Making Halloween Memories

We've officially taken down our one Halloween decoration (of course, it's a pirate sign) and thrown our pumpkins away for the season. And though we look forward to spending the upcoming holidays with family and friends, Halloween is always one of our favorites!

Grace with her classmates in their Halloween costumes.

Grace and her friends in the Halloween parade.

Grace and her friend, Talullah, the bumblebee

It's always been fun to pick out costumes for Grace.  One year, she wore a clown costume that my grandma made for me when I was little, and another year, we picked out Minnie Mouse because that was always one of Grace's favorites.

Grace and her dalmation puppies at school!

Grace agreed to get her picture taken with me, but she wouldn't smile.

With the addition of Charlotte to our family this year, we decided to coordinate costumes together, and went through a ton of ideas.  But we kept coming back to Grace as Cruella deVil and Charlotte as her little dalmatian puppy.  And with a little help from the Disney Store, we were all set.

Grace was excited to be part of the mummy game.

Grace thought her friends were funny.

Although Grace usually has physical therapy in Springfield on Friday mornings, we cancelled the Friday before Halloween so Grace could celebrate with her classmates at school.  I got to take Grace to school for the Halloween parade around the building with her class, and then enjoy the party with the other kindergarten students.  I think Grace's favorite was a mummy game where two of her friends wrapped her up in toilet paper.  I'm constantly moved by how much the kids in her class love Grace for who she is.  It's pretty special.

Kyle might have picked out a giant pumpkin to carve.

Later that afternoon, after some naps of course, we ventured uptown for the annual Halloween parade. We had to stop by our friend and photographer Ken Meade for some pictures first. But I really like the Halloween parade, even if it is a little chilly.  For us, it's something that Grace can participate in just like the other kids, which is pretty cool.  Grace and Charley won third place in the groups division, and both girls really seemed to love the attention from everyone.

Grace's friends from preschool stopped to see her at the parade.

My favorite little characters in the parade.

That weekend was our annual pumpkin carving, which is always lots of fun.  Charley was a little impatient and took a nap during part of it, but Grace always seems to enjoy being with us.  I always pick a pattern, and Kyle still hates to clean the "pumpkin yuck" out of his pumpkin.  We also watched "The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" which is another favorite at our house.There's always lots of laughter and fun memories.  And I can't wait for Charley to be big enough to help out.

Getting ready to carve pumpkins.

The girls loved my pumpkin!

Kyle carving his huge pumpkin.

Finished pumpkins.

Spooky jack o'lanters.

Since neither girl can eat candy, we sort of skipped trick-or-treating this year.  Instead, we spent the first trick-or-treat night greeting friends at Grandma and Grandpa Galer's house.  We also got to decorate sugar cookies with pumpkin faces. Both girls got a taste of icing, and Charley's quick fingers almost got her an M&M.  But she'll have to wait for another day.

The girls looked so cute in their Halloween outfits.

We had fun decorating cookies with Grandma Susie.

Family photo opportunity in Halloween pajamas.

Over the years we have been together, it has been fun to take memories from our childhood and recreate them together, as well as make a few new fun, family traditions.  It will be fun to see what costumes Charley picks over the years, and whether or not she wants to carve pumpkins with us.  But whatever the holidays bring, I know we will always make the best memories just being together.

Always A Tiger

This month, we had the chance to take both our girls to their first college football game at my alma mater, the University of Missouri, and it ended up being a special event for our whole family.
Kyle and I often talk of things we want to do with Grace.  I don't like to call it a bucket list, because that sounds too final for me.  We just talk about experiences we want her to have while she's with us, and we hope that's a really long time!

Meeting Mizzou Head Coach Barry Odom

Since Kyle's the sports editor at the paper, a lot of the things we like to do as a family center around sports.  We can often be found with the girls at a variety of high school events to see some of our favorite kids play.  But we also love to go and see the Cardinals play in St. Louis.  A hockey game with the Blues is also on our list.

Photo opportunity with the Tiger cheerleaders

 But it's not just Kyle that loves sports. In fact, of the two of us, I'm probably a bigger fan of college sports, especially football. And I've been known to throw my Tiger ears at the TV a time or two.
It got me thinking about what it was that first got me interested in sports.  And I remembered the first time in sixth grade when a friend invited me to a junior high basketball game.  I went out to the garage and selected a couple of my favorite coloring books and some crayons and decided I was ready to go. My mom patiently explained that it probably wasn't the best idea to take those with me. I think she worried the other kids would make fun of me. But I couldn't possibly imagine what I would do at the basketball game for the whole time we were there.

Hanging out with Mrs. Odom before the game

I would say it took maybe five minutes or less after the start of the game that I found myself cheering for the Dragons and totally involved in the game. From then on, I knew I never needed much encouragement to attend a variety of sporting events.  I didn't always know about the plays or even all of the rules, especially when I started going to high school football games, but I was always a big fan of my team.

Family photo on the field before the game

Big dreams baby girl

And that's why I wanted to take our girls to a Mizzou football game. It had probably been ten years since I saw a game at Faurot Field. Fall is one of Kyle's busiest times covering high school sports, and it just hadn't worked out. But as luck would have it, Mizzou's Homecoming weekend seemed to be a perfect fit.

Cheering is such hard work

I'd forgotten about some of the chaos of going to a big-time event, like finding parking or bag searches, but we made it. And it was definitely worth it.

Family photo at the stadium

 Prior to the game, I had contacted Mizzou's head football coach, Barry Odom, about helping us to raise awareness for INAD. His wife responded to our request, and we had a chance to meet both of them before the game. Talk about making a special experience even more magical. The Odoms were such genuine people, welcoming us onto the field before the game. And we had so much fun walking around the field, just being part of the college football experience. The cheerleaders came over to get their photo taken with Grace, and a warm rush of memories just flooded through me. From participating in Marching Mizzou for a year to taking photos of the sidelines, I will always be a Tiger. And I'm glad that I got to share a football game with my whole family.

Checking out the Mizzou Sports Arena

The weather was perfect, and we stopped by to check out this year's men's and women's basketball preview at Mizzou Arena before we headed out. It's still on my list to get Grace to see a Mizzou men's basketball game too.

As Grace's condition continues to regress, we don't know how long we will be able to take her places with us. And I didn't want to wait to see what next year brought before we tried to get to a football game. Someday, it won't matter whether or not we made it to that football game, but I'm so glad it was something that we got to do together.

All smiles from our little Tiger fan

 Although Kyle and I are probably not the most competitive or the most athletically talented people, there's definitely something about sports that brings people together. We have seen it time and time again as our high school teams rally to help us raise funding and awareness for INAD. Win or lose, we consider all of these special programs to be part of Team Grace. And that makes every single player and coach a winner in our book.

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Being Part Of Team Grace

As I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed tonight, I read a post that the Litchfield High School football team raised $250 for a player on the opposing team who is currently battling cancer. I couldn't help but smile as I read through some of the comments, and discovering the money was raised in memory of one of our favorite superheroes, Faith Hartzell.

It hasn't been the best season for the Litchfield football team, as one of their best chances to win this season got away from them tonight. But, regardless of the score, their efforts off the field to help an opposing player truly make them winners in my book.

The top eight volleyball teams with Gracie Lou

It got me thinking about a lot of things. Just this past week, we attended the final check presentation volleyball game from this year's inaugural Montgomery County Invitational volleyball tournament, affectionately dubbed "A Grace-Filled Tourney." Hosted at Hillsboro and Lincolnwood high schools, all four of our county high schools raised over $7,500 for INAD research in honor of our Grace.

Grace and Charley at a Friday night game

I'm sure when each of the 16 teams signed up for the tournament, each hoped they would be the one to take home the trophy. After all, it did have a darling Princess Grace logo on it!  But at the end of the two-day tournament, only one team got to take home the trophy. And only one player on that team got to be named the most valuable player. More than 100 volleyball players competed in the tournament, but still only one gets to be "the best." 

Grace and one of her best preschool buddies, Lauren

Does that mean the other players don't get to win? I don't see it that way. When we showed up at the tournament on Friday night to see some of the county teams play, our family was particularly touched to see players from other towns wearing purple ribbons in their hair or purple socks. None of these players had ever met Grace before. But they still wanted to be part of something that was bigger than the actual game.

Grace's cheering section

Some teams knew they may not finish in the championship bracket, but fought hard to get enough wins to play at Lincolnwood on Friday in the top two brackets, because they knew Grace would be there. But only half the teams made it in the top, and some teams didn't pick up a single win all weekend. I have no doubt those girls played just as hard and with as much heart as the ones who played in the championship game.

The prayer circle before the game

It seems like we all have that inner desire to win and to be the best, and that's a great driving force for all of us to give our best at everything we do. But at the end of the day, not all of us are going to be the one that comes home with the victory, whether it's in a game or a promotion at work. But even when we don't get the win, I hope we'll always still give our best and remember there's something bigger than winning.

Kyle in the "Serving for Grace" fundraiser

Just before the start of the championship game, Grace was presented with a plaque and named an honorary member of the all-tournament team, probably the only time in her life she'll have such an honor. But it certainly warmed my heart. And before the first serve, those top eight teams made a huge circle around the gym and prayed for Grace and those researching INAD to find a cure. A few tears might have fallen down my cheeks, as I stood in awe of the entire gym full of winners, learning to be part of something much bigger than the game.

Kayley and Kensey presented Grace with her all-tournament team plaque

In the end, only one team got to take home Grace's trophy, but I can tell you that all 16 teams will always be a very special part of Team Grace for their efforts off the court. Oftentimes, some of the best stories in sports come from the athletes who learn to give of themselves win or lose. So, remember, it doesn't matter how much playing time you get or how many points you score, what you'll be remembered for is the kindness and compassion you show off the court. And you'll always be a member of Team Grace.

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