A must read.

Wow. This article is so rich with faith, struggle and explanation that you may have to read it more than once. It really gets to the meat of why struggles happen and what you're supposed to do with them. In this case, it's cancer, but it really could be anything with which you're wrestling.

Grab a cup of hot java or herbal tea and pull up a chair. This is a keeper.

This little light of mine ...

Officially, we're into our second month post-Kyrie. In some ways, it feels much longer, like childhood time, when a day feels like forever. And in other ways, it feels like yesterday that she pointed to the pantry for "num-num."

[big sigh.]

Thanks to the thoughtfulness and generosity of a friend, Jordan & Lacie spent a long weekend out of town. It's so good for broken-hearted parents to heal together, just the two of them, for a little while anyway. In the same breath, though, they've been so grateful for all of the company and calls and cards and comments. Kudos to you all for making the vague term "support" actually mean something.

Last Friday, after a string of dreary days, the sun came out in time for my long commute home. Windows down, iPod on, that 80s hit, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" sang through my ears, and I thought of our girl. She would have loved that song. So happy, so fun. She was just getting the hang of dancing. Tears streamed, but for the first time, I was crying and smiling thinking about Kyrie.

My giant Permasmile came from knowing that we're doing good stuff with her and what she represents in mind, which means this is working! She's working! You're working! A cousin of mine told me Friday night that it's like tiny pin lights of good all over the country beaming up toward heaven. I like that.

Who knew that twinkling stars could shine from Earth instead of from the sky?

giddy.

I shrieked out loud reading your comments! Incredible! Yes! We would love any and all help that any of you may have to offer. We're newbies at this.

And great minds think alike, Erin! I'm working on some designs for t-shirts, etc. and maybe even a stamp or stickers (to put on envelopes and what-not) that will let the world know--in a small way--that you're doing something good and that doing good matters.

The coloring books! I raced outside into the rain to tell Chad about it! A slow, giant grin stretched across his face, and I think he even welled up.

Aah. Good is so good.

And over the weekend, I made my card to send Shane. Hope he likes it.

Paying it forward.

So good to hear that cards are being sent to Shane! Love it! I don't know about you, but for me, it seems the more good acts I choose to do, the more I see to do. Heightened awareness, like a flower that turns to face the sun. Have you ever thought about that? How is that possible for a flower with no muscular system to do that?



Which way will you turn?

I think I'm going to write "Go, Kyrie, go!" on all of my mail. ;)

And the cool thing about you having heightened awareness is that those in your circle of influence will be influenced. Your spouse. Your kids. Your parents. Your friends. We learn by example, don't we? Good or bad. Good: How to make Paula Deen's cornbread stuffing on the Food Network. Bad: How to have your priorities way outta whack with "My Sweet 16" on MTV.

So Chad & I have been pulling ideas together for some way to make the world better for Kyrie's sake. And we've decided to start a non-profit organization! For right now, our first tier goal is to eliminate the fatality of PNETs. Twenty years ago, leukemia was thought to be a death sentence. With funded research, today that's not the case. We want the same to be said for brain tumors.

A few compelling facts:
• Brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer death in children under 20, now surpassing acute lymphoblastic leukemia. They are the deadliest type of childhood cancer.
• The incidence of brain tumors is increasing, but the reasons for the increase are unknown.
• Even benign tumors can recur and result in death.
• There are more than 120 different types of brain tumors, making effective treatment very complicated.
• At this time, brain tumor research is underfunded and the public remains unaware of the magnitude of this disease. The cure rate for most brain tumors is significantly lower than that for many other types of cancer.

We have a couple ideas to get this off the ground, and there's been a surprising number of people who want to do something with us, like Chad's colleagues volunteering a bake sale or to stuff envelopes!

So stay tuned because we want to share more of this idea with you soon!

Teach the young.

First grade was a toughie. The entire 1981-82 school year was fraught with eye patches and eye surgeries following an accident I had with a sharp-cornered, wrought-iron TV stand on wheels. One day when my eye patch was particularly itchy, a slew of construction paper & crayoned cards arrived from Clearwater Elementary School. The entire first grade handmade greetings just for me! I wasn't forgotten! "Get Will" and "I hop you fil beter" messages piled high all over my Barbie bedspread. I was thrilled.

So that's what I was thinking about when I received a message from Leah, a commentator here on Kyrie's blog. She's been thinking about Kyrie, Jordan & Lacie a lot and a message came to her about a Canadian boy battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The outlook now looks pretty good for 7-year-old Shane Bernier, but it hasn't always. Despite hundreds of doses of chemo, he's still a kid, and he's at that age when "world records" are the epitome of goals. His goal? To receive the most birthday cards.

You may have received this e-mail forward, too. I checked it out on Snopes.com (a good place to double-check urban legends and stuff). Shane is legit, and his birthday is May 30. So I thought maybe this would be a good "Go, Kyrie, Go!" project for your children. Something creative, something compassionate. You can learn more about Shane here, and you can mail cards to this address:

Recent News
Shane Bernier
PO Box 484
Lancaster, Ontario
K0C 1N0
Canada

And Leah's e-mail P.S. reads: GO KYRIE GO!!!!

My itty, bitty Thankful Thursday thing is yellow construction paper. ;)

Virtual Butterfly.

Susan e-mailed this week about Victory in the Valley, a cancer-support organization in Wichita that does a lot of good work supporting patients, families, caregivers and survivors. It's really a 360-degree approach to cancer support. On their Web site, they have a virtual butterfly garden--this is what Susan sent me.

I have a little trouble on my browser seeing Kyrie's butterfly, but it's there. A pretty little yellow one. UPDATE: It looks great now!

They're also having a fundraising walk/run on Saturday, June 2, if you're looking for a way to get some exercise and help a good cause.

Still mapping out some ideas to share this week. Very exciting!

Seen and Unseen.

This verse makes me feel much better when I'm tormented by the wrongness of this grief. It's the hope for which I've been looking. Maybe it will help you, too.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."