Dough for Dylan Filhos Sale

Hi Everyone,

It has been heavy on my heart lately to find a way to help the Spinelli Family...financially. One of the many great fundraisers that were held in honor of our precious Miss Bailey was a Filhos Sale. For those of you not from the Central Valley (aka Portuguese Valley) ha! ha!...Filhos are a cross between a donut and a funnel cake. They are covered in sugar and extremely yummy!

A dear friend of mine, Angela, was the person who held the one for Bailey. She is once again stepping up to the plate as my right hand gal and helping me with this fundraiser. And of course, as always, Susan Mattos and Staff, from Mattos Newspaper has jumped on the band wagon in support of the Spinelli Family (no surprise...they were always the ones at the front of the line to help our family). We love all of you!!!

So here is the info that all of you need to know:

We are taking Pre-Orders at the following locations prior to the day of the sale-

-$10 a dozen. Cash only. Payment at time of order.

**Crows Landing-Mary Jane's Salon of Beauty**

**Gustine-Pat's House of Beauty**

**Newman-Mattos Newspaper**


-The day of the event we will have Pick-Up Sites for all of those who pre-ordered at the following locations. (Please designate where you will pick up when you place your order)

**Pre-orders can be picked up on Saturday, January 23, 2010 from 6am-9am**

*Crows Landing-Mary Jane's Salon of Beauty
*Gustine-Pat's House of Beauty
*Newman Public Scales on Hwy 33 (right next to Yancey Lumber)
*Hilmar-Holy Rosary Catholic Church




**"Drive Thru Filhos Sale" will also happen Saturday, January 23, 2010,
8 am-1 pm (for those who did not pre-order)

8am-1pm

Freitas Egg Ranch
561 S. Highway 33
Newman, CA
(Thank you Freitas Family)

$10 a dozen. Cash only.

*Please use the Canal School Road entrance*

Anyone who wants to donate money or product used to make Filhos can drop off their donation at the Pre-order sites.(flour, sugar, yeast,oil)


We live in such a great community. I know we are really going to help this family!

Thank you for your continued support in memory of Bailey and all the kids fighting this horrible disease!

God bless,

Kathy

Dylan the fighter

Dylan's spirits are up and he is feeling better than last week so please keep those prayers coming. He has a long road ahead of him but I know that he is a true fighter. Please continue to pray for his healing, comfort, peace, understanding. I know that he is not fighting this battle alone.

Kathy

Keep Praying

Please keep your prayers coming for Dylan and his family. They are at the point where they are not sure which direction to go. He has been having some seizures along with everything else. He is now undergoing both radiation and chemo. They really need direction as to whether they should pursue treatment somewhere else. I am asking anyone who has dealt with childhood cancer to let me know if you have any contacts that might help this family in their decision making. A doctor at MD Anderson has agreed to meet with them but will not give them any information or game plan unless they physically take him to Texas. For anyone who has been through this, you know that that is not always possible but the thought of missing out on an opportunity to help him just gnaws at you.

If anyone knows of a child who relapsed within a year after a bone marrow transplant and survived...please email me at nevergiveupbr@hotmail.com.

Please watch the YouTube Video that I just put on the side bar. It says it all. There is no reason that our kids are not surviving...Research is the answer!You can help. What an amazing young man.

I can't wait to tell you about the great things I have been doing with Comforting Kids but that will have to wait until next time.

God bless,

Kathy

Prayers for Dylan

I would like to ask for prayers for a precious young man named Dylan Spinelli, who just turned 22 years old and has been fighting cancer for too long. He had a bone marrow transplant in May of 2009 but recently has relapsed with the cancer in his Central Nervous System, bone marrow and as of yesterday, tumors on his spine. This young man has fought so hard since his original diagnosis with leukemia and continues to have an amazing faith. All of these kids are so special!! We need to learn from them!!! Please hold this special family in your prayers. They are going through an extremely difficult time right now and really need God's guidance as to what direction to go.

Too many of our precious children continue to relapse. This is why we need so much more funding for Childhood Cancer Research. You will be hearing from me in the coming year. We need your help and the help of all of those you know. There are so many ways that each of us can help to make a difference in the fight against this horrible disease that is stealing the life away from our children.

Please continue to pray for Dylan and his family and send this to all of the prayer warriors that you know. I know from experience that the prayers help even when the answers aren't what you were hoping for. God gives me the strength to make it through each day without my baby girl.

Remember as you go through this next year that each day is a gift. Your children are a gift. Your spouse, your parents, your friends. All of them are gifts. The "things" in your life can be replaced but not the people. Your time is the best thing you can give someone.

Hug your kids!!!

God bless,

Kathy, Randy, Blake, Brooke & Bryce

Today is our little Miss Bailey's "2nd Angelversary". It is hard to believe that we have been without our precious little girl for two years. We miss her smile, her hugs, her passion for life. I will be writing more in the next couple of days. Right now Bryce is waiting for me to come to bed. He is not feeling well and wants mommy. Nothing better than being a mom!

Thanks to all of you who continue to honor our Bailey girl!

Love,

Kathy, Randy, Blake, Brooke and Bryce

Update on Audra

Here is an update on Audra from her mom Catherine. Thanks for the prayers. Please keep them coming as she has a long and stressful test tomorrow.

Good Evening from Memphis, TN!!!

We had a long day, but GREAT NEWS to follow.
Audr

a's tumor continues to shrink! PRAISE GOD!
We are now at over 30% tumor shrinkage (last time
we were told about 25%) The life of the tumor
continues to decrease into almost nothing. God is
sucking the life out of that ball of trouble. Thank you
Jesus! Dr. Merchant was so happy to see Audra and
continues to tell us how well she looks, walks, moves,
etc. His words were, "It couldn't be any better!" (Well,
we know the best would be that the tumor would be
gone...BUT, we also know that's not in His plan so we will
take 30% shrinkage) Her endocrine follow up today was
just a quick meeting with the doc; her huge test is tomorrow
morning from 7:15a.m. to 12:30p.m. California time. Through her labs drawn today, the measure of her height and weight, they can determine that she has dropped from the 50%ile, to the 25%ile in height and is on the curve to drop some more. The Endocrine doc believes she will definitely have to start growth hormone soon. Tomorrow's test will be another marker and proof for insurance. They do not like to pay for this unless there is positive and clear reasoning for it....understandable. Dr. Merchant, however, is extremely curious for the test results tomorrow, because he noted that Audra's cortisol is severely depleted and "sometimes" if you add cortisol only, it kicks the growth hormone into movement and starts it up again PLUS this could be a huge indicator on why she is so fatigued all of the time. Dr. Merchant will have a huge "say-so" in what actually takes place with Audra regarding growth hormone therapy, etc. I was soooo relieved to know that. We love that man and trust him with her life! She hasn't gained much strength in that left side like she did our last trip, but they are not concerned about this. It's all good for now; they still think she is doing excellent!

Have a great week!

Love,

Kathy

Prayers for Audra and Parker

Blake, Brooke, Bryce, Madeline holding Caleb, and Audra in Jan 2009

I am writing to ask for prayers for two special little children who have been fighting cancer for way too long!!!!!!!!!!!

Audra is one of Bailey's buddies from the beginning of her therapy. She left to go to St. Jude's in Memphis today and will face a battery of test to see how well she is doing since finishing her brain radiation for her brain tumor over a year ago. Some of the test she faces tomorrow would be hard for us adults to face so please pray for comfort and strength for both Audra and her mom Catherine.

I included part of Audra's caringbridge posting and her website address so that you can read for yourself.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/audragracekoelewyn

Good Evening Friends and Family! Sunday at 6:30 a.m. , Audra, my mom and I will fly out from FAT and arrive in Memphis at 1:51p.m. (Memphis time, so 11:51 our time) Monday Audra has labs drawn, her MRI, the reading of her MRI, some therapy assessments, etc. Tuesday she will have a rigorous endocrine/insulin test in which she fasts and is injected with natural stimulants that help her body produce growth hormone and cortisol to get an accurate measure of possible deficiencies. The sooner we catch the beginning of any deficiencies, the quicker we can get her on the road to normalcy in these areas. The procedure of the testing is scary to me as the "possible" side effects during the test are not fun. So, please pray that none of the side effects hit her and she is able to sail through. Also, pray that they can find veins. It is such a struggle to find Audra's veins and they have to find one in each arm Tues to draw from and infuse into. Yikes! I will be updating Sunday to let you know we arrived fine. Then, I will update Monday evening with the results of the MRI. We aren't anticipating anything but good news. However, we have noted a slight decline in her left side strength; we are praying it's because she is very tired from the beginning of school, etc. We have also taken a short break from all therapies to help her get used to the schedule of school this year. We will start therapies up again upon our return from St. Jude. This, too, may be a possible reason for the decline in left side strength. Anyhooo, pray for peace and calm in our hearts as we move towards the MRI. We cannot explain the feeling we have as we move toward the scan. It's very nerve-wracking to say the least. Kevin wishes he could be there with us. We are going to try our hardest to get Dr. Merchant to schedule the next appts. in June and Dec. so he can come. Okay! Thanks for all of your prayers...traveling mercies, et. They are much appreciated and needed. God bless all of you. Have a great week. Memphis....HERE WE COME! Love, Catherine and Krew


Our second little friend who has been fighting cancer for over 7 years is a precious young boy named Parker Fritsch. After fighting leukemia, having a bone marrow transplant and going through many side-effect of that, he has now been diagnosed with skin cancer! He is only 10 years old. It makes me sick to think about all that he and his family have already endured and now this! Please keep him in your prayers.

http://www.caringbridge.org/ca/parkerfritsch/

God bless all of you. I will be updating with other info in a couple of days.

Remember to hug your kids!

Love,

Kathy