Mikelle and I feel compelled to write about life with a disability, not just the challenges but the opportunities, the friendships, the innovations, and the brilliance of our communities in action as we share our everyday life living with a disability. With a little more information, motivation, we hope to share how our life is shining beautiful and maybe help you to shine beautiful, too.
What Seeds are You Planting in 2016?
Let’s start this new year together! “From one small seed of our first encounter have come many harvests.” Russ Berkus Mikelle and I, along with our friends at Shining Beautiful, are taking time to reflect on just where it we want to go this year. We do this every year
Three Gifts Under Our Christmas Tree 2015
Do the gifts of community come from systems or families? Intelligent, hardworking human services professionals discuss the need for inclusive communities and person-centered planning. I know, I have sat in numerous conference rooms over the years, I hear the concern in their voices as they acknowledge the elusive nature of creating enduring
Let’s Get Ready to Party!
It is early December and I am already thinking about the New Year. Holiday preparations are on the to-do list. The gingerbread house needs to be baked. Think Mikelle and Kara can do that while I sit at Anne’s Kitchen Table draped in a plastic table cloth with my other
Bronco’s and Brothers
It is nice growing up with someone like you—someone to lean on, someone to count on…someone to tell on! ~Author Unknown And, tell on Kasey, Mikelle did! And, on rare occasions, Kasey would out Mikelle. The most memorable is when he told me she was flipping the finger at
Why We Love Apple!
Three Delicious Accessibility Tips from our Families at the Forefront of Technology Conference #FFTCON. Do you ever consider yourself lucky? Well, we do. For the second year in a row, Ron Ustach, Senior Engineer with Apple Computers joined us up in the Colorado high country in Snowmass Village
Insights and Aspirations: Thoughts on 2015 Families at the Forefront of Technology Conference
Thoughts on the 2nd Annual Families at the Forefront of Technology Conference It is almost mythical–our determination. We gathered from all over the country, representing the rolling hills of Alabama, the bustling city of Chicago, the royal blue waters of Puget Sound in Seattle, and the rural corners of western
The conversation continues: Families at the Forefront of Technology Conference 2015
Check out this year’s presenters! To quote John F. Kennedy, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” At Shining Beautiful, we learned so much from last year’s conference. Mikelle is using the Pictello app
Your Are Invited! 2015 Families at the Forefront of Technology
Will we see you at the Viceroy Hotel? We hope so! Mikelle and I are thrilled to be one of the founding Families at the Forefront of Technology. This last October, #FFTCON held our first conference. It has been a incredible adventure, one that is having an impact on our
In Pursuit of the American Dream Part Two – Home Ownership
As special needs parents, there are many choices to make as you run the obstacle course of raising a child with disabilities. From the minute your child is diagnosed with their “special need,” you set out in pursuit of the best life possible for your child. Your starting point is
Are You Demonizing Time or Loving it?
It is nonsense to say there is not enough time to be fully informed…Time given to thought is the greatest time saver of all. ~ Norman Cousins Some days I think the world’s favorite pastime is demonizing time. Without a thought, we banter about sayings like “I don’t have time
Making Our Partners Look Good: Activating the Elegance of Supported Living
“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it is spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. ~ Carl Sandburg I love dance, its elegance and the lessons it teaches us about life.
Meet Our New Roommate
A little hope is all you need. Just go down to Hope Tank and get it. Or, maybe in our case, hope will answer a craigslist ad. Meet Michelle Nalyanya. Michelle attends Metro State College and majors in Broadcasting and Production. Her minor is in marketing. Funny, Mikelle has a