Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for every day blessings. Have you ever needed something and then somehow, some way, it miraculously presented itself? Did you need reassurance and a friend, unprovoked, gave it to you? Did plans fall through at the same time you needed an evening to get some things done? Did you have an empty fridge when someone invited you over for dinner? Did you miss being in an accident by >this< much? Did someone turn on a light for you to make your reading easier? Did someone open the door at the precise moment you had your hands too full to open it?

Or ... were you somebody's blessing? ;)

Every day, ordinary blessings tether us together in ways that slip through the fingers of obviousness. For a moment strangers are friends, distance is short and the world is good. Every day blessings delight in being given unexpectedly (though sometimes it's been in the works for months by someone else ;)). I'm thankful for our guardian angels who match us perfectly with these blessings, even if we're too human to appreciate them as they unfold. I'm thankful that people are brimming over with potential, blessings in waiting, and I'm thankful for the ability to be grateful for them as they happen.

What are you thankful for today?

Save the Date!

The Kyrie Foundation's second annual Twilight Walk is scheduled for Saturday, September 19, 2009 at Bishop Carroll High School in Wichita, Kansas!

Scraptastic Time!

What a wonderful time we all had on Saturday! First off, a big thank you to everyone who joined us that day. We couldn't do what we do without your support, meaning there would be no Kyrie Foundation without people like you. We hope you had as much fun with us as we did with you.

Even more thanks to Family Church for donating the perfect space for this event. Dustin, you answered our silly questions time & time again. Thank you! And to Scrappin' Boot Camp for managing our registration. We thank you profusely.

Can you believe this: I forgot my camera—for the second krop in a row. Ugh. So I'll have to paint you a mental picture ...

• Tables and tables of happy scrappers visiting, creating, laughing and I even saw a little dancing. ;)
• Beautiful idea books at the Close to My Heart table with Kathy.
• Tons of cute scrapbooking supplies at the Scrappy Chicks booth with Sabrina.
• Quick and delicious muffin mixes, soup mixes, bread mixes and salsa mixes at the Homemade Gourmet table with Sally.
• Fun make-and-takes with Theresa at The Angel Company.
• Sweet style and aromas at the double-booth of Cookie Lee and Scentsy.
• Fresh strawberry-banana smoothies for everyone compliments of Bonnie with Juice Plus!
• Sparkling handmade jewelry from Creative Jewelry with TLC.
• Goodie bags so good I think we should call them greatie bags. ;) Plus, super-fab freebies.
• Starbucks coffee wafting from the hallway.
• Delish gourmet salads courtesy of caterer Michael Snell!
• Fresh sandwiches from McAllister's Deli and Mr. Goodcents. MMmm!
• Relaxing chair massages from the healing hands of Amanda Thome.
• A garage sale especially made for scrapbookers.
• Perfect pizza from D'Marios pizza in Cheney, Kansas, followed by Cheesecake Factory cheesecake with homemade toppings from caterer Michael Snell.
• A impromptu live auction for extra pizza pies and cheesecakes--congrats!
• Special silent auction items that raised even more dollars to fight pediatric brain cancer.

The grand prize—a ProvoCraft Cricut—went to Michelle Covey! And what a priceless reaction! As Christy said, indeed, it was like she had won the Price is Right showcase showdown. ;)

Another round of thanks to our generous donors: Making Memories, ProvoCraft, Purple Cows Incorporated, Magic Mesh, K&Company, EK Success, McGill, Scrapfunattic, Inkadinkadoo, Stampendous, My Mind's Eye and CK Media/Simple Scrapbooks. When you have a choice in purchasing scrapbooking items, please consider these companies and their amazing generosity.

And ... we are blessed enough to have three "Scrap Like You Mean It" t-shirts left to give away here on Kyrie's blog! So just leave a commen on this post, and you'll be entered into the drawing. We'll announce the winners this Friday. If you were there and had a great time, tell us! If you weren't able to make it but wish you were there, tell us! Any commentator is eligible to win!

Thank you, again, Kyrie Foundation kroppers! Looking forward to scrapping together again in April 2010!

Scrappin' good times!

We're getting VERY excited about next Saturday's Kyrie Foundation Krop! Hope you are, too!

I plan to spend the day making thank you cards. We have so many people to thank for helping the Kyrie Foundation that I might need more than just one day. ;)

Just so you know, if you can't make it all day, that's okay. Come until lunch then duck out. Arrive after lunch for dinner and scrap-time. You can come and go as you please.

In case you didn't get the e-mail, we have some extremely compelling reasons why you should spend next Saturday with us:

• FREE GOODIES! Your goodie bag will be worth $17.00 alone! UPDATE: New donations have made each goodie bag worth $20!
• FREE PRIZES! Everybody is automatically entered for a chance to win a door prize, which includes the crazy-popular, electronic die-cutting machine: the Cricut, worth nearly $300.00!
• FREEBIES! We have a couple of surprises to give away to EVERYONE worth over $25.00! UPDATE: New donations have made the freebies worth $30!
• FREE COOKIES! For those of you who attended last year, you know how great these were, homemade courtesy of Kyrie's great-nana, Norma.
• FREE COFFEE & TEA! Gotta keep going!
• FREE-WILL-DONATION MASSAGE! Take a couple minutes to relax at the hands of licensed massage therapist and Kyrie's aunt Amanda.
• GREAT VENDORS! Another vendor wants to come hang out with you: Check out Scrappy Chicks from Manhattan, KS!
• you deserve a day to just do something fun!
• EVERY PENNY goes toward the fight against pediatric brain cancer. Who knew your favorite hobby could change the world?

Read on for more info and to register! Hope to see you next Saturday!

Kyrie Foundation Krop 2009!

A scrapbooking fundraiser to benefit The Kyrie Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit funding research to fight pediatric brain cancers.

This is your day to do something fun, spend time with your friends or your sister or your mom or meet some new scrappy friends! Just bring your layouts in progress, your cards that you thought you'd have done by now, the shoe box of photos you're wanting in an album or any other creative project you want to spend some time with. We'll even have extra manly muscle on hand to help you unload your vehicle!

We're hosting some fantastic vendors, too!
Close to My Heart with Kathy Clapp
The Angel Company with Theresa Flynn
Scrappy Chicks with Sabrina
Juice Plus with Bonnie Kissinger
Mary Kay with Karis Morrow
Cookie Lee & Scentsy with Shasta Wewe
Creative Jewelry by TLC

And if you're looking for the crop with the best freebies, I'm telling you, this is it! We have great door prizes and generous donations from fantastic companies like Making Memories, Purple Cow, K&Company, McGill, Creative Memories, EK Success, Eyelet Outlet, Inkadinkadoo, Magic Mesh, Simple Scrapbooks, My Mind's Eye and more!
The grand door prize is a ProvoCraft Cricut!

$45 per seat. Includes complimentary tea & coffee, lunch, dinner,
sweet treats, goodie bag, freebies, shared tools station and a
chance to win door prizes.

Saturday, April 25, 2009
9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Family Church
11135 W. Kellogg
Wichita, KS

Hurry! Seats are limited!

To register by phone, contact Christy Freeman at 620-584-2966 or e-mail her at christycmc@sktc.net. To register online, visit our generous friends at scrappinbootcamp.com.

Also, if you want to order a t-shirt with the attached design, let Christy know or pre-order at scrappingbootcamp.com. Cost for this limited edition tee is $16.00. You'll receive your shirt the day of the crop.

Straight from the bunny.

I love this. Thank you, Susan, yet again for pulling our family and dozens of other families through another difficult time through you cheerful, unconditional, amazing, creative generosity.

Well, I've been pondering on how to share our Good Friday experience ...

Friday, April 10, 2009 was our 3rd Easter trip to Wesley Hospital Pediatric Floor and PICU, in memory AND in honor of Kyrie Dawn Thome. The "Easter Bunny" was lucky enough to round up 7 excellent helpers (Thank YOU...Dad, Rox, Shonda, Jess, and Kristi!!) The helpers pulled two FILLED wagons and carried four STUFFED duffle bags around the halls from room to room.
At every stop each would look in their assigned wagon/bag, and sort, and pick and decide on the "perfect" items for each special patient.

Great thought was put into whether this 3-year-old boy would like the dump truck or the car that could change into 8 different styles. Or whether that 10-year-old girl would enjoy a color book and crayons or rather a craft kit to help her pass the time. A boy's room? Then let's find the right color/style of homemade blanket for this little guy. (Thank YOU Kathleen's mom & grandma for the blankets!) A teenage girl? The fuzzy High School Musical blanket is perfect for her. We are not just a "grab-and-go" operation, ya know!!

The Easter Bunny's highly trained assistants (5 minutes in the parking garage) could not have done a better job of putting careful thought AND love into their work. But you see, we were not just being judged by the little ones we were visiting, but we also had 2 very special guests with us. Kyrie's parents, Lacie & Jordan, blessed us for the very first time with their presence on this trip. I know the Easter Bunny soooooo wanted to be able to let them see just what an incredible experience and happening takes place when we visit the kids of Wesley...all becauseof their little Kyrie.

I hope they know that the Easter Bunny realized what a rough week it had been for these young parents, just 2 years since they lost Kyrie, but truly wished that the sadness wouldn't outweigh the goodness that takes place in just two short hours every year on Good Friday.

The Easter Bunny knows what $955.00 can buy for these sick kids stuck in a hospital: toys, books, crafts, stuffed bunnies, blankets, crayons, trucks, balls, princess dolls, games, play-dough, cards, markers, stickers, activity books, paints, slinkies.
And for their parents and families: Quik-Trip gas cards, gift cards to McDonalds, Applebee's, & Spangles. But the Easter Bunny hopes that Jordan & Lacie AND her helpers saw past the price tags and "things", and could actually see the JOY that THEY helped bring to these kids and their families.

It's the PEOPLE and their INTENTIONS and the many ACTS OF KINDNESS! Those are the things that stay with me, and I have a feeling will stay with all who were with the Easter Bunny on Good Friday.

27 children. 23 days old, up to 17 years old.

Mommies, Daddies, Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, Brothers, Sisters,
Cousins, Friends.

All huddled in tiny rooms, surrounding a sick child.

Some there for a minor accident, being released sometime soon. Others with a life-threatening illness, back in for yet another hospital stay. How one look on a parents face can hold so many emotions all at one time? Love, fear, worry, concern, exhaustion, frustration, hope and...gratitude.

Every single parent that we saw, while visiting their child showed gratitude. Sometimes even a look of amazement along with it.
But I get that. I am always AMAZED how many of our family and friends and coworkers want to help out with our little projects.
Toy donations, money, volunteering their time, stepping in as Eggbert at the last minute (thank you Rox!)...ALL of that!
So I can see why a stranger would be amazed. And I can also see why they are grateful. Trust me, I get that too.

So to all of my "GOOD EGGS" out there... The Easter Bunny holds a very special place for you in my "basket."

And to Lacie & Jordan....Thank YOU for sharing your Kyrie with us.
It doesn't take big bunny ears to have heard the chant of "Go, Kyrie, Go!" loud and clear!

luv,
Susan Jae
"E.B."

PS: Be ready...Frosty & Elf Rita will need you in just 8 months!! :-)

The bunny trail.

Here are some snapshots from Easter Bunny and Eggbert's trip to Wesley Hospital. KAKE Channel 10 was there to shot a little footage of the big Easter give, too!.

A ginormous hug and "thank you" to Easter Bunny, Eggbert, all of Easter Bunny's helpers and to Wesley Hospital for making this annual act of kindness possible.

Goodness Friday

The Easter Bunny & Eggbert are headed to Wesley Hospital in Wichita tonight to bestow their Easter goodies and good cheer. Local media might be on location to nab a couple shots of their incredible generosity, so you might want to tune in to the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. news just in case.

And an extra-special note of thanks to the Swob family! The Easter Bunny was thrilled to get your long-distance box of super-fun and snuggle-y gifts to give the children tonight. Goodness abounds!

Easter Will Always be Bittersweet for Us.

A message from Jordan.

April 7 will always be a day that echoes an emptiness in my and Lacie’s hearts the rest of our lives. Easter is supposed to be a time of rebirth, and in a way, Kyrie’s passing was just that. It was not only the rebirth of her life in Christ but also a surprising rebirth to all those who knew Kyrie and her battle. To watch Kyrie leave us and be totally helpless to do anything about it still rips at my very soul. The only comfort we found then and now is that, incredibly, her memory lives on through the hearts of many we will never even know.

I feel there is nothing more precious than a child. From warm smiles to those innocent eyes, nothing melts my heart more. So to lose something that I treasured and valued—the very thing we’re supposed to treasure and value—still feels unfair. People say that the pain goes away with time; I certainly disagree. Though it is not a constant feeling of suffocation as it was in the beginning, the pain still exists in every breath. I honestly don’t know how we functioned in 2007. It still feels like a horrible, surreal nightmare. I still wake up at night expecting to look down the hallway and see Kyrie there playing with her dolls. I wished for so long that it was all just a bad dream, a bad dream no parent should have to actually live.

Today, a piece of Kyrie lives on through her little brother, Kamdyn. Kamdyn has helped fill an emptiness in my heart, and he is a daily reminder that our children are God’s gifts to the world. Lacie and I are blessed by God yet again with another little miracle due in July. People who don’t know us, give us their best on the birth our second child. Some days I can correct them, telling them it’s our third. Other days I just can’t find the words.

Everything good in me has been called to make sure no other parent feels the pain that Lacie and I suffered. I never could have imagined that Kyrie was sent not only to be my daughter but to be what leads me to help other families. The foundation is her assignment and God’s invitation to you and me to impact the lives of others. This foundation is special because it’s working to change the statistics of a horrible disease at the same time it is changing people. I believe sharing Kyrie with others will help cultivate a Christ-like goodness in people.

Two years later, we still thank you for including our family in your prayers. We ask you to please continue to be a part of Kyrie’s legacy and our mission to make a change together.

The Day the Angels Came

The Day the Angels Came
a grandpa's prayer and poem for Kyrie Dawn

Wednesday, April 4, the day we heard of the explosive growth of the tumors

Alas! O, Lord what is it that I hear?
Is it Your angels coming for our Kyrie Dawn?
O, please Lord, keep them at bay--
If just for one more day.

Thursday, April 5, Holy Thursday

O, Lord, what is this I hear?
Is it that You need another little angel to be near?
O, please Lord, please Lord, don't take our Kyrie dear.
Could You please keep Your angels away,
and we could have her just one more day?

Friday, April 6, Good Friday

O, precious, sweet Jesus, is this the day?
No, no, dear Lord, not today--
This is Your day that You died to save.
Again, please Dear God, let us be selfish
and keep sweet Kyrie another day.

Saturday, April 7, Holy Saturday Easter Vigil

Thank you dear God in heaven
for yet another precious day--
For we all know things will be done your way.
Little Kyrie Dawn is fighting so very hard--
Yesterday she three her ball three times
till her tiny arm got tired.

Angel of God, my guardian dear,
To whom God's love entrusts her here,
Ever this day be at her side
To light, to guard, to rule to guide. Amen.

Sunday, April 8, Easter Sunday

Dear God in Heaven, Your angels came last night,
As we all knew that someday they might.
They came around the hour of seven
to take our precious one to her
special place in heaven.
Sweet Jesus, we know that you, too, love the little ones,
so to You we give You our little Kyrie Dawn--
And in the end, it is always Your will that will be done.

Amen.

Love,
Papa

Just missing her.

Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

St. Thomas More

Yarn master and his creations.

Here's a snapshot of our yarn artist extraordinaire, Brett, with the bracelets that he sent. I'm planning on wearing mine out this evening. ;)

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for all of our GoodSearchers!

In a tight economy especially, GoodSearch has made it EASY to donate to The Kyrie Foundation. For those still wondering about it, GoodSearch is an internet search engine that donates a penny for every search you make. It works just like Google or Yahoo! and contributes to the charity of your choice. It's completely free, and helps us more than you know.

I have GoodSearch as my homepage on both my work computer and our home computer. There's a link on their welcome page that will make it your homepage lickety-split. Or you can visit the site, type in Kyrie Foundation into the bar that asks "Who do you GoodSearch for?" Then go into your browser preferences and make it your homepage.

I'm also thankful for our GoodShoppers and our iGivers! GoodShop is a part of GoodSearch and donates a percent or two for every online purchase made through their merchants, like Target, Amazon, iTunes, etc. Very cool. iGive is another shopping portal that donates to our cause through your favorite online merchants, too. I can't tell you how many times I've booked travel, sent flowers, purchased computer stuff or bought Christmas and birthday presents through both sites. It's so easy to do good this way.

When we joined there were something like 42,000 charities involved. Now there are over 78,000. Talk about some stiff competition! It may not sound like a ton, but since we signed up, we've earned over $560 just for doing what we'd do anyway, you know? You can even add an e-mail footer that says that you GoodSearch for The Kyrie Foundation.

So thankful to all of you who are helping us in this way. Free for you and good for Kyrie.

What are you thankful for today?

Scrappy stuff.

Hope you're looking forward to the 2009 Kyrie Foundation Krop. It's going to be a great place to unwind and spend a whole day just doing creative, fun stuff. Especially for working women, mothering marvels, giving grandmothers, doting daughters and active aunties, scheduling time to reconnect with yourself and your friends is exactly the advice we hear from the professionals, right? All the experts in O magazine, Redbook, Real Simple and every talk show out there. Put yourself back on the list. April 25 with us is a perfect way to treat yourself and renew your attitude.

Let us take care of the mess; let us take care of the food prep; let us shower you with little creative gifts. We'll turn on the tunes, have the massage therapist at the ready and provide plenty of fresh coffee and iced tea. Sounds like bliss, eh? So tell your creative pals and get registered quick--remember there are a limited number of seats.

And ... Simple Scrapbooks magazine has donated a seasonal variety of inspiring issues, one of which will go home with each of our Kyrie Krop scrappers!



To refresh:



Saturday, April 25, 2009
9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Family Church
11135 W Kellogg
Wichita, KS

$45 per seat and that includes lunch, dinner, goodie bag, freebies, shared tool station and chance to win door prizes from a slew of great scrapbooking companies, like McGill and Creative Memories!

Grand prize is a Provo Craft Cricut!

To register by phone, contact Christy Freeman at 620-584-2966 or e-mail her at christycmc@sktc.net. To register online, visit www.scrappinbootcamp.com!