Bene i miei amici è stato un molto tempo da quando ho preso il tempo di sedersi e scrivere. Dal mio ultimo post sono successe così tante cose. Quello più significativo ha iniziato un viaggio per il quale tutta la nostra famiglia è stata benedetta oltre misura!
Come tutti sapete, io Ed ed ci hanno due fantastici figli, Robert che è ora di 12 e Matteo che è 10. Robert vive con il diabete di tipo 1 a bordo. Io sono attivo con JDRF (noto anche come Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). Io sono un volontario mentore sedia, Presidente per il Kids Camp al tipo One Nation Summit e, più recentemente, un dipendente dei ragazzi per una campagna di Cure. Con tutti questi cappelli sulla mia testa, anche io appartengo al diabete diversi correlati post su Facebook. Uno di questi gruppi è dove inizia la nostra nuova avventura.
Il 23 giugno di quest'anno, un post apparso in una delle nostre pagine locali diabete su Facebook, ICES (International Cultural Exchange Students) stava cercando una famiglia ospitante per un giovane uomo che è anche un tipo 1 diabetico. Questo post mi ha colpito duro; mi ha fatto guardare in profondità nel mio cuore e che "if questo era mio figlio, mi auguro che una famiglia amorevole con t1d esperienza sarebbe lui il benvenuto nella loro casa. " il 24 giugno, dopo una notte insonne di sonno, ho preso il grande salto di fede e domandato circa le responsabilità e i requisiti. Più domande ho chiesto quel giorno, in più ho dovuto parlare con Ed e chiedergli se potevamo essere quella famiglia. Gli ho dato le indicazioni e, non appena ho detto studente "the è Italian" l'affare è stato sigillato! Dopo una discussione relativamente breve, abbiamo compilato una lista di domande da porre il nostro facilitatore e ho fatto la chiamata.
Abbiamo appreso che Giovanni era, al momento, solo timido del suo 17 ° compleanno, è stato da un'isola nel Mar Mediterraneo chiamato Sardegna (lo confesso, ho dovuto guardare su una mappa per vedere dove questo era), era il maggiore di tre figli, cattolico, suonava la chitarra ed era attivo nelle cause per i diritti umani. Quella notte, abbiamo pregato per l'orientamento e il giorno successivo ha detto il nostro facilitatore che eravamo molto interessati ad aprire la nostra casa a Giovanni. Poco dopo che abbiamo iniziato il processo di applicazione, che, con mia grande sorpresa, era abbastanza facile. La parte più difficile stava raccogliendo le immagini necessarie. Dopo tutto, si può fare una prima impressione due volte!
Mentre tutto questo stava accadendo, mia madre era in visita da Philadelphia. Lei era al settimo cielo felice che stavamo andando a partecipare a questo incredibile viaggio. Lei ci ha incoraggiato ad imparare per quanto abbiamo potuto sulla cultura e la vita in Sardegna. Lei mi ha dato molte idee su come aiutare i nostri studenti a far parte della nostra famiglia. Ogni giorno lei ed io controllerei il sito online per vedere se siamo stati approvati.
Una notte, durante la prima settimana di luglio, ha incoraggiato Ed e io per andare a cena fuori e lasciare i ragazzi con lei. Siamo andati in un piccolo pub per hamburger e una birra. Mentre sul disco lì, ho deciso di dare un'occhiata al sito di applicazione. Se gli elementi sono stati nel processo o incompleto il testo è rimasto rosso, come era stato il caso con il nostro check di sfondo... fino a quel momento in macchina. Ho aperto la pagina e rimasto sorpreso di vedere il testo in verde! Ho iniziato a piangere in macchina ed Ed ha chiesto che cosa era sbagliato. Gli ho detto che niente era sbagliato, ma che il nostro controllo della priorità bassa era diventato verde. Al momento non ero sicuro se ciò significava che siamo stati approvati a host. Così naturalmente ho non dovuto testo il nostro facilitatore, il venerdì sera meno! Andrea ha risposto con un sì! Oh mio Dio!!! SIAMO STATI APPROVATI!
Monday, August 22, 2016
It's A Boy!
Well my friends it has been a VERY long time since I have taken the time to sit down and write. So many things have happened since my last post. The most significant one started a journey for which our entire family has been blessed beyond measure!
As you all know, Ed and I have two fantastic sons, Robert who is now 12, and Matthew who is 10. Robert lives with type 1 diabetes on board. I am active with the JDRF (also known as Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). I am a Volunteer Mentor Chair, Chairperson for the Kids Camp at Type One Nation Summit and most recently an employee of the Kids for a Cure campaign. With all of these hats on my head, I also belong to several diabetes related posts on Facebook. One such group is where our newest adventure began.
On June 23 of this year, a post appeared in one of our local diabetes pages on Facebook, ICES (International Cultural Exchange Students) was seeking a host family for a young man who is also a type 1 diabetic. This post hit me hard; made me look deep into my heart and think "if this were my son, I would hope that a loving family with t1d experience would welcome him into their home." On June 24th, after a restless night of sleep, I took the giant leap of faith and inquired about the responsibilities and requirements. The more questions I asked that day, the more I had to talk to Ed and ask him if we could be that family. I gave him the particulars and as soon as I said "the student is Italian" the deal was sealed! After a relatively short discussion, we compiled a list of questions to ask our facilitator and I made the call.
We learned that Giovanni was, at the time, just shy of his 17th birthday, was from an island in the Mediterranean Sea called Sardinia (I confess, I had to look on a map to see where this was), was the oldest of three children, Catholic, played the guitar, and was active in human rights causes. That night, we prayed for guidance and the next day told our facilitator we were very much interested in opening our home to Giovanni. Shortly after that we started the application process, which to my surprise was quite easy. The hardest part was gathering the required pictures. After all, you can't make a first impression twice!
While all of this was happening, my mother was visiting from Philadelphia. She was over the moon happy that we were going to participate in this amazing journey. She encouraged us to learn as much as we could about the culture and life in Sardinia. She gave me many ideas on how to help our student become part of our family. Daily she and I would check the online site to see if we were approved.
One night, during the first week of July, she encouraged Ed and I to go out to dinner and leave the boys with her. We went to a small pub for burgers and a beer. While on the drive there, I decided to take a peek at the application site. If items were in process or incomplete the text remained red, as had been the case with our background check..... until that moment in the car. I opened the page and was shocked to see the text in GREEN! I started crying in the car and Ed asked what was wrong. I told him nothing was wrong, but that our background check had turned green. At the time I wasn't quite sure if that meant we were approved to host. So of course I had to text our facilitator, on a Friday night no less! Andrea responded with a YES! Oh my goodness!!! WE WERE APPROVED!
As you all know, Ed and I have two fantastic sons, Robert who is now 12, and Matthew who is 10. Robert lives with type 1 diabetes on board. I am active with the JDRF (also known as Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). I am a Volunteer Mentor Chair, Chairperson for the Kids Camp at Type One Nation Summit and most recently an employee of the Kids for a Cure campaign. With all of these hats on my head, I also belong to several diabetes related posts on Facebook. One such group is where our newest adventure began.
On June 23 of this year, a post appeared in one of our local diabetes pages on Facebook, ICES (International Cultural Exchange Students) was seeking a host family for a young man who is also a type 1 diabetic. This post hit me hard; made me look deep into my heart and think "if this were my son, I would hope that a loving family with t1d experience would welcome him into their home." On June 24th, after a restless night of sleep, I took the giant leap of faith and inquired about the responsibilities and requirements. The more questions I asked that day, the more I had to talk to Ed and ask him if we could be that family. I gave him the particulars and as soon as I said "the student is Italian" the deal was sealed! After a relatively short discussion, we compiled a list of questions to ask our facilitator and I made the call.
We learned that Giovanni was, at the time, just shy of his 17th birthday, was from an island in the Mediterranean Sea called Sardinia (I confess, I had to look on a map to see where this was), was the oldest of three children, Catholic, played the guitar, and was active in human rights causes. That night, we prayed for guidance and the next day told our facilitator we were very much interested in opening our home to Giovanni. Shortly after that we started the application process, which to my surprise was quite easy. The hardest part was gathering the required pictures. After all, you can't make a first impression twice!
While all of this was happening, my mother was visiting from Philadelphia. She was over the moon happy that we were going to participate in this amazing journey. She encouraged us to learn as much as we could about the culture and life in Sardinia. She gave me many ideas on how to help our student become part of our family. Daily she and I would check the online site to see if we were approved.
One night, during the first week of July, she encouraged Ed and I to go out to dinner and leave the boys with her. We went to a small pub for burgers and a beer. While on the drive there, I decided to take a peek at the application site. If items were in process or incomplete the text remained red, as had been the case with our background check..... until that moment in the car. I opened the page and was shocked to see the text in GREEN! I started crying in the car and Ed asked what was wrong. I told him nothing was wrong, but that our background check had turned green. At the time I wasn't quite sure if that meant we were approved to host. So of course I had to text our facilitator, on a Friday night no less! Andrea responded with a YES! Oh my goodness!!! WE WERE APPROVED!
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