Doodie...

Braden got an "Octopus Carwash" from Santa for Christmas.

What is an octopus carwash, you might ask....

Well...when we go through one of the many car washes he loves, it has big long dangling ribbons of cloth...or something...and they go back and forth and rub the car clean.

And to Braden, they look like an octopus. :)

He asked Santa for an octopus carwash this year and by golly if the jolly old elf didn't find him one.

(Rumor is you can find them on Amazon as well as at the North Pole)  :)

And it even goes in the bathtub...and has a track that moves the car along as you squirt water on the car and it rolls through sponge brushes and the octopus.

Braden was REALLY happy about this toy and he was enjoying playing with it in a tub full of bubbles for the second time ever...

when I heard a loud scream...

"HELP MOM!!!! SOMETHING'S IN THE TUB!"

So I went sprinting into the bathroom to find him standing, bare naked with a thick coating of bubbles dripping down his legs (he likes a lot of Mr. Bubble in his tubble)...

...nearly climbing up the walls at the end of the tub to get away from whatever was in the tub.

And then he said it.

"...THERE'S POO IN THE TUB!"

Oh Crap.

I know there are mommies and daddies out there that get this...when kids are in the tub when they are little, sometimes it just happens...

Nurses call it a "sitz bath"

and it sure is a crappy happening.

My first thought was to call out to my husband for help.

(I could get HIM to deal with it and I would take care of a trembling Braden...thereby getting out of the crappiest part of this emergency).

I didn't say I was proud of it...

I was just being "logical".

But, he had left moments earlier to go to the store and get waffle mix because I had a craving for waffles for lunch.

Good guy...

but it was extremely unfortunate timing for him to do something really nice for me.

No pawning it off on him...  UGH!

Oh don't pretend like you wouldn't try to get someone else to do it... LOL!

Time to suck it up and

"mom up"!

Crap!

I so didn't wanna!!

SO I pulled Braden out of the tub and wrapped a towel around him.

No need moving him far because once the tub was cleaned he would require an immediate shower...

frankly, I wanted one right then too...and I hadn't even found anything yet.

He stood outside the tub being especially helpful and pointing to where the poo was and saying repeatedly, "THE POO IS IN THE TUB....THAT'S YUCKY!"

I agreed completely.

So, I began to part the bubbles to locate the offender.

My mind flashed to Bill Murray in CaddyShack locating the "doodie" while cleaning the pool and then eating the Baby Ruth candy bar. "It's no big deal!" Come on 1980's friends...you remember! :)

But it seemed like a kinda big deal...the entire time I was cringing and putting my hand on the very top of the bubbles while moving them slowly so I wouldn't touch it.

And inside my head I was saying, "EW EW EW EW EW EW!"

I didn't want to freak Braden out any more than he already was...he was nearly hysterical...I had to stay calm and breathe...

Okay...so I didn't want to breathe...

for obvious reasons.

Braden had his hand on my back while looking over my shoulder profusely apologizing, "I sorry mom....get the poo pwease...hurry mommy...get it!"

Mommy was trying...

and where the hell was my husband,

it couldn't take that long to get waffle mix from the store!!!

Oh sure it had only been like 30 seconds,

but it seemed a LOT longer!

And then "it" floated to the top of the bubbles.

It took all my courage to pick it up....

...It was a bandaid that had formerly been on his finger.

I pulled it out and showed it to Braden who said, "Ohhhhhhhh....a bandaid!"

So he hopped back into the tub and began playing in the water again.

And I washed my hands profusely...just felt the need...

and then headed downstairs for a BIG drink of orange juice...

with a lot of champagne mixed in.

A potentially crappy moment that turned out to simply be a case of mistaken identity.

Mommy jobs are usually interesting, surprising, funny, ironic and...

they are always memorable!

No doodie.

HOPE for Four....

January 27, 2011, Braden and I were sitting in a exam room at CHOP waiting to see Dr. Mosse after scans.

I was pretty sure that we were going to have bad news about his neuroblastoma because they had seen something on his CT scan...

and I saw Dr. Mosse walking into the CT room as we were coming out of the radiology department following his MIBG scan. 

An MIBG scan is a nuclear med scan in which a radioisotope is injected into him and will "light up" on any active neuroblastoma cells.

I can see the MIBG pictures as they build and the pictures looked very different than they had ever looked before.

to me.

"Dr. Mom" ;)

I had found a penny the day before, and I picked it up and put it in my pocket.

And I had rubbed it the entire scan...and told myself to TRUST!

(see Pennies From Heaven... http://deliecehofen.blogspot.com/2013_01_18_archive.html)

Dr. Mosse came into the room and gave Braden a high five and then said, 

"I am really pleased to tell you that Braden's scans look completely normal".

I sat there with my mouth gaping open and said, "I'm going to need you to say that again."

She did.

and then I cried.

We had never heard those words...there had always been something lighting up on his scans.  And this news came just weeks after I had to fight our "oncologist" in Kansas City who told me the therapy was too hard for Braden and we would have to stop.

I told him if we stopped Braden would die...and we were not stopping because the last scan showed things were improving.

It was an ugly meeting and not much good came of it,

except that I got my way.

And then I worried that I could be wrong. There's a lot of guilt choosing therapy for your  child.

It's life and death.

And you have to pick.

It's been three years since that day.

And his neuroblastoma remains in remission despite ALL odds.

TAKE THAT cANCER!

But now Braden is fighting a secondary cancer...MDS, a preleukemia that was actually CAUSED by the treatments he endured to save his life.

Really.

But without those treatments, we wouldn't have heard he showed no evidence of neuroblastoma and he would have died four years ago.

One of the many life/death choices we have had to make over the past 6 years.  It's an impossible position every single time we have to make those choices.

Those treatments actually altered his DNA and now the doctors are very skeptical that Braden can survive the MDS. Our teams in Kansas City (a new oncologist that we love) and in Philly have never seen a child survive treatment induced MDS after neuroblastoma.

Never.

And that is terrifying and horrible.

Braden has chemo shots every night for 7 days, then off for 3 weeks to slow the MDS and give us more time with him.

And his last bone marrow biopsy showed zero MDS cells out of a sample of 1000 cells.

That is amazing!!

BUT...

the one child I know who has achieved this "zero" status with those same chemo shots for 15 months, began showing cells and is now in bone marrow transplant. We pray for her every day.

Which is not good because we are trying to avoid transplant.

Transplant could kill him...or he could live through it with debilitating side effects...

or he could live through it with minimal side effects...

just to have the neuroblastoma come back.

IF we have done what we set out to do, and have taught his own body to recognize neuroblastoma cells and keep them dormant, when he has a transplant and his body becomes all donor cells, he will no longer have that immunity.

and the neuroblastoma comes back.

and he dies.

We have been asked to once again choose how we want our son to die.

Seriously.

How the hell do you do that?

We follow Braden's lead. Braden keeps fighting...so we keep fighting with him.

We keep hoping...and praying...and believing that miracles continue to be possible.

We've seen miracles many times...

We just need one more.

He has another bone marrow biopsy on February 10, that will tell us how things are looking with his MDS.

Celebrate today with us...it's truly a "TAKE THAT cANCER" moment.

And hope and pray for tomorrow.

We know how blessed we are to still have Braden with us, feeling good, growing, loving, and showing us the real meaning of God's grace and love .

HOPE!

"Miracles happen everyday, change your perception of what a miracle is and you'll see them all around you."...Jon BonJovi

Tigers Are Real...

This is Braden...and "First Tiger".

First Tiger is Braden's stuffed tiger.

Braden is 9 and First Tiger is almost 5 years old according to all "got ya' date" estimates.

We found First Tiger at the Kansas City Airport's gift shop on one of our trips to Philadelphia to visit our amazing neuroblastoma team.

Braden was bald...and going through some really big treatments...and it was believed he wasn't going to survive. We had to travel to Philly frequently in those days and flying and all the airport hustle and rush are not really that conducive to happiness for a child with autism. 

Those trips were pretty brutal and usually ended with me apologizing to about every person on the plane...beginning with the stewardesses. 

The bald head usually lent itself to increased understanding from the beginning, but those trips were still worthy of apologies.

Braden spied First Tiger while I was getting dramamine...a really bad item for me to forget for my own sake...

and for the sake of those near me.

He ran to First Tiger and grabbed him and said, "WOOK.....A TIGER!!!!"

And he squeezed him and held onto him for a very long time.  Braden isn't really a fan of stuffed animals...it's the autism factor at work so it's pretty easy to get him to put them back down.

I gave the tiger a hug and said how cute he was an then asked Braden to put him back in the bin. 

Braden picked him up and carried him to the cash register. 

Apparently, he had a different plan for the tiger.

I'm a sucker....

I never could predict when the sensory overload outburst was going to happen.  All I knew was that it was coming...and probably would occur at multiple times. 

So when he wanted "Tiger" as was his name that was initially given to him, I said yes. 

We made it onto the plane and to our seats. Braden pulled down the tray table after he put on his seat belt (buckling it initially was not a problem...it was the "keeping it buckled after buckling it initially" part that was the problem).  The tray table also presented quite a challenge because of that "gotta be in the full upright position" for take off rule.

Braden was not a fan of that rule.  

Or of the "stow your portable electronics" rule.

The stewardess didn't always get that electronics rule deal on take off, but upon landing time, almost every one came by to tell me it was okay for him to keep watching his DVD player and to not worry about shutting it off. ;)  

We all learn. 

And as I was trying to figure out how I could distract Braden so I could get the tray table up and keep the seatbelt buckled without meltdown #1 occurring, it hit me....Tiger could help!  

Tigers don't talk...and the more words you use when Braden is starting to meltdown, the worse it's going to be...

I picked up Tiger and pretended he was looking out the window, tiger didn't talk but I moved him like a puppet and tilted his head different ways in a kind of non-verbal language...and Braden was cracking UP!  Tiger took pictures with my phone, tickled Braden, licked his face, kissed him, climbed the walls, 

anything I could think of to distract him for what seemed like four hours to taxi to the runway.

Tiger was talking to Braden...

That was enough distraction for me to quietly shut the tray table and keep him from thinking about the seat belt until the engines roared for take off.

Once we could climb to 10,000 feet and turn the DVD player back on, we were usually good for a bit.

And Tiger continued to distract Braden through the entire flight. It wasn't a perfect flight, but it was FAR better than normal.

I think I only had to apologize to half the plane that day. 

Over time, Tiger helped Braden become an amazing traveler.  Now he doesn't have a single issue and people often tell him what a good job he did!  

They all notice him though because as we load, he walks down the aisle and says to every person, "Oh Hi...how are you? We are going on the plane today and it's going to be FUN! I'm SO exciting!!" (he means excited but his face shows what he means)  

And after we land, he claps and loudly yells, "GOOD JOB AIRPLANE!  YOU DID IT!!!" 

Every.Single.Time.

First Tiger has been Braden's best tiger since that moment.  He sleeps with him every night, he goes to every clinic appointment, he travels to school with him every morning, and is there every afternoon when he gets home from school. 

First Tiger is Braden's "woobie"...remember the movie Mr. Mom? 

And he has an awful lot of lovin' rubbed into him. 

He bears the wear marks of millions of hugs and squeezes.

So much so, I was a little worried about First Tiger surviving over time.

A few months after we got Tiger, he found another tiger at the same airport...I got to wondering what if First Tiger didn't hold together?  So we bought it and now, we had a back up.

And that is when Tiger's name changed to "First Tiger"...and the new guy became...

"Second Tiger"

They look alike but Braden can tell them apart in a completely dark room in the middle of the night when he reaches over and accidentally grabs Second Tiger instead of First Tiger...

And he wakes up the entire house with, 

"WHERE'S MY FIRST TIGER?!!!"

As you may have guessed, Second Tiger did not get held back in storage...once Braden saw him, he simply joined forces with First Tiger and they became a pair.

Then came Third Tiger...a rare White Tiger. 

Now we haul around all three tigers everywhere we go. ;)

It means we carry an extra backpack the entire time we are someplace other than home so the tigers can be with us at all times.  Braden hauls them unless his port is accessed and at that point, I carry them so he doesn't dislodge the needle.

His tigers are there while taxying to the runway...

During take off and landing...

and during turbulence, which Braden actually giggles and shouts for because it's "A ROLLER COASTER MOM"...

That is why we must have Dramamine...Mom isn't a fan of coasters.

And he hugs them when he begins to get anxious....

it helps calm him...

and that allows him to be "just a kid on a plane"

They sleep with him on the plane...and every now and then, he does sleep on the plane which is a huge accomplishment! 

That would have never happened without his tigers.

They come with us to the hospital and are with him during every event for scans.  

They are there during the nuclear injection into his tubies which will light up on scans showing any neuroblastoma cells...

and they listen to Braden emphatically tell the injection to "not light up on ANYTHING!"...

because that would mean the neuroblastoma is back.

They were with Braden during his chemotherapy shots we gave him that night in the hotel. They slept with him and he woke up with First Tiger held tightly in his arms, ready for scan day.

And they went in the scan machine with him. They have to be by his head during the injection to help him relax in the hour long scan in which he must remain motionless.

And First Tiger and Second Tiger are always snuggled on each side of his head with white tiger along the top. Mom's job is to make sure the tiger's paws don't dangle off and shut down the machine while I stroke his forehead and tell him how much I love him.

Who would have thought that a stuffed tiger could bring so much comfort to a child with autism and cancer.

His tigers aren't just stuffed animals, 

they are family.  

They are real people to him.

Margery Williams described it best in the book The Velveteen Rabbit...

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. 

“It’s a thing that happens to you. 

When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, 

but REALLY loves you, 

then you become Real.”

And Braden loves his tigers...

THAT much.

What's to love...

Snow days...

Kids love 'em....but not all parents do.

I get it. When I worked full time, I would have to take a vacation day...

and then work from home because me not being in the office and being on

vacation did not mean that work stopped.

Which was super...or not. ;)

And I get that it's nice to have a routine...and school does offer a routine.

It's just a busy "task filled" routine.

And kids do tend to get in each other's space...and on each other's nerves after awhile...

But like everything, this cANCER crapfest, has given me perspective...

and an appreciate for time.

So after the boys had been on winter break for two full weeks, 

and the first day they were to go back was cancelled due to extreme cold...

I was more excited than the kids!

And I know not every parent was...but I was giddy.

Here's what's to love about "snow days"...

We knew the night before that school was cancelled for the next day

so we made sushi and one of Zach's friends got to join us. We didn't

have to worry about getting to bed by a certain time.

Bedtime doesn't matter on a "no school night"! :)

The next morning I got up when Braden woke up at about 8:00 am. 

That's about 2 hours later than on school days. 

Sleep rocks.

I took my time working out, getting breakfast, etc. and finally

I assumed my "on break" uniform...a t-shirt and...

Yoga Pants!!

no make up...

or curled hair. 

(I did brush my hair...well kinda)

Now THAT is what I call a vacation! :)

Then the fun began....

the "snow day" detour routine:

First, we played:

SuperHeroes...

and Braden Saved The Day!

Build Your Own Marble Tower..

And...we really did lose our marbles...

Braden said they got away and rolled down the heating vent.

Whoops!

Thankfully,  they had just rolled under the curtains...

but it took a LONG time and lots of searching for us to figure that out. 

I was wondering how I was going to tell dad we lost our marbles in the duct work. 

We added masterpieces to our exclusive art gallery...

Installed a new transportation system...

Read the stack of books Braden checked out from the library the day before...a true detour.  

While driving past the library, he said he loved the library and loved to read 

and could we please, PLEASE go to the library...

so we turned around

and went to the library.

And we have read the same book about trains about 7 million times...

over and over and over...

and every time he claps and squeals with delight.

I could read it 7 million more times for that smile!

Even if I am sick of it.

Next, Braden practiced his precision lining up toys...

...it is entirely possible that he has his mother's need for straight lines... ;)

I'm SO proud!!

The first bunch covered my entire dining room table.

The second bunch protected my piano.

Pretty much every space in the house was covered in toys! 

and the toys had adventures and conversations...

Pretend play with beautifully expansive language and scenarios...

Kids with autism don't always do that.

BOOM BABY!!

See, the boys were learning on their day off...reading, art, language...

...and music...

Zach practiced his trombone and taught me how to play 

"Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Mary Had A Little Lamb"

That was SO much fun!! 

Seriously!!

But I still can't quite hit the note "D" though...it's more like D flat....

ish.

So I got my flute out to show him what I used to play in band...

I actually remembered how to play the notes...

WOO HOO!!

But sadly, it was pretty squawky! :)

Okay, I was horrible 

and I would not be sitting first chair anymore.

But it was still fun!

And Zach still thought it was really cool!! 

(I hope he never grows up and loses that happiness and joy about things)

After all of this "snow day" fun,  my house was a wreck!

And I'm not a "wreck" kind of girl...

 I love those straight lines with everything in its place...

But...

The army had been in my basement and saved the world...

 in fact,

there had been multiple missions across all levels of the house...

and each level looked equally dismal.

There was evidence of cooped up children everywhere I turned.

Even my dishwasher became a basketball goal... :)

My friend, June, had given me this to remind me to chill out about the disaster zone...

She was right...

We WERE making memories in that mess.

And learning math:

probability, odds, number sense....

No one said it had to be "conventional learning". :)

Finally, it was time to head up for showers and pajamas 

because the next day was going to be a school day.

BOOOOO!!

So after multiple kisses...

and snuggles...

they fell fast asleep.

While I prepared for the 6:00 am wake up call...and

jeans,

make up, 

real hair brushing

rush, rush, rush....

no more:

SuperHeroes saving the day

Losing our marbles...

figuratively...

...and literally...

 no more art class

reading the same book over and over...

and over and over and over again.

 no five card stud math

no more band class

(which the neighbors might thank me for)

No more battles waged and won 

with a barrage of Nerf bullets...

found in the strangest of places.

No more straight rows of toys covering every piece of furniture in the house

no more boys yelling and screaming

no more constant motion of a house full of kids

no more "MOM!!! He's touching my stuff!"

no more random hugs and kisses during the day for no reason

no more tickle-fest moments that steal your oxygen because you laugh so hard

no more "come with me mom!"

 it was all replaced by

toys in bins

fresh vacuum marks in the carpet

 and silence

...until 3:35

when the rush of homework, supper, practices and busy schedules begins.

I'll take snow days any day...

because it gives me the one thing I want more than anything...

time.

Brave...

A few years ago, I found a short story by John Alessi that makes me cry every time I read it.

My heart is constantly saddened watching Braden have to go through all that he endures. 

Autism, 3 rounds of cancer, cataracts, asthma, so many challenges...

and any ONE of those things would be enough for anyone.

No parent wants their child to suffer...

even for one moment, 

let alone his entire life...

and through off of his suffering, Braden has been the most positive, loving, happy, and sweet person I have ever met.

(yup...biased mom but it really is how I feel) :)

As I was searching to make sense of why he had to have so much crapfest in his life, I read this story.

And it gave me a little peace.

Perhaps those that suffer the most,

those that have to go through trials that are too big...

endure them for a reason.

Maybe Alessi is right...maybe brave little souls are gifts from God...

and maybe they do unlock the love in people's hearts...

and through their suffering bring humanity to this world.

That is what Braden and his attitude through his crapfest has done for me.

I hope you enjoy this story 

and that it brings you a little peace as it has me.

"Not too long ago in Heaven there was a little soul who took wonder in observing the world. He especially enjoyed the love he saw there and often expressed this joy with God. One day however the little soul was sad, for on this day he saw suffering in the world. He approached God and sadly asked, "Why do bad things happen; why is there suffering in the world?" God paused for a moment and replied, "Little soul, do not be sad, for the suffering you see, unlocks the love in people's hearts." The little soul was confused. "What do you mean," he asked. God replied, "Have you not noticed the goodness and love that is the offspring of that suffering? Look at how people come together, drop their differences and show their love and compassion for those who suffer. All their other motivations disappear and they become motivated by love alone." The little soul began to understand and listened attentively as God continued, "The suffering soul unlocks the love in people's hearts much like the sun and the rain unlock the flower within the seed. I created everyone with endless love in their heart, but unfortunately most people keep it locked up and hardly share it with anyone. They are afraid to let their love shine freely, because they are afraid of being hurt. But a suffering soul unlocks that love. I tell you this - it is the greatest miracle of all. Many souls have bravely chosen to go into the world and suffer - to unlock this love - to create this miracle for the good of all humanity."

Just then the little soul got a wonderful idea and could hardly contain himself. With his wings fluttering, bouncing up and down, the little soul excitedly replied. "I am brave; let me go! I would like to go into the world and suffer so that I can unlock the goodness and love in people's hearts! I want to create that miracle!" God smiled and said, "You are a brave soul I know, and thus I will grant your request. But even though you are very brave you will not be able to do this alone. I have known since the beginning of time that you would ask for this and so I have carefully selected many souls to care for you on your journey. Those souls will help you create your miracle; however they will also share in your suffering. Two of these souls are most special and will care for you, help you and suffer along with you, far beyond the others. They have already chosen a name for you". God and the brave soul shared a smile, and then embraced.

In parting, God said, "Do not forget little soul that I will be with you always. Although you have agreed to bear the pain, you will do so through my strength. And if the time should come when you feel that you have suffered enough, just say the word, think the thought, and you will be healed." Thus at that moment the brave little soul was born into the world, and through his suffering and God's strength, he unlocked the goodness and love in people's hearts. For so many people dropped their differences and came together to show their love. Priorities became properly aligned. People gave from their hearts. Those that were always too busy found time. Many began new spiritual journeys, some regained lost faith - many came back to God. Parents hugged their children tighter. Friends and family grew closer. Old friends got together and new friendships were made. Distant family reunited, and every family spent more time together. Everyone prayed. Peace and love reigned. Lives changed forever. It was good. The world was a better place. The miracle had happened. God was pleased."

Because of you...

Six years ago on December 28, Braden was diagnosed with neuroblastoma and given a 30% chance of survival for five years.

Despite those odds...and a relapse with less than a 10% chance....and a secondary cancer diagnosed on July 8, 2013 when we were told he had "several weeks to a few months" left to live...

He is here today and we are

THANKFUL

for every moment we get.

Through all of it, you, our army of caring, loving, hopeful supporters have been there.

You have been our Aaron and Hur.

In Exodus, there is a story of Moses lifting his hands during a battle...and when he has his hands up, the good guys are winning but when he lowers them, the bad guys are winning.

He can't continue to hold them up on his own because he is exhausted...

but it is critical that the good guys win.

So Aaron and Hur come to his aid and when Moses can no longer hold his arms up...

they hold them for him.

YOU have been our Aaron and Hur.

cANCER is the bad guy,

God is the GOOD guy

and hope, faith, and love of an army of believers will win this battle.

I created a video several days before Christmas and I have been looking forward to sharing it with you.

It's sort of like when you have a really big gift wrapped for someone and can't wait to watch them unwrap it so they can see how much they mean to you.

This video is a celebration of the gift of time we have been given to date

and it's also a celebration of YOU.

A "visual thank you" to you for being our Aaron and Hur.

The title is "Because of You..." and it's all about what has happened because you have held our arms up for us when we cannot.

Because of your love, faith, thoughts, prayer,

and hope.

Because of God's grace and mercy...

Braden is still here.

Thank you.

SIX years and counting....


TAKE THAT cANCER!!!

The video is available at this link....just click on it...and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it for you.

http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=12a0226d0c9829b849c4c67&autoplay&skin_id=601

Kindness...

Each year since 2008, Santa Claus has appeared at our doorstep ringing our doorbell one night in December.

And there's a huge group of jolly friends with candles lit singing Christmas Carols with him.

6 years...

and counting. :)

And each year I get tears as they sing.

The feeling of being cared for

and hoped for is simply beyond description.

Our friends...

neighbors...

teachers...

....adults....

children...

even some babies...

all coming together to bring joy to our sons.

It's amazing and so heart warming and my favorite night in December...well other than Christmas Eve.

We have always contended that they are our good luck charm.

Last year after the group caroled at our house, we then walked to the homes of two other families in our neighborhood who had family members facing cancer and sang for them.

It was a very cold night and the family at the last house, invited us inside to sing to them.

When we had finished our carols, the lady who was fighting cancer said she had a request...

she asked us to sing "You Are My Sunshine".

There wasn't a dry eye in that house that night.

Both of the ladies we sang to last year earned their angel wings.

What a beautiful gift we were all able to give them last year...I'm sure it is something their families remember those smiles and the collective love and hope from each of us even today.

It truly is an enveloping comfort and warmth that is given by all of those beautiful faces and voices.

This year we continued down the block to the home of another neighbor who is fighting cancer..and whose birthday was yesterday.

We completely surprised her! :) It was PRICELESS!

And then we went to the home of some neighbors who just moved in...I think they liked it....

I don't see a "for sale" sign there today anyway. :)

Doing something kind for someone else doesn't have to cost anything...bringing holiday cheer is free.

And it makes a huge difference for the spirits of the people receiving the gift.

"Kindness in words created confidence. 

Kindness in thinking creates profoundness.

Kindness in giving creates love."

--Lao Tzu

'Tis The Season...

Do something kind for someone during this season of HOPE.

A kind word...a hug...a smile...

All are infectious and all are appreciated.

Kindness is contagious.

And to all of you who have joined us over the years, 

Thank you for six years of kindness to all of you...

and here's hoping for about 60 more years. TAKE THAT cANCER!

You are OUR heroes!

Merry Christmas Everyone!