Inspiration for living intentionally

Click http://youtube.com/watch?v=_cwzMmaC4hw to see Henry enjoying life with all his pals, including Milo. Milo and I just watched it and it made us both cry, but it's absolutely beautiful. We should all be so lucky to tell our friends how much we love 'em and enjoy our time together as much as these guys did.

Live intentionally...that's our new motto.

Henry Tucker Foundation Upcoming Benefit

Please join us for The Henry Tucker Foundation’s Benefit for
AUSTIN MCGOWAN
Sunday March 30, 2008 from 4:00-10:00pm
The Marriott Hotel 123 N. St. Joseph St. South Bend, IN 46601

The Henry Tucker Foundation eagerly invites you to join us in our battle against childhood cancer as we celebrate a night filled with hope and opportunity benefitting Austin McGowan, a fourteen-year old boy living with ALL Leukemia. We hope sharing in our special event for young Austin will help make fighting childhood cancer a priority in your life.
Put on your dancing shoes and come hear Austin speak about his experience, enjoy a catered dinner & cash bar, and be inspired by Rudy Ruetigger, the famed Notre Dame Football player and alum.

THREE DIFFERENT FUNDRAISING PACKAGES FOR YOU TO CHOOSE FROM:

Package A: For $150 per person you will enjoy cocktails with Rudy, bid big in a fantastic Silent Auction which includes an array of vacations and family-oriented items, share a catered dinner with Rudy and Austin, and view a personalized video montage prepared by Austin. You’ll also be inspired by Rudy’s words of encouragement and accomplishment during his keynote presentation. You will also attend a private autograph/photo session with Rudy and Austin. We encourage you to bring a football or other sports memorabilia for Rudy to sign. Finish the night mingling, dancing, and having fun with friends!

Package B: For $100 per person you will share a catered dinner with Rudy Ruetigger and Austin McGowan, view a personalized video montage prepared by Austin, be inspired by Rudy’s words of encouragement and accomplishment during his keynote presentation, and finish the night mingling, dancing, and having fun with friends!

Package C: Simply send a $25 - $50 donation to the Henry Tucker Fund for Austin McGowan.

MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW!
Please contact Kelly Hurley (ckhurley2000@yahoo.com) to make a reservation or donation.
Please make all checks out to: The Henry Tucker Fund and write “Austin McGowan Fundraiser” in the memo section.

If you plan on staying at The Marriott for the reduced of $79.00, you may reserve your tickets and your room by contacting reservations directly at 1 (800) 228-9290 or (574) 234-2000. Group name for reservations is Austin McGowan Event.

WHAT IS THE HENRY TUCKER FOUNDATION?

The Henry Tucker Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2008 following the loss of six-year-old child, Henry James Vaughn Tucker, to a rare form of T-cell leukemia. The mission of the Henry Tucker Foundation is to raise awareness of childhood cancer and offer support to families coping with the physical, emotional, financial, and bureaucratic obstacles associated with terminal childhood cancers. The specific goals of the foundation include: (1.) Providing much needed information and emotional support to families facing the realities associated terminal illness; (2.) Raising money and distributing grants to families in need; and, (3.) Lobbying for changes in current family leave acts and cancer research policies. We will reach these goals by providing an on-line community dedicated to promoting social support and offering valuable information to families facing cancer related health crises, raising funds through campaign drives and benefits, and facilitating difficult public discussions regarding the lack of support offered by current policies and laws.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/henrytucker

Update Haiku

Milo & Baz sick ;p
Start part-time job on Monday
Saw bald eagle this morning while shoveling snow

okay, so that's not haiku, but I ran outta time trying to get that bald eagle part in there...totally cool moment when everything was cold & silent. Thankfully it was high enough in the sky over our house that I didn't have time to panic that it was going to peck my eyes out and I just enjoyed the moment.

Hope you have at least one magical moment today.

Other random items in my house which turned out way too blurry

Random things currently posted on our refrigerator

Mrs. Butterworth, I'm shocked!

Whilst procrastinating, I found Mrs. Butterworth posing topless on my kitchen counter. Times have certainly changed since I was a kid.

Is it still called procrastination if you're not really putting off anything too important?

After a week with a new dog, two vacation days, a weekend, and two and a half snow days our living space is sort of, well, disheveled. Instead of picking it up, I chose to photograph things in an effort to appease my inner procrastinator.

The pieces on the coffee table amuse me the most. There are bits and pieces of Joe, Milo (mostly Milo) and me all over the place in sort of a stablized chaos...

Snow forts rock!

This is an experiment and my first time using the movie feature on my computer, so don't judge me too harshly. It sure is a heck of a lot more fun than scrapbooking...

MILO DEFENDING THE SNOW FORT! "'Tis merely a flesh wound!"

Who needs breadcrumbs anyway?

You know, ever since I started making decisions from my heart instead of allowing myself to be guided by a fear of failure, things have really been working out well. I've jumped in head first, am using my writing talents for good, and wonderful things are just seeping out of the woodwork all around me.

Don't be afraid to go after what you want...even if it means changing everything you know.

Raise money for the McGowan Family and have fun at the same time!

Please donate to a great cause! Henry Tucker was Milo's long time best friend who passed away from t-cell leukemia last summer. Read on for more information.

JOIN TEAM HENRY!

We invite you to become part of "Team Henry." Visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/henrytucker to learn more about Henry Tucker, the Henry Tucker Foundation, "Team Henry," and upcoming fundraising events.

RECENT NEWS:

Henry's Grant A Wish Program is underway, Folks! Team Henry recently donated 11 Nintendo Wii's and a laptop to the Riley Children's Hospital's Stem Cell Department. Way to go Team Henry!!

WANT TO DONATE TOO?

You may donate to "The Henry Tucker Fund" at any Chase Bank: Account Number 729954875.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

The Henry Tucker Foundation eagerly invites you to join us in our battle against childhood cancer as we celebrate a night filled with hope and opportunity benefitting Austin McGowan, a fourteen-year-old living with ALL Leukemia (www.caringbridge.org/visit/austinmcgowan).

The Henry Tucker Foundation’s

Benefit forAustin McGowan

Featuring International Celebrity: Rudy Ruettinger of Notre Dame Football Fame (http://www.rudyintl.com/)

Sunday March 30, 2008 from 4:00-10:00pm

Marriott Hotel
123 N. St. Joseph St.
South Bend, IN

Henry James Vaughn Tucker
December 26, 2000 - June 14, 2007

Henry's Journey:
"The Hankster," is the driving force behind all Team Henry and the Henry Tucker Foundation. Henry was diagnosed with B-cell ALL, a commonly treated leukemic cancer, at a mere two and a half years of age. With great strength, an unwavering smile, and, well, let’s call it a “unique” sense of humor, Henry balanced countless hospital visits with the curiosity of a wise soul beyond his toddler and pre-school years.

While many of Henry’s friends were transitioning from tricycles to bicycles, Henry’s family learned that his three and a half years of remission were ripped away by a rare and aggressive form of t-cell leukemia. Henry’s fight against cancer included three relapses and a bone marrow transplant as he drew his ultimate strength from the love of his family, playing with his cousins and friends, and wishing for a younger brother, Georgie, who arrived five weeks before Henry’s death in June, 2006.

During his all too short time with us, Hank became a walking encyclopedia of all things Star Wars, Power Rangers, Sponge Bob, and dinosaurs and grew ever more passionate about beach vacations and listening to and playing rock music on his drum kit and guitar. He lived a life without judgment and his memory serves as a source of inspiration for his family, friends, and countless supporters of the Henry Tucker Foundation.

The Henry Tucker Foundation:

As Henry’s family makes their way on their own journey of grief and acceptance, they have chosen to share their story with Team Henry and the rest of the world. Realizing that cancer impacts countless families, Mike and Michelle Tucker have taken great steps to share their son’s story to remind every family ripped apart by childhood cancer that “we are not alone.”
In true Henry spirit, we pay tribute to his life by helping others in need with The Henry Tucker Foundation. The H.T.F’s mission is to raise awareness of childhood cancer and offer support to families coping with the physical, emotional, financial, and bureaucratic obstacles associated with terminal childhood cancers.

In accordance with Henry Tucker’s fighting spirit, positive attitude, and playful nature, the goals of this foundation include: Providing much needed information and emotional support to families facing the realities associated with terminal illness; raising money and distributing grants directly to families facing medical crises; and, lobbying for changes in current family leave acts and cancer research policies.

We will reach these goals by fostering an on-line community dedicated to promoting social support and offering valuable information to families facing cancer related health crises, raising funds through campaign drives and benefits, providing music therapy and video games to patients, and facilitating difficult public discussions regarding the lack of support offered by current policies and laws.

Invitation to join our Caringbridge Network:

We invite you to join our Caringbridge Network as we need everyone to successfully fulfill our goals and build our community. This website offers fundraising information, a written record of Henry and his family’s journey of life, death, love, and grief, and a whole lot of support from Team Henry directed towards families facing similar situations. This site also serves as a sounding board for establishing and maintaining friendships while organizing our grass-root efforts in the fight against childhood cancers.

Henry loved everyone he met, never complained, touched the lives of so many, and would want all of us to rejoice and be happy. He knew nothing else but happiness. And while Henry is finally Home, we hope all of you find a higher purpose and remember Henry 's life was simply the vessel carrying a much bigger message than we may ever understand.
We wish you peace and kindness and invite you to join our Caringbridge community.

Rock on “Team Henry!”

Question of the Day (mind you it's not even noon yet!)

"Hey, Mom, what's a strip club? Is it something like a strip mall?"

Ov vay! Kids today...

Evil Genius at Work!

"So we meet again!"

Today's Haiku

Writer's strike over
Take that Am Gladiators
Where's my MTV?

****

Brit Brit or Mit Mit?
Obama still rocks my world
Huckabee is wierd

Cigars all around!!

This is Bazbeaux Buxby. He's eleven weeks old and came to live with us yesterday. I named him Bazbeaux, but Milo preferred the name "Nipple." I think he meant "Nipper," but I don't really want to know. I've considering renaming him "Niagra Falls" for obvious reasons, but am loving every minute of being a dog owner.

What Being in Love Means to Me: My Testimony

Being in love is the indelible message snuggled safely within the fragile bottle of life; bobbing up and down in a vast sea of obstacles and victories. It is the concrete foundation anchoring our skyscrapers as we bend and sway in the clouds. Being in love is the safety net waiting to embrace us when we fall from the flying trapeze.

Being in love is the capacity to be mad, insane, jealous, empathetic, understanding, and forgiving – all at the same time. It is an F-5 tornado with a one-way ticket to Oz. It is running with the bulls while sipping on sangria. It is waking up in Peru when you thought you were in Paris. It is the scratch on a favorite album and the proclamation of a surprise snow day. Being in love is all or nothing; it is both pain and anesthesia.

Being in love is an instant and an eternity. It is a look, a smile, an accidental touch. It is the scent of lust and chocolate mixed with mothballs and yellowed pictures. Being in love is knowing when to know and knowing when to play dumb. It is the tootsie roll at the middle of the hard candy shell even when you forget to count the licks.

Being in love is passionate and boring. It is rose petals on the floor and drool on the pillows. It is dirty laundry and sunshine. It is an infinite marathon of annoying infommercials where celebrities shout at you and leave stains on your carpets in between your favorite episodes of Little House on the Prairie, The Twilight Zone, and Good Times. Being in love is the promise of better living through pharmaceuticals accompanied by all the unsettling side effects.

Being in love is the willingness to get sticky at the buffet while sampling life’s surprising delicacies together. It is holding on to everything while letting everything go. Being in love is growing together as separate individuals. It is the constant renewal of friendship and cultivation of trust. It is making mistakes and allowing mistakes to be made. Being in love is the ability to live in the moment while embracing the past and the future.

Being in love is what I am.

My Political Haiku

Mitt Romney suspends
Maybe Yahweh does exist
Rock on, Obama!

Why? Why? Why?

Why did Domino's Pizza ditch the Noid? Bring back the Noid, I say! Or is this utter void of Noid the ultimate in avoiding the Noid?

This is just spot on!

Just in case you don't read my carefully chosen quote of the day -- this one is just too good not to read:

“The future hasn't happened yet and the past is gone. So I think the only moment we have is right here and now, and I try to make the best of those moments, the moments that I'm in.” -- Annie Lennox

Who is the best movie villian of all time?

My vote goes to Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare on Elmstreet series. He's really got it all: terrifying looks (who needs a stupid mask when you look like that), a great sense of humor ("No screamin' while the bus is in motion!"), and he's got a wonderful talent for improv when it comes to stalking his prey.

Who do you think is the best movie villain of all time and why?

Annoying Song Alert

Ugh, I've got "I Believe I Can Fly" stuck in my head and it won't go away. Now it's in yours too!!

It's an Official Keester Freezer, Folks!

This is our backyard posing as the North Pole after the onslaught of a full 10 inches of snow yesterday. With Joe loudly suffering from a bout of the flu and Milo bouncing off the walls from cabin fever rage (think roid rage without anger, illegal drugs, and huge muscles) we had a very very long day. Today's another day and Joe's back at work, the M-Dawg is practicing April Fool's pranks on all his buddies at school, and I'm slowly warming up to my newest friends: the characters in my latest writing venture. It's a dark piece, so it's proving difficult to fully engage my characters, but it's a fun challenge. I can't believe I've put off writing for so long and I'm just so happy to have this opportunity at this point in my life.

So, speaking of characters, Milo was a hoot this morning. As we headed out the back door to make the five minute walk to school he reminded me of that kid in the Christmas story. You know, the little brother who couldn't put his arms down at his sides because his mom stuffed him into all sorts of winter wear. Well, Milo dresses himself and he totally outdid the mom from a Christmas Story...so much so, in fact, that I was afraid we'd have to get a subscription to the Lifeline Emergency Button just in case he fell.

Anyway, he decided that he'd walk two steps and then jump into the snow, flail about a bit, and then walk two more steps. It was a hilarious scenario and he was like a puppy in the snow for the very first time. It took us almost twenty five minutes to make the normally five minute trek. I thought it was hilarilous, that is, until the Four Foot Terror Known As Milo actually picked up a huge glob of snow and attacked his poor, defenseless, adorable, and quite likeable mother. Here I was doing my motherly duty and doting on my beautiful son when the little terror actually attacked me from behind and proceeded to stuff snow down my back. I don't believe I've ever felt cold as I felt it at that particular moment.

I guess it's finally time to tell him the truth about that boogy man I've invited to live in his closet.

Another Snow Day!

We woke up to another wintry wonderland morning filled with snow, lightening & hail. That was a first -- I'd never seen lightening during a snow storm before! Anyway, we had another fun filled day of playing with friends. Keagan and Lynne stopped by and we all enjoyed our play dates. When we turned around it was time for dinner and homework. I am hoping to write something a little more interesting tomorrow.

Six more weeks of winter

Darn that groundhog! Oh well, since there are six more weeks of winter we might as well enjoy 'em.

Philandering or The Stare Down

It seems to me like those guys in the fancy black hats might be trying to intimidate Phil. I smell a conspiracy (or maybe that's just old guy breath)!

Hmmm...what would Bill Murray do?

Back on track...

Sent The Boy back to school this morning following an early morning Guitar Hero battle. I had such a huge headache he kicked my butt in less than 60 seconds. I don't know which of these ailments was more painful!
Just heard from my friend Michelle and we're gearing up to put together a PR pack for the Henry Tucker Foundation. We're getting together next week to brainstorm the PR pack and also put together an outline for a book on grieving the loss of a child. Things are falling into place and with Henry's help we'll try to make the world a little easier for families dealing with cancer.
I've got to get off the computer and clean up the place before my Boyz get home and tear it all up again.
Happy day before Ground Hog's Day!