Our Christmas Plan - a Simple white envelope

My Angel, today mommy got one of the best e-mails, and ideas for Christmas ever. I sent it to daddy and he immediatly said that from now on this is what we will do for every Christmas. I hope you will learn from this new tradition that we are starting in our family, and that you will teach your kids one day. Here's the e-mail:

SIMPLE WHITE ENVELOPE
It's just a small white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree.
No name, no identification, no inscription.
It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so
It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas--
oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it --
the overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma --
the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else.
Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass usual shirts, sweaters, ties, and so forth.
I reached for something special just for Mike.
The inspiration came in an unusual way.
Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended. Shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes.
As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears.
It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford.
Well, we ended up walloping them.
We took every weight class.
And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat.
Mike, seated beside beside me, shook his head sadly, 'I wish just one of them could have won,' he said.
'They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.'
Mike loved kids -- all kids -- and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball, and lacrosse..
That's when the idea for his present came.
That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.
On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me.
His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years.
For each Christmas, I followed the tradition--one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on.
The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas.
It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning, and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.
As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure.
The story doesn't end there.
You see, we lost Mike last year due to cancer.
When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up.
But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning it was joined by three more.
Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad.
The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope.
Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.
May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season,
and the true Christmas spirit this year and always.

God Bless!

Fun Filled Weekend!

Hello my angel,

You had a very lekker weekend that just passed with granny coming to visit from Cape Town. She spoiled you rotten and bought you a bath ring and a little rocking horsie which you seem to love! Thanx a lot granny and happy anniversary for you and grampy for today. May you guys have many more years to come!

Friday night you stayed with granny while we went to Kim and Leigh's wedding. It was so beautiful and I'm sure they'll treasure that day for the rest of their lives! Granny said you were very good and you slept right until 03h00, which is great because the couple of nights before you weren't very happy. I think that measles injection really made you feel yucky, and now your toothies seem to be getting very painful. So it's been a rough couple of days for you my angel. But I'm so proud of you, because even though you are not quite yourself, you are still as good as gold! Granny left yesterday and phoned me to say how much she's already missing you. Shame, you really crept very deeply into her heart!

Sunday I went to go visit Ohpaw, and once again he taught me so many things about life, love and the rest. He's a very wise man my precious and you must listen to what he has to teach you. He reminded me that our only purpose on this earth is to love each other, unconditionally, and that's a very difficult thing to do. You will see that it is easy to love the people you like, but it's the ones you don't like that you must learn to love as well. I hope you learn that lesson very early on in life, because it will make your journey so much easier.

Last night ouma Rina looked after you for a bit so that dad and I could spend some quiet time together. We do that about every month, just so that we can remember why this little family started, and then we usually talk about our plans for you (if it's God's will of course!). Ouma Rina also said you were very well behaved and she'll look after you any time! Thank you for being so good my angel, now dad and I won't struggle to ever find a baby sitter for you! And thank you ouma Rina for always being ready to watch our tiny man.

Granny sent me some photos of the weekend. Hope you like them.

Anyway my baby boy, I hope those toothies come out soon and that the pain goes away.

I love you plenty my only!

Mwah

Mom

Lunch for Life - From Deqlan's blog

Hello!

Ready to put on your running shoes? It is that time of year again when we all race to challenge everyone to give up a Lunch for Life! Over the years Lunch for Life has helped the Children’s Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation fund some incredible research and neuroblastoma initiatives. It is each and every one of our families and children that makes Lunch for Life such a success every year. We have impacted lives. We are closer to a cure today because of this participation. However, as much as we would like to focus on our successes, we find ourselves even more desperate for a cure than ever before. Why? There is incredibly important neuroblastoma research that is sitting out there, unfunded. If we don’t raise the funds needed to support it, it simply won’t be an option for our children. Bottom-line, over the next few months it is necessary for us to raise $500,000.00 for neuroblastoma research. While we would love to raise more this is just the bare minimum of what is necessary. Without this funding we can guarantee that there will be fewer options for our children and the ones that follow in their footsteps. Without this funding, there will be fewer trials than we have today and there will be fewer kids on trial. That is the sad reality. It depends on us – you, your friends and family - to make sure this does not happen. We can make a difference. We can make substantial change. There are over 400 families of children with neuroblastoma that are participating and we have a large voice. We need those research dollars and we need people’s lunches. Please stand up with us again and fight for this very important neuroblastoma research. In these economic times, we appreciate that you, your family and friends; just like us, are paying very close attention to where every dollar goes. We want you to know that your lunch money has, and will continue, to do great things. Over the years we have funded research which we are all incredibly proud of, and you should be too. In fact,we would defy anyone to identify a single research proposal that is more important or meaningful than what we have funded this year. That is what Lunch for Life is all about – funding research that is necessary and meaningful. This year at the CNCF’s Neuroblastoma Conference for Parents and Caregivers I, on behalf of Lunch for Life and the CNCF, outlined manyof the proposals that we have helped fund. This presentation is online, and covers much of the reasoning and rationale behind our funding. I encourage you to view the video to see an overview of the items that our lunches have helped to fund. It can be found here:http://cts.vresp.com/c/?ChildrensNeuroblasto/fd9b5dccbb/82c14345c2/d0ed298716/docid=-3833421150602147926&hl=en Furthermore, over the next few weeks we plan to outline some of the incredible research we hope to fund in the coming years. This plan will go into detail as to why this research is so mission critical, and why this research will make a difference. This research is in our hands, totally dependent upon the funds that we raise today. Our Giving Tree program is alive and well, and will continue again this year. Each donation made in honor of a child with neuroblastoma will earn that child gifts under their tree. Those gifts will be mailed out at the end of the year to that family. In addition, each minimum five dollar donation made in a child’s name will earn that child’s family a chance to win a Walt Disney Dream Vacation. The drawing will be held on December 25, 2008. Please visit the website to update your information, pictures and to view your family’s tree. We want to thank you again for your support of Lunch for Life. Remember, the concept is simple and if we all work together we can continue to create some amazing changes. It is just lunch, but it truly does mean lives. We urge you to help us get the word out. Write email, make phone calls, post messages on your CaringBridge pages. Urge everyone you know to donate the cost of one day’s lunch to the Children’s Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation through Lunch forLife, and ask them to help spread the word. The process is simple. Just ask them to donate online athttp://cts.vresp.com/c/?ChildrensNeuroblasto/fd9b5dccbb/82c14345c2/e7d69281ad. The more the better too, in the past we have had tremendous success by getting our employers and schools to help sponsor a Lunch for Life day. It is a great opportunity to help spread the word and most importantly get those research dollars. We will fund the cure. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me atmdungan@lunchforlife.org. We have everything you need to help you raise money for research. We will supply you with flyers, posters, information and those coveted Lunch for Life lunch bags. Just let me know what you need. Please also be sure to visit the website for sample emails, information, and ideas on how to best get the word out. With hope,Mark Dungan

Check up

Hello my angel,

Your mom wants to brag about you a bit. Yesterday I took you for your 9 month check-up and vaccinations. We saw a new doctor, Dr. Engelbrecht, because your buddies Keaton and Malakai go to that doctor as well. She is a very very nice lady and she was soooo impressed with you. She told me that you are doing much better than what premies that were born that early usually do. You even have most of your 9 month milestones down! She said that when you're a year old you probably would've caught up with everything (except the weight). You are still very small, but she showed me on the chart that in comparison to other children you are actually growing very fast, and slowly but surely catching up to the rest of your peers! She also said that daddy and I have been taking very good care of you, and one day when you have your own children you'll understand what that means to a parent. Most of the time we don't really know what we are doing, and we just go by the grace of God and pray that we are doing what is best for you! So it was nice to hear that we haven't done too bad a job so far.

She gave us some coritsone cream because you have some eczema in the back of your knees and on your arms. But I'm sure that'll clear up soon.

Then we went for your measles injection, and wow, I was so proud of you. Last time you cried until we got home and you were very upset. This time however, you just gave a small moan and then it was done! So far you haven't had a fever, and no other side effects, yay! Well done my only.

Today you are dressed in camo, from top to toe, in support of your buddy Deqlan who is getting his blood results today. They are checking whether he is still cancer free, so we are praying very hard, especially for his mommy and daddy to be strong and to keep the faith.

To end off today's letter, here's a poem that Ohpaw wrote for you:

Gently

Gently, the darkness falls,
And peace comes over me.
Gently, the hand of God,
Draws the sun into the sea.
Gently, oh so gently,
Gentle as a dove,
Gently, oh so gently,
We’ll shower you with love.
Gently, the stars appear,
The moon smiles down at me.
Gently, your face draws near,
As I begin to see.
Gently, oh so gently,
Gentle, through the night,
Gently, oh so gently,
You filled our hearts with light.
Gently, the morning breaks,
The sun leads in the day.
Gently, my soul awakes,
And I begin to pray.
Gently, oh so gently,
Gentle as the dew.
Gently, oh so gently,
We thank the Lord for you.

Beautiful hey my boy!

I love you very much and every day with you is such a gift from God.

Mwah!
Mom

Sitting today - tomorrow the world!

Hello my beautiful boy.

You have been amusing us so much this last couple of weeks I thought I just had to write and tell you what you've been up to. You are finally getting the hang of sitting. You still fall over every now and then, but I think it's safe to classify it as a sit! It's very cute, when you are lying down, you try to do a mini sit-up, and then I know you want to get up.

You are also on 3 solid meals a day. It took 3 MONTHS! But now you actually open your mouth when I bring the spoon closer. Your ouma-grootjie told me, and yesterday I got to see it for myself, that when you take a bite of your food, you now seem to think that it is a good time for blowing bubbles! Your eating chair is full of pumpkin! It's messy, but very cute. You don't really have an interest in food, you just seem to eat because that is what is expected of you.

I've noticed that you love being outside. You get very annoyed if I keep you indoors all day. You don't even really like your toys (which you have so many of!). You just want to be outside watching everything!

Your teeth also seem to be bothering you a lot. Last night I even had a dream that you cut all 4 bottom teeth at the same time! I hope they pop out soon my boy.

You are exercising your vocal cords a lot, and it sounds just like you are singing. Sometimes you shout just to get a reaction out of us, and at other times you just talk to yourself. Either way is really very sweet and I hope you continue to be such a talkative little monkey because my first love language is words of affirmation! So we can have lots and lots of chats about life, love and the rest!

Tomorrow we're going for your 9 month check-up and your vaccines. I hope it won't be too painful, but I can't wait to see what you are weighing because you are in 3 - 6 month clothes now!

Anyway my only, I love you lots and thank you for growing so beautifully!

Happy Birthday Samm!

Happy 30th Birthday dear Samm,

May you enjoy every moment with your family and friends,

and I hope they spoil you rotten.

You definitely deserve it!

May this following year bring you joy, peace and strength!

Lots of Love

Us3

Your first "swim" - some pics

My dear angel, here are some pics of when you had your first swim in your mushroom pool that Yolandi bought for you with your buddies Keaton & Malakai last Thursday. You seemed to like it, but I think we should try to get you to a bigger pool somewhere.

Love you plenty!

Mom

Wishes!

Happy one year anniversary Lisa & Dale!

May you enjoy every day of the rest of this journey together!

Also very happy birthday Dale for yesterday!

May you have many more to come!

Love

Us 3

What says Khalil Gibran? From Ohpaw

Hello my dear boy. Your Ohpaw has always recited the following paragraph from Khalil Gibran to me, eversince I was a teenager. But I have not heard it since you were born, and your Ohpaw just reminded me of it:

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."

And he said: Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,

and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

These words are the most profound that I have ever heard about parenthood and I will strive each and every day to live up to them. Thanks for reminding me dad!

Here are some photos of when you and Kai had a playdate. It was amazing to see you "discover" each other, but you can see that for yourself on the pics!

Love you my only!

A new day has truly come...

My precious boy, I thought I just had to write the words down (or some of it) of a song by Celine Dion - A new day has come. Everytime I hear it my eyes fill up with tears and I realise how blessed I am to be able to call you my son. Here's the part that always makes me cry and I couldn't have said it better myself:

Through the darkness and good times
I knew I'd make it through
And the world thought I had it all
But I was waiting for you...
Where it was dark now there's light
Where there was pain now there's joy
Where there was weakness, I found my strength
All in the eyes of a boy
Hush now I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love
Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun
A new day has come
Ohhh, a light
Hush nowI see a light in your eyes
All in the eyes of the boy
I can't believe I've been touched by an angel with love
Hush now...

I love you my only. You are beautiful, you are perfect, you are love, you are my everything...