Saturday Morning

Once you choose hope, anything is possible ~christopher reeves

Even though he passed away a few years ago from a long, hard struggle with prostate cancer, my gramps is STILL one of the coolest, best people I know. :) Since his passing, my fam and extended family have started participating in the Relay for Life, a fundraiser to support cancer research.

Our team name is ALL in THE FAMILY, and last year we raised over $5,000 to fight this horrible disease. We hold a HUGE garage sale, monthly meetings and then stay up ALL night walking around the Relay For Life course.

One of my favorite parts about this event is the luminary bags. For five dollars you can take a Relay for Life bag, decorate it with pictures, quotes or just the name of someone you know who has lost the fight with cancer, is still in the battle or has beat the disease.

The night of Relay for Life, all these bags are placed around the track and candles are lit inside. It is seriously one of the most emotional, inspiring experiences I have ever been a part of.

Today, we are holding a booth at our local Farmer's Market to let people decorate these bags in honor of their loved ones. It is so awesome to see kids sitting at our craft table with stickers and glitter and markers, making a bag to honor their grandpa who they may have never met, or even their momma.

So while I did NOT want to wake up early on a Saturday and go sit outside in the rain (yes, it is raining here in MAY) I realize what a small sacrifice this is for the millions and millions of people who lose loved ones to this disease every year.

So thanks gramps, we will be thinking of you today :) PS. If you want to, you could send us some sunshine for the morning? But if not, no biggie. We know you always liked the rain, too :)

I'm sure I will be blogging more about this as the Relay for Life gets closer~

HAPPY SATURDAY, EVERYONE! :)