We saved a life! But they ran out of ice cream...

So the girls represented today as a group of us headed to the Blood and Tissue Center to donate blood. Me (Blanca), Michele, Ellen, Amy, Karina and Natalie faced our fears and let people stick a needle in us. :) And although David Venable wasn't able to donate, he came along for support, too! (Thanks David!) It was Ellen, Natalie, and my first time to donate, but we had a lot of support from the other girls. (They're so cool!) I was the last one to go, so I literally had everyone standing around my little chair, keeping me company. I was a bit freaked out beforehand, but it actually wasn't too bad. And the guy who took my blood was really nice and made me feel more relaxed. They made poor Michele lay down as they took her blood (the rest of us sat up). She said it felt like she was going to the morgue...totally horizontal with needles in her...

I'm really glad we went, and I'm so thankful to have had the support of the other girls there. I think it would have been a not-as-fun experience if I had gone by myself. We're hoping to go together again in the future. But you have to wait at least three months before you can donate again... Unfortunately, they ran out of ice cream before Michele, Ellen and I could have any. BUT the nice Amy's Ice Cream people brought two gift certificates for free ice cream to everyone that missed out.

We took a few pictures before heading out:

Here I am doing my post-blood donation 10-minute sit:

Here we are in the room where they have snacks and drinks...mmm...:

And here we are outside. I don't know why i'm making that face...i think i was trying to look "brave"....:

Letters to Soldiers

here is Naaman's "letters to the soldiers" -- too cute.

A couple other pictures for the soldiers.
Thanks for writing letters. We got a handful of letters and cards from the church and the 3-5 year old kids colored some cards. I am sure the soldiers will really appreciate it. Thanks.

Save a life, and get some ice cream!

A group of us are planning on going July 22 to help out those needing blood and to honor/celebrate Marshall's life. Read below for a news blurb...

AUSTIN, TX - Receive an Amy's Ice Cream Sundae on any Sunday in July when you make a life-saving blood donation at The Blood Center of Central Texas, 4300 N. Lamar Blvd. between 10am and 3pm. Sundaes on Sunday, a summertime event to boost blood donations is sponsored by Amy's Ice Creams, KXAN 36 NBC Austin and The River 102.3.

"My partner Phil Clay, who passed away in a motorcycle accident in 2003, taught me the importance of donating blood," says Amy Simmons of Amy's Ice Creams. "He accompanied me to donate my first pint of blood as he did many of our employees. It is a simple gift of oneself that can save a life. Add an Amy's ice cream sundae - what a way to celebrate life!"

"By donating on a Sunday in July, you can beat the heat, enjoy a sundae, listen to music from The River and save lives in Central Texas," said Marshall Cothran, CEO. "Patient need can spike unpredictably during the summer, so we are very grateful to Amy's, KXAN, and The River for giving us a hand and encouraging blood donation in July."

So, the plan is to go after church and donate at the Central TX Blood and Tissue Center at 4300 North Lamar Blvd and eat some Amy's ice cream. Oh yea, baby! Gotta love the ice cream. For more info the Blood Centers website is http://www.inyourhands.org -- oh and girls, your iron will probably be too low unless you do something about it! So take some iron pills for a couple days before it or eat like a billion burgers :0)~ And if you haven't donated before I will warn you that they take you into a little room for an interview before you donate and ask you a million questions to which you will answer "no" to most all of them. Some of the questions might be uncomfortable b/c they are weird. But really, I hate needles and the procedure is uncomfortable but it saves a life (actually up to 4 lives in some cases) and for me that is worth it. So come on, let's Save a Life and get some ice cream! :0)

Letters to Soldiers

Not many people filled out cards for our soldiers overseas. So,we thought that we would give you another chance. So, in the spirit of remembering the people who fought for our freedom 230+ years ago, let's tell the men and women who are fighting for freedom right now that we appreciate them.

You can bring cards and letters to the service on Sunday and place it in the box at the back table. The cards and letters will be mailed through an organization called, "Any Soldier"(www.anysoldier.com). We will be sending letters and cards to two soldiers to distribute to their troops. One is a Sergeant in the army serving in Iraq until November. His team is an all male unit from TX that is working to train and educate their Iraqi counterparts on various subject matters. The other is a 22 year old Specialist also from TX (FtHood) in Iraq until Jan08 who is part of a Medical unit that does Combat Stress Control. Their mission is to help those soldiers in need of help so they can continue their day to day activities.

This is a great project to get the kids involved in, either writing letters or drawing pictures. We will also be sending letters to Mason Hagen at bootcamp and Ethan Shrader (stationed in North Carolina)so if you'd like to write letters directly to them that is cool too.

If you have any questions contact Blanca Garcia(ilikeyoursocks@gmail.com) or Michele Bennett (michelebennett@gmail.com).