PERSPECTIVE

Well this weekend I had the opportunity to go to Brookwood Community Center, about an hour outside of Houston. We went with the church youth group as some of us are acting as "youth mentors." This community is for people with functional disabilities and basically gives them the chance to be somewhat independent. The grounds were amazing, the housing was amazing and most importantly, the people there were outstanding. It really makes you stop and think and really appreciate your life and all that you have. I am so blessed in my life and I was so happy to be able to go with these students and spend the morning with such special people.

They were actually having two of the folks there qualifying for the Special Olympics/Racing on a three-wheeled bike. Well there was one girl Diane, who was able to pedal with her legs and the other guy, named Jeff has cerebral palsy and so he had to pedal with his arms only. His upper body was built I tell ya! It was so amazing to see the optimism and happiness and excitement in these people! Well myself and Jennifer Schoppe got to be the "official lap counters." We tallied every time they came around. We also got to present them with the trophies at the end of the race. I met so many other amazing individuals. One guy in particular, Max, was just a doll. He was brilliant, knew Joe Pa and Penn State, as I had on my PSU tee shirt and so that gave him alot of props in my book :)

So anyways, I could go on and on, but to sum it all up, it was very fulfilling to spend a Saturday morning with extraordinarily brave and optimistic people, where I probably would have ordinarily just had a lazy Saturday morning. It definitely puts life into perspective as you see how in an instant your life could change. It was great to see that communities like these do exist and that these folks are able to lead as normal a life as possible. Hope you enjoy the pics.

AND THEY ARE OFF!!!

AARON ON THE BIKE

PEOPLE TOOK TURNS DRIVING AROUND KIM, WHOSE ENTIRE FAMILY WAS HIT BY A DRUNK DRIVER WHEN SHE WAS 21; HER PARENTS WERE KILLED AND SHE HAD BRAIN DAMAGE. SHE IS 53 NOW.

THIS IS MY BOY MAX, HE WAS ALL INTO SPORTS AND LIKED JOE PA
AND THIS ONE WAS JEFF, WHO WAS IN THE RACE AND I WAS HIS LAP COUNTER...HE WAS AWESOME