Thanks, #6

You cannot be grateful and bitter.

You cannot be grateful and unhappy.

You cannot be grateful and without hope.

You cannot be grateful and unloving.

So just be grateful.

Author Unknown

Thanks, #5

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming
gardeners who make our souls blossom.

Marcel Proust

Thanks, #4

Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

October 3, 1863

It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.

We know that by His divine law, nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world. May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people?

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.

But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father Who dwelleth in the heavens.

Thanks, #3

Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty
is God's handwriting -- a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in
every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thanks, #2

I'm thankful for a pair of shoes that feel really good on my feet; I like
my shoes.

I'm thankful for the birds; I feel like they're singing just for me
when I get up in the morning... Saying, 'Good morning, John. You made it,
John.'

I'm thankful for the sea breeze that feels so good right now, and the
scent of jasmine when the sun starts going down.

I'm thankful...

Johnny Cash

Thanks, #1

If you just look at all that already exists in your life, all that you
already have: unlimited air to breathe, ample lighting to see, music to hear,
books to read, stars to dream by, trees to gaze at, floors to dance on, friends
to cavort with, enemies to befriend, strangers to meet, woods to walk through,
beaches to comb, rocks to scale, rains to cleanse you, rivers to float you,
animals to comfort you, you do have to admit, there's more of it than you could
ever, ever, ever spend.But try anyway.
Mike Dooley

A week of thanks.

This week as preparation for family & feasting bubbles up, we thought it would be nice for you to have a moment each day where you can just breathe and appreciate the moment. So we'll post a good thought for you to hold in your mind each day this week to honor this season of gratitude.

There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.
Author Unknown

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for chili and those who love to make chili and those who love to eat chili. See yesterday's post for a great lunchtime event tomorrow!

I'm thankful that at this time of year we look forward to preparing a delicious meal to share with our family & friends--an entire holiday devoted to just being thankful. Thank you, Abraham Lincoln. What a Thursday we get to have each year! I'm thankful for warm kitchens, family recipes and the aroma of home-cooking. I'm thankful for the idealized images that Norman Rockwell created about holidays such as this. Slightly unrealistic in these modern times, but a wonderful goal to hold in our hearts nonetheless.

But most of all I'm thankful that all this gratitude begets sharing. How appropriate that being grateful for all that we've received launches the season of giving.

What are you thankful for today?

Attention all chili lovers!

If you work at Learjet in Wichita, Kan., be sure to schedule your lunch hour in Building 6F/6G (Flight Test area) this Friday, November 20, for a Chili Cook-off benefiting The Kyrie Foundation! Are you a Learjetter who has a smokin' chili recipe that puts all other to shame? Then this is your event!

To enter the contest, just e-mail Bonnie Kissinger. It's FREE to enter; just whip up your secret recipe and bring it in a crockpot on Friday. Tasting & judging will be from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. There will be PRIZES for the winning chefs to take home and, of course, reputation on the line!

To eat, just bring a couple bucks and stop by between 11a-1p. Just $1 per sample! Donations accepted and welcome.

Forecast for Friday? A brisk 44 degrees--perfect for a piping hot bowl of goodness, eh?

Friends.

If you are on Facebook, we'd love for you to join our cause! Just do a search and you'll find us! You must be a member (free!) of Facebook first, however.

Those of you who are not interested in Facebook, well, you'll still be first-to-know on happenings & progress with regular visits here to the blog. Thank you for being here.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for that which is behind the scenes. I am thankful for things like sewer systems, electricity, stage crews and sous chefs. I am thankful for the underpinnings that allow life to keep on keepin' on, like the person who invented elastic. We should be thankful for alternators and the wind that blew the seeds to create this years Texas wildflowers. I am thankful for those who complete the scut work, the grunt work and the ones who remain nameless and credit-less for popular success stories.

I'm thankful for the work that was done to make the auction look so great.

What are you thankful for today?

Letting it settle in.

Metamorphosis 2008 was a tremendous night for us. As I told many people that evening, it is just as important, if not more so, that we earn a good reputation as we earn those research dollars. We met so many new people who had the opportunity to meet Kyrie through her tribute video and who offered to help save the next Kyrie with us. The whole idea was to make art turn into hope, to make shopping turn into research and of course, that tears would turn into triumph. Changing hurt & loss into help & hope is nothing short of a miracle, but with your help, I think we achieved that last Thursday.

Everything went so smoothly and the response so positive that I'm pretty sure that you can look forward to Metamorphosis 2009!

And how about that band?! Don't we love Softee!?!?!?! I mean, how many bands include a cello? Love that. And I don't know that I've ever met four sweeter, cuter, more talented girls. They've got the "sugar & spice" thing totally down, and they also "get" how important this cause is, which endears them to us even more.

Have you had a chance to scroll through the photos from the link on the last post? Chris Bendet did a fantastic job, didn't he? Another amazing volunteer for whom we are incredibly grateful.

I don't have to ask if the food was good. :) We were worried that we'd have a ton of food leftover. What a needless worry that was! Thanks to the delish dishes of Thomas, D'Bronx, Room 39, La Bodega, Sweet City Cupcakes and Sunset Grill, we had tasty nibbles to go along with The Foundry's great local brew. Did you notice the gorgeous & delicious blue, butterfly sugar cookies? Another amazing soul, Karen Schotsch, volunteered to create those scrumptious morsels. So touching. She, in fact, was the first person to heartily climb on board this event and provided ideas and advice and donations every step of the way. We adore Karen.

We are also indebted to Studio 2131 for their great venue. I don't know that we could have chosen a more inviting, approachable space in which to showcase the art & gifts. Speaking of which, we are so thankful to the donors who made this event happen. Artists from all over the country mixed with a cornucopia of local talent made for a great offering. A remarkable friend, Patrick Sheridan, was an incredible source of procuring art for us. We thank him profusely! And to all the donating retailers in the Kansas City area, we know that helping a new nonprofit is the last thing on your to-do list, but what a difference you made for us by lending us your reputation and giving us an item for the night.

And to our guests, thank you for making time, finding time, giving time to us Thursday. One evening, just four hours out of your year, made a world of difference for us and the fight against brain cancer. You make us.

So ...

as we put the caps back on the pens and the vases back in their places, we are once again humbled by your generosity and honored by your presence to stand with us.

What a great night!!!!

Oh, my.

We are just beside ourselves, happily exhausted and supremely grateful to so many new friends of Kyrie's and new patrons of the foundation.

We had absolutely no idea what to expect, and with considerable trepidation, we opened the doors not knowing what would happen. What if it was just me & Chad that showed up? What if people didn't care enought to come? What are we going to do with all of this ART?!?

Needless worry. We LOVE that so many different people came together for a common cause. The space was comfortable, the art approachable and the goal? Achieved. ;)

I'll post more in the next few days, but in the meantime, you can check out the photos that Chris Bendet took. He was incredibly kind, talented & generous to come to the event, and we think he did a great job caputuring bits & pieces of the evening.

Thank you to all of you who supported the evening. We are so thankful.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for volunteerism. We would not be where we are without so many of you. I am in awe of your personal willingness, that incredible openness to say "yes!" to something out of your routine, something new, something worthy.

There is a lot of talk these days about doing good. Check out a few Target commercials or Bono's (red) campaign. Lots and lots of nice things are said. Lots of good wishes. I love that spirit. However, somebody has to do the work to make those wishes come true.

Thankfully, a small yet mighty band of do gooders stepped up and made Metamorphosis 2008 happen. We extend bountiful gratitude to the new friends of Kyrie's that have saved this day, which we hope will someday save children! Thank you to Tuesday Schmidt, Jen Walker, Kelly Jackson, Amy Smith, Carly Farrell, Karen Schotsch, Michelle McClellan, Cherie Journee and Patrick Sheridan. for being part of something you weren't even aware of this time last year. Thank you for being there tonight to make this event exist. Thank you for offering without our asking; thank you for spending your time working on this instead of a million other things you could have been doing.

We are humbled.

What are you thankful for today?

Finishing touches.

So we're in the home stretch of organizing the big, fab art+gift auction! Looking through all the donations, I have to say we have been extremely blessed. We are so lucky to have the help of so many. All the Yeses put all the Nos to shame. ;)

Looking back on the last 10 months of thinking and planning and calling and asking and running, we are pretty astonished at how far we've come. We've been up against a saturated non-profit market here in K.C., competing for time, attention, space and funds with other organizations that are more established, bigger or have more resources. We've been up against the economy, its fears and worries. We've also been up against whatever happens to be going on in your lives, be it ball games, out-of-town trips and a host of other ideas vying for your time.

The thing is, though, cancer doesn't stop for any of that.

Kids are still having craniotomies today, chemotherapy today, radiation today, seizures today.

So we hope you take heart knowing how much your participation means to The Kyrie Foundation. We take no gesture for granted. We, the healthy, the able, are the only ones in a position to fight this monster while these parents are fighting for the lives of their children. We thank you. Oh, how we thank you for being with us tomorrow night.

Get to know the artists, #7.

If you have wee ones, you might have seen the work of Jill McDonald at such retail favorites as Target, Pottery Barn Kids, Land of Nod or Toys R Us.


From her site: Jill McDonald is rapidly becoming nationally recognized as an extremely talented young designer with a colorful, whimsical style that's fresh, fun and unique. Jill graduated from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design in 1998 with a degree in textile design. She then joined Baby Gap in Gap's Manhattan, New York design headquarters as a print stylist. After two highly successful years at Gap Jill made the decision to return to her hometown of Kansas City, MO and joined Hallmark Cards as an illustrator. During her three years with Hallmark Jill created numerous top selling gift-wrap and greeting card collections for Hallmark, Target and Wal-Mart.

She now designs on her own from her studio in Parkville, MO., and creates funky, chunky, painted art, like this:



And then it could be made into stuff like this:



We are so delighted to have her in our artist roster--another one of Kansas City's creative treasures.

From Dallas, Texas, we're pleased to also include Dennis Murphy, photographer extraordinaire.



Dennis has an incredible eye for capturing fetching details, and his ability to intensify color & contrast brings out even more character in his subjects and compositions. If these two examples from his portfolio catch your interest, you'll definitely want to be with us Thursday night!