Saturday, July 26, 2008

5:27 pm



Yesterday Brandon turned 8. He made his rounds asking everyone to sing "Happy Birthday" to him. He said "Dang I'm getting old!!" We took him out to eat at his favorite place and gave him his gifts. He didn't like anything he received because it didn't include a cell phone, vacuum, or carpet shampooer. But he didn't mind too much.
He was just enjoying the fact that it was "His day".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmEfopd3x1I
I received this link yesterday from a guy from MMA. It's a great video of Brandon & Tyrone Wright (The fighter who is dedicating his fight to Brandon).

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

9:52 pm

Today is a sad day for our family. My great aunt passed away today after a long illness. We know she is in a better place and she's no longer suffering. Despite this, we must continue our efforts to get Brandon to China - We know that's what she would've wanted. We leave in 16 days!! We had a wonderful weekend and met many people who will stay in our lives long after Brandon has the treatment. Saturday was the car wash fundraiser at the Hub. Between the car wash, chip repair, face painting, raffle ticket sales & donations, we raised $1,236.00. I am still selling raffle tickets so please let me know if you want in! The winners will be announced at Harmony Bowl on Academy at 3:30 Sunday August 3rd. During the car wash, Kathy had her family there to help. I can honestly say I have met the perfect family. She's been amazing - her kids are wonderful & her husband is great. Her 15 yr old daughter, Michelle, surprised me when she said that she liked her twin 11 yr old brother's Chris & Michael. My own daughter has little patience for her 2 brothers so I was expecting the same from Michelle. Not true - she truly likes hanging out with them & she's the perfect "Big Sister". Chris & Michael were so funny & adorable - we argued over football teams and I genuinely had fun being with all of them. Kathy's husband Chris was so helpful & easy going that it didn't take long before it was like hanging out with old friends. They made the day go by fast despite the heat. THANK YOU!! We met several people at the car wash who came out to meet Brandon after hearing his story on Channel 13 news. We couldn't have done it without The Hub Car Wash & their employees - THANK YOU! On Sunday we finally met Tammy & her family. Tammy got in touch with us after hearing about Brandon and wanted to help. They invited us over for a BBQ and they were wonderful hosts. Tammy made gift bags for all 3 kids. Brandon had a blast playing with a ball she had given him. He kept throwing it up towards the ceiling fan and thankfully he didn't break anything. The BBQ was absolutely wonderful - THANKS TAMMY!! I can't wait to get together again soon. After the BBQ we met with Kim Phillips, her beautiful kids, her husband Trent, his sister Thalia & her kids. They were so funny and soon after meeting them, they had us all laughing. They have graciously offered to perform at Harmony Bowl on August 3rd from 1pm to 4 pm (100% of all money raised will go to Brandon). We are looking forward to seeing them in action! They are very entertaining and I'm sure it will be memorable. We had such a great weekend despite the time constraints. We're looking forward to the new friendships we have developed and I'm sure we'll have plenty of laughs along the way - THANKS EVERYONE!!

Pictures:
1st - Brandon with the Gregory Family in front of the Hub. Left to Right: Chris, Michael, Chris, Michelle, Brandon & Kathy.
2nd: Brandon with Tammy at the BBQ.
3rd: Brandon with Tammy's grand kids & neice. Left to Right: Tyler, Sophia, Brandon and Kaelee. On the floor in front of them is Andrew and Brittney. They all live several hours away but we were fortunate to be there on a day that they got together. Brandon & Nick had fun playing with them!
4th: At Harmony Bowl - Standing with Brandon is George, Thalia, Kim, her husband, Trent & their three kids. Nick is hanging out in the background.