Yesterday, the kids all had dentist appointments, and as I was trying to fill out the check-in sheet with all the kids’ names while at least one (maybe two) of them was talking to me and I wrote Eli’s name down on the sheet. I hated to mark it out, but I guess I was just on automatic and was distracted. Little things like that still happen. At the grocery, I’m still on auto-drive and will buy something that I always buy. Weeks later I realize it’s been sitting in the pantry for a while. I’ll ask, “Why is no one eating this, I don’t understand, used to we couldn’t keep this?” And it turns out, Eli was the only one that ate it, so that’s why it’s been sitting.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that Caleb is outgrowing Eli’s clothes.
I haven’t bought any clothes for boys in many years (besides maybe something new for Easter or Christmas) because Eli stopped growing and Caleb had not caught up. Caleb is crossing that line now, so Eli’s clothes are slowing being phased out and put in the donate box under our window.
I also noticed how big the kids are getting when I hardly even saw them at Superhero Fun Day Saturday. Eli’s Block Party Childhood Cancer Foundation hosted it’s biggest charity event Saturday, so I’ve been really distracted with that - the eating, sleeping, breathing kind of attention. The girls signed up to work booths with their youth group and girl scout troop, and Caleb ran an art booth for our foundation most of the time all by himself. I don’t even have a picture of our family at Superhero Fun Day this year because we were all so busy with our tasks. And, I think that’s great. I’m hopeful that the kids grow up with an interest in raising awareness for childhood cancer and with a desire to serve their community. Plus, I hope they will retain an interest in the foundation and what we do. Here's a little photo gallery of the event (pictures are a combination of work by Heather and Ben Paris, Jerry Bryant, and me). We are in need of big sponsors for this event. It is growing and gets a lot of attention.
We turn our attention now to our last car show, which is October 13th at the Sportsplex in Athens. The foundation has been chosen as the beneficiary of the show hosted by the Limestone County Mustang Club. I am eager to participate and be a part of growing this show which is already very popular. We will be giving away our charity mustang at this car show. To purchase tickets go to www.elisblockparty.org and look under Activities and Events.
I interviewed for a couple of other jobs, but have not heard anything. Don’t blame them. My resume drops off a cliff in November 2000. So, I have been very busy continuing to push the foundation, working to get the scholarship off the ground, and helping the kids with various projects.
Please, say a prayer for Riley in Arkansas as the doctors there try to battle symptoms from an unknown source, and Zach who is showing progression after being with Dr. Johnson for two years, and Buddy who is having seizures and is in an emergency situation as of this writing, and for Preston in Washington who was put on hospice yesterday. We’ve been praying for these kids for many years now. It’s getting to where I don’t know the kids in the parents groups any more, just slowly getting farther and farther away from it, I guess. Yet, the new diagnoses are not slowing, nor are the relapses. Be sure to help share about childhood cancer this month, and every month. We fight along side these kids with our prayers and with our ability spread awareness. Awareness equals funding, so do not take it lightly.