You know the cliche: a picture is worth a thousand words.

But sometimes they just leave you speechless.

--Ken Brady, his father, and three of his four brothers--

Like now. I have no words for this. Just strong emotions too deep to articulate. If you haven't, please take time to check out Amelia's tribute to her (and Kenny's) dad (click here). The black & white photos at the end are especially moving.

Particularly this one.

--Ken and Kenny: Father and Son--

Thank you, Amelia, for saving this moment.

Walking for Dad

I’m sure most people reading this blog also read my sister-in-law Nicole Thompson’s blog, so this might be old news for many...

Last week, Kenny’s dad (Ken Brady) was officially diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (“ALS”), more commonly known in the U.S. as Lou Gehrigs disease. To quote Wikipedia, ALS is a “progressive, usually fatal, neurodegenerative disease caused by the degeneration of motor neurons, the nerve cells in the central nervous system that control voluntary muscle movement.” Essentially the person’s body slowly shuts down, beginning with muscle function. At this time there is no cure and life expectancy is uncertain; 50% of those diagnosed with ALS live an additional 2-5 years and 50% live longer.

Kenny remains positive and is eager to do what he can to help and to feel involved. This Saturday (October 18) we will be participating in the Orange County Walk to Defeat ALS event that raises money to find a cure. We invite all in the area to join. Actually, the ALS Association is hosting these walks all over the country and we’d love you to participate wherever you can. Without soliciting money from you, you can donate here.
We hope to see you this Saturday (at Mason Regional Park in Irvine)!

To register to walk with our team click here.

Catch up - Four Generations (July 2010)

We made a trip to UT in early July. On this trip we learned that traveling at night is a MUST with a baby in tow. Anyway, we had to grab the obligatory "Four Generations" shot. This one's of the Rollins women: Doreen, Lola Dee, Lola Gene, and Me. (I'm thinking we'll have to re-do this one now that Lola Dee actually smiles. She was 2 1/2 months old here.)

And one with Gramps, too.
And with Kenny's Brady Grandparents. True, there's one generation missing, but, well it's as close as we'll ever get. (We miss you, Ken.) So here's Grandpa "K", Kenny, Lola, and Grandma Faye.

Back in the days when Lola would still fall asleep in a persons arms.
They have a pretty epic garden. Grandpa had to scale it back in recent years, but (as he's showing Kenny below) it's still HUGE.
(This next photo is still only a fraction of the total "scaled-back" garden. HUGE, I tell ya.)
Wow...two posts in one evening. If I can keep this up, I'll be relatively caught up in no time!

Kenneth Neff Brady passed away Sunday morning (July 19, 2009) in Saint George, UT surrounded by his wife, parents, and many of his siblings, children, and grandchildren.

By all accounts he went peacefully “with a smile on his face.”

After battling the exponentially debilitating effects of Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) for over a year, one can only imagine the joy he must have felt at his release. A smile seems only appropriate.

His family misses him already, but is confident Ken is in a better place and is happy.

And we are all happy for that.

(And I am happy my husband will be home soon.)

Photo by Amelia, of course.