A Shameless Public Service Announcement

It's that time of year when things spring anew.....and it's also that time of year when people all around the Country get their heads shaved to raise awareness for pediatric cancer.  It's called St. Baldrick's

My  Grandson, Andrew.....a cancer survivor, a term we are blessed to say, is participating in his eighth  St. Baldrick's Day event. 

The first couple of years he was a bald headed toddler, who took the shears to healthy heads with some help of course. Now he's the Team Captain for Andrew's Army.

He is a young man who loves giving back by getting his head shaved to raising money.  Not many ten year old kids would do that. 

Andrew loves visiting the cancer children at CHOC, delivering comfy blankets he and his sisters make, and donating a lot of  his Christmas and Birthday gifts to them.  

If you know of a St. Baldrick's event in your area, support it, or attend it.....if you live in So CA, stop by Andrew's event .......you just might have fun too. 

OK,  here's the shameless part.......I'm bad at asking for donations, and I know so many of you do your own fundraising for so many wonderful organizations.  But, I'm a shameless grandma, so  if you have some loose change left over  from your Starbucks visit...consider donating. No amount is too small.

*if you scroll down to the bottom of  the page, there is a short video  of Andrew playing the drums, accompanied by his awesome teacher, Freddy Hernandez.

Grandma J's PSA
on a personal level

Many of you have already seen this slide show....but Grandma J is nothing if not repeditive and redundant.....in that order.

So, please humor me and take a minute on this long Labor Day Weekend to watch it. Then you can go back to all those fun things like laundry and yard work. Cuz seriously? Grandma J knows every kid in this video. Some are no longer with us, and some are still struggling, and of course, Andrew is her grandson.

Andrew is a survivor, and the handsome young man, halfway through the slide show (with Andrew on his lap) was diagnosed with his cancer the same day he got his Lacrosse scholarship to University of Siena.

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, share the message

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Kim's (Andrew's mom) message:

Dear Friends...Each of you has been a part of our "cancer" world...and some of you have children in the video that I have made. The video is my way of spreading the word, that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. I thank God everyday for the miracles He has worked in Andrew's life.....I want that for every parent. Hoping that one day we have a cure. Please share this video and let's increase pediatric cancer awareness and research.
XOXO kim

Busy Hands....gather no moss

Or something similar. What Grandma J is trying to say is she's been busy.

Now that September is here, October is on the horizon...and that's a busy month on so many fronts.

Here's a rundown, give or take any unknown minor adjustments:




*Sgt John is coming home on leave from Iraq with just enough time to take grandma J to all the dinners and casino trips he promised over the last several months....and she has the emails to prove it.


*While Sgt John is home, grandma J's granddaughter his daughter is having her tonsils out, and he wants to be with her because under the best of circumstances, she always cries for her daddy.


*Sgt John thinks he'll have time for a quick three day weekend getaway to Las Vegas with his bride...and Grandma J will entertain the grandchildren and JJ while they're gone.




*Once Grandma J has had her fill of Sgt John and his bride gets back from Las Vegas, Grandma J is hitting the road for So. CA. Yep, a 1,400 road trip, each way, with an itinerary that would knock your socks off. More about that in a post of it's own.

I know what you're thinking....who cares about October? September is just starting, and October is eons away, so how busy can you be?

Well, I'll tell you. A-Ron went with Grandma J to the fabric store after his three hour baseball practice. She wanted him to help her pick out fleece to make some more blankets for the children in the pediatric oncology ward for Christmas. He goes with Grandma J to distribute them and we need at least twenty. Right now? We only have six.

I figured I'd let A-Ron pick out the fabrics that he thinks an older kid would like. Here they are:

Yeah, good choice! SpongeBob SquarePants with Patrick. The one thing that really irritates me is the price of licensed fabric. Not only is it twice as much, but you have several wasted inches of fabric with their warning on it. In this case.....thank you Viacom.



Oh, and SpongeBob...was this really necessary?

This was A-Ron's second choice! Ummm, maybe Uncle Michael would like this one. Once again, Thank you, Twentieth Century Fox.

Now, I thought maybe A-Ron could find something a bit softer....something a girl would like. He claims he doesn't go there!

But, I finally got him to pick this out. It's some kind of Disney stuff that has nothing to do with princesses or pirates. Once again, we paid through the teeth for the Disney name.

And who notice that Grandma J took these pictures on her stripped down bed? Yeah, it's because she doesn't neglect her chores, even when she's having fun. Nope....she's airing out her mattress while her sheets are in the dryer.

Giving Thanks Doesn't End Here

This is where I get serious and do my best to get in touch with your softer side.......as I take you don't memory lane. My memory lane.

Five years ago, most of us sat down to our usual Thanksgiving turkey dinner. Some of us probably were unfortunate enough to have strep-throat. Some others may have just had surgery or lost a love one. Not everyone had a great day.

This is a picture of my grandson Andrew five years ago, toasting his father, and giving thanks..to be alive. Andrew had just turned three, and was diagnosed with leukemia when he was two. You can read his story here. He didn't even have the "good" leukemia....yes there's a leukemia that they actually call the good one. Try telling that to any parent with a child diagnosed with any leukemia.

Tell that to Marey. Marey's teenage daughter Ali, was also diagnosed with leukemia. Fast forward five years and she is accomplishing so much with her life. You can read her story here.

Over the last five years, I have come to know hundreds of children with cancer. It pretty much became my life. I read Caringbridge Sites every night checking on kids. I can honestly say I have been to more funerals for children in those five years than all the ones for adults in my life.

Marey and Postcard Cindy, (a name she was given by a cancer dad she never met in person), have been holding fundraisers every Christmas season to help two families keep their heads above water while there child goes through bone marrow transplant. Even with the best insurance, some families travel cross Country, incurring housing and living expenses above and beyond the norm to save their child's life.

This year, they are holding a raffle over at Marey's blog, ELEMENTO-P . Go on over and check out the items being raffled off. There are some beautiful handcrafted items, and I personally made the one blanket which is similar to the ones I deliver to the Peds/Onc ward here in Central Texas for Christmas.

These are the two children Marey and Cindy are helping this year:

Ivan, a 17 year old man whose relapsed leukemia has sent him to transplant. He is at LPCH and is doing well. He is the oldest of 6 children and we would certainly love to help them out this season.

Austin is another relapsed 4 year old leukemia patient. He had 2 years of treatment, relapsed and is now going to transplant. You can read more about him at his site.

If you are still reading this....Thank you. Now go check out Marey's blog, and check back often for new items to be added. I have a link at the top of this page on the left.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING
a message from the resident turkey....

Be thankful....what more can I say? Let's see.....be good to each other..no food fights, and if you find yourself alone, maybe find a food kitchen and offer to help. ...they'll even feed YOU!

How about visiting a nursing home, some residence never get visitors. Or maybe bring a toy or gift to a child stuck in a pediatric cancer ward....recently diagnosed with leukemia (I've known so many).

Now, I want you to know that I'm so thankful for YOU, my blogger friend. You stopped by today and that means a lot to me. So, just for you, I've got a goofy game to play over there on the right ...just go easy on the turkey.

Smooches

STEP BROTHERS
= SUPER!


I love it when I see a movie that I almost passed up, and end up loving it. Somehow the real critics and I don't see things the same lately. I thought Step Brothers was hysterical and then some. There is a performance towards the end that satisfied a nerdy part of me...but I'm cool like that, and have learned to embrace the nerd in me.


Go see it without reservations, you won't be sorry. My friend Marey reminded me about what a great guy Will Ferrell is off screen:

"Will Ferrell auctioned off an "extra" part in that movie on eBay and the proceeds all went to a cancer scholarship for kids who had/have cancer....so I will see the movie no matter what the review because he donates a lot of time and money to the cause...and also because Daughter #1 gets a scholarsihp from that....and Pooper could too....in about 10 years :)"

Marey's Daughter #1 and my grandson Pooper are both leukemia survivors. They traveled that journey around the same time. So when people like Will Ferrell reach out to cancer kids it means the world to us. So when you laugh your silly head off watching Step Brothers, keep in mind what a big heart that goof ball has!

And because I'm so tickled? I invited the Step Brothers to my aqua aerobics today.