The Richardson Family

Help Needed!

I am eager to share with you a huge personal endeavor I have just begun. I am training to run my first half-marathon! That's right...13.1 miles! On May 31st I will be running in San Diego, CA with the Mississippi Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

If you had asked me to even think about running a year ago, I would have laughed my head off and complimented you on your imagination. Well, I'm actually going to do it! On May 31st I am going to finish every last mile, but I can't do it without your help.

Let me introduce you to the source of my inspiration. His name is Felder Sartin. He is four years old and was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) in August of 2008. He is currently undergoing inpatient and outpatient chemotherapy, but he has a long road ahead of him. The total treatment time for Felder will be two and a half years. He has had family and friends by his side and has been blessed with the wonderful physicians at Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children in Jackson, MS.

As a participant in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training program, I have pledged to train on Felder's behalf to raise money for blood cancer research and patient assistance programs. Approximately 110,960 Americans will be diagnosed with leukemia, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and myeloma, and more than 55,100 others will lose their lives. Leukemia kills more children and young adults under the age of twenty than other cancer, and the number of afflicted adults is eleven times that of children.

This little boy will inspire me on my journey. On May 31st, I will wear an Honored Teammate bracelet for him, and when the going gets tough, I will think of him.

I am writing to you to ask for your support. My goal is to raise $3,900 by March 27th. This money will be used for research, patient services, and education. Please think big and give as generously as you can.  Your donation is 100% tax deductible.  You may go to my Team In Training website to make online donations. 

Please check back often to see how I am doing with the fundraising and the training. I am going to be giving it my all, and I hope you will be there to support me.

Much love,

Jennifer Richardson

100 Things

Bold whatever you have done. If you play along let me know so I can go see your list!

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Read an entire book in one day

Savannah's a cheerleader!

The end of the week...

This week is always one of my favorites.  I love being out of school and spending time with my family.  I love going shopping with Billy on Black Friday and putting up the Christmas decorations.  I love being able to sit back and relax.  Well, the week started off a little crazy since we were supposed to leave to go to Florida after school on Friday and daycare called me before school got out to tell me Jack was wheezing and the breathing treatments weren't working.  I went and picked him up and he was off to the doctor AGAIN!  He got a Rocephin shot and steroids.  Florida was out, so we went on home.  Saturday morning Jack woke up with a bad stomach virus.  He was throwing up and having bad diarrhea.  It continued until Wednesday, and then on Wednesday night Savannah woke up with the same thing.  Jack is better, but it is Sunday, and Savannah is still having fever and diarrhea.  This is some kind of virus!  I pray that none of you have had to deal with it.  We've gone through more toilet paper and diapers in the last week than I care to mention.  And the bad thing is that I'm not feeling well today.  Isn't that great since school starts back tomorrow?

On the good note, I still got to be out of school, spend time with my family, put up my Christmas decorations, and we did get to still go shopping on Friday (thanks to my sister-in-law, Kim, and Billy's parents).  So I will be grateful even though the week didn't go as planned.  And I will pray that Savannah is better very soon, and that Billy and I don't get the bug!

OK--so I must not have prayed hard enough

Ok.  This must be a test, right?  Jack was doing pretty good yesterday, but this morning he was back to throwing up and having diarrhea.  Billy stayed home and took him to the doctor, and now he also has strep throat.  Can one little boy really have all this at one time?  I know that God only gives us what we can handle, but I think Jack is about at his limit.  Anyway, I will be at home with my sweet one tomorrow and will enjoy getting some extra hugs and kisses for the week.  At least I have a companion to go vote with me.

And the crazy week continues...

Jack recovered well from the surgery and went back to school on Friday, while I returned to work.  Our band was gone, so my classes were about half-full, so it was a pretty easy day.  I even got my lesson plans done instead of waiting until Sunday night.  After school we ran some school errands and then got ready for trick-or-treating at the DeLoaches.    We had a great time with our friends.  Savannah, Regan, and Heath were power-trick-or-treaters.  They must have run the entire time.  Jack and Jaycee enjoyed their slower pace.  Jack enjoyed each stop and really liked putting the candy in his pumpkin.  

After the trick-or-treating, I went home to make cookies for a first birthday party.  This was my first cookie order, but I think they turned out pretty cute.

Saturday morning, we had a garage sale.  We did pretty good but had to shut it down a little early so we could get ready to go to Hattiesburg for the weekend for Southern Miss's homecoming.  We delivered the cookies and headed south and made it just as the parade was starting.  The kids loved getting the beads.  After the parade, we went and toured some of the new buildings on campus.  If you haven't visited USM in awhile, you have got to go.  It is absolutely beautiful.  From the new stadium to the new bookstore and commons, it is really state-of-the-art. 

We left there to go check into the hotel real quick before we went back to USM for the other pre-game festivities.  Well...things didn't go as planned.  Jack started throwing up in the car and couldn't stop.  He hadn't eaten much during the day, but he hadn't really acted sick.  We thought maybe it was a fluke, but the throwing up continued until he couldn't stop and was gagging.  We went through all the outfits we had and ran to Wal-Mart to buy some cheap towels and a new outfit while we waited on Jack's doctor to call back.  By the time I got back in the car from Wal-Mart, Jack was getting much worse, so we went to the first Immediate Care place we found.  I explained the situation, but they refused to see him because of his surgery Thursday and his age.  They told us to go to the ER.  Our local friends called their doctor, but they couldn't fit us in.  My doctor called back and told us to go to the ER.  We went there and they started medicating him to try to get him to stop throwing up.  Billy's sister, Kim, came to get Savannah to go bowling and eat dinner.  The medication wasn't working, so they gave Jack a shot and were about to give him an IV when the vomiting finally started slowing down.  Six hours later, we were back on the road headed home.  Savannah declared this the "worst trip ever" since she didn't get to stay in the hotel, and we spent most of the time at the hospital.  He was still not up to par today, but a whole heck of a lot better than yesterday.  On a good note---Southern Miss finally won.  YEAH!

Good new of the day:  Savannah finally learned how to ride her bike without training wheels.  She ran to Wal-Mart with me this afternoon while Jack was asleep, and when we passed by the bikes, I suggested she try out one of the bikes without the training wheels.  She hopped on and tried to ride a little in the aisle.  She loved the bike and was trying to get me to convince me to buy it.  I told her that when she learned how to ride her bike without the training wheels, then we could talk about getting a new bike.  Well, we went home, Billy took off the training wheels, and she hopped right on.  It was a little wobbly at first, but she was riding up and down the street within minutes.  It was like it just suddenly clicked.  I am so proud of my girl.  I was beginning to think she would never learn.  She just had to decide on her own that she wanted to do it, and then she did it. 

I am going to pray for a quiet and uneventful week!

Savannah's Winning Pumpkin

Savannah brought me a note on Monday night at 7:30 that said there was a pumpkin decorating contest on Tuesday at the Freedom Festival.  Of course, I told her we didn't have time to decorate a pumpkin that had to be turned in by 4:00 the next day.  After much whining I convinced her that we could submit the pumpkin she had painted at Mimi and Papa's house on Sunday.  So we took it right after school.  Of course, for all of you who went to Freedom Fest, you know how absolutely gorgeous the weather was---NOT!  We were freezing, but we had to stay to see if she won.  Well, we were glad we did because she won 3rd place.  She was quite proud, and now that I know about it, I'll prepare better for next year.  Here's the winning pumpkin:

Jack's Pictures

Update on Jack

I wanted to thank everyone for all their prayers and well wishes.  Jack did great this morning.  We got there about 6:30, and they came and took him about 7:30.  He cried, so of course, I cried.  It was done and over with very quickly.  Waking up was a little rough.  We rocked in the rocking chair for quite awhile just crying, but he didn't really open his eyes for about 30 minutes.  They wouldn't let us leave until he had taken a drink of juice, and he didn't want to do that.  So we were there a little longer than expected, but he finally drank and we got the OK to leave.  Mimi was there in the waiting room, and Jack went to her and put his head on her shoulder.  I'm sure he was probably thinking, "Can you believe what my parents did to me, Mimi?"  We are at home now, and he just laid down for a nap. 

Thank you again for always being there for my family and me.  We love you all.

**We forgot the camera, so we took some pictures on Billy's phone of Jack in his little hospital gown.  He really did look way too cute.  As soon as Billy gets back home (he worked the second half of the day--he's so dedicated), then I'll post those pictures.

Tubes for Jack

Will you give my little man a prayer tomorrow morning?  Jack has really been sick for the last three weeks straight---let me take that back, it's actually been a couple of months.  I don't even think I remember how many times we've been to the doctor.  He's had continued ear infections, sinus infections, and nose bleeds.  We've been on antibiotics for the last three weeks straight, and they haven't helped.  So, our doctor referred us to an ENT.  We went to our appointment this afternoon, and he wanted to put tubes in immediately.  I know this is what is best for him, and I will be so glad to have Jack get well once and for all.  I am very worried about putting him to sleep, so your prayers would be greatly appreciated for all to go well.  His surgery will be at 6:45 am, so I'll try to get an update posted tomorrow afternoon.