Just call me POSH!

I got a haircut today. That’s big stuff around my house! Next thing you know I’ll be wanting to close the door when I shower and sleep by myself. I was describing the hairstyle I wanted…a little off here, a little up here, something like this, angle like that…and the girl says to me “Oh, you want Posh Beckham.”

Yes, that’s what I said…make me a Spice Girl! I cringed mentally and almost asked for the Florence Henderson instead, but I it, what can I say? So I love my new hairdo, however I look nothing like Victoria Beckham…are you surprised?

The sudden flurry to groom comes on the footsteps of the news that Peyton and I will be making an appearance on the Studio 10 morning show. Representing the Pediatric Cancer Foundation for a segment on the Cure Kids Cancer Challenge, I got wrangled into this one. My friend Holly Wirth called and the conversation went something like this…

“Do I have to?”
“No, but…”
“I’ll do it if you will.”
“I said I’d do it if you would too.”
“Ok, so we agree that we’ll both do it.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“We just do it and pretend that it never happened.”
“Sounds good.”

How can I turn down an opportunity to talk about something so near and dear to my heart? Hopefully they’ll keep the cameras on Peyton and let her cute little face speak volumes.

Oh, and Peyton’s Flashes of Hope picture should be in the Sunday Parade supplement some time this month. The article is so sweet and her photo is one of 25 picked to be online at the Parade website slideshow.

Yesterday there was a meeting for the Cure Kids Cancer Challenge, and because we’ve had so little time to pull this event together, it’s awesome to see the progress that’s being made. We just started planning in July and to see all the elements coming together feels good. It is so wonderful to be a part of the planning committee, to be sharing this job with so many other dedicated and committed people. I’m just honored to be able to help out. We are still recruiting people for walking teams, we need people to sign up to walk and spread the word. Please take the time to take a few flyers to whatever businesses you frequent, to your place of employment, and consider building your own walking team. It’ll be one of the most rewarding things you ever do, you will be helping to give these phenomenal cancer kids the tools they need to fight their battles.

One of the fun things I get to organize as part of my committee responsibilities is the awards. We decided to nix the traditional trophies and medals and go with something very personal and uniquely special. The Pottery Patch in Brandon is going to donate the supplies and the space for us to have a bunch of our local cancer kids to go in and hand-paint tiles to give as sponsor and winner prizes. Ok, is that so much cooler and sweeter than a trophy? If we’re going to get people to come out and walk for the sake of our kids, we are going to keep it focused on them in every way we can and let the kids thank them in a very personal way.

There are so many prayer needs.

Scott Patterson is a boy in Brandon who has T-cell ALL Leukemia, this makes his cancer much harder to treat and he is at a much higher risk. He has recently suffered from shingles and I just found out that he has suffered a stroke due to a blood clot. He is currently at St. Joe’s hospital and we pray for healing of his body and strength for his family.

Hannah Deal still needs our prayers. Her parents are finding incredible strength as they face her ever-shortening time and we continue to lift them up in prayer. My hopes are that her days will be happy ones, that they will be able to make wonderful memories together.

Sam Lee is friend of ours who has ALL leukemia, and she is struggling through a barrage of side effects from her chemo. She has a great deal of body pain, she is so sick from the meds and her spirits are just low. Please pray her through this, the constant wear and tear on her body is making it hard for her to cope with school and to keep her happy.

Delaney Potterbaum is another sweet friend who is battling a tumor. I posted recently about how it suddenly became aggressive and her family and the oncologists have been searching for a path to take regarding treatment. They have chosen a protocol, but they are discouraged by the differing opinions of the hospital staff. Some are being optimistic, some are treating it as if this is the beginning of the end for Delaney. Kara is ever positive that the Lord’s will is in place for Delaney.

In the face of all the prayer requests, we give a huge THANKS to the Lord for answered prayers. Baby Leo and Justin Guadineer both received fantastic news and had bone marrow results that came back cancer free! Both little boys have Neuroblastoma and this is tremendous news for them, a huge step in their treatment. We pray that God continues to bless these two boys with positive news and successful treatments.

I could go on and on and on about kids that need prayer, Sydney Sims, Jessica Rose, Maddy, the list just never ends. As overwhelming as it is, I know that today being the first day of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is a step in raising the awareness we need so badly. We are going to make the difference between life and death, between a real chance and a bare hope for all these kids with our dedication and perseverance.

Oh, I forgot…this being Peyton’s site and all…Peyton is on the books to start physical therapy in October. One of the side effects that she has suffered with has to do with her legs. She’s had limping issues, she’s had falling issues and now she walks like a duck. It’s hard to explain and I’ll have to get a picture of it to show, but if you look at the way she stands it’s so obvious something’s wrong. From her knees down her legs go out in a V, and she rolls her feet to the inside so that she walks in the sides of her feet. It’s very bad for her knees longterm and I’m concerned that if she continues to walk like this she’ll be stuck doing it forever. She is going to be working with PT to correct this and she’ll probably need an insert to go into her shoes (this isn’t going to go well as she’ll need to wear sensible shoes) to help correct her stance.

I hope everyone has a great and safe holiday weekend. We are going to a pool party with some of our other cancer family friends, it should be a good time!

f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
–Anissa