Trent Green...

So I spent the afternoon yesterday with Trent Green.

Yes, THE Trent Green!!

WOO HOO!!

He was one of the Chiefs players who graciously offered to be in our 2012 "A Year of HOPE" calendar that our foundation did with 12 heroes and 12 Chiefs players. (our foundation can be found at www.BradensHope.org) :)

It was awesome!!

Trent was photographed with an extremely bright, courageous young lady named Hope. 

We all knew Hope was terminally ill while she took these beautiful photos. No one spoke of it, we just tried to make it a day that cAncer could never take away from her and her family. It was a detour! Hope earned her angel wings 3 weeks after this photo shoot, but you would have never known how weak she really was watching her smile and play that day!

She was amazing!

After the photo shoot at the airport, the man who owned the airplane, Paul, had another pilot take them up in the air for a personal flight!!

This man is perhaps the single most genuinely kind hearted, giving, caring person I have ever met!  I truly admire him and his beautiful family! I am thankful to have these people in my life! They are just incredible people who do extremely kind things just to help others while expecting nothing in return! They are my heroes in many ways!! Paul and his family own Harvest Moon Natural Foods in Olathe and they do SO much for our children with cancer! I could never adequately thank them for all the work they do for our heroes! This day, especially!

Since the photo shoot, we have kept in contact with Trent and I recently asked him if he would be willing to do the introduction for our showcase video for the Hope Gala on September 28, 2013 at the Overland Park, KS Sheraton.

He graciously accepted and yesterday, we shot the video.

To be honest, I had "met" Trent before the calendar shoot.  It was an up close and personal kind of meeting. :)

It was also a typical "Seriously!" story.

When Brian and I were dating, he took me to a KSU/KU basketball game in Lawrence.  It's no secret that I am a HUGE KSU fan!!

Four generations of my family have gone to KSU.  My grandfather, dad, brothers, and nephews. I wasn't able to go because when mom died my senior year of high school, we were in a bit of a financial pickle so I went to Fort Hays State and lived at home. It all worked out fine, but I still bleed purple!!

My brother, Shawn, played football for them and even before that, we went to many football games.

Once, when I was probably about 4 or 5, we were driving to the game.  My mom and dad were in the front seats (mom's beehive blocked a lot of the view...yup...it really was that high)! :)  We pulled up alongside a car of KU fans. My mom casually raised her middle finger up to them and my dad drove off.

They both giggled.

I silently observed.

So...after we got out of the car and were walking into the stadium, I saw a KU fan...

you know where this is going, right?! :)

And I casually lifted my middle finger.

I didn't know!!! I thought it was just how we said we disliked KU!!! LOL!! 

(I supposed it was, wasn't it?!) :)

My mom stopped me and ushered me away telling me that I should not do it again once I explained where I had learned it. It was "for moms and dads only".

Well..crap! 

But she did giggle!! ;)

So anyway, I'm at the basketball game standing in the gate of hell (The Phog) in my purple (one of about ten people) with Brian who was decked out in the colors of the red headed bluebirds and we stopped at the concession stand. I had never been in the fieldhouse before and Brian took great delight in showing me all of the KU stuff and Jay and BabyJay...barf!!!  Willie could eat them in one bite!! LOL!!

I got some popcorn and a drink, turned around, and started to walk back to where Brian was waiting. I was looking down at my pop to make sure I didn't spill any of it...

...and ran face first into...

Trent Green's chest!

OH CRAP!!!

Popcorn went everywhere and he smiled and tried to help me. I was flustered and trying to just escape and Brian was waiting for me cracking up!!

Awesome!!

I haven't told Trent about that initial meeting...I think we'll just try to forget it!! LOL!!

Trent taped the intro for the video (he did an AMAZING job) and then he spent a long time talking to the BVTV students who are creating the video. They each took individual pictures with him and they were SOOO excited!!

And I got not just one hug, but TWO! 

I'm considering taking a shower sometime in 2014.

:)

Seriously!

Chiefs, Part II...

This was actually our introduction into the world of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Remember, I am a HUGE Chiefs fan!! LOVE my Chiefs and have since I was a little girl! :)

I was in Philadelphia with Braden while he was getting scans, and I got a phone call from a friend saying she had nominated Braden and me to do the coin toss for the Breast Cancer Awareness game on October 24, 2010 against Jacksonville.

I was elated!! I had just had my reconstruction surgery two weeks prior (and when I got home, my sutures would open up and I would spend the night in the hospital and have surgery again the next morning...because Seriously...this is my life!) :)  And my head was now covered in very short hair post chemo! No more hat!! :)

I was hopeful we might get the call, and we did.  :)

I completely FREAKED out.  They explained that Braden and I would do the coin toss and that we would get to be on the field while the guys warmed up and kicked off!!

I mean I really FREAKED out!! I had only been to Arrowhead twice...let alone touch the turf and been up close to the players. 

WOOT WOOT...we were going to get to do all of that!!!

Well...I posted about it on Braden's CaringBridge site and someone sent that message to Mr. Donovan, Mr. Pioli, and Mr. Hunt.  I had no idea...

Right before the game, I got a call from them telling me the details of where we were supposed to meet, what time, etc, and they mentioned that Mr. Pioli wanted to try to meet us in person if possible.  WHAT??

MORE FREAKING OUT!!

Well..the day of the game, not only did to meet Mr. Pioli, we met Mr. Donovan and Mr. Hunt too.

Shut.The.Front.Door!!

(Mr. Donovan was the one that told me someone had emailed my CaringBridge post to them and that's how they knew we were such huge fans...and that Braden and I had been fighting cancer together.)

We got to meet those three amazing men in person and talk to them for a bit....and that was before the guys even came on the field! WHOA!

Braden was amazed by a dried up, brown leaf he found on the side of the field.  He wouldn't let go of it.  He just held it and stared in amazement!  LOL!!  Perspective, all of this going on around him and he appreciated a dried up brown leaf!!!  This child is amazing and so is his brother (who was freaking out like mom). :)  They were only 5 and 6 years old but man will they have a story to tell their kids (HOPEfully) :)

Then the players came out and Braden and I got to stand on the side of the field.  KC Wolf held one of Braden's hands and I held the other and we were waiting for the signal to go to the center of the field.

I was soaking it up..and trying to stay composed but finding it really hard to not jump out of my skin when I noticed a REALLY big Chief standing next to me.

Right next to me.

I turned and looked and I didn't know his face (but he was HUGE). I couldn't see his numbers but he was chewing his mouthpiece and laughing while staring at me. I must have looked like a deer in headlights! :)

I said something like, "I know...but I'm sort of pinching myself trying to believe this is real!"  He burst out laughing!! I blushed. :)

I found out later, it was Brian Waters.

Freaked again! 

So we got the signal and went out on the field with KC Wolf. 

Now this is game and they are in game-mode, fierce faces, tough guys going into battle to whoop up on some jaguars. I expected to go on the field, watch the coin toss, and then just walk off.

I didn't expect what was going to happen next.

We hadn't met Matt Cassel yet but we had been talking to Lauren trying to find a date to meet him. 

Well, right after the coin toss, in the middle of the field, Matt bent down on one knee and smiled and looked at Braden.

Braden ran sprinting into his arms, threw both arms around Matt's neck and gave him a HUGE hug!

I think Matt's hug back was even bigger!

And I was in tears.

To be honest, I'm not exactly what the sequence was next because I couldn't see for the tears and I was completely amazed BUT...

we were suddenly surrounded by Chiefs giving Braden high fives and pats and smiles and love!

and I got a lot of hugs and kisses on the cheek too. I do know that one of those kisses was from Brandon Flowers!! Woo hoo!! Never washing my face again!!

HOLY MOLY!!

If this was a dream, I did NOT want to wake up!!

So the guys started to clear out and we began our walk back to the sideline when Coach Haley (who we had never met either) RAN OUT ONTO THE FIELD straight to Braden, and he bent down on one knee and gave Braden a HUGE hug and I got a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Bryan Truta (the announcer) would tell me later that all of the guys in the control booth watched that and every single one of them had tears too.  It was incredible!!

I was shocked and happy and amazed and speechless...(for me, speechless is a BIG deal! ;)

We got to watch the kickoff from the sideline...SHUT UP!!! :)

Then we made our way through the tunnel (another moment...holy smokes!) and they took us through this beautiful hallway to a suite.  And the story doesn't end there!

Waiting in the suite was the most beautiful flower arrangement...for me.  WHOA! 

And at halftime....Lauren Cassel came to visit us and we got to meet her in person!! 

If that wasn't enough, she stayed for most of the second half talking to the boys and the other people in the suite with us while trying to keep an eye on the game.  She is one of the most gracious kind people I have ever met!!

And again..holy moly!! She could have just said hi and moved on...but she stayed and visited.

At the end of the game, I didn't want to go home.  I knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we stayed for as long as we could to enjoy every minute.

The KC Chiefs are a class act!! They went above and beyond to make the day special for Braden and our family just because they cared! Another one of my favorite top ten days EVER!

So this post and yesterday's post are two of the reasons I love the Chiefs...but there is still SOO much more to the ongoing Chiefs story!! We'll save that for another day!!

And I will say it again, "2013 IS OUR YEAR KC CHIEFS!!"

Here are the pics! :) 

And remember, if you want to see them bigger, you can click on the picture and it will enlarge, I recommend that...they are pretty small on here! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2013 BABY!!!

 

 

 

My Chiefs, Part I....

It's no secret...I LOVE the KC Chiefs!!

I have loved them since I was a little girl.

I had brothers, we watched a lot of football!! ;)

Yes, I know...last year was a bad year.  The year before wasn't that great either but I'm a fan for life and I will ALWAYS stand behind my team!!   Good Season or Not So Good Season and even the bad seasons. 

I will always love my Chiefs and this is why...

What you don't see when they are off the field is who they really are...they are dads, husbands, brothers, uncles, sons...

Not numbers on a jersey and positions on a team.

I'm going to share two special days with you in picture form.  Today is day #1. Let me give you the background and then you will get to see the day rather than read about it.

Day #1 (this entry) happened in November of 2010...and the Chiefs made the playoffs that year.

I have only shared this with a handful of friends and never shown the world the pictures.  We thought Braden was dying when this day happened and I've always kept it very private.  I want to share it now so you understand WHY I love my Chiefs and the Cassels so much!! 

This is one of our Top Ten Days EVER!

Lauren and Matt Cassel are truly two of the most kind, caring, genuinely sweet people I have ever met!

At some point, and honestly I don't even remember when, we came home and had a message from Lauren Cassel (the wife of Matt Cassel the KC Chiefs QB).

Not kidding.

She said she had stalked me to find our phone number. :)  Her brother had been following us on Twitter and he told her about Braden.

She wanted to know if Braden wanted to meet a Chiefs player.  I was stunned!! I said we would love to meet Matt and she said, "Noooo...really, any player he wants to meet!"

I assured her that we would love to meet Matt!

Well, Lauren and Matt moved Heaven and Earth and made something happen that I don't think happens very often.

Braden and Zach were invited to come out to the practice facility and play with "the guys". 

Seriously!!

That facility is locked down like Fort Knox!!!

So the boys got to play with Matt Cassel, Jeremy (I so cannot recall his last name...he was receiver),  and Tyler Palco (backup QB).

Tyler, unfortunately, made the mistake of telling Zach his sister called him "Ty Ty" when he was little...sooo...Zach still refers to him as "Ty Ty". LOL!

They played outside, they played inside, the went to the weight room....

and we had one of the most grand detours EVER!

(we even had a security guard with us at all times...seriously)! :)

Then they had pizza. Coach Haley asked them to call him when we went in to have pizza so he could come say hi again. I'll show you the first time we met him tomorrow. 

What a dream!! What a story to tell generations to come.. "one day I got to go play with the Chiefs"

AMAZING!!

It was UNBELIEVABLE and it is one of the many reasons I am a Chiefs fan and specifically a Matt Cassel fan.

Braden was having a lot of pain because the cancer was still in his bones and it was hard for him to run for very long, but he had so much fun. He never cried or wimpered one time!

He just LAUGHED and GIGGLED and SMILED!!

And these pictures show why if you talk trash about my Chiefs or any member of the Chiefs, I will take you out!!  LOL!  Just look at the smiles on my son's faces and you will understand why!

These people are in my heart forever and they gave my sons something PRICELESS!!!

No one asked them to do this...they offered because they cared.

They are GOOD PEOPLE!!! And my heart hurt every time someone said something critical about any of them this year.  Talk about football all you want, but please don't cut down the people!!

They are VERY special and they have brought a lot of love and joy into my sons lives...

and they have done even more for MANY kids after this through our foundation, not because the Chiefs told them they had to, but because they wanted to on their own time. Many players joined in and lent a hand...and they ROCK!!! 

www.BradensHope.org

TAKE THAT cANCER!!!

PS..the formatting on the pictures isn't working well...I'm sure it's "operator error" so if you want to see a picture closer, just click on it and it should enlarge and you can flip through them. I highly recommend you do this because you can see the boys' faces much better! :)

These are pictures of Matt Cassel...

(I actually made Matt a Bag-Tag with this picture on it and he put it on his equipment bag he took with him to every game!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Ty Ty :)

 

 

 

The Indoor Practice Field:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Jeremy:

 

 

 

The Weight Room:

 

 

 

 

Zach and Ty Ty had WAY too much fun together!! :) I think Ty Ty must have been a very ornery boy when he was little...he's still got that ornery bit to him and he and Zach hit it off!! :)

 

 

 

 

 

And this is when mom said, "Zach, PLEASE don't break the QB!" :)

 

 

Pizza Time with the gang and Coach:

 

 

 

 GO CHIEFS!!!

2013 IS OUR YEAR!!!

 

And thank you Cassel Family!! We love you!!