Are you active in your community?

This is a random blog post that I just felt like writing after drinking a Monster energy drink(my favorite is the 'Assault' flavor).

As some of you know I have 5 children ages ranging from 12 to 2, 2 of them will be getting 1 year older in the next two months so you can imagine how hectic it is around the house on any given day and why my official work day basically ends once they get out of school. 

One thing I'm really proud of myself is educating my children not only on the importance of investing and controling your own future but also giving back to the community. My 12 year old son and soon to be 11 year old daughter are undefeated between eachother against other players in the game 'Cashflow' meaning they always get out of the rat race before anyone else they play against including me and my son actually likes evaluating and analyzing deals with me while my daughter is always saying 'Where's the profit' LOL!!! I think I've got them trained. 

They also are very very active in volunteering. This has been even more especially true since Feb of '07 when the mother of my oldest two children passed away at a very young age to Pulminary Hypertension Disorder. Since the passing of thier mother they have been increasing their volunteering efforts and have since inspired me to do the same by increasing my efforts. 

We've raised money and awareness for several PH treatment facilities. My children have also spoken at their school about the disease and have made their mother proud and I am very proud of them for that! I admit I spoil them rotten but they outdo themselves every time and deserve every bit of it. 

Tomorrow is September 17, 2009. I will be turning 30 years old tomorrow. I was born on a military base in Germany and was moved to the US when I was 5. We all have our own hardships in life, some worse than others. I grew up without my father past the age of 5 when he committed a crime that landed him in a gated community for years. I didn't meet my father until I was 20 years old at which time I already have two children he never met. I grew up with anger towards him for making his mistakes but I wouldn't have asked for any other way. It is and was a driving force in my success to not take the same road as him. My children make me proud every day and they are what keeps me motivated. 

I will be spending all day tomorrow volunteering my time with my children who were given special permission to volunteer at their school health clinic. I will be assisting the vision screeners while they will be handling other tasks. I could not have asked for a better way to spend my birthday. I will be not only volunteering my time to help the local school that 3 of my 5 children attend but I will be in the presence of greatness! My children!

So while you're hard at work all day tomorrow, I will be cherishing my time helping others with my children at Arcadia Neighborhood Learning Center here in the east Phoenix neighborhood of Arcadia at the base of Camelback mountain. 

Thank you for reading.