Whewwwwwww!

That is the huge sigh of relief coming from my mouth that I'm sure you could have heard if your ears were tuned correctly. We have now successfully made it through another Easter weekend, another girls' 40th birthday (and Hannah's b"day) weekend and another Relay for Life!

Where to start? As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words!

I started Relay day at another awards ceremony for Harrison. It truly never gets old!

We went to this ceremony knowing that Harrison would be recognized for his straight E report card and 75 AR point award. Could we be any more proud? But then, he was called to the stage for his teacher's citizenship award. He received the award for "honesty and integrity". Wow! Talk about a few busting buttons (and not just because I am eating everything that doesn't eat me first these days)! This was a fabulous way to begin a long day!

O.K. I know I said a picture is worth a thousand words not a thousand pictures. But, I can't help myself. The Relay for Life is so much more than just a night of fundraising. There are SO many emotions tied up in it, It is always a night a laughter and tears...but always, in the end, hope. If you or a loved one have ever received a diagnosis of cancer, you "get it". Your life will never be the same again but that doesn't always mean a bad thing-just different. It makes you look at things in a different way and cherish what you have so much more. And, as your diagnosis and treatment slip further away, you forget for a few minutes and life seems normal again but a night like this reminds us of what is TRULY important. It is "normal" for little things to become big things again and for families to go back to doing what most of them do best-looking at things in so many different ways and wondering if we really were all raised in the same house. But a night like this serves as a loving reminder-in the end, it is all about family and unconditional love-no matter what! This crazy gang of mine is like that. We all go our different ways and get caught up in life's whirlwind but in the end, we are there for each other-no matter what. It is a wonderful feeling to know that someone always has your back and is looking out for you whether you want them to or not. I could not love any of them more than I do and a night like this just makes you want to gather them all in the biggest group hug ever-and not let go-for a long time.

So, come along and share the laughs and tears. 

 This is not quite what our site was supposed to look like, but Mother Nature had other plans. After a week of rain forecasts-and not a drop I might add-tonight was supposed to be THE night. We were greeted with lots and lots of wind during set-up and the facade was just not going to happen. Good thing we are all "adapters".

 

But, here is the opening ceremony and do you see what is peeking through the clouds? The sun actually came out and the wind blew most of the clouds away. It turned into a perfect night-not too hot, not too cold-and we have had it both of those ways and all ways in between before so this was most welcome!

Our two beautiful survivors!

Because Caitlins' dad and sister had a soccer game they could not miss tonight, Kristin invited 2 of Cailtlin's friends to drive up with them from St. Pete and witness a relay first hand. Since Caitlin was diagnosed and treated when she was so young, most of her friends are just now beginning to really understand what her history has been. This year, Caitlin is going to be a team captain of her own relay team at her high school in just a few weeks.

Since Caitlin's 15th birthday is this week, we decided it would be so appropriate to celebrate while we were all together and at such a wonderful event. So hard to believe that we started this process so many years ago-she actually took her first steps at our first relay.

The munchkins gearing up for the party. The relay does special laps each hour and if you are walking and "doing the theme" of that lap, you get spirit points. No one could have more spirit than these guys. They suited up with bubbles, glow sticks and hats-all at the same time. They had the most wonderful evening. It is a safe environment and I think they just get the feel of the whole thing. So many lovely memories imbedded in my mind of these little people jogging the track, tossing around a football, eating snow cones, popcorn or Goldfish or dancing out in the open field without a care in the world. Presley had a wand in her hand, a glow stick necklace on her neck and a party hat AND tiara on her head and she was out there "dancing like no one was watching" as they say-but we all were and have never seen anything as adorable!

Some people will do anything they are asked if asked by a "very special little girl" in their life!

 Once we had embarrassed her as much as we could by singing "Happy Birthday" as loudly as we could (isn't that what you would expect of your family), we let her blow out her candles and open her presents.I'm sure she was just happy that none of us jumped up on stage and grabbed the mic to do this!

For some reason, it appears that this form of taunting Nana must run in the family!

Want to make sure we give a big thank you to Becky and Hannah. They are the ones that will not let us "slack off"-even in years when we are so busy that none of us ever think this will really happen again. It is a huge undertaking and they are willing to bear the brunt-could not do this without you both!

The most touching part of the relay for me is the luminaria ceremony. This year they added a lovely story about "the empty chair" and it really brought it all home. All of the lights are extinguished and all generators are turned off. The night is totally quiet and lit only by the glow of the candles. So many people being remembered but more and more survivors to honor every year. Maybe this will be the year that one of the dollars we are raising will give us the "cure". Stay tuned.