I haven't been updating as much as I had thought I would this week because we've been so busy! It seems like weeks just roll by, I can't believe the babies are going to be a year old next month! Unbelievable!!!!!
So what's been going on this week? YARD SALE! Our Relay for Life team had a yard sale today. Yard sales are lots of work, but they are usually worth it for us. We made over $400 for the American Cancer Society-Yay!!! I don't mind getting up so early when it's for a good cause. Yard sale week is always tough though....you have to collect things, sort, price, and then make sure everything's out early for the yard sale crowd. The twins and I went to help with sorting, etc. three nights this week. Today I got them up at 7 to go to my Dad's for a while till it warmed up a little. They don't normally get up till somewhere around 8 or 9, so they were not real thrilled with me. But, we don't do this very often so it's okay. The three of us took a 4 hour nap when we got home though! And they went to bed tonight so I'm thrilled. I love our schedule! My favorite part about the yard sale is the neat people you meet and each yard sale we've had has given us an opportunity to help others in some way, which I love. We always seem to have someone come that maybe can't get something but needs it and we are always able to bless others in this way. It's so neat to see someone's reaction when you tell them they can just have something they really need but maybe can't afford. It's like you are renewing their faith in humans and Christians. It's a blessing to us and to them.
Anyway, if you are thinking about joining a Relay for Life team-our AWESOME team is called Answers for Cancer and you can check out the Relay for Life website at www.relayforlife.org/nottoway
What is Relay for Life?
Relay for Life is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Basically it is an all day event where you go and walk around the track-someone must be walking at all times. The first year our team had someone walking the whole time, which was a tough goal considering everything we were doing to raise money at our tent, but we did it! You can also do lots of fun on-site activites and each team has a "campsite" where they do different fundraisers to try to raise money for the cancer society. We also raise money all year long through different fundraisers like our yard sale. It is a lot of fun and a great way to enjoy new friendships and comraderie while raising money for a great cause. I know everyone is touched in some way by cancer.
Why do WE Relay? Meaning our family of four.....
Well, we have had many family members affected by cancer. My grandmother and great-aunt were the first people I remember in my family having cancer when I was a teen. I didn't know a lot about it but they were both okay after treatments, so I didn't worry too much about it or realize it's impact. I guess being a teen helped with that. Since that time, I have had many more family members affected by cancer and honestly,
cancer just stinks. It is an awful thing and so scary. We lost my uncle in July to esophageal cancer. I think about him often and miss him being at family events. I think about one of the last times he saw my babies, kissing them each on top of the head. I'm sad they won't know him except through shared memories.
And then there's Joann. Dustin's mother. When Dustin and I met, his mother had just died after a 9 year battle with breast cancer. He was devastated and that pain never really goes away, you just learn to cope with it. It saddens me that he lost a mother so young. It saddens me that my kids will never know their grandmother. I know they have lots of grandmothers and great-grandmothers who love them, but they are missing one. And so we have her pictures around and we speak of her often, Emmy's middle name is Joann after her. We will teach them about her and I will do my best to teach them what type of person she was, although I never knew her myself. I will load my kids up at 7 am when it's freezing outside for a yard sale. I will load them up to deliver Boston butts, donuts, or whatever else my sister talks me into peddling :-) We won't stop until a cure is found. Because if we did, that would be letting cancer win.
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