A great big thanks to all of you!!!!!

If there was one word that could describe the concert last night, it would probably be WOW!!!! As we sat there listening to the amazing musical talent I was in awe that so many people would be so willing to help our family; many of which we have never met. I kept thinking how sad I was for anyone who might have missed this special night. It was so incredible! It was truly a concert of stars! I just wish I had taken pictures! We were so amazed by it all; we weren't thinking clearly!

As we were getting ready to come to the concert I received a phone call from Emily's babysitter saying she was sick. I phoned the neighborhood for a sitter but everyone was busy or sick. I called our dear friend Megan Gazaway and she was so quick to come to our aid. She not only watched Emily but helped with the display in the hall. Thanks to Megan's great mind she talked Matt into letting her bring Emily in at the end as a surprise. He told her to go ahead but he wouldn't tell me so I wouldn't be worried.

After the last song as Emily walked up onto the stage with flowers for Tamara and Ruth, (the two incredible women who planned and put on this wonderful concert) I thought what a perfect and appropriate way to end the night. Emily was able to see all the people who worked so hard to put on this amazing concert for her and she was able to see all the people who came to show their support and love. It made her feel so good. She loved being able to be a part of this night in a small way even though she had to wear her mask to do it!

She stayed on stage as they sang "I am a child of God" which is her very favorite song. It was so beautiful!

I don't know if we can ever express how grateful we are to all of you for supporting our family in so many ways! People ask me all the time, "How do you do it? How do you stay so strong?" My answer comes very quickly, "All of our neighbors, family and friends!" There is NO WAY we could do this on our own. Our Father in Heaven knows this. He sends angels to help us through rough times. Our family has learned so much from your kindness and generosity. You are angels in our lives, angels that give us so much hope and strength. We know we are not going through this alone!
How can we ever repay you? The only way we can think of is to strive to take your examples and give back in any way that we can!

It is amazing what a difference people can make in someones life. We know this first hand! Our lives will never be the same. I am not sure we deserve so many blessings but I do know Emily does so I guess we get to receive them too! We come as a package deal you know.

I wish I was as good with words as Matt; but I hope you can feel my sincerity, love, and gratitude when I say how amazing all of you are!
It is very overwhelming to walk into an auditorium full of people who are there for your sweet daughter who has been through and is still going through so much. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.
We love you all!!!THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

- Jill


After reading Jill's entry that expressed our gratitude for the benefit concert, tears filled my eyes as I thought back about the night. Every morning and each night since then my thoughts have been on the feelings surrounding the concert. Something is being burned into our hearts that we will remember forever more. There's a core lesson that each of you are teaching us and that the Spirit continues to reinforce within us. I believe for me the lesson within the burning is the power of unity. We've been first hand witnesses to the burden's that have felt so much lighter because many people have come together, given what they could, and in the whole made a big difference.

We learn in the scriptures that Zion will be the culmination of people freely giving their time, talents, and treasure. An accomplishment that will not come without His people being unified. On Friday night I looked around and saw a group of people giving their time, talents, and treasure to help a family in need. It was a little piece of Zion, a little piece of Heaven on the earth. Zion isn't so far away after all!

Thank You!!

- Matt

Channel 5 Report on Emily

Video clips of Emily

Day 54

I took Emily to Sego Lily (her elementary school) this afternoon so she could have her picture taken for picture day and have her picture with her classroom photo. They take all the single pictures of the children and put them on a sheet to show who was in their class. Anyway, she was nervous to walk in with her mask but soon relaxed when there were very few people around.
After her quick photo we put the mask back on and she asked if I would show her Mrs. Moores room. When we walked into the doorway all the kids started to yell Emily's name and run over to her! Mrs. Moore called them back to their seats and let Emily say "Hello" to everyone. I sat there with tears in my eyes. It was such an amazing experience for Emily to see her classmates so excited to see her.
She wanted to say a quick hello to her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Cullimore; when she walked in, Mrs. Cullimore was so excited to see her and gave her a big hug!
My heart is so full as I write this because Emily felt so loved and cared about today. I am so glad it turned out to be so wonderful! She was beaming!
Channel 5 News came to our house to interview Jac, Emily and I this afternoon. They are planning on running a clip showing her 6 years ago when they did a clip on us and now. It should be fun. Emily is very excited! It will air during the 4:00 and 5:00 news hours tomorrow night. Not the most convenient time but we were ousted by economy troubles tonight! Emily kept asking "Whats economy?" She was not happy she has to wait a whole day to see herself on TV!
It is so funny because when Jacqueline was 6 she wanted nothing to do with being on TV. She hated stuff like that! She was a good sport today though and answered all the questions with confidence even though it still is not something she would choose to do EVER! She did it for her Sis.

Leaf fieldtrip

We went on a leaf "field trip" today! We started at our next door neighbor, Shelly Beatty's back yard. Emily found lots of different leaves for her leaf projects. We even went to Grandma and Grandpa Whitings to see if Orem had different ones then Lehi.(Of course Lehi had the best ones!)Ha Ha She loved looking at them through her magnifying glass.
Emily loves to learn! It is so fun to watch her explore her little world.
When Matt comes home she tells him all about the books she has been reading and leaves a stack of them by his bed so he can learn too. She is very interested in knowing all about animals and their different habitats etc. I am so glad she knows how to read, it really opens up her world in a huge way!

Fun in the Mountains!

Conference weekend gave us the perfect opportunity to have family time! We took a ride in the canyon Sunday evening and found a beautiful secluded trail. It is always so fun to get out and enjoy the fall leaves.

Benefit Concert for Emily

For those who may not be aware, there is going to be a benefit concert for Emily at Lehi Junior High this Friday at 7:00. The cost is FREE to everyone with a donation box if you so desire!
Our sweet neighbor Tamara Bell has planned an amazing night of incredible musical talent. We will be hearing from some of the best in Utah!
We would love to see you there to help us celebrate Emily's life and all of the wonderful people who have, and continue to strengthen us with your prayers, service and love!
It's going to be a wonderful evening!
We hope to see you there!

Flag Football!

Thomas is having lots of fun this fall playing flag football! we love going and watching his games each Saturday, even in the rain! It is so much fun having a boy around. I can't imagine life without our Thomas!
-Jill

Chef Thomas

Thomas decided to make cookies last week all by himself! He did a marvelous job...look how yummy they look! We ate them up way fast...he got mad at everyone eating the dough which made me laugh because he loves to sneak cookie dough from me when I am baking them. He said it was a lot different when he was the one actually making them! Ha Ha
He definately has the gift. Now you know who to ask if you are ever craving cookies!

Macoroni and Cheese anyone?

Can you imagine having Mac-n-cheese for breakfast, lunch and dinner??? This is what Emily has been doing for the last 10 days or so.
We never know how long she will be stuck on one food. In the hospital, she wanted club crackers all the time. It changed later to frosted mini wheats and chocolate milk. When Emily came home she stuck with this for a while until Matt told her that chocolate has a little caffeine in it.(he was trying to teach her that everyone who has caffeine is not bad...we have it all the time when we eat chocolate...it's a very small amount but we have it)..she is in the everything is "black and white" stage. Anyway she stopped having chocolate milk from that day on!
Her new favorite became little frozen pizzas and soft pretzels. Every day! Now, it is mac-n-cheese and nachos,I really don't know how she could like anything that much!
At least it's easy to make!

Day 50!

Every General Conference our Bishop, Bishop Allred has the children come to his house for a "Treats for Treasures" in between the sessions. The kids tell him what they learned and receive a treat in return! Knowing it might be hard for Emily to come to their house because of all of the other children around, they came to our house! Emily had fun with the Bishop as he kept calling Leo a cat! She tried to convince him over and over through happy giggles that he is NOT a cat, he is a DOG!He is pretty crazy!
It may have seemed like such a small thing to do on their part but for us, it meant so much! Their efforts made it possible for Emily to enjoy this fun tradition and not feel left out! It was such a thoughtful and kind thing to do! The Allreds are amazing people!

Can you believe it's been 50 days since transplant?! Emily is doing so well! Everyday you can see her getting more energy as she is feeling better and better! We are so happy with her progress!

Day 49

Carrie Baum called me the other day and said, "What do I need to do to have Emily come and play?" She was more than willing to have everything clean and made sure everything would be perfect for Emily. She went over for a "late night" and had such a wonderful time! She was so excited to be able to go to another friends house and kept talking about how nice Halleys mom is that she would clean just for her!
It is so great to see her with her friends and enjoying life! We have such amazing friends and neighbors!

Day 48

After sleeping till 11:00 today Emily got a phone call from Kimberly Nelson wondering if we wanted to see Mollys new puppies! Emily was so excited to see two brand new puppies! It was amazing to see how tiny they are. It really made her day!

Day 47

Emily got a "suprise" visit from Faith today. She was nervous at first but after a few minutes they were giggling and having fun painting their nails, playing with Jacquelines dolls and coloring with really awesome paper and markers that Sister Allred gave to her when she came to babysit!
As soon as she sees that her friends are OK with how she looks she feels safe and lets herself have fun! It is fun to see her having fun with her friends...it is so good for her!

A lesson learned

I learned something about myself this morning that I want to share..funny because it's not that flattering on my part but oh well.
Thomas stayed home sick yesterday. He asked me if Emily was always this sweet. I started thinking about it and yes, lately she has been such a sweetheart. It dawned on me that she is feeling better! I thought back to last week when I was sick with a very painful infection...I was not so sweet. I was ornery and frustrated and very impatient with everyone. Isn't it funny how I wanted Emily to put on a happy smile for everyone and be sweet and kind no matter how horrible she was feeling. I really struggled with being quite embarrassed by her actions when she wouldn't acknowledge people when they came in sometimes or act excited to see them. I had a picture in my mind of how she would be such a light to everyone who walked in the room. I know, WAY too much pressure to put on a 6 year old!(Don't worry, I never told her of my dreams!)
My sweet brother Jeremy helped me realize that it is not fair to expect anyone to always be "everyone Else's inspiration" all the time. I needed to let Emily be....Emily, not the girl who has gone through so much and is so amazing! It really gave me a better perspective coming from someone who is paralyzed from the waste down and always gets to be "everyones inspiration".
When we put anyone on a pedestal so to speak, or expect them to be the best example of how to handle life when they are going through adversity, we are being very unfair. Take movie stars or star athletes for example. So many people idolize these people for the things they watch them do. When these same people make mistakes and make bad choices, the world seems to be shocked! How could this be?!
It is important for us all to look past the wheelchair, hearing aids, bald head from chemo, and many other physical features and remember that they have trials just like everyone else. Just because we can see or know about their trials does not make them "superhuman", capable of handling every situation perfectly. It is OK for them to be ornery sometimes too!
Anyway, as an adult I was able to fake it pretty good when it came to the outside world but when it came to Matt and the kids, I just didn't have it in me! I was hurting and exhausted! It made me realize that for all of you who may not have seen Emily at her "sweetest" take it as a compliment, she must have felt VERY comfortable around you, knowing that you would love her no matter how she acted!
It seems that the ones we love most are the ones we sometimes hurt the most. I think it is because we all have bad days, we can't be "UP" all the time. It is actually comforting to me to know that my family will forgive me and help lift me up when I am down.
Emily is teaching me so much! I had just a few days of feeling miserable and she had months, She IS a light to all of us who know her, she IS my inspiration. I am so impressed with how she has chosen to handle all of this. How would you feel to be taken from your world of friends, playing, swimming, school, church, etc. etc. and put into a hospital for a month, get so sick, loose your hair and come home to only be isolated for the next 6 to 9 months!
She has decided to be happy and enjoy school at home, Leo, her family and the times she gets to play with friends. She misses how it used to be but you don't hear about it very often.
I know that her hard days aren't over with yet; but I do know that I will have a lot more patience when they come, knowing that if she doesn't act her "sweetest" she is just handling things the best way she knows how!
I feel like this lesson is one of Gods tender mercies. I am so grateful I listened! Now, if I can remember what I have been taught I know I will be a better mom and wife to my very deserving family!
-Jill