Great Strides Pictures

Here are pictures from today's walk. The weather was beautiful and there was $94,000 raised for CF at the Grand Rapids walk. Thanks to everyone who walked with me and to those who supported this cause with their financial donations!

Blessed By Brownies

I opened my door yesterday afternoon to discover a box dropped off by UPS. I love getting packages, especially when I don't know that they are coming. I picked up the box in excitement to discover that on the return label was the name of one of Ryan's RT's at U of M. In that moment I was already blessed! It is unbelievable to me that nearly two years after Ryan died I would still maintain contact with the people there -- that those people would take the time to remember us. It speaks VOLUMES of the impact that my wonderful husband had on the people around him even at his most difficult time of life.

I hurried to the kitchen to open the box and found a treasure of brownies. And let me just tell you, these are no ordinary brownies! This RT would often bring treat to hospital for the staff and he always made sure to share with us. He also had a favorite restaurant/bakery and he stopped a couple of times on his way into work to buy us some of their famous brownies. Oh my YUM! (My favorite have caramel oozing out of them!) He had found out about our Great Strides walk (I am guessing from another of Ryan's RT's who was going to walk with us, but can't because she has to work) and sent us a box of brownies in case we "might need a little 'boost' to get us through the walk."

Such a thoughtful gift from someone I have not seen in almost two years. Such a HUGE blessing to know that my husband is not forgotten.

Thanks, Chuck!

Whose Face Do You See?

Cystic Fibrosis -- I lived in ignorance for most of my life about this awful disease. I didn't know what cystic fibrosis was before 2001, I don't know that I had even heard of it before then. I had no idea that:

"Approximately 30,000 children and adults in the United States have cystic fibrosis. An additional ten million more—or about one in every 31 Americans—are carriers of the defective CF gene, but do not have the disease. CF is most common in Caucasians, but it can affect all races."

If you had asked me what the symptoms of CF were, I could not have told you that the most common are:

• Very salty-tasting skin
• Persistent coughing, at times with phlegm
• Frequent lung infections, like pneumonia or bronchitis
• Wheezing or shortness of breath
• Poor growth/weight gain in spite of a good appetite
• Frequent greasy, bulky stools or difficulty in bowel movements
• Small, fleshy growths in the nose called nasal polyps

I had no idea that my life and the lives of my children would forever be changed by this disease...

Yet, when I think of cystic fibrosis I don't see a disease, I see a face, a person. I see the face of my husband. I see the face of Lily and Wyatt's daddy. I see the face of the person that I miss each an every day because this disease does not have a cure. I see Ryan.

I hear stories and read blogs about people with cystic fibrosis. Some stories are sad, difficult, and depressing. Some stories are happy, heartfelt, and exciting. Almost all stories have something positive to share. You see the thing about cystic fibrosis is that it seems to bring out the best in people. All of the people I have know with CF are positive about life. They see the glass as half-full. They are determined. They are fighters. They are unwilling to give up until the last option has been tried. They don't want you to feel sorry for them, they want you to see them as a person who has an illness, but is not defined by the illness.


Whose face do I see when I think about cystic fibrosis? I see my husband, who fought until the very end against this disease. Whose face do you see when you think about cystic fibrosis?

Please join me in fighting this terrible disease. Please join my team, Sweeney Striders, in taking a stand against this disease that takes lives every day, but not before those lives can make a difference. My personal goal for Great Strides is $1,000. I need 10 more people who are willing to partner with me at $10 a piece to help me reach my goal.

Facts about CF listed in the post can be found here.

Update: T-Shirts for CF

**Updated: I have seen the blue color that was an option and I don't care for it. I am going to go with a LIME GREEN COLOR for the shirts. **

I am having t-shirts made for my Great Strides team to wear on the day of our walk. I am also going to offer the opportunity for any one else to purchase a t-shirt with the proceeds going to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

"The mission of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a nonprofit donor-supported organization, is to assure the development of the means to cure and control cystic fibrosis and to improve the quality of life for those with the disease."

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The t-shirt will be a **LIME green color and the design will be:

Front (small print to the upper left):

Sweeney Striders

Back (centered):

In Memory of
Ryan Sweeney
March 2, 1981- June 6, 2008
I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith.
2 Timoty 4:7

The cost of the shirts will be $10 for those who are looking to purchase one, $2 will be given to CFF. There will be a shipping cost if you do not live near me. Please let me know as soon as possible if you would like a shirt and the size you want. You can leave a comment on this post or you can find my email under my profile on the blog.

what's going on

So many things are going on right now, I just never take the time to sit down and blog anymore. Most of my spare time was being wasted on Facebook, so I have decided to give it up for Lent (if you are reading this on FB it is because my blog is automatically uploaded there). It was distracting me from much more important things in my life. I decided that I needed to stop wasting my time and refocus on the areas of my life God wants me to be working on -- mainly my relationship with Him and my relationships with Lily and Wyatt.

Winter has been difficult for me both mentally and emotionally. I have been stuck in a pit of sadness, loneliness, and self-pity. I need a change of pace! I have been looking for an opportunity to get away, to find some sunshine, and to create some new memories with Lily and Wyatt. So, we are getting ready for another vacation to Disney in just a couple of weeks. Our friend (and awesome babysitter), Erin, will be joining us because there was no way I was going to tackle flying and vacationing at Disney World with two three year olds by myself! We will spend three full days in the parks and I am super excited to be able to do even more with the kids than we did last year.

I am also really excited about the opportunity to raise awareness and funds for Cystic Fibrosis through Great Strides. I have officially restarted the "Sweeney Striders" team for this year's walk in Grand Rapids. I have been overwhelmed by the amount of support that I have already received from people joining me in the walk and from the donations given (if you are interested in joining me on the walk or in sponsoring me click here). I have plans in the works (well, just in my head right now) for t-shirts for the Sweeney Striders that will set us apart from other teams as well as honor Ryan's life!

Lily and Wyatt are doing fairly well, other than the colds, coughs, and fevers (Lily) they have been fighting. It is so hard to believe that in a few weeks they will be turning 4! I am ready to be done with "3" and all of its challenges, but I am not ready for them to be heading to school. If only there was a slow motion button on life!

And lastly, here is a video of one of my favorite songs right now, "Unredeemed" by Selah. I love the message that it sends, a message of hope in the promises God has made to redeem the things of this world that hurt so much. It is a great reminder to me that God sees and knows the pain in my heart, especially as Ryan's birthday approaches.