Good Food, Great Friends and Family...totally thankful for each and everyday!!
Things were crazy this week going into our 6th week of FORCED kitchen renovations and still trying to prepare for the holidays!
I have been SO crazy that I haven't blogged in over a month!! So to catch everyone up...we discovered mold in our kitchen behind a corner cabinet and had to gut the kitchen...renovations can be stressful!! But things are moving along...somewhat slowly...but moving along! We were able to cook for the holiday with makeshift plywood counters!! But not much can damper our holiday spirits!! We cooked and had our home full with family and friends!
As some of you know, the holidays are a favorite time of year for Len & I...we are known for his decorating (inside and out) and my baking...I usually start the day after Thanksgiving and bake about 30 kinds of cookies by Christmas.
It is also the time, 3 years ago, that I realized I had cancer and had to tell our children that right after the holiday I would start my voyage as a cancer patient! Not knowing if it was going to be our last holiday together we did NOT allow things to be any different...we decorated and baked and entertained!! I wanted it to be a memory of love, sharing and being together.
If cancer couldn't damper our holiday spirit neither can a LITTLE kitchen renovations!!
So, here we are 3 years later...going strong and staying positive. Still dealing with "issues" but praying we will figure them out. Some days are still tough but not much can keep me down for very long! Sometimes I think the struggle is what helps to push me along with the foundation!
We are busy with so many things...today we were blessed to provide 4 families battling cancer with a full Thanksgiving meal thanks to a wonderful chef who chooses to remain anonymous! He prepared the meals and thanks to him and his angels, they were delivered directly to the families!! Feeling SO THANKFUL!!!
Sunday we begin rehearsals with our NEW DBDHF Choral Group!! 9 wonderfully talented young people, under the musical direction of Molly Mason, will be debuting at out "Christmas Stories & Cookies with Santa" on December 15th 1:00 - 4:00 at the Family Karate Super Center! We will have crafts, stories, cookies & milk, pictures with Santa and our group will be entertaining! Again....SO THANKFUL!!
We are hoping to have an opportunity to sing over the holidays in a few other places....we have a few in the works...hopefully our group of young people will be able to bring some cheer to some people who can use it!! It is so important that our young people realize the importance of paying it forward and how everyone can do something to brighten someone else's day!! It's the little things that mean a lot! We look forward to our new musical group performing at many of our future events! Thank you to each and everyone one of you!!
The new year will bring new and exciting things to our foundation and we are hoping to see many new faces volunteering!! I am happy to say we are growing all the time...I welcome Jan Gotlieb and Scott Newman. Jan is working with our music group coordinating and working with Molly. Scott is putting together some interesting things that he will be promoting very soon! I thank them for joining us and I thank all our constant volunteers! With out all of you none of this would be possible!
I also want to thank Claire Morris and the wonderful women from Charmed by Claire for once again sharing a weekend with us and giving 10% of proceeds back to our foundation! We LOVE our time with these lovely ladies!! A special thank you to Lisa Carneglia for preparing all the mini cupcakes we had for donations for the weekend!! We made some new friends while we were there and saw SO many of our constant supporters...again...SO THANKFUL!!
So, we move forward toward a New Year...all of us never knowing what the future holds...but we move forward and live our lives as fully as we can....always remembering...tomorrow is NOT guaranteed! It is important to enjoy your family and friends...so what we have a 1/2 finished kitchen...we still shared our holiday with special people...family and friends...I am amazingly blessed to still have my best friend from when I was 4! I love you Eileen and SO thankful that you are still in my life more then 52 years later!!
So don't sweat the small stuff....I know that it's hard sometimes....but don't sweat it...remember to say the things you want to say, share the things you want to share, love a little stronger, forgive a little easier, make that phone call you keep putting off...Live like you have been given the "gift of cancer" to know that your future MAY just be a little shorter then you had planned...remember some people are not given that gift...one day they are just gone...leaving so much undone....don't let that be you!!
Happy Thanksgiving to you all...I hope you are blessed with much to be Thankful for!
Please know that this foundation and the people we help are thankful for all of you! Please keep us in mind as we enter the season of giving and considering giving of yourself in what ever way you can to assist those battling this unfair disease....we will keep up the fight and be there to help that only way we can...day by day.
Things were crazy this week going into our 6th week of FORCED kitchen renovations and still trying to prepare for the holidays!
I have been SO crazy that I haven't blogged in over a month!! So to catch everyone up...we discovered mold in our kitchen behind a corner cabinet and had to gut the kitchen...renovations can be stressful!! But things are moving along...somewhat slowly...but moving along! We were able to cook for the holiday with makeshift plywood counters!! But not much can damper our holiday spirits!! We cooked and had our home full with family and friends!
As some of you know, the holidays are a favorite time of year for Len & I...we are known for his decorating (inside and out) and my baking...I usually start the day after Thanksgiving and bake about 30 kinds of cookies by Christmas.
It is also the time, 3 years ago, that I realized I had cancer and had to tell our children that right after the holiday I would start my voyage as a cancer patient! Not knowing if it was going to be our last holiday together we did NOT allow things to be any different...we decorated and baked and entertained!! I wanted it to be a memory of love, sharing and being together.
If cancer couldn't damper our holiday spirit neither can a LITTLE kitchen renovations!!
So, here we are 3 years later...going strong and staying positive. Still dealing with "issues" but praying we will figure them out. Some days are still tough but not much can keep me down for very long! Sometimes I think the struggle is what helps to push me along with the foundation!
We are busy with so many things...today we were blessed to provide 4 families battling cancer with a full Thanksgiving meal thanks to a wonderful chef who chooses to remain anonymous! He prepared the meals and thanks to him and his angels, they were delivered directly to the families!! Feeling SO THANKFUL!!!
Sunday we begin rehearsals with our NEW DBDHF Choral Group!! 9 wonderfully talented young people, under the musical direction of Molly Mason, will be debuting at out "Christmas Stories & Cookies with Santa" on December 15th 1:00 - 4:00 at the Family Karate Super Center! We will have crafts, stories, cookies & milk, pictures with Santa and our group will be entertaining! Again....SO THANKFUL!!
We are hoping to have an opportunity to sing over the holidays in a few other places....we have a few in the works...hopefully our group of young people will be able to bring some cheer to some people who can use it!! It is so important that our young people realize the importance of paying it forward and how everyone can do something to brighten someone else's day!! It's the little things that mean a lot! We look forward to our new musical group performing at many of our future events! Thank you to each and everyone one of you!!
The new year will bring new and exciting things to our foundation and we are hoping to see many new faces volunteering!! I am happy to say we are growing all the time...I welcome Jan Gotlieb and Scott Newman. Jan is working with our music group coordinating and working with Molly. Scott is putting together some interesting things that he will be promoting very soon! I thank them for joining us and I thank all our constant volunteers! With out all of you none of this would be possible!
I also want to thank Claire Morris and the wonderful women from Charmed by Claire for once again sharing a weekend with us and giving 10% of proceeds back to our foundation! We LOVE our time with these lovely ladies!! A special thank you to Lisa Carneglia for preparing all the mini cupcakes we had for donations for the weekend!! We made some new friends while we were there and saw SO many of our constant supporters...again...SO THANKFUL!!
So, we move forward toward a New Year...all of us never knowing what the future holds...but we move forward and live our lives as fully as we can....always remembering...tomorrow is NOT guaranteed! It is important to enjoy your family and friends...so what we have a 1/2 finished kitchen...we still shared our holiday with special people...family and friends...I am amazingly blessed to still have my best friend from when I was 4! I love you Eileen and SO thankful that you are still in my life more then 52 years later!!
So don't sweat the small stuff....I know that it's hard sometimes....but don't sweat it...remember to say the things you want to say, share the things you want to share, love a little stronger, forgive a little easier, make that phone call you keep putting off...Live like you have been given the "gift of cancer" to know that your future MAY just be a little shorter then you had planned...remember some people are not given that gift...one day they are just gone...leaving so much undone....don't let that be you!!
Happy Thanksgiving to you all...I hope you are blessed with much to be Thankful for!
Please know that this foundation and the people we help are thankful for all of you! Please keep us in mind as we enter the season of giving and considering giving of yourself in what ever way you can to assist those battling this unfair disease....we will keep up the fight and be there to help that only way we can...day by day.
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