Fun lovin' Fuccillo's

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-23T18:51:00.000-07:00

Each year we try to have a pumpkin carving contest. We've done it for years, but have missed a few. We normally ask a 3rd party to be the judge. Andy has been away for 2 of our carving contests so he usually serves as the judge.

This was the first time Justus participated. He LOVED sticking his hand down in the pumpkin. He said it was "icky" and "slimy" ... just up his alley ;). He had so much joy pulling out the guts and flinging it down on the counter.

First Annual Ward Family Potato Harvest Festival

2011-10-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, you read that right. My dad has been growing potatoes and just waiting for the day he can "harvest" them. He's been wanting to see how many he's had under there growing. So he came up with the idea to have a Harvest Festival. The event was complete with wheel barrow rides, and other fun activities. Unfortunately Justus wasn't having a good day so the Festival was cut short. Maybe next year ;).

Fun with Friends!

2011-10-23T17:17:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind :). Back in September we got to do a lot of fun things with the Rivas family! They are dear friends who were in Andy's unit a long time ago, moved away, and now are back! We welcomed them back to the North West with wide open arms! We love them!!!

We went to the Puyallup Fair! Justus rode rides for the first time. I wouldn't say he enjoyed them but he didn't hate them either. He was undecided. I made him go down the giant slide with me :). He did not like it while we were going down, but seemed to like it after he was back on the ground. He did love "driving" cars with Olivia though! They also played games! The ones where everyone wins, so they got to walk away with prizes. He thought that was pretty cool too.

We also took a trip up to Issaquah to visit Fox Hallow Farms. We met the Rivas girls and our friends the Crea's. Addy is Korean & Italian too!

It's a kid friendly petting zoo/farm that's open to everyone. They loved it! They have an organic garden where you can pick veggies and feed it to the animals. We saw ponies,
pigs, sheep, kittens, chickens, horses, and um... I can't remember what else. They also have a bunch of ride on tractors that the kids can drive. That was Justus' favorite. BY FAR.

Auntie Staci's house!

2011-09-27T10:37:00.001-07:00

Last week Justus and I hit the road to Eastern Washington to visit Aunt Staci and Mr Brian! I'm not sure why it's "Aunt" Staci, but "Mr" Brian, just kinda worked out that way.... but anywho, we had SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Justus got to ride a horse for the first time, help Mr Brian on a riding lawn mower, ride on a 4 wheeler, pick apples, pumpkins, green beans, and more!

His favorite part was running around Aunt Staci's yard, his least favorite part was Maddie the German Shepard ;).

Staci and I also took the time to do a photo shoot of Justus in an orchard for "back to school" and we also went to the Moses Lake sand dunes and used Justus' halloween costume to "land on the moon" it was SO MUCH FUN!!!

My favorite part was laughing with Staci... especially late at night when we were working side by side on our Macs :). Oh, and "pinning" on Pinterest. Thanks to Staci, I have a new activity to waste time on!

We can't wait to go back next year!!!!

Ocean Shores Trip

2011-08-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

With Grandma! We convinced Grandma to take a couple days off of work and join us at the beach! It was so much fun, a little chilly, but so worth it! Justus loves the sand and everything about the ocean. We had such a good time. He even found a shell that he brought home as a gift for his daddy... awe... so cute! I wish we could go out to the beach more often!!!

No more binky!

2011-08-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

Justus loves his binky. It's been his best friend for a long time. It's gotten him through so many tough things. It's not just a pacifier to him, it's something he's always found comfort in and trusted to be there for him. That's why it's taken me so long to make him kick the habit. He only has binky when he's in bed, but since he's almost 3 and getting to be a "big boy" I decided it was time. I talked to Justus about it quite a bit. That big boys don't use binkys and that he was a big boy. I took him to Build A Bear and he got to pick out a special friend. He chose a monkey and we stuffed it and put binky inside. He said goodbye to binky and Dr. Monkey was sewn up! Last night was rough... but Justus is such a tough guy! He cried for a bit, then after I went in and talked to him about being a big boy and about how Dr. Monkey was there for him if he needed a hug, he stopped crying, and went to bed. I'm so proud of him. Binky was his first love. Getting over your first love is never and easy thing ;)!

I caught him just as he was waking up from his nap today. I wanted to get some pictures of Dr. Monkey and Justus in bed.

Lise & Faith Memorial Run

2011-08-22T20:55:00.001-07:00

To celebrate and honor our friend Lise, and her baby girl Faith, who were killed back in May while out on a jog, we helped hold a run. Lise was a runner. AVID RUNNER. It was a beautiful day. It was a beautiful cause. It was an incredible experience! Lise's life has impacted so many people. There was a 1k, 5k, and 10k race. There was also a kids race for Baby Faith. I did the 5k with my friend Misty and her girls, Mrs. Betty, and Jared & Jessica and their boys. It was fabulous. 1600 people came out to support the run! The news was there, the love was there, the support. AMAZING. I feel so honored to have not only known Lise, but to have been one of her best friends. I miss her terribly. I can't wait to see her in Heaven.

One of Lise's close friends had the idea for all of us closest to Lise to wear a pink bandana... it was such a fun idea! That's the story behind those! Also, this was Justus' first race. His daddy is so proud! He won a ribbon and couldn't be more happy to show it off! Love that little man!

Painting Party

2011-08-22T20:42:00.001-07:00

I bought Justus a step stool from Ikea so he can help me more safely in the kitchen. He usually stands on our pub height chairs and it always makes me a little un easy, so this was the perfect solution! Funny thing is that my friend Courtney bought one for her son Brody and my friend Heather bought one for her daughter Hadley too!

So, we had a painting party! It was fun... and a little crazy. ;) But so worth it! Justus LOVES his and is so proud of his work!

Blueberry Crisp

2011-08-12T13:39:00.001-07:00

My friend Staci is always so great at photographing things she makes. I'm trying to get better at that. Justus and I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, he loves to help! And he loves to sneak bites, as you can see from the pictures! Since we had so many blueberries, we made blueberry crisp. I love me a good crisp!

Ymmmmmm!

Video 2

2011-08-10T18:06:00.000-07:00

For some reason this video wouldn't load with the previous post...

j museum from sarah fuccillo on Vimeo.

Kids Quest- Bellevue

2011-08-10T16:04:00.001-07:00

Bellevue has a wonderful children's museum that Justus and I have never been to until today! Our friends Courtney and Brody invited us along since they had a Living Social deal, and we had SO MUCH FUN! Sometimes Justus gets a little overwhelmed when there are a lot of children around (who can blame him... so do I!!!) but he had a wonderful time, we learned a lot, and made some special memories with good friends. His favorite part was the "Water works" area. There is something about splashing water that Justus just can't resist ;). He also loved playing the musical bench. We might have to get one for our home!

Cucumelons!

2011-08-08T16:36:00.000-07:00

Or also known as Mexican gherkins! I saw a plant at the local nursery and bought one a while ago. We finally have a few gherkins and one was ready to pick today! I picked it off and gave it to my test subject ;)... he loved it! I loved it too! It tastes exactly like a cucumber and looks exactly like one on the inside. We are having fun with our mini garden. Justus enjoys coming outside everyday and looking for "red strawberries".

Blueberry Pickin'!

2011-08-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

Justus loves blueberries! We had a wonderful time in Boston last year picking blueberries that I thought I would try to find a place around here so we could go again. One of the mentor moms at MOPS gave me the tip to go to Linbo Farm. It was AWESOME and so much fun! We walked away with a ton of blueberries and only paid $5. It's the only place I've ever been to that plays really loud classical music as you pick! Justus had such a great time. He didn't contribute at all to the picking, but instead spent the majority of the time eating out of my bucket or straight off the bush. We dragged Grandpa with us and made it quite a fantastic adventure!

Pizza

2011-07-19T20:22:00.000-07:00

Or should I say "Peee zaa" - as Justus would say. J has had a rough couple of days so we decided it was time to do something fun for dinner tonight. We invited Grandpa over (Grandma had a hair appointment) for a home made pizza night! Justus helped me through the whole process. First he helped me chop the ingredients, then we shredded the cheese, next we made the dough (whole wheat ;) ), and lastly made our pie! He had the most fun mashing the dough and pushing and pulling it to make it big. Actually, I think his favorite part was eating the ingredients as we were going! We loaded them up with veggies (even fresh oregano from our very own garden), and the rest is history. It was delicious! I guess I shouldn't be surprised... he is mostly Italian!

We finished the night with angel food cake topped with fresh sliced strawberries and whipped cream. Yummmmm!

20!

2011-07-16T09:10:00.000-07:00

There was a while where Andy and I didn't know if Justus would ever be able to walk, talk, be "normal". We prayed. We still pray. God is so good. Justus continues to amazes us each day. We are proud parents of a little boy who can count to 20 :).

Sillyville Summer Camp

2011-07-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

Andy and Justus attended Sillyville Summer Camp this week through the Puyallup Rec Center. I took it as an opportunity to get some things done at home while someone else took care of Justus. Boy, did I enjoy the quiet time alone! :) And they enjoyed the guy time together. Andy was the only dad there, so that's a really cool experience for Justus! He sure is enjoying having Dad home!!!

Oh, and you would not believe how much I got done! ;)

Day 1- Crazy hair day. Justus missed it because he was sick :(

Day 2- Flower day. He didn't have anything flowery so he just wore his camp shirt. Him and Dad got to plant flowers and color

Day 3- Clown day. They got to dress up, make whips and tame lions.

Day 4- Pajama day. You got it, wear your pj's to class!

Day 5- Water day. They are there now as I type this. They are suppose to play in the water today and paint with their feet! Fun stuff! I'm sure I'll hear all about it when they get home in a little bit!

Firsts

2011-07-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

This summer Justus was able to ride a jet ski for the first time! Our great friends the Haisch's invited us out to their lake cabin and graciously let us use their their things :). Yes, we are crazy, we took Justus out on the jet ski around the lake. How did he like it? Well about 2 seconds after we drove off he told us "all done". ;)

Justus also went skating for the first time this summer! Our friends own the local skating rink and their daughter turned one this last week. They had her party at the skating rink and we got to join in on the fun!

Elvis and Rhubarb

2011-07-09T17:12:00.000-07:00

We currently live in the Rhubarb capital of the world, and we LOVE IT HERE!

Sumner has been so good to us. We like our home, our neighbors, our community, the local events, and small town feel! During the summer Sumner offers live music at it's local parks. This last week was Elvis! We of course went and danced and had a great time!

Then this weekend was the first annual Rhubarb Days in downtown Sumner. There was a pie eating contest that Andy had his heart set on winning but we didn't get there in time. Andy had rhubarb pie for the first time and I bought my first rhubarb plant! We are on our way to being genuine rhubarb farmers ;)!

Long Beach

2011-07-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

What a fun trip to the ocean! While Andy is home we decided to take a trip out to the coast. It was sunny and warm the entire way there, until we reached our destination. It was cold, windy, and drizzly. BUT, we had a fun time anyway! Justus, unlike last year, loved the ocean. Even though it was chilly, he was happily running in and out of the waves. We are so blessed that Andy was able to get some extra time off and spend quality time with us!

We stayed in a cute little cottage in Long Beach and ventured to Cape Disappointment and the North Head light house.

Triple 'F' Fourth!

2011-07-05T14:10:00.002-07:00

This year for the 4th of July we had lunch with the parents and then headed over to the Franklin's House for a BBQ and festivities. The Fox's came as well as us, The Fuccillo's.... thus the name Triple F Fourth :).

We all had such a great time! There was so much wonderful food, fun, and lots of laughs! It was great getting together with fabulous friends and having our Daddy be able to join too! Justus had a blast and was out as soon as he hit the pillow!

Happy 4th of July!

Chelan

2011-07-05T13:37:00.000-07:00

Andy's home! Yay! Everyone in the Fuccillo household is very excited to have Dad around. We didn't waste any time and jumped right in to getting busy...

The next morning we got the van loaded up with Courtney, Brody, Justus, Andy, and I and headed to Lake Chelan. We had come up with the idea to make a pink cross and place it by the white one that was put up in Lise's honor. Courtney made a beautiful cross and I painted it pink. Lindsey got wild flower seeds and we were set for our mission.

As we neared the spot of the accident, we realized that there wasn't a cross up anymore. There weren't any teddy bears, flowers, balloons, cards, all these things that we expected to see. After making some phone calls we found out that the Washington Department of Transportation had removed the memorial because it was becoming a distraction to other drivers. While we understood the reasoning, we were very upset at the idea that they would remove such loving things without notifying anyone. We decided that it was too soon to take down her cross, so we made another one. Andy set out to find some drift wood and we created a new cross to place for Lise.

We love and miss her so much. Going there was difficult but it was such a wonderful opportunity to meet up with some good friends, and honor another.

As sad and hard as it was to visit Chelan, we also were able to have fun enjoying each other's company. Justus and Brody got to go to a water park. Justus went down a water slide for the first time and we got to meet up with Lindsey, Brian, and Landon who live in Eastern Washington.

It was a hard but healing journey. As I looked at the view walking back from the spot, I couldn't help but realize that THAT was what Lise saw her last moment in life. It was beautiful. Breathtaking. Just like Lise was.

Pictures with Ba & Pa

2011-06-20T20:51:00.000-07:00

I just put pictures on my photography blog of Justus with Grandma & Grandpa Ward. And of course, Grandpa's new car ;).

Sarah Fuccillo Photography

First Crop

2011-06-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

Justus has been carefully checking our strawberries waiting for the day he could pick one and eat! Well the day finally came :). He has been helping check them, water them, and is learning what has smells & doesn't. He is learning patience and how things grow just like on Sid the Science Kid, which he is obsessed with. He particually loves to have himself measured so he can see how much he's growing!

He has quite the personality these days. He is so silly and loves to get a reaction out of you. The goofier he is the better... he thinks ;). So I can never get a picture where he is giving a normal happy face. He's either yelling "cheeeeeese" or "coo duuude" (accompanied by a classic Andy thumbs up). Justus can clearly count to 10 and say his ABC's all the way through. He likes to tell me the color of things and is trying to learn how to do a summersault. He's also really loving music these days. He plays with his drum sticks and likes to rock out at lunch time to praise & worship music on the computer. The tantrums are slowing starting to diminish and his sweet personality is really shining.

Lise Marie Palmer

2011-06-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

It's taken me a while to finally sit down and actually write this. I didn't know what I wanted to say, or how I should say it. And honestly... some family blog post could never give her life justice.

Lise is one of my best friends. There are 8 of us total. We grew up together. Loved each other year after year. Our group of friends really formed during 7th grade, though some of us knew one another before. We lived through all of the awkward junior high years, cried to each other through high school broken hearts, had fun together in college, attended each other's weddings, and eventually organized play dates for our own children. And through it all, still remained friends.

Lise and I met during 6th grade GPal basketball. She was good. I wasn't. I was really intimidated by her. But we quickly became friends during our first year of junior high. I was brave enough to drive with Lise when she first got her license and then became her roommate in college. I was at the hospital when she was about to give birth to her first son Ray, and high tailed it out of there when the doctor broke her water! (She was the first out of all of us... it sounded all too scary to me!) Needless to say, all that you experience growing up, us girls all experienced it together.

Lise was beautiful. So beautiful that no one wanted to stand next to her in pictures because we knew she'd make us look bad. She was funny. Most of the time we were laughing at her, but she didn't care as long as every one was having a good time. She was known for being the last one to get things or to say something off the wall. We loved her for that. She was kind. She cared so much for Justus and all he was going through after he was born. She was competitive. She always won. She loved being active. She worked her butt off to stay as slim and gorgeous as she was. She was so loved by her family. As an only child Lise was the center of the Macadangdang household. She loved her husband. During college guys would call to ask her out but she never returned their phone calls because Ryan was "the one" and she had her heart set on him. She was a great mom. She never let anything stop the boys from having fun. In situations where one might think, "If I let him play in that sand, he's going to get it all over the car when we leave" Lise, never gave it a second thought. She would always let the boys enjoy themselves no matter what the consequence would be for her later. And most importantly she loved Jesus. She asked me questions all the time. We talked about how we could get the rest of our friends to come to know the Lord.

I know she's not here anymore and it hurts. It's hard for me to not pick up the phone and call her when I pass by "Days of Our Lives" on the tv, or feel like meeting at the park with the boys, or.... the list goes on. BUT I have so much joy in knowing where her soul resides. That while we find comfort in the arms of our loved ones, Lise is finding comfort and peace in the arms of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Lise was 31 weeks pregnant with her special gift from God, baby Faith Marie Palmer. She too, lives with Jesus. And I find great joy in that.

Lise leaves behind a fabulous, strong, and caring husband. Two handsome, active boys. Two parents who loved her more than anything. And hundreds of family and friends who's lives she has forever changed. Lise is missed. She will continue to be missed. This life will never be the same without her. I look forward to the day where I can meet up with Lise, share a laugh or two, and have her show me around our Father's house. God is so good, even in the midst of darkness... His light shines bright.

Please join me in prayer for the Palmer and Macadangdang family. Lift them up.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" John 3:16

Article explaining Lise's passing

Lise's obituary

Lise Marie Palmer (Macadangdang)
June 6, 1981 - May 27, 2011

Baseball

2011-06-09T15:38:00.000-07:00

Lately Justus has been loving everything baseball, which is interesting because he's never really taken an interest in sports or balls or anything like that before. When Andy came home brought him a "baseball mitt" and they had fun practicing some catch.

J mitt from sarah fuccillo on Vimeo.

60 years!

2011-06-09T15:07:00.001-07:00

This year my dad turns 60. 60 is a big deal in Korea. And for as long as I've known my dad he's wanted a VW Thing. He's obsessed, one might say. Well we got this idea a while ago that my mom should get my dad his dream car for his 60th birthday in July. We searched and searched and finally found one that we liked but the only place to keep it was our garage since my mom couldn't hide it at her house. My dad has been coming over quite a bit, since Andy's been gone, to help with yard work... so we were running into a dilemma. Luckily we have these AMAZING friends that agreed to let us park the car in their garage for a few weeks till we gave the car to him.

So we decided we'd surprise him on my mom's birthday (May 27th) and not wait till July. Andy was home, it was getting hard to hide, and we couldn't wait any longer! The rest is history. He spends every day with her. Cleaning her, telling her he loves her, working on her, making her appointments... let's just say he really liked the gift ;).

Andy and I made a little video of it. Special thanks to Jason & Rachael for loaning us storage space and Tim & Denise for helping us get her home!

Thing from sarah fuccillo on Vimeo.

Happy birthday Mom ... and Dad too!

Dad's visit home, garden, and goats!

2011-06-09T13:40:00.000-07:00

Andy got to come home and spend some time with us on Memorial Day weekend! We were so very excited to see him. Justus was thrilled! We spent some good quality time together, did yard work and went to the park. Not sure why Justus has a funny face in the first picture... maybe he was scared? We can't wait till we get to see him again!

Since we don't have an area to put a garden, I bought some pots for our patio for us to plant some things and learn how to care for them. Justus and I planted lettuce, tomatoes, oregano, mint, strawberries, peppers, and a couple other things. He loves to help water them and then get himself wet. He is getting very anxious to pick the strawberries and eat them!

Behind our house we have a water retention area that the city maintains. The city of Sumner uses animals for vegetation control... go green! So we finally got our turn to get some animals. The city dropped off 4 goats and we got to watch them unload and feed them some grass. Justus doesn't like to get too close, but he does like to say "Hi goats" when he sees them and then quickly "Bye goats" when he doesn't want to get any closer. They are fun to watch and we like having them here. I feel like we live on a farm when we wake up and hear "maaaaaaaahh" ;)

Hydrocephalus

2011-05-31T10:33:00.000-07:00

I know I have shared before, but there is such a deep frustration I have with the technology surrounding shunts. 50% of shunts fail within the first 2 years. HALF! This August Justus will have had a working shunt for two years. We pray everyday that it continues to work. You never know when it will stop. Shunts have not changed much since the 50's and continue to have the worst success rate out of any medically implanted device. So it really hits home for us.

We were asked to be a part of a new campaign. Dr. Browd, Justus' neurosurgeon, is creating & developing a new kind of shunt. It is very exciting! We traveled up to UW a little while ago to share a little of Justus and help Dr. Browd help improve the life of people with hydrocephalus. We feel so blessed to be a part of something that could be so life changing!

Dad's Day

2011-05-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

For a long time now, Andy has been telling me, "I wish you knew how to make cool videos like Joey Mertlich does"... so I attempted this year for fathers day a "cool" video to give to Andy. It took hours. The actor I was working with was very difficult to direct. He took frequent breaks and almost never did what I asked him to do ;). A lot of "takes" later and hours and hours of editing/figuring out what the heck I was doing.... I give you... MIRACLE SOLDIER.

P.S. Andy loved it. We celebrated Father's Day this morning with M&M pancakes and a really cool movie ;). We are loving having daddy home!

Miracle Soldier from sarah fuccillo on Vimeo.

Random happenings

2011-05-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

Justus has been carrying around his daddy doll a lot lately. The other morning he wanted to eat with him. It was really cute.

Justus has also been using the "pot tee" lately! He is such a big boy! He's very interested, mostly because he knows that he'll get m&m's when he goes in the big potty. I was so excited when he went that I asked him how many m&m's he wanted and he said "four" and I said, "wow, four, okay!" and he looked at me and said, "okay, 2" he doesn't quite know how to negotiate yet ;). Here he is holding his cup with 4 m&m's just after we went! We were both VERY excited!

We are very blessed and thankful to have family close enough to help with yard work ;). My parents have been helping a lot with getting our house looking the way it should. Before we moved in, the bank forgot to turn off the sprinkler system in December when it snowed so there were a lot of plants in the yard that died from getting covered with ice. Who knows what shape the sprinkler system is in now... I guess we'll find out soon! So we replaced a lot of plants and have been getting rid of dead things, and cleaning up, etc. I'll post pictures soon when we are done. It's still a work in progress! BUT, I found a really cute old rocking chair for the porch to go with our soon to be really beautiful yard! Justus loves to sit in it and "relax".

Going back to Easter

2011-05-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

I realized that I never posted anything about our Easter this year. It was such a wonderful celebration! It all started when Andy found out, on the Thursday before, that he had a 4 day weekend! We were so bummed. If we had known, we would have flown him home! So we started thinking... how can we make this happen? We looked into purchasing a flight for the next day but it would have cost more than $1,000. So that wasn't an option. Then we remembered a friend of ours who had made us promise to contact him if we ever needed to fly Andy home. He is a wonderful family friend who happens to have a lot of airline miles and told us that he'd like to get Andy a ticket. I called to see if it was even still possible and sure enough he made it happen! It was such a WONDERFUL gift! We were so excited! We have never missed an Easter together. Not since we first started dating. We have sacrificed Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, countless other holidays, but never Easter. So it was extra special that we didn't have to this year either! We are so very thankful! Justus was super surprised when he saw that Dad was home! I love seeing his face when he sees Andy for the first time in a long time!

We started our weekend with the Sumner Egg Hunt at Sunset Stadium, put on by the Sumner firefighters. We got to go to Easter service at Bethany together and then a great family bbq afterwards. We did a mini egg hunt in my office at home since it was raining outside by the time we got around to it. Justus loved the candy. AND especially getting to share it with Dad! It was short, but so great!

The picture below is of the birthday cake that Justus helped me make for Uncle Tom. We used one of Tommy's old dinosaurs that he passed down to Justus on the cake and made a dirt path with brown sugar and cinnamon. Justus still loves to cook with mom!

Trike Riding!

2011-05-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

Justus has been working really hard on riding his tricycle! I took a video yesterday with my cell phone, so it's not good quality... but you get the point! He's such a big boy!!! And I can't get the sound to work... grrrr! Wait, now it is!

Team Justus 2011

2011-04-30T15:19:00.001-07:00

THANK YOU SO MUCH! To everyone that donated to our team and to those who came out to walk with us (sorry you couldn't make it Mom... she was sick)! What a blessed time we had! The pain of all we went through with Justus slowly fades a little each year and yet still remains so real and evident, all at the same time. Being a part of this walk has really helped me to let go of some of it, being with so many others who I know have shared similar tears.

Justus has come such a long way. What a wonderful thing that I get to experience, each day, just how truly remarkable God is by watching Justus. From talking & laughing to throwing fits & telling me "no"... all of it is the completely amazing work of God.

So thank you again! We appreciate you! I can't wait for Justus to look back at these pictures one day and feel all the love he's had in his life!

Take out!

2011-04-20T17:26:00.000-07:00

The weather is FINALLY getting nice enough to get outside (50's and not raining!) Thank goodness! Justus LOVES being outside! So tonight we (I) decided we should take a stroll down to Papa Murphy's for dinner! Justus has a really great wagon from Nonni & Papa which was perfect to hold him and our pizza! Our new house is about a 5 min walk to a little shopping center with Fred Meyer, teriyaki, dry cleaner, and a lot more! We love being so close to so many things!!! So J and I made our way to pizza and to Baskin Robbins for a little pre dinner treat! I know, I know... "Ice cream before dinner!" Yes, I'm THAT kind of mom ;).

Back when I was a single lady... long time ago, I put an offer on a house in Sumner because I loved this area. I didn't get it. Little did I know that God would bring me back here one day! We love Sumner and love being able to walk to dinner and ice cream on hot nights... and mild nights too ;)!

In case you are wondering... that's blue raspberry & lime sherbet with pop rocks in it on his face. He liked it! :)

Great Grandma

2011-04-19T21:04:00.000-07:00

Great Grandma could mean a couple things. 1) She is Justus' great grandma. 2) She is one GREAT grandma!

Another fabulous perk to visiting a very talented doctor in California is that I get to see my Grandma. She will be 91 this summer and has the heart of a... well... she's got more energy than I do! She has a garden, lives alone, cooks, cleans, and has a memory that's... well better than mine! She makes a mean chicken and dumplins' and have to have them nachos. She is a fabulous woman and I am always delighted when Justus gets to spend time with this amazing Christian woman.

Her famous poppies were in bloom while we were down there so we marched ourselves right over and took some pictures. Justus loved to pick them, stomp them, and play with them. I, during this time, was on constant look out for her also famous lizards in her back yard! Makes my toes curl up just thinking about them!

While I was down I got to ask Grandma LOTS of questions. And I got some pretty great answers. It's always fun to listen to Grandma talk... she uses words and phrases like, "Well actually...", and "I'd kindly...", and "Well how should I know!" If you know my Grandma you know exactly what I'm talking about ;)! She grew up in Arkansas.

S: "How did you meet Grandpa?"
G: "Well he moved into a house down the street from me."

S: "How did he ask you to marry him?"
G: "He asked if I'd be his biscuit maker."

S: "How did we get the last name Ward if we are Choctaw?"
G: "Well how should I know."

S: "What was your mothers name?" (she died when my grandmother was really young)
G: "Elsa Mae Finney"

S: "Do you have any old hats I could have?"
G: "No, I didn't wear hats, I didn't look good in them. My dad told me not to wear loud lipstick either" (but she did :)

S: "Do you have any old pictures of family that I can see. I don't think I've ever seen my Great Grandpa & Grandma."
G: "Well yes, but I'll need help getting them down..."

And after that we spent a long time looking through fun old photos. I saw pictures of my great grandpa & grandma and great great grandma & grandpa. I saw so many old pictures of my Dad and his siblings, and ones of Grandma... all dressed up in her loud lipstick! :)

Thanks for the fun time Grandma! I call the old photo album when you are tired of storing it!!!! :)

Let the talking begin...

2011-04-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

I didn't know if this day would ever come. Every night I pray to God thanking Him for choosing me to be Justus' momma. And that He would heal Justus and would give me the patience each day to help him continue to develop normally. I work with Justus a lot. Talking to him. Teaching him. Probably too much ;). But all the hard work is paying off once again. Justus is starting to have little conversations with me. It's a reminder to me that God is so so good!

Justus knows his letter sounds (A,B,C,D,F,H,M,N,O,P,S,T,U,W,Y,Z) and loves to say them all day long. He LOVES to count to ten (1,2,"teh",4,"teh",6,"teh",9,10). He says up, down, hi, bye, "peese", more, go, boo, no, yeah and so on! His favorite show is Sid the Science Kid (Auntie Janna would be proud!) and asks for it all the time... "Sid Peese!". For a little boy with so many odds against him... it amazes me that the little monkey is standing at my feet, tugging at my pants, saying "UP PEESE!!!" (He loves the computer). Here's a little video of him talking with me this morning. He's a bit whiney... he REALLY wanted to touch the camera. Also, excuse the hair, clothes, and messy face... we are still in our jammies! :)

Untitled from sarah fuccillo on Vimeo.

March of Dimes!

2011-04-11T14:34:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year folks! We have been led to serve with the March of Dimes for the past couple of years. We feel strongly about healthy babies. Imagine that! So here's your chance to get involved with us! Come walk! Or donate! We'd love to have the help anyway we can get it!

Visit our website for more information...

www.marchforbabies.org/team/teamjustus

Here are a short video that makes me cry each time I watch it. The fear that gripped my heart somehow disappeared the second I heard that beautiful cry. No mom should ever have to wonder if their child will be healthy enough to make it.

This is your chance to help fight for little ones and be their voice. So that one day every baby will be born healthy...

Spring!

2011-04-11T14:21:00.001-07:00

One of the fantastic gals that came to my workshop was hosting an Easter Mini Session this last weekend and invited J and I to go! It was so nice to have someone else take the pictures for once! But I did snap a few myself, couldn't help it! Justus did not like the baby chick. It was pretty funny to watch him! I guess cute, little, fuzzy, baby chicks are not for everybody! :)

Trip to Disney!

2011-04-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

This last week Justus, my mom, and I went down to California to visit the eye doctor. The great thing about having a fantastic eye doctor in LA is that we get to see our family down there as an added bonus! They of course take good care of us and make it more of a vacation than business so we ALWAYS have a good time! Plus the sunshine and vitamin D is always a major plus!

The doctor had nothing but really encouraging news for us! Justus' major issue is that his brain doesn't tell him to look down. So he trips and falls a lot. Doc gave us some really great tips to help him with this. He also told us that Justus' stigmatism is basically gone! Praise be to God! So Justus doesn't need his glasses anymore! Not that he ever wore them anyway! He did tell us though that J is a bit near sided on one side and far sided on the other, so we'll have to watch that closely but otherwise all good news! He is such a great doctor, so patient, kind, and knowledgeable! He wants to see us back in a year so more sunshine for us this time again next year!

Justus also got to spend some time with my cousins' kids. It was great to see them all together.... showing off their muscles ;)

Rain rain go away!

2011-04-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

If you know me at all... you know that this took everything in me to let him do this! Justus loves to be outside so we got bundled and I let him splash away in the puddles in our neighborhood. I am paying for it now though because apparently he didn't get the memo that it was a one time deal. He now likes to splash in puddles ALL the time, anywhere, no matter what he's dressed in!

We also took another trip to the zoo! We usually like to have friends come with us too, but no one was available that day so it ended up being the two of us. It was fantastic! What a special date day for just Justus and I!

I know, I know...

2011-04-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

I've been neglecting the blog! But we don't have as many followers these days so it seems easy for me to put it on the back burner! BUT... here's what's been going on!

I have spent the last several months working on a photography workshop I wanted to put on. I prayed that God would bring me 10 people that share the same passion of photography that I have and he brought me 12! I think I'm a teacher at heart (even though I never used my degree to actually become one) and really enjoy showing others and teaching others new things. I have attended a few workshops in my day so that's how I came up with the idea to have one of my own! I worked around the theme "Don't sit under the apple tree" (the old Glen Miller song) and put together a WWII photo shoot as part of my workshop. I dedicated it to my father's uncle who recently passed away. He was one tough guy. A farmer. A soldier. He never talked about his military experiences so we knew that he has some painful memories. It wasn't until he died that we found out he was a purple heart recipient and a former POW in the Korean War. I am determined to learn his past now. What an incredible man!

I had a blast the day of the workshop. All the hard work, thought, and time I put into it really paid off. I got great feedback and am so glad that I did it. God has really blessed me and I was excited to pass it on to others! And it even was a dry day! :)

They grow up...

2011-02-06T13:40:00.000-08:00

So fast! Justus is now in a big boy bed!!! What's that, you say? Yes, he is. But not by choice... that kid was about 1/2 inch away from climbing out of his crib and falling on this face. So, since the LAST thing we need in the Fuccillo house is a head injury, I decided to give the "big boy" bed a try.

It's gone okay so far. He doesn't leave his room at night, but he does climb out of bed and sit and cry next to his night light (not sure what that means). So it's definitely an adjustment. At bedtime he climbs up in his bed and we read stories together and he loves being a "big boy".

Justus also got to sit and play around in our neighbor's car! He owns a 2005 Lamborghini and every once in a while will bring it out to show off :). Unfortunately, they are moving and they are the only neighbors we've met so far! Their kids live in California so they are moving to a place with much more Lamborghini driving weather. At least we got a few pictures before they go ;)!

Apron!

2011-01-24T13:36:00.001-08:00

The other week at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) I won a little boy apron for answering a question right. We were discussing ideas and fun ways of getting our little ones in the kitchen with us! I brought it home and Justus instantly loved it. He loves being in the kitchen anyway, but he thought it was the funnest thing to put an apron on! Since then, every morning, whether we are cooking or not, he gets his apron out and mine too and wants me to put them on us. He wears it pretty much most of the day and even likes to nap with it on. It's sort of an issue, but it's still pretty cute ;).

Medtronic Holiday Program

2011-01-19T13:23:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting for our professional pictures to come in from the Medtronic Program to share this post with you. And they came today! We had such a fabulous time. What a true blessing to be part of this. 2010 was the 50th anniversary of their Medtronic Holiday Program where they invite different patients to come share their stories with all the employees. It was such a unique experience that a person could really get used to! From the airfare to the food, activities to transportation, everything was covered for us. We felt like royalty (or like pharmaceutical reps :)!) Justus got to meet many wonderful people from Medtronic who catered to his every need with gifts, special toddler food, and so much more! It was such a pleasure meeting Mr Earl Bakken who founded the company in 1949! Justus wouldn't keep his fingers out of his nose though for a picture! Justus also wouldn't let Dr. Browd hold him for a nice picture! He kept trying to wiggle his way out of his arms, so this is the best we could do.

We even went to mall of America, the aquarium, and Nickelodeon World! We also met up with Andy's old Army buddy John and his wife Evangelina.

All in all it was such a memorable experience and we are so thankful to have been a part of it!

CHRISTmas!

2011-01-06T07:14:00.000-08:00

We were all moved in, in time to celebrate Christ's birth this year at our new home! I didn't think we'd get the tree up in time, but Andy surprised me and made it happen! It felt so good to be here and somewhat settled. Christmas eve we went to church and then back here for dinner. The boys (My Dad, Tommy, Daniel, & Andy) worked on getting all of our appliances where they needed to be, and us girls (My Mom, Vee, & I, oh and Justus) watched tv and talked. Dinner was great and the night couldn't have been better. Lots of laughs and good family quality time.

Christmas morning Justus got to open presents, which he enjoyed much more this year than last. He LOVED his train & medical kit, and later that day got a really cool tool bench from Grandma & Grandpa.

The Fuccillo side of the family collaborated and decided that this year we would give to each other in a different way. We collect the money we would have normally spent on gifts and used it to purchase a well! We gave the gift of clean water this year to people who need it most! We are excited to learn more as the project continues and we of course will share!

Our new house!

2011-01-06T06:49:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, we have been VERY busy the last month or so, packing, cleaning, unpacking, cleaning, advertising, etc... all to move into this beautiful new home we have! We are so blessed! God brought this awesome deal of a home our way in the cute, quaint town of Sumner and we are truly loving it! We found really great renters for our other home and my dear friend Betsy is living in our apartment here at the house.

Justus loves his new home and is VERY active in "helping" us do things around here. He has his very own play room which is a dream come true for me because now I don't have toys ALL over the place like before! AND THE BEST PART!!!.....I have my own photography space now! Ahhhh... it feels so good (I'm sitting in it right now).

Here is the link to the pictures of our house. There were too many to upload here so I created a facebook album.

CLICK HERE

Baby Klaus

2010-12-08T08:02:00.000-08:00

This is really close to my heart, in fact tears are in my eyes as I type. This is baby Klaus. He has hydrocephalus. And it's not controlled. Here is an article and video... it's VERY difficult to watch. BUT we are so grateful that this family is willing to talk about it and get more awareness out for this very difficult and heartbreaking disorder.

We need MORE FUNDING AND RESEARCH to help those who suffer from hydrocephalus like Justus and Baby Klaus. Looking at these images reminds me of just how blessed we are to have fabulous doctors and care at Seattle Children's.

Click Here to watch the video and read more...

Click Here to learn how you can help support those with Hydrocephalus...

Snow!

2010-11-22T20:55:00.000-08:00

We just had our first snow fall of the season (well actually it's going on right now as I type)! It's been crazy out! I think it's just getting us prepared for Minnesota! This morning all 3 of us got bundled up and headed out. Justus didn't care too much. I think because we didn't have the right gloves. I can't find water proof gloves for him. I don't know if they make them for such small hands?! Here's a few pictures from the morning!

2!

2010-11-22T20:43:00.000-08:00

Justus turned 2! I know, crazy! He's such a big boy now. Things he loves to do... color, watch Toy Story 2, help me bake (especially stirring), run around the house with Dad, run around the house naked, mess with our printer (that is the main reason for his time out sessions lately), and whining ;). He is about the 25th% for height and weight for his actual age, which is pretty good for a preemie. He's talking a little bit, but generally doesn't have much of an interest yet. He still LOVES taking a bottle and of course his best buddy "orange binky".

For his birthday we just hung out and had a couple of friends over. It was very low key and was just what we needed. Home made confetti cake, lots of presents, great company (Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Tom, Jackie & Austin, and Jen & Gracie & Lucus), and pizza!

Halloween

2010-11-22T20:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm a little behind! Justus was a monkey for Halloween, but he was also a soldier. We had both costumes so I decided to use both! For our church's Halloween get together he was a soldier...

He was so cute!

On actual Halloween, he was a monkey because it was made of thick fleece and it was cold out. It ended up working out perfect. We only took him to a few houses because I wasn't feeling well but he loved the little bit that we did. We would say, "Justus say Trick or Treat" and he would respond with "more please" in sign language. I don't think people got it, but we knew what he meant... "give me that candy!" ;)

Just my size

2010-10-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

Andy, Justus, and I braved Ikea this last Saturday and got Justus a little table for crafts & snacks. He loves it! Well, actually he loves pushing the chairs neatly back under it... he may have learned that from me ;). And my new project is to paint the chairs antique so I can also use them as photo props. I'm so excited. We bought some fun colors and now all I need is some TIME to do it!

Also, we have some VERY exciting news! Justus was asked by our neurosurgeon, Dr. Browd, to go to Minneapolis in December to be featured at Medtronic's Holiday Party. There will be 38,000 employees who will come to meet Justus and see what their technology has done to make an impact in his life. We are so thrilled! Medtronic is the company that makes Justus' shunt, and more importantly, they are the ones who have developed the technology of how to place the shunt in the brain most effectively. Not all docs use their gps system, but Dr. Browd is one of them and Justus is one of the fortunate patients. It's a very innovative approach. The best way to explain it is, it's similar to how your car gps guides you to a location. Dr. Browd uses this technology to help guide him thread the shunt catheter into the center of the brain. This helps minimize some major risks associated with brain surgery. Dr. Browd will introduce us and then we will be asked to share a little about Justus' story! More to come!

Justin or Justus

2010-10-20T21:50:00.000-07:00

The other day I told Justus' speech therapist that Justus needs a hair cut, and she said, "No way, he's totally in fashion! He looks like Justin Bieber!" I'm pretty sure that that would be Andy's worst nightmare, but just for comparison... :)

Sidewalk chalk

2010-10-20T21:29:00.001-07:00

Walmart had some sidewalk chalk on clearance the other week so I grabbed a box and waited for a lazy day like today to bring them out. It was perfect! Lately it's been really sunny and beautiful (though a little chilly) and we happened to have nothing planned today. Justus had a great time! He was more interested in drawing on his face and my face with it, but after I showed him some of my really great artistic skills, he caught on. Then quickly moved on to wanting to play with Andy's tools in the garage.

Justus is getting big & HEAVY. He has his 2 year check up next month after his birthday so we'll get all of the official stats then. Some things he likes right now... he LOVES, I repeat, LOVES the song "Woody's Roundup" from Toy Story 2. He doesn't like the whole movie and will cry if we play it from the beginning but LOVES to watch the last scene, end credits, and outtakes so he can hear that song. He knows who Woody and Buzz are if you ask him and he is starting to become interested in Elmo. He enjoys "helping" us do things. For example, carrying things that are "heavy", stirring things in the kitchen for me, throwing away his dirty diapers after we change him, and my personal favorite.. washing his face and brushing his teeth. It's so cute to watch him. He is becoming quite the big boy! I'm thinking that he's getting pretty close to trying the big boy potty. He thinks its pretty funny to "tinkle" on us... on purpose. You can tell that he tries now to do it whenever he has his diaper off. Some times he succeeds... like this morning.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-20T13:15:00.001-07:00

Justus and I headed down to the pumpkin patch the other week for our annual pumpkin patch pictures. We went with our buddy Jake and his mom, like last year, and some other buddies too! Here's a couple of shots from our trip! My favorite picture is the one of him in the actual pumpkin patch... his expression is like, "I know, I'm pretty cool... I'm at the pumpkin patch!" I love him!

When were were done, I bought him a treat. I know, probably not very good for you and most definitely not organic I'm sure... but hey, you're only a kid once! What is it? It was a giant marshmallow covered in fudge. It was REALLY good ;)

Monkey will be "two"

2010-10-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

With Halloween just around the corner, I thought I'd get out Justus' costume and take some pictures. Here's my little monkey all dressed up! And being that his birthday is a month away, here is a little video of him sharing his excitement about the number 2!!!

Also, enclosed is a picture of Justus' first artwork we put up on the fridge!

j two from sarah fuccillo on Vimeo.

Military Spouse Magazine!

2010-10-01T06:53:00.000-07:00

Today on news stands! Extra Extra read all about it! Hot off the press!

A few months ago I was asked by a wonderful friend if she could use me in one of her magazine articles. Being that I totally love Michelle Cuthrell, I said, sure! So I answered a few questions for her and sent a few images her way. The editor picked the picture of Justus to publish! There were two others of some of my clients that didn't make it in :(. BUT, still very VERY cool. I feel totally honored and blessed to 1. Be this handsome boy's mom & 2. to be able to have a "business" that's been fun, rewarding, and perfectly successful. I say perfectly successful because I'm just as busy as I'd like to be and it gives me just enough creative outlet without compromising my number one job, which is to take care of my boys (big and little) at home!

The Zoo!

2010-09-28T18:53:00.000-07:00

Not only can Justus say "zoo" now, he also got to go to the zoo! You are looking at the newest Point Defiance Zoo Members! We decided that with Andy heading out soon, it would be a fun idea to buy a zoo pass for Justus and I to use this next year. Grandpa had some time off of work so he joined us for our little adventure. So did Justus' "monkey backpack" (leash). It worked great! Makes me miss Louie a little though ;).

Some of Justus' favorite things were the Kids Zone (where they have a bunch of neat climbing toys and play areas), the water exhibit with the fish and sharks, and lastly... his favorite thing at the zoo was to splash the water on the zoo benches. We bought a years pass people and his favorite part was the purple park benches! What a little monkey!

We really did have a good time though and Justus was tuckered out by the end of the trip. You might notice that in some of the pictures Justus looks like he may have gotten into a play ground fight, and that's because he fell and possibly broke his nose! I was there but didn't actually see it happen. I still don't know how in the world he fell hard enough on carpet to do this! Long story short, I heard him fall, ran over to him, and immediately picked him up bloody nose and all. Then I saw his face completely swell before my eyes and he didn't even cry! Which made me a little more worried because he was a little out of it. I called our doctor and then took him in to the ER. They basically said, even if his nose is broken, there is nothing they can do about it. And there isn't really even a way to tell at this point. So... we have been praying it's not. It doesn't look like it is, but that's the story! Justus continues to keep us on our toes!

Do the Puyallup

2010-09-15T15:46:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of "Doin' the Puyallup" it is a wonderful fair held each year at the Puyallup Fair Grounds. I have gone every year since I was in 2nd grade, when we moved to Washington. This year was Justus' second year and he had a blast! I gathered up some of my Army friends and we packed the kids up and headed down the hill!

It was military appreciation day so we all got in free :) and Justus and I started off by eating a Krusty Pup (huge corn dog), then had some curly fries, and finished up lunch with a traditional fair scone! Worst meal of Justus' life I'm pretty sure! We went to the petting zoo where Justus ran away from every animal I tried to get him to pet, then we went to see the 4H dogs, horses, cows, and then baby pigs! We had so much fun! Can't wait for next year!

The Gang

No stroller parker ;)

Trying to run from the goat

Trying to run away from the sheep

Justus running away from a sheep again

Wagon Trail

2010-09-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

There has been so much going on and I have been so horrible at documenting it! I have been really busy with my photography that I haven't focused on taking pictures of my own family! Shame! Here are a couple of cute pictures of Justus and his awesome wagon at the farmer's market. Thanks to Noni and Papa! He loves it!

He is quite the character. We are learning that Justus loves to entertain, to be "funny", and is starting early on those terrible twos! He isn't quite talking yet, but is really starting to try, which is so exciting for me! Right now he says, "mama" "dada" "ba ba" and "go". I'm trying to get him to say "you're the best mom" but haven't had any luck so far ;).

This last month Justus & I went to the Seattle Hydrocephalus Support Group picnic and met so many wonderful people! I'm excited to get more involved and connect more with other moms! There was a little girl there who was born the day before Justus at the same hospital (at 35 weeks) and has hydrocephalus. They were so cute playing together! Of course, I didn't get a picture!

Justus also got a time out mat that I now use during the day if he misbehaves. So far it's working pretty well! He has to stay on it for 1 min 30 secs until the timer beeps. It took a few tries and some struggles, but he'll now stay on it for his full time out! I don't have to use it that often... just the words "time out" now will usually make him behave ;).

Boston and back!

2010-08-16T15:39:00.001-07:00

Our second trip this summer took us all the way to the east coast to finally meet Justus cousins! And spend some quality time with the Fuccillo side of our family! The travel part is not something I want to remember (in fact I don't think we even took any pictures of us at the airport or on the plane or anything that would remind us of how awful it is to fly with a very active almost 2 year old!) but aside from that, we had a WONDERFUL trip!

Most of the time we spent relaxing and letting the cousins play... which was my favorite. Just to watch them interact and engage with one another! Very funny and very entertaining! Matt & Melissa graciously opened their home to us and we loved every minute of living a day in the life of the east coast Fuccillos! We did also slip in some really fun activities...

(my favorite cousin picture... we didn't really get any good ones of their faces. it was impossible!)

Berry picking at WARD'S Berry Farm! A local Children's Museum, daily walks, a date night without the kids (thanks to Noni, Papa, and Auntie Janna!), and even a little girls get away for pedicures! We even took a drive over to where Shutter Island was filmed! Mom F also threw us an amazing party for everyone to come and visit us and to see Justus in person! There are so many wonderful people who have been praying for Justus since the beginning, all the way over on the other side of the country, so it was so fantastic to be able to finally meet them, put names with faces, and thank them in person!

Thanks for putting up with us! We enjoyed our time with you!

Bikes, glasses, and ventricles... oh my!

2010-07-29T10:06:00.000-07:00

Lot's to catch you up on! First the most exciting news!!!

We took Justus to see Dr. Browd and get another image of his brain. At first my heart completely stopped when I saw the images. His ventricles were huge. I couldn't believe it...I figured we were going to have to stay for another surgery. But Dr. Browd explained that yes, Justus' ventricles are big. Bigger than they should be... but they are the same size as last time. SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? Well Dr. B thinks Justus is stable and that he may just always have big ventricles. Because of this, they want to see Justus back in 6 months again and for us to keep watching him closely. Our goal... to be a normal once a year patient, but for now, we rejoice in the good news we've gotten! Dr. Browd, the nurse practitioner, the fellow, and resident were all BLOWN AWAY by how fabulous Justus is doing. They were truly impressed, which always puts a smile on our faces! You see, we think he's super special, and it's great to be reassured by outsiders that he IS INDEED an amazing miracle! (P.S. wanted to get a pic of Dr. Browd and Justus but forgot the camera... dang!)

Second, I don't think I've shared yet, but we are excited to announce Andy's new carer choice! In January Andy will be taking off to start his training to be a Special Forces Green Beret Medic, with a specialization language of Korean. Crazy! So not only will be he an Airborne Ranger, he will also be able to wear that famous and honorable GREEN BERET around. What a tough guy! After going through 3 weeks "in Hell" at Fort Bragg we have finally gotten some answers to what our future will look like. We are still praying about whether we will move as a family or try to make it work commuting back and forth. The major reason being, the closest neurosurgeon from where we would be is about 2 hours. For a little boy who has had a very RARE journey with 11 brain surgeries and hydrocephalus, 2 hours in an emergency can mean life for death. So we continue to pray and follow how we feel God is calling us. On top of all of that Andy did, for the first time, the Seattle to Portland bike ride. I think it's about 200 miles. All in one day.

Also in the news, Justus got his glasses and he's so stinkin cute! He hates them though so we will have to see how that goes!

Aside from all of that, I continue to stay busy with being a mom and my photography. I have been looking in to starting Justus in equestrian therapy. To add on to our birth-3 service, physical therapy, & speech therapy! He met our friend Jenah's horse and loved him! We are also looking forward to our visit to Boston! Lot's more to put on the blog in the upcoming weeks!

Golf!

2010-07-14T07:46:00.001-07:00

There are a few sports that are sorta off limits for kids with shunts... so Andy and I are always thinking about what and how Justus is going to impact the world. We figure that there needs to be a great Christian golfer and role model out there... maybe it will be Justus ;)

j golf from sarah fuccillo on Vimeo.

Goin to the beach!

2010-07-08T07:38:00.000-07:00

Andy has returned to work, but my parents have this week off so we decided to head to the ocean to let Justus walk on sand for the first time. The ocean is about 3 hours away from us. We learned a lot from this little trip....

1. Justus does not like the ocean
2. Justus does not like road trips
3. Taking a 19 mo old to the beach isn't very fun
4. We really love our mini van

While he did stop to take a couple of nice pictures for me, Justus wanted to be held the whole time. I don't blame him, I am not a fan of ocean water either. But he did have fun taking a bath in his outside baby pool when we got home.

No 4th of July

2010-07-05T17:21:00.000-07:00

All of us at the Fuccillo house love our country. We are proud to be Americans and feel blessed to live and serve this land. With that being said, we did nothing patriotic this year for the 4th. Justus woke up sick with a 104 temp and vomiting and it was cold so we all decided that instead of spending money on shooting off fireworks, we'd rather shoot off firearms! It was WAY more fun! The good news is that Justus is feeling fine today (the 5th) and is back to destroying our home :).

Grandma's 90th

2010-07-05T17:02:00.001-07:00

Last week we all took a trip down to California to celebrate my Grandma Ward's 90th birthday. What a special lady and what a special day! Justus was not a happy camper on the plane, or at Disneyland, or hanging around... I guess he's a home body like his momma. But all in all, we had a great time with family and celebrated the news we got from Justus' eye doctor in LA. He said Justus' vision issues are 1000 times better, but on a separate issue, Justus needs glasses. I know, cute... but boy it will be a challenge. Not only will he probably not wear them, we are pretty certain he will find a way to break these little beauties! Thanks to Aunt Pat & Uncle Bill for allowing us to take over your home and thanks Kathy for showing us the ropes at Disney!

I am also really happy to share that my amazingly faithful cousin Stephanie just received a new kidney. After 9 years of waiting, and 3 times a week of dialysis, we praise God for this gift!

Justus at Disneyland

When we are in Cali, we like to visit and bring flowers to my grandparents' graves. This is the first time Justus got to go.

Daddy Doll

2010-06-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

A while ago we got a doll from Fort Lewis that you can put a picture of your soldier in. Since we are spending a little time away from Andy as he trains I thought it would be a good idea to take it out and use it! Justus wasn't too interested in it at first, except to throw it around, typical boy, but he has come to love hugging and kissing "daddy doll" while daddy is away. If I say "Justus where's Daddy?" he will look around till he finds it and will give it a hug and kiss. SO SUPER CUTE! I love that kid!

Happy Fathers Day!

j doll from sarah fuccillo on Vimeo.

Uncle Tommy

2010-06-12T21:28:00.001-07:00

We are proud to announce that Tommy is officially a college graduate! We attended the graduation ceremony last night at the UW HUB. Tommy is entering the real world with a BS in Biochemistry. He even managed to graduate with Departmental Distinction. That's not easy to do when you are playing hours of Modern Warfare every day and other various XBOX games! And what is he going to do with that???? THAT is the question ;). As of now he plans to continue his education and enter into a PH D program, eventually hoping to land a job in genetic research. I think last he said, his interest is in cancer research. But you know Tommy, we don't get much out of him! Way to go T, you da man!

Pests and Pals

2010-05-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

This last week was filled with appointments, errands, and photo shoots. My favorite one was with my friend Staci who came over from Eastern Washington. Staci is a creative genius, and so much fun to hang with. We met her down in Tacoma to take some pictures of the J man. I wanted something "urban"... BINGO! We found this awesome graffiti wall that was perfect! One of the pictures looks like he is either peeing or getting arrested... I will have to show this to him when he's older and tell him that if he is ever standing against a wall like this again, HE IS DEAD MEAT!

Speaking of dead meat... one night as we were getting ready for bed, I looked out our window and yelled to Andy, "I know what's eating my strawberry plants!!!!" Yep, caught the culprit red handed... or red hoofed ;). The DAY after we bought a whole bunch of strawberry starters, tomato plants, and squash vines, this dumb animal jumped my fence and ate them! UGH!

Old luggage

2010-05-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to the Funky Junk Sisters sale and it was AWESOME! I found some pretty cool things including these suitcases. So I took Justus out with me for a little photo fun! I've posted more on my photography blog... www.sarahfuccillophotography.blogspot.com

Gel!

2010-05-13T18:15:00.000-07:00

From all the time we spent in the hospital, we are a gellin' kind of family. We have a pump of gel in just about every room in our house. And I am constantly using it during the day as well as very good hand washing ;). Well apparently they are right when they say, kids watch everything you do. Justus has picked up on "gelling" his hands! Andy and I think it's pretty much the funniest thing in the whole world. I finally got it on video. Here ya go, and watch what you do in front of your kids.... they are watching you :).

j gel from sarah fuccillo on Vimeo.

Yogurt Raisins

2010-05-12T12:02:00.000-07:00

Justus loves the yogurt covered raisins that Costco was selling a while ago. Every day I'll give him a couple as a treat. The other day he happened to have his binky in when I gave him his daily yogurt raisin allowance.

Apparently he couldn't decide which he wanted more, the binky or the raisin, so he tried to have both. I was in the kitchen and when I walked over and saw this I had to laugh and take a picture. It was all gooey and mashed like he was really trying hard to fit it in the hole, hoping that it would somehow make it's way into his mouth. He REALLY loves food, but he REALLY REALLY loves his binky! Life if full of tough decisions!

27th Annual Best Ranger Competition

2010-05-06T06:47:00.000-07:00

In honor of this weekend's Best Ranger Competition, I thought I'd share some pictures of the 4th best Rangers from 2008.

No doubt in my mind that if they did it again, they'd win.

Here's to Ben & Andy!

A chip off the old block...

2010-05-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

Or should I say a chocolate chip off the old block....

This morning while I was trying to fix my computer (long story) I realized that it was WAY too quiet in the other room. When this happens it usually means that he is into something. And yes, he was. I don't know how many chocolate chips he ate, but lets just say, he has lots of energy this morning! Even when he's getting into trouble I can't help but smile. Man, I love this kid!

Oh, and yes, that's vanilla extract next to him. Maybe he was planning on baking something?

p.s. I feel like he is ALWAYS in these pj's because all the pictures I have of him, this is what he's wearing... but I promise... he does have others. Maybe these are his "get in trouble jammies". I think I could be on to something here....

2010 March of Dimes

2010-05-01T14:57:00.000-07:00

We did it! It was so much fun to get out this morning and celebrate babies! Every baby deserves a healthy start and we are determined to make that happen.

Thank you so much for supporting us through your generous donations! And thanks to everyone who came out to walk for Team Justus! We feel so blessed and continue to pray for Justus' growth and development. Thanks for all the love!

Team Justus was able to raise $1,390 for healthy, happy, babies! Yay!

Meet Opal!

2010-04-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

Andy and I have thought about it for a while now, we really wished we bought something that was a little bigger to drive around. We love going for drives on the weekends, traveling, and Rhonda just didn't seem like she gave us enough room to grow! So I give you.... Opal! Isn't she pretty!

We feel really blessed that God provided us a way to get such a nice vehicle. We see ourselves in this thing till it dies... SO LONG LIVE OPAL THE ODYSSEY!

MARCH FOR BABIES!

2010-04-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again folks... for the March of Dimes! Last year at this time we were in the middle of the most horrible nightmare imaginable. All because of premature birth. 1 in 8 babies are born premature. Justus was one of them. By now, you all know the basic Baby Justus story, but think of all the other stories that you don't know about! Think of all the other babies! Think of every tear that has been cried, every heart that has been broken, and every sweet little angel who has had to fight this battle. There is something you can do to help! Support the March of Dimes. Help families, help babies, help our future!

Maybe this is a little bold, but I'll say it anyway... If you love us, if you love Justus, you will support the March of Dimes. So that other babies and their families won't have to suffer like we have. There are many ways you can help.

Donate: give your money to a good cause to help fund research for future generations
Walk: join our team! Walk with us this year and join the fight one step at a time!
Pray: pray pray pray for all the families, who at this very moment, are dealing with the sad reality of premature birth, infant mortality, or a genetic birth defect.

If you or your child DOESN'T have polio... you have March of Dimes to thank for that.

Here's the important info:

To donate: visit
Team Justus

To walk with us: visit
Team Justus and click on "Join this team"

Tacoma Walk
May 1, 2010
Point Defiance, Owens Beach
5605 N Owen Beach Rd
Tacoma, WA 98407
Walk Distance: 6miles
Registration Time: 7:30 AM
Start Time: 8:30 AM

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for helping. Every baby deserves a healthy start.

Please watch these videos to learn more...

Strawberries & Tulips

2010-04-12T07:26:00.001-07:00

You know I LOVE Van Lierop's Tulip Farm! We try to go every year and take a picture or two. Since it was so beautiful yesterday we had to take advantage of the sun and head that direction! I am really gonna miss that place when it sells. Someone with a lot of money should buy it and keep it a tulip farm!!! All of us in the Fuccillo house are really feeling Spring upon us. Justus is getting to play outside a little more, I'm lovin' that sweet strawberries are back at Costco, and Andy is getting some much needed yard work done.

J man is getting really close to walking. He had a lot of practice with Uncle Tommy home this last weekend. He is FINALLY feeling daring enough to let go of things and try to balance on his own. It's been VERY exciting for us to watch. Each new thing he does brings us so much joy and thanks for our Lord!

This much!

2010-04-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

Wow... go ahead and say it, I AM A HORRIBLE BLOGGER IN 2010! I have totally neglected to post happenings of our every day miracle baby's life. But don't be fooled into thinking that nothing is going on so there isn't anything to post... TOO much is going on so there isn't time to post! Now that Justus is on the move... I feel like I don't really have time for much. He is into just about everything his little hands can get to. For example, yesterday I caught him splashing his chubby little fingers in the toilet water. SICK! Then found him playing in the garbage can in our bathroom... with used dental floss... SICK! The second I turn around he must think to himself, "here's my chance..." Every day is an adventure! Now that he's down for a nap, I had a chance to upload a recent video for you all to enjoy. So... enjoy!

j tummy from sarah fuccillo on Vimeo.

Auntie Janna's Visit

2010-03-25T06:45:00.001-07:00

Last week my sister in law came from Florida for a visit! We had a great time and it was the first time she got to see Justus "not sick" so that was really joyful. I'd say Justus was on his good behavior for Auntie Janna. He really enjoyed spending time with her. We even went on Justus' first picnic! And it was really nice having someone around during the days to talk to and to say "do you mind watching him for a minute while I....". Thanks Janna! It was great to see you!

Easter pics

2010-03-09T15:09:00.000-08:00

Just posted some Easter pictures of the J man on my photography blog... sarahfuccillophotography check them out!

The wheels on the bus...

2010-03-08T08:32:00.000-08:00

Justus is really getting close to walking and is always tearing apart things at Grandma & Grandpa's house. So... Justus got a new toy for his stays there. A school bus! So far he seems to be really enjoying it. And what a deal! It was on sale AND you got a free t-ball set with it. We are getting really excited for summer and for Justus and Dad getting to play ball outside. Here are some pictures of the fun. The last picture is of us at the 2010 March of Dimes Kick Off Luncheon: Featuring Justus' story. It was a blessing to be asked to speak and share what we have gone through, and more importantly, what Justus a has gone through and the miracle of his life. We will be doing the March of Dimes walk again this year (May 1st), more details to follow. There are so many great causes to get involved in, but these are babies we are talking about! Please start thinking about what you would like to do to help Team Justus out this year... walk with us, donate to our team, or just donate to March of Dimes directly. One day, with your help, all babies will be born healthy and full term.

Hair cut!

2010-02-27T20:20:00.000-08:00

Justus had his first "official" haircut this weekend! The first one NOT associated with a surgery ;)! We happened to find a girl who has cut another child's hair with a shunt and her husband has had brain surgery so we figured she is probably the right lady for the job. She works just right down the street at a local hair cutting place. I couldn't justify taking him to one of those kid's cut places and paying one of my arms for his first trim. Anywho... Justus did wonderful! Squirmy... yes! A little uncertain... yes! But overall, he totally impressed me! He is such a wonderful baby and so patient with his crazy picture taking mom! Here's a few snapshots!

Bikes!

2010-02-16T14:19:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Andy and I bought a bike trailer off of Craig's list for Justus. I love to bike ride and now that I have a kid, we had to figure something out! So... after a REALLY good scrub down, I give you... our new (used) bike trailer! It has been beautiful the last couple of days and the rest of the week is suppose to be too.

We had a chance to take it out for a spin today. I'm not sure what Justus thought of it. He just kinda sat there and took it all in. But by the time I drove back in the driveway... he wanted out! I think it's the helmet. He hates it. But once we get him used to having that thing on his head I think we are going to have some major fun with this thing. Andy jogs about the same speed I bike ;) so we'll have to have some good ol' fashioned family fun one of these days!

Learning Home

2010-02-15T20:40:00.001-08:00

Justus just got a new Learning Home by Fisher Price. We love this thing! It's so much fun and it teaches so many different things! Justus especially loves the mailbox, doorbell, and light switch. We especially love that he actually plays with this thing and is having fun!!!! Would totally recommend it!

Justus is also very much loving to pull himself up on just about everything, get into just about everything, and get mad when we don't let him :). He is at such a fun age! He is so happy (most of the time) and just about everything makes him laugh. I never really thought of myself as a comedian, but apparently (according to Justus) I have pretty good material :)!

Football Future

2010-02-02T18:39:00.001-08:00

In light of the football news we received the other day, we pulled out Uncle Tommy's peewee football jersey to try it on for size. There's still a lot of room for growth, but Justus seemed to enjoy the dress-up fun. Tommy was 8 when he wore this for the Puyallup Rough Riders! I'll have to see if I can dig out a picture of him in it one of these days ;). The youngest you can play tackle football here is Puyallup is 8 for the "89ers". A team made up of 8 and 9 year olds. Clever, huh? We have lots of practice time before then!

Please excuse the hair, it clearly wasn't combed and excuse the picture quality... taken with my parent's camera. point and shoots make me sick! :)

6 months!!!!

2010-01-28T15:56:00.000-08:00

Whoa! What a relief! Thanks for all the prayers and support! With our history, we never know if we are coming home from an appointment or making another stay at our second home... aka Seattle Children's. We are home!!!!!!!

After a 6:15 departure, 7:30 check in, 8:00 haste MRI scan, 9:00 neurosurgery appointment, and 9:30 shunt reprogram appointment, I am happy to announce that Justus didn't need another surgery! The scan looked the same as before, he still has "generous" sized ventricles (Dr. Browd's words), but he's pretty certain that it's stable. He said he would have expected much more enlargement if something wasn't working right. We were VERY thrilled! He said that based on the scan, even though his ventricles are enlarged, there isn't any pressure. His brain has the room it needs to grow and develop. And based on Justus' behavior and milestones he's achieving, Dr. Browd thought the best thing to do was to not see us for 6 months. A "normal" kid would come in once a year, but Justus isn't "normal" and hopefully one day we will be able to be part of the "once a year" club.

The other great news, mostly for Andy, is Dr. Browd told us that he definitely thinks Justus should play football if he wants to. Up until JV at least and if he's good enough to go beyond that, "we'll have to have a talk". He did say though that Andy should maybe encourage the "golf route". Are we getting ahead of our selves? Definitely. But Andy likes to ask about football every time we go in ;).

I think that about sums it up! It was great to see all of our friends at Children's and we are excited to NOT see them for a while! I leave you with a couple pictures of Justus in the bath the other night because every post is better with pictures!

Foreign language, food, and fancy jewelry

2010-01-22T12:52:00.000-08:00

Lot's going on in the Fuccillo home!

First, Andy has been taking Korean classes... I know, "what?!" It's a long story, but in short, it's one of the things that might help us stay at Fort Lewis for years to come, which is very important to us. So he has been working hard at providing for us and our possible future! It's so crazy to know that my full Italian husband will probably know more Korean than I do when he's done with his class!

Second, food! Everyone keeps posting food pics on their blogs so here I go. The other night I made home made minestrone soup and double tomato bruschetta. Oh man, so so good! The bruschetta is to die for! Can't take all the credit, got it from my mom.

Third, thanks to Tammi... I have this very fashionable, very effective, teething necklace and bracelet for me to wear for Justus! He loves it! It's so great, would totally recommend it to any mommy's with teething tots! I got it at the base for only $10!!!!! What a steal! He loves yanking on my jewelry anyway, why not have something that he can chew on too!

"Squirt Squirt"

2010-01-20T16:36:00.000-08:00

This last week J man came down with a fever and wasn't feeling so hot (I guess that doesn't make much sense if he has a fever cause then he would be feeling hot). Lots of trips to the doctor, one trip to Children's ER, and a couple of blood draws later, he's finally feeling better. During all of this we were trying to get him to drink extra fluids. Well that stubborn kid will only drink from a spray bottle. I've tried everything! AND I have to say "squirt squirt" for him to "enjoy" the spray bottle drink! I tell ya! Here is photo documentation to show him in his later years ;).

We go in next week (28th) for the next brain scan so we are praying for positive results!!!!

More of the mountain....

2010-01-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

I know that I share a lot of pictures of the mountain, but it's SO BEAUTIFUL! And I can't believe that in all my years of living in the NW, I am just now really admiring it's beauty. I must be getting old ;). Here's a couple from this morning, I added my 2010 inspiring Bible verse...

Sledding in the Snow!

2010-01-03T19:10:00.000-08:00

We finally made it to the snow!!! Justus had such a wonderful time getting pulled around! Thanks to Grandma & Grandpa for driving and joining us, and thanks to Andy's Auntie-D for the money for the sled! Best gift EVER!!!!!

We of course stopped by Olson's Meats again... after buying some double smoked bacon and 20 lbs of buffalo meat, we were on our way home :)! By the way, did you know that buffalo has less fat and cholesterol than chicken??????? And it of course is grass fed and natural!

Hi

2009-12-30T08:36:00.000-08:00

I have been working with Justus on waving for a long time now and it looks like it has finally paid off! He waves "hi" when we do, and "bye" when we do (basically they are the same thing) and even waves for no reason at all except to show off his new found skill! :) We of course think it's absolutely adorable and continue to marvel at each new thing Justus learns to do. He amazes us each and every day! Enjoy!

j wave from sarah fuccillo on Vimeo.

It's a Wonderful CHRISTmas

2009-12-27T15:05:00.000-08:00

This year we got to experience how wonderful Christmas can really be. Having a Christmas with your child is so much fun, I can only imagine the fun we'll have in the years to come. We are blessed this year with wonderful family, friends, great gifts, and the best gift of all... waking up Christmas morning in our own home with our son! It doesn't get much better than that!

Justus feels blessed because he got a new sled! He LOVES this thing. He'll sit in it and just wait and wait until someone will drag him around the house in it. We attempted to go to the mountains so he could really see what riding in a sled is all about, but didn't quite make it there. So this morning, we took Justus outside to sled in the frost :). Ghetto, I know, but at least it felt like we were at the mountains, it was freezing out!!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas day, remembering the love and gift of our Lord's birth.

P.S. We didn't make it to the mountains because it was super windy, there wasn't much snow, and because on the way, we found an awesome family owned meat shop that we are very excited about. Olson's Meats has only grass fed cow meat that they raise themselves. Awesome!

Melmont, Wa

2009-12-22T12:01:00.001-08:00

It was a spur of the moment thing, but this last weekend, my folks, Andy, Justus, and I packed up the car and headed for Melmont, Wa. It's a ghost town that was formerly a coal mining town. It's in the middle of the woods in the mountains. You head past Carbonado and to the Fairfax Bridge (a one lane really cool bridge) where there is a path you take to this hidden, forgotten town. Sounds pretty cool, huh? Well we got as far as the bridge and that's about it. It was cold, and kinda scary. We decided to wait for warmer weather before we attempt this journey. But it sure was a pretty drive! This may be our next adventure with the Hansens when they come up in May!!!! ;)
Let me know if any of you have been here! I want to know if it's worth it..

Throw the ball

2009-12-18T10:44:00.000-08:00

Andy has taught Justus a new trick... "throw" the ball. We of course think it's so cute and had to share. (Thanks to the Johnsons for our PLU football!!!) He'll do it over and over again, but unfortunately we didn't think to grab the camera till the end when he was just about done wanting to play this morning. Also, don't you just love his morning hair. It cracks me up everyday! I love waking up to that funny hair face! (Usually at 5:30am or so. He's lucky he's so cute).
We are also excited that Justus has another cousin in the family! Miriam Isabella was born yesterday and she's beautiful! Way to go Melissa!

j throw from sarah fuccillo on Vimeo.

Menton Ball

2009-12-17T08:38:00.000-08:00

2 Saturdays ago, Andy and I had a chance to get all dressed up and go out without the little man! It was the 1st Special Forces Menton Ball. I think most of you know that Andy is no longer with the 2nd Ranger Battalion (sad) but we are happy to be part of the 1st Special Forces Group. It's been quite a change for us and we miss all of our Ranger friends, but I think God has some great things in store for us at our new unit.
One being (as we continue to pray about it) Andy possibly going to "win" his "Green Beret". There is actually a special on it coming up this Sunday at 8pm on the Discovery Channel "Two Weeks in Hell" (sounds like fun!). You can watch and see what Andy will have to do to get his Special Forces Tab, which will give him the "triple tab" of Ranger, Airborne, and Special Forces. We are continuing to pray about it and waiting to see if God will provide this opportunity for us. And we of course are continuing to pray for Justus and his health. We just scheduled his next scan for January 28th. I'm already nervous! I know, I know, "If you worry... it means you don't trust God".

Justus loves to march around the house with his dad to his new favorite song... (I'll try to get some video of it) I'll give you $50 if you don't walk around singing this song after you watch it... okay, I lied about the $50, but I promise it'll stick with you!

Today's scan...

2009-12-15T18:19:00.000-08:00

This was the first time I walked into one of J's appointments totally confident and feeling good... boy, was I wrong! The scan was not what we had hoped for. It looks like J's right lateral ventricle is slightly enlarged at the horn. That's the tip at the back (see diagram). It's about 25% bigger than 4 months ago. Dr. Browd didn't want to do anything today, but he does want us back in 6 weeks. We will have to do another scan and then decide if we need to do anything further and what we will have to do. Please pray for Justus. And for my sanity. Just when I thought I could enjoy a Christmas at home with my son! The good news is that Justus looks wonderful and is acting totally fine, so we will just continue to pray and pray and pray and pray and pray....

Cold weather and trucks....

2009-12-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

Well it's cold! And it's official... Andy's Civic is no longer with us. May it rest in peace. BUT, the good news is, we have a new member in the family...

meet "no name" (Andy hasn't decided on a name yet)

I don't have any nice pictures of Andy in it yet because it's too cold outside!!!!

Santa baby...

2009-12-07T14:36:00.003-08:00

Today I took Justus to meet Santa for the first time! Jake and Rachael came too to make it even that much more special! It was super fun! Santa was AWESOME! There is not much about the South Hill Mall that I brag about, but this guy was so great! And seemed pretty clean, in case any of you are germ freaks like me!!!

So it kinda went like this...
"This isn't so bad... I mean, I don't really know what's going on..."

"Okay, I kinda think this is weird..."

"Wait, who is this holding me...."

"Okay, I don't like this!"

The Crippled Lamb

2009-12-03T19:35:00.000-08:00

Last year around Christmas we received a special gift. The Crippled Lamb, by Max Lucado. They were passing them out at the NICU to all the parents. Inside the cover it said,
"This book is given to you and your child, during this Christmas of 2008, in memory of Chloe Rebecca Atkins, who fought mightily for two weeks before leaving us to spend her life in Heaven. Our hearts go out to each of you during this time of uncertainty. This story is close to my heart because it speaks of a special lamb, born with difficulties, but born with a special purpose. Please read and share this story with your baby and know that we are forever bonded by our circumstances. Blessings to you and your precious child this Christmas season. -Thad & Jenny Atkins"
I wept when I read that. I wept when I read the book of this precious lamb named Joshua, as we were preparing for yet another surgery. But I also wept because we had a special neighbor in the NICU named Joshua too. You see, I was uncertain about Justus' future, but also my heart hurt for Joshua's. He was there when we got there and after our 50 day stay, Joshua was still there. In fact, he wasn't any closer to going home than he was on the day we arrived. I don't know much about him other than he was sweet, special, loved to make noise, would communicate through his smiles, and didn't have many visitors- he spent almost every day laying all alone. Joshua was born "crippled". I don't know the extent of his medical issues, but I do know that he was consistently very heavily medicated and was not able to breathe on his own.
As I read to Justus this special book, no one was there reading it to little Joshua. Because of HIPPA laws no one is allowed to communicate to the other babies in the NICU. But believe me, I tried my darnedest to read loud enough for our special neighbor to hear the story of how God has a special plan and purpose for all of us. Even Joshua.
So this Christmas, buy The Crippled Lamb. Read it to your child in honor of baby Chloe and baby Joshua.

Ants in his pants

2009-12-03T07:39:00.000-08:00

Now that I've figured out how to use the video feature on my camera, I'm out of control!

We often talk about how Justus NEVER sits still. That's why I am so worn out by the end of the day. Thought I'd take a little video of it for proof. He's pretty tame at the beginning, but towards the end of our early morning Bible reading... he starts demonstrating his "ants in his pants" tendencies!

j wiggle from sarah fuccillo on Vimeo.

Also, the sunrise this morning was so beautiful, had to take a few pictures to share. Wow... super cold out too!