Pictures, Pictures....and more Pictures!!

UPDATES

Hi guys! I cannot believe that it is May already!! Time sure does fly when you're having fun!! Things around here have been very exciting the past couple of months! We celebrated Dylan's 2nd birthday! YAY!! I cannot tell you how exciting it is to be able to celebrate something that means so much to us. Every year of life with Dylan is a blessing! Every minute of every day of his life is an answer to prayer. I cannot imagine our lives without our little guy. I love to watch people's faces when they see him running around at church. We had so many people who were praying daily for him, and for his life. You can see the joy of answered prayers in their eyes. He has touched so many lives, and God is using him still to show the POWER of PRAYER. It's amazing to see what God has done and we are overjoyed that we are on the receiving end of those answered prayers!!
Another answered prayer....Dylan's pressure in his eyes is PERFECT!! He went in two weeks ago for his 3 month pressure check, and sure enough, the pressure was in the perfect ranges! I sat in the waiting room praying for good pressure, but in the back of my mind, I was sure I was going to hear bad news. I have grown accustomed to hearing bad news. I was so surprised to hear the good report from the doctor! But WHY am I surprised? We serve a mighty and all-powerful God and He alone holds the future in His hands. Thank you LORD for healing Dylan's eyes! The Doc said that the pressure in both eyes were in the lower ranges. He also did a full eye exam and said that he CANNOT see any signs of damage from the glaucoma!! AMAZING!! Dylan's eyesight has even improved a little!! What an amazing report to hear! PRAISE GOD!
We also attended a Charity Golf Tournament sponsored by UFCW99this past month. We were asked to come and speak to raise support for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It was a HUGE success! God used Dylan's story to reach into the hearts of people. At the event, we were also very unexpectedly blessed. People started giving us their money from winning the tournament, and also giving Dylan their raffle prizes! One of the prizes raffled off was a go-kart!! And guess what? They gave it to Dylan! He is obviously too small for it...but daddy will enjoy it for him! I love to see how God provides in the most unexpected ways! Thank you to all of the people who attended the event and for blessing us with your generosity!

These last couple of months have been a whirlwind, full of blessings and unexpected surprises! We are looking forward to a wonderful Mother's day and Father's day and celebrating LIFE as a family. Thank you to each and every one of you who keep us in your prayers and who have been by our side ever since our journey began. We love you all so much!

Love, The Praskins

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY DYLAN!!

DYLAN IS 2!!! I cannot believe how fast this year has flown by!! Dylan turned 2 on April 16th. Thank you LORD for our little miracle!!

February Updates

Hello Family and Friends!!

Look who is wearing their glasses! (and actually looking at the camera) He is so adorable, I just want to squeeze him! (and I DO!). He is doing really well lately with wearing his glasses. We usually try a few times a day and he wears them for an hour or two, depending on what we are doing. GOOD JOB DYLAN!! I think he may finally be realizing that they actually help him...such a smart little boy.

Dylan went in for his 3rd eye surgery on January 27th. Just minutes after my mom and I sat down in the waiting room, the doctor came out to talk to us. He said, "We're done, Dylan doesn't need the surgery." We were so surprised! The doc said that he checked the pressure, and both eyes had PERFECT pressure! Now if that is not a miracle, I don't know what is! PRAISE GOD!!! Doc said to keep doing what we are doing....so we will keep PRAYING!! He said that the pressure can change during the day, but he was confident that the pressure would not be going into dangerous levels. WOW!! What a blessing!! Now, we wait. We have to go back in 3 months for another pressure check. Please join us in praying for perfect pressure. We are not expecting anything, but we know that the Lord can heal him indefinitely and that is always our prayer!

Last week, Dylan went to see Dr. Graham, his oncologist. Another AMAZING appointment! Dr. G was very pleased with Dylan's progress and his development. Last time Dr. G saw Dylan, he had just learned how to walk....now Dylan is running everywhere! I love that Dylan and his story has the ability to bring JOY to an office of doctors and nurses who see so many children suffer. His life is a miracle. He is a miracle, and God is the miracle worker. Dylan's blood levels were perfect. They did a full blood draw this appointment, instead of a finger prick. Dylan does not like getting either, but usually the full blood draw is a very painful experience. This time however, he was a SUPER trooper! I give all of the credit to the amazing nurse who found a vein on her first try (always very hard with his chubby little arms), AND also to the Dum Dum sucker that Dylan was slobbering all over!! YAY for candy!! He did not even seem to notice what was going on as long as I kept that yummy sucker in his mouth. It was awesome!! After they drew the blood, all of us looked at each other and were shocked that he did not cry....not one bit! Go Dylan!

Dylan is now 23lbs and 31 inches tall. He is running all over the place, and now experimenting with hopping...one foot at a time. It is quite funny to watch! He is a bundle of energy and blessings. We could not be happier with our little family. Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. You guys are truly amazing!!

Cherishing every moment,

The Praskins

3rd Time's a Charm??

Hello everyone! We hope you had a WONDERFUL Christmas and are having a GREAT 2011 so far! We are having a blast! I cannot tell you how much fun it is to have a little toddler around the house! HE IS SOOOOO FUN!! He loved Christmas....or at least the wrapping paper :) He now has enough toys to last him for 5 years! He is loving his newfound freedom and loves to run up and down the hallway...and then up and down again. I call him my little wind-up toy...because once you put him down, he does not stop :) He is getting stronger and stronger everyday! He can now stand up all by himself from the middle of the floor. This may not seem like a BIG accomplishment, but to us, it is HUGE! This means his core is getting stronger, and with that, everything else gets stronger. His newest thing that he likes to do is to carry his toys from room to room. He no longer like to grab the 'small' toys, yet the ones that weigh half of his body weight! I hear grunting down the hall...then a big crash, then more grunting, and then he walks in the living room carrying his toy with all his might! It is quite the site to see. Dylan is still not a big talker...not really at all. He CAN say mamma and dadda, but does not do it very often. The only thing he says multiple times a day is 'da' (dog) and yiyyy (lily...our DOG!)....so, he pretty much loves the dog! So, since he is not talking yet, we have begun to learn signing. He has three signs down really well. MORE, PLEASE, and EAT. What else do you need, right?? It's hilarious because whenever we are in the vincinity of his high chair, he does the EAT sign and says ahhhhhhh....like 50 times a day! It cracks me up...he wants to eat all of the time!! This is a good thing in my eyes (but don't worry, I do not feed him 50 times a day). That brings us to the eating. He loves to eat...but it very picky about what he will eat. He is still not eating any type of solids. He will munch on baby crackers, but once a chunk comes off, he starts gagging and trying to fish it out of his mouth. I try to blend up foods, but if they are not 'baby food stage 2' consistency, he freaks out and acts like I am torturing him. As you can imagine, this is very frustrating. He is 21 months old and still eats all pureed food. I would do ANYTHING to have him eat normal food and sometimes meal time is so disheartening. We are working with therapists to train his mouth and muscles, but it's going to be a long process. So, if you think about it, please pray for me and for patience. THANKS SO MUCH!!

Alrighty, on to the bad news. Dylan needs another eye surgery. This will be eye surgery #3. We went in last week to get his pressure checked and the pressure in his right eye was back up. The left eye was still stable, but my guess is that it too will follow in increased pressure (left eye had surgery one month after right eye). Originally, we thought the next step was to put in shunts, but there is still one procedure we can try before that. I am so bad with remember the procedures names, so I will just explain what it is in my 'mommy' terms. During the next surgery, the Dr. will take a laser and cauterize the outside of Dylan's eye, and that will in turn, hopefully reduce the pressure. The good news is that the Dr. could do both eyes in one day because Dylan won't need to wear a patch afterwards. This comes as great news to us because hopefully it will be a lot less traumatizing for Dylan. The surgery is on Thursday at 5pm at Phoenix Children's Hospital. We thank you in advance for your prayers! We can't stand to see him go through anymore surgeries, but we are thankful that there are surgeries available to help him. We probably will not know if the surgery was successful until at least a month later when they will check his pressure again. I will update with any news that we have. Thank you again for being loyal supporters and prayer warriors...WE COULD NOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!!

Taking it one day at a time,

The Praskins :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

I cannot even begin to express how exciting this Thanksgiving and Christmas has been. No IV meds, no clinic visits, no dressing changes....and we have a HEALTHY BOY!! He is the BEST Christmas present we could ever ask for! 2010 has been a WONDERFUL year and we are so blessed!!

Things have been crazy busy (as usual) at the Praskins house! Dylan is now done with his second surgery on his eyes. He had his right eye done in October, and his left eye done two weeks ago. When they checked the pressure in his right eye, it was at a 13, which is awesome....but we won't know for sure if the surgery worked until the next exam. We have another exam under anesthesia scheduled for January 12th. This exam will be the one that will show us if his pressure is stable or not. PLEASE PRAY that it is! We need his pressure to be reading in the 10-20 range. IF this 2nd round of surgeries did not work, then we will need to go through with a more invasive and permanent surgery.

We also visited Dr. Graham this month. Dylan now only has to go in every two months! YAY!! I still remember driving to Tucson 2 times a week for clinic visits.....SOOOOO glad those days are over. Of course, Dr. G is now closer in Mesa, so that makes the trips even more convenient :) Dr. G was overjoyed to see Dylan's progress and to see him walking around the clinic! Dylan acted like he owned the place and was walking and practically running down all of the halls. He loved all of the attention from the staff and nurses and loved showing off his new skills. It's always a little nerve wrecking when they draw blood and we anxiously await the results. BUT, ALL BLOOD COUNTS WERE PERFECT!! Praise the Lord!

We had our first 'normal' sick week with Dylan last week. The poor little guy got the flu and was making all sorts of messes for mommy to clean up. It was a rough week for all of us, but with lots of cuddle time, we made it through.

Dylan is still cutting some more teeth. Does the teething ever end?! He now has 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom. There are 4 more that are making their way through on the bottom and they are taking their sweet time. They are molars and are making Dylan's mouth miserable :( We are hoping once he has some molars in, that he will be more interested in chewing some food. At this point, he only eats pureed foods and won't eat any bites of any kind of food. So, maybe the new chompers will help :)

Well, we are busy getting ready for Christmas and are excited to spend this year NOT worrying about cancer. God is so good, and has blessed us beyond measure!! Our hope and prayer for all of our friends and family is that you CHERISH every single moment with your loved ones....you never know how long you will have them. Thank you for your continued love and support! We love you all and wish you a VERY Merry CHRISTmas!! May your 2011 be filled with lots of LOVE and JOY!!

Loving life and living it for the Lord,

The Praskins

Chicago-Nov 2010

Erik and I had the opportunity to visit one of my best friend's Emily and her hubby Jake. He is going to Moody Bible in Chicago and they live in the heart of the city--it was AWESOME! We decided to leave Dylan with the Grandparents and take a little trip with just the two of us....it was a GREAT idea!! Now don't get me wrong, we love our little stinker, but it is also nice to get time away. I was also glad that he did not have to freeze along with us!! Erik has family close to the city too so we drove out to see them also. It was a fun filled week of friends, family, sightseeing and LOTS of yummy food! We had a blast and are so thankful that we had the opportunity to visit!

Light the Night- November 2010

Hey guys!! Light the Night 2010 was a huge success!! As a team, we raised almost $5000! We had around 140 walkers with all of the 'little' walkers or stroller riders included. Thank you to everyone who was able to make it out to walk in support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and in support of our family. We are truly thankful to each and every one of you who came out to walk with us! And thank you to all of you who were able to help raise funds or donate to this amazing cause. Because of you, someone will be able to hold their loved ones longer and will be able to live better lives!

We all had a special treat that night.....Dylan walked!! He has been walking 5-10 feet for the past few weeks but had never gone further without someone coaxing him. Well, the night before the walk, he decided it was time! He knew that the next evening would be special and wanted to show off for everyone!! He was so cute! There was a crowd of people circled around our precious little miracle, in awe of his progress and his determination to grow and thrive! The night couldn't have been any better. I can't help but think of last year and the position we were in at that time. We had no guarantees and were waiting day by day to see what would happen. What we DID know was that we served an amazing God who had every detail planned, and Who was in complete control of Dylan's precious little life. Today we are in awe of what God has done in Dylan's little body. Although remission does not come without it's challenges, we are enjoying every single minute with our WALKING MIRACLE!

Thank you again for every person who was involved in making this year's Light the Night Walk a huge success. We are surrounded with such an amazing support group of friends and family and we love you all!!

Walking by FAITH,

The Praskins

Dylan is 18 months old!

Can you believe our baby Dylan is 18 months old!! He is getting so big! We decided that it was time to give him a "big" boy haircut. We took him to the kids haircutting place by our house and he sat in the cool red car. I watched as they chopped his crazy wavy hair and tried not to cry. He looks so old now!! Maybe a little closer to his real age :) He is no longer our little baby and is becoming a fun little toddler!!

We had Dylan's eye pressure checked again last wednesday. We were expecting the pressure to be in the 15-20 range as it was the previous pressure check. This was not the case, and the pressure is back up. The surgery was not a success. As you can imagine, this was a huge setback and disappointment, BUT, God is in control and now we go to the next step. The doctor is going to do a 2nd goneotomy on both eyes. He is hoping it will work the second time around. It's hard to predict anything with Dylan because he is so special. There are not any other kids like him. He is a special case :) The doctor has another infant who recently underwent his 2nd goneotomy and it was successful the second time, so there is hope. If the surgery does not work, then the next step would be to put shunts in his eyes to drain the fluid. We want this surgery to be a last resort because it can only be done 4 times in each eye because it causes scar tissue. We are praying for success for this second surgery! Please join us!!
Besides the eye pressure thing, Dylan is doing wonderful!! He now has 6 teeth! Two on the top and four on the bottom. He has been teething for what seems like forever and I will be VERY happy when he is done :) BUT, that is far away! He is chugging along developmentally. He is still really behind according to his age, but he is right on track according to his adjusted age (18 months -8 months of treatment). He is still not walking, but has crawling mastered....he is super speedy!! He CAN walk...he just chooses not to. He will take 7-10 steps from me to daddy, but other than that, he is not interested. A lot of his walking issues have to do with his vision. Which brings us back to his glasses. He hates them! I don't blame him, because if I were his age, I would hate them too. So, until he figures out that the horrible things I keep putting on his face actually help him see....he will be crawling. When he is crawling, he can see the floor below him. When he is 2 feet up, everything is blurry. I will try to get a good pic of him in his glasses and post it. But that will require him to keep them on for more than a minute :) Right now, when I put them on, he almost freezes and won't look around or play, he just concentrates on getting them off....which is hard when I am holding his hands or constantly trying to distract him with toys. It is a process. Please pray for us! I know he will eventually wear them and eventually walk, so I am not too worried.

Thank you for the continued love and support....you guys are AWESOME!!

Love,

The Praskins

2010 Light The Night Walk--Saturday, Nov 6th

This is our 2009 walk team! We were overwhelmed with love and support and it was amazing to see the HOPE and LOVE that can come from friends and family joining together for a cause!

This year's walk is Saturday, November 6th at

Sahuaro Ranch Park

9805 N. 59th Avenue

Walk Distance: 2 miles

Check In: 5:00 PM

Opening Ceremony: 6:00PM (Dylan will be a part of this!! )

Walk Start Time: 6:30PM

HI EVERYONE!! First of all, I wanted to thank all of the people who came out to support Dylan and our family at last year's Light The Night Walk. Representing the largest team at the walk, we had 130 friends and family walk in Dylan's honor and help raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for research. This year, we are excited for another great night of fellowship, support, and raising funds for research and awareness of Leukemia.

When we did the walk last year, we were still in the middle of Dylan's treatments. He had his bone marrow transplant just two months earlier and he was still very weak and sick. His future was fragile, and we did not know if he was going to survive. We were walking in honor of him and in the hopes that God would heal him completely. I believe that God used research done by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to heal Dylan. Dylan was going through treatments that had no protocol for children his age. We choose to support LLS because of the amazing research they do. My dream would be that someday the survival rate of an infant diagnosed with Leukemia under the age of 6 months would go from 20% to 100%. The cure is out there, but the research needs to be done. Please join us in being a part in contributing to saving the lives of children and families who are affected by Leukemia and Lymphoma. This year, we CELEBRATE life with Dylan and are proud to have a survivor! Please come and CELEBRATE with us! We are excited to have Dylan present at the walk this year and maybe even WALKING this year! (maybe just a few steps :) Bring the kids and make it a family event. This year there will be entertainment for the kiddos too!

WANT TO JOIN OUR TEAM???

Sign up at http://pages.lightthenight.org/dm/WestSide10/DylansDreamTeam then click on "WALK WITH US". From there, you can create your own page and send supporters straight to your page to raise funds. When they donate online, it sends them a receipt via email. There are even gifts and prizes to those who raise over $250!

We want to challenge every walker on our team to raise $100 and become a Champion for a Cure. For every walker who raises $100 or more, you get a Light the Night T-Shirt, illuminated balloon, and a dinner that night from Texas Roadhouse! We are still working on getting team shirts, so stay tuned for more info on that! :)

We have set a team goal of $10,000. If we have at least 100 walkers, that is just $100 per walker. And remember, this is money you are RAISING. We know that the economy stinks right now and that people do not have a lot of extra money, but if you know 10 people that can donate $10 or 20 people who can donate $5, then you hit your goal!!

Can't make the walk but still want to raise funds? Create an account and raise support, or send others to our team page. You can look it up from the main page at lightthenight.org under Dylan's Dream Team, or click the following link http://pages.lightthenight.org/dm/WestSide10/DylansDreamTeam

WANT TO DONATE?? Please go to our page and make a donation. Remember, no donation is too small, and every penny counts!

Please join us in supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as we help to find a cure for blood diseases.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! We are looking forward to a fun-filled evening on November 6th and can't wait to see you there!

One more thing! Dylan is a celebrity....well, at least a Leukemia Survivor Celebrity! If you go to Texas Roadhouse in arrowhead, you will see his picture! They are big supporters for LLS, and are raising funds! Enjoy a FREE appetizer with a $5 donation to LLS during the month of October.

More updates and pictures to come!!

Love, The Praskins!

ONE YEAR, CANCER FREE!! Saturday, September 11th, DAY +365!!!!

365 days ago, Dylan received his life saving cord blood transplant.......and 365 days ago, God healed our son. To God be the glory!! We never thought this day would come, and it's through tear filled eyes that we remember the last 365 days!! Wow, God has blessed us so much. Although it does not seem like it has been a year already....so much has happened since then. I can remember that day as if it were yesterday. We were so anxious, and praying harder than we have ever prayed before. "God, could this be it? Is this how you are choosing to save Dylan? Will he make it through this?"....so many unknowns, but one thing was always clear....God was in control, and Dylan's life was in His hands. To this day, I still wonder why God chose to heal Dylan, but has taken so many children that were close to us home to be with Him. Why us? Why Dylan? All I know is that we did NOTHING to deserve such a miracle and we will do EVERYTHING to make sure that God is given the glory through Dylan's life. We know that the Lord has great plans for Dylan and that He has already used Dylan to touch the lives of others!

We will be seeing Dr. G this week for Dylan's 1 year check-up and I am excited to get the report!! Thank you to all of you who have traveled this journey with us! You have helped us more than you could ever know.

MORE TO COME!!

Eye surgery is over! .....at least for now

Hello everyone! Dylan had his second eye surgery on the 18th, this time on his left eye. When the Doc checked his pressure on his right eye (the one that already had the surgery), the pressure was 15! PRAISE GOD! It worked!! We are hoping to have the same results with his left eye. This is such a huge leap forward. Now that the pressure is under control, it is no longer damaging his optic nerve. Time will tell how damaged it actually is. Sometimes, relieving the pressure can actually reverse some of the damage. This is our prayer! Dylan is also really nearsighted as I have said before. We were able to get some glasses for him, but he is not a big fan of them and pulls them off the second I put them on. This will be something to work on. He can basically see clearly about 6-8 inches in front of his face. Everything else is blurry. He has gotten used to seeing like this, so it will be a big transition to see EVERYTHING clearly. Please pray for patience for me as I try to get him to wear his glasses, and that he sees how amazing the world is through the lenses. We also went to see Dr. Graham that same week. Again, Dylan received amazing lab results and praises from Dr. G. The whole time we were in his office, Dylan was crawling around and climbing on things and doing his new favorite thing.....break dancing! He loves to lay on tile or wood floors and spin around in circles with his feet in the air. It is quite hilarious. He will spin and spin until he gets dizzy--he loves it!

We now have 3 different therapies that Dylan receives every week. We have had a developmental specialist and physical therapist for the past 6 months, and I love them both! Now we have added a speech therapist. We have been having issues with feedings. Dylan cannot move his tongue back and forth in his mouth. This is an issue because he cannot control where the food goes and ends up gagging on it instead of mushing it with his teeth and gums. He LOVES to eat. So for now, he eats mainly yogurt and baby food. He can't have little puffs, cheerios or anything that is chunky.....yet. We will get there and the therapist feels that it is something we can overcome. We just have to 'wake up' his tongue. This was probably a minor issue when he was born and became more intensified through his journey. But knowing Dylan, there is nothing he can't conquer! In addition to a speech therapist, we will be seeing an occupational therapist to help with fine motor skills and feedings also. So are you counting therapists yet....yes, that will make 4!! But just to make things interesting, we may be doing vision therapy also!! I'm exhausted just thinking about it! But I want to do anything to help D get on track. All of the therapists feel that he is just delayed and not disabled. They have not seen any signs of him being incapable of learning and this is a HUGE praise!! There can be a lot of side effects from chemo and radiation, and some of them we may not see until later in life. Learning disabilities can be one. Another we just learned about has to do with his adult teeth. Because adult teeth start to form at 6 weeks of age, Dylan's growth may have been delayed or halted. In some cases, infants who undergo chemo do not form some of their adult teeth. He should have all of his baby teeth because those form in utero. As of now, he has two on bottom and two on top with two more coming in around his bottom teeth. We will be able to see if he is missing his adult teeth when he is at least 3 years of age....until then, I cannot let myself worry about it....and we can't do anything about it anyways :) And about the teeth he has now....he chews on anything and everything! He chews on cribs, tables, plates, my KNEE....pretty much anything he can get his mouth on!

In 13 days, we will be celebrating Dylan's one year of being CANCER FREE!!! Can you believe it?? I can hardly believe that it has been a year already! I'm in tears just writing this! He is such an amazing miracle and we are truly thankful for each and every day. Thank you to all of you who have cried, prayed, and hoped with us to make this day possible! Many prayers have been answered and miracles seen.....GOD is AMAZING!

WE LOVE YOU ALL!!

The Praskins

Abby Grace

Sweet Abby Grace went to be with the Lord on Sunday evening, August 8th. She had her mommy and daddy and family by her side. I cannot begin to tell you of the heartache that I feel for the Mullens, or the heartache that I feel myself. Abby was so special to us. Her smile lit up the room and her bubbly personality was contagious. When Dylan was getting his transplant...when he was in his worst condition, Abby's sweet face gave me hope. I would wait by the phone in our room hoping Jennifer would stop by the front desk to say hi, and almost everyday, she did. I would trek down the hallway in my jammies (my hospital attire:) and look forward to seeing Abby's beautiful smile and get a warm, familiar hug from Jennifer. Sometimes a friendly face was all I needed to get through the day. Jennifer always joked that she was happy that we got to go first...so we could be the example and she would know what to expect. My response to her was always that we were privileged to get to be an example. There were so many unknowns at the time, and Dylan and Abby were so similar. They were only 3 months apart with treatments, and I was able to help and encourage Jen along the way....and tease her. We grew close, and there is nobody that can identify with you unless they too, have gone through this horrible disease with a child of their own. We had an instant bond the day we met and cried together. Abby and Dylan had that bond too. In the beginning, Dylan was still very young and very sedated all of the time....but that did not stop Abby. I remember one day we went into clinic, Dylan was sleeping in his car seat and Abby was determined to see that baby under the blanket. She practically jumped off of Jennifer's lap to get a sneak peak. It was quite funny. I had to pry her little hands off of the handle of his car seat....it was love at first sight!! Anytime we came in the room, her face would light up and she would stick out her hands as to grab Dylan, while her tongue hung out of her mouth. She just wanted to lick him and squeeze him! Unfortunately, Dr. Graham would not allow it. He would always say, NO licking, NO touching, NO kissing! HA! They were both so immune compromised that they could get each other sick. Nevertheless, their bond was immediate, and strong!

We attended Abby's Celebration of Life last week. It was so hard to say goodbye, but also so exciting to know that she is in heaven. She no longer has to bear the pain of cancer and is dancing in heaven in her new body. Please keep the Mullens in your prayers, as this is going to be a very long healing process. I cannot imagine my life without our precious Dylan. And yet, this could have been God's plan for his life. Life is short. Nothing is guaranteed, whether you have cancer, or are perfectly healthy. Please take time to love those whom God has blessed you with and do not take them for granted. The Mullens cannot bring Abby back, but they can make sure that her life had a purpose. Anyone who met Abby was changed. She had a special gift that only she could give. We are all better people for knowing that precious girl.

Thank you for your prayers :)

Living everyday like it's my last,

Michelle

Cardinals Training Camp with HopeKids 8/3 and The HopeWalk 9/26

Hi Everyone! We had an amazing opportunity to go to the Cardinals training camp this past Tuesday with Hopekids, and we had a blast! The weather was beautiful in Flagstaff, and it was nice to get away for the day. The Hopekids organization arranged for all of the kids to be able to meet the players after practice and even get autographs! Since our little Hopekid is too small to walk....Erik was able to go with Dylan and get to meet the players too! He was soooooo excited! Although Dylan may not be able to appreciate the experience now, he will definitely appreciate his signed jersey later :) Erik said that all of the players were really nice and that they each took time to talk with the kids. A few players even held Dylan and we were able to get some pictures! The pictures that we have on here are the ones from my camera, but we will have some more "official" ones posted later! Enjoy!

What is HopeKids?? I'm glad you asked....HopeKids provides ongoing events & activities and a powerful, unique support community for children with cancer and other life-threatening medical conditions. They surround these remarkable children and their families with the message that hope can be a powerful medicine. We have been blessed enough to attend numerous HopeKids events....and they are all free of charge to the families. They do everything from sporting events, to date nights for moms and dads, to movies and activities for the kids, to arranging for kids to meet with their hero's one on one. They provide an environment for families to come together with a common bond, and for kids to be able to be around other kids with the same life challenges. Dylan is now a HopeKid hero! When he is a little older, we hope to be able to go and visit other families that are in the hospital and encourage them with Dylan's story and smile. HopeKids really helped us specifically in the first few weeks when Dylan got diagnosed. The way the laws are now, nobody is allowed to contact you or talk to you unless you 'sign up' for their services...and we are so happy we checked the HopeKids' box. Bridget (from HopeKids) called me with the name of a family that had a young boy, almost the same age as Dylan when he got diagnosed. This was the first family that I had heard of with a child as young as Dylan. Little B's mom was able to encourage me and give me hope through their experience and give me an idea of what I could expect. We were surrounded by negative statistics and circumstances, so B's family was such a huge encouragement to us. God works in mysterious ways, and we are so thankful that He brought us to HopeKids! A big THANKS to HopeKids for all they do for families like ours and the Hope and encouragement they bring to the kiddos!

HopeKids is having a Hope Walk on Sunday, September 26th. We are going to be out of town that weekend and sadly will not be able to attend. BUT we still want to be a part of raising money for this amazing organization. If you would like to make a donation, please click on the following link http://www.firstgiving.com/michellepraskins . Our goal is to raise $1000. If you would like to participate in the walk, here is the information:

Location: The Plaza on Market Street at DC Ranch, 20645 North Pima Road Scottsdale, AZ 85255
Date: Sunday, September 26th, 2010
Registration: Starts at 7:30 AM
Time: The 5k HopeWalk begins at 8:30 AM
Fundraising goal: $65,000
All proceeds to benefit HopeKids and will help provide HOPE to children battling a life-threatening illness and their families.
Please join us for the 2010 HopeWalk around the beautiful community of DC Ranch in North Scottsdale. Last year, more than 500 people came to WALK FOR HOPE and supported HopeKids by raising over $55,000!!

FOR MORE INFO GO TO HOPEKIDS.ORG

Thank you for supporting us! Remember that no donation is too small :) Have a great week and I will post more pics later :) Love you guys!

Walking by faith,

The Praskins