Hamburgers or cheeseburgers?
Cheeseburgers with avocado and bacon. And some fries.
A callout on my blog and some awesome pictures.
Happy Birthday Mike!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
Foto fun times at the Grove with Justin...
Photos from the weekend.
(I'm silently barfing as post these, Robby.)
What challenges in life have you conquered and emerged from a better person?
Sponsored by Nature Made.
I wouldn't necessarily say I would have conquered this, but there is definitely a significant challenge that sticks out in my mind when asked this question - my brother.
My brother is only a year younger than me. But my brother has Angelman syndrome, so he is technically mentally retarded. Growing up I didn't realize the challenges my mom and dad faced, but as I look back I realize all the things they went through. My brother can't really speak too well, but he can understand what we are saying to him. He can walk and feed himself, but he needs help dressing himself, and of course needs to be supervised at all times. When we went to the same elementary school, I had to help walk him to school. At the time, I was usually embarassed. Hey - everyone else had normal siblings and here is my brother who can't even talk correctly. But now that I look back on it, I'm a little ashamed of feeling embarassed.
Over the years, it has gotten increasingly challenging for my parents. Ben will throw tantrums now, and it's frustrating when he can't communicate to us what he's feeling. Our whole family has learned that we all have to be patient and understanding when it comes to my brother. But I try and apply that to my daily life.
I definitely feel like my brother has made me a better person. When he was in high school/adult day care, I enjoyed picking him and visiting with his other classmates - they were also severely handicapped.
Also, I try to tell my friends not throw around the word "retarded". It's a pet peeve of mine, and I definitely cringe when people say "that's so retarded."
I've been blogging for awhile now. I actually started blogging in 2002, which seems like ages ago. I've had so many blogs over the years, I never really had one that I called home. I've tried most of them - Blogspot/Blogger, Xanga, Vox, LiveJournal and Typepad. I was really consistent with Xanga for a year or two, and then I got introduced to Vox.
These past couple of years, I've been faithful to Vox. I love Vox - the Flickr integration is a lifesaver. I love posting pictures as you can tell, and what better way to document it but through Vox. It's definitely cool to look back see my old posts.
The community on Vox is awesome. There are tons of cool and friendly people on here and I'm glad I'm able to see a part of your life through Vox. I've also gotten some of my friends join on here. I try and get everyone I know to join. It always makes me proud to tell people I work on Vox.
Looking forward to many more years here at Vox!
Greatness is not a destination, but a journey. What do you do for your family, career or community that you’re most proud of?
Sponsored by Nature MadeI spend as much time as I can with my family, whether it's taking my cousins to swimming or watching my brother's basketball games. We always get together for each of the birthdays and it's always a good time. Just spending time with them makes me proud of all of them...
