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.

January is Happiness Month.

This month we are sharing our ideas on what makes us happy.  Listen to Kasey, Mikelle’s brother, thoughts on happiness.

How Happy is Your New Year?

  Happy New Year. Either I am getting older, or the world is getting more complicated—or both. This year at The Shining Beautiful Series, we decided to keep our celebrations simple, grabbing for clarity rather than verbosity. On January 2nd, sitting in my favorite coffee shop awaiting the arrival of

Our Shining Beautiful Community Glimmers this Holiday Season

While we love our words on Shining Beautiful, it is difficult to string them together in such a way as to capture the camera sees and what are hearts feel during the holiday season. Each year, we have two major events, a holiday party and Mikelle’s birthday party. These celebrations

Welcome to the Shining Beautiful Community

Meet new roommate, Ashley Ryder.  Ashley moved in with Mikelle and me in November just before the Thanksgiving holiday. Don’t worry,  Taylor is still helping out even though she moved out in October.   Ashley’s first blog for The Shining Beautiful Community. Moving truck loaded: check Final hugs and kisses

Reflecting on Success. Families at the Forefront of Technology Conference

Start. With a dream. They do come true. Not always. But, this time one did. Fourteen years ago, I wrote my first article on connecting people with disabilities to emerging technology for the Advance, a newsletter for APSE-The Employment Network. Ever since, I have been talking, writing and speaking about

A Fork in the Road to Shining Beautiful

  Some people say that ‘variety is the spice of life’…and I tend to agree with them. Like most folks, I’ve have “chapters” in my life that define who I am and who I am trying to become. These segments are easy to identify because they’re punctuated with a proverbial

Fall 2014 at Shining Beautiful

Fall of 2014 A Brief Update   Fall is a wonderful, magical time of year. The cool and crisp mornings that bring the coloring of leaves, the sudden drop of temperatures, the return of our favorite holiday flavored coffees, all this stirs in us a feeling of excitement. For the

Free Room and Board/Mother’s Helper

Free Rent/Board In Exchange for Part-time Support Would you like to make a difference and live in Capital Hill one of Denver’s best neighborhoods? We are looking for a live-in mother’s helper to provide part time, flexible support for a woman with a disability assisting her mother in providing support

Families at the Forefront of Technology

For years, now, I have been focused on how the availability of appropriate technology and its use by people with disabilities can impact the lives of those individuals. It has become increasing clear over time that gaining access to universal and assistive technology for individuals with disabilities is essential and

Part One, Conversation with Viki King

It was a late spring day, the snow was wet and heavy. A perfect day to stay home. The phone rang, I answered. Hey, I need you to do something for me. I rolled my eyes, holding my warm cup of coffee closer to me. I need you to go

Time to Transition, Again?

Every day, more and more yellow appears on the trees lining 8th Avenue near our home. Autumn is in the air. The sun rises a little later each morning, the breeze is cooler as it sweeps in the open window, kids are back in school. Halloween candy already lines the