CJSTUF is born!

It's October!!! Can you believe that it is October???I am very happy about the weather lately. We have been enjoying it as much as possible. Today we are headed over to RMC for the women's Field Hockey game (go Jackets!). Charlotte continues to be a DREAM. We are finally (we've only been home for a month, can you believe it?) getting into something of a routine. Next week we start Velcade again and a new drug. So far so good. The physical stuff seems to be improving slowly too. Her energy is pretty low but she manages to make it through each day. She eats well and she sleeps VERY well at night. I can't ask for much more right now. A few notes of thanks: Thanks to the many families at Three Oaks Montessori who have sent us meals this week. We have eaten many of them already and our freezer is well stocked again. My mom leaves on Monday (boo!) so we will have a nice stash to tide us over. Fortunately, mom will be back in a few weeks (with Gramps in tow!). I think we are going to try to get the Hopecam going on a regular basis too with getting Charlotte to participate in circle time and other school activities. Fingers crossed.Roger attended Charlotte's first IEP meeting last week. What irony! I was supposed to attend but had my makeover session. It was a short meeting and they did initiate an evaluation so we are officially involved in the Special Education process. I'm glad I understand the system. I am hoping that this will enable us to receive some extra support with PT/OT services as well as ease our transition into Kindergarten next year. I haven't received any official numbers yet, but I know that over 211 people had been registered already for the ReeseStrong 5K and Sherry mentioned that about 100 registrations poured in between 9/30 and 10/1. Hooray! I know this will be a fun event!Of course, we are barely approaching Halloween but I'm sure many out there are already thinking about the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. I just wanted to go ahead and put out there that we do NOT need anything for Charlotte. Please resist your urge to buy us/her lots of presents. We have been so blessed by everyone's generosity and support throughout what has been a very difficult year. She has plenty of fall/winter clothes, thanks in part to hand-me-downs and gifts from the family. She also has plenty of hats to get us through the winter season and a beautiful coat (purple, of course!!). She also has more than enough toys, art supplies, stuffed animals, books, and blankets. If you truly feel the need to give, please give to one of the many organizations that have helped make this year bearable for us. These include: Connor's Heroes, ASK, Starlight Foundation, Friends of Jaclyn, HopeCam, National Children's Cancer Society, Caring Bridge, and Ronald McDonald House. St Judes is also always a deserving organization. I have a few items on my to-do list with which I could use some help. We are trying to push forward with the creation of Charlotte's Foundation (The CJ's Thumbs Up Foundation) as well as the accompanying website. If you have experience and/or knowledge in the area of the creation of non-profit foundations or if you would like to be a part of the formation of this organization, please contact me ASAP. We definitely need some resources and knowledge to help with the legal formation as well as determining what the scope and focus of our "way to give back" will entail. That's all for now. Hope everyone is out there enjoying this fabulous weekend!!!Rachel