Camille turned 9 a few days ago.  She counted down to this day for the whole month.  Hopefully it wasn't a disappointment for her!  I invited over her cousin to play with her for the afternoon and eat dinner with us.  Camille loved playing with her.  I took them to the new Orem park by the library which just opened the week before.  It's a pretty fun park and has equipment for kids of all abilities, including kids in wheelchairs.  The little girl who inspired the park was there zipping around in her wheelchair. Camille is generally happy most of the time, especially if she is playing with a friend.  Her friends are Sarah, Hudson, and her cousin Mika.  She loves chocolate and ice cream and most desserts.  She also likes burnt toast, soups, and pasta like spaghetti.  She still has her feeding tube because she's not as motivated as her mother is to get rid of it.  She needs to drink more on her own. Camille...

It's fall and I am enjoying this weather we have been having.  It's not too cold so I can still go running early in the morning with my husband or friends.  There are pretty colors on the trees but no raking yet.  The kids are in school so I have a little more time for things I want to do.  The garden is winding down.  My only regret is we should make more time to be outside but there are still obligations and responsibilities so we do what we can.  Overall, it's just a really nice time of year.  Here are some things we've been doing: Susanna has been doing cross country for the last few months and last week was the last race of the regular season.  The varsity girls' team didn't qualify for state but Susanna felt good about her personal improvement.  She is definitely a social runner and and enjoys the friends she has made. Here is one of my favorite spots to enjoy in the fall--the corner of my backyard. ...

The other day I read an article by a young man in his 20's who donated a kidney to a relative when he was 18.  Eight years later he wishes he had been a little better informed about lack of research on the subject and he feels a little paranoid about every twinge of pain he feels. I can appreciate his feelings.  I can be kind of paranoid about my one remaining kidney.  And I agree he was probably too young to be allowed to make that decision (I was told you had to be 21 to donate).  His family tried to talk him out of it, but he would not be dissuaded.  But, although the relative he donated to is still in good health, he now regrets being a kidney donor. So what are my feelings about being a kidney donor?  I donated five years ago to a man I still don't know, who lived in New Jersey at the time.  I was actually really donating in behalf of my daughter who had kidney failure due to her extreme prematurity.  Despite my paranoia, the bottom line ...