FINALLY--The Rainbow of Heroes Recap

Olivia and Peter both took a nap today and while they were napping I had fun looking through all the pictures from the weekend and putting this slideshow together. There are just a few things that I think you should know that I just wasn't able to fit in......

• My sister Amy (Olivia's Godmother) was able to come into town for the event. Of course we would have loved to have all of our friends and family here but we know everyone was celebrating with us in spirit.


• Thank you so much to all of those who contributed to Operation Olivia. We were able to raise over $800 for the Duke PBMT Family Support Program! Special thanks goes to: Christy E., Aunt Ann and Uncle Michael, Christa H., Elena T., Joy G., Aunt Diana and family, Grandmother, my parents, Wendy and David L., Joe J., Rebekah D., Jasmine S.!!!!!!


• We also have to thank customink.com who provided the Operation Olivia t-shirts at a discounted rate and also make a contribution to Duke on behalf of Operation Olivia. The back of the t-shirt read: "Mission: Walk to support the Duke Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program and Celebrate Olivia on the 9 month anniversary of her transplant" I had hoped to mail the t-shirts out in time for people to wear them on May 1st but I wasn't able to get to the post office. I will get them out by the end of the week. We do still have a few tshirts available to let me know if you'd like one.


• Participating in the walk was an amazing experience that we hope to continue each year. We really enjoyed seeing all the people that we got to know so well during our stay in the hospital and our time in Durham. We saw most of the other patients who were in the hospital while Olivia was in the hospital. We also had an opportunity to remember and celebrate those brave heroes who are no longer with us. We love you Rachel and Aurora and we will always remember you.

Digital photo book made with Smilebox

Where does the day go....

So I had every intention of finishing the slideshow of photos from the Rainbow of Heroes walk to post today but then I got distracted by scrubbing all three bathrooms, doing 4 loads of laundry, 2 loads of dishes, cooking 3 meals for the kids, attending a 2 hour FRG steering committee meeting, and having a huge tickle fight with Olivia. Whoops :)

Olivia has been talking up a storm today, she told her babysitter that she wanted an "apple please" and then when I walked back in from my meeting and said "hi livey" she said "hi, hi you". I'm trying to just enjoy these words without over thinking them (how long will they stay, will she not speak at all tomorrow, did she really mean them or was she just using random words, were they meaningful to her, etc....the other sanfilippo mom's are sure to understand).

An Appetizer.....

We're still recuperating from our busy weekend but here's a peek of what's to come......


Mike brought home his fancy work camera for the weekend and we were able to take TONS of pictures over the weekend.

Stay Tuned

We've had a busy couple of days around here lately. Thursday included sessions with the speech therapist, physical therapist, and occupational therapist. Friday began with an FRG event and a visit from the school teacher and ended with a trip to the airport to pick up Aunt Amy. Saturday we headed to Durham to participate in the Rainbow of Heroes walk and ended the day with a Kentucky Derby Party at a neighboor's house. I was up pretty early to dro Amy off at the airport and on tap fo the rest of the day is menu planning and grocery shopping.

I've got tons of cute pictures to share and ideas for blog entries so stay tuned, there's more to come......