Dear Mrs. Scheeler's Class,

Brody standing next to the TWO HUGE BOXES of brand new toys from Mrs. Scheeler's class!


One of the clinic's patients picking out a toy after his poke!


Gideon picking out a prize after his poke, too!


Dear Mrs. Scheeler's YOUNG FIVES Class,

You, boys and girls, have done such a wonderful and giving thing! There are so many people in the world who take, take, take and want, want, want, but all of you have shown that you are loving givers. You understand it makes your heart happier to GIVE than it does to TAKE. I heard that some of you even gave up one of your own Christmas presents (brand new) to give to the KCMS Clinic. Wow. I hope that when you dropped your toy into the box, a happy warmth hugged your heart until it felt like it grew, grew, grew to the point that you felt like your heart was a balloon floating to the sky! Thank you, you precious people!

You all know how scary it is to get a shot. It lasts for a second and then... it's DONE! The kids at Gideon's clinic have to go in for many different kinds of shots and very often, too. The good thing about this is that it will make the very sick children better! Even though the children at the clinic get many shots, they still can feel just as scared as you do when you get your shot. Sometimes they just don't want to do it at all, sometimes they just cry, and other times they just want to hide. Knowing that they have a bin FULL of brand new toys to choose from after the shot or shots are over can make so much of a difference. They go from crying and feeling afraid to asking, "What kinds of toys are in there?" and it gets their minds off of how scary the poke can be.

Every single gift you donated for the surprise bin will make a sick child SMILE! Do you know how beautiful it is to see an ill child who is scared or hurting to smile? It's like seeing a sky full of rainbows after a hurricane, I promise. Not only have you made so many children happy, but you have given many mommies and daddies happiness, too. When our little boys or girls are hurting, all we want to do is to take that pain away. Your toy donations made the little boys and girls smile, and that made every mommy and daddy who saw that smile to smile, as well. You formed a SMILE TRAIN! Try it! Look at the friend to your right and smile, and then that person takes your smile and turns to the person on his/her right and smiles, and keep going until everyone in the circle has smiled! I bet you all are giggling by the time this SMILE TRAIN is done. That's my hope, because you beautiful little people have done the same for so many strangers who needed your love.

THANK YOU, Mrs. Scheeler's classes!

Love,
Brody and Gideon's mommy
-----------------------------------------------

Gideon update:

Gideon is sick. I'm sure it's a virus, but the boy's cough is getting worse and worse. He can't breathe through his nose, and this makes him extra crabby. I can understand that... So, I have been sticking on the BREATHE-RIGHT strips. He loves them. One thing is for sure, he adores air. After he wakes up from sedation, he takes the oxygen and just sucks it in with an "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" He acts like it's the most delectable meal he has ever tasted. When he feels like he can't get enough of it, he takes the oxygen nodules out of his nose and sucks it all in through his mouth. It's an advanced form of booger eating, I guess. I kid. But really, he just loves to breathe. I love that he loves to breathe.

Anyway, I am force feeding and force hydrating him. He shakes his head and says "NO!" towards food and drink, but thankfully he has moments of wanting to eat and drink. He doesn't have a fever, so now it's just a matter of keeping him hydrated. He dry heaves a lot at night, and I'm assuming that's from all of the mucus. I'll check in with the clinic tomorrow again to see if there is anything else I need to do. Please pray for a quick recovery and that this doesn't mutate into anything else.


My sick little man.


Breathe-RIGHT (but still a little Crabby-Crabberson)


Gideon sucking on his oxygen tube (that's supposed to be in his nose)...Ha!