The 6MP crew

Today was our "Celebration of Life" with the [url=http://www.childrensdreamfund.org]Children's Dream Fund[/url]. It was a lot more than I'd had pictured in my mind. We met up with reps from the CDF and the [url=http://www.hope4adelaine.org]Powell family[/url] at 3 at a Chick-Fil-A in St. Pete, and the fun was just non-stop. We ate some food and Sandy from the CDF told us details about our trip. Let's just say that we were looking forward to our trip before the party….Peter and I are now worse than the kids with the 9 day countdown!

It is such a huge wish to have granted, to say we want to go to Disney could be so simple and they take that wish and just amplify it so greatly that it becomes this once-in-a-lifetime memory. With our stay at [url=http://www.gktw.org/]Give Kids the World[/url], meals are provided, there is so much to do…horseback riding, golfing, fishing, swimming, games, ice cream and pizza all day long, the options are just unlimited….we've talked to some families who said they went to go to the amusement parks but ended up spending the most of their time at GKTW because of how fun that was in itself! We get a nice little two bedroom/two bath villa that's all our own for the week, we get tickets to all the Orlando parks that are still good for time after our GKTW stay (just in case we don't make it to all the parks during our allotted week) and they gave us money to cover gas, in-park food and fun and that last minute jaunt to Vegas!!…ok, not that last part, but for real on the rest of it. Sweet! We get to look forward to spending our days in the parks with advance passes to the head of the lines with the junior princesses, big time fun for the siblings and hopefully some fun in the quiet moments for the parents.

As I was sitting with the Powells and I was deep in conversation with Angela, Pete and Doug were having their own gabfest and the kids were all playing like hoodlums behind a three inch sheet of glass, I realized that I couldn't think of better people to take this trip with! Speaking of the hoodlums, a mad moment happened right in the middle of the "Celebration of Life"…I call it "The 6-pack Goes Smack Down on Some Strange Kid". All the adults are talking excitedly about the upcoming trip and all of a sudden we realize that there's some crazy whirling dervish of kid taking cheap swings at Nathaniel and Mason in the play area. He just bounced from boy to boy, little arms flailing wildly and Nathaniel and Mason were batting him back and forth between the two of them with these totally "ok, now what do we do?" expressions on their faces. About the time I saw Nathaniel plant his feet and bring his hands up, I realized that if I didn't get that kid out of there NOW he was about to be shown what 3 years of taekwondo can do to someone 4 inches shorter and a good 20 pounds lighter. Luckily, we put a stop to it, Mom of the crazed kid realized what was happening (I really did feel so bad for her because I know what it's like to have the kid that gets in a fight, is the "biter", or the crier) and swept him out and as far away from the "cancer group" as she could. How awful for her to realize that her kid tried to get WWF on the Make a Wish kids.

Only the parents of the cancer kids who take Mercaptopurine will get this humor, but today I was thinking of all our kids together, which Angela Powell nicknames the "6 pack", I kept thinking of them as the 6 Mayhew-Powells, or the 6MP! Anyways.

Sandy from the Children's Dream Fund came armed today with gift baskets and bags for the girls and the most beautiful, and tasty, Disney Princess cake. Nathaniel was a little appalled at having to eat pink roses on his cake, but he suffered and devoured it anyway. Fox13 news ditched us in search of better news, but Channel 8 news was there to take some video of the girls, that we totally missed because we didn't get home in time to watch it. I'm sure they were adorable and put on a good show, how could they do anything but?

When we got home and the girls tore into the gift baskets they were ecstatic to find t-shirts and hats, books and videos, a little miniature tea set, and a fairy princess outfit. Peyton wasted no time donning the fluffy headgear, the swirly skirt and the bright pink wings and letting me know that "I'm too little right now, but when I grow big I can fly to the sky like real butterflies." That was too much cuteness! They promptly sat down and had a Gatorade party with their tea set, even Dad and Nathaniel got down on the floor and had some "tea" with them.

Peyton and Adelaine were in their glory today, both full of smiles and laughter. It was so awesome to see their friendship and love of each other, they are amazing. Adelaine is looking so wonderful with her thick hair coming in and Peyton is quite a bit shorter, paler and less healthy-looking than her, but they just glow when they're together.

There's a little girl named [url=http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/skylarjademaxson]Skylar-Jade Maxson[/url] who is fighting valiantly for every moment she has here on earth. She is currently running a high fever, has long periods of apnea and her lungs are filling with fluid. We just pray for her and for her family as they are with Hospice right now. I don't know if this will be the time that God chooses to take her home and end her struggle here, but we just pray that He works a mighty miracle for Skylar.

f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
–Anissa

ps..Gina Bracken is a sweet lady who found Peyton's bio on the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society website and she is participating in the Nike Marathon in Peyton's honor. That's so phenomenal and I am just touched by her dedication and compassion. She does not have a sick child, this is just where her heart has led her to reach out for others! [url=http://www.active.com/donate/tntscfl/tntscflGBracke]http://www.active.com/donate/tntscfl/tntscflGBracke[/url] This is the website for her fundraising page, give a few dollars to support her in this run for Peyton and all her fellow warriors