Light the Night

Every once in a while, there is an opportunity to be a part of something that can really make a difference in someone else's life. Here it comes....

Since last July, the life of our family has been forever changed by leukemia. Chris's younger brother Greg and his wife Joy have been immersed in a world that no one would ever hope to be a part of. When their 13 month old was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic or lymphoblastic leukemia, they entered the world of pediatric cancer. At the risk of being redundant for those who have followed my blog a while, I will bring the newer readers up to speed just a bit. You can get the full story on their blog by clicking the link in my sidebar for my nephew James under "please pray for". For my purposes in this post I will say that God has brought so many rays of hope into their situation over the last year through the love and support of family and friends. One of the sources of our hope on this journey has certainly been the miracle that God has provided through modern medicine. The treatment plan that is in place for James is used in cases like his all over the world. He has been blessed enough to be a patient at MD Anderson whose reputation precedes them. His little body has been through more than most of ours will ever go through in a lifetime, however, all of it will be worth it in the end when he will be able to say that his blood and his body are free of leukemia. In part, this is owed to the research and developments made possible for the treatment of this terrible disease funded by donations to organizations like "Light the Night" through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

The walk here in The Woodlands is in October and our family along with a team Joy has organized will be walking and raising funds in honor of James. Joy is also working with Team in Training to do a larger scale walk/run later in the year. I believe that she is required to have a larger fundraising goal for the Team in Training event, but the light the night walk is happening this October and I do have an opportunity to raise a smaller amount here. As I budget for charitable donations, I am keeping in mind that the larger donation will go to her larger goal, though both events fund helping cancer patients in variety of ways. If you would like to consider making a donation to this effort, please follow this link.

http://www.active.com/donate/ltnHousto/2327_theryanfamily93

There is also a homepage for Team Ryan where you can see his picture and see who is walking in his honor, etc... I think you can navigate the Light the Night website from my donation page to find that. We are doing the Market Street walk. I am not technologically savvy enough to load that photo onto this post or I would do it!

Thank you so much for your prayers for James, Joy, Greg, and Adrianne. It is your prayers that we covet more than anything, but we also thank you for any financial contribution you may feel led to make.

A Boy and His Bike

The older two got money to get new bikes for their birthdays so we went out and picked them out this past weekend. (thanks grammy and pops...great idea!) Coleman has been practicing and has become quite proficient on his little bike right out in the court. We also got one for mom with a handy seat on back for Coleman to use when we go the distance. If you know me, you realize this is because I am not about to send my boys out on their bikes to cover much territory without me being along for the ride. I figure they are too old to ride in circles on the culdesac now. The only thing Cody wanted to do for his birthday was to go on a ride to the dirt hills as a family. As a bonus, our next door neighbors were available and rode along with us making it all the more fun for everyone!

8 Years Old!

There's one theme that rings true for me in the last few weeks and it is how time flies! I really cannot believe Cody is 8 years old. Something about having a couple of boys close together lends itself to feeling like you haven't had much chance to just sit and savor the moments. Oh, I try. And much of them time I do stop, slow down and just soak up whatever little thing happens to be going on in a given moment. It seems that doesn't happen enough, however, and so I woke up yesterday with an 8 year old.

What fun it has been to have Cody in our lives. Right from the start, he was determined. Of course back then we thought maybe it was colic. He just made sure we did not forget about him for long! Cody loves the simple things in life. Having a day to take it easy in his boxers all day long, playing cards or board games, being outside exploring or getting a chance to go fishing. On the flip side of that, things are rarely simple when it comes to competing. Cody can get pretty intense, and there is no need to test him, he does mean business and he does have a line that shouldn't be crossed. Never fear though, you won't have to wonder if you've crossed it. He is also quite the observer of both people and happenings around him. As a result, no one finds more stuff than he does. If you've lost it, he will find it...especially if it happens to be money! Of the many sides of Cody, one of the dearest to me is his tender and sweet heart where his intensity spills over. His sensitivity and capacity for caring knows no bounds. It is such a privilege and a joy to have been chosen to parent Cody. Chris and I look so forward to seeing the man that he becomes and being a part of the process along the way!