Clinic and Christmas

We got a surprise at clinic. Due to flu season there are absolutely NO siblings aloud in clinic at all. I asked if that applied to nursing babies, and the answer was yes. So Tucker got baby sat in the playroom on the third floor.  I was a little nervous about leaving him with total strangers, but I had no other choice. Luckily we were in and out in no time, and the cute volunteers said he was perfect. What an amazing facility that hospital is. I mean, where else can you get chemo AND a free babysitter all in one day!

While I ran Tucker down to the playroom you stayed and did a craft with Pat. It was a gingerbread man "ordamen".  Soooo cute. When we got called back for height and weight stuff Pam gave you a really fun surprise...a HUGE stocking full of fun stuff just for you!!  Apparently an engineering company puts them together and donates them to the clinic every year. Once again our family is blessed by the generosity of others!  It had more than enough stuff to keep you occupied while I chatted with the doc.

You're sick of me making you pose for pics!

You were super excited because they had your chemo ready so they accessed you real quick, drew blood, and gave you chemo...all without a window sticker. Your least favorite part is the sticker so you were beyond thrilled. After that they said we could go!

I had been worried that they would up your meds because when you had a fever last weekend your counts were 4800. Usually your counts drop when you are sick... BUT, your counts were down to 1200, which is right where they want them to be. In fact all your counts looked awesome. "Perfect" was the word the nurse used.

I asked her why they were so high over the weekend and she said that when your on the more intense chemo your body is not able to make the antibodies it needs to fight off infection so your counts drop. But since you are on less intense chemo your body is actually making its own antibodies and fighting off the germys on its own! How amazingly resilient your little body is. Only one Maintenance treatment and your body is already bouncing back! I just cant believe how strong you are.

We even ran into some of our fellow cancer friends! Chase, who is in DI and doing awesome. And Erin who has AML and just won her battle with cancer. Yay for Erin! Its so nice to have friends going through the same thing. Its encouraging to see others do so well.

We did have one incident at the hospital. Actually the pharmacy. I had your prescription filled before we came home, and when I got home and pulled your meds out of the bag I found that your 6mp bottle had a sticker on the top that said "we owe you 25." Turns out that they gave you the last of the meds they had (5 pills)! Which would have been fine if they had told me! I was really frustrated because when I called the tech was very rude and unapologetic. It stinks because now we have to head back to the hospital on Monday to get the rest of the meds!! Oh well. It could be worse...at least we don't live out of state!

The next night was Christmas Eve. We had so much fun! We went to Grammy Shepherds and had a ham dinner (your latest fave.), and exchanged presents. Alyssa and Ashleigh took the puppy outside for a potty break and came rushing back in claiming they had just seen Santa fly across the sky in his sleigh! You and Katie-bug about lost it. You were squealing and screaming and laughing with delight as you ran through the house telling everyone that Santa was on his way! It was so fun to see you so excited about something! I love Christmas with my sweet kiddos! I love to watch the magic of the season through your eyes, and I love to remember my Savior and his life.

One of our favorite traditions is re-enacting the nativity. This year you were an angel, and you did an awesome job. I was fighting back tears as you came out all dressed in white, and bald. I cant believe how beautiful you are. You seemed to grasp the reverence of what you were doing and had a sweet countenance about you. I'm so grateful for your strong and sweet spirit. You have truly been an inspiration to me this past year.

 I am so blessed to have 4 such amazing kids. Each of you add something different, but very important to our family. You all have different talents and strengths and weaknesses. All of which add so much to our family. I'm just so grateful this Christmas for the gift of family. An eternal gift that I couldn't live without.

Christmas is today, and I am so grateful for my Savior! I am so grateful for the knowledge that he hears and answers prayers. That he knows me, and you, and that he has been our constant companion  this past year. While I would never wish cancer on anyone, I am grateful that your cancer has brought me closer to our Savior. And that I have gained a testimony that he truly does "make weak things strong." I could never have survived this past year without His help.  Merry Christmas Wee Mee. 2010 is nearly over and 2011 marks a new beginning!

Santa is the coolest!

Cutest kids ever!

Make A Wish...

I really don't think there is any way I could put into words how moving, and amazing Monday nights Star Raising Party was. It was overwhelming.

You were feeling so much better, and were so excited. I think you surprised your wish granters (Tom and Leslie) because the first time they met you they could hardly get two words from you!

When we got there the first thing we did was give all the fam a tour of the "Wishing Tower Place," as you call it, and you even showed everyone the inside of the Wishing Tower. You feel so special to have a key to that special room. You had been asking me all day if  I had your wish key...you were so worried we'd forget it. You kept saying, "Only wish kids have a key, mom. And if I forget it,  how will everyone get in?!" Makes sense.



 There is so much to share that I'll explain mostly through pictures...

Welcome to a wishing place McKall!



It says, "When I wished upon a shooting star I wished for..."
It has pictures of a bunch of wish kids and their wishes. You are
pointing to your picture and wish! I cant believe how many
 people we knew on that wall!

Close up of you on the wall of wishes!

After we looked around downstairs we got to take everyone
upstairs to the wishing tower! This is you using your wish key
to let everyone in. Its hard to tell, but there is light glowing
through the slits in the door. The kids were WAY excited!

You have to walk across this little bridge to get into
the wishing tower. Then in the background you can see
the waterfall and glowing lights. The cone shaped
thing is where you put your wish.

You got to show everyone how you put your wish in the
top of that cone, then put it on the base. All the
lights went crazy and the music played. It was pretty
magical for all involved.

Then it was back downstairs where they had all the tables
decorated with your favorite color!



They got some color pages out for all the kids while me and dad
sat down with you to decided which of three playhouses you
wanted them to build in the spring!



Decisions decisions...everyone knew which one "they" would pick.
I don't think you really understood that one of those playhouses is
actually going to be built for you in the spring. I think to you they
were just a bunch of pictures of houses.

This is the one you ended up picking! I was totally stunned
at how big they are. They are 8'x12' and have 2 stories! Its
got a wrap around porch and everything! Amazing!

After that Tom asked you to come up front for a minute...

Your eyes were huge and you were so excited! A
Barbie house (with an elevator) is what you've been
wanting for ages. I couldn't believe they had it all put
together and everything!

You just stood and stared for a second then you
said very softly, "can I touch it?" It was sooo cute.

We LOVE our Wish Granters: Leslie and Tom! What amazing
people to give so freely of their time to bring hope and
 happiness to our WeeMee! I hope you will always remember
these wonderful people and "pay it forward" one day. I will
be forever grateful to the whole Make A Wish foundation!

After the presentation of the Barbie house was some
yummy refreshments. You were so wrapped up with your
Barbie house you didn't have any. Later, on the way home, you
said, "hey, I forgot to eat my princess cake!" Silly kid.

McKall's Star. A local artist in Salt Lake makes these and
donates them to Make A Wish. Amazingly talented
people everywhere! Thank You!

After refreshments you got to hook your star on the string...

...and hoist it up...

...to hang with all the other wish kids stars.. It was
so amazing. I am so grateful to so many for all they
have done for you and for our family.

Here it is...kind of in the back center.

I forgot to mention the scrap book! The scrapbook is a place
where all the family who came can write special messages
to you. They keep it in the Wishing Place so you can always come
back and look at it. They also write where you star is located on
the same page so you can find it on the ceiling when you come
back to visit. Your page was filled with encouraging messages
from everyone...so much so that I'm not sure they are going to
have room for the picture! Oh well.

Obviously the night was a huge success. So much so that we didn't want it to end so we all went out to Chuck E Cheeses afterward for dinner and visiting! It was so much fun! It was such an amazing night.

Being around such amazing people, and so often lately, being on the receiving end of so much service really makes me want to give back. I cant tell you how many times we've heard the doorbell ring and answered the door only to find an anonymous donation to help with medical expenses, or a friendly card and treats to cheer us up. If I had one wish for you, it would be that you ALWAYS remember the amazing people who have given so much to our family, and find a way to always give back to others. You are such an amazing inspiration to everyone around you already...I know you will.

PS- Your hair is growing like crazy!!!

Its long enough now that it'll actually get messed up by a head band
or hat. If we want to change your hat or band we have to wet
your hair down to get it to lay back down! I cant believe it.

An unfortunate turn of events...

So, about an hour after I finished your last post, we got a call from grammy...

You had been having a long awaited spend-over...just you and your cousing Katie. You guys dressed up in princess dresses and had a tea party with grammy. Grammy said you were having so much fun together (and Im sure LOVING having 100% of grammys attention helped)! Then you started to say you were tired and wanted pj's and a movie. All was well.

Then you woke up about midnight and called for grammy. She came in to check on you and found that you felt very warm, and had a barky croupy cough. Awesome.

Thats when we got the call...daddy ran over there with the thermometer and your temp was 102! So off to the "hostible" you went. (after a quick stop at home for some EMLA). You left our house just before 1am and didnt make it home till just after 6am! Dad said you didnt hardly sleep at all!!

Poor dad had to wake up after only an hour of sleep and go do a couple of work things...

Poor you...I felt so bad. You were heart broken because you had been looking forward to the day you could have a sleep over with grammy. You've missed so many since you were diagnosed!

When dad brought you home for the EMLA , and you saw me for the first time, you broke down in heart broken tears....you said, "I wish I didnt have cancer mom...thats what I wish. I wish I didnt have cancer!" It about ripped my heart out of my chest. I feel so terrible you have to endure so much! It just doesnt seem fair. (heavy sigh)

On the bright side...your counts were a whopping 4800!! The highest they've been since your diagnosis (not counting steroids). Because of that, you didnt have to have a spend over at the hospital, and were able to come home.

Today you woke up feeling much better. They gave you a steroid to help with the croupy cough, and now it seems like you just have a normal cold. The whole family has it, so we decided to skip church and rest up.

I really hope were ALL feeling better by tomorrow...dont wanna feel crappy for the STAR RAISING PARTY!! So excited.

PS-Im amazed at your ability to feel so concerned about how everyone else feels about you being sick. You always try to cheer me or dad or grammy (or whoever) up about it. You've told me several times, while leaving to the hospital, "its ok mom, I love you." I dont know how you do it...I really try hard to hide any feelings of concern. I dont want to add to your worries. You must be able to sense it, or see a look of concern on my face. Your amazing.

PPS-Im a little worried they are going to decide to up your chemo dose because your counts were so high. I was told they like to try to keep your counts around 1000 all through Maintenance.  Guess we'll see. I really hope they dont...

Finding a new normal...

So far we are really loving Maintenance! If you have to be on chemo treatments...this is definitely the way to go. I finally feel like I'm getting my Wee-Mee back. Your steroid hunger has disappeared, which I have mixed feelings about.... it took a lot longer than I thought. Your extreme moods only lasted about a week, but the hunger lingered for two. I was beginning to worry you were going to be obsessed with ham for the full 2 years of Maintenance!! Now your back to not eating hardly at all, and I'm wishing you'd ask for some ham. Oh well. I guess I'm going to have to get used to the ups and downs. I think its going to be our new normal.

You've been asking me almost everyday if you have a "docker poinment" today. I am SO GLAD I get to say "no, not for 4 (3,2,1) weeks!"  Since you have no real concept of time you don't really get how long that is...but the relief on your face says it all. I'm so happy for you!! The fact that you can relax a little is huge for me, and you. I cant express in words how nice it is... I'm just so grateful you've made it this far and done so well. I worried that you'd have more side effects to your meds, but so far so good. Your next appt is this Thursday. 2 days before Christmas. No back poke, so all should go well.

We've been doing some fun stuff lately...

We went to our ward Christmas party. I was SO surprised
how outgoing you were. You've been a little overly shy
at these kinds of things since you were diagnosed.



You even participated in the nativity...you were an angel. My camera
wasn't taking good pictures in this lighting. You are the blurry bald
one in pink in the front row center.

We finally got our tree up. Me and dad (mostly dad :)) aren't so
good at lights. I laughed so hard at our tree...dad says its the
best one we've ever had! Thank you Walmart...only 20 bucks!

What a cutie...big sisters old soccer uniforms are your
favorite pj's! (you can really notice the lack of skills on the
lights in this pic. Hilarious)



You've had the energy to play with Ry quite a bit. This is you and
her in a fort you made all by yourself! It was filled with
pillows and blankets and snacks, because building
a fort is exhausting!



They say a picture's worth a thousand words...and this one says it all!
You called me from your room and said "uhhhh mooommm...my panties!"
When I came in you were just sitting on your kitchen, so I asked what
you were talking about your panties for. You said "I'm stuck..."
It took me a minute to figure it out, but once I did I laughed so hard
I cried...then I ran and got the camera!



A close-up of the panty incident! So funny!!



This is a pic of you on the bus to the Polar Express. Dad said you sat
next to this boy who was bald and had a mask on. (you can kind of
see him in the back) He said you sat by him all on your own and said,
"hi, do you have cancer?" The boy said yes. You said, "leukemia like
me?" He said "no, sarcoma."You said,"that's what (uncle)Josh has!"
You chit-chatted for awhile. I thought it was sweet of you to go out
of your way to talk to him. I think its so interesting how you have
 an instant connection with fellow cancer kids. Dad said you were
very sweet.



Thank you KBER 101 and Make a Wish for taking so many "wish families"
to ride the Polar Express! I think I was more excited than you or your
sisters! I was devastated when Tucker woke up the morning of
with a fever...no train ride for me! Dad said it was really neat...you got to
have lunch, ride the train to Santa's Lodge, meet Santa, and even
got a gift from him! What a fun day!

Your ticket...

Carly and Lyssa had a ticket too...

You better watch out...

You better not cry...

You better not pout, Im telling you why...

Santa Claus is coming to town!

I'm so excited for Christmas! I love watching the magic of this time of year in you and your sisters eyes. It so fun to hear the squeals of delight as you anticipate Christmas morning, and as you deliver gifts to neighbors and friends. I LOVE this time of year. So much to look forward to and be thankful for! Speaking of which...

On Monday December 20th, the 7 month anniversary of your diagnosis, Make A Wish is having your Star Raising Party! We are so excited for this special night. You will get to write your name on your own star and watch it raised to the ceiling with all the other wish-kids stars. What a neat, symbolic day. I hope you are always grateful for the wonderful people who put together this program. I am so excited to be a part of this special day! They will do the star raising, present you with a Barbie house (with elevator), and let you pick which playhouse you want them to build you in the spring. You also get to invite your friends and family to come share the moment with you. It should be so fun! So looking forward to it. Loving the new normal!

Free for you, PRICELESS for them!

This Christmas, here's two relatively simple, FREE gifts you can give your fellow man:

1. Get registered in the bone marrow donor registry: http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/. There are many people who need a life-saving bone marrow transplant, but who don't have a match. Last month we heard about this sad story - an 11 year old girl with AML (leukemia), who passed away. She needed a bone marrow transplant and a perfect match couldn't be found. YOU could be someones match. It takes about five minutes to get signed up. Get registered and give someone hope! Our friend Rachel was able to find a donor, can you imagine if she was saved because of YOUR marrow? What an amazing gift for everyone involved!

2. Donate blood at your local Red Cross you can also go HERE if you're not sure where that is. You can donate blood or platelets at American Red Cross. A single platelet donation can provide enough platelets for a full therapeutic dose for a patient in need. In fact, some platelet donations yield enough platelets for two or three therapeutic doses. By contrast, it takes about five whole blood donations to produce a single therapeutic dose. Many patients who need platelets are undergoing chemotherapy or organ transplant and have weakened immune systems. A platelet dose from a single donor reduces the patient’s exposure to multiple donors and is therefore preferred by many physicians. During a platelet donation, a small portion of your blood (less than one pint at a time), is drawn from your arm and passed through a sophisticated cell-separating machine. The machine collects the platelets and safely returns the remaining blood components, along with some saline, back to you. After the donation you can resume your normal activities, avoiding heavy lifting or strenuous exercise that day.

According to the American Red Cross: every two seconds, someone in the US needs blood. Before McKall was diagnosed, I never could believe that number. I had no idea. But after going on this cancer journey with McKall and sitting in clinic watching blood transfusion after blood transfusion going on around us, that number is much more real to me now. McKall had 3 just in her 1st week of treatment. We have a friend Elena who has had multiple transfusions in just one week - and occasionally, her transfusion has been delayed because the blood bank didn't have the type of blood she needed. Or there's our cancer friend, Skyler, who has multiple platelet transfusions every day. And there's millions of other cases where people need blood. It is life-saving. And it can be really scary watching your sick child and being told that there isn't the blood they need available.

Some Facts About Blood Supply Needs and Blood Donation -from the American Red Cross
•One donation can save the lives of up to three people.
•The demand for blood transfusions is growing faster than donations.
•Shortages of all blood types usually occur during the summer and winter holidays.
•Less than 38% of the US population is eligible to donate blood. (So if you can, you can see that you're sorely needed!)
•It is possible to donate specifically only platelets or plasma. This process is called apherisis.
•Donated platelets must be used within 5 days of collection - new donations are constantly needed.
•Healthy bone marrow makes a constant supply of red cells, plasma, and platelets. The body will replenish the elements given during a blood donation - some in a matter of hours, and others in a matter of weeks.
•The average adult has about 10 to 12 pints of blood in his body. Roughly 1 pint is given during a donation.
•The average red blood cell transfusion is approximately 3 pints.
•A healthy donor may donate red blood cells every 56 days.
•A healthy donor may donate platelets as few as 3 days apart, but a maximum of 24 times a year.

You must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in good general health to donate. (Eligibility requirements may vary in some states and donation centers.)

Please, if you possibly can, get out and donate this holiday season. It's one of the best gifts you can give.

This Christmas, GIVE LIFE!

This is gonna be a long one...

Well, the last 2 weeks have been long. A bit of a rollercoaster of emotions for all.

You continued to feel great all the way up to your first Maintenance treatment. You were feeling good, but I could hardly get you to eat. I was actually looking forward to you taking the steroids, just so you would eat something!

You and Ry pretending your at the top of the "wishing tower"!
So excited to make a wish!

The night before your treatment there was a big blizzard! The roads were really bad so you and dad had to leave just after 6am to get there by 8am. I really wanted to go, but Tucker wasnt feeling well and so we didnt want to have to wake him up that early.

Still sleepy, but ready to go to clinic!

Dad said that they were running behind at clinic and that everything took a long time. You met with the docs and then headed down for your backpoke. Dad said you did an awesome job, and woke up really sweet. Then (because they didnt have your chemo ready) you had to go back up to clinic for your chemo. Which they STILL hadnt ordered so it took forever. You werent done until 1pm!! Dad said you seemed really tired and just wanted to come home. He said you didnt even want to stop and get any lunch...weird.

Or so we thought at first, by the time you got home you were obviously sick. You had the droopy "sick eyes" and when dad carried you in he said, "McKall needs her mommy, shes sick." As soon as I saw you I was worried. Dad sat you in my lap and I could feel the heat radiating off your little body! You complained your legs and back hurt, and that you had a headache. Dad took your temp and it was a whopping 104 degrees! We called the clinic and they said to bring you right down and they would get the anitbiotics and fluids ordered.  You were so upset! Its so hard to be reassuring when your so scared and dont know what to expect. Plus the fact that your sick and feel so miserable makes you just want to be at home. I told you your counts were good so you wouldnt have to spend the night. That turned out to be a promise I couldnt keep.

They were quick in clinic, and got you all plugged in and hooked up to the meds asap. When doc Fluchel came in he said he thought there was a pretty good chance you could have a bacterial infection (SCARY) and that he wanted to watch you close while they gave you the antibiotics. He said the fact that the fever came on so fast made him think she could have had some bacteria sitting somewhere in your central line, and when they flushed your port it released all that bacteria into your system and caused you to get sick. I was worried it was from lack of hygeine on our part, but the doc said that it wasnt. That it was probably just some bacteria naturally found in your body and that there was nothing we could have done differently...thank heaven!

He said some common signs that it is bacterial is that your blood pressure drops and breathing becomes a little labored while getting the antibiotics. Sure enough, not 10 minutes later, all the things they were watching for started to happen. Your blood pressure dropped and they started measuring your breathing. It was kind of scary to watch you. You were asleep, luckily, and werent awake to see the worry in my eyes. They gave you more fluids to help with your blood pressure and then the doc came back in. He said he felt like you should probably spend the night. He said that if you had a good night, and they could get your fever down, and as long as you were feeling better and the blood cultures didnt grow anything that he would feel good about letting you go home the following morning. Thanksgiving morning.  I said I hoped so...that would be definitely something to be thankful for.

They moved us up to a room in ICS and we got you settled watching a movie. You were exhausted so I headed home with Tucker to save grandma from the new puppy and your sisters. I HATE HATE HATE leaving you there. Even though dads there, I hate it. To make matters worse you were in tears...wanting me to stay with you. Its the pits. Long story short, you had a pretty good night. Your fever came back around 2am and then didnt come back after that. Your blood cultures came back negative, and your counts were good so they said we could bring you home.

Feeling much better the next day!

We got to grandmas just in time for Thanksgiving dinner! What a wonderful treat for Thanksgiving!! We had a really nice, laid back day with granparents Shepherd and grandparents Sanders. It was a delicious meal and we had a beautiful centerpiece made by YOU! It was a pumpkin turkey...so cute. 

Cutest turkey pumpkin ever! Dont know if you can notice,
but his beak is over on the side by the butter dish! :)

We did some crafts...

...and read some books...

...and ate! (cant believe I forgot to take a pic of the food!)

We all went around the table and shared what we were thankful for. It is so overwhelming to think of all the amazing blessings weve received this year. Although its been a rough year watching you fight cancer, its been so amazing watching you (and your sisters) gain a testimony of the Priesthood, and feeling the comfort of the Spirit during countless blessings and prayers. We are so grateful for all the wonderful and amazing people who have supported our whole family during this time. Those that helped watch your sisters, those that helped with fundraising, the many many people who came out and donated blood to show support for you, and help others at the same time. Im most grateful for the testimony I have gained that the Savior really does make us strong enough to deal with the trials we are faced with. I cant believe how many times Ive felt like I couldnt stand one more sleepless night, only to wake up the next morning with only two hours of sleep, and feel totally rested. Or how, amazingly, every time you had to stay overnight in the hospital it happened to be at a time when daddy was home. Over a weekend or a holiday, or in between jobs. OR, the times I thought I was failing, and not being a good mommy to everyone, and not getting all that I needed to done...Id get a reassuring card in the mail from someone, or an email.  I KNOW those are not just coincidences. I know those are blessings from our Heavenly Father and I am grateful. So grateful.

Unfortunately it hasnt been all smooth sailing. You have had a major adjustment period. I think that after not having chemo for 3+ weeks, and feeling so good, that taking chemo again has hit you like a ton of bricks. You came home from the hospital with HORRIBLE diarhea (poor kiddo) that lasted for several days. Which always happens when you get the IV antibiotics. Plus your legs were very weak and tired. You didnt want to do any stairs, and just walking from one end of the house to the other was exhausting. The docs told us to delay your oral chemo 2 days so you could recover from your fever a bit first, but when you started it just intensified the yuckiness you were already feeling. I think you got used to feeling crappy from the chemo so you learned how to pace yourself. Then, when you felt so good between DI and Maintenance you just went full speed all the time. So, when you were feeling crappy again, you had to re-learn all of that.

Your amazing though. Here it is, one week after your fever and treatment, and you are doing awesome. You finished the steroid and have an appetite again. I think I'll be glad that you have to take the steroid for 5 days a month because at least Ill know you'll eat well at least 1 week out of the month! Your new Maintenance chemo schedule is as follows: Everyday you have to take 6mp. In addition the first 5 days of the month you take steroids, and every Thursday (that you dont get a back poke) you take MTX. Then on the first day of each month you get Vincristine through your port at clinic, and every 3 months you get MTX in your spine(back poke). And as always, Septra on Mon and Tues. I say once a month, but its actually a 4 week cycle. So every 4 weeks we start the regimen over. So far your feeling good and taking your medicine well so Maintenance isnt looking too bad.



This last Tuesday was a very special day. We got to use your Make a Wish key at the Wishing Place in Salt Lake. We had no idea what you were going to wish for before you went, and we were so excited to find out. It was an amazing experience. Ill explain with pictures.

We got there a bit early, so we hung out in the car for a few minutes
so they could finish getting ready. You were nervous.

Just inside the entry way was this huge star..it says, "Welcome to
a Wishing Place McKall!"  How cool is that!!

Each one of these glass stars represents a Wish kid, and their
wish that was granted. You'll have one too!



Once you decided on a wish, they wrote it down and had you
put it in this medal cylinder.





Then you took your wish to the top of the Wishing Tower. You
cant tell from this picture, but there is pink light shinning
out the small windows in the door, and under it.
(your favorite color)



Then we all went in...the room was changing color and
playing pretty music. We all got to share what our wish
for you was... (things like health, happiness, and
a trip to DisneyLand were all shared!)



Then they told you to follow the lights on the floor to deliver
your wish to the "Wish Wizard".



The lights lead you to this cone hanging in the wall behind
the water fall. There was a hole inside where you
put your wish in.

Then you follow the light back around and put your wish on
top of this....after you did all the lights went crazy and the
music started playing and they said "I think  the Wish Wizard
got your wish, do you?" You were in total awe.

After you placed your wish we went back downstairs for some
snacks. They had pink all over the table. I forgot to mention they gave you
a purple teddy bear (you later named purplicious), and they gave Carly a
Make a Wish Barbie, and Alyssa a diary and a puzzle. So nice!

The snack was smore's...your favorite! You even got to bring some
of teh leftover chocolate home!

What an amazing experience it was. They had the lower level decorated with all kinds of pics of Wish Kids and their wishes. It was a very moving experience. Its so amazing how many brave little kids there are! I am so grateful to ALL the many people who give of their time and their resources to bring hope and happiness to these tough kids! THANK YOU MAKE A WISH!!!

Two small side notes I forgot to mention. One: we got a puppy. I think hes gonna be a really good dog...once hes potty trained! and Two: Your hair is growing back SO FAST. Here are some pics...

We named him Copper...hes a sweety.

Taken a week ago...look at all that fuzz!

The pic doesnt do it justice, but there is a ton more!!

Oops...one more thing I forgot to mention...what you wished for! You wanted a Barbie house with and elevator, and a playhouse. So, rather than make you choose, they are going to present you with a Barbie house (with and elevator) at your Star Raising party, and then have some people come build you a playhouse in our backyard in the spring!! So exciting! Later this month we will have a Star Raising party where ALL your friends and family can come and watch you write your name on a star that they will raise with all the other stars. I cant tell you how impressed we are with our wonderful wish granters: Tom and Leslie! Amazing!