Golf Car Tix - LAST CALL

LAST CALL to purchase tickets to win the custom built golf car to benefit Parker & the Family. Tickets need to be purchased by Friday, August 29 - drawing will occur on Sept 1. $5 for 1 ticket/5 tickets for $20. See Sarah, Pat, Kristin or Cara for tickets.

Trivia Thank You's

A huge thank you to everyone who helped make trivia night a success. I am happy to report that we raised a tremendous amount of $$ for Parker, before the fund matching from Modern Woodman.

After the fund matching - the family will be able to cover the cost of Parker's extended chemotherapy regimen, which is left uncovered by insurance.

I hope all 33 tables had a fun time and you are enjoying your fun new door prizes and/or silent auction purchases.

Go-Time

Yes Friends - the time is upon us for trivia!!!!!!!! I know some of you are up late cramming in last minute facts. :) Looking forward to seeing all of your bright faces tomorrow for what is sure to be a wonderful evening. We are expecting a FULL house tomorrow night - so flexiblity and patience are appreciated. Remember, we are not trivia professionals or even professional party planners (though we can throw good parties and do score well when we have played trivia!) - we are just good friends trying to do something nice for our good friends and their baby boy.

Important information:
all team contacts were sent a reminder email today, if you didn't get one - maybe you are not officially registered with me?? As I said before - we are QUITE full, so I appreciate knowing ahead of time of any last minute additions to make sure we have a place for them.

Church is St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Bettendorf - 4097 18th Street. There is a Mass service which will be letting out at 5:30, which is going to make for some interesting preparations. We appreciate your arrival at or after 6:15, when we will be opening the doors. I believe there is lots of parking in and around the church.

Donations, donations, donations....we have been OVERWHELMED the generous donations sent by people - monetary, along with items for auction, raffle. I am really hoping we can have an engaging and fun silent auction going on the 50+ silent auction items. Keep in mind that a lot of thought, effort and hard work went into acquiring these items for your consideration and all the $$ goes directly to the Pruitt family (after being matched by Modern Woodman, of course). So please take a look and consider making a bid. I know times are tight for everyone, so imagine what it must be like having to make weekly trips to the hospital in Iowa City and paying for daily chemotherapy medicine that is not covered by insurance....that is the reason we are doing this all!

EAT UP @ the concession stand! Pat & Jane have been in the kitchen on these hot days, working in overdrive to prepare their special goodies and they keep fretting no one will like them. We can all agree that for tomorrow night - calories do not count, when consumed for a good cause!

I am out to rest up for what is sure to be a fabulous time tomorrow!

Silent Auction Bonanza

Countdown to Trivia: Day #2....or T minus 2.
It will be here before we know it!!

I do not know how much more blogging is going to get done between now and Saturday, due to the need to focus effort and energy on putting on a successful trivia night for all of you fine folks. In the meantime - I will allow you to ponder these fine silent auction items.

*Advertising space on the Stirrup Queens blog (which I am told is a quite popular site with a large fan base...I clicked around a bit and she is a very talented writer!)

*Isabel Bloom Figurine - Love at First Sight

*hand painted stepping stones to support your favorite team

*Creative Memories Gift Certificate (for you scrapbookers!)

*QCA Watercolor posters done by local artist, featuring special areas of QCA - like Bix Fest, Centennial Park

*Travel/Picnic Essentials tote bag from Royal Neighbors

*MANY themed gift baskets....relax, fiesta, coffee, baked goodies....

*Truffles from Lagomarcino's

*A knitting package, including lessons, essentials and yarn

*Gift certificates to TWO different area jewelers - Bling Bling.

I will also appeal to your sweet tooth......we will be having a small concession stand, which will be featured wonderful baked goodies and treats - brought to you by our mothers!! Cauz no one does it as good as Mom/Grandma does!! And if you know either of us - you are probably well aware of what phenomenal cooks Pat & Jane are!!! And I assure you, they have put a lot of thought and effort into preparing some of their very best and favorite treats to share. Get them while you can (you may have to push me out of the way!)

Creative Goodness

Countdown to Trivia: Day #3....it is getting closer!!!

We have been overwhelmed with the generousity from people - which is resulting in some really nice auction items and plenty of door prizes as well. So there is a strong possiblity that you will not be going home on Saturday empty handed!

Today, I had to go pick up some items - including these amazing handcrafted woodwork items. The man that did these is retired and it a hobby, and he heard of the benefit from a friend of a friend - so he wanted to offer his handiwork. I can tell you I was AMAZED when he took me into his woodworking shop to get things - the elaborate details in all of the pieces make them breath-takingly beautiful and unique. In addition to the items pictured - there is also a hand crafted jewelry box, which is equally beautiful and stunning. You can check it out on Saturday, but for the time being - you may oggle these woodwork gems.

Calling all Hawkeyes!

Countdown to Trivia: Day #4/5 (it is late when I am doing this)


For the lovers of the Black & Gold - mark your calendars for Saturday, Sept 6.
Hawkeyes vs. Florida: We have 2 tickets - 11 rows up, off South End Zone.

FOOD, FOOD, FOOD

Countdown to Trivia Day #6 brings us to tempting your tongue and stomach with the various food offerings we will be auctioning....
*Supply of bread from local bakery, The Bread Basket
*Gift card to Fresh Fruit Bouqet Company
*A Gift basket dedicated to Chocolate!

Beauty, Beauty, Beauty....

ONE WEEK TO GO in our Trivia Countdown - Day #7.

And ladies and gentleman - we have some offerings to help revive, refresh and beautify yourselves.
*Mary Kay Gift sets - including a mens set, spa package, color and perfume sets.
*First day exam and test at Nelson Chiropractic.
*30 minute massage at Nelson Chiropractic.

John Deere time

Countdown to Trivia - Day #8....In honor of the John Deere Golf classic this week....a die cast John Deere Combine Toy set. Perfect for boys of all ages who love the green and gold!

Designer Specs

Countdown to Trivia: Day # 9 - since we seem to be featuring "big" items this week - I will keep right on with that theme....
Ladies - Protect your precious vision is the utmost of style with a spectacular pair of Johnathon Spade sunglasses!!! I have not seen them, but Pat & Kristen assure me they are quite fancy and cool....black with pearl accents?!?!

Cookin' Out

Trivia Countdown Day #10 brings you the possiblity of a new gas grill!!! Featuring 35,000 BTU Gas; 444 Square Inch Total Cooking Area; Stainless Steel Burners; Porcelain Coated Steel Cooking Grates; 9,000 BTU Side Burner; Chrome Plated Warming Rack and Push Button Ignition - by UniFlame.

The item will be on site the 19th, and available for taking that evening. I do not know if it will be packaged or assembled.

A trip for four

Can't guarantee the cart will be the same (or decked out with festive flags, like our 4th of July ride) - but for Trivia Countdown Day #11; we happily announce the possiblity of 18 holes of golf at Hidden Hills for 4, with carts included.

Speaking of baseball

Since today's feature was only a teaser - I figured I should mention another related silent auction item.....4 tickets for a Quad City River Bandits Game.

A sneak peak

Countdown Day #12 - If you know who this is pictured and why he is important.....then do we have a treat for you at the silent auction!! And that is all I am saying (and that some people are already speculating and planning their finances - b/c we will have some fans in the house!)

More 4th of July

Pool Fun!!!

Here are some fun pictures of the kids in our pool. Gracie is becoming quite brave as she is not the biggest fan of the water. Parker is quite the little swimmer fish as he loves teh water.

Happy 4th of July

We interupt the regularly scheduled silent auction countdown and advertising to celebrate our nation; we had a wonderful time as our "big" family - taking in the parade, swimming, festivities and fireworks. The highlight had to be our super cool golf car transportation - thanks to Grandma Pat!!! Hope you and yours had a fabulous time as well.

Check back tomm for the return of silent auction items. Also - if you see something you are interested in, but you will NOT be in attendance on the 19th - you may email me at parkerbenefitfund@hotmail.com to submit a bid beforehand.

Get your Learning Fix

Countdown to Trivia - Day 17, we focus on educational play for the younger crew. I don't know details, I don't know specifics - but I do know there will be a gift set of assorted Discovery Toys in the silent auction!! And I also know that my daughter has LOVED anything from them, and they are super high quality and EDUCATIONAL toys too. Maybe even good for entertaining your own inner child! :) If you can't take the suspence - you can click here to take a gander at some of their offerings.

The perfect size, the perfect fit - the gift of choice.....GIFTCARDS

18 days to go and we are featuing Giftcards Galore!!
We got 'em! Various values to such places as:
Red Lobster, GAP, Outback Steakhouse, Blockbuster, TGI Fridays, Bennigans, Bath & Body Works.
Just think - you can do your shopping/eating at one of your favorite places and still be helping Parker!! What a win/win situation! :)

Trivia Countdown has begun!!!

19 days from today - we will be stimulating our minds to answer challenging trivia questions, enjoying delicious food and goodies, crossing our fingers to win the 50/50 auction or coveted door prize item and anxiously checking our bids on silent auction items to make them ours before the evening ends!! Yes folks - that night is quickly approaching!! To quelch your anticipation for the festivities - be checking back here often as I am taking over the blog for the next few weeks and will be featuring different door prizes and silent auction items. That way - you will have a better idea of what to be saving your pennies for!! Get excited - its for a good cause!! And tell everyone you know - the more the merrier!!!

If you haven't registered your team - do it now, tables are filling fast. To be officially considered registered - I MUST receive an email from you at parkerbenefitfund@hotmail.com; with team contact name, phone number, email address and head count. You will know you are officially registered as you will receive a confirmation email back from me.

And for today's announcement - a HUGE Thank you to Lisa Ball & Modern Woodman of America!!! Due to Lisa's hard work - she has obtained a Modern Woodman Camp sponsership that will be matching the funds raised at the event!! Obviously, this is a huge benefit to the Pruitt family - as the medical bills have really started to roll in now. Lisa also worked to get us a "trivia in a box" kit to use for the evening - which saved all of YOU from having to answer crazy, obscure questions written by me, Jamey or Vicki. And it also makes for a less work for us, so we can focus on other things (like donations...and boy are there some good things!!!)

And on the Parker front - he would like everyone to know that last week - he got TWO bottom teeth in!! No fussing, no pain - he just opened his mouth and smiled big one day - and there they were. Let's hope the rest of the chompers are that easy as well. He is also currently in Iowa City for hopefully his LAST inpatient intensive chemo stay! As always - the good thoughts and prayers are appreciated.

See you again soon!!

Hair Cuts and Dance Recitals.

So Gracie got her yearly hair cut. Her hair seems to only grow in two spots and she gets wings. So Pat gave her the yearly wing cut. Someday she will a full head of hair :) I have to admit, I absolutely love her curls.

Also, Gracie had her second dance recital and was dressed as a clown. Gracie decided, depsite knowing the dance wonderfully, she would not dance on stage. Rather, she would stand on stand with her lip out, arms crossed, pouting. But boy did she look cute!

Cool, Dude.

Due to chemo and his naturally white pasty skin, Parker is quite sensitive to the sun as are his eyes. Here, Parker is showing off his cool shades and hat.

My babies

Parker is in Iowa City for quite an extended stay in the hospital. He came in on Tuesday for his regular inpatient chemo and got an infection in his port and is in the hospital for at least 10 - 12 days. Gracie came up to Iowa City with my mom Saturday night and we got some really cute pictures of the kids. Also, this past week, Parker is now sitting in his bumbo chair, trying to eat like a big boy (but not enjoying it), and has rolled over! Enjoy!

Intensive Chemo - Round 3

So today, Parker & Sarah headed to Iowa City for his third round of in-patient chemotherapy. Aunt Tara is also in town and accompanying them this trip (Sarah commented that everyone should be so lucky as to have Tara serve as their nanny!! However, Tara did respond that most people are unable to afford her services.) Upon admission to the hospital, they did learn some unfortunate news....Parker's port has become infected. :( This is incredibly unfortunate, as last week - a doctor had just assured Sarah that the time to worry about infection had passed. (Sarah did tell me she wanted to go seek that doctor out for a big, fat dose of "na-na-a-boo-boo") Thankfully, the infection was caught INCREDIBLY early on...as Parker had yet to develop a fever from it, so it willl hopefully be knocked out quickly. However, it will push back the start of this week's intensive chemo for a few days - so as of right now, it is looking as if they will be in Iowa City until at least Friday. I know this news is disappointing to Sarah, as just this weekend -she commented on how nice it was that his intensive chemo was averaging a 2 day stay. But it is wonderful that Tara is there for company and support. And as Sarah said to me - this long week will hopefully prevent a future stay in the hosptial for infection in a few weeks, so there is an up-side. Parker did an INCREDIBLE job of handling the last round of intensive chemo with very few side effects - let us hope and pray that continues for this time as well.

(As for the picture - it is from last summer at Molly's bachelorette party. Isabelle & Parker are in utero with their respective mommy's. I think it is a fabulous shot of Molly & "the girls" - and I crack up at Sarah waving away! )

Poor tired Gracie Belle

Gracie Belle has such a busy life. She is so exhausted, she fell asleep standing up the other night. I would also like to announce that with the help of a potty song, Gracie is officially potty trained :)

PARKER IS HOME!!!

'nuff said!! :)

Gracie-isms

So last night, I was playing with Gracie. She had managed to dig out all the pigs and cows from the toys and was insisting we play with them together. We would take turns being the pigs or the cows, and at this one point - we each had a pig and a cow. I would give my animals fun names, like Jack & Jill, etc. Gracie insisted on naming hers Jamey & Cara. Aren't we special!! And she would vary who was the pig and who was the cow - so apparently both Jamey and I have pig & cow like features to her. Well anyway - as we were playing pigs & cows - Gracie loudly and empathically announces "I don't like X & Y (pig/cow) - I only like Cara & Jamey!"...which of course received a loud chorus of laughter from the rest of the room. Thinking about that has made me smile all day. :)

When it came time to leave - Mackenzie was giving out hugs and kisses to everyone - Grandma, Sarah, etc. When Gracie asked her for a hug and Mackenzie didn't oblige - Gracie hung her head and pouted. Poor little girl - her feelings were hurt. Advanced as she is. she still forgets Mackenzie is not quite there yet. But Mackenzie did finally give her a hug and kiss - which made her quite happy. Gracie also enjoyed showing Mackenzie how to go potty in the big potty like a big girl. And Mackenzie was all too eager to push into the bathroom and watch. They are too funny together - truly never is a dull moment.

Way to Go Strong Little Parker!!

Okay - so I lied. When I dropped the rest of the laundry off tonight at Sarah's, after an entertaining evening at my folks house of pizza dinner and all the girls playing - I told her I was not planning to post an update on blogger. But then I got home and the more I am sitting here and thinking about it - I feel it needs to be done. Hopefully she will forgive me. :)

As Sarah already posted on the carepage - yesterday was a wonderful day for Parker. He really turned the corner and started to look and act much better. Today, the progress only continued. He was removed from isolation and enjoyed a nice walk around the hospital with Daddy, which he enjoyed tremendously as he had not been out of a hospital room for a week!! His counts have gone up so much and the doctor's are so pleased with his progress that they decided they would go ahead and administer this week's round of intensive in-patient chemotherapy!! Thankfully, because he has been admitted - they were able to skip the pre-treatment steps of checking all of his levels, etc and get right with the chemo. However, it does mean yet another night in the hospital - when all were looking forward to finally being home together again. But if all goes well with the chemo tonight and tommorrow - Parker could be back at home tommorrow night!! We all will keep our fingers crossed for Parker to continue to fight so hard!!

Back to Iowa City

This weekend, Parker was taken from the local hospital to the University of Iowa Hospitals on Friday night. This was done as a precaution, as he does not seem to be responding to the treatments and it is better for him to be in Iowa City, in case it gets serious quickly and he needs ICU interventions. It was quite a scary night for Mat & Sarah, as it is not an easy thing to hear that your little baby is getting rushed off by ambulance to Iowa City. It was a long weekend for all involved.

Mat & Sarah arrived in Iowa City with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Thankfully, they were able to get away to Wal-mart to pick up a few essentials. Sarah and I had been planning to attend the Junior League Wine Tasting Event being held as a fundraiser for their family, along with a few of our other friends. We were just leaving my house & had just commented about how we could clean up nicely when Sarah got the phone call from Mat @ the hospital.....to which we madly drove across town to get Sarah there. Sarah was probably the best dressed patient mother at the hosptial that night! :)

Parker's diagnosis is an infection in his gut, which is causing him to not eat & inflamation in his bowels, which is causing him a lot of pain (understandably!). This week's intensive chemo session has been postponed until Parker is in better health. There was some talk of doing a CT scan of his abdomen to get a better idea of what is happening inside - which would also give a glimpse of his ribs and how well they are responding to the treatment (as they were initially pretty full of the disease). I have yet to hear more on this. Parker will continue to be hospitalized until he is eating more regularly on his own and better able to manage his own pain - but they have not been given an immediate timeline. He is currently being fed through his IV port, along with receiving IV fluids and morphine as needed.

Sarah also reported that Parker's beautiful red hair is thinning around the sides, currently leaving him with a tres stylish mohawk. Probably the most scary is that Parker is not even willing to smile, which definatly indicates something is wrong. :( Sarah also reported that they received the first of many bills for Parker's care this weekend as well, which I can only imagine was a rude reality in the midst of all of this. Please continue to pray for them and send encouraging thoughts their direction.

Benefit for Parker

There have been many questions coming in to many around re: whether there is going to be a benefit for Parker anytime. The answer to the question is YES - and more details will be forthcoming as details are still getting ironed out. I do not want to reveal anything until everything is more final and set up. If you would be interested in helping, either with manpower or donations (monetary and/or gift items) - please contact Cara or Vicki. If you are unaware of who either of us is, Sarah can direct you to us. Thanks again for all the prayers, support and well wishes. I am blown away when I see all the messages on the CarePage message board, and I know Mat & Sarah appreciate everything as well. As I remind Sarah - good things happen to good people and I am so grateful for all of you good people pulling together for Parker.

Gracie and Parker

Just wanted to post this picture of Gracie and Parker from their first set of pictures together. Parker was a month old when this was taken. Gracie leaned down and kissed him all on her own. She loves her baby brother so much.

Parker is home!

Little Parker has completed his first round of inpatient chemo and is home. He came home on Saturday afternoon courtesy of Grandpa Don who so graciously drove to Iowa City to pick up Daddy and Parker. I was kicked out of the hospital Friday to come home and spend time with Gracie. Gracie and I had a very special night Friday night, although I ached because I missed my baby boy so much. But, Parker came home Saturday, which is a little earlier than orignally anticipated, so that was a pleasant surprise. Parker handled the chemo like the tough little boy that he is. He was in quite a bit of pain Thursday night and Friday. He didn't want to eat and he wanted to do was sleep. But he has since perked up. He has some uncomfortable moments, but still has that beautiful, contagious smile of his. So far, he still has is famous red hair. His face is starting to round out due to the steriods. But, if anyone can pull off a round face, it is our Parker James. I have included a couple of pictures of Parker playing in his hospital crib. He loves toys! Anyway, things are going fairly well right now. We are trying to focus on the positive of this moment and not to worry about what may happen in the future. Thank you all for your prayers, I know they are working.

Snaps to Sarah

Just wanted to give some public congrats to Sarah on doing 2 posts all on her own!! This is her first rendevous into blogger, and I am quite impressed!! I have since updated our shared profile info to be reflective of both of us....I honestly didn't think I would have to do that for quite some time. :)

Girls Night

While Daddy and Parker are in Iowa City for, Mommy and Gracie are having a "Girls Night" party. This is the outfit Gracie chose to wear to the party.

April Showers....

Gracie is fighting off April Showers while being fashionable at the same time. Gracie got a raincoat and boot set last year for her birthday and lived in the set. So this is her latest raincoat and boot set that she got for her 3rd birhday.

Iowa City Update

Parker was admitted to the University of Iowa yesterday (Thursday) mornning for his first round of in-patient intensive chemotherapy. I talked to Sarah this afternoon and she said it was going well and they anticipate him being released tomm (Saturday) afternoon. Parker tolerated the chemo okay - he was miserable at times, but still his happy smiley boy self. The next 72 hours after the treatment are critical, as that is when the major side effects can take place - so they will need to watch him closely. Let us all hope and pray that Parker soars through the next 72 hours without any complications!!

PS - Sarah also reported that Parker's red hair got him LOTS of attention and compliments!! :)

Parker's Carepage

http://www.carepages.com/ServeCarePage?cpn=ParkerPruitt&ipc=pinviteemailtemplate

A new way to stay updated...

Hello Friends & Family -

This is an adventure in communication to allow us all to stay up to date on things, especially as Parker begins his chemo treatments @ the University of Iowa. I (Cara) am going to help take care of the postings for Sarah & Mat here, but I believe Sarah is also setting up a Carepage.com as well. Look for more information about that to follow. Anyway - since our family's are so inter-twined to begin with....you can check out my family blog @ fosterdailygrind.blogspot.com until I can get more pictures added here.

As for Parker - he was released from Genesis today! I know he, Sarah & Mat were all happy to be at home together again. He is still set to head to the University of Iowa for his first round of in-patient chemo on Thursday. Grammy T will be accompanying Sarah to provide support and help. As always - all continued prayers and good wishes are appreciated!