Three Days to GO~!

That one’s for you Julie and Rick- LOVE YOU!!!
Hi Everyone,
Sorry- not an urgent message, I just wanted to make sure it sent a notice of an update, as they’ve had issues with carepage update notices in the past…Just a few things I wanted to update on…first off, thank you to everyone who has ordered Team Larson shirts and/or window decals! Our walk is this Saturday, so this will be my last post before then…Caden is super excited! So far we’ve raised almost $3,000…quite a bit less than last year, but we’re still working on raising the total. THANK YOU to all who have donated to our team! Every dollar gets us that much closer to a cure- the total cure for the walk keeps growing, thanks to some very dedicated people! It’s over $80,000 now!
Someone asked me the other day if it was hard to raise money knowing that it wouldn’t bring Coleman back. NO- it’s the opposite! Every time we hear about another parent burying their child it makes my heart ACHE…because we know what’s ahead for them. Diagnosis is horrible, relapse - even worse…even living day to day when your child is deemed “cured” carries its own set of ‘what if’s’… Cancer is NOT an easy road no matter what –but when the fight is truly over, and you’ve been fighting for so long- you need to have SOMEthing to continue to fight for! The thing is, these kids push on in spite of how hard things get…Coleman lived his life to the fullest. Coleman’s memory pushes us to NEVER GIVE UP…we hope and pray for a CURE- that one day cancer will NOT take the lives of innocent children. Again, these are just a few of the Iowa Children … every day there are innocent faces being added to this group…every single day 3 kids will have fought all they could and their fight will be over, but their family’s fight of “going on” remains. THIS is why we walk…THIS is why we ask for your help.



It costs $10 to sign up to be on our team….even if you can’t be there physically; you can still sign up to be on our team roster and make the $10 donation. THANK YOU for joining us, whether you will be there in body and/or spirit- it means so much to us that Team Larson goes on…and that YOU are a BIG part of that! OH- and if you ARE going to be there- registering online means you don’t have to stand in line and register the day of the walk- so that’s a plus!
Curesearch Walk- TEAM LARSON PAGE.

Soooooo, here is the info in case anyone missed it….
TShirt Info:
Tshirts are $12.
Fronts of the shirts


Back:


We have children’s sizes S-L and Adult S-3XL. (sorry no infant sizes)
If you’re interested you can send your mailing address, #of shirts and sizes to:

Team Larson
Box 251
Callender, IA 50523
Checks can be made to Team Larson.

If you could add a little extra for shipping, I would REALLY appreciate it, as that comes out of my own pocket. I’m not sure how much it will be to ship, but any extra would be appreciated! THANKS!

The shirts were designed by Caden, so he’s very excited about that.
We’re also selling Coleman window stickers for vehicles. They are $6 a piece.
Proceeds will go to our walk for CureSearch.

Window Stickers: (you rub them on and transfer- carwash safe!) They measure about 12”x3 ½”





Here’s our link for our CURESEARCH WALK -
Curesearch Walk- TEAM LARSON PAGE.
And a little more info on the walk-
Registration will be at 8am in the green space adjacent the zoo parking lot to the northwest. ***If you register on line you wont need to register at the walk! ***

The walk ceremony will start at 9am.

After the walk, there will be a closing ceremony at approximately 10:15-10:30. This is when our totals will be announced!

From 10:30 to 12:00, Hy-Vee will serve a lunch for $4.50. There will be a choice of hamburger, hotdog, or chicken sandwich, served with a bag of chips, cookie and lemonade. $1 of each purchase will be donated back to CureSearch!

There will be tickets available to go back into the zoo for $4 for the rest of the day.
The Day’s activities include:
- A special performance by Miss Iowa 2010, Anne Michael Langguth
- Face Painting for kids of all ages
- Special Zoo Animal Demonstration by Blank Park Zoo
- Great Music and a ceremony celebrating and remembering children with cancer
- Appearances by Spike the Bulldog, Spider Man and more
- Tasty morning food and drinks
HOPING FOR SUNSHINE…or at least NO RAIN!!!!



Okay, now what’s been up with us? Well, we went to Scott’s Grandma’s funeral today. She was 97 years old. She lived a full life, but funerals are never easy, no matter the age…and what is it about funeral homes that makes my stomach hurt now? Coleman’s visitation wasn’t even in a funeral home, it was at the church- I think it’s the smell of carnations that makes me queasy. Scott’s Grandma had a beautiful service, and we’d like to think Coleman was there to welcome her home. Another sad day, but one filled with hope- and goodbye is NOT the end.

Caden is keeping busy with his kittens- and is outside more than he is in lately…and is dirty all the time- He’s growing like a weed! OH- and he has BIG news- his first tooth came out last weekend!





He was so excited that he got a gold dollar coin for it…because he was supposed to take something for show and tell last week that had to do with the occupation he wanted to be when he grew up. He wanted to take a gold coin…his chosen occupation? LEPRECHAUN of course! Haha I’m going to remind him of that one when he grows up!


He had another soccer game last Saturday, and has been riding his dirt bike every chance he gets. He’s growing and changing every day- Oh his newest words he’s using every chance he gets are “harsh” and “customize”…
“I wanted to play with this boy at recess, but he was too harsh…so then I asked another one, but he was harsh too.”
“Can I use some of your paint to customize this envelope? I need to customize this picture too.”
He cracks me up.
OH- the last time we went grocery shopping, look what I found!

We used press and seal too many times to count when we had to put Emla cream on Cman’s port to numb it up. The press and seal worked better than anything we found…so when I saw THIS on a package of Press and Seal, I thought- HOW FITTING!


Kudos to Glad for giving back- hopefully the people who purchase this will actually get on their computers and enter the code…every dollar makes a difference!

How little it takes to excite me sometimes! :)
Someone asked me the other day… “it’s good to see Caden doing so well, but how are YOU?” *sigh* I had to think about that one for a minute. How am I? Let’s see….there are still days I find it hard to get out of bed and face the world…there are still moments that take my breath away and choke me with grief…there are still moments I cry myself to sleep…but I answered, “I’m okay.” You know, we all have our own moments of hard. That doesn’t mean there aren’t moments of good in there too. That’s life- right?
I was thinking of the question and likened it to a post I did a while back about every one having an invisible bucket that holds their good feelings. Every day your bucket is being filled up and dipped out of. I need to consciously make sure I fill mine with prayer and surround myself with supportive people- (I am blessed with wonderful family and friends!) If I didn’t make that conscience decision, I could easily see myself falling into depression. (It seems like there is a hole in my bucket dear Liza…) I didn’t use to have to worry about the good things dripping out- and maybe one day I’ll find a plug to put in the bottom, but for now, it’s an ongoing process of trying to keep more going IN to fill it up, than is dripping out.
Then I started thinking maybe it’s like I’m in a boat that has a hole in it and I’m constantly trying to bail water out to stay afloat. Some days water seeps in faster than others, but I can’t stop scooping up water and throwing it out, or I’ll easily go under. If I can keep bailing, I’ll be okay…but it gets exhausting sometimes.
THEN I started laughing at my crazy-self realizing my two analogies were complete opposites- one with things dripping out and one with it coming in…but that’s kind of how my mind works now! Sometimes I don’t make much sense!
How am I? I miss Coleman more than I can even begin to explain. HE always made my bucket spill over with happiness. No matter how tough things got- he always had a funny comment to make me laugh- or a song to fill my heart- or a hug and “tiss” to make me know it would all be okay, or a bit of wisdom on faith that made me wonder where in the world this boy came from and how I got picked to be his mom. WE MISS HIM… so much.
But you know, what choice do we have- but to push on…until we see him again. AND continue to thank God for every day we had with him. Scott and I continue to have our good and bad moments- the most important part is we hold each other up when the other one needs it most.
I thought I’d share a funny Cman story I don’t think I ever put on here…just for old-time’s sake. I was reminded of this when I had to buy Kleenex the other day. There’s a type of Kleenex they sell that have VICKS right in them. I remember I had a coupon when they first came out, so thought I’d try a box. I brought it home and put it in the bathroom….
Well, we were in church one Sunday and Coleman was talking to one of our friends sitting behind us. Once Coleman started a story- you were NOT going to distract him, or stop him no matter how hard you tried.
He started in… “you know them Tweenexes what haff Vicks in em?” (I knew we were in trouble RIGHT when he started with that!) “well, my mom got us some. She put em in the baf-woom and daddy telled her- DON’T put em on the back-a-the toy-wet cuz we were outta toy-wet paper.” “ann he USED one ann he said, WHO-WEEeeee!”
Haha Leave it to Coleman- I’m sure he thought he was doing good by warning her NOT to get VICKS Kleenex, and if she did, NOT to put them on the back of the toilet, OR to make sure she wasn’t out of toilet paper if she did!
Sooooo, yes, I bought another box of Vicks Kleenex, just because the memory made me think of the C-Man. But NO, I did NOT put them on the back of the toilet! :) Yes, he taught MANY lessons!
Here’s a video I have never posted- probably because our house was a PIT that morning, and the boys were still in their jammies- with cereal on the floor- I think they did have a little dust pan in there trying to clean it up, but this is the video Caden requests more than any of them. He will watch and sit and giggle his head off. THIS is what he misses the most. Look at how good Coleman was feeling- it’s so hard to believe only 5 months later the cancer would be too much for his little body to take. I’m so glad I picked up the camera that morning instead of worrying about the mess…it’s the little moments that mean the most.


Until next time,
Blessings to you all,
FOREVER TEAM LARSON
teamlarson1@gmail.com

If pics don’t show up, you can go to:
http://nevadivup.blogspot.com/