Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Hannah was invited to spend last Saturday with her Hofstra softball team. They were holding a Friends of Jaclyn day (the organization that matched Hannah up with the team for adoption) to honor Hannah and two other kids that are adopted by the Hofstra baseball team and the Hofstra girls softball team. Because of scheduling, Hannah was the only FOJ kid at the game.

The team is just so welcoming to Hannah each time we are there. Hannah was very excited to go, but as soon as we get there, she is very shy, almost not speaking at all! She always gets so shy when we are around the team, unlike her everyday normal. It made me remember something Hannah's neurosurgeon said to us after her surgery. A couple days following her initial brain surgery, Hannah was withdrawn and began to lose the use of her left side completely. Her doctor came in to talk to us about her progress and her issues. I will never forget that he said "the kids that are more aggressive and outspoken do better with recovery. Hannah seems to be more of a shy, withdrawn and sweet little girl. She doesn't have that aggression and fight in her." My initial thought was-WHAT???? He doesn't know the real Hannah. The Hannah we knew was spirited, funny and always the life of the party, the center of the group. Not a fighter? He had no idea how much of a fighter she was. And when she couldn't fight anymore, we stepped in to hold her up, to push her when she needed to be pushed and to just hold her when she needed some down time. She fought through and she made it. She still fights every day, and often reminds me how wrong that doctor was and still is.

So, I digress!! Hannah went out and warmed up with the team and spent some time hanging out with them as they prepared for their game. The time came to throw out the first pitch and Hannah was so nervous. She has done it before, but for some reason she didn't want to go out there this time. I knew she would do it when the time came.
Coach Anderson walked her out, and the team was there to back her up. Another strike, she did great! It was a beautiful day and we sat back and enjoyed the rest of the game, which they WON! The team is having an awesome season and they are very good! It is absolutely a wonderful group of girls and coaches.

After the first game, Hannah went down and gave the team the big top cupcake she made and decorated for them. They aren't allowed to have sweets during the games so they saved it for later to eat. She also got to write up the roster for the second game with Coach Williams. She thought that was pretty cool.

Hannah decided that for the next game, instead of baking something for the team, she is making them a video (so, Hofstra if you are reading this, act surprised!) So, we took lots of pictures that day, and she has already started putting together the video. I will share it when it's completed. Thank you to the entire Hofstra team and to Friends of Jaclyn. You have really made a difference to Hannah and our family.

♥Kim

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Hannah spent the day today at Hofstra as their guest of honor. Much more to come on the fun today, but for now, posting Colby's web address to her photography site...please stop by and check it out!

Colby's Site

♥Kim

Monday, April 19, 2010

RELAY for LIFE

It's that time again, yes we are all another year older. It's Relay for Life time. This year, our relay is June 5th/June 6th (Hannah's birthday.) Our focus again for our Relay for Life will be on offering luminary bags in honor of a special person in your life touched by cancer. These bags have so much significance during the Relay. Here is a description about the luminaries:

Help us shed light on the fight…

Whether it’s a parent, a sibling, a friend or a neighbor, we all know someone who has been touched by cancer. Relay For Life is one way of recognizing loved ones who are surviving cancer and remembering those who have lost the battle. At dusk, we quietly remember those whose lives have been touched by cancer. Luminary bags line the track, each bearing the name of a loved one. This ceremony of light symbolizes the hope and courage with which we all continue to fight cancer. For a donation, you can remember someone who lost his or her battle to cancer, or honor someone winning the fight.

In total silence, all of the luminaries are placed and lit around the track and everyone walks the track by the light of the candles. Last year there was a bagpipe player who led us while playing. The luminaries are decorated in support of someone with cancer, or in memory of someone who passed away from cancer or just something in general. Last year this was such a special part of the Relay for us. What a sight it was to see all of the beautiful bags that we and other friends decorated last year. There were so many luminary bags with Hannah's name on them. She loved it! And to see all of the bags that the girls decorated for our friends, warriors and survivors was wonderful.

So, we are open for sales! The luminaries are $10 each. If you are interested in purchasing any, please let us know. We will decorate one for you-I have all the bags here or you are welcome to decorate them yourselves also if you like (I will get you the bags). Let us know if there is anything in particular you would like on your bag and we will decorate it specially for you. If you would like to email any artwork or photos, we can also include those on the bags. We will send you an email with a picture of your bags once they are completed. We'll see if we can get enough to complete one entire circle around the track this year!

Here is what we need if you are purchasing a bag:

Your name and address
Who is to be honored on the bag (in memorial or in honor of)
Any photos or artwork you would like included on the bag (you can email or send them)
Anything additionally you would like us to include on your bag
Your check made out to American Cancer Society-bags are $10 each, send to us at the address listed on the blog page, left hand side. You may also paypal me the money at kprokop@optonline.net if that is easier.



I will close with some pictures of our last 2 Relays. Here is Hannah in her first Relay-2008





Relay for Life 2009:





♥Kim

Tuesday, April 7, 2010

I hope everyone had a very happy and blessed Easter. It was also my mom's birthday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST MOM ever!

I'm not sure exactly what's going on with Hannah lately. When my parents were here, she was going to bed later than normal time, which may be part of it. Then spring break week of course they were staying up late, which was fine because she also had time to sleep in. About 2 days before the end of the break Hannah got a cold-sore throat and very stuffy nose. Yesterday she did fine in school, but last night as I was putting her to bed she asked if she could start going to bed earlier! It was a bit after 9pm. What kid says that? I think she wants to stay up, but she just can't and she knows it. I thought that 9pm was early enough, but we're backing that up a bit now. The difficulty in going to be early is that by the time she is out of school, done with after school activities (piano, horseback riding, swimming, lacrosse, religion), spends up to 2 hours on homework, and eats dinner, it can be between 7:30 and 8:00pm. Colby and Hannah like to have a snack before bedtime, so if bedtime is any earlier than 9:00, she is eating her snack right after dinner. I guess there needs to be more hours in the day for things like this- this is Hannah relaxing on a beautiful day last weekend.


Today I got a call at 1pm from Hannah at school asking to come home. She was complaining that her stomach hurt, but she stayed for the last 2 hours and seemed to do fine. I put her to bed at 8:30pm tonight and she didn't resist. We will see if, over time, this helps with her fatigue.

It's Relay for Life time again, so we'll be talking about that more in the upcoming days. This year it is on Hannah's birthday, she'll be 11 years old, wow!

♥Kim