https://vimeo.com/295403014
“Home”Ward Bound
October 2018
Moms and Halloween!
It’s creepy and it’s kooky — and it’s Mom’s favorite low-stress holiday! According to mom after mom, those infamous “big name” holidays—you know which ones we mean—are sometimes more headache than highlight. The pressure! The presents! The out-of-town guests or out-of-town travel, the cooking and cleaning, the expense! But Halloween—that’s a different story. More than two-thirds of Mom’s are involved in celebrating with their families.
What I love best about Halloween is all the little things that I see families doing every year, stuff that’s unique to their family, not part of some big commercial idea about what the holiday should be like. Whether it’s just the basics—costume, trick-or-treating, candy eating— now we’ve got a whole series of activities and special events that many kids totally look forward to—from roasting pumpkin seeds to making a scary straw man for the front porch. Things don’t have to be fancy, elaborate, or expensive, but it’s all uniquely about family traditions and memories that kids will treasure their whole lives. Go on, string fake webs all over your porch, hang ghosts from the trees, cut out scary silhouettes and tape them in the windows, or create a cemetery in your front yard! Halloween’s one time you can really go over the top with your kids. Halloween is one time even the most health-conscious moms can give in to their sweet fangs without any guilt at all.
AND Remember… YOUR Referrals Help the Kids.
My heart breaks for many young people and families who will not be able to enjoy this fun time of the year out trick or treating or going to Halloween parties.
As you know, tragedy falls on many in this life. Tragedies like sickness, cancers and other nasty diseases. We aim to do what we can to help kids who are unable to get out and have fun right now, due to these evil health problems, so our Go Serve Big mission to raise $10,000 for Texas Children’s Hospital is on! As you probably know Texas Children’s Hospital does great work in helping kids fight through and survive nasty diseases and cancers, as well as early diagnosis of autism and spinal cord injury. And since Texas Children’s Hospital is a nonprofit, they depend on Sponsorships and Donations to continue their leading-edge care and keep costs down for the families of these amazing kids. We remain committed to donating a portion of our income from selling homes to the great work that they do.
So, YOUR REFERRALS HELP THE KIDS!
Anyone you know considering buying or selling a home please refer them on over to my real estate sales team. Not only will they benefit from our award-winning service, but a very worthy cause will benefit as well. You can always call me direct at 832-721-0442 or forward my number on.
Thank you so much for check supporting our Go Serve Big mission. I hope you and your family are well and this month of tricks and treats is full of, well, treats.
With all my appreciation.
Gary Evans
Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty
P.S. Please read the story of this young person enclosed. It’s awesome and will cause you to cry and celebrate. It did me. Check it out.
Eva and Layla’s story: Tiny and mighty
August 31, 2018
Images courtesy of Paul Kuntz and Rosimar Suddeth
The day we had longed for had finally arrived. We were pregnant – with twins! Our first-time parent excitement kicked into high gear. As the weeks went by, I delighted in taking weekly pregnancy photos and made it through my first trimester smoothly with all of the expected symptoms.
During my second trimester, however, all was going well until it was not. Our world was flipped upside down at 23 weeks gestation. I remember this day so vividly, too. I was at work when I experienced some leakage – not a significant amount, but also not minimal. In tears, I called my husband who told me to drop everything and head to my OB/GYN. Our physician attempted to perform an emergency cerclage, planning to stitch my cervix closed to prevent early delivery. Sadly, one of our daughter’s membranes had ruptured (PPROM) and it was too late for the procedure.
I was transferred to Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women and placed on bed rest. I decided to make the best of the situation and prayed fervently. I prayed for our girls to not experience distress, and I prayed for them to stay in my womb as long as possible. Each day, every ounce of growth would make a huge difference in their outcomes.
The girls were placed on breathing ventilators and had lines placed all over their little bodies for medications. They underwent procedure after procedure, including multiple blood transfusions. We had to wait two long weeks before I could even hold Layla, and an excruciating month before holding Eva, as she was especially fragile with severely underdeveloped lungs. At 12 days old, Eva needed open-heart surgery to close a heart murmur. Her recovery was slow, and she spent a total of 10 weeks on the ventilator.
Life in the NICU changes you, forever. We were elated when we finally got to take our girls home. Our family was together, and I could breathe easy. Eva came home on oxygen support, which was removed 5 months later. Both girls received early intervention therapy through Texas Children’s to help them catch up with their peers, which they have. Eva and Layla are now healthy, happy and silly 4-year-old girls who are starting pre-kindergarten this fall. This is such a huge milestone we get to celebrate!
Texas Children’s NICU taught us to cherish every moment and to treasure every accomplishment, as small as they may seem. It taught us that our family is resilient, and taught us that our daughters who entered this world as tiny preemies are fierce warriors. They have battle scars to prove it. We’re forever grateful for the compassionate, knowledgeable and extremely competent staff at Texas Children’s Hospital. We attribute love, prayer and expert medical hands as the reasons for their outcomes.
Our family’s journey is far from typical, but it’s our journey and we’re proud of both the obstacles our girls have overcome and the odds they have defied. As a mother, my wish to my girls is the following:
If you ever find yourself doubting your ability to overcome any obstacle that life may have in store for you, I pray for you to remember how you entered this world with grit and a spirit of resilience that lit up the darkness. May that light always burn bright within you, my beautiful miracles.