A Day to Play!

One of the most glorious things in the world is the joy of play!  The looks in the faces of people just having fun and feeling like a kid again is such a wonderful gift!  Take a look at our kids- big and small!
The day started with stand up paddleboarding with our wonderful friends from Ocean Cure

Then the Coastal Therapeutic Riding Program brought us a wonderful treat- miniature horses and a donkey for us to pet and care for, and of course, play with!

And of course, this is what happens after a great day stand up paddle boarding!

We finished our day off with a delicious dinner thanks to the wonderful folks of Masonboro Baptist Church  and our wonderful new friends, the Brysons and a wonderful game night!  No pictures of the games, just the crazy competitors!

Little Pink Families Dive Right In!

Well, not literally... but there were plenty of hands in the touch tank and noses pressed against the glass as our families explored the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher.

After a day of relaxing and getting familiar with Carolina Beach, Little Pink was treated to a private dinner and tour of the aquarium. There were smiles all around while our big and little kids explored the displays of giant megladon sharks teeth, glowing jellyfish, and ran along the boardwalks and playground outside. 

These Little Pink families have really jumped on board with our mission and we couldn't be more excited for each day to come!

Special thanks to Big Apple Bakery for the amazing cupcakes! 

And yet another delicious dinner from our very 

own Kate (no, fish wasn't on the menu tonight)

Little Pink Welcomes you to the 2013 Retreat Week Family!

Wow!  Today, we officially opened up the 3rd year of Little Pink Houses of Hope Breast Cancer Family Retreats with the beginning of the Carolina Beach Retreat!  In the first two years, we served 93 families combined.  This year alone, we have set our sights on serving 96 families! Not only have we added 5 new sites, but we have also added 4 additional retreat directors to help guide our families through their amazing week!  Get ready for a wonderful, year full of amazing new friends that we are happy to call a part of our Little Pink Family!

Sneak Peek and more to come!

Had a wonderful morning yesterday with the wonderful team at O3 Media! For those of you that may not remember, Little Pink Houses of Hope was picked from a large pool of applicants to be their Project365 winner last year!  We were so excited to win and Brian and Sean  at O3 Media have been amazing partners throughout the whole process- really supporting our vision and helping us to create the best website for our families, volunteers, donors, and users.  They helped us redo our logo, website, and branding.  A great example of a caring company that wants to help give back and make a difference in a very meaningful way!

I cannot wait to launch the new website!  We are doing a bunch of tweaking and entry right now, but look for the launch in the next month!

Here is a sneak peak at the updated, cleaned up logo

"I was here"

So, I have an image today that has been carrying me through a weekend where we lost two of our Little Pink moms to their battle with breast cancer.  We also lost 2 moms in December and 6 last year.  Each a beautiful woman taken away at exactly the moment that God designed, but always a moment that we feel is too early.  All of these women left an indelible mark on the world, on my heart, and the hearts of so many others.

I have people who ask me if dealing with this side of Little Pink is too much to take.  They often times refer to it as the "down side" to the work that we do.    Without LPHOH, I never would have met these women, their families, seen the love that they carry for their children, seen their hope for a miracle to keep them here, seen the determination to try something new, seen their faith deepen, or the attitude of "the hell with cancer, I am here to live".  

So I say all of that, but I still cry. I cry for the people that are left behind. I cry for the days that will be missed in the lives of their children.   I cry that the people they love have lost the only person that loves them the way that they did.

But I still find myself with the ability to rejoice.  I rejoice in the days that they got to hold hands with the love of their life. I rejoice in the sweet giggles shared as a wave came to shore and they couldn't run fast enough to either go towards it or away from it. I rejoice that they are free from pain. I rejoice in knowing that these women are in God's loving embrace.

And the image that has been carrying me through is my dad, waiting in heaven to give each of them a big hug.   My dad died two years ago right before Little Pink started, but he was the business brains behind the whole organization.  I am holding onto the image that he welcomes each one of our women home with a big "little pink hug in heaven".

All of these women lived in a way that showed others exactly who they were, what they stood for, what they cared about, why they were here.  Because in the end, that is what we want to be able to say "I was here" and have it mean something to the people we love, the world, to our God.  We want to be able to leave this world healed.  Not physically healed.  But having spent a lifetime trying to understand that healing is about all facets of your life.  It is about striving for a completeness in all parts of your life.  A completeness with your family, your faith, your work, your body, your mind, your devotion. 

So, what can you put your "I was here" marker on?  Are you loving as much as you can?  Are you giving as much of yourself as God desires?  Are you listening?  Are you ready to show the world that "You were here".

Listen and be inspired!

Beyonce, "I was here"

Let Go and Let God

My life has drastically been changed by one simple calling:  follow me.
Sounds easy, but sometimes things are easier said than done.
God's love and embrace has been surrounding me my whole life- it is only recently that I decided to feel it, listen to it, crave it, study it, and walk with it.  At the lowest point in my life, God showed up in a BIG and powerful way to call me to serve.  And so I have served with all of my heart.

Serving though, is not the same thing as letting go and letting God.  In my life,   letting go has been difficult because it means letting go of the control, the planning, the direction, the idea that it is up to me to find my way.  During treatment, it is difficult to let go because you are grasping at whatever pieces you can control.  The truth is that there is already a path for each of us.

Over the past 18 months, I have been in turmoil about what to do.  The work that God called me to do with Little Pink is so clear, so good, so easy to love.  But I have been in a place where the real world still calls.  The bills, the mortgage, tuition, the pieces of the puzzle that seem like they are standing in the way of completely surrendering to his calling.  And so, I continued to work a job to do those things.  Because to give up that job meant to let go.  And if I let go, who would be in charge??

Every step of the way for the past two years, God has placed his mission and vision for Little Pink on the hearts of friends, strangers, survivors, children and all of the needs of the organization have been met.  I have story after story that would cause goose bumps to go down your arm that all reflect his ability to reach into and connect people in a way that is life changing.  So, why have I been stuck on the idea that he can take care of everything else, but my problem was too big.  It wasn't a problem at all, it was an attempt at looking at taking a leap of faith if and only if I could control it.

I struggled over the idea of a leap of faith.   Everyone kept saying, "God will take care of everything, just take a leap of faith".  
So, we prayed and prayed some more, and then tried to control things, then prayed some more.  And finally made a decision to take the "leap of faith" and just focus my work time on Little Pink.  So as of December 31st, I will focus all of my energies on what matters most- my family, Little Pink, caring for my survivorship, and trying to be the hands and feet of Jesus as I walk through each day.

Since I made that decision, one that had been filled with tension and strife- I truly understand the idea of letting go and letting God.  I thought it would feel like a leap of faith.  I thought I would be scared.  But instead it 100% feels like a leap of assurance.  There is a peace that I feel that is indescribable.  He told me that he will care for me, love me, and dissolve my fears and doubts of unbelief.  Each need will be filled.  So it is not a leap of faith, it is a leap of assurance.  Faith will carry me through when I start doubting, assurance is what he has already written.

Give in.  Let Go.  Let God!