual, she had all kinds of drinks, snacks, cake, and all kinds of good stuff to get into all of us after the race.

Soon Dad and Aunt Nancy came to the tent too, to meet up with us and they got some goodies to eat too. We got a picture of the four of us and it was such a good day and was sooo happy that we all did well!

We took some pictures too with some of our other friends:

Here is a picture of Deborah, a good friend from the disabilities ministry. She rode with Mike and I to and from the race and we've done a lot of things together. Too bad Rei and I walk a little faster than her!

And this is my new found friend Melissa, which turned out she wasn't entirely a "new" friend! Turns out we knew of each other back in the college days, where we both worked for the Purdue Residence Hall Food service in the residence all I lived in! However we are both dog lovers and she trains dogs in agility as well as she's been an awesome friend in giving me rides home each week from the training group and we've gotten to know each other well and she and Rei are good buddies! I was sooooo proud of her that she finished the race! WAY TO GO MELISSA!!!!

So after we'd pigged out and drank our fill at the CPCC tent and the adrenaline rush started to wind down, the blisters started to hurt and the stiffness started to set in. The cold also started to become apparent and I was glad to have the sweatshirt we'd packed for after. We gathered up our stuff and made the trek to the car about 3 blocks away and headed for home.

Mike then went and picked up the kids from all of our friends homes that they'd been staying and I stayed up for a bit knowing that the kids would want to talk to me once getting home plus I was putting out the messages that we'd finished the race and had a great time. I peeled my shoes off and turned around to find Rei curled up and snoring on the couch, so grabbed the camera and here she is- the checkered bandanna with her name inside the grey heart and spun around to her back and she was out!

Once Mike and the kids got home, AC had been running a bit of a low grade fever, so I stayed home with him and we laid down in my bed- Rei joined us of course and we took a much needed 3 hour nap! Mike showered and he and the girls went to church and grabbed dinner from Subway to bring home. After dinner, I got a shower and found Mike with his feet elevated on pillows and Rei sacked out and curled up next to him on our bed together. Boy she's a spoiled doggie! LOL!

I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone that has wished us well, supported us and been there for us through this whole process from getting to be in the Mini to actually completing it! I especially need to thank my family and most of all Mike for standing behind me all the way and kicking my butt in gear when I wanted to quit. I couldn't have done it without them! It has been absolutely amazing and we have been sooooooo blessed by God to have such good family, friends, and for the ability to do this!

We DID it!!!!

Today was the big day~ Months of negotiations, correspondences, tears, fears, and then miles and MILES of walking to train have come to a culmination today! :)

We left home bright and early this morning, shortly after 5am to head to downtown Indy. We were fortunate enough to get there early enough that we were able to obtain street parking since the lot we'd planned to park in was designated as 500 Festival employees only. After parking, we made our way in the dark over to Military Park, where the Connection Pointe Christian Church tent was and where all the CPCC Mini Training Group were meeting up. We made a bathroom break for Rei and myself to make sure we were good and about 6:30, we headed over toward the start line on Washington Street.

The route itself runs over and through Speedway main street, then around the Indy 500 Motor Speedway track and then back to Downtown Indianapolis, ending up in Military Park. Here's a map of the route:

It was bitter cold as the 18-20mph winds whipped through the downtown buildings and the temps were in the low to mid 40's. Overall though with all the bodies packed in we were pretty good. First we headed to the Marriott hotel as a group for one last bathroom break and to hang out in the hallways in the warmth and stretch out and do last minute planning/strategies for the race. It was almost awkward as we walked through the hallways lined with other runners and feeling all the eyes watching the two of us walk through. I heard a lot of comments of "there's the dog on the news!" in reference to the interview that aired on Thursday night about 5:50pm Indiana time. For whatever reason, this has not shown up as a link online yet, so I used the camera to record and share this with you all- this is courtesy of Wish TV 8 news:

****** NOTE: If you want to play the video, you will need to go down and hit pause on the playlist down to the lower right side of this page- or you won't be able to hear the words of the video.

If you are receiving this post in an email- you'll need to go to the web page to view the video, as the videos are not posted in the emails*******

So we had about 10 minutes to make our way down to our corral, which was letter Z since we had to start at the very back. We had to really work to get through the super crowded sidewalks and Steve, who walked with min in the 15K lead off. Unfortunately, David that was our lead walker and pace setter was ill and unable to attend today, so prayers are with him for a speedy recovery!

Steve and I picked our way through the heavy crowds and suddenly found ourselves face to face with another large yellow lab that immediately went up on its rear legs lunging towards Rei and growling. So in defense, Rei responded in a similar manner and both of us immediately corrected our dogs and the spectator pulled his dog over to the side and out of our path, which I immediately got Rei to re-focus and back to work and we quickly put distance between us and the dog to get moving on toward our corral.

The race start line was located just west of West Street and as David had told us from his experience, we were just under the overhanging building of the Circle Center Arts Garden. We placed ourselves at the back and along the back rope of corral Z, but it still seemed that there were a LOT of people behind us, especially once we started working forward.

The start took a good while to get us to the start line, which you can see from this photo of the start- you see the start line at the front- I was right under that big glass semi circle way back at the back!

So once we finally made our start- we took off and it was quite a challenge those first 3 miles. People were rather indignant and lacking in understanding the running etiquette of moving over when calling out that we were passing on the left/right. Also since there were quite a few "runners" in the back corrals, people kept cutting between Steve and Rei & I, making things a little confusing for Rei, however we just hugged the left curb as much as we could and Steve did an awesome job of keeping track of where we were behind him so that he could call out as we began to pass.

We made our way along Washington street past the zoo and over the bridge for White River. We rounded the turn onto White River parkway and I was amazed at the huge line for the port-o-lets after that first turn before we'd even made it to mile 2! We plugged away and continued on and made our way along the divider median and things started loosening up and people started spreading out as we worked our way to Michigan Street and made the left hand turn there.

I have to say that since this week has been off in training, I started out kind of slow and really feeling it in my ankles and it took the first three miles to get myself loosened up and that started to happen as we were headed down Michigan street and about to pass mile marker 4. So far we were seeing all kinds of mom and pop bands along the road as well as spectators standing out there to cheer us on despite the cold!

We then rounded the turn to take Main street through Speedway and made good work of that and came to Steve's daughter. Lorrie and her hubby, who had came and set up up a sign for us all and took some pictures of us coming in. I had my hat on backwards as the winds were strong enough I lost my hat once and it seemed every time I'd turn it around the right way, the wind would start and flip it right off my head.

Lorrie took some good pictures here:

The signs she made saying: 1. Guide dogs should Lead the Pack! 2. Go David, Steve, Casey, and a paw print. Then the last one was to her dad, Steve- Go Steve, we LOVE you. :)

Then these two shots are of Steve and I coming down Main Street in Speedway,

and Rei was on the move! :)

****To be Continued*****

Miles for Madison

Baby Madison with 2 yr old big brother Jackson

Miles for Madison

When Mike and I started our Mini training back at the end of January, our goal was to simply complete our training and complete the Marathon in the smaller goals we'd set for ourselves. On January 30th, our lives were changed upon hearing the news that friends of ours, both employees of our church, had lost their 5wk old baby girl, little Madison. Their blessing that was born on Christmas morning, had suddenly returned home to the Lord in only a short 5 weeks. It was unexpected, it was heart wrenching, and painful for all as we were there at the Memorial service for this sweet baby girl.

Mike and I ached in feeling that we were helpless to do anything but as Mike and Janese, Madison's parents showed unfaltering faith and strength in the Lord, we both felt compelled and called to give in return to them for the unwavering service and faith that they gave to us, our church, and their lives in general to the Lord. So Mike and I decided to form a Facebook group and we are logging our mileage ran/walked and are seeking sponsorship for the miles we've logged in memory of little Madison, to be given to the this family in assistance for the medical bills and unexpected financial burden that this young family was facing.

This cause has driven us harder and farther than we would have gone and it's kept us motivated even on those cold nights and days we are struggling to get out there and do it, as it isn't for or about us anymore. It's for the love of this family and the loss they've endured.

We hope you'll consider sponsoring and supporting us financially for this and if so, please join the Facebook page or contact me directly and we can go from there. *** Please know that you may sponsor at whatever rate you desire, as any amount as big or little as it is, will be greatly appreciated.*** Even if you are unable to support us financially, we sincerely appreciate your support in prayers and notes of encouragement as we are nearing the goal of completing the 2010 One America Indy 500 Mini Marathon

Here is the mileage we have logged thus far:

For the four weeks that contained February, from 1/31 through 2/27:

Mike: 64 miles
Kacie: 49 miles

For the four weeks that contained March, from 2/28 through 3/27 :

Mike: 54.75 miles
Kacie: 62.60 miles

So far for April- from 3/28 to tonight:
Mike: 43.75 miles
Kacie: 41.90 miles


Sponsorship info:
We received word from Pastor Steve that Connection Pointe Christian Church has agreed to support this cause! Thus all funds will be made out to CPCC and then directed to the their family from there. This thereby makes all pledges donated tax deductible.

The payments will be need to be marked with a memo of "Miles for Madison" and sent to the church itself- address to be provided if you contact me with interest in sponsoring and I'll get the necessary info to you.

We did ask though and since the E-payments option via CPCC's website does not have the ability to put a Memo on the payment, so this method of payment is not an option.

Bless you all and thank you in advance for your support and sponsorships!

Spring Break 2010

We set up a busy week for this week, from the end of March through April 2nd.

Monday- Walked to the park and flew/attempted to fly kites/MD loses a tooth!
Tuesday- Worked on meal planning/MD's gymnastics
Wednesday- Worked on meals/KT's first soccer practice
Thursday- Attempted to go to the zoo- went to the Children's Museum
Friday- Went to the Indy Zoo with Julie G and her girls, Miss S and Miss E. :)

Monday- walked to the park. We put MD and AC in the bike trailer, after converting it to stroller mode and KT pushed the two of them as Rei and I took off in the lead. We walked the 2 miles there and afterwards walked the 2 miles home.

We made our way there and spent the day at the park- starting off with flying one kite and trying to fly the second one. The second one was very flimsy and it ripped pretty quickly.

Here I am trying to get the flimsy one in the air- KT is holding Rei for me.





Once we gave up on that one, the kids were happy to share the one we did get up in the air and here is KT showing AC how to old it and keep it up there by tugging on the line and then she handed it over to him.




Before long, the kids were getting hungry, so we ate our picnic lunch and then headed over to Blast off Playground for them to play for a while.

Here's KT and MD on the tire swing calling for AC to come push the two of them:



AC looking over an overhang and grinning from ear to ear for the camera and showing off his shiny blue shades:



A profile shot of Miss Rei watching the kids off in the distance playing, the sun shining on her shiny black face:



MD with her head poking through the peep hole:



We head on home and everyone is just exhausted and tired after a long day of fun. :) Later that after noon, MD bites into an apple and begins to scream. I figured she's knocked the tooth that was starting to turn colors and shifting sideways to make a big gap on the top, but to my surprise, she had knocked out a lower tooth.

Here she is- with the gap from the missing tooth and the gap nearly right above it:



Tuesday I worked on meal planning for our family. We've taken to purchasing bulk quantities of meats and stuff and I prepare 3 months worth of dinner dishes, with nothing repeating on a 4 week rotation. After preparing all the foods, they go in the freezer and this has helped IMMENSELY with our "grab & go" bad habits when we dont have this in place. We were able to spend about $1100 for 3 months of meals for a family of five! :)

Wednesday- We played with gerbils and I worked some more on the meal planning stuff. KT and MIke had their first practices for this spring season. I can't believe it's already that time of the year already!

Thursday- Grandma took a day off work to spend with the kids and our original plan was to go the Kohl's and buy the shoes needed for each of the kids and then head to the Indy Zoo for the day. However when made our way downtown and saw the two lines of cars nearly a 1/4 of a mile back from the zoo entrance, we quickly made a change of plans and headed to the Indy Children's Museum instead.

Thursday-