Bittersweet! It's been a while since my last update, and much has happened in our lives... Today marks the 1-Year anniversary of our little Teagan being cancer free... And this first year is the most fearful, as it had highest chance of the cancer returning. And although today should be a enormously joyous day for us, it is also the first day without our beloved Abby.

Sadly, Abby who had been with us for an amazing 15-Years, suffered another stroke. This one a bit more serious than the last couple she had in the spring. Before this, it only caused her some minor balance issues... but, yesterday, we woke to poor Abby being unable to walk, and what seemed to be some serious neurological issues. She looked defeated, tired and sadly suddenly it seemed very old... We gathered as a family on the back porch to say good-bye to our beloved Abby. We know that she will have her brothers Parker and Cooper waiting for her in doggy heaven, where she will be whole and without pain.. Abby be well, we all love and will miss you!!!

It seems this life is like a giant carousel, each rotation representing a year in our lives, each rotation getting faster with life just flying by... Tyler turned 10 this summer and it seems impossible to have a child in the double digits... With the thoughts of soccer, soccer and more soccer dominating his life, only to make more room for what else, SOCCER... playing soccer video games, visiting soccer websites and never being more than 7 inches away from a soccer ball at any time... He spent a week in Lake Placid at soccer camp which seemed to really energize him and get him ready for the upcoming soccer season... Tanner continues to thrive at his Tae Kwon Do, and recently attained the rank of Blue Belt... the discipline has been great at calming him down and helping him focus his attention, not to mention his self confidence. Tanner and Holly recently took a trip to NYC to see the Korean Dragons perform. Since then he has not stopped taking about becoming a Korean Dragon and professional Baseball player... oh to be young and have dreams...

This summer has also given us much to celebrate with our Teagan... she turned 3.. can you believe it? We celebrated with “The Ultimate Survivor” birthday party, where many of our friends gathered at our open house party to see kids get dressed in their very own Survivor head gear and play games and challenges, which included shooting water balloons half-way across the neighborhood... It was awesome seeing everyone playing with our now so healthy and thriving Teagan...

On July 6th was the 2nd Annual Team Teagan 5K Benefit Run at the Saratoga State Park. With the help of Jackie Scotti and her team of volunteers, we were able to raise over $4000.00 for Mikayla Neahr and her family, who were our chosen benefit family this year... The weather was perfect, and along with the other 250+ participants, Teagan and I ran, walked and ran some more for most of it... but we were soooo proud of Holly who managed to run the entire 5K, sore hip and all... not saying she's ready for the Olympics quite yet, but we'll keep working on it... she's still going on morning runs almost everyday preparing for next years event... It was amazing to see everyone who attended and all the positive media coverage from News 6, 10 and Fox 9 along with several local papers... We can't wait to do it again next year... Thank You to all.

We wanted to say a very special thank you to our friend Christina Slade, who recently cut 10 inches off her hair to donate to “Locks of Love” in Teagan's honor and to Kim James from Remarkable Finish in Saratoga for donating her services...

As this summer screeches to an end, I look back at the little trips and outings we took... We were able to spend a nice vacation in Maine at Camp Sunshine and a few days in New Hampshire just enjoying the kids for what seemed to be our first normal summer in ages...

Teagan has been growing and been amazingly active this summer in all kinds of activities. Last Month, with Holly tearfully standing on the sides, Teagan started her dance classes and seems to really enjoy it. All dressed up in her dance dress and tap shoes she focuses on the instructors to follow along... It's hard to believe that only a year ago, She was struggling to just survive... and now, we prepare to send her off to school.. yes, School!!! She starts pre-school on September 3rd... She’ll be doing the morning program at Cloverpatch Pre-School in Scotia.. it will be sad to see her get on that bus for the first time... especially for Holly. But we know that being with her friends and teachers will help her further develop her language skills and continue to grow... she really is amazing.

Also, Holly is preparing to go back to work, at St. Mary's (Seton Health) in Troy as Director of Rehab, after what seems like 4-years of the good life... where she attended college to get her Doctorate (1 class away), care for our 3 beautiful kids, deal with the struggles of Teagan's disability (we're told she has one), carry the brunt of the Cancer battle while living for almost 9-months on a “pleather” (Fake leather), pull out bed at Club AMC, and still, she managed to help me with the business end of Hound Dog Graphics. Even after all this, she chose to spend the summer with an uncomfortable cast on her right arm, following surgery to repair the bones in her wrist, which she broke just prior to Teagan's Cancer Diagnosis... so who's the hero in your life... mine's obvious.

We're thankful for all the help and support our friends and family have given us in the past few years and with the end of this summer it brings us what we hope to be a new beginning, a more structured home life and certainly a Happier Wife...

Be well and God Bless!

Juergen, Holly and the gang.