Congratulations to Syd and Tess

With great pride, we are pleased to announce the birth of our latest Niece Gabrielle Joyce
Weighing in at 7-5, 20" at 1:21 this afternoon.
We can't wait to meet you. We love you all!
Sleep well tonight Gina. You deserve it!

All is quiet, once again

Life at my house has slowed down.

It has been great to have Paul home. It sounds like he had a great time in Australia - I wish I could have shared it with him. Ellis is back to her old self - not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. It is hard to imagine that 2 weeks ago she was so sick - the Dr said that with her O2 rate, she should have been blue.
Jack has just loved having Grandma here. In the morning he comes into my room to tell me he is going downstairs to wake up Grandma (he could skip the part where he wakes me up first.) The 2 of them have a close and neat relationship. It reminds me of the times I got to spend with my own Grandmother. Miss Minnie, I miss you! Grandma flew home this morning. The house is always so quiet without her in it. I do have something to look forward to, she will be back in a month for Spring Break and potty training Ellis. Wish us luck.

Thank you Mom for all you do for this family. We couldn't do it without you!

A little late, but Happy Birthday Sydney! We are sorry we weren't there to celebrate with you. I too remember the day you were born. Paul and I had been trying to get pregnant and I was sad that I wasn't pregnant, but happy to have you in my world. Little did I know, I was already pregnant when I held you for the first time. It really was a great time in the B's life.

Days 4 - 12

Bad Erica, I know. I started with such high hopes, but everything went to hell. I'll just do a quick catch up. Ellis came home from the hospital on the 6th and was off O2 on the 9th. I have to say, I was totally shocked that my Ellis was such a pro a leaving the cannula in her nose and making sure it was in right. I would have bet my last dollar that she would have pitched a fit about the cannula, pulled at it and taken it out of her nose every chance she got, but she didn't. She was cognizant of her 20 feet of cannula tubing and did her best not to get tangled up. Ellis also let me use the 'bulb-sucker thing' on her nose to clean it out. It was a great surprise to see that the girl I know as Ellis, Yellis and Hellis, can be such a sweet girl, when she wants to. Ellis was back in school on the 11th and was eating like a hungry hippo.
Grandma and I have had a great time hanging out, shopping and cleaning. It was a surprise trip, and I have loved having her here. Lucky for me, she will be back on the 18th of March.

Well Paul landed last night. The house vibrated, we were all so excited to have him home. I think everyone bounced to the door to greet him. He looked great, but tired. Our Valentine's Day celebration involved gifts, Chinese take-out, a fire and a glass (or 2) of wine. PERFECTION!

As I was cleaning yesterday, I picked up a photo album and a picture of Paul and I fell out. It was a picture taken 10 years ago yesterday, in Boston, on Castle Island - Our 1st Valentine's Day together. We had spent that day with Steve and Gina - Gina had surprised Steve by flying in for the holiday. After 10 years, I remember that day pretty well. Two things were noticed about the photo: 1) Paul and I look really young 2) Ellis wanted to know what that was on Daddy's face - Paul had a goatee.

All is well at the Bieringer's. Paul is home and sleeping. Ellis is eating and back to her bad attitude, Grandma is here - I love it when my Mom is in my home and Jack is handsome.
Life is pretty Good!

Days 2 and 3

We'll day 2 started out with 2 kids going to preschool. Ellis seemed a little slow, but I thought she would rally once she got to school. After dropping them off I ran to the store to grab a few groceries before going back home to take a shower. As I was walking out of the store, the phone rang. It was their school, asking me to come pick up Ellis. She had a fever of 100.2 and, "just didn't seem like herself". I took her home, put her in the bed and proceeded to put food away and clean up. Our dearest friend Dawn came and watched Ellis while I picked Jack up from school.

Ellis woke up from a 4 hour nap and seemed to be panting, like she had just run down the stairs and across the room. I waited a few minutes and checked on her again. Still panting. I called her Pedi and they said to bring her in. A quick drive to Longmont (30+ minutes away), and we found out she has pneumonia, and maybe RSV and an oxygen saturation of 78 (should be closer to 100. Under 80 = mandatory hospital stay). I begged for an hour and 15 minutes, to run home and grab silkies, stellas and the entire barnyard, coordinate care for Jack and then head back to Longmont.

Jenn and Toby T. took Jack for the night, this morning passed him off to Bill and Dawn R. To all of them I say, THANK YOU! I couldn't have done it without you.

Ellis and I had an eventful night. They were able to rule out RSV and influenza. We got her temp down. She is on O2 and without it we can't get her O2 saturation level up. She will probably be in the hospital through the weekend. She was happy to see her brother Jack and surprised to see her Pedi in the hallway. She asked Dr. R, "how did you get here?"

As I type, Grandma is flying to Colorado. Paul is in SFO waiting for his flight to Australia.

I can't wait to see what days 4 and 5 bring... Stay tuned...

Day 1

Today is day one of 12 days without Paul. Today he flies to Las Vegas and on Thursday he is off to Melbourne, Australia. Not a bad gig, if you can get it. We'll see how this goes.

Today it is 59 degrees and the kids and I just enjoyed a Popsicle on the back porch in the amazing sunshine. Ellis has an awful cough and random fevers, Jack just has a cough. I'm feeling pretty good. Not much else planned or going on. Stay tuned...

Good-bye to John"Biker Jesus" Breaux

So many of us strive to be a good person, Louisville, CO lost someone who WAS a great person. The little town of Louisville will not be the same. Rest in Peace my friend.

While police were still investigating the tragic death of a pedestrian on U.S. 287 — and hours before the name of the victim was officially released to the public — a small crowd of bystanders had already gathered at the scene, sure they knew who had been killed but hopeful they were wrong.

By late Friday, their fears were confirmed by the coroner. John Breaux, whose warm smile and gentle heart were famous throughout eastern Boulder County, was dead.

It was the bike that gave it away. Breaux was never without his bike, friends said, which on Friday afternoon stood alone, propped on its kickstand at the edge of U.S. 287 near the scene of the accident. Two white trash bags — probably filled with recycling and litter — hung from the handle bars.

“That bike always has the bags on it,” said Mindy Bentley, a longtime Louisville resident who stopped at the accident when she saw the bike. “He’s always picking stuff up whether it’s trash or cans, helping in some way, shape or form.”

'He was our goodwill ambassador'

Simple life, guided by kindness, touched entire community

His shoes were filthy. His shirt was often torn. His hands were dirty and callused.

“But he was an angel,” Lori Haynes-Bright said Saturday of her brother-in-law, 57-year-old John Breaux, who was killed Friday after being hit on his bicycle by a driver who veered off U.S. 287. “He was put here to show the rest of us how we should be.”

Starting early Saturday, parked cars lined the highway where Breaux was hit and killed. Friends, acquaintances, and those who had only seen Breaux picking up garbage, brought balloons, flowers, pictures and crosses to the site where police say he died.

As the day went on, more and more make-shift memorials popped up in businesses around town, honoring the man who friends said looked rugged on the outside but was “all good” on the inside.

In the afternoon, dozens of community members gathered at Louisville’s City Hall to share memories of the man who many said has forever changed the way they live.

At 5 p.m., several hundreds of people congregated at the Albertsons along U.S. 287 and South Boulder Road, where Breaux volunteered for years, to say good-bye and thank you.

“It’s incredible that one person could have this kind of impact,” said Louisville Mayor Chuck Sisk. “He was our goodwill ambassador.”

Breaux was known around town for his constant care of the roadsides, businesses and community members. He regularly helped gas stations clear snow, spent hours picking up street garbage, and left flowers on friends’ porches.

Audrey Simpson, 43, of Louisville, said Breaux left flowers outside her home on several occasions, and once brought her a candle.

“I just knew it was him,” she said. “It was always him.”

Breaux was a religious man, Simpson said, who would jump from church to church on Sunday mornings, depending on where the day took him. Many people called Breaux “Jesus,” mostly because he kept nothing for himself and dedicated all of his talents, possessions and time to others.

“He would open the door for you, it didn’t matter who you were or your age or gender,” Simpson said. “He was a kind and loving soul.”

Kristina Pattison, 20, of Broomfield, said she came to know Breaux through his smile and familiar presence at all her favorite hot spots around town.

“He truly was an angel,” Pattison said. “He knew things.”

While standing near the roadside memorial Saturday, Bev Sanders, 43, recalled the day Breaux helped her teenage daughter pick out a Valentine’s Day card for her boyfriend. Breaux insisted the card be “cute” and include hearts and bears, Sanders said.

“John knew my daughter well,” she said.

Another of Sanders’ daughters, Alex Sanders, 22, said the first thing she thought about when learning of Breaux’s death was a napkin he gave her nine years ago.

“My best friend and I were at Taco Bell for lunch, and John walked up and gave us a note he had written on a napkin,” Sanders said. “It said, ‘Jesus is going to come to save us all.’ We said, ‘Wow, that’s awesome.’”

On Friday, Sanders called her friend and asked if she remembered the note. She did. In fact, Sanders said, her friend still has it.

“And that was nine years ago,” she said.

Sanders, who made a sign for Breaux that now hangs near the site of his death, said she wants to be clear on something: “We never called him John,” she said. “Everyone I know calls him Jesus.”

It’s a sentiment that was shared dozens of times Saturday evening during a large gathering at the Lafayette Albertsons — just one of the many businesses Breaux was known to volunteer at on his daily circuit across town.

Many mourners made their way to a microphone set up in the parking lot after walking past the site of the accident, which was overflowing with piles of flowers, signs and tearful onlookers.

Albertsons employees recalled Breaux’s playful and kind nature, saying he’d often roll a tennis ball at the feet of unsuspecting workers, bring sodas to them on breaks and wash windows.

Workers from the Coal Creek Bowling Center in Lafayette said Breaux loved the sport, calling every day without fail to find out if there were bowling lanes. Once, they said, he bowled a perfect game.

But for every person who knew Breaux well, it seemed an equal number of people gathered Saturday who knew him simply for his constant gestures of kindness.

“He just waved,” Louisville resident Loretta Edge said. “He would wave at everyone. He never asked for anything.”

She said that single gesture became part of her family’s daily routine.

“It makes you feel like this is our home,” she said.

Her 11-year-old son, Skylar, was in tears.

“He was a huge part of the town, and now he’s not going to be here and it’s sad,” he said.

Terry Maschka, a Lafayette police patrol supervisor, said Breaux was a favorite among officers for nearly a decade.

“It’s just hard to believe he’s not going to be here anymore,” said Maschka, who went to the scene of the accident Friday and immediately knew it was his friend’s bike on the side of the road.

Others called Breaux a “true gentleman” who would run to open doors for people, a man who would give anything just to be helpful and a kind spirit with the “face of Jesus.”

Daniel Prowell, 32, of Louisville, said Breaux’s attitude and generosity consistently left him in awe and with a smile.

“If each city had just one person like him,” he said, “the world would be a better place.”