Be of Good Cheer :)

On our first trip up to Camp Sunshine we made great friends with volunteer counselor Christina. She is a flight attendant and met the drummer for Earth Wind & Fire, John Paris, a couple of years ago on a flight. They have become the best of friends. When Christina was with Matt that week, he was singing Earth Wind & Fire songs...he can't hold a conversation, but he can sing along with just about any EWF song! HE LOVES EWF. So do I...they have been a part of my life since I bought the 45 for Shining Star when I was about 10! Their positive music has inspired me all my life through good times and bad. Can you believe the SMALL world?! Their music is something that Matt and I share that is very special.

Christina and John arranged a night for us on Saturday with complimentary tickets to the show and passes to the Aftershow. It was amazing!

Mallory noticed, "It seems that since Megan has gotten sick, a lot of things have been happening that people in our family would hope for..." We are being supported in incredible and miraculous ways with not only things that we need...but also the extra good things.

I remember when Megan was first diagnosed sitting in the hospital and feeling that I should look up all the scriptures that say to "be of good cheer". There's another scripture that I think about all the time from the Book of Mormon: "And I will ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs...and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions." Mosiah 24:14

Things like an amazing evening with Earth Wind & Fire really help. A lot! smw

Your Hair Looks Great That Way!

The kids are off to a great start at their new schools - Marti at Lewis Middle School, Megan and Mallory at Highland High School, and Matt at Timber Creek High School in his Job Transition 2 Program. He astounds and amazes us at his progress. This year he is working two days a week at CVS Pharmacy with a job coach - can't wait to see how that goes. LOVE his school program!

Yesterday Megan went to visit her friend Cianna for the day and came back with her "chemo curly" hair straightened - very cute!! (It looks gorgeous curly too Meg!) All of us were gathered around in the family room playing with the puppy and getting ready for family prayer. He saw the new "do", looked right at her with a huge smile on his face and said, "Wow Megan! Your hair looks GREAT that way!" We all looked at each other and laughed!! He noticed - and he said something! Yeah baby! If you know Matt, you understand why this was memorable for us :)

On Belay? Climb Away...

This was a wonderful summer and it passed much too quickly. It was at least a million times better than the summer of 2009. I think that as a family we've come a long way in that time. We've learned so much out of necessity and have become stronger as we have learned to trust that we are watched out for in miraculous ways.

At Camp Sunshine there is a rock climbing wall. In the summer of 2009, I made it about half way up the wall, looked down, and said, "I'm done. Get me down from here!"

A year passes, and I find myself standing at the bottom of the rock climbing wall once again.

A sign is posted on the fence - BELAY ON. ON BELAY. READY TO CLIMB. CLIMB AWAY. I'm hooked up to my harness and the person at the bottom of the wall has my rope - they are "on belay". I'm secure.

My goal is to climb only a little bit higher than last year. I had been visualizing this in my mind for weeks. I scramble up to the half way point, look down and am not afraid. I look back at the wall in front of me and say, "Heavenly Father, I did a Half Marathon this year. I can do this. Please help me."

It takes me no time at all to climb the rest of the wall. Charlie snaps a photo as proof as my hand reaches up to touch the top.

My lesson this year? The Lord has the rope - He is "on belay". He is with us, and He will never let go. It's up to us to trust. Ready to climb? Climb away...

WYNNECREDIBLES

This past week our family traveled to Camp Sunshine in Casco, Maine for the second time. This is an amazing and magical place...a retreat for children with serious illnesses and their families.....Oncology week. We were there with 37 other families who have been facing challenges similar to ours...having FUN! Enjoying ourselves. Getting to know and love them with a profound respect, knowing first hand what they are going through or have been through.The Camp's true spark of magic comes from the volunteers...about 70 of them...men, women, and youth in yellow t-shirts all sacrificing a week of their time - some longer. Some of them even sacrifice their vacation time to volunteer at Camp Sunshine. They want to be there! They say, "We get more than we give." We come away having our lives enriched simply for knowing them. Our appreciation for them is profound. We are still close with volunteers from last summer, Becky and Christina, and they drove up to visit us!!
The sponsor for this week was Tropical Smoothie Cafe. Some of the volunteers this week are Cafe owners. One of them was a special friend to Matt. We don't have any Cafes in South Jersey, so we are planning a trip up to Long Island next month to visit Walt! Tropical Smoothie Cafe presented Camp Sunshine with a check for $310,000 on Thursday so that more families can have a break. I love Tropical Smoothie Cafes.

One of the events that we looked forward to was the Masquerade Dance. We thought we could do a family costume. Charlie thought we should be Super Heroes. Mallory said, "The Incredibles!" Mom said, "How about the WYNNECREDIBLES?!!"

www.campsunshine.org