Shopping Extravaganza

We were all a bit overwhelmed at the Shopping Extravaganza that Kelli and her family but together this past weekend, If you missed it, you missed an excellent opportunity to buy some very unique Christmas gifts. The raffle that was held in Trey’s honor was just short of amazing in that the quantity of prizes that were being raffled off was over the top. I was so touched by the amount of work that Kelli, her mom, Jan and sister, Kim put into this event and also very humbled to have been chosen to be a recipient of it. Trey stopped to take a quick picture with our new friends to thank them for their hard work and generosity.
As if the raffle wasn’t enough, as Trey’s little face was pressed up on the glass to peer at all the awesome prizes in the display case, he paid special attention to the football right at eye level. The ladies took note that Trey loved the ball and made sure that his name had a chance of being picked for the ASU football signed by Mr. Frank Kush…low and behold, Trey won the football. Hummm, amazing how that worked out. Trey’s face lit up when Kelli handed him the ball as we all headed into his bed room for Trey to show us where his new football would sit.

Again, thank you never seems like enough but here we are expressing again from the bottom of our heart, thank you for the donation to Treys medical account and for the football too.

Treys Treasure Chest for Hope 2010 Fundraiser

The website for Trey's next fundraiser is up and running!
Please check it out at:
http://treystreasurechestforhope.org/


We are eager to acquire any donations you may have from putting together a basket to raffle, to a gift card from your business or one you asked your neighborhood retailer/restaurant to donate for Trey's cause, to time shares, travel vouchers, sporting events and collectibles, homemade crafts, etc. If you really would like to help but can't think of a way, think of a theme and then go around to retailer's in your area and collect items pertaining to that theme, get a hold of us and we will be more than happy to put together a gift basket of your donations. Copy the "about me" section of Treys blog or his new site and present it to anyone and everyone that you think may be willing to help - you'd be surprised at how much people are willing to give to a good cause. Thank you in advance for all your efforts - the littlest thing go the longest ways...

DUE TO THE FACT THAT TREY IS AN INDIVIDUAL AND NOT AN ORGANIZATION, WE WILL BE UNABLE TO OBTAIN A NON PROFIT 501(C)3 CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION DESIGNATION

BUT...PLEASE TAKE NOTE (as written in Novembers Money Magazine)-

Year-End Tax Moves to Make Now - Right Now!
There's plenty to distract you from financial planning this time of year, from cheering on your favorite football team to daydreaming about Christmas dinner. But you don't want to let some end-of-year deadlines slip by without taking steps to minimize taxes and maximize savings. Especially in this economic climate, a little extra cash can go a long way.
Give Gifts
As always, remember that you CAN give up to $13,000 per recipient tax-free this year (a couple can give $26,000). This is the amount that you can donate to an individual WITHOUT having to provide a tax ID for and still be able to deduct as charitable donations/gifts on your 2009 tax returns. That should make somebody's holidays especially happy.
That being said, as long as you don't "gift" more than $13,000 (single person) to Trey in a tax year, you will be able to deduct every single cent of your donation to Treys Treasures and we can stop spinning our wheels on how to be able to obtain a 501(c)3 designation from now on. Truly the only people that will have a tougher time giving to Trey's cause will be very large corporations like Home Depots, Wal Mart, Costco, Airlines, etc. but even then, we have found that if you just ask or know the right person/department, we have still been blessed with donations for Trey.

We are also looking for sponsor's - ask about the many levels this fundraiser offers and the details of each.

Hello Mr. Santa

Mike and I took the boys to see Santa this past weekend. Trey was so excited to SEE him that he snuck up to the front of the line, sat off to the side and stared at Mr. Santa in awe. The picture I took was just okay but the memories will last a lifetime. Also added to this entry are a couple of pictures we took for this years Christmas card.
Speaking of pictures, our wonderful neighbor, Michelle had family pictures taken at Lamar Studios this past year and wanted to give us the same gift to treasure. Michelle expressed her wish (as well as Treys story, I'm sure) to the studio owners which resulted in an extremely generous gift certificate for a free session as well as prints in which Michelle so kindly gave to me. With joy in my heart I accepted the gift certificate but couldn't promise that Mike and I would be in the "family pictures" as she had requested (too much stress on mommy and daddy this year to capture on film). anyway, the boys had their photos taken last week (yes, I said only the boys and not Mike and I - I didn't break any promises). Since then I've already picked up the prints, framed them and hung them in our home... they are absolutely beautiful!!! Thank you Michelle and Lamar for a gift that we will cherish for a lifetime and one that I will forever and ever hold dear to my heart!
The link to our proofs:
http://www.lamarstudiosphotography.com/Other/Lane-Cami/10623483_jj567#738867266_CyiT8

Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Mr. Personality

This is an e-mail my sister-in-law sent to me after watching Trey for Mike and I the other day...he truly is such a little shining light for all to see.

Cam,
Thank you so much for the honor and pleasure of "babysitting" today! Pure heaven is all I can say. I hope I can accurately recall today's events because I know they make you laugh as much as they did me.
Our morning was fairly routine, of course Trey had to pick out his own clothes and dress himself. Trey picked his favorite shorts, got a huge grin & said "I left this in my pocky"! It was his Bat Chapstick from Halloween..... we both laughed and Trey put the lip balm on.
So off to Physical Therapy. Trey waited eagerly in the chair, put on some more chapstick and attempted to hide from Mr. Mike but Trey's excited wiggles and giggles gave him away.

PT was was particularly busy today and we thought Trey was going to swim first and got him changed, but there was a change in venue. Trey's disappointment was obvious, I was concerned that he wouldn't be interested in working out. Mr. Mike got down on the floor with Trey and he still wasn't showing a lot of interest until Mr. Mike asked if he just had pancakes & syrup. Of course Trey and I instantly laughed because I asked him the same question while getting him out of his car seat. Trey giggled and told Mr. Mike "it's my bats"! All of a sudden I hear a woman's voice saying "show me how you do that Trey" to which Trey responded positively. The voice was coming from one of the tables - it was another PT patient. Within minutes every patient in the room was cheering Trey on. In true Trey fashion, and without saying a word, Trey had actively engaged 4 patients and a woman who had driven her mother in for therapy in his work out - they were all cheering him on and laughing watching Trey interact with Mr. Mike. One woman even asked me which days he comes to therapy so she could schedule hers around Trey! If you think about it, most people that come to PT are in pain and it's not the most exciting place to be. Only Trey could let his light shine through for all to see.

Trey and Mr. Mike are hilarious together, it was time to get the laser cart and from another room I heard Trey exclaim "My do it"!!! Not to be outdone, I overheard Mr. Mike explaining to Trey he had to wait just a minute so the wand wasn't "Coldie". Mr. Mike was so amazing with Trey, he was either on the floor racing with Trey or making it a fun game for Trey to ensure he gets the full benefit of his work out. Trey is definitely in the right place!
Love ya!
Cath

A Season A Reason to Give

This time last year we were blessed to be chosen to be the recipients to the Care Bear Pre School’s Annual Holiday Boutique. My beautiful friend Dolores mentioned Treys story to Miss Carrie, the owner of Care Bear and the rest is history.
Carrie, Mary and Tamela went above and beyond to bring to the community a spectacular event.

They had incredible auction items for the adults to bid on and food, snow cones, bounces’, face painting, and even a photo with Santa for the kids to enjoy. I think we closed the place down as Drake, Broc and Trey weren’t ready to leave…what child would be?

Mike and I are extremely grateful for the friends we have. It is so special when you are brought to the point of being so touched by Trey’s journey that you feel the need to help us in such amazing ways.

Thank you to Care Bear Pre School and to Dolores for showing us the love you did this time last year, your thoughtfulness will forever be remembered in our hearts.

Thanksgiving in California

Our Thanksgiving break was so much fun! Anytime we can get away as a family, out of “life as we know it” and into a daily circumstance that doesn’t truly exists for any family with a sick child is so gratifying for all of us. Driving wasn't all that easy on Trey's back as I had predicted but adjustments were made for the ride home which made for a much, much better experience. Universal Studios was such a blast! The big guys went on all the rides with daddy while mommy took Trey to get his face painted and to play games…his pirate face turned out awesome and he even won a prize playing games...happy, happy was this little boy! The Disney Studio’s did it up in Grande style! The boys had the best time swinging and jumping around, learning to draw from an actual Disney animator, as well as seeing the sneak preview of Disney’s, The Princess and the Frog but the best time’s for Trey were the ones with “the man” himself, Mickey Mouse and to our surprise, meeting and talking to not once but three times (my baby has a crush) princess Cinderella. How do you put a price tag on that? Here are the boys in the middle of our drive home - working to pay for their vacation Thank you John, Joyce, Cathy and Bryan for offering to celebrate Thanksgiving with us on Sunday. The food was terrific, the family time was just what we needed, and if only our Cardinal Birdies would have won, the day would have been that much more perfect, ha-ha. We were able to take advantage of the Disney offer and still provide a traditional Thanksgiving for the boys...for that we are thankful!

Turkey Day with Trey

11/25/09
Mike and I were invited up to Trey's school to enjoy a piece of pie with him in celebration of Thanksgiving. Not only did we eat some yummy pie, we also had the pleasure of watching Trey sing and dance to a few songs as well as interact on the playground with his preschool friends. Mike and I truly enjoyed visiting Trey's class today. We are so glad we made time to join him on our way out of town, as it would have been so much easier to stay home and continue to pack for our trip. We made sure we didn't miss this moment and so very happy we did because the smile on Trey's face when Mommy AND Daddy walked into his class was priceless...these are the moments!