February 7, 2016

These past couple of days have been quite busy for the Ross household, here in Fallbrook. On Saturday we went down to Balboa to be a part of the Gary Sinise Invincible Spirit celebration. He comes to Balboa, each February, to provide a day full of fun for the military families of both those who are supporting the Wounded Warriors, and also the Wounded Warriors themselves. This is the third event we've been to, and each time it is a lot of fun. This years event was even more special as we met Col. James Folsom, of the Wounded Warrior Family Support Organization. They are the folks who worked with the Gary Sinise Foundation to make sure Jason got his van. He is an amazingly humble man, and really does go way out of his way to help.

We got there at about 11:00 and we stayed until almost 15:00 (3pm). The girls were with us and both of them were showing signs of being tired. Linda, Jason and I were also tired, so it was a good time for all of us to head on back home. Another interesting thing was the weather. It was almost 80 degrees and very blue skies. Winters are sure rough down here. Within a few minutes of being on the road the girls were asleep and stayed that way until we got home.

Then today Gary Sinise came over to the house to do a little filming of the family in the house, so we had another fun day. It was totally amazing how Stacy took Gary over to her play area and started to tell him all about My Little Pony toys and explained how each of them interacted with each other. She talked on and on about the different ones and Gary did his best to keep up. Then she and Jackie took him out to the play area, in the backyard and had Gary climbing on the structure. We finally were able to get him away and back into the house, to go over the rest of the environment and how it was helping Jason build his independence. Gary stayed a little longer than I think he had originally planned, but then again we always have great conversations with him. Also, Stacy gave Gary a plaque, that had a picture of Jason and the girls, and a copy of the speech she read at the home dedication. She read it again, for Gary and you could tell he was touched by it.

Gary stayed, for a couple hours and then had to get going. There was a film crew (two guys with cameras) recording everything, and it will eventually be made into a promotional film for the organization. We are just so happy that we can help, in this small way, to bring even more awareness to the needs of many of these guys who gave so much to the country. After everyone was gone we all just sat down and rested for a little while, then the Super Bowl came one. I was actually happy to see Denver win, though I have to admit I thought the Panthers were going to do much better. Thank you, for all the continued support and prayers. Take care and stay positive.