An Amazing Mother

I have taken over the blog tonight to do something I have been meaning to do for a very long time. I wanted to surprise Kim and therefore have not found a solid chunk of time to write this until now.

As many of you know Kim is an amazing mother and has such a tender heart. Since August 13, 2008 Kim has risen to the call of being a mother of a child who is suffering from cancer. She has showed me how to be strong, she has showed me how to be brave and has devoted every minute of her day to learning about Leukemia. She does not take the easy road, or the selfish one, rather she is constantly thinking about how to make our children's lives better, thinking of ways to better their days, thinking of new ways for them to be creative, and constantly trying to improve her parenting. Yet, she is also very hard on herself and for a long time blamed herself for Gracie's illness. Since we find out about Grace I think Kim has read 6 childhood Leukemia books, she has read every single word in every single handout given to us by the hospital. She is constantly thinking of ways to help Gracie and writing down questions to ask the doctors. I just want to express my appreciation for her and for all the amazing things she does. It does not have to take a family crisis to see all the amazing things my wife does, but through this I have seen strength and wisdom that astonishes me daily. She is tireless and selfless and I am so lucky.

Dating and getting married at such an early age did not lend itself to thinking about and evaluating all the minute details which make up a good marriage, a good wife, a good mother, or a good friend. Many individuals search a lifetime for a partner with these traits. I on the other hand won the lottery. I have been blessed with a wife who puts family and love above all else. I cannot express how grateful I am to go on this difficult journey with her. She is more than I could have imagined in a woman, mother and wife and Gracie, Tanner, and Eva will never know how lucky they are to have her as their mother.

Halloween is almost here...

There is nothing the kids like to do more than decorate our house for various holidays. So the spiders, the webs, the "billy bob" teeth, and wigs came out the other night. In addition, the kids made a Halloween gingerbread house so watch out for the black frosting. It looks like they all have it on their faces in one picture or another.

We also wanted to thank everyone for the amazing response we have had in selling the Team Grace bands. In fact I think we have sold out our stash and are going to be ordering more to make sure we have enough.

Team Grace band details...

We first wanted to say thanks for such a great showing of support with the Team Grace Bands! It will be so empowering for the kids to be proactive about her Cancer by helping others along the way. Each of you is instrumental in that! So, thank you sincerely for supporting us! Some quick details about the bands...there are two sizes :adult and child and the bands are 3 dollars each. Oh, and of course-they're super stylin' and sure to nicely accessorize any outfit!

Team Grace Bands

Some of you may have seen the pink bands Kim, Tanner, Grace and I have been wearing. Thanks to Nick, Grandma, and Grandpa we received a bunch. Gracie would like to sell them and donate the funds to the Doernbecher Hematology Oncology Department. Of course, they are hot pink and say Team Grace. If you would like one please contact us.

First Day of School!!!!!!!

She did it! Gracie attended her first day of school. She was apprehensive, at first, but did very well. She lost some steam at the end of the day, but honestly, just the fact that she went and got through it is amazing! I can't explain how touching it was to watch her holding hands with other little girls and chatting away the recess hour. Her favorite subject was spanish, as she recognized many of the words and could count to ten! The other children were absolutely sweet and darling to her. I've been so touched with their compassion, and the way her teacher, Miss Pruneda (greatest Kindergarten teacher ever) prepared them for her arrival! So, way to go Gracie! What a great day!