We're back! It has been since last summer that I was able to update our website. Thanks for waiting for the latest on our busy little family. A lot has happened over the past 9 months and I'm going to do my best to bring everyone back up to speed by way of this website.
Our Wilton Manors home sold to a wonderful family from New York City in August, just in time for the most active hurricane season in decades affecting south Florida. Although Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne made their way directly over our new home in Port St. Lucie, we were able to move in time to get settled for Thanksgiving. In spite of the chaos and damage sustained in the Fort Lauderdale and Port St. Lucie areas, thankfully, neither our old nor new houses were affected. It didn't take long for us to call our new house "home", especially having our good friends Sherry and Colin Evans close by to help out. After visiting several daycare schools in the area, we found a great one for Cody. He settled in nicely and enjoys his teachers and classmates. Before we knew it we started to make new friends, began attending a church that we could grow with and began to enjoy exploring all that the Treasure Coast has to offer.
Moving to Port St. Lucie has presented Dale with the task of having to make a 100 mile commute each way. While he only works every third day, the commute is long and costly, considering the price of gas. Fortunately, he works with a firefighter who lives close to our house which provides the opportunity for them to carpool. Thanks, Ricki!
The new year introduced unexpected challenges that have brought us closer as a family. Dale's brother, Jim, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in January that left him in a coma for 3 months after its removal and almost cost him his life. As of the writing of this update, we are thanking God that Jim is out of the coma and are praying that he continues to progress through rehabilitation to the point to where he'll be able to go home. In April, Dale's sister Sandy passed away after a long illness. While her passing has been somewhat of an answer to prayer that she no longer would suffer, she is sorely missed. Thankfully, Dale was able to travel back and forth on several occassions to be with his family for support. We have been reminded that life is indeed a precious gift and that we should be thankful to God for each breath we take.
When he's not at work, Dale spends a great deal of time with Cody. Each day Cody is becoming more fun to talk to and play with. Dale spends countless hours teaching him how to fly a kite, hit a ball with a bat and taking him to the many parks in our new community. Cody is so blessed to have a such a loving and awesome dad like Dale.
February and March kept me training and studying for two certifications; Water Safety Instructor (WSI) and Water Fitness Instructor (WFI). I passed both exams in late March and was blessed to have met someone who has mentored me from day one and subsequently hired me to work for one of the St. Lucie County pools. I now work part-time, according to my schedule, teaching children about water safety and how to swim. I'm also co-teaching aquacise classes and will eventually take over our Monday/Wednesday Lo-Impact Aquacise class. I'm getting paid to get back into shape and to have fun! And the flexibility of my schedule still gives me plenty of time to be mommy for Cody. Currently, I'm recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. The surgery went well and I hope to be back in action soon.
Having finally gotten settled, I have been able to complete stepping stones for people who have waited patiently for months for their orders and have more people contracting me to create more art. I so enjoy working with stained glass and It feels good to be back in the studio again!
Besides everything going on in our lives since the last update, I do admit I've procrastinated with getting around to updating this site because of the complexity and amount of time it takes to do so. One step towards simplifying the process is to store my photos in various online albums. Doing this means less time for the webpage to load and your ability to see the pictures in a slide show format. All you'll have to do is click on the links that I've set up (where indicated) and you are on your way to viewing more family pictures! You can even order pictures if you see one you must have.
Until next time, thank you so much for visiting us. We appreciate your interest in our family and would love to hear from you. Drop us a line to say hello!
Have a great summer!
With love,
Dale, Debra & Cody
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