Imagine Benefit

Current Donations: $260.00

For More Info

Click Button Above

Click Button Below To Help



Click To Subscribe To IN THE LIFE OF A CHILD By Feed

Enter Your E-mail Address Below to Subscribe To IN THE LIFE OF A CHILD By E-Mail

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Add to Technorati Favorites


In The Life of A Child, all content and images unless otherwise noted © 2006 - 2008


Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Mom Blogs - Blog Catalog Blog Directory

Blogging Fusion Blog Directory

Personal Blogs

Parenting Blogs - Blog Top Sites

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

This blog is really about our kids, Jacqui and Kyle:

Jacqui is a wonderfully energetic and opinionated five-year-old. She was born with a rare birth defect known as a lymphatic malformation (LM) and has been through a lot in her young life. She had a trach until she was a year old, had surgery in New York to remove her LM with world renowned surgeon, Dr. Milton Waner (at age three), and still has a G-tube. She is a bright sunny soul in spite of everything.

Kyle is a thoughtful, and slightly reserved 2-year-old with a magical giggle and a wise-looking smile. He is clever and charming and a bundle of pure joy.

Our goal as parents: To treasure every moment and to raise our children to be extraordinary individuals.

Welcome to an inside view of our world!



Get The Button Code

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Get The Button Code

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket







Imagine… A Bigger Prize Package!!

May 14, 2008

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

So just a couple days into this benefit for Rhett and Parker, and we have some volunteers to make this even bigger! If you want to read about the details of the benefit and see my original four drawings, CLICK HERE.

First, the stunning, most fabulously wonderful Ursula of The Daily Drool has offered to add a gorgeous set of two of her lovely photograph prints, each in 5×7’s matted to an 8×10 size to the prize package: A monarch caterpillar and a lovely monarch butterfly…

MW1

MW2

Next, the incredibly generous and talented Karen of Beyond Understanding has offered an autographed copy of her new novel, One Sister’s Song…

CS

And then there was Jacqui…

“Mommy, I wanta do artist drawings to help doze boys who’s very sick too.”

“Ok, why don’t you draw them each a picture and we’ll see if we can mail them to Rhett and Parker.”

“Nooooooooooooooooo!!!”

“No?”

“No! I needta do drawings in picher frames jess like you so you can put dem on da ‘pewter to help dem jess like yooooooooouuuuuu!”

“But, Jacqui…”

“It’s portent Mom!”

“But we don’t have any more picture frames…”

She handed me the phone with a grin, “Oh, dat’s easy… call Daddy an tell ‘im we need some more!”

I dialed while she giggled with glee and hopped up and down.

“OK,” the budding young artist declared while clapping her hands together like an authoritative production manager, “Now I need some paper.”

I handed her some paper off the computer printer. She scowled. “What?” I asked.

“Dat’s not gonna work! I need reely reel artist paper to be an artist, Mom!”

I cringed as she eyed my sketch pad. Then I sighed. What better use could there possibly be for a sheet of quality artist paper? None. I started to tear off a sheet as she shook her head and held up four fingers. Apparently she had a series in mind.

“I’m gonna do four pichers… jess like you!”

I handed over my sketch pad and she nearly burst with glee as she ran from the room to start her project. The rest of the day was spent making her drawings ‘just so’. The end result was this priceless set which I honestly am going to have a very hard time parting with…

JP1

JP2

JP3

JP4

JP5

They are all 5×7’s and the first one is a kitty, the second is either a tiny unicorn and a flower or a regular sized unicorn and a giant flower — I’m not sure which (”If you don’t know I’m not gonna tell you, Mom!”), the third is a fish, and the fourth (my favorite) is a bunny. All lovingly hand-drawn by Jacqui.

She asked me tonight as I tucked her in, “Mom? Are doze boys very sick like me, wen I was in da hoz-pittle and couldn’t breave so very well?”

“Yes, Sweetie. Parker has a trach just like you did and Rhett has had a hard time breathing too.”

“Do you think my pichers will help pay da doctors so dey will be all bedder very soon?”

“Yes, Sweetie. I’m sure of it.” And she pulled the covers up with a giggle.

“I’m so very glad, Mommy.”

Me too. I’m so very glad for all of you who are stepping up to help these lovely families. Thank you!

Drawing Details:

At the end of the month, I will host a giveaway drawing with a winner randomly selected from the names of everyone who donates $5.00 to the Hands Helping Children Paypal account I have created to benefit these families. For every $5.00 you donate you will get one chance in the giveaway drawing to win the print set (and Ursula’s photograph set, Karen’s autographed novel, and Jacqui’s print set) — just send me an email or leave me a comment to let me know you’ve donated and how many entries you qualify for in the drawing. At the end of the month, the contents of the Paypal account will be split equally between Rhett and Parker’s families to help provide them with some much needed financial relief. To donate, click the button below, or send a Paypal payment to handshelpingchildren(at)gmail(dot)com.

Click button:

or CLICK HERE to donate.


add to sk*rt Digg Technorati Stumbleupon





Wordless Wednesday… Portrait Of A Lens Error

April 30, 2008

C1

C2

For More Wordless Wednesday Posts… CLICK HERE and HERE.


add to sk*rt Digg Technorati Stumbleupon





Here Comes The Sun…

March 21, 2008

JS

Like the sun dispersing the clouds after a storm, Jacqui returned from her CVS episode this afternoon. And my heart rejoices!

Now we begin the task of weaning her back off tube feedings to eating on her own again. Thank you to all of you for your wonderful words of encouragement, warm thoughts, and priceless prayers. Our family is so blessed by each and every one of you!


add to sk*rt Digg Technorati Stumbleupon





A Christmas Collage of Memories

January 1, 2008

C16

This Christmas has been such a gift for our family - or I should really say, a lavish pile of gifts that we still haven’t finished unwrapping. Moment after moment, indelibly stamped on our hearts as we tug at the ribbons with smiles a mile wide. It has been the Christmas longed for, hoped for, prayed for. The one we wept over so many times in hospitals or while cradling a sick child in our arms as we lamented its loss.

Although we started out the Christmas season with pneumonia, strep throat, and ER visits, Christmas itself, was pure undiluted joy. We find ourselves still a bit heady with it, as it’s rather unfamiliar territory, but all the while willing ourselves not to be looking around for the threat of a dropping shoe. So we didn’t look for one - not even a tiny little peek. We just sat back and soaked it all in like dessicated sponges with our hearts full to overflowing. I can say, just as we have always said, even in the midst of tragedy, that God is good - and breathtakingly faithful.

And once again, I am unable to pick a single moment for Melody’s weekly “The Gift of Every Moment” post for December. So instead, I will share a virtual collage of some of our favorite moments that twirled into our beautiful Christmas with the individual beauty and whimsy of a flurry of Christmas snowflakes…

c2

A beautiful Christmas Eve at Jacqui and Kyle’s great grandparent’s house - What a joy that I still have my dear grandmother to make Christmas memories with!

C3

Christmas morning at Ken’s parents house - And Jacqui sneaking an early peek at the stockings!

C4

Kyle peeking out the window at his second Christmas morning in the world.

C5

Kyle making us laugh after finding an old pair of Grandpa’s glasses frames.

C6

If it has wheels, it’s the best Christmas present ever! At least in Kyle’s book.

C7

Late Christmas Morning at my parent’s house. Jacqui singing happy birthday to Jesus with her cousins, James and Jonathan. The cake was actually a gluten-free coffee cake I had made so that Jacqui and her Auntie could have something to nibble on, but it worked for a birthday cake in a pinch. As long as it was capable of holding up birthday candles, it was a birthday cake to the kiddos!

C9

A rare flurry of Christmas snowflakes, like a made to order Christmas wish! A Currier and Ives moment that put a childlike smile in my heart.

C10

Snowflakes are for making snowballs with and snowballs are for throwing - especially at Mom and Dad!

C11

Christmas night at Ken’s parents house and a sleepy, but happy Jacqui.

C12

Me trying to finish up the last of my traditional Christmas book… and failing quite happily.

C13

Back home the day after Christmas - Jacqui falling asleep in Daddy’s arms during her bedtime story.

C14

Stockings all ready for our family Christmas…

C15

And a tree waiting for pint-sized early risers.

C17

Princess Jacqui showing off her new dress-up dress.

C1

Jacqui drew a picture for us of her “Christmas List” … which primarily consisted of a Disney Princess Talking Vanity.

C18

Jacqui was one lucky little princess because Mommy just happened to see one at over half-off the sticker price during a 4-hour sale… or the Disney Princess Vanity would NOT have made an appearance at our house. Jacqui was blissfully unaware of the close call.

C18

Even princesses enjoy a little off-road adventure now and then. Kyle only put up with it for a minute though before yowling, “MINE!! MINE CAR!!”

C20

Over the weekend, we lost power and resorted to blanket forts and stories…

C21

Although there were so many Christmas toys in the fort that there wasn’t much room for kiddos.

C22

After the kiddos went to bed, Ken and I sat down to a few rounds of Monopoly by candlelight. I’m pleased to say that I trounced him - three times. He’s demanding a re-match this evening : )

Jacqui declared this to be, “the most wonderfullest magicallest Christmas ever!!” We couldn’t agree more - and the moments keep coming.

*****New Year’s Monopoly Update - Mandated by Ken…*****

NY1

So… my luck apparently ran out tonight. See all those hotels? All Ken’s. All in the low rent district, but he managed to completely shut me out of a monopoly of any property on the board. He owned the only two monopolies and promptly erected enough hotels to rival Las Vegas.

NY2

And here was my sorry hand… Nine mortgaged properties, one railroad, one ten, one five and one one. I accused him of being a slum-lord.

NY3

As you can see, this troubled him greatly.

NY4

Even my most pathetic pouty face couldn’t induce mercy and he gleefully forced the mortgage of my last railroad and then took my paltry sum of $116.00 and shoved me into bankruptcy.

NY8

Lucky for me he’s not the sort to gloat…

This post was written for the Wrapped Emotions writing prompt:

“Capturing the Gift of Every Moment”

Please click on the link below to visit Wrapped Emotions to see how other writers took on this prompt…

Wrapped Emotions button



add to sk*rt Digg Technorati Stumbleupon





‘Tis The Season…

November 14, 2007

Things have been quieter here than usual. Want to know why?
Because THIS came in the mail…

Which of course led to this...

(*poke, poke, poke…* “Look, Mom! Giant hunks of pink plastic for only $89.95!!”…Um, actually she didn’t say that. It’s just what I heard.)

And this….

(*poke, poke, poke…* “Mom!! My Furss Leapfrog ‘puter… Jess like on TV!! Dat’s what I AL-LAYS wanted for Chriss-mass!! Doncha ferget Mom… Leapfrog car-ridges are sold sep-ly an badderies are NOT ‘cluded!”)
And this evil marketing ploy with it’s dastardly prominent display in every Target store on the planet…


(*poke, poke, poke…* “Moooooommmm!!” *poke, poke, poke* “Mom, Looooookkk!! It’s da Fur-Real Pony jess like at da red shopping cart store dat I all-ays for never and never wanted for Christmas!!!!” What I hear is… “Mom! Hand over your bank account! Quick! I need more giant toys to complete my plan of totally barricading myself in my room with T-Rex sized stuffed animals!!! … Um… It was me who added the arrows and frowny face pointing to the price.)

So Target… If you are listening… We will hereby be avoiding all your stores with your evil giant pony displays like the plague until January. Likewise, we will be enforcing a strict ban on all Sharpie markers… In the spirit of the holidays, of course.


add to sk*rt Digg Technorati Stumbleupon