Please help us support children facing cancer!

It is raining this morning, getting cooler here in the soon to be Frozen Tundra. I have been unearthing our hats and getting them ready to protect little ears and heads on the cold mornings that are headed our way.

As you may know, September has been Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month. As I have been reading stories of children facing cancer, I know that many of these families see little bald heads each day, a constant reminder of the fight being bravely fought. Many children who have lost their hair during chemotherapy enjoy wearing hats on their sweet bare heads. Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month is ending, but hats have still been on my mind, especially as true hat weather is almost upon us.

This past month, we have heard from many of you about families affected by cancer. Our family has been praying over them and I've shared links via Tweets when I have had permission from the parents to share. One thing has stuck with me is that these are unbelievably strong families. These families, who have all allowed us to share their stories and their photographs here, in the face of the unthinkable, are choosing to make lemonade out of some very sour lemons.

And yet they could still use all the love and support they can get.

I would like to encourage you to join me in helping these families make lemonade as they face their difficult walk. I have a very specific way you can help, but first I want to share with you how some of these amazing families are turning the pain from their loss into something beautiful.

Cora’s Playground is an example of that beauty! What does cancer have to do with playgrounds? Plenty. Precious Cora Paige went to be with Jesus after a very short battle with cancer at 11 months. She was exactly the age that Stellan is now and I can hardly think of her without weeping.



Her parents, Jess and Joel, along with their family and friends, in the midst of their overwhelming loss, raised more than $50,000 and built a super fun and colorful playground at their family’s home church. Even more money was raised through an Etsy store, where Jess and Cora’s grandmother sell adorable hand sewn dresses.

The playground was dedicated this month with the plan in place to continue to sew and sell the Cora Dress to support the maintenance of the playground. And blessings abound! Jess and Joel will welcome a new baby soon, who will grow up with an awesome playground at church because those who loved sweet Cora refused to let cancer overcome their spirit.

A lovely blog reader and her little son "Cowboy" have launched a beautiful endeavor after being inspired by our son. We are honored to have inspired her amazing Stuffed For Stellan outreach.

Another family who is creating beauty from ashes is Team Larson, who says they will “Neva Div Up." Coleman was diagnosed with a wicked and persistent cancer at 2 ½. With his twin brother Caden beside him, Coleman was treated with chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant and new, experimental treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City.



Coleman, who enjoyed covering his head with yellow and green John Deere hats, also went to be with Jesus this year. His mom Peggy has promised to “Neva Div Up.” Her passion is making the most of every day and raising awareness of pediatric cancer research.

Do you know that pediatric cancer is the number one disease that kills our children each year? That is more than congenital conditions, cystic fibrosis, asthma, diabetes and pediatric AIDS together. Sadly, only a tiny percentage of cancer research funds are directed at pediatric cancer research. The American Cancer Society gives a mere 3% of donated funds to pediatric cancer research; of the total funds budgeted by the National Cancer Institute only 3% is designated for research for 12 different categories of pediatric cancer research.

But there are things we can do!

Coleman's mom has asked people to sign this petition designed to address the critical situation of awareness and funding for childhood cancer research. Won’t you stop by and sign it, to help them reach their target of 1 million signatures?

Do you remember Eli Horn? I Tweeted about him just the other day. He is a patient at Memorial Sloan Kettering.



His dad and others have designed and sold hundreds of t-shirts to raise awareness for pediatric cancer and research, all centered around the Iowa vs. Iowa State football rivalry. The Larsons and the Horns became friends in New York for cancer treatment; Caden and Eli are buddies today. The cancer community is a strong and supportive group. And I have come to know first hand that you wonderful readers are pretty determined as well, and that you rally when there is a cause to support.

And boy is this a cause.

Young Daisy Love is a new cancer fighter who could use many loving arms around her and family.



Daisy is facing many of the same challenges as is Kate McRae. I know many of you know 5 year old Kate, whose mother we have been in touch with. Kate is in the middle of an all out war on a vicious and aggressive tumor in her brain. She has had surgery and is in the midst of chemotherapy now. Holly is seeking prayer for protection for Kate from the devastating side effects of cancer treatment. One of the many side effects of many chemotherapy treatments is hair loss.



Some chemotherapy patients wear wigs created from donated hair. Children are sometimes given wigs from real hair, but most have synthetic wigs because their heads are still growing and because their hair loss is not always deemed "permanent". Are you familiar with Locks of Love? About seven years ago, I cut off over a foot of my long, curly hair and packed it up and sent it to them to help them make wigs, mostly for adults facing chemo. From what I have heard and read, many of you and your children have donated hair, too. Check out Wigs for Kids, too! When a wig is not an option or not desired, some children enjoy wearing hats on their bald heads.

Kate's mom was sharing about the many hats that people have sent to her daughter. As they are abundantly blessed, just as we where when Stellan was hospitalized, there are many children facing cancer who do not have a single hat to cover their sweet heads. That is heartbreaking and makes me want to pour out support in any way I can to children facing cancer. I was wondering if you fantastic readers might like to join me by gathering hats for children who have lost their hair to chemotherapy.

Will you?

So, through the whole month of October, let's do just that! As I collect hats here at our house, would you all knit, crochet, weave, purchase, or however you want to do it, find a hat or more than one and bless a little soul with it? You can take it to a pediatric cancer hospital in your town, or the local Ronald McDonald or other housing for cancer families. Perhaps you may personally know a family who is facing this fight and you may choose to bless that family directly. If you would like, you may send the hats to me (email me by clicking on the contact button on my blog) and I will donate them in one (hopefully big) donation at the end of this month.

Whatever you do, please send us pictures if you are willing to let me share those photographs on my blog. And surely send us pictures if you cut your hair to send to Locks of Love! Perhaps you have an Etsy site and you would like to donate a hat for each one you sell this month. You are a community of strong, committed and generous readers who have shown your determination. Let us come together to send lots of love and support in the direction of children facing cancer, especially those who may not have much support now at all.

Our friends at briar.claire will help as well. They are donating ten of their adorable hats and will also donate another one for every single hat that is purchased from them during October. Additionally, Jessica, a reader and etsy seller is also willing to help out. For hats that will be donated to cancer kids, she will charge only $5. Sugar and Spice will also donate one for every two that they sell this month. My family has already begun to gather hats and we would love to watch that pile grow!!

Perhaps you can knit or have a pattern to share? Please share in the comments! And let us not forget the boys who may not want a big old flower hat! If you have or know of an Etsy store or boutique that sells caps or hats, please feel free to share the link to that in comments.

Please make, buy, collect with your children and donate hats to a Children's Hospital near you during October and then let us know about it!

Only new hats or hats made from new materials can be donated, because these children have compromised immune systems. Be sure to email us about how you choose to be involved! We will keep track of all the hats that are sent to us or donated directly by you and share photos and stories about the hat drive at the end of October. We will drop off our hats, and all that are sent to us, at the Children's Hospital here in the Frozen Tundra where Stellan has spent many weeks.

We are so excited about being able to bless children who are facing the unimaginable this way. Please join us!