This and that...

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Think that quote pretty much sums up my feeling. I wrote in my first post, that Gavin has put his momma on a mission. I had no idea what that realy meant at the time. I do now. From morning to night my brain is non-stop thinking of the next fundraising event, Gavin's Groupies event, or how to perfect and tailor the upcoming events so that we truly leave a lasting imprint on those who cross our path. Ask my husband, he tells me to relax as if he's begging me to breathe. But I LOVE this. It takes constant devotion, I try to make sure I come through on everything, and that is difficult. This has turned into my passion, and I now know what it really means when people say they love what they do (and I'm not talking about a job, because this doesn't come with a paycheck). Half the time I don't know what I am actually doing, as this is all new (still). I am tapping into Social Media as a means of advocating/raising awareness (Facebook, Twitter, email groups, etc..).

There is nothing more than I want to do, but to educate myself and advocate for my son.

In other tidbits around the Stevens household, we've been busy!

- My oldest turned 6 and we had a four day celebration.

- Troy, myself and Gavin traveled to Children's Hospital to send some more blood work in to the Carver Lab for genetic testing.

- We signed up and booked hotel/flights for the LCA Convention in Philly (in July)

- Dining in the Dark for FFB last week was phenomenal. Something pretty fascinating happen, but I am waiting to see if I should talk about it. All I have to say is my complete faith in compassion and human decency is continually reinforced. A complete stranger did something for our family. It is something I will always hold in my heart and pay forward to someone else as I move forward.

-Gavin's article in the journal was very nicely written (thank you Ben).

We don't have one day free during the week right now. Troy coaches Landon's baseball team, between practices, games, field duty and our workshop we are taking once a week at church for the next 13 weeks we are running on fumes come Friday. It's such a super busy time, and all this with our mud run in 2 weeks, our Night without Light in 3 weeks and VisionWalk in June. We are also planning a Wahoo's night, where proceeds from a certain day will go towards Gavin's Groupies. We also have our golf tourney in Sept, and *hopefully a horseshoe tournament coming up. Phew! I also am sending out hundreds of sponsorship letters for VisionWalk, and reaching out to past teams who were involved in VisionWalk '09.

My point with the opening quote, is NONE of this would be possible without my circle of family/friends and their commitment to helping us. My grandma is hosting our Night without Light, my dad updates our website http://www.handsdownmonkey.com/, my mom helps with our kids (as do other family members), my friend John has taken point on the Mud Run (on his own), and the list continues. I am so very blessed, SO lucky to have the family that I do. I feed off their ideas and energy, and we build from there. On this blog you hear mostly my viewpoints as Gavin's mother, but the foundation to what has made me, me and where I am today - is because of my family. I am eternally grateful for the help, support and fun they provide me with as we continue on this journey! So, as the quote states, a small group can change the world! It all starts with an idea. Every concept in the world has. Why should our mission be any different?

And so we move forward; one step at a time. With each step brings an experience, a memory and an opportunity to further advocacy.

Thank you for your continued support, I can't say it enough. We are very excited for the upcoming events to raise money and awareness.