This morning the girls and I had the chance to run in the Irvine Lake Mud Run. This was my first Mud Run and it was such a blast I have already gone home and goggled where my next mud run will be. Both kids participated in the kids Puddle Run and while both kids had fun durung the run, Peyton has put her foot down and said she will not be running through anymore mud puddles but Tay on the otherhand wants to start training for the next one.

CF and Surfing

Riding her new Roxy board

One last Hug before she hit the water


A few years ago, a team of Australian doctors discovered that the lung function in many young surfers who had cystic fibrosis was a lot higher than CF patients who were not out in the ocean water. After much research the doctors determined that inhaling saltwater mist had positive and powerful effects on re hydrating the lungs and allowing CF patients to breathe easier. As a mother of a 9 year old cystic patient I have been able to experience this powerful salt water miracle first hand. On a recent surf outing in Huntington Beach with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Taylor had yet another opportunity to go out in water and do her thing. She morphs into a completely different child...confident and strong, fierce and determined, and a child who can breathe. I watch my little blondie cough up bubble gum sized balls of mucous and take some very much needed and deserved deep breaths for the first time in days. Her eyes sparkle and she glows, and her cheeks go pale to rosy pink. The power of oxygen, something so many of us take for granted. She is happiest out in the water and wants to grow up and be a marine biologist. Because of organizations like the CF Foundation, Mauli Ola and the generosity of random folks like Barbara Caruso, Bill Sharpe, former pro surfer and coach of the South African National Surf Team, and Judy Burlingham who have all pitched in to make sure Taylor has the warmest wetsuit, the coolest custom board and the safest environment to surf in, my baby girl can breathe.

Off to A Good Start

It's day 2 and I'm blogging again...yep, I want a cookie for it. I am hoping that this blog will serve as a diary/scrapbook for my girls one day. I hope this will help them to understand how much I love them. We are a team, not always the fastest or the strongest but we are a team and we are in this fight together.

Giving it my best

Everyone I know blogs and I think about blogging all the time but the idea of commiting myself to one more task is daunting so I apologize in advance if I don't update my blog often or lets be honest, ever. This could very well be my only entry.

I have decided to blog about the girls, our life, our struggles, our happy days and fun adventures and our ongoing fight against Cystic Fibrosis, because while Taylor is the one who carries the disease we fight this as a family, each one of us has a role.