Mission of Love ~ Revealed

A little over a week ago, the hearts of many rose to an occasion coordinated by a dear friend for #TeamBolton.  Below is the excerpt from her posting and my original blog post about our Super Hero Big Brother Donor Gift.
*************************************************************I started this Chip In fundraiser for two very special children: 5yo Mireya and 7yo Jalen. Many of you know the story already. Mireya was diagnosed with Severe Aplastic Anemia and last year her Super Hero Big Bro Jalen (@ 6 years old!), who was discovered to be a perfect donor match, was her a bone marrow donor. However, the transplant needs a boost, so within the next two weeks Jalen will have to be a donor once again for his sister. He has extreme anxiety about the medical procedure but knows he has to do this to help his sister. Since he has given the gift of life to his sister, it seem only fitting that he get a gift too. (My goodness, this is SOOO deserving of a reward!) All he wants is an Ipad, which we, along with his parents, are hopeful will excite him enough to ease some of his anxiety. Mireya will also be able to use this gift during her many hours in the clinic. If your heart moves you to help please click on the link below. Any little bit helps and will be a blessing to the Bolton Family. Any additional funds raised will go towards the family's medical expenses.

In less than 8 hours we raised enough for an Ipad and a few weeks of copays.  As a family we decided the Ipad would be the better choice in the long run, but a very special family knew in his heart of hearts, Jalen wanted an Ipod Touch.  With a disclaimer that it be given 'from Mommy and Daddy', they purchased the Itouch for him. Words cannot convey how much of a blessing this is to and for us.  The greater gift is seeing how a community of people (many we don't know personally), can come together to make a difference in the lives of someone else.  Over the weekend, I joined my Co-ordinator Extraordinaire and crew at the Apple Store to purchase the goodies for the kids. It was so exciting.

Jalen had his first appointment this week and he's feeling good about his Super Donor status and the things we're putting in place to support him.  Jalen's treatment will begin next week (injections, labs and assessments) followed by his hospitalization.  Our Warrior Princess will be in clinic tomorrow for at least three hours to receive a blood transfusion.  We decided to present them with their gifts tonight, and you will see they were very excited and thankful.  My Co-ordinator Extraordinaire suggested it might be a good idea to get Makinley something small so she felt included.  My feelings were that Makinley would be fine.  She had a moment, but within minutes her natural reaction and tears were turned into smiles.  About 30 minutes into playing with his Ipod Touch, Jalen asked me to please tell the friends that got these things for he and his sisters, that 'i love them'.   

Little Occupied Hands

Thank you so much for your kindess and generosity!  This is a unforgettable blessing in our journey.

Life Threatening & Life Loss

 A life threatening illness and/or it's diagnosis will instantly throw your life into a tail spin.  Week in and week out, I see so many lives that have been altered by aplastic anemia, sickle cell anemia, leukemia, hodgkin's lymphoma, neuroblastoma and other childhood cancers and blood diseases.  I see very innocent, yet courageous, kids who are fighting for their lives and parents that are doing all they can to take care of them, provide the best medical care they can and give them some semblance of normalcy.

I love Mireya and I know we are blessed.  I believe with everything in me she is cured and we will continue to reach milestones and take strides over hurdles until we reach the end of this race victorious.  I spent most of the night crying my eyes out as I learned through little Emily's Mom of two little angels that lost their battles this week to cancer.  One is a beautiful ten-year old girl named Faith, who like Mireya, loved all things princess and was also dubbed a 'Warrior Princess'.  The other, an adorable five-year old girl named Gabby who just after three short months passed away from brain cancer.  I don't know either of these families but my heart is broken for them.  I can tell from their pages and sites that these precious little lives have touched and reached many.  I didn't get much sleep and I've been consumed by the pain I know these families are going through.

There is nothing that prepares you for the diagnosis of a life threatening illness and certainly not for the loss of your child.  Hug your child(ren) tight, tell them you love them and cherish every moment you have with them.  The good ones, the bad ones, the ugly ones and everything in between, regardless of their age.  Make those wrongs right.  Tomorrow is not promised.  My personal prayer is that everyone know Christ as their personal savior because outside of the life we are not promised on earth, we are promised eternal life with Christ.  It's a simple confession.

Lord Jesus, I believe You are the Christ, the Son of the living God and that You died on the cross for my sin. You say in Your word that if I confess my sins and ask forgiveness, You are faithful and will forgive my sins and remember them no more.  You will not hold them against me and You will give me everlasting life. Come into my heart, I receive You now and make you the Lord of my life.  I thank You for the blood You shed on the cross just for me.  In Jesus name, Amen  

If you said that prayer, it's a blessed assurance!  If you're not at a place to do so or you don't have full understanding of what it is to be a Christian and have a relationship with Christ, I encourage you to get connected. I'm not the officiant on Christianity, but I am counted in that number and I love the Lord with all my heart, soul and strength. I don't know where I would be without him in my life.  I don't know how I would have endured all that has transpired in our lives this year without Christ in my life.  There is so much more I could go into here, but let's keep it simple and to the point. My heart has been so heavy.  I don't take this lightly, it is extremely important to me.  We all have faults and no one is perfect.  We miss it some times, but God forgives us.  He extends his grace and mercy to us beyond what we deserve, but that's the kind of God he is. God is love and I strive every day of my life to share and extend love to others and in turn I have been so fortunate to be on the receiving end of God's love for me and my family exhibited through the hearts and kindness of so many.

My heart goes out to these two families who have lost their precious little girls.  My thoughts and prayers are with them as they find the strength to endure this.  Live your life intentionally, let go of things that, in the grand scheme, just don't matter!  Don't sweat the small stuff, be thankful and give thanks for your life and the lives of those you care for so dearly.  Smile (your on Candid Camera), be kind, show love and most of all, have compassion for others because you never know what someone else is going through.  You have the power to make a difference!

Visiting the Isolated & Shut In

We've had a few really fun visits over the last week.  Our friends the Woods are in town and it goes without saying that we will find our way together before they hit the road.  Rebound and recovery did not stop the visit this go around.  Technically we did see one another, but so much is going on in both our lives, we just needed to connect and catch up.  

Derek has been one of Mireya's favorite people every since she was a baby.  Reya would allow very few people to hold her, but Derek was one that she would always open her arms to.  They had a very special bond, but haven't seen each other in such a long time.  Well time and distance didn't diminish that connection. Within no time they were connected at the hip, which little Ms. Nadia was not amused by in the least. There is always lots of smiles, laughter and comedy when we get together.  We miss having them here.   The parameters of the Military Life have seemingly changed, or perhaps it's just that I was not all up in the flow since I was just the military brat (i say that affectionately).  We are praying and believing for God's best as they prepare for the next phase of life in the military.  They joined us for the dance par-tay and the girls have inducted a new princess to the crew...little Ms. Nadia.  We had such a great time hanging out with them. 

We also got to hang out with our friends the Yangsters.  Our kids love, love, love getting together. The summer has gone by and we've only seen each other a handful of times. We grabbed their favorite chinese noodles (lo mein) and hung out for the afternoon until sweet baby girl Quinn was ready to nap.  Jalen and Tien were fully engaged.  They both love all things Star Wars and Legos so they had plenty to keep them occupied.   I don't know who was happier me or the kids.  Care and I sat and chatted.  We laughed, we cried and I got two baskets of laundry folded.  Now that's productivity!  It was so great to see Reya and Mays play.  She loved every minute of it and I loved that she actually had 'play time' with one of her friends. We've been so guarded with visits (rightfully so), it was so good to make arrangements for this time, mask, sanitizer and all.