Hawaii, here we come!

I've mentioned before that Steven has been waiting, maybe a bit impatiently, to hear from Make-a-Wish. He has expected them to show up at our door any night with information on his wish. Sometimes, he would even wait by the window, and watch for his wish granters. He would ask me constantly if they had called and when they were coming. I started answering that they would come when he least expected it.

Well, I was right! They surprised him on Thursday at the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet, which was already planned as a luau. Our wish granters had some Polynesian dancers from BYU come to entertain us. After their first number, a hula, they called Steven up on stage to tell him that his wish to Hawaii would be granted! I was amazed that he didn't figure it out before it happened--he told me that he didn't realize that it was Make-a-Wish until he got up on the stage and saw his wish granters. They went all out for him--there were several people there with gifts for him--shirts, sandals, snorkeling gear, leis, chocolates, balloons, and his favorite--a big book about Hawaii. After the presentation, they performed a Haka dance and then taught the scouts to do it as well--it was darling.

One of these days, I need to make a video of all the fun. For now, here is a clip that I love--all of it together made me cry. I love when Steven hops up on the stage--this is my Steven who has been on crutches since May, essentially.



When they read his wish, I was just filled with emotion--gratitude and joy and humility. After it was all over, I asked if he was okay with such a public announcement. He once made me tell the granters that he didn't want something like that. He said, "Well, no one said, 'No fair! You get to go to Hawaii!', so I guess it was okay." It finally dawned on me that he just didn't want to rub his good fortune in to others. I must admit that I get it--it feels strange to be in the spotlight and receiving such a grand gift.

And grand it is, I must say. Just the thought of Hawaii makes me smile and when times feel tough, there is nothing like the thought of sunshine at the beach to lift me up. We don't know when we are going yet, but we do know that we will stay in Hawaii for 5 nights and are going to the big island, Hawaii, where the volcano is. And yes, it is for the whole family, so even the little girls will be coming along this time. In some ways I can't wait, but I also love having something to anticipate, so however long we wait, that is okay with me.

Thank you, thank you Make-a-Wish. How do I even begin to express my gratitude?


Steven and his awesome haka face.


The dancers were so nice. As we were visiting afterward, it dawned on Steven that Make-a-Wish had invited them and not the scout leaders.


Here we are with the dancers and his wish granters, Gloria and Tiffany. Thanks everyone!

Great days

This has been a great week for Steven. School has gone really well--on the first day back I asked what he did at recess (he had decided to read a book so he wouldn't worry about falling), and he admitted that he played soccer instead. How you do that with one leg, I don't know, but there you have it.

He woke up excited for school every morning and one day I asked him why he was so excited. He said, "Just for school! You never know what kinds of fun things are going to happen!" Turns out, his school days were pretty exciting this week. On Friday, he competed in the school geography bee and won! I have got to get some video for you--it was classic Steven. He was bowing every time the audience clapped--while sitting in his chair. His class was so excited for him--they all ran up after to give him a high five. For sure it was one of those glory moments. He will now take a test to see if he qualifies for the state competition.



On Friday afternoon, in a last minute grasp at sunshine, we invited all the boys in his class to the park for a nerf gun/capture the flag game. His birthday is coming up this week and this is how he wanted to celebrate. The boys had a great time--some told me it was the best party they had ever attended. The preparation was very low stress, but the actual party was pretty intense. It was over quickly, though, and for the amount of excitement it generated, it was well worth it.



Yesterday Steven finally got to go to the wishing room and declare his wish. What a magical experience! His amazing wish granters had put together a pirate party, and the kids got to go on a treasure hunt around the building as we learned a little about the history of Make-a-Wish. It was really touching to see all the kids that have been helped by this amazing organization.



We all got to throw a coin into the wishing pond (which didn't have water, but did have snow) and we got to write wishes down for Steven. After that, he used his key to open the wishing room. It was a room full of lights with a fountain--it was awesome and well worth the wait. We all got to read our wishes for him there. I asked him whose wish he liked the best and he said it was Alisa's. She said something like, "I wish you a life full of adventure and a passport full of stamps." Andrew orginally wished him a happy birthday, but before we read them, I encouraged him to change it to "many happy birthdays." Addie was one of the last to read hers and when it was her turn, she started to cry. I really think it was because she felt like her wish of "HAWII" wasn't quite in line with all of our grandiose, long-life sort of wishes, but Rob thinks she was just embarassed to be the center of attention. At any rate, I read hers for her, and changed it to "A trip to Hawaii someday." So you see, I wanted every wish to count for a long life for him, so I even tweaked my other kids' wishes! My only regret is that I didn't wish for something like "I wish that you will attend your Aunt Alisa's 90th birthday party." I mean, as long as we are wishing...



After we read our wishes, Steven submitted his wish to the wishing wizard. So many people have asked what his wish is, and I haven't been able to say for sure. Even now, I'm not sure what will happen. I will tell you that his first wish was for a Disney Cruise. Because of the economy, Make-a-Wish doesn't normally let the kids pick a Disney cruise. However, our wish granters encouraged Steven to write a letter to the board, and they may let him go. I've mentioned before that I would rather not ask for an exception, but he wrote the letter himself and I suppose what happens will happen. His second wish is for a trip to Hawaii. He has had a hard time deciding because he would really like to go to Hawaii, but he also really wants a reason to get a passport. We do realize that he may not even get his passport stamped on the cruise option, but he would still really like to see another country.

So that is a very long post--woah! A new week awaits--on Tuesday, he will turn 10 years old--it is his magic birthday! And really, it does seem like magic. He has had a wonderful year so far. Last night as he was going to bed (this was after the wish party), he gave me an extra long hug and told me he was so happy. He said, "I really will be happy with any trip I get to do for Make-a-Wish. Everything sounds like so much fun." He may have been talking about he wish trip, but truly, to him everything does sounds like fun right now. And there is something so hopeful and exciting about being around him--you just can't help but think that life is great and that it holds all kinds of hope.

Exultant

Last night, Steven and some of his classmates were in a state level competition called Creative Pursuit. They won for their division and Steven was sooooooo excited. On the drive home, he exclaimed, "I am feeling so exultant!"



Then he said, "This is the best day I've had in a long time!"

I was curious--just how happy was this day compared to all the other great days he has had lately? I asked him, "When was the last time you had a day this good?"

He thought about it for a minute and said, "I guess it was Thanksgiving. Oh wait, maybe it was the Messiah sing-in." Since it hasn't even been a week since Thanksgiving and the sing-in happened on Saturday, I guess it hadn't been so long afterall.



If you are around Steven much these days, you will find that he often has red letter days. I don't know if I have just forgotten how he used to be after not feeling well for nine months, or if the cancer experience has changed him. Either way, he seems to enjoy life more than ever. Now, don't get me wrong--he isn't perfect. He has sad and very frustrating moments, too. And even those seem to be lower than before. We all seem to be more sensitive to the joy and sorrow around us.

He has had some other amazing days that haven't made it on the blog lately. For one, he got a package from Make-a-Wish with a key to the wishing place. We aren't sure when he will get to declare his wish, but he is so happy and excited about that.

Another golden day was when a LEGO rep who had heard about Steven brought over a giant Star Wars ship--bigger than any set we have ever owned by far. Talk about a dream come true for him. She also gave him a hefty gift card to Toys-r-Us, and so he got to live his shopping spree dream.



Every day, he wakes up just thrilled to go to school. Excited for recess or chess club, or math quest--just whatever! Now, just think about how excited your kids are for Christmas and add that into the mix right now. We have lots of fun things planned for this season and he is looking forward to it all.

So for all of you who wonder how he is doing--he's is happy and he feels great. He is back, and though still not able to do all the things he used to do, he is "exalutant" about the things he can do.