Wow... have I been absent that long????

I really do apologize for a total lack in posting. I did not realize I had not posted since June 18th! It has been so busy around our place since school has been out, but that is just not a good excuse. I don't know about you, but summer is just flying by, it seems we just got out of school and now our summer break is almost half over.

I want to give a shout out to my youngest son Garrett... today has been his 17th birthday. He and his oldest brother are on a double date tonight enjoying one of his birthday presents, tickets to an Eric Church (country music) concert. I have to tell you, its now that Garrett is getting to his older teen years that he is enjoying a "different" relationship with his oldest brother, Tyler. There is an eight year difference in their ages, so while Garrett has always been a big fan of Tyler, he has always been the "little brother" until now. It is really neat to watch how their relationship is developing. Happy Birthday Garrett!

Well, a update on our kiddo's as I know it...

Jack and family are enjoying a wonderful vacation on the beach. Jack is absolutely having the time of his life according to Katie. The weather has been good for them, and they have their entire immediate family with them. This is such a wonderful vacation for all of them. Much needed and very much being enjoyed.

Mikey, Dina and Dina's daughter are on a get away to Florida to visit friends and Mikey's mom. Please keep them in your prayers. They have some pretty tough decisions to be making during this time. Mikey is a fighter, not ready to give up, so they are exploring options and doing research on their own for new trials and studies. Please pray for them for safe travel too.

Heather is in Memphis now. If you have read her CB update, you have seen that she got another ALL CLEAR CANCER FREE report yesterday!!! Way to go Heather! Regina Rushing got to come up and spend a few days while Terri and Heather are here and we all got to go out to dinner last night. We had a really good time and a great time to just talk and catch up. Heather is getting so grown up! She is 13 now and such the teenager. She is a beautiful and sweet young lady. Pray for her to continue to be cancer free forever. Keep their safe travel in your prayers too as they fly back to Florida tomorrow. She will return sometime around the first of December for her next appointment. Hopefully they will be able to work it out like they did last year and be here for the St Jude Marathon. That is their goal.

Little Trevor was here last week, everything went well except for their trip back home. They were trying to fly into Houston for a layover, but Houston airport was being closed due to the hurricane coming in. Read her CB page about the pilot they met that helped them out. It is so heartwarming to hear about kind hearted people who go above and beyond to help others out. They will be back next week for another round of chemo. Trevor is just getting so grown up right before our very eyes!

The teens have had some fun times this summer. Morgan has had a wonderful trip to New York, Natalie and her twin Nicole have been to North Carolina to visit a friend and have now returned home. This was their first big airplane trip just the two girls.... no adults! They had a really good time.

Joseph, the young man from my hometown that I told you about, got his initial MRD back since his transplant and he is CANCER FREE! Way to go Joseph!!! He is still here, but hopefully he will be able to go home soon. So far so good, no signs of organ damage or GVHD. Keep him in your prayers for a smooth recovery from transplant.

Ryan is really needing our prayers right now. He has had such a difficult time. His family is really in need of prayers and direction. They had their hopes up that MD Anderson in Houston had a new trial for them, but after two trips down there, very difficult trips that left them very weary and upset, MD Anderson has now told them that Ryan does not qualify for the trial there. Needless to say, they are upset and and feel like they have been given a run-around. Please keep them in your prayers. They had brought Ryan home from Houston accepting that they would just stop trying to treat the cancer and just enjoy what little time they have left with Ryan, however their doctor back home has called them and has started the process to possibly bring them back to St Jude for a possible 3rd transplant. There are many MANY factors that have to go just right for this to happen, but they once again have hope. Pray Pray Pray for them and for peace for clear decisions.

Julie and Austin Locke, Dax's parents, have found out that their expected baby is going to be a girl! They are so very excited. She does not know exactly what her name will be, but she does know that she is going to name her Elizabeth after our sweet Elizabeth Dunford. That is such an honor to the Dunford's.

The Locke's recently help a Birthday Bash in honor of ^Dax's^ 3rd birthday. It was a huge success, and they raised quite a bit a money for St Jude. Michelle Dunford and her boys were able to go up and celebrate with Julie and Austin. They had a wonderful time and it was such a beautiful way to remember both ^Dax^ and ^Elizabeth^.

The Denton's are preparing for a birthday celebration in honor of ^Alex^. They too are doing this to raise awareness and money for St Jude. Pray for their success with this and for a wonderful day for them and so many others to remember ^Alex^ on his special day.

Another big HAPPY BIRTHDAY goes out to a very special young man.... MR. JORDAN JAMES!!! HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY TO HIM!!!! He turned 3 on July 3rd. What a wonderful miracle little boy he is becoming. You guys all need to sign up and plan on coming to Memphis for the St Jude Marathon so you can meet this amazing little boy and his precious family! If you have not heard, our team is running in honor of Jordan this year. We will have other families joining us again this year and I think it is going to be an awesome time for us to all come together and run/walk for all of the kiddo's that we have supported and loved. I know I have heard from Reagan's grandmother, they are planning to be here and walking to Remember Reagan. I am so delighted that they will be here and be walking for Reagan. Regina is planning to be back, her plans for a possible team for Mary Kate are unsure at this time, but they will be with us at the hotel and dinner as will Reagan's family. I do not know at this time who all will be joining us but it will be a treat, I can assure you of that!!!

SPEAKING of TEAM BELIEVE... we have got to get busy with getting registered and begin our fundraising! I will be having the annual lunch fundraiser at the Tea Room again this year. I hope to add a few others things this year that are still in the works. I heard from Svetlana, she is planning a garage sell with their money raised going to St Jude! That girl is always doing something!!! I love her heart and her spirit to do what she can for St Jude and the kids. Let me know if you have any ideas or plans for fundraisers in your area to go towards our team goal.

GET REGISTERED AND BEGIN YOUR FUNDRAISING EFFORTS NOW :)


I hope I did not ramble to much... thank you for continuing to come to this site and lift up these sweet children and families in prayer. Remember to leave messages on their CB pages often too. It means so much to them. Please continue to lift up the families that have given up their children to this awful illness. Each day has it's own struggles for each of them. While they try to carry on, they still have big empty holes in their hearts and empty arms. There is not a day that goes by that they do not miss their sweet angel very much. Keep praying for them.

Hug your own babies, and do something special to make a memory today. Take pictures often, and never take a day for granted.

BELIEVE PRAYER WORKS~