Big Things

After my last update I got very busy picking berries, making jam, managing our household, and then we had visitors from out of the country. Brett's father and stepmother came down from Canada, and we had a few days where we spent every hour we could with them. It was lovely, and then they moved on to the coast, and the cottage they'd rented there.

The morning they left, we got them packed up, and then we drove down to my Mom's for her annual family BBQ. The next day, Monday, was quiet and lovely, but I had a bunch of chores to catch up on, and then Tuesday we all joined Brett's folks at the coast for the night. That brings us to Thursday, when a friend of Rachel's showed up on our porch unexpectedly, and hung out with her for a couple of hours, so we dragged him out with us to do our shopping, lunch, etc.

And now it's Friday again. Now I can see why my fatigue levels are what they are. If this kid complains on the first day of school about having done nothing this summer, I don't know what I'll do.

In the middle of all this activity, I had occasion to help out a long-distance friend with a problem she was having. I got it taken care of, and then moved on to the next thing, but a few days later she thanked me by reaching out to her extended friends, and imploring them to help out with Rachel's dog fund.

As a result of her effort, and a sale of more garlands, in a span of 3 days, we received $730 in new donations! Check out the thermometer. ---->>>> :) The first donation was from the friend I'd helped out, and I cried. Then more started rolling in, and by the time the 4th donation had reached the mailbox, I was a mess. I am so glad to have the people in my life that I do, whether they live near or far, or I have met them in person or not. These aren't just pixels on a screen to me; every one of my friends is real, and I love them.

Jam-making came to an abrupt halt when our visitors arrived, and I'm having a hard time finding motivation to begin again, but I have a bunch of berries to use before they get freezer burn, so I'd best get a move on. Still, this will be a much smaller effort than last year, when I canned almost 200 jars. It's just too much for one gimpy person.

So, as is often the case, I close this entry with gratitude. There is so much good in our life, and even on the bad days, we know we have friends; people who genuinely care, and want us to do well.

Thank you all so much-Kelly

Almost Summer

Hello again, Friends! I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. We kept things pretty quiet around here. 


Just two weeks of classes left before Rachel is free for the summer, and we are all ready for that break. Rachel has done a great job of staying caught up in her classes, and her grades reflect her efforts. She'll be a Senior next year, and there will be more challenges, but we feel like she's more up to them now than she has been in years. Online education is definitely a good thing for her, and we don't regret making that change for her.


I am so happy to share that the donation thermometer took a big jump today, with donations received in the last few days which total over $600! The largest portion of that was an incredibly generous gift from my brother's girlfriend. We are so grateful to all of our donors for their support and friendship.


I apologize again for not keeping up to date with this blog the way I should, but there is so much going on here with our life, school, and family issues that it's been difficult. I'm hoping that once school is out I'll be able to devote much more time to both fundraising and updating. 


Rachel and I have made a commitment to my cousin's dog rescue, to help her out with some events this summer, so that will be another thing to keep up with, but definitely something we feel called to do. 


Thanks again for being here for us, just following along with our story, sharing our story, and giving support. You really are integral to our success, and we appreciate you all so much.


-Kelly

Raise The Woof Is A Busy Place

Hello again, everyone! My goodness, the gaps in my writing are getting wider, aren't they? Need to get a handle on that.


Here's what's new at Raise The Woof:


1. Rachel's VNS incision continues to heal well, and the stitches are finally working their way out now.
2. School continues apace, and takes up most of our time, but is still so much less stressful than attending regular public school.
3. The beautiful, professionally printed brochures arrived, so we have begun getting them out into the community a bit. So far we have stands out at our dentist, Dr. Albert Maziarz of Sunnyslope Dental, in South Salem; Spud Brothers Pizza in the Evergreen Plaza; Cold Stone Creamery on Center St NE; and at Big Town Hero on Center St NE. In addition, my mother placed a stand at Blachly-Lane Electric Co-op in Eugene. Thank you all for your support! It means so much.


Here's a photo to show you how they look in the stands:

4. We lost our little Namine the Hamster yesterday. She passed away suddenly while we were out for the day. This is a big loss for Rachel, and we'll be having a little garden funeral later this afternoon.
5. The lighted garlands have been selling like gangbusters, and we are pleased to be able to increase the thermometer by another $180!:)


The sun has just begun to shine every few days here in the mid-valley, so I've been working on getting Rachel out to the park whenever I can, between studies, rest, fundraising, etc. We need to do more walking, so we'll be ready for the Epilepsy Walk on June 15th in Portland. Not much time left.


I'm really hoping that the brochures will help us boost our funding even more quickly, and I'll be able to come in here, with big numbers to add to the total. Thanks so much for hanging in there with us.


-Kelly

Post-Surgery Progress

Rachel is now 6 days post-surgery, and in the itching-like-crazy stage of recovery. The incision looks good, and seems to be healing well. Next week she has the post-surgery follow up with the surgeon, so he can get a look at his handiwork.


Thanks to the efforts of Cindy and Toni, and the beautiful lighted garlands, we were able to increase the thermometer by another $80 today, putting us just over $9100! Thanks so much for your interest in these beautiful works of lighted art.


If you'd like another look at the garlands, and need info on how to order one for yourself, please follow this link to the page here on our blog that will lead you to Cindy's Facebook page.


We've recently been contacted by the parent of another Paws recipient who offered some fantastic advice and assistance with fund raising, so we hope to see our numbers increase more dramatically soon. Watch for more details, and thanks for sticking with us through this process.


-Kelly

VNS Surgery Day

Hello, friends and family!


What a day it's been. We woke at 4:30 this morning, and were out of the house by 5, in order to make it to Portland by our 6 a.m. check-in time. Rachel was the first surgery of the day, so we were hopeful that we might actually get to go home before evening.


There was a question about whether Rachel would have to stay overnight after her surgery, because of the leads. As it turned out, the leads didn't have to be replaced, she came out of anesthesia quickly, without feeling ill, and we got to leave the hospital before noon! Amazing. We were so happy.:)


Here is the only photo that Rach would allow me to take at the hospital. Note the fashionable sleepwear...

So now we're home, and I need to go pick up meds from the pharmacy soon, but there's more news! We have a new donation site at YouCaring.com. All donations made there for Rachel go directly to her account at Paypal, and it's easy to make anonymous donations that way. Please feel free to spread the link around.

As a result of our new site, and some really fantastic friends and family, I was able to increase the thermometer by over $600 today! We are incredibly close to being 30% of the way to our goal! Thank you all again for your amazing support and love. It means the world to us.<3

-Kelly

I've Always Loved Canada

So, I was sitting here, thinking that I needed to update the blog, even just with something brief, when I realized that I hadn't checked Rachel's email in a couple of days. Paws donation notices go to her because she's the client, but she is lousy about checking it.


Anyway, I open it up, and right at the top is a notice from Paws about a new donation. That's always exciting to see, but once again I've been bowled over at the amount donated. More of our extended Canadian family donated $1,000.00 for Rachel's dog. 


*pause to wipe my eyes, seriously*


My hands are trembling, and if Brett walks in from his errands right now, he's going to wonder why I'm sniffling. We have known Deb (Brett's Dad Gil's wife) for about 20 years now, but have never met any of her family. Still, they have been incredibly generous in response to her letting them know about Rachel's dog, and if Canada weren't so far away, I'd be there in person, squeezing the life out of them.:)


That thermometer over there -----> is now over $6100, and isn't that amazing?!


-Kelly

Happy Thanksgiving!

My favorite holiday of the year has arrived! The one that's all about sitting around a table, or in front of the TV, with the people you love most in the world, and sharing a meal. It doesn't have to be fancy, or have 6 courses, but that can be fun, too. It's all about recognizing what's good in your life, and making a conscious decision to acknowledge it.


We at Casa de Cobbie have much to be thankful for: 

• Friends and family that love and support us nearby
• An extended network of contacts and acquaintances, many of whom have become good friends, even though we've never met in person (thank you, internet!)
• Complete strangers who hear Rachel's story, and feel moved to help
• Organizations like The Chelsea Hutchison Foundation and PAWS, plus so many others, that work hard to help people like us
• Brett's continued ability and absolute willingness to work himself into the ground to make sure we have what we need. (This one is from Kelly & Rachel. Brett is our hero.)
• Rachel's overall good health, and improving state of mind. Her anxiety levels are way down from even just a few months ago, and she continues to work on being comfortable in public situations.
• Plus all of the 'little things' that aren't so little, and that we tend to take for granted; running water, electricity, heat in the winter, telephones, the internet (huge), private transportation, excellent medical care, and music.:)

We are rich in many ways, even though the bank account wouldn't show it, and we are grateful.

I almost made this post yesterday, because we received another very large donation, but I wanted to include it with my Thanksgiving post, so here it is... we have received another $500 donation from friends/family in Canada! The thermometer is now over $5100!

It's been a long road, and will be longer yet, but I know we'll get there. We have the best people in the world at our backs; how could we fail?

-Kelly

Another Big Donation Day!

Oh my gosh! Check out the thermometer today! The new total is $4686, with $525 of that coming from two donations from our extended Canadian family. Thank you so much for supporting us in this way. There is no way we can ever express fully our gratitude for this gift.:)


We are now very close to having 20% of our goal raised, and though it still seems very far away, we have raised a LOT of money in just the last few months, and just have to keep being positive. 


We truly could never do this without all of you behind us. Thanks so much.


-Kelly

Sunlight In Winter

One of my favorite things to do lately is check the mail. Today we had another letter from PAWS, a copy of a donation letter sent to a donor of $100!


We now have the thermometer up over $4100, and it's such a good feeling to know that every dollar brings Rachel closer to having her dog.


As the days get shorter, darker, and colder, it can be hard to keep our mood up, but every one of these letters is like a ray of sunlight, and just brightens my whole day.


Thanks again for being there for us.


-Kelly

Kittens & Giving Thanks

We are now just about a week and a half out from Thanksgiving, and I have been in the habit of giving thanks for something each day this month, and posting it on Facebook, in addition to an Epilepsy Awareness fact.


I have found this exercise to be enlightening to me, and a good reminder of how blessed we really are, even in times that can be trying.


This last weekend we visited with my Mom, and got the chance to play with some really little kittens she's fostering. We'd love to have one, but both Brett and Rachel are allergic, so no dice. Here's a photo...

Then last night the neighbor girl came over and asked if we'd babysit her guinea pig while her family is away for Thanksgiving. Heck yeah! She's a sweet little thing, and we're looking forward to it.


So in addition to all of that goodness, I updated the thermometer today by another $61! I will try and make another post before Thanksgiving, and will certainly do so if more donations are received, but if I don't, I want to be sure and wish you and yours all the best. Enjoy each other. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.


-Kelly