Boston- Pediatric IBD Consortium

I traveled to Boston on Monday and Tuesday of last week. I love Boston. I was only there for Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning. I went to Boston for my first board meeting. I was privileged to be asked to serve as a board member for the Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)Consortium. It was very fun and informative. I felt a bit intimidated by everyone at first. I was the youngest by 15 years. The board consisted of people from lawyers, physicians, CFO's, established bankers, and others. I was the only one on the board that actually has IBD, all the others are parents of children with IBD. Basically this non profit organization is doing research for Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis to find better treatments and hopefully one day a cure. It was fascinating to learn that there really has been no research done for pediatric IBD, all the funds go to adult research. I am very excited to contribute to this consortium. They are doing a few different research projects. One has to do with the bacteria that grows in the digestive system to see if that has anything to do with the disease. Being a nurse, I get excited about the medical and research aspect of this organization. But I also get excited to bring more awareness to this disease so that others know about it and can be better educated.

I am uncertain of my exact role. But I hope to contribute personal experience and enthusiasm to this board. I unfortunately do not have the monetary contribution like many of them do, but hopefully one day will be able to contribute more. I truly believe the cure is out there. There are 12 brilliant pediatric gastroenterologists in this consortium working to find the cause and cure to these diseases. I am excited to be a part of this thrilling project. 

5-4-3-2-1- BLAST OFF!!

Our dear friends Sarah and Jeff

Discovery Blast off!

The smoke changing all different colors as the shuttle leaves the atmosphere

Sean and I having so much fun!

Sunday at precisely 7:43 pm the Discovery space shuttle launched to space. It was one of the most fascinating things Sean and I have ever seen. It was absolutely amazing to watch and hear and to think that there was a crew of seven leaving their families to discover the outerspace. So risky, an adventure of a lifetime. Our dear friends, the Mandels, live near Cape Canaveral, where the shuttle was launched. Sean played baseball with Jeff at Baylor and was great friends with him and his wife Sarah. I have truly enjoyed getting to know both of them more. We wish we were on the same team so we could have them around all year. Well as we got closer to the launch, sean researched NASA and all the incredible things about the actual shuttle and space. We trivia was so interesting.  Here is some trivia that I thought was crazy:

Q. How much does the Space Shuttle cost?
A. The Space Shuttle Endeavour, the orbiter built to replace the Space Shuttle Challenger, cost approximately $1.7 billion.

Q. What types of propellants are used in the Shuttle? How much do they weigh?
A. At liftoff, an orbiter and External Tank carry 835,958 gallons of the principle liquid propellants: hydrogen, oxygen, hydrazine, monomethylhydrazine, and nitrogen tetroxide. The total weight is 1,607,185 pounds.

Q. How fast does a Shuttle travel? What is its altitude? How much fuel does it use?
A. Like any other object in low-Earth orbit, a Space Shuttle must reach speeds of about 17,500 miles per hour (28,000 kilometers per hour) to remain in orbit. The exact speed depends on the Space Shuttle's orbital altitude, which normally ranges from 190 miles to 330 miles (304 kilometers to 528 kilometers) above sea level, depending on its mission.

Florida- BASEBALL BEGINNINGS!!

We finally landed in Kissimmee, FL at 1130 Thursday night. After 40 hours in the car, 9 tanks of gas, 50 riddles, 20 sudoku games, and 10 Cd's made by our amazing friend Pat, we were ready to be out of the car and be settled. 

It was a long drive, but all our stops were very fun along the way. We truly made the best out of the drive. Sean is an amazing driver and busted through state after state.  We unpacked and got settled yesterday, made dinner and went to bed early. Today, Sean started camp. He was up at 6 for a physical, then onto working out and start spring training. He said it was a great day. He is very excited for the season. He said that there are not very many old guys and a lot of new guys that the Astros' picked up from other teams. Sean says it will be interesting where everyone fits on the teams. We are hoping for a great spring training. Sean feels mentally strong, and physically ready to work harder than any of his teammates. It is exciting to see the fire in his soul for baseball.  We are looking forward to meeting new friends and to be an ongoing light to all around us. I am currently looking for a part time job, but look forward to this time of rest for my body to heal. Please pray for both of us that we will be healthy. Also pray that God will place people in our lives to witness to and befriend. We look forward to opening our home open to boys each week for a home cooked meal. I loved doing it last year and hope to do it more this year.

Thank you for all your prayers. We are safe and excited to start a new chapter in our lives. Please read below for pictures and stories of our journey across the US.

Louisianna- Home of Mr. David!

I actually shot and hit the skeet in this pic, 

even with my bangs completely covering my eyes.. hahah.. i was soo EXCITED!

Me and Mo- almost died on the Mule.. SO FUN!

The funnest Four!!

Those shot guns are LOUD.. gotta keep our ear plugs in!

Shooting skeet with a 12 gauge shot gun. Result: not much shot, but a gigantic bruise from my right shoulder to my bicep. OUCH!!

Sean shooting skeet.. and he is really good at it.

Mr. David and Mr. Sean hunting birds.

Along our journey, we always stop in Hammond, Louisiana to visit our dear friend-Mr. David Clemons. Mr. David is one of Sean's fellow Kappa Sig brothers from Baylor. There is no one like Mr. David. He is PURE country boy. He is amazing. Sean and I have more fun with him. He lives in a very small town where everyone knows everyone. Mr. David is very respected in his town. Anyways, we had a hoot of a time with him and his girlfriend this year. We ate alligator, craw fish, jambalaya, shot skeet with 12 g shot guns, shot the rifle at targets, off roaded on the four wheeler's,  and drank purple haze(the best raspberry ale) by the fire. It was awesome to get to know both David and Mo, his girlfriend. They always are so hospitable and let us play, play, play. Sean is in heaven when we are at Mr. David's camp and gets to be a real boy.. chopping trees down for fire wood, shooting his gun at anything he chooses, fishing.. etc.

I think Sean and I would do well in a small town. It is so simple and relaxing. It is truly good ol' fun. Don't need much money to entertain yourselves for hours.

Thank you Mr. David for being such a gentleman and so hospitable to us California Kids.

Oh P.S. I ate ALLIGATOR!! I was a bit nervous, but it was actually very good. It tasted like Chicken!! I was so proud of myself.

Vegas Baby!!

Ready to hit the town..

Ben and Tiff

The foursome being silly

PETER LIK and his biggest fan- Sean Walker

In front of this awesome water feature at the Wynn.

Me and Tiff 

TI (Treasure Island)

On our way across the country.. we had our annual stop in LAS VEGAS with our dear friend's the Keesey's. Ben is one of Sean's best friends since childhood. He is married to an amazing woman named Tiffany. We are very blessed to know them and to have them as our wonderful friends. We stayed at the TI( also known as the treasure island). It was really nice. The rooms have all been remodeled and are super clean and modern. We enjoyed the first day walking around, eating dinner at the Venetian, meeting Peter Lik( a phenomenal famous photographer). Peter Lik is a world renown landscape photographer. He travels the world and truly captures God's beauty. Lik has only a few galleries, one in La Jolla, one in Las Vegas, one in Waikiki.. and a couple more. Sean and I have been to 3 of his galleries and always in awe of his work. Well we stopped in the gallery in Vegas to show Ben and Tiff his amazing work. While we were in the gallery, Sean says " Babe, that's Peter Lik himself". I turned around and it really was him. Sean was in HEAVEN. He got to shake the hand of his biggest idol, and snap a picture with him too. (See picture above) Sean was truly star- struck. He couldn't stop talking about him all night. It was so cool! Not only did he meet Lik but Lik was in the gallery with Evander Holyfield, the famous boxer who had his ear bit off.. 

So to say the least, the boys were pretty excited.

While we were in Vegas we saw a Cirque du Soleil show, MYSTERE, It was Incredible!! My 2nd favorite after "O". The weekend was packed full of good food, sight seeing, dancing and great company.

Valentine's Day

Sean making waffles for his valentine.

Lunch on the roof of Georges in La Jolla

me getting close to the adorable sea lions

San diego Seals

Baby seal eager to swim.

Love Bears all things,believes all things, hopes all things,endures all things.

Love NEVER FAILS. - 1 Corinthians 13:7-8

There is no greater joy then waking up to your best friend/lover.  Valentines day was a day filled with thoughtful things and quality time. I woke up to 2 dozen yellow roses, chocolate covered strawberries, cutest card, and gifts. He then made homemade belgium waffles that were heart shaped with scrambled eggs. We then went to get a couple's massage in Del Mar. It was the BEST!! After relaxing in our massage, we journeyed over to La Jolla for lunch at Georges and bike riding afternoon. While we were in La Jolla we found a new discovery.. A cliff where all the seals and sea lions sunbathe. It wasnt the typical seal beach where everybody goes, it was further down and we got to get sooo close to them. It was really fun. Then after having a wonderful day outside in the sunshine, we came home and relaxed and cooked dinner and watched a movie.

I love my Sean so much. I am spoiled everyday by his thoughtfulness. This year we also decided to start a book to enrich our marriage. The book is called Love Dare. It is promoted in the movie, Fireproof. Basically it is a 40 day challenge to think about your spouse first before anything else. It has been really fun to have a dare each day. So far so good.. 

GIRLS WEEKEND!!

The crew on the road to Lo's Cabin

Playing a really fun new dice game called 21 or "Mexico"

Me,Lo,Cheri,Britt,Beck,Dana

Doing what we do best, cookin and eatin!!

Marriage is wonderful, but sometimes you just need a good all girly weekend! Sean went to the dirty Desert with his friends and I went to the beautiful Mountains of San Bernadino. One of my amazing friend's from college has a cabin on Lake Arrowhead. So a group of 6 of us headed up the snowy hill. A little frightened by the stormy weather, we decided to forge the storm without chains and without boys to help. We were a little panicked when we were engulfed by a huge tidal wave on the 15 freeway. But, once we got to the base of the mountain, we knew we could make it in the huge excursion, Dana borrowed from her family. Once we arrived, we started a fire right away and let it burn all day and night. 

We cooked, read girly magazines, played a fun new dice game, watched movies, sang to the musical "Mama Mia" and had pillow talk all night.  It was super fun and very relaxing. We stayed in sweats and Uggs all weekend. I am so blessed by my friends. I love times like these where we can all snuggle on the couch and share our dreams and thoughts about life. God is the core of all of our hearts and it really makes us connected to one another in a way that will be faithful for a lifetime. I will always have these girls in my life and cant wait to see how God leads us.