First off let me apologize for not posting more often, as most of you know this blog was originally started as a way for me to practice Dragon NaturallySpeaking. According to the Lords will my endeavors with Dragon NaturallySpeaking nine fell through however, this summer I was able to be updated to the latest version and it seems to be working much better. If the Lord lets this successes continue I will begin to post on my blog more often my original goal is once a month if I can find the time every week and this program continues to work I will try to post a weekly. I feel like this program working is the capstone on what has been one of the hardest and simultaneously more award-winning summers I’ve ever had in the early summer as you know my parents and I visited our relatives down south that was enjoyable but very exhausting it was hard to see one grandfather deal with stage four throat cancer while the other grandfather is fighting the Lou Gehrig’s disease. The Monday after we returned from our trip I started summer school I struggled in the lecture portion of the class only earning a C but was able to make up for it in the lab portion of the class. during this time I was also having to train two new personal care attendants to give my parents a break no matter how good these P. C. A’s end up being there always hard to train in the beginning class I was having to learn to depend on God instead of my family for my care, after that obstacle was overcome I got the “wonderful” news from the vet that Zeus might have to have surgery due to his severe ear allergies thankfully however this was averted by a simple change in diet. The last big struggle for me this summer was when my parents went away for the anniversary I was happy to let them go but the reality was I would have to use somebody else to take care of me but the Lord worked that out in the end as well.
Now that you’ve heard about my struggles let me tell you about some of the good things about this summer in brief. First off it was nice to see my extended family during our vacation. (It was also nice to get a little spoiled by grandma 
) Zeus and I were also able to pass a one-year exam that means we are a full team now. I would like to thank the Stenmarks for all the work they put into raising such a special dog. After I finish number school the next big thing that happened to me was that I met with the people at Gillette lifetime and they got me started in the processes both of looking for new seating and applying for a stander which will help me lose weight and school by giving me a place to exercise. I have already lost 10 pounds this summer and hope to keep up the trend throughout the school year my goal is to be able to travel somewhere in Europe by next summer which means I would have to be at or under 150 pounds which means I have a year to lose 50 pounds. I thank everybody who reads this blog entry is for me.
Hey Josh,
Glad to hear you and Zeus are now an official team! I know I speak for my whole family in saying that we are glad that our Zeus went to such a great person.
Just a little update on how we’re doing, as far as our involvement with CCI:
-Puppy number 2, Carlos, (whom I believe you and your parents met at graduation) went in for Advanced Training in May and is still holding on strong. If all goes well, he should be matched with someone in November.
-We picked up puppy number 3 in late July, a little black lab / golden cross named Rufio. He looks so much like Zeus! He comes from different parents, and has a much different personality, but it’s fun to dream!
Best wishes to you and Zeus in the new school year,
Laura and the rest of the Stenmark Family