Better Late than Never

We had a great time at the Festival of Hope tonight, even though we were about 15 minutes late. We still made it in plenty of time for me to sing, but I was a little nervous that we would walk in and it would be over with. I'm pretty much always on time for things...I don't do tardy very well. I'm blaming our lateness on my 4 children who are just plain impossible to rush out the door.

First we had to find shoes for everyone...that's 8 shoes.

Oh, and we had to make sure that the boys each had a left and a right shoe.

Then we had to make sure that Eli and Cara used the potty. Of course Brady wanted to use the potty, so we happily obliged.

But first we had to have a fight over who sits on which potty.

Then we had to pry Allie out of the bathroom so that the big kids could use the potty and wash their hands. I've been finding myself declaring "All non-essential personnel please vacate the bathroom!" quite a lot lately.

Next I had to put "piggies" in the girl's hair. I miss the pull-their-hair-up-on-the-side-and-stick-a-bow-in-it-days. No, I put pigtails in Cara's hair a few weeks back and she basked in the attention she received from everyone. Now she must have "piggies" when we go out. And Allison, well...the child looks so darn cute in pigtails that I have to do hers that way too!

Then there was packing the diaper bag, making sure that I had an extra outfit for each child, extra undies for the big kids, extra diapers for Allie, and cups for all.

Finally we made it out the door where I continued to try and herd my brood like cattle to the garage. Why is it that 3-year olds notice every little detail of the world when you are in a hurry. They honestly decided to have a conversation about the cracks in the sidewalk while I was shooing them to hurry!

But alas, we arrived in plenty of time because the program started a little late. I sang God Bless America which lasted all of about 30 seconds. My heart just about melted when the kids wanted to give me high fives after I sang. Someday I'm sure I'll embarrass them, but for now they are my biggest fans:)

We all ate dinner at the festival and played some games that they had set up for kids. One of the games involved pulling prizes out of a pirate treasure chest. I thought the boys would about die from excitement! Ever since Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney World they are just wild about pirates, singing "Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho" every day and telling each other to "Drop the anchor matey!" After the boys reached in and pulled out their prizes, it was Cara's turn. Well, my little sweetie reached in and pulled out....

an eye patch! Ha! She has been faithfully wearing an eye patch for two hours a day for the past week or so to help correct her eye problem, so she thought it was just great to have a black patch with a skull and crossbones on it. We all had a good laugh:)

The Williams family is set for an adventure this weekend! I'm sure that I'll have some great stories for you later in the weekend!

Festival of Hope 2010

Tomorrow night is the 2010 Festival of Hope at Batavia Downs Casino. The Festival of Hope is a fundraiser held every year to benefit Genesee Cancer Assistance, a not-for-profit organization that assists families affected by cancer in Genesee County. There will be many activities for the whole family...you may even see the Williams Clan (all 6 of us!) in attendance! I'll be singing during the ceremony which starts at 5:30. Hope to see you there!

Festival of Hope

Well, I did it! I made it through my speech and song at the Festival of Hope. It was a beautiful evening and a great priviledge to be able to share Brady's story. Here are a few pictures:

Matt and I (does this count as date night?) Actually we did squeeze in dinner beforehand and ice cream on our way home.

At the end of the night hundreds of luminaries are lit in memory of those who have lost their battle with cancer and in honor of cancer survivors. The luminaries line the track and Matt and I took a long walk around to find my mom's candle and Brady's.

A wonderful end to a wonderful day! Tomorrow we are off to the Walk for Life!

One More Time Tubies!

Surgery is scheduled tomorrow at 10:30. It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes as they just have to take out those darn tubies! Matt is taking Brady for surgery and I'm am holding down the fort here with Eli, Cara, and Allie. Please pray for Brady as he can't eat or drink until after the surgery, for his safety under anesthesia, and for a smooth recovery.



Today was a busy, fun day. Brady and I went to PT this morning. I'm starting to kind of cringe as I watch Brady be somewhat defiant these days. When PT Linda asks him to do something, sometimes he does, sometimes he says "no!", and sometimes he just goes and does something else. I know this is typical 2, and don't get me wrong, I love seeing Brady assert some control in his life, but I also want him to be a sweet, compliant boy. Not so sure that is in the cards for our hero Brady.

Three fantastic gift baskets were devivered to our house today!

Our amazing gift baskets from the angels at the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation. Thank you!!!

The kids were totally distracted from eating lunch by all of the new things in the baskets! We had fun trying sunglasses on Allie as she ate lunch!

Sweet baby Allie (7 months tomorrow) enjoying some green beans and her new sunglasses

The three amigos trying out their new hats, sunglasses, and beach chairs.

Brady and I flushing his tubies for the last time tonight. I was a little sentimental honestly. Notice Brady in the picture below cleaning his tubie with the alcohol pad all by himself. I kind of let the rules of a steriel procedure slide tonight! By the end of it, I had Brady saying "See ya tubies!" Isn't he a cutie?

The Festival of Hope is tomorrow night. I think I finally finished my speech and practiced my song a few times. Please say a prayer for me as I'm nervous to step out from behind my computer and speak in front of a live audience. I just want to convey Brady's story in a way that glorifies God and honors my precious boy. Matt and I will be lighting a luminary at the ceremony tomorow night in honor of Brady Andrew Williams...

Link to Dailiy News Article

Click Here to read the article from today's Daily News about Brady and the Festival of Hope

Two more days with Brady's tubies! I have to admit I was a little sentimental tonight as I flushed Brady's Broviac. The two of us have had quite a bit of alone time while taking care of that thing, and some laughs too! Brady can completely tell me the whole process of what to do and now is even starting to do a lot of it! I'm certainly not going to miss having to pull that dressing off once a week while he screams and having to bathe him in 2 inches of water in the sink. We are wondering if the three amigos will even all still fit in our bathtub! We'll see! I call tomorrow for Friday's surgery time.

I'm really behind on planning my words for my speech Friday night. I could talk for hours about Brady's story. I have to find a focus for what I want to talk about. My pain priority is convey a message of hope through Brady's story. It is difficult to know that there will be many there who have lost a loved one to cancer. Please pray that God will use me to inspire hope in those who are there.

5 More Days!

Let the countdown begin! 5 more days until those tubies are gone! I have this sinking feeling that something is going to get in our way of having this surgery. Perhaps the illness that just won't leave us alone? I'm sick again and now Eli spiked a fever again after dinner. He wouldn't eat and just wanted to be in his bed. It is like it has recycled itself and is starting all over again! I'm praying that God will restore health to all of us by the end of the week. I well up with tears just thinking about seeing Brady whole again!!!

This week's Brady plan: We will go to PT on Tuesday and Thursday. Also on Thursday I have to call to see what time to be at the hospital on Friday for surgery. When I made our appointment they thought he would go in later in the morning. Friday night is the Festival of Hope at Batavia Downs. I've been working on my speech that I will give that night. I'm basically just telling Brady's story and trying to use his experience to inspire hope in others (not too hard of a job!) Saturday the 6 of us are going to walk in the Walk 4 Life to raise money for All Babies Cherished. Sunday we have plans to visit some friends of ours. Looking forward to a great week!

Please keep Brady in your prayers this week! We continue to wait for the final histology reports from Sloan, for Dr. L's review of his scans, and of course for the upcoming surgery. Even though things have seemingly calmed down, this fight is far from over. I have to remind myself everday to continue to be a vigiliant prayer warrior on Brady's behalf.