Deserving military family gets Extreme Home Makeover

First off, let me say we’re big fans of ABC's Extreme Home Makeover show (especially Ty Pennington and all of his cohorts). There is never a dry eye in the house when we watch it. So, we were thrilled to hear about the 7,000 people in Beaufort, South Carolina that came together to help out a Marine family.

When their home became inhabitable due to mold, flood damage and structural issues, Marine Staff Sergeant Bill Dickinson and his family of seven were selected for Extreme Home Makeover.

The Dickinson family gave a big thank you to the community for their new digs:

Completed in 106 hours, you can view H2 Builders' final construction here. Their new home is really beautiful. More photos can be found here.

VoiceQuilt donates proceeds to Visiting Nurse/Hospice Atlanta

“What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.”

Chief Crowfoot, chief of the Siksika First Nation

I just returned from a book signing by Marcia Gaddis, author of When God Comes Near. Marcia lost her daughter, Megan, to a rare neurological disease a few years ago. During that journey, Marcia got to know the fine staff of Visiting Nurse/Hospice Atlanta. At today’s lunch, she spoke passionately about the impact of hospice care during the last phase of life, when the shadow “loses itself in the sunset”.

Is VoiceQuilt "StoryCorps-Inside-Out"?

It’s been a fun week. Betsy H. emailed the photo above and asked us to mail it in the VoiceQuilt photo frame keepsake she created for her Dad's birthday. Just love the idea of using a baby photo for a 70th birthday gift!

There have also been some poignant answers to the our exit survey question, “What was your favorite message?”

"A message from my niece to her grandfather...she quoted a song he used to sing to all of us when we were little!"

January 17, 2011

Flip Flops, Katie and VoiceQuilt

In mid-December, Melinda started organizing a VoiceQuilt for a teenager named Katie. In October 2010, Katie received a stem cell transplant as part of her fight against leukemia. As of mid-December, she was still waiting for cells to engraft and the family realized they would be spending Christmas in the hospital.

Melinda invited everyone to record “a special memory, a funny story, a scripture verse, a joke, Christmas carols or just a Get Well Soon”. Katie’s Mom wrote about the VoiceQuilt a few days later:

“The whole family sat around listening to it on Christmas eve, laughing, smiling and crying…Our hearts were touched by your songs, prayers, scripture readings, jokes and well wishes.”

As New Year's Eve approached, Katie learned that she would not win her battle with leukemia. She left the hospital and passed away in the comfort of her home just a few days ago.

Football and Families

Tonight is the BCS Championship Game for College Football.

Traditions are a huge part of College Football. From the Orange Checkerboard end zones in Tennessee, to dotting the "i" at Ohio State, to the last cries of “War Eagle!” (Auburn) and "Go Ducks" (Oregon) that will fill the air tonight, College Football is full of great rituals and customs.

Families perpetuate these football traditions season after season. Fans who cheer together often turn into a kind of a family.

VoiceQuilt Resolution For 2011: Reduce Your "To Do" List!

Each January, we seem to be inundated by the flood of articles about New Year’s resolutions, New Year’s diets and even New Year’s technologies.

However, most of us are already juggling a full list of parenting, caregiving and community/work-related responsibilities. As this article describes, our “to do” lists are exploding.

Our resolution for 2011 is to periodically showcase sites that might make your juggling act easier. The first? Lotsahelpinghands.org.

What they do: FREE online calendar site for coordinating the activities of a group.