We are still here....

Just thought that I would drop a few lines on you all. We had a pretty busy 4th. I rented a log splitter so I could try and get that tree split up and stacked. Thank God for Chris and his friend Kenin. They came by on Friday and helped me split all the logs. That was a huge job even with 3 people. We have enough wood to last us 5 years or more.

Saturday we all took a trip up to Shenandoah River to do a little canoeing. Well, we thought it was going to be a little canoeing but it turned out to be over 6 1/2 hour canoe trip. You have no idea how sore our arms are.

We are working out the final details of our inaugural Cody's Crew 5K run and Tot Trot. I will be posting the information here and on the website. You will be able to register for the race online very soon. We are very excited about this event and we think it is going to be a huge success.

Thank all of you for you continued support and prayers for my family. As hard as it is we must keep going. We miss our son and brother everyday. This is a year of firsts and Saturday was the first 4th of July without Cody. He was missed more than you could know.

A week to enjoy or endure?

I'm not sure if you noticed a change in writing style but the "water bottle" post was Diane's. I was very happy that she wanted to post it. Although she is still hurting very much she is showing signs of improvement.

We took the kids down to Camp Carefree in North Carolina over the weekend. We will go pick them up this weekend. The house is very quite now. We can just vegetate when we get home from work and not have to run around or deal with the constant bickering. But if there is one thing we have learned over the past three months it's that you should take it all in. You should drink every last drop of their childhood years. As we have learned, they can be snatched from you at anytime. Before you know it they are grown and gone. As we were standing in line to sign the kids in I heard the parents in front of us and behind us saying "I can't wait to drop you guys off." They were talking to their kids of course. We have all said such things many times but it made me think, do we really mean what we say? I think it just came across the wrong way. I think "we need a little break sounds better."

We left early Saturday to drop the kids off Sunday. The kids like staying at hotels so we thought that it would be nice. Saturday afternoon we stopped in Mt. Airy N.C. to do something different. We took the kids and went zip-lining. It was great. We thought that Justin would be a little apprehensive but he did very well. Daniela on the other hand was the one who wasn't quite sure about the task at hand. Despite her hesitation she took the plunge and after the second ride she was arguing with Justin to go first... It was a great time...

Cody's Crew Foundation fund raising is in full swing now. We have had a "Texas Hold'em Poker Night" here in Northern Virginia. We did very well for our first event. There is a community Bingo Night on the docket for the coming weeks. We also have plans for a Cody's Crew Yard sale. This is something that we have put some thought into. You do not have to live in Virginia to participate. We will be recruiting Crew members to host Cody's Crew Yard Sales all over the county. We have not determined the date yet but if you are interested in participating please email me at mjohnson@codys-crew.org.

Our first big event is the 1st Annual Cody's Crew 5K run/walk and Tot Trot this fall. It's scheduled for September 26th at Osbourn Park High School in Manassas. I will be setting a page up on our website for sign up and more information. This is first big event and we would love to have a great turn out.

We are still kicken and trying to keep moving. Cody still remains our strength and our motivation. His loss has rocked our world but it has also given us a goal. We don't want to see anyone go through what we have gone through.

"Fighting the Bad Bug"
Cody Johnson

The water bottle.....

A bottle of water sits atop my dresser. It is the water bottle that Cody so desperately tried to sip just hours before his death. He was confusing the oxygen mask being held in front of him with the straw that had been placed in the bottle. The lack of oxygen had left him disoriented. Being the strong fighter that he was he struggled to sit up with all his might and take a drink. The mask had left his lips chapped and his mouth dry. His little body was trying to quench his thirst. Even is his dire condition his sheer will gave him strength.

Each night before bed I look at the water bottle. It has been evaporating little by little each day. It breaks my heart to see it go as I want nothing more than for it to remain just as it was, to forever hold onto it. The evaporation is creating an empty space, a space that will never be full again.

A family, a life, a heart, and a water bottle......

We so miss our baby.

A quick note....

I'm getting ready to go our for my long run this morning. But I know many of you have been checking in to see pictures from the Balloon Release yesterday. I did upload this small video and will give you a chance to watch it until I post the pictures.

Cody's Memorial Balloon Release

Here is another very nice video.

Cody's Memorial Balloon Release

What's new at Cody's Crew?

We have a number of new changes and events at our Cody's Crew website.

If you go to our Upcoming Events page you will see that we have a Cody Johnson Memorial Ceremony scheduled for June 6th. It will be held at Bennett Elementary School in Manassas VA. There will be a balloon release at 11:00 am. You can purchase a balloon at 10:30 am at the school or go to the Shell City page and purchase balloons there. All proceeds will go to Cody's Crew Foundation. This will be a very special ceremony so if you can make it we look forward to seing you. If you can't I hope you will take the time to purchase a balloon on our site.

Many of you submitted logo entries for our contest. Many of you voted for your favorite. Now we are having another contest. We are asking our Crew for ideas for our official Cody's Crew Slogan. You can submit your entry on our Slogan Contest page. Get out that pen and paper and get busy...

We also have the new Cody's Crew wristebands on sale also. They are $2.50 each. For those of you who purchased them last year these are a little different. They are of coarse camo colored but they now have "www.codys-crew.org" printed on them. Drop by and pick some up.

The new Cody's Crew T-shirts will be coming soon. I'll keep you up to date...