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Jacob Grys is a miracle! He was not expected to live after birth. But live he did. He is a tiny child that is full of life. Jake was born with dwarfism caused by osteogenesis imperfecta.

Yes, he has brittle bones. Yes, he breaks his bones every month. But his difficulties are mainly caused by his dwarfism. He depends upon his family for everything. Though he has above average intelligence and bursting personality, he can not get a drink, go to the bathroom, shower, turn on a light, and worst of all, he can not open a door so if the house would catch on fire he can not escape. His family (adoptive parents and 6 siblings) have always thought they would just care for him forever, but...When the therapist at Easter Seals came to their house to nominate them for Extreme Makeover Home Edition, she showed them that he could be independent with the correct changes and additions to their home.

So they have discovered it is a disservice to Jake to make him depend on them. He needs to be able to care for himself. His family is now consumed with finding a way to make him INDEPENDENT!! You can help.

photo by Chanel http://www.yourreflectionmystyle.com

Photo by Chanel http://www.yourreflectionmystyle.com

I know firsthand the difficulties the family has been through. Andrew has Cerebral Palsy and is disabled because of his premature birth. Andrew is in a motorized wheelchair all day long and cannot transfer in or out of his chair without help. He only has the use of his right hand to do things for himself. Bathing, hairwashing, shaving and other personal care are done with the help of his parents. That limits his ability for independence. He has had 19 surgeries in his 21 years. 3 of the hip surgeries he has had required a body cast from his armpits to his toes for 10-12 weeks each time. His last surgery was to correct his curved spine. He was in a hospital bed for 2 months in his bedroom (9'x12'). He has anxiety attacks and one of his biggest fears is falling down the narrow stairway in his wheelchair. He has a wheel chair lift to go to the basement.

Included in Andrews family is his twin sister Amber,age 21. His Dad, Paul, age 55, that works construction. Well over half of his paycheck goes to pay for health insurance for the family. His Mom, Denise, age 52, provides daycare in their home. She is there to keep a handle on Andrew's medical, therapy and day to day needs. When the work day is done they are home to care for Andrew.

One of the problems with the Van Orsow home is that the 1700' rambler house is not accessible for the motorized wheelchair. There are numerous dents, scrapes and holes in doors and walls because of the wheelchair and narrow kitchen and hallway. We have to move things out of his way when he gets home (like boots, shoes and backpacks) because there is inadequate storage near the entry. Andrew has difficulty entering their home due to the odd angle of the enty made by the closet.

There is re-occuring mold on the windows, baseboards and walls. This mold triggers his asthma and upper respiratory problems in the winter because the house is closed up. It may be due to water leaking into their basement after heavy rainfall. The bathroom has barely enough room for Andrew's wheelchair, and when someone tries to help him at the sink, he needs to reposition his wheelchair many times so anyone can get behind him to pass by to get to the other side of him. The kitchen table has to be moved each time he passes through the room. There is no chance for him to gain independence in this narrow galley kitchen. Denise and Paul cannot entertain another family because the size of their kitchen doesnt allow room for the 4 of them to sit comfortably. When they entertain, they have to do it outside in nicer weather or in the basement of their home, which is really inconvenient. They deserve better. Andrew deserves better.

The driveway is somewhat hilly and gets very slippery in the winter. This can be a problem when he is trying to get to the bus in the morning.

I am inspired by Andrew and his love of God and his sense of humor. He wakes each day with a smile on his face and a song in his heart. He is my hero for being so kind to others. He would rather that people see him as a person and not a disability. Andrew strives hard to overcome the severe anxiety, panic attack and depression. He has struggled with these issues for several years. Now with better medication he feels ready to pursue his goals of going to college.

The Van Orsow's are very giving. Amber is on a church mission trip to help rebuild the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. Amber has also donated hair to Locks Of Love. The family has given to those serving in Iraq. Denise has taught us at daycare that it is better to give than to receive. Each Christmas we buy gifts for a family in need.

An Extreme Makeover would be a huge blessing for the Van Orsow Family.

Update: Andrew enrolled in college in the fall of 2008, at Southwest State in Marshall, MN. He did not expect to battle severe depression after he started that first month. It got so severe, Andrew was forced to withdraw and move home. He found the help he needed after being correctly diagnosed with Depression and prescribed a new medication. In October of 2008, Andrew enrolled in the community college here in Faribault. He attended from January to May 2009. He was pleased to find the results from final test for the three classes that he enrolled in as one B+, and two A's.

In 2009 and 2010, Andrew has suffered severly from depression which has forced him to take incompletes and In-progresses in many of his college classes. This has hurt his completion rate and he now fights for his academic standing and financial aid to return. Although missing class has been due to his depression... and is deemed an excused absence. I know Andrew seems to keep fighting for his return so he can get a college degree and be able to live life and gain his rightful independence.

Way to go ! He is awesome!!!!

8/13 Erik and Heidi are in the process of adding 3 more children to the family. The lord has nocked on there door and they have opened there home to 3 kids of the family to give them a safe home while there parents health gets better.

8?2/2007 Our thoughts and many many prayers go out to families of 35 W Minnesota Bridge. We are praying for everyone of those people and family and friends and also the rescue workers hard at work.

7/28 Martin has been in the Hospital now for about 4 days at the U of M he has been vomiting and severe headaches. Erik,Heidi, Kelly and Kattie where for the day today and they did a spinal tap today which was finally successful as they tried twice yesterday and he was tuck over 15 times and it was unsuccessful. They are checking the fluid to see what is causing his headaches, they will also be doing an MRI tomorrow on him. He refuses to eat as he is so sick. Pray for him. His spirits are good. He seemed to really enjoy seeing Erik today. We will keep you updated. Heidi is also scheduled to head back to Mayo again in a couple of weeks for more test. We are all praying for her .

7/6 Heidi called me today and she went to the local dr for pain in her leg and they exrayed it and found a quarter size spot behind her leg. Her local doctor has contacted her dr. at the Mayo clinic. They are reviewing her exray from Monticello and she will her from Mayo sometime this week on what is going to happen next. Please pray for them. God bless

7/2 update on Heidi, she has been to the Mayo clinic that past couple of days and she found out that she has two new spots on her leg , same spot as the original site of the cancer. She will be doctoring with mayo. Will update with more info. soon.

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Just a quick update, we found out yesterday that my husband Martin will have to go in for a biopsy on Monday at the U of M . They think something may be wrong. Please pray for him and that things work out ok.

Before reading this story please click on the link above and view the WCCO channel 4 story done on Noraas and Gorman for Valentines Day 2006.

http://www.monticellotimes.com/articles/2007/04/11/news/11extreme4127.txt

My name is Bridget Gorman and our family has nominated the Noraas family originally from Faribault, MN, for ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

Erik and Heidi Noraas live in Big Lake, MN, and have 3 children, ages 15, 10 & 5. When their youngest son was 10 days old he was diagnosed with meningitis, which left him mentally disabled and requiring a lot of extra needs and help.

2 years later after this devastating news, Erik Noraas was shipped overseas to Bosnia.

Almost simultaneously Heidi was diagnosed with cancer. She will return to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, this week for two days for tests.

Erik has returned and retired after 20 years in the Minnesota Army National Guard in September of 2005. Two weeks later Heidi read a story about Martin Gorman and his need for a kidney transplant. She called her husband and told him of the story.

Donating a kidney had always been something Eric had wanted to do. The Noraas family contacted Martin Gorman about his need for a transplant. The men met and spoke and questioned each other's concerns. And decided to move forward to see if it was medically possible.

From that point Erik went through many tests at the U of MN to see if he would be a compatible match for Martin. Surprised all signs appeared to be good and they could move ahead with the procedure. This was a huge relief to Martin and me as he had been on dialysis for 7 years.

One year ago on February 15th, 2006, Erik Noraas donated one of his kidneys to my husband. It has been a year and both Erik and my husband, Martin, are doing very well.

The Noraas home is desperately in need of an Extreme Makeover. They have no room in the 1100 sq ft home for their family and son's additional help. They enjoy and welcome all friends and family in their home. In the past they have helped many people in times of need with a place to stay.There home is in need of some repairs,rotting windows and doors, unfinished rooms and floors the house also has a huge moisture problem. This may explain why the Noraas family has such trouble with sickness in the home.

Again, their son who is in ongoing speech and occupational therapy desperately needs more space so that they may improve his therapy at a more reasonable pace. Which Extreme Home Editions would be able to provide for him at home.

The Noraas also have friends who are in wheel chairs and enjoy bringing them out to their home. Unfortunately, making it very difficult for their son and friends to access the house, as there are no true ramps for them to enter the home.

Both Erik and Heidi work full time jobs and manage their family life 24/7 as many do these days. Sadly though, the two older children are often pushed aside as their 5-year-old brother takes a lot of time. Where as if they had more room and help Erik and Heidi could give more attention to the others that need their affection as well.

The house is small but is also in need of repair. The windows have rotten away. As a result of that they are dealing with some health issues from the mold growing in the windows. The children are suffering from many ear and upper repertory issues and have undergone many surgeries to repair their ears after holes have been left behind after having tubes. Their daughter, age 10; will soon be having another surgery in hopes to fix the ear she is having difficulty hearing out of.

We feel that this family has been put through enough and we would like for them to have a home that will better manage their busy schedule. They are such a deserving family and obvious believers, who still answered the door to a stranger who called out for help, after all the cards they’d been dealt and their daily struggles.

THIS ENTIRE STORY WAS HEAVEN SENT AND TRULY GOD'S HAND!

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Four-year-old Madison, daughter of John and Gina Randolph of Los Fresnos, Texas, was in a tragic near-drowning accident on March 22, 2006.

Madison is a precious little girl who loves princesses and brings a smile to everyone she meets.

Sadly, she is in an open-eyed coma and currently is on her journey to healing. Doctors don't know how much she will recover. We are asking you to please keep her, her twin brother Jason, and all of the family in your prayers.

Madison is showing progress with each month. Her Rappaport scale score has improved from a "moderate coma" status to a "coma" status. She is nearing the coma status value closest to the "no coma" level. Please keep praying hard for her full recovery.

Madison spent one month at Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio receiving wonderful care through their coma stimulation program. Much to her 3 brothers' delight, Madison is now home in her own comfy room and is improving day by day. She has great nurses for part of the day and has outpatient therapy now. Madison has been back to church and around her hometown.

Madison thrilled her family the first weekend of June and smiled for the first time since the accident. Madison and her family are a testimony to God's amazing hand in our lives. God gave Gina a sign that He has a plan for us all. She was praying and her eyes were lifted to Madison's medical chart and saw "B+" -- Madison's blood type.

Our prayer for you is to hear her story and seek God in your own life. Be blessed and B+ for Madison.

* (Tenafly and Dumont first played against one another in 1924. Neither team played one another during the 1935, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947 and 1948 seasons. Thanksgiving Day morning play
began in 1949.) *

The Tenafly HS v. Dumont HS Turkey Bowl Classic is the 2nd longest Thanksgiving Day high school football game in Bergen County.

* (The longest standing Bergen County Thanksgiving Day football tradition began in 1932 featuring rivals Hackensack and Teaneck.) *

This tradition is not solely about a football game; it is an integral community event shared by residents, families, students and alumni.

Our tradition is a cultural asset that can not be terminated or modified without consultation and mutual agreement between our respective public school district's trustees and superintendents.

Organizations, entities and individuals from outside our communities must never be allowed to threaten, undermine or banish our tradition into extinction.

The funding will decease to fund low income working families to aid in paying for childcare.

Their insurance company is undecided at this time if they will cover the repairs or not. As it stands all four walls need to be replaced costing around $40,000, and this does not complete their basement to be a usable space.

The City of Austin begins today, Jan 9, 2014 the naming process for the 30,000-square-foot. concrete BMX and skateboard park located at the former Austin Recreation Center site in Central Austin.

The park is at 1213 Shoal Creek Boulevard between the new Austin Recreation Center and the Austin Community College parking garage, near 12th Street and Lamar Boulevard.

The facility, completed in 2011, includes an open-bowl area; a large plaza with numerous features such as benches; drinking fountains; and a restroom. The facility also includes energy-efficient LED lighting as well as landscaping designed to meet the requirements of an official wildlife habitat. An Art In Public Places artist has installed shade structures and an interactive art piece for the park.

Today’s announcement begins a 90-day period for public input and discussion about possible names for the park. The facilities naming ordinance allows the parkland to be named after an individual(s) (living or deceased) or something other than an individual such as a place or natural feature.

The management company of Aliso Viejo Town Center is Powerstone Property Management. If you would like to share your frustration with their decision to push the city to shut down Cars and Coffee Aliso Viejo, here is their contact page:

http://www.powerstonepm.com/contact-us
http://www.powerstonepm.com/commercial-properties#!

Their Irvine office shows a phone number of: 949-716-3998

This gathering is a great free event for families to come together for a fun Saturday morning experience creating lasting memories as well as parent/child bonding time. Cars and Coffee Aliso Viejo has been building and growing friendships and building neighborly connections for over two years.

Not only have the coffee shops experienced strong sales increases because of the gathering, but many visitors have stayed after and shopped at the surrounding local businesses bringing more customers and tax revenue to the city.

We cherish our weekly gathering. If you do too, please put a comment in the petition to let everyone know how much you value it to provide the positive side and offset any negative feedback that has gone out related to a few bad apples. Please share specific examples of how you and your family value the event. If you spend your money at local businesses because of the gathering, please share specific information about this as well.

Show that the majority of us are respectful, kind and upstanding members of the automotive enthusiast community.

Please sign this petition so we can have a show of how many value this gathering and want it to continue.