philosophy: the natural aging process may cause our bodies to descend, but our spirit need not descend into worry. with time comes wisdom, character, strength, and perspective. our bodies are teaching us flexibility and glory of embracing change on our beautiful journey. we can fight against the flow, or we can yield to knowing our bodies, gaining our souls and finding our grace.
Thank you for all the beautiful birthday wishes.
-Heidi
Dear Friends~
Heidi is going to kill me, but I have hijacked her blog!! Happy Birthday Sweet Heidi! We wish you a day filled with love, sparkle and rainbows!! You are simply amazing in too many ways to count. The world is a better place with you in it. What a great day to celebrate the true spirit of GOTEBB, enjoying all the simple joys of life. We love you!
Nothing that’s what. At least with Elizabeth’s bone marrow. It looks like Maintenance will have to wait one more week. She did not make counts again this week to be cleared for maintenance. SOOOOO we are really hoping next week will be the magic week Elizabeth starts her year and a half maintenance therapy! Although Elizabeth would say this week was the magic week (I will tell you why in a minute) It seems like we have been waiting forever! Not much really happened in a week. Her ANC has stayed about the same. But, I have a feeling about next week. IT IS GOING TO BE A BIG SPARKLICIOUS WEEK WHERE THESE LEMONS OF OURS TURN INTO THE SWEETEST LEMONADE POSSIBLE. So Elizabeth has been talking all week about how she wants a pet hamster. We took our dogs to Pet Smart to get check ups last week and she spotted the so very cute “dwarf hamsters”! Adorable indeed, but needless to say a dwarf hamster is not in our future according to the doctors and Daddy. Do they realize who they are dealing with? Do they realize who they are telling no? Elizabeth doesn’t take no for an answer. She never has and she never will. That’s just how she rolls, strong and determined! Which is why she is making big changes with this no good very terrible problem we call, childhood cancer. So even though she has begged, pleaded, batted her eye lashes and smiled from ear to ear (lipstick and all), the doctors and daddy are still telling her no, but somehow she still managed to have a little rodent show up ready to make a nice cozy home in Bryce’s closet this weekend. Yep, when all else fails use a magic penny and throw it in a fountain or so Elizabeth would say. We found a mouse this weekend living in Bryce’s seriously cluttered closet! I have decided a yard sale is in our future and so for lack of cleaning out EVERYTHING over the past 8 months as well as moving homes in addition to closing a home furnishings store, I believe we could stand to make some serious cash for EBB Foundation with a yard sale. So a yard sale it is… We may even offer our new furry little friend for sale since we can’t keep him. Let the raffle begin…starting bid $20.00 Comes with a kennel and spinning wheel that never stops spinning and if we could possibly have visiting rights or babysit once in awhile that would be awesome! A mouse running on a spinning wheel kind of sums up how I have felt for awhile now, waiting for counts to come up and be cleared for Maintenance. Running on a big gigantic wheel trying to get somewhere but getting nowhere. I guess I’m not surprised that Elizabeth awoke from a nightmare last night. “Mama, I had a nightmare.” As she sobbed next to my bed. “Oh baby, about what?” as I had her lay next to me. I mean it could be so many things, considering the last 8 months. All the pokies, yucky medicines, bone marrow aspirations, spinal injections, losing her words, losing her legs, losing her hands, losing her smile, losing her hair twice, injecting poison almost daily into her little bitty body that makes her feel beyond yucky at times. It’s been a very scary 8 months! She said, “Mama, just hold my hand, please.” As I grabbed her hand, her tremor was worse than it has ever been. I can’t imagine trying to relax with that feeling of constant shaking. It was soothing to her to just have me hold her hand so that she could have stillness and rest a moment. My baby has gone through so much. TOO MANY SCARY, NASTY, HORRIFIC, events from childhood cancer which deserves so much more attention than it gets. I made a vow a long time ago, that I was devoting my life, forever, to slay childhood cancer. After last night I could not be more sure of anything to fight for! In case you were wondering, her nightmare was about a mouse with a needle for a nose so there you have it. (Pokies and finding a pet mouse all in one) I have to give a BIG shout out to Girl Scout Troop 274, with their EBB Fundraising Event, which I heard through the grapevine was quite a success! I hear they raised $1500.00!!! WooooooWhoooo! Way to go girl scouts! You are so BEAUTIFUL!!! Thank you Girl Scout Troop 274! If you want to help SLAY childhood cancer here are some upcoming ways you can help! 
It has been a VERY busy week. Where do I even begin? I know!
Peace Love Rainbows
We started the festivities on Friday with a blood transfusion bright and early at clinic, which gave Elizabeth EXTRA SUPER DUPER energy for a Very Rainbowlicious Tea Party with the Chester Girls! It was the best ROY G BIV Tea Party EVER!!! The girls wore the fanciest skirts they could find. Everything was rainbow from the place cards to the creamy rainbow cupcakes. But, the best surprise of all was…THEY HAVE A RAINBOW ROOM!!!! This room is the Super Duper Duper BEST! It is a one of a kind free for all to paint space which those children will absolutely no doubt look back on at their childhood and say, “Remember how awesome that rainbow room was! ” It has such a Peace, Love, EBB about it. It is the best space I have EVER SEEN! Thank you Chester Girls for hosting the most rainbowlicious, magical tea party in history and sharing your rainbow room for the afternoon!
EB (aka Easter Bunny) arrived right on schedule at our house and EBB was the first one to notice and get everyone up at 5:30am! My favorite part of the day by far! The kids all found their baskets filled with candy. Bryce got a sling shot and the girls each got the Moxie Doll with the changeable wigs. They love them! Did you hear that Mattel has said they will make a one time production of 10,000 Beautiful and Bald Barbie Dolls and donate them to hospitals across the US? This is great to hear that the doll is getting made, however, we need to get Mattel to produce more than 10,000 dolls. This does not even cover the amount of children that will be diagnosed this year with childhood cancer, not to mention the daughters whose Mama’s have cancer or the children dealing with alopecia or even the siblings and friends of these individuals. You can sign a petition on the Beautiful and Bald Barbie fan page on facebook to try and get Mattel to step things up and sell the doll so that it is available for all children.
So Monday came and…Hi Ho Hi Ho it’s off to clinic we go…I have been extremely anxious to hear the words “You are cleared for maintenance!” Before we can hear those words, Elizabeth’s counts have to recover and come back up. So far, they have just been dropping. She had an ANC count of 133 this week. So she pretty much cannot fight any type of infection off right now. She has received several transfusions over the last week, and luckily they all have gone very smooth. I have been looking forward to maintenance because I clearly thought this would get a little easier. But as the doctor handed us 5 new chemo prescriptions to have filled to start on Monday with counts permitting, I was very clearly wrong about anything getting easier. I have to admit, it was a little discouraging, but when I look back at a year ago, and how we did not realize how sick our little girl was, we have really come along way in a years time, having kicked childhood cancer in the buttcrack for almost 8 months makes me so proud to say ELIZABETH IS IN REMISSION!!! And our hope for this coming Monday is that she will be cleared for maintenance and we will keep kicking cancer in an even bigger stronger way for many others!
Kate and Elizabeth on Easter one year ago.
My LOVES today!
So there are some really beautiful people I need to thank tonight! I have had a TON of BEAUTIFUL people lifting me up in so many BEAUTIFUL ways lately! I have people contacting me about doing fundraisers for EBB often. It’s amazing and I could not be more excited! This is only the beginning of the EBB Movement! I always knew she was special, from the minute she was born. She is making changes in this world! But, don’t just watch it happen. Come and be apart of it! So…do you remember that Super Duper fundraiser a couple of weeks ago? The one where Jim Atkins held an acoustical concert at the Cresent Ballroom to benefit EBB! Well, his lovely wife, Amy brought a check by this week for $5700.00!
Can you say…HOLY HUMMING FABULOUS!!!
I knew the event was going to be perfect from the minute I walked in, because there right in front of my eyes on the chalkboard behind the bar was a beautiful rainbow!
Peace Love Rainbows
This is so incredibly wonderful and I just want to thank Jim and Amy Atkins for all the beauty you have shown towards EBB and truly letting her life touch your hearts. So whoop there it is $5700.00 to fight childhood cancer!!!
Also, I want to send out a special shout out to Gena Seivert for organizing the amazing TEAM EBB for the LoziLu Mud Run a couple weeks ago and on top of it raising an additional $660.00 for EBB Foundation!!! You SPARKLE with amazing beauty!!!
If you want to get more involved there is another upcoming event to support EBB Foundation today…
Craft & Bake Sale Presented by: GIRL SCOUT TROOP 274
When: Saturday, April 14th 10am-2pm
Where: 831 E. Desert Park Lane (7th St, 2 blocks S. of Northern)
BE there or be square! Get Down with the EBB Movement
How much mud could a mud mama run if a mud mama could run mud?
Try and say that one 3 times really fast! Well, all I can say… those Mama’s can run tons of mud amazingly! Team EBB represented in full force on Saturday at the Lozilu Mud Run as the largest team with over 60 members! We had a start time at 10:20 and started it off with the DJ playing OPP by Naughty by Nature, which got me doing jumping jacks of joy! I was so excited in fact, that I biffed it through the first mud river trying to splash everyone. Yep the photographer was right there and snapped a picture of it! SO awesome! The obstacles were super duper fun, the costumes were FREAKIN’ rainbowlicious and I could not have asked for a better group of women to kick cancer in the butt crack with! Between the heat and mud we looked like chocolate covered tamalees by the end. It was so hysterically fun and the best time I’ve had in a long time! A very very special THANK YOU to everyone who has let Elizabeth’s life touch your heart and not just at the surface, but deep within to your soul. Thank you for wanting to make a difference with who you are and the causes that you stand for. Thank you for recruiting others, thank you for spreading the word, and especially thank you for covering yourselves in tons of mud as a gesture of your love for Elizabeth!
So even with all of the fun times, I still managed to have two moments of tears on Saturday. The first was when I saw Elizabeth’s friend Zoe standing there ready to run for Team EBB. I am tearing just thinking about it as I write. You all may remember Elizabeth meeting Zoe on the 7th floor at PCH New Year’s Eve. Her and Elizabeth hit it off immediately and everyday after that when she was in the hospital she would ask me, “Is Zoe here?” “Can we go and see Zoe?” She adores her so much! Elizabeth is 5 and Zoe is 17, but Elizabeth has a connection with her and they are both bravely kicking lymphoma in the knee. Seeing Zoe in the fight for her own life standing there tall, bald and proud with a look in her eyes saying “Cancer you have messed with the wrong girls and YOU WILL NOT WIN was enough to make any mama tear. She is amazing and I am honored that she came out. The other moment was when someone asked me how we came up with the tag line “Kicking Cancer in the Buttcrack”. I began tell the story of how my friend Natalie headed up a cheer when Elizabeth was first diagnosed which went…Rah Rah Ree, Kick Lymphoma in the Knee, Rah Rah Rass, Kick it in the (other knee). Every time Elizabeth gets ready to go into surgery or under anesthesia we chant that cheer over and over, but Elizabeth quickly began adding different body parts to each new verse. Her favorite is always Rah Rah Ree Kick Lymphoma in the BUTTCRACK! The memories of all she has conquered and bravely faced over the past seven months is overwhelming for this mama to think about when it comes to my beautiful five year old child. I get very emotional thinking about it. My heart aches to hear about other children continuing to be diagnosed and knowing what it is like to take on the biggest, scariest, toughest battle as a family. Although we have got our very magical date of August 23, 2013 when Elizabeth will received her very last chemotherapy and we will start to be at clinic a little less, there is always a kiddo that is going to be there a little more and that breaks my heart. I WILL NEVER EVER STOP FIGHTING FOR THESE CHILDREN! Thank you thank you thank you for showing so much love and support!
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