Thank you

November 26, 2014

On the eve of Thanksgiving it seems more than appropriate to say thank you to all of you.

My parents … My mom and dad are my greatest source of strength. They are my best friends, my role models, my spiritual advisors, my life coaches, my encouragers, my business partners, my right hand and my left hand. They are an extension of me, they fill in where I fade out. Their love knows no limits, and their love is action. Thank you Mom and Dad for all you do for all of us.

Pop … Pop is married to Grandmom the rock star. Our oldest daughter attends a fine arts school two days a week. We carpool with another family, so on Mondays the kids and I are in the car for roughly 3 hours. When Theo was diagnosed, Pop took on our half of the carpool so that Theo wouldn’t have to bounce around in the car with us. Thanks, Pop.

Our pediatrician … We are so thankful for our pediatrician. We have enjoyed his partnership for almost 12 years, and his role in this diagnosis was crucial. I had my first parent meeting at 2am at CHOP that first Friday morning. The oncologist greeted me by saying, “I heard about you hours ago, your pediatrician has told me all about your son.” We are grateful for such a dynamic advocate, a brilliant man who has the sweetest bedside manner, a man full of compassion for children and families. I hope he is reading this. Thank you.

CHOP … The doctors and nurses and staff at CHOP are amazing. We have really enjoyed getting to know everyone and they have been a bright light to us in a dark time. Many of them we may never see again, but they played a significant role in our journey. Thank you.

Our co-op … Our co-op is the sweetest group of friends. They are so fun to be with and they encourage us all in the Lord. Our kids attended co-op every Friday this month without Theo and me, and the moms worked together to watch over them. They have also watched our kids every time I have gone to CHOP, which has been a significant sacrifice of time and energy. Thank you, dear ones.

Our church … Our church has been a sweet extension of our family during this season. They brought us meals, checked in on us, prayed for us and even made gold ribbons in honor of Theo. Their spirit has been a source of joy and encouragement for us. Thanks guys.

All of our friends and family…

Thank you for the Wawa gift cards. I drive a 15 passenger van. Do you know how much it costs to fill my tank? Well, we don’t. We never fill my tank to full. My budget is $30 a week. This easily gets me to co-op on Fridays and church on Sundays. Only during soccer season do I blow the budget. Yet right now both our cars have a full tank of gas. The chickenpox day was a great example of how helpful this is. We had no idea I was on my way to the city during rush hour, but as I headed out we knew the tank was full.

Thank you for the other gifts that have come in all varieties. With Theo’s diagnosis Scott now qualifies for FMLA. We are grateful that he has 60 days that he can take, at any time in any order, from now until June to be home with our family. The only problem is that he won’t get paid for those days. Any gift we have received has gone into a savings account. We can use that money along the way as we really have no idea what the future holds.

Lastly, thank you for reading our blog and riding along with us on this journey. I was just thinking this morning this could be a very lonely time for a stay at home mom. Knowing that you all are reading as I write is a unique sense of community for me. As I stay at home and do what I need to do here, I am grateful for your time and your prayers.

Happy Thanksgiving