T-Shirt Fundraiser!

We're always looking for people to join our Great Strides team, and even if you can't be at the walk in person, you can sign up to be a virtual walker!  If you'd like to do that, you can sign up here: Judith's Crusaders

If you can't walk, we have a new option for you to show your support for Judith's Crusaders!  You can buy one of our snazzy team tees, and let everyone know that you're joining the fight for a cure!

We have 75 shirts available, and our fundraiser will run through the end of the month.  Shirts will be delivered mid-March.  They are $20 each, and are available in many different sizes.  Order your shirt here: http://www.booster.com/judithscrusaders2015

Of course, if you don't want a shirt, you can always donate directly to our team using the link provided above to sign up to walk with the team.

Our 2015 Video Is Here!

Check it out!  I have it embedded in our side bar as well, so if you want to watch it later or show it to someone later, you don't have to search for this specific post.

2014 Great Strides Video

I want to make this an annual thing, because it's such an awesome idea and I've watched so many videos from other CF parents that are really moving.  So without further ado, here is our 2014 Great Strides video for Judith's Crusaders!

Great Strides Walk!

Yesterday was the big day, and we had a lot of fun!  They changed venues from last year, and I wasn't quite expecting the hills we had to walk up, so my leg muscles are a bit sore today but it was definitely worth it.  I finally got to meet one of my friends I've been talking to online for the last 2.5-3 years, along with her adorable son and her husband!  I was also able to spend time with another friend, and also with my family.  I'm not sure what our final total will be, because we handed in a bunch of money yesterday and I know my parents have more to mail in, so I will update with a final total once I get it.

The weather wasn't too bad: cloudy, and there was a small shower at the beginning of the walk, but it was cool and great weather for walking!  They had a bunch of activities for the kids, including a clown and a guy who has reptiles (we kind of avoided that because he had a huge snake, and I don't care for snakes at all).  I got to talk to one of my CF mom friends, which was also great because we can't get together with the kids for obvious reasons.

This year, instead of doing wristbands, they made t-shirts for all of the CF patients so they would be easily identifiable and we could enforce the new 6 foot rule.  It did make a difference, and Judith also got her own shirt out of it.

I doubt we raised enough money for the team banner this year, but they did do team signs for every team that raised at least $200, so that was nice!  We're planning to hang it in Judith's room.  I know she's still too little to really appreciate it, but maybe someday she will.

Dollar Challenge!

It's been a week, we're here, and I really don't have anything new to blog about.  Instead, I'm going to pose a challenge to you, and hopefully you'll be willing to help out our team for the Great Strides walk!

I'm starting a Dollar Challenge.  I'm really close to my personal goal, and would like to reach or exceed it!  So my challenge to you is to donate at least $1 to our team.  Dig under the couch cushions, under the car seats, the bottom of your purse, wherever you have spare change lying around.  For every dollar donated, about $.90 goes back to CF patients in various ways, one of them being for the studies for VX-809 and VX-661.  With your help, Journey for Judith can reach our team goal and help so many people like Judith who are affected by this disease!

Donating is easy!  Click on the badge on the right sidebar and enter your amount!  We appreciate anything you can do to help!

Great Strides

It's time for another post about donations!  We still need more to reach our goal.  Donating is easy: just click on the widget on the right, enter your amount, and click submit.  It's tax deductible, too!  So please consider donating to our team, and help us work our way toward a cure for CF!

Great Strides

We're taking donations for team Journey for Judith!  Remember, all of the money raised goes to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and in turn is put toward various things, most importantly toward research and the studies for the many drugs currently in the pipeline like VX-809.  Donating is easy!  Click on the Great Strides badge at the right and enter your donation amount.  Help us reach our goal!

2012 Great Strides Team Total

I admit it: I dropped the ball on this one.  It's been about 3 weeks since our Great Strides walk, and I completely forgot to check our team page to see if we met our goal.  I started thinking ahead to next year's walk, and brainstorming some different fundraising ideas, and it prompted me to check our total.

I am happy to say that we met and passed our extremely modest team goal of $1,500.  Journey for Judith raised $2,155.00!  Not bad for our first year!

Great Strides Walk 2012

This morning was our Great Strides walk, and it was a gorgeous day!  There were over 600 walkers this year, and the most accurate total they had for the funds raised was over $100,000!

Our team was small, and next year I'm hoping we can have more people join us!  This year, though, our team included me, John, Judith, my friend Amy and her 3 children, and 2 of my grandparents.  I was pretty impressed that my grandfather walked the entire 5k loop - he has a bad knee and normally doesn't walk long distances like that, but he completed the whole thing!

There were 2 photographers on hand that took team pictures and documented the day's events - I will post the team picture as soon as I receive it in my inbox!  I have some of my own pics from the day:

Taking it all in!

Puppy balloon from the balloon guy

Judith got to meet an 18 year old African tortoise.  She wasn't too wild about it... or the grass.

John relaxing in the shade before the walk

Exploring the shrubbery

Team Journey for Judith getting ready to walk!

5k takes a lot out of you, yo.

Donations Are Starting To Roll In!

I can't begin to express how much I appreciate the donations our family team is receiving!  The walk is getting closer, and seeing people starting to donate is giving me warm fuzzies - people care so much about Judith, and want to help kick CF in the butt!  To everyone who has donated so far, I send you a HUGE thank you!


It's been a slow week around here.  Judith is still working on walking up and down the stairs. Going down is getting easier, but the going up part is still a struggle for her.  Her legs are really bent, and I really believe a big part of the problem is that she's so short - she has to stretch a lot to swing her leg onto the step to progress.  Crawling up is definitely less work, but she has to learn to walk up eventually.

And speaking of walking, the "goal" that I've been hoping for (Judith walking by Easter) is looking more and more likely.  She's getting very brave while furniture cruising, and many times this week she let go of whatever she was holding on to.  She walks easily with support, and behind her new Thomas the Tank Engine push/ride toy, but she just needs to get more confidence before she takes steps on her own!  She's tried it here and there, and gets a step or 2 out of it before bending over and crawling.  We're getting close, and that means a whole new element of fun will begin around here.

Great Strides 2012: Help Us Blow Away Cystic Fibrosis!

That's right: we're a little more than 3 months away from this year's Great Strides walk, and we're still looking for people to join our team!  If you are one of our friends or family, you are more than welcome to walk with us - email me or contact me on Facebook for details for the walk.

We're also looking for people to donate to our team!  If you look to the right, you'll see that nifty "Great Strides" button - click on that, and support Journey for Judith.


I need to start looking for ideas for a team t-shirt, and I need to start scouring the dollar stores for pinwheels to put on Judith's stroller.  I can't believe how quickly the walk is creeping up on us!

Great Strides

First of all, you'll notice that I made a few changes to the ol' blog layout again.  Hopefully I'll be satisfied with this for a bit, until I get bored with it and want a change.  One of these days I promise I'll find something I really like and will keep it for a long time!  I did change the title of the blog (the URL will remain the same) - when I started writing, we had no clue about the diagnosis that would lay ahead for Judith, so the old title was fitting.  Now, though, I felt like I was excluding something that is unfortunately such a big part of our lives, and I want new readers to know that our story isn't just about a preemie and her 2 pups.  Hence the addition of "65 Roses" to the title.  I realize that I don't have to explain any changes to anyone - it's my personal choice, after all - but I would like people to be aware of the meaning of "65 Roses."  If you are not familiar with it, the story behind the nickname can be found here (clicky).


And now to the main point of this post: the upcoming Great Strides walk!  It seems like it's so far away, but I know it will crop up on us quickly.  If you take a look to the right, you will notice a new (more like new-ish) addition to the sidebar: a donation button for Great Strides.  We do, in fact, have a family team for miss Judith, and we will be walking in one of the local walks.  If you would like to donate to our team and help find a cure for cystic fibrosis, simply click on the button and select the amount you wish to donate.  Super easy!  You can donate now, if you choose, or you can donate later.  You can even donate after the walk takes place!  Nice, right?

I am excited to be able to meet more mamas who have children with CF - I have a few mommy friends, in real life and online, that are a great support, but it's always nice to have a larger network of people who understand exactly what you're going through.  I am excited to be able to raise money to go toward research that will help find new ways to treat the disease and hopefully find a cure.  I'm excited that a bunch of my friends, along with family, are signing up to walk with us and are setting their personal fundraising goals to help.  This is kind of a big deal for me, because I want the world to see that my little miracle is a fighter - a little CF warrior.

Hopefully, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed, Judith will be able to attend the walk with us.  If she gets sick, she won't be able to come, for her protection and for the protection of everyone else.  Knock on wood, she does not carry the bacteria that would automatically prevent her from attending (healthy or not), and hopefully it stays that way!