A busy week & a beautiful picture.

There are two big events of note this week so I wanted to pass along a few reminders:

1. The Used Book Sale hosted by Mechanicsville Moms is TOMORROW (Thursday, 5/6) from 3 PM-7 PM at the Romp n' Roll at Virginia Center. There will be used books for all ages AND baked goods. Come on out during one of the LAST Open Gym sessions at the Virginia Center location to get some great books.
   
   
2. The Chick-Fil-A Cow Drop is Saturday, May 8th from 11 AM-3 PM. Roger will be there with a romp n' roll obstacle course. You can buy $10 tickets at the Virginia Center Chick-Fil-A until Friday May 7th. $6 from every ticket benefits CJSTUF! You do NOT have to be present the day of the cow drop to win any of the fabulous prizes....but if you are able to be there it's always a fun event with kid's activities, family entertainment, chick-fil-a FOOD, and more!

Other than that, there is not much to report. Romp n' Roll's move to Mechanicsville is coming along. It's very stressful right now for all of us but it will all be over in a few weeks. I am grateful to my family and others who have been helping with painting. We also have our great employees and some other volunteers who are donating vehicles and/or their able bodies to help with the move. There is a lot to get done before May 16th but I think we will get there.

Emotionally, I've been a wreck this week. I don't think I've felt this bad since January. Everything just kind of slammed me in the face and between the stress of the move and other issues, missing Charlotte has just been an added stressor that's made me "on edge". I apologize to anyone who I might have snapped at or been less than courteous to this week. I am grateful for the many friends and family (and most especially my husband) who have been leaving lovely notes, special gifts (often anonymously) and just giving me extra encouragement this week.

To close, I will leave you with my new favorite picture of our girl. I just finished uploading a bunch of pics to Costco so I could actually get prints made. Going through the photos of our trip to Florida, etc. and this one is certainly one of the best, in my opinion. I nabbed this one during our Penguin Encounter at Sea World. Those eyes just speak volumes....

May is right around the corner

It feels like a lifetime ago. On May 1, 2009, we were entering our third round of inpatient chemo. Life at that time revolved around the hospital. In fact, we felt like MCV had a literal revolving door between regular and unplanned admissions. This round started with an MRI...scheduled earlier than usual because Dr. Khan didn't really like what he had seen as a "shift" in the previous scan.

On May 1, we started to face the reality. That was when we realized that it might not work. The tumor was still growing. Despite the toxins pumping into her system. After that, everything snowballed and by the end of May, we were meeting a new team at MD Anderson.

Like I said...it feels like a lifetime ago.

Yesterday, my mom and I attended the annual memorial service for children who have passed away that were served by VCU Children's Medical Center. It was a very simple, lovely service of remembrance led by the team of Child Life specialists and chaplains at the hospital. The theme was kite flying and I was thrilled to learn that ASK chaplain Jim Bonomo's inspiration for the kite theme was Charlotte's memorial service. Another kudos to Mary Poppins! (Slight aside...I'm typing this at romp n' roll and Jolly Holiday is playing over the speakers during Open Gym.) Anyway, the event was another time to remember Charlotte. Some of the nurses and other specialists who had worked with us during our time at MCV were there and so was Miss Monica, the nutrition services staffer who frequently brought us meals on 7 East.

The memorial service aside, it's been another one of those emotionally charged weeks. There's all kinds of reasons. My emotions seem to wax and wane as it is. Couple that with the timing of my parents visiting from Florida...they haven't been here since Charlotte passed

...the oncoming media glare of Mother's Day (Yes, it's coming. Please stop reminding me, members of the mass market media.)

....and then just the activities of everyday life. I think of her every day. And I miss her.

BUT there is much to do and much to report.

First, I want to direct you to the RichmondMom website. The Super Mom contest is running again. Our good friend Megan Blake won last year with the support of many in our network. Then Roger won the Richmond Dad contest. This year, we have several friends who are nominated. Some of our favorites:

Sherry Klauer: Mom to Reese (and Rhett and Wade) and founder of ReeseStrong
Lisa Goodwin: Mom to Connor and founder of Connor's Heroes
Jennifer Morris: Mom to Rosie and Kellan, a constant cheerleader for all her kids endeavors and constantly positive through many challenges.

Voting ends April 30th. You can only vote once but please visit the website and make your choice. There are many other great moms nominated as well.

Other events coming soon:
The Chick-Fil-A Cow Drop is on May 8th. I will be at the Virginia Center Chick-Fil-A on Tuesday evening, 4/27, selling Cow Drop tickets for CJSTUF. Come on out for Kids Night (Kids Eat FREE!) and a mini concert from Silly Bus! The concert will be from about 6-7 PM. You can also buy your Cow Drop tickets at the Virginia Center Chick-Fil-A anytime before the Cow Drop on May 8th. CJSTUF gets $6 for every ticket bought!!!

The Mechanicsville Moms will hold a Used Book Sale at Romp n' Roll on May 6th from 3-7 PM benefitting CJSTUF. This is during Open Gym time so come on out and find some great books and videos. There will be media for all ages!

Be sure to check the website regularly for other fundraising updates and events.

For anyone wondering, the romp n' roll move to Mechanicsville is moving along well. Everything seems to be going according to schedule. We just started painting this week. Summer registration starts on Monday (there's my plug) and we are looking forward to the new space!

Have a good weekend, everyone. Might be a wet one if you're in VA. Hopefully the ASK 5K won't get too rained out.

Lots of goings-on

So, where to start? A lot of announcements, it seems.

First of all, if you're not busy this afternoon/evening (Wednesday, 3/24), head on over to Chilis at Virginia Center and eat (or drink) for ReeseStrong. 20% of your meal cost will go to ReeseStrong when you present a flyer. Flyers will be available at the restaurant and are also available at Romp n' Roll. Roger and I had a lovely lunch over there and got to see some of our favorite families as well!

ASK has some events coming up soon too, including the ASK walk on April 24th. If you're not busy racing in other events, this is a fun thing to do. They featured Charlotte on their posters and flyers this year. We are honored.

Things are rolling along on the CJSTUF front as well. We are getting ready to redo our website so watch for changes (coming soon!!!). We have had many requests from home-based businesses that want to raise money for CJSTUF so we have decided to select one to two home-based businesses per month that will raise funds for CJSTUF. Hopefully that will help spread the wealth a little.

Our first featured business is Pampered Chef. Jessica Cole is the sales representative in charge of the party and it will be hosted by Sue Ferguson. The actual party will be on 3/16 at about 7 PM. I will post more information soon if you would like to RSVP; however, you do not need to be present to help. 15% of all sales from this party will go to CJSTUF. You can go online to www.pamperedchef.biz/jessicasapron and type in CJSTUF. I will have some mini catalogs and order forms at Romp n' Roll soon (probably by next week) in case anyone wants to place an order directly from me. I'm hoping to attend the party itself. If you've never attended a Pampered Chef party, you would be in for a treat. The food is usually FABULOUS and I always come away with a great new cooking tip (or two!).

Finally, tomorrow is the big (drum roll) reveal from the Thumbs Up Ball. The MOMS Club of Mechanicsville (Cool Spring Chapter) will be coming by Romp n' Roll at about 3 PM to present the proceeds from the Valentine's Weekend Fundraiser. If you're in the area, stop on by to check the results. I promise we will post news on the blog and Facebook soon after.

I think that's it for now. Yucky weather seems to be moving in to Richmond so Open Gym is hoppin' today; however, I don't think we'll get tons of snow. Just wet goop!

Stay warm and dry...Rachel

The Thumbs Up Ball!

The Thumbs Up Ball was today! I know we have been blogging about it for a few weeks now. What a wonderful event! The MOMS Club of Mechanicsville (Cool Spring Chapter) did all of the work for this party and it was WONDERFUL in so many ways. The church gymnasium was decorated in pink and purple with lots of handmade butterflies everywhere! It looked like a princessy prom. There was food, craft activities, music, dancing, formal pictures provided by Hayes and Fisk photography. I haven't heard anything about final numbers but I know that over 300 tickets were sold and there were many silent auction items bid on and won! I personally bid on (and won) 2 cooking classes from Mise En Place and a Whole Foods gift certificate! All of the money raised from tonight's event will go directly to CJSTUF! How cool is that?

I know I won't be able to thank everyone here but special notes of gratitude are due to:
Robin O' Sullivan, Darya Suleske, and Tracy Surratt for their leadership in the MOMS Club. I know the club has about 50 moms and all were involved in some way but these ladies were involved in a lot of the heavy planning and deserve a special thank-you.

Big thanks as well to Triad, a wonderful live band that provided the entertainment. As musicians, Roger and I certainly appreciate the work of a quality band. They were top notch and I understand they play a lot in the area so check them out. In fact, I think they will be at O'Banks next week. Speaking of O'Banks, they were one of the many sponsors that donated items for the silent auction and raffles. I also saw great prizes from local representatives of The Happy Gardener, Tastefully Simple, Pampered Chef, Premier Jewelry, DoubleTree Hotels, Aloft Hotels, Hanover Air Park Auto, The Children's Museum, Ginter Botanical Garden, Avon, Pizza Fusion, Buffalo Wild Wings, Romp n' Roll, The Smokey Pig, Stroller Strides...whew! And I know I am leaving some folks out.

It's been an emotional weekend for me. I'm not really sure where it started. I was unusually weepy on my drive to work this morning. It just hit me for reasons I can't explain. Then things got "worse" when I spent about 90 minutes working on a slide show presentation on the foundation for the event this evening. Putting Charlotte's story into words (again) and adding all kinds of pictures just brought memories and thoughts flooding in.

Then, about 2/3 of the way through this evening's event, I realized: Roger and I were the only adults there without kids! (I'm not really counting the grandparents...and really, they had kids there too...their adult kids!) It was truly a family event and I loved seeing some of our regular romp n' rollers as well as many of our friends from church and the community. And yet, there remains this constant thought in my head that I no longer have a child. It really HIT me like a ton of bricks tonight.

I often hear people speak of our strength. It's been a constant theme. Again, tonight I had perfect strangers (as well as a few close friends) come up to me and remark, "I don't know how you do it. Where do you find the strength?" I can't answer that question with any kind of certainty but I can truly say that I just take each day one step at a time. I keep myself busy and that definitely helps.

Idle time = thinking time = opportunities for the mind to run wild and truly make you crazy.

One Day At a Time, Baby. One Day At a Time!

The surreal essence of my new reality plays out in some really bizarre ways sometimes. After so many months (a whole year) of an intense and stressful lifestyle, I am finding the occasional solace in the freedom that Roger and I now have. I would give anything to have Charlotte back here...in my life...healthy. But when I spend full days at work and realize all that I can accomplish when I am not shuttling back and forth between home and the hospital OR strategizing on a new treatment protocol OR anticipating the next MRI or surgery, it is a harsh reminder of how much of our lives were lost in 2009.

When you become a parent, your life is consumed by your child in so many ways. Your life now revolves around their schedule: naps, eating, school, activities, vacations.

Now imagine that consumption intensified about 1000 times with a life-threatening illness.

And then imagine that one day, that all-consuming part of your life just ENDS.

Yep. It's bizarre. No other way to describe it.

Tomorrow we are planning to go up to Bethesda to visit the Georolds. This is the family that we met in Houston, lives in Denver, but is currently pursuing an experimental protocol at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for her recurrent leukemia. They have been blessed with a lot of family support during this leg of their journey and currently things seem to be working for Allie even though she's still struggling to get well. The experimental protocol on which they have her seems to be promising. We are looking forward to being able to see them again and support them in a small way.

Hooray for a weekend with no substantial snow. Hooray for a weekend with no cancelled birthday parties or classes. Hooray for the Thumbs Up Ball!

Hooray for our friends and family who love us everyday!

Rachel

Animal Kingdom

Yesterday was our final day at GKTW. We checked out of our Villa and got the car all packed. We have a whole suitcase full of gifts from GKTW as well as a few souvenirs. Good thing one of her daily gifts at GKTW was a GKTW duffel bag! Before we checked out, we got to meet Leah. She is one of the event coordinators at GKTW and her dad is pastor at the church in Pierson where my stepdad (John) helps out from time to time. Small world, eh?

One of the coolest things about our checkout process was that they give us this passport. We have a full year to visit places all over the country that participate in the GKTW program. We can go to places like Hershey Park, Kings Dominion, Hyland Hills Water World, etc. for FREE with usually a week or two notice. What a great thing. At some point, I will list all the corporate sponsors and companies that make places like GKTW possible. These are businesses doing great things for families in need and they deserve your business!

After we said goodbye to GKTW, we headed over to Animal Kingdom. Again, we got the primo parking. We made our way into the park and headed off to the safari ride. Got to see lots of animals from crocs to hippos to lions. We then went on the Rafiki train ride and over at the Conservation Station we met Rafiki and Jiminy Cricket. Another great example of how Disney employees treat the Make-A-Wish families: as we were coming in to the Conservation Station, we saw Rafiki doing his meet and greet. We went up to see him and Rafiki's "assistant" told us that he was about to take a break and would be back in about 5 minutes. No problem. We were totally cool with that. Rafiki, however, had other ideas. He saw CJ (and probably Roger's Make-A-Wish tee) and stopped to greet her and take a few pictures. We got nice hugs from him too.
Later, when we went to see Jiminy Cricket, we pulled up to stand in line. It wasn't a very long line (maybe about 3-4 families) so we just pulled into the queue. One of the assistants looks over at us and says, "You know that you don't get in line. Come on over here!" And with that, we were bumped to the front. It was funny!

During the morning, Charlotte was very low key. She didn't really perk up and was very quiet. Roger and I weren't really feeling all that great either so it was kind of a rough morning. Things got better after lunch, though. We ate at the Yak and Yeti which was a Pan-Asian restaurant with cool Hindu decor. You felt like you were in a lodge in the mountains of India or Pakistan. Roger had a great meal of pan-seared miso salmon with rice and veggies. I had fried green beans with a chili-plum sauce and pan seared pork wontons with a lime soy sauce. Both were yummy!

After lunch, CJ seemed to perk up a bit and became much more talkative. We headed over to the Finding Nemo Musical show and we were AMAZED! First of all, we totally beat the crowds with our access pass. The musical was great and we were all entranced. They use puppets and live singers a la The Lion King musical. I think that was the highlight of everyone's day. CJ laughed at the funny parts and was entranced by the music.

From there, we went to see the 3-D bug movie (from A Bug's Life) and then found our stations for the parade. The parade at Animal Kingdom was not as interactive as the Magic Kingdom parade but there were great animal costumes, floats, and some of our favorite characters. From there, we left the park and drove to Daytona Beach. We had dinner with my mom and got settled in our condo. We are staying in one of my godmother's condominium units and it's GORGEOUS. 2nd floor...right on the ocean. I had forgotten how calming the sound of the ocean can be. We have had a nice night of rest and we have been enjoying the morning. Roger's dad drove down to spend a few days with us and we are planning to take the next few days VERY easily.

Roger noted yesterday that the extra steroid seemed to help with the tremors. We are already noticing those effects wearing off, though. The tremors seem to be coming back and we are debating the advantages of increasing the steroid versus letting things progress. May need to consult with the docs before the trip is over.

Before I sign off, one final plug for an event in the Richmond area:

The Mechanicsville Moms are holding a used book sale at Romp n' Roll-VCM tomorrow (12/10) from 3-7 PM. There will be books available for all ages. Please stop by. All funds raised will go towards CJSTUF.

Also, the CJSTUF website is LIVE. Go there and check it out. Huge thanks to Ruth and Jay Campbell who have worked so diligently to get this going for us. It looks great! There is an events calendar where we will post upcoming events of all kinds. There is also a "read with CJ" calendar. If you are one of the many who would like to read with CJ, please fill out the form (on the Contact Us link) and we will get back to you about dates and times. We will officially start that upon our return from Florida (on or about 12/16). You will also be able to read the blog and connect through Facebook via the website. More changes to come but this is a wonderful start.