gregg's Blog

You won't believe how big she's getting.

Oh Adriana...a little bird just told me there's some great pictures of Allison at Schlitterbahn. Is there anything you care to share??? Thanks.... :)

Yeah Allison!!! OK Adriana, now it starts. She's going to be tough to keep up with :) That's great news. I'm sure she'll be walking pretty soon...but when SHE'S ready!!! You'll have to send in some pictures so we can see her trying to keep her knees clean!

I just got back in town yesterday and yes, Natalie is walking. She's so cute walking around. I don't think I'll be able to keep up with her so she'll just have to learn to come to me...yeah right.

Take care and thanks for the update.

Just thought I'd let everyone know that I ordered and received my "proud grandpa" coffee mug I ordered from OUR store. I ordered it on the 16th of July and received it on the 23rd. I purposely had it shipped by the slowest means just to see how long it would take. Not too bad at all.

The mug looks great. It's nice and heavy and the logo couldn't be better.

Thanks Adriana,

I know folks are pretty busy especially with family stuff during the summetime but I too wish more would post here. If nothing more to give a quick update and an occasional brag. I KNOW we have alot to brag about. I happen to know of a little girl who's walking and walking.....

I can't get over how big Kaden is getting. He's having so much fun in those pictures, isn't he. I've added a bunch of new pictures on his picture page as well. Keep those pictures coming.

There are new pictures of Kaden and his family on vacation last month. You'd be surprised at how big he's gotten. Just click his button on our "Pictures" page.
Thanks Shara...

You're so right Adriana, it is a great to have a place to brag to people who understand the importance of it. I wish more would use this forum as well.

I noticed a few days ago that I set up this message board so visitors had to register to join our little group. I took that requirement out a few days ago. I may have done it to keep spammers to a minimum but I really don't remember for sure but if the bad posts start, I'll have to put that requirement back. I keep a close eye on the site and hopefully it won't be a problem.

I'd like for everyone to invite their family and friends to visit our site. Seeing our brags and concerns can put things in perspective for those who don't know a lot about Down syndrome. I'd also like to encourage those visitors to sign the guest book. It can sure lift your spirits on a bad day when you see that someone you know took the time to visit our site.

Keep posting!!!! :)

Way to go Allison (and mom and dad)!!! That's a great brag and it's good you're letting everyone know about it. Sometimes folks we brag to just don't understand. I always love getting and posting pictures of her. Have fun at SeaWorld and don't forget to send me pictures to post.

Take care...

Here's an update I just received from Josh's grandmother...

"Just wanted to let you know that Josh came thru surgery fine, it was a very long long
day yesterday. he should be moved out of critical ICU today. his breathing tube was
removed around 7pm last nite. he was resting comfortably when we left his beside @ 10pm.

thank you for all your support."

I've made some small changes to our site...

Allison is in the spotlight now.
There are new pictures of Abby on her picture page.
There are new pictures of Holly on her vacation on her picture page.
The countries list on the main page has been updated.

Enjoy.

I really think we are and since I love statistics, here are some website statistics I've collected to show you how we are truly a worldwide organization.

In the period 1 May to 3 July 2008:

Our site has recorded hits from 16 different countries.
The country with the most hits is the USA with 31 States and 77 different cities recording hits.
The country with the second most hits is Canada with 6 provinces and 14 different cities recording hits.

Monday is the day of the week which recorded the most hits during this period..

I also have information on how users come to our site...what search engines and what words or phrases were used to find us. It's interesting to see what words people use to find us. I'd say about 98% of the time their search is very relevant to the content in our site.

This is just normal data collection used by smart businesses to tailor their site to meet their users needs and is only available to me for the previous 90 days. After that, it goes away. By he way, don't worry, I can't "see" who the users are.

If you have any questions or would like specific information on data collection, just let me know.

I just received an update on Josh from his grandmother...

...Josh is scheduled to be admitted on 1 July 08 and to have his surgery on July 2nd. Please keep his entire family in your prayers.

What: Audrey's Day at the Beach
Where: Rockport
When: Saturday June 7 2008 - 8:30am until dark

This is an annual event hosted by the Shockley family to promote awareness of Down syndrome in memory of their daughter/granddaughter. There will be kayaking and cane pole fishing, in addition to boat rides on a nature study boat for viewing various birds and native wildlife. Don't forget your lawn chairs, sunscreen, and beach toys. We will be using the large air-conditioned pavilion on the beach that will offer relief from the sun and heat. Lunch and dinner will be provided. If there are any special dietary needs, you will need to bring the special food for those individuals. Please bring your own extra snacks and drinks to make sure you stay hydrated.
For planning purposes, please RSVP by May 24th to the DSA office at 210-349-4372 or downsynassc@dsasa.org.

Thanks Bridgett for passing this info along.

I've created a new page header but I'm still experimenting with it. Right now if you look at our pictures page and under "Natalie", you'll see the new header. As I say, I'm still experimenting with it so I'll need to play with the graphic size, etc.

I can make up special headers with your child on it if you'd like...that's up to you but it's something to consider. Eventually I'd like to give the whole site that "slicker" look with more solid looking headers and backgrounds. I think this is just a step in the right direction.

Let me know if I should go there or not...It's "our" site so I'd like your input as well.

Thanks...

I've just installed a "widget" that tracks what countries visitors to CBDSA.COM are from. The widget I've installed (on the right side of the first page) only shows those visitors on a daily basis and for the last seven days. I have other tools to track hits with a larger timespan. Just so you'll know...in the last 90 days our website has been viewed by someone in 21 different countries.

That's one of the reasons I really want this forum to grow. There are a lot of hits to our site but we don't know who is reading it. We may be helping someone at home or in a far away country who's a little to shy to ask a question.

We have a little friend who's name is Josh. Josh is going to have heart surgery sometime between 6/16 and 6/30. I've mentioned Josh before but now as the surgery date draws closer, please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Here's a site i ran across. For those children needing glasses, this looks pretty good.

http://www.specs4us.com/faq.html

Please let me know if you have had any dealings with this company. Hopefully it isn't too good to be true.

Hi everyone....I'm still in CA but now have internet access. I've updated the spotlight and for the next two weeks the spotlight is on Natalie. Just so you'll know after Natalie I have ready to go in this order: LeAnn, Allison and Abby. That takes us through the cycle and I'll start it again so keep the pictures coming. If I missed anyone, please let me know and I'll be sure to add them.

I'm sure some of you have blogs our in cyber land. If you'd like to send me the address I'll try to link it to this site. No promises but I'll try.

I'd really like to see this portion of our site GROW. Please encourage friends and family members to come on in, ask questions or share brags. Don't forget that if you have a question or a brag or just a staetment to make,remember someone else probably has the same thing in mind and is afraid to ask or tell about it as well. Nothing is too trivial. Everyone is welcome and as you've seen, there is no SPAM generated from this site. I'm working on giving our group a broader base and not just limited to the Coastal Bend. This won't affect our "family" but it should broaden our vision on Down syndrome and how it's perceived and dealt with in other areas of the US and world. If we each can help just one person understand Ds, whether that person is from Texas, the US or anywhere else, we're making this world a better place for our kids. Remember we're promoting acceptance and inclusion. I feel so good when I receive email that thanks us for what WE do and the difference WE are making. Let's make sure those emails keep coming in. As I said on our website "We do make a difference".

Soooo encourage your family and friends to join our chat and let's see if we can't get the number of members up to 12 in the next week.

I'll talk to you soon and again, my family and I appreciate the support you've given us over the past few weeks with your thoughts and prayers. Having an extended family sure has helped us.

Just so you all know I'm not totally out of it, I managed to reset my own password.

I miss you all. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

Hey Adrianna,

I'm the Anomymous post above..I had to have ME reset my password... :)

Thanks everyone..I'm still in CA...keep the pictures coming. I'll update when I can.

Miss you all...Gregg

That's great news Tracy. We'll keep Abby and you in our prayers. Keep it up Abby.

Thanks so much for your prayers. Believe me, they are much appreciated. Here's an update as of just a few minutes ago. My mom is 80 and has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and we find out now, she has the symptoms of Parkinson's. Sometimes she remembers me and sometimes not. It's tough seeing her like this and I spend as much time as possible with her. Lately she says she's been having conversations with her mom who passed away about 40 years ago and my father who passed away 30 years ago. The doctors say this is a sign she's getting ready to join them. In a way it would be a blessing as she can hardly walk and has trouble holding her head up. At this point, her health dictates when I'll be home.

Thanks again for the kind words. I shared them with my sister and they are appreciated as well as needed.

I've decided to something different. I'm getting a great number of "spotlight" pictures sooooo here's the way I'm going to work it. Submit your pictures anytime. I have a waiting list for the spotlight and with me not wanting to have a wait that stretches to months, I will post your pictures when I get them on your child's picture page and when it's your for the spotlight I'll use some of the pictures I already have. Now you can have family members and friends view your pictures quickly.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

We had a great time Saturday night with the CC Sharks giving us 46 tickets. That's 87 FREE tickets given to our group since the Sharks season started (2 games). The next game is Saturday May 10th. Let me know if you want tickets.

Here's something new that is going to take me some time to perfect. I changed the way we look at our pictures at http://cbdsa.com. To view pictures (other than the spotlight), click on the pictures navigation button. That takes you to the general cbdsa pics. At the top of that screen there are buttons with our kids name on them. Click on the child you want to see and that takes you to a page dedicated to that one child.

I have literally hundreds of pictures and I'm working at reorganizing them on my computer. As I do that, I'll update the individual picture pages. Don't be concerned if you don't see all your pictures up there. I'm working on it...I promise. I'm having a difficult time adjusting to new medication and some days are worse than others. That's what drives my productivity.

If you have any pictures that you'd like to see on your page soon so you can show off to friends and families, just let me know and I'll do my best to get them up there quickly. Also if you want to include some text to go along with the photos, just tell me what you'd like on there and I'll put it up with the pictures. It doesn't have to be about a particular picture or set of pictures. Maybe you'd like to do some sort of introduction. Whatever works for you.

Thanks for your patience everyone...

Keep sending those pictures.

Congratulations LeeAnn!!!! If graduating from kindergarten isn't a brag, I don't know what is!!!!

Way to go...we're proud of you!