A week of Amazement.. maybe a few days extra

This week has  been a large amount of amazement in my family, especially for my daughter. The amazement began with an old high school friend who is more like family. Her mom offered to make it possible for my daughter and myself to fly across to see the ACCO tree lighting in Washinton, DC. To many of you this may mean nothing, to us it meant everything. My daughter as well as many of my friends children had a ribbon on that tree. When I walked in I guess I pictured a tree with a few gold ribbons, instead I found a mountain of gold ribbon, and then it hits you. These are children who have fought, are fighting, or have lost a battle to cancer. At that moment it becomes overwhelming, and heartbreaking, yet comforting all in one moment.

Before they light the tree they allow the families and fighters to say a little something. I think this was the best and worst part of the night. The best because you realize you are all fighting for the same thing, A CURE!! The worst because some families will never get their cure and their children have already lost their battle, some months ago, some years ago, but they are all there to speak how important awareness is. The other thing that hits so hard is that we were in the middle of the capital of the United States of America, yet you don't see political figures that should be there speaking on behalf of our kids. These people should be finding us a CURE!!!! Cancer is the leading disease cause of death of all children under the age of 15 in the United States and NO ONE that should have been there trying to save them was. This has got to change and I am going to do what I can to change it! This was a new motivation for me.

However, this was just one part of our experiences recently. Our other experience was through Make-A-Wish. They choose a few local families in the Los Angeles area to participate in an amazing wish reveal. My daughter's wish is a trip to Italy. The reveal was AMAZING even more amazing than we could ever dream. The fact so many people came together to make my daughters dream come true and the way they treated her and our whole family was beyond words.



It started with a trip in a limousine which made both of my children EXTREMELY excited!! Included was an array of beverages, sparkling cider, soda, and water. They also included plenty of candy and snacks for my children's enjoyment. After arriving at The Grove , the venue where the reveal would take place, we were met by a Make-A-Wish employee and volunteer with our next stop being Sprinkles' cupcakes. My daughter is a cupcake lover so this was a definite treat for her. My kids enjoyed their dessert before dinner, and it was exactly as it should have been. As we walked around the Winter Wonderland that is The Grove at Christmas  time, we were brought to the area where it would all be taking place and seated.

We sat and I see a huge backdrop that reads Kinley Goes To Italy, and the tears were hard to control. This really cemented this was all for my girl. We were serenaded by Italian music and watched the magic of Christmas around us. As the festivities began and local radio and television personalities helped tell about Make-A-Wish and my child, the tears began to flow. My daughter had to tell a bit of her fight and she told how she appreciated her family for helping her through all of this, and the tears couldn't be stopped. I was in awe of my girl, and everyday I thank the Lord for an amazing girl like her. She is everything I ever wanted to be and more even through all this.

My daughter then presented with her very own chef hat, which made her year! She made pizza with a chef from Amici in Brentwood. Many of you are probably like what? BUT, if you know my daughter you know she loves to cook and you will already know her number one thing to do in Italy is take a cooking class. Of course, she wants to see all the amazing sights also, but she wants to learn to cook authentic Italian food while doing this. After all of these festivities they presented her with SEVERAL gift baskets, some handpicked from the Italian cultural center in Los Angeles, others by her Make-A-Wish volunteers, then of course a very generous gift from the sponsors of the event Saputo Frigo Cheeses.

We were overwhelmed, the whole family by the whole event, and the magic of it. We hope to attend another child's wish reveal this week to celebrate with them and see the magic happen for another family. It was an eye opening experience, as well as truly amazing. I will forever be grateful to the people that made the last couple weeks happen, my friend and her husband, her mom, ACCO, Make-A-Wish, KOST, FOX 11 Los Angeles, Saputo, and The Grove. I know many of you may see this as a list of advertising, but I see it as a way for people to see the businesses and organizations that truly care for our fighters.