Some Christmas Pictures!

Happy New Year!

So everyone's awake at our house even though it's 12:30. :) Nothing big, just a bit of a fever from Ms. Izzy. Her big sis must have given her some tips on downing meds before she was born, b/c seriously... she has always taken medicine like a champ! She's downed some Motrin and is snuggled up next to her daddy now and I'm catching up on bad tv. :) My body is so in that "getting ready" mode!

We've been busy getting things ready here at the house. One of the things we tackled last week was going through all the dressup clothes and weeding them out a bit. Would you believe that we found a "gift" from Catie as we did? Granted, we used to stumble upon little gifts from her all the time, but the longer she's gone, the less frequently we find them. If you've followed us since Caringbridge days, you might remember that Catie was a bit of a money hoarder. After she died, we found over $50 in her "change purse" that she kept with her at the hospital. I couldn't believe it! As time without her passed I'd stumble on a purse here or a change holder there w/ a wad of money in it. I thought I'd found it all, but apparently I'd missed her Minnie Mouse purse! It was buried in the dressup stuff w/ a wad of 8 one dollar bills stuck inside it. I just had to laugh!! I do confess that discoveries like that truly do feel like they're from her and it's so very nice... the money doesn't matter -- though it does make me giggle -- it's the feeling of finding something of hers. I know she didn't consciously leave it for us to find, but it still feels like a gift from her.

We had a great Christmas and Iz was TOTALLY into it all! :) She loved the lights, she loved the baking (ok, let's be honest -- she loved the cookie dough and you wouldn't believe how fast she could shove it in her mouth!!), she thought she had to be involved in opening any package that was unwrapped in her presence! I promise to upload some pics soon and do a better Christmas update.

For now, I'm heading back to sleep! I figure we'll be seeing early morning hours a lot soon!

Oh yeah, one more thing... thank you to those who suggested a satin/silky pillow case to help w/ the serious bed head Iz has in the mornings! We've gotten a couple and it really does make a big difference -- especially on the nights she manages to keep her head on the pillow all night!!! :)

The Holidays

Thus far the holidays this year aren't quite as intimidating as they were last year. Last year, they flat out scared the mess out of me... How on earth were we supposed to do Christmas without Catie. I'm not sure if I just know that we survived last year, so we'll be ok, if we're making progress, if I'm in denial, or maybe just a little of all of the above. Thanksgiving this year was, for me, the least challenging holiday I've had since we lost her. Again... not sure if it was denial or if after being stuck in the house, on the couch trying to get this baby to cook a bit longer that I was just so glad to get out of the house that it didn't even matter. Who knows...

We haven't decorated yet, but we will this week. I have broken out the Christmas music. It's funny how some songs make me smile and some just smack me between the eyes and can start the tears. This year, as Christmas approaches there is this incredible excitement to see it through Izzy's eyes... I know she's old enough to understand a bit more this year... no she won't get it all, but she's already talking lots about HoHo and she loves seeing Christmas stuff that's already out. I can't wait to see what she thinks about having a tree and lights up in her house! Then there is the stuff that will trigger so many Catie memories... That's good and hard. I guess we just keep doing what we've done since we lost her... really since she was diagnosed.... keep rolling with the punches, cry when you need to, and keep moving forward... just keep swimming...

Sometimes it still just makes me crazy to know that our family will never be totally complete this side of Heaven. Someone will always, always be missing. And I still hate that Izzy and Chip got jipped out of knowing Catie... though I'm glad they don't have to deal with the grief of missing. But I'm also grateful that I'm not completely frightened by Christmas this year... and I really can't wait to watch Izzy learn to enjoy the magic of the season...

Elves!!!!!

It's getting to be that time of year again!!! Time to start thinking about the birth of Christ, Christmas shopping, my favorite music of the year, Santa (or HoHo as he's referred to at our house right now), and visits from elves. Last year a great little project got started. Elves from Catie... If you missed it last year, check this out: That Silly Old Elf . We are on the move again with Elves from Catie and there are several ways you can get involved. It's easy to get involved and it's SUCH a great tradition!!! (You really do need to click the link above and read about it if you don't know about the tradition.) Ok... so ways you can be a part....

1. Donate an Elf from Catie kit to a child in the hospital -- Kits are $35 and include an elf, an Elf from Catie book (about an elf that visits the hospital -- very cute story), and elf food (jelly beans) (go to the website and just click on the Elves from Catie logo)
2. Purchase an elf for a child you know. Elves come with all the things listed above and the price for these is $35 as well. (go to the website and click on Host an Elf)
3. Have your civic organization, ladies' circle, youth group, etc. get involved and work to donate elves to kids in the hospital.
4. Copy and paste this into an e-mail and send it out to all your contacts. Ask them to continue to forward it on. This was HUGELY successful last year.

The website is Host an Elf. All Elves from Catie purchases (elves donated to a child in the hospital) will have $5 of the purchase donated to CURE Childhood Cancer. Your elf purchase for a child you know can also benefit CURE. Just BE SURE to indicate that you want CURE to benefit. To do this, on the page that says non-profit donations at the bottom, choose fundraiser under category and CURE Childhood Cancer under name. If you don't do this, CURE won't receive the $5.

Last year was hugely successful... I hope this year can be even more so. Help us out and spread the word!! Elves from Catie is great because it shares a wonderful, memory-making tradition with families AND raises money for a CURE. And a CURE is so desperately needed... Spread the joy (and the elfish mischief)!!

Izzy B!

Well, I thought it was high time for an Izzy update. She's now sporting earrings, loved Christmas, and yesterday she took her very first steps. She's not walking, walking yet, but she's definitely ready!


Chewing on ribbons (and paper and bows and boxes and...) was a definite highlight this Christmas!



And you always have to have a bow on top of the head picture! The first time she had one on her head, she was so funny trying to figure out exactly where it was and how to get it off. I have to admit, we had a few laughs at her expense, but it was too cute.


This Santa thing is pretty fun!


Fun stuff!


Here she's sitting in her wagon reading a favorite book.


Blue eyes


You can see Uncle D counting steps on his finger behind Izzy. The most she did consecutively was 2, but it won't be long before she's walking all over the place!


Check her out!


Fun with my cousin, Natalie


Happy girl!


Big girl


No box is gonna stop me!

She continues to be so, so, so busy and so much fun. Her laughter is the joy of our hearts and we love it when it fills our house. I can't believe she's almost one!!!

Thanks for checking in!

Quick Request

We'd love to hear what your elves are up to!! Someone had requested ideas earlier, and I never got around to posting. There are some suggestions on the Host an Elf website (I think under a tab that says Past Elf Experiences), but it would be fun to hear what these elves are up to now! Feel free to post in the comments section or send stories/pics to my e-mail. We received a couple of e-mails this morning telling us what the silly elves were doing.... definitely makes me smile!! We'll be sure to update when we have new numbers!

I Love that Silly Old Elf

I've been trying to come here since Monday night to update you on the elves, and just haven't been able to find the words. I am absolutely amazed at how this whole elf thing has taken on a life of it's own. By mid-day Sunday, including the elves that Host an Elf had donated themselves, close to 200 elves had been donated to kids with cancer!!!!!!!!!!!! The orders continue to come in. Sunday night I headed to Atlanta to help deliver some of them to Scottish Rite. It was a quick trip, but I'm so glad I went!! We delivered some to kids we ran into in the clinic and then we made a couple of stops over at the hospital. We left a huge load for the child life specialists to share with other kids. I was able to meet Lori and Gregg (from Host an Elf) and Lori's parents. They presented CURE Childhood Cancer with a check for $1200!!! In 6 days, that's how much money was raised w/ Catie's elves!!

I am still amazed when I think about how all this started w/ a hope for a discount on a bulk order and an e-mail. I know they e-mail is still circulating and we are so grateful to all of you who passed it on. To think that these elves are creating new memories for kids who are fighting and their families AND that money has gone to CURE for research... Tre' and I really are just blown away. I really can't find the words to explain how it helps us through this first Christmas without Catie. To say that this project is "fitting" as a remembrance of her is an understatement. Those of you who have followed us for a long time will remember Catie's mischievous streak and her love of her elf. I can still see her face when she discovered her elf in the flour that morning last Christmas... and that brings a smile. So, this year, she lives on in a different way... we'll find a bit of her in the elf stories we hear from our friends and in the memories we know are being made... we'll find a bit more of her in the money raised for CURE to help kids like her... and we'll always, always find a huge chunk of her in our hearts. We will miss her, but we will be grateful for the time we had. Thanks to Host an Elf, to all of you who spread the word, and to all of you who bought and donated elves! You've made a difference in the lives of some really great kids this Christmas and in the life of this family and we are ever so grateful.

Silly Elf Update

You guys are amazing!!!! At last count, over 100 elves had been donated through Host an Elf!!!! How awesome is that? If you have no idea what I'm talking about, check out the blog entry below. I know folks are still ordering, so I wanted to let you know that if you are ordering some for your family or as a gift, 30% of proceeds can still go to Cure Childhood Cancer . There is a pulldown menu at the top for donating part of the proceeds to your favorite charity. Just pull down and click CURE Childhood Cancer and then place your order like normal. Thank you to all who have forwarded the info. on or posted it on your site or blog! We're hoping to make this a yearly tradition. Tre' and I can honestly think of no better way to let a bit of Catie live on. It's just a perfect fit. We're excited about making some deliveries soon! We'll keep you posted on how things are going and how many we end up with in all. We just wanted you to know how grateful we are to all of you who have ordered elves!!! What a Christmas gift this is to our family.

Love,
Tre', Jenny, and Izzy

A couple of other great things worth checking out.

Help Jacob's Family fill his stocking and help benefit kids with cancer all at the same time all in memory of Jacob. For more info. click here

Click here to see a promotional video for the Carter Martin Classic.

A Silly Old Elf

I won't lie, the holidays are hard. The missing is harder than before. Catie is everywhere which is wonderful and so hard all at the same time. There are so many Christmas things and traditions that make us miss her even more.

One of those traditions, some of you may remember us writing about last year... the elf that comes to visit us at Christmas time and usually ends up getting into all kinds of mischief. Last year he covered our kitchen in flour, pulled the garland down from our entry way, pulled clothes out of Catie's sock drawer and made himself comfortable for a night of slumber, and spent one night in the freezer (b/c he was homesick and it reminded him of the North Pole. On the days that the elf was at our house, the first words out of Catie's mouth each morning were, "Mama, where that silly elf at now?" We had soooooo much fun with that "silly elf."


Here is Catie with "that silly elf" who had played in the flour all night long!

Well, because it is such a fun tradition and because we have so many great memories of it with Catie (and plan on making many more with Izzy), we had decided to pass the tradition on to some friends this Christmas. I have been scouring stores and the internet for cute elves that were at a price I wanted so that we could share the tradition with several families without breaking the bank. Well, the prices I found were reasonable, but I wanted to give out 10 or so... So I tracked down the company that made Catie's and Izzy's elf, Host an Elf, and decided to call to see if they did discounts for bulk orders. I was talking to a friend who knew how hard I had been looking and how much we wanted to do this in the spirit of Christmas and to keep a bit of Catie spreading cheer just before I called. She and her daughter prayed that just the right person would answer the phone when I called.

Well... let me just tell you what happened. I called Host an Elf and the nicest lady answered the phone. I explained about Catie and how much she loved the elf and how we had lost her this year and how we wanted to do this elf thing for some of our friends in the cancer world in honor of her. She immediately said that they could absolutely give us the elves at cost. I was thrilled. It was totally affordable and I could reach the families we wanted to. We talked a little longer and just as I was about to give her the shipping address, she said, "You know what? We're just going to give them to you. We want to donate them." I was astounded! Holy cow!!! I couldn't believe it. I stumbled to thank her and tell her how much it meant to our family... that to honor Catie in this way this first holiday without us meant so much to us. I gave her our address and we hung up, me with a bit of bounce in my step.

Well... it gets better... Four hours later, my phone rang. On the other end was the nice lady from Host an Elf. She told me that she had talked with her partner and they had an idea. "What would you think," she said, "if we started a program in honor of your daughter where people could donate an elf to a child with cancer AND 30 percent of the proceeds go to childhood cancer research?" I was speechless!!!!! Give to kids who are fighting so hard and share such a great tradition... AND, AND give money to fight this wretched disease? I was completely blown away by the generosity of this company.

I can't explain to you how this lifts our hearts a bit. We are definitely missing Catie so much this Season. To have a way to honor her memory by sharing something she loved so much with other families AND giving money to Cure Childhood Cancer all at the same time... that absolutely means the world to us. Words can't even describe it.

So... this is what we need folks to do. Go to Host an Elf , and then click the "Host an Elf" button. If you scroll down on the products section here, you'll see a picture of Catie w/ her elf (covered in flour). You can click "add to cart" to donate an elf (for just $20) to a child with cancer (and in the process you're also making a donation to Cure Childhood Cancer. Even if you don't want to make a donation, I hope you'll support this company b/c of the way they TOTALLY went above and beyond when a mom just called and asked for a discount on a bulk order. I also hope you'll share this info. with folks in your inbox. It is SUCH a fun tradition! One that we will always do in our house. The elves can be quite mischievous and kids wake up each morning eager to see what has gone on while they were sleeping. Without your help, we can't make this successful. But with your help, it could really be a great thing!!

Just one more thing. I called that friend back who had prayed that just the right person would answer the phone. I shared the amazing news of the day with her. She said, "Jenny what you didn't know is that, yes, we prayed for the right person to answer the phone. But we also prayed that somehow this would bring about something that would help you and Tre' through this first ever so tough Christmas without Catie." Once again speechless. WOW!

Thank you God for answering the prayer of my dear friend. Thank you for lifting our hearts yesterday through the generosity of this company... Thank you that even though we miss Catie tremendously each and every day, and even more so this Season, thank you for touching our hearts today and sending us a hug from her and from you through a "silly old elf."

Ok already, go see how cute those elves are!!!