Hey guys I wanted to let you know that we are registered with Mission Fish.  What this means to you is when you list an item on eBay you can choose to have 10% - 100% of the final sale price of your item donated to us!  And it doesn't cost you a thing.
So, please think of a child and donate today.

I got really sad yesterday.  Only, it didn't really hit me till I went to bed.

The day before yesterday my 14-year-old had some friends over to go swimming and my 17-year-old son sat by the pool and watched.  I asked if he wanted to get in and he said no.  Of course, I knew that he wasn't feeling well because whatever made me sick this weekend, he got it too.

Well, yesterday these same kids came over to swim, again.  Again, I asked my oldest if he wanted to get in the pool and again he said no.  So he sat by the pool and watched, again.

After the kids went swimming they all gathered in my son's room to watch horror movies.  (I had a huge selection to choose from.  After all, I use to be the horror queen.  Now, they pretty much scare the bejesus out of me.)

Well, my oldest said that he wished he could have friends over.  I told him anytime.

Then he said that he wished he could spend the night at a friend's house.  I wish he could do.  Unfortunately, they would have to be wheelchair accessible and be ready to lift and transfer him and assist with toileting.

He said that he wished he had a girlfriend that he could get in the pool with and hold hands with.  I said that I wish he did too.  Then I pointed out that girls are nothing but trouble and that waiting a while, at least till he was a little older, would be good.  (I've been a teenage girl and trust me, the older you get the smarter you get.)  Of course he didn't agree with me (on that last part.)

I'm not sure if it I got really sad because I knew that he was missing out and would probably...most likely...most definitely miss out on other things in life.

It just didn't seem fair that my golden child was left alone in his room, while there were 8 teenagers in my other son's room.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm glad that my other son has friends and I'm glad that they don't mind hanging out at my house for hours on end.  I just wish that there was a way to give my other son the little things that most teenagers take for granted.

Any suggestions?

Okay, I might regret telling you this but I am sometimes really bad with remembering to use www.iGive.com/Snap4kids and www.iSearchiGive.com/Snap4kids when making my online purchases.

I am so proud of myself for remembering today.  I needing some ink cartridges, my printer has been eating them.  Not only did I find them for a quarter of what I normally buy them for, but 6% of my purchase went to Snap4kids.

So, when you do your back-to-school, holiday and everyday shopping, please start with the links above, so a small percentage of your purchase comes back to Snap4kids.

Now is as good a time as any to start shopping!

Hey guys.  I've been pulling the night shift for over a week now.  Not only have I been working on a big fundraising project (to meet all those grant requests I have) but I've also been writing grants.  Why am I doing this at night?  Well, first off there is no one awake to bother me.  But the main reason is that between my Fibro and my diabetic neuropathy pain, I can't sleep.  So, I go into my dark, quiet office and work until I can't keep my eyes open any longer.  It's 3:01 am now and that moment is coming soon.  I've updated the entire website.  Since I am doing this in the middle of the night, while in pain and on lack of sleep, please feel free to edit it for me.  Point out anything that you find is wrong or questionable and let me know about it.  Until then, take care, sleep tight and don't forget to edit, edit, edit.

Summer for me is very stressful.  After all, I have a 17-year-old, that's in a power wheelchair 24/7 and likes to stay busy.  Excuse me, has to stay busy.  For some reason all the activities that he participates in during the school year all take off for the summer.  That's when kids need things to do the most.

We got extremely fortunate in finding a new attendant for my son.  One of the helpers at one of his activities was looking for a job.  Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself.  Actually, he called my son about coming over, with his girlfriend, and visiting him for a few hours, since he wouldn't see him otherwise.  I said sure.  Bring your swimsuit and we'll cookout.  I mentioned that I needed an attendant.  He needed a job.  It was a match made in heaven.  He's with my son, 40 hours a week, 6 days a week.  He's close enough in my son's age that they like the same music and video games.  It's been heaven.  If and when he leaves we will be forever lost. 

So, what I have been doing this summer?  You mean besides hanging out with my kids.  Well, I've been working on a very exciting project.  About 7 years ago, I did a project like this but this time I'm more excited because this time it's going to be BIG, HUGE even.  I want to tell you all about it, but I feel I must wait a little while (just a couple of more months.)  I want to make sure that I'm well on my way to succeeding before I share.  I promise you, you will love it too.

Until then, shoot me an email pam@snap4kids.org and let me know what you're up to this summer.