For Kate...

Lots of grading for report cards going on over here...almost finished. Looking forward to my real job slowing down a little bit and getting back to actually TEACHING kids instead of testing them! This post has been almost finished for almost a week, but it wasn't one I was just going to throw out there with little thought.

Maybe you've heard of her. Maybe you pray for her every night. You may have seen her on other blogs. You may have even seen her on Dr. Phil.

Photo compliments of Oh So Posh Photography via The TomKat Studio

I'm talking about a little girl named Kate McRae. I first heard of Kate through my friend Kim of The TomKat Studio. Kim became aware of her story because she lives in the same town as little Kate. Last summer Kate's mom was trying to take her kids to the pool to cool off one afternoon but decided to stop at the doctor's office because Kate's hand wouldn't stop shaking. Their lives were forever changed when they found out Kate had a massive tumor in her brain.

Reading Kate's story was so heartbreaking to me on so many levels...its hard for a mom to not think of her own kids when hearing of a story like Kate's. She is only two months older than my Tate...I just can't even imagine it. I hope I never have to. It turned out that Kate's 6th birthday was the day after Christmas...and as you know my own little Ave's birthday is the 23rd of December. Kate's celebration this year, though, would be far different than ours. She was in the hospital receiving chemo.

TomKat Kim decided she had to reach out to this family and on her blog asked if anyone would like to help her make Kate's birthday as pleasant as possible. Of course I was in, although I wasn't exactly sure how to help because Kim and I both make party goods...so I offered Kim a tutu because I knew she already had a shirt and a hat for Kate from other donors. Kim gladly accepted and asked if I would make Kate one of my banners as well, to which of course I said yes!

Here are a few pics of some of the items donated for Kate after Kim set up her hospital room, including the banner and tutu I sent...

Photos courtesy of The TomKat Studio

I could try to recap the rest of story about how the goods were delivered, but Kim tells it much better herself. If you are one of the few people who reads my blog but has never been to Kim's, you should (for more reasons than I can mention...so stylish and fun!). Click here to read her post about Kate and all the wonderful vendors who pulled together to try to make a little girl's birthday a little brighter. If you want to follow Kate's story, you can visit her site as well. As heartbreaking as it is, I find it equally amazing to read the faithful words of Kate's parents Holly and Aaron...they stay so positive through it all.

Pray, people, pray. Hope for a miracle. And hug your kids a little tighter when you put them to bed tonight. I know I will.