...the aftermath

Mom here.  The kids are still on Cloud 9 from their spot on television.  They're asking to see their video every five minutes.  My cell phone has been ringing and dinging and bleeping with calls, texts, and e-mails with people telling me how well they did, how they needed Kleenex after watching them, and so on and so forth.  They're asking about the next time they'll be on television, and have both picked out their outfits.  I don't yet have the heart to tell them that this was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  


My heart continues to swell with pride.  People are giving me props for teaching the kids a lesson in doing good things for others at such a young age, but the truth is, while my husband and I are certainly encouraging of their ideas, they really are coming up with everything on their own.  It's almost as if we weren't needed to teach them a lesson in "doing good."  We were fortunate enough to be blessed with two children with hearts the size of....well, here is what the kids have to say about it.


Mom:  I'm so proud of you both.  I still can't believe you were on television!  Natty, you did such a great job in the interview letting people know why you're doing what you're doing, and Savannah, when you said that you wanted to tell Gran you love her, I was so proud that I wanted to cry.  You both have huge hearts.**

Nathanael:  Is that normal?

Mom:  What, to have a huge heart?

Savannah:  I'm not going to the doctor.

Mom:  No no no.  "Having a huge heart" means that you have lots and lots of room in your heart for love and for caring and for doing kind things.

Nathanael: Ohhhh.

Mom:  I'd say you have hearts the size of....

Nathanael, before I could finish: Canada!

Savannah: No, Natty, not Canada.  As big as the statue of Prince Eric in Ariel's grotto!

Mom:  You got it, kiddos.


**While it's true that my husband and I were lucky to have naturally good and good-hearted kids, they are kids, and boy - do they come out with some whoppers.  I'm beginning to draft a post that will surely amuse you, dear readers.  Some days they're from Hogwarts, some days they're from Slytherin.*
* My husband came up with that one.  Forgive me.  

Two Weeks Later and We're On The News!

Mom here.  The kids and I were invited by our local ABC affiliate, WKBW-TV, to sit down for a short interview about the blog's origination and why the kids have chosen to let the world know what they're doing.


We were up bright and early and took the exciting drive to the studio.  The kids' jaws dropped as we pulled into the parking lot.

They were wonderful.  Savannah was a little camera shy, I was beyond nervous, but Nathanael was a natural.  This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows him.

We would like to extend our deepest thanks to Patrick Taney and the WKBW News 7 team.  Nathanael told me on the way home, "Mama, Patrick Taney helped to make our dream come true of letting the whole world know what we're doing."

Two weeks after going live, our blog has had approximately 2500 hits, followers from 13 countries, and retweets/mentions from approximately 100 celebrities on Twitter, ranging from movie stars like Minnie Driver to television stars like Tim Daly to athletes and sports news icons such as Aaron Boone, Bob Lorenz, Jack Curry, and Chuck Knoblauch.  Not bad for a little kids' blog.

We met and exceeded our initial goal of $1000.  When we reached $1000, we attained the "Rising Stars" level for fundraising for the Relay For Life.  It was time to start working toward the next level.  We have met and exceeded our revised goal of $2000.   When I learned about the different levels of fundraising, I decided to shoot for the moon and make our ultimate goal $15,000.  If a team raises $15,000 in donations, it reaches the "Sapphire Level" of fundraising.  The "blue" level, if you will.  My mom's favorite color is blue.  There was no question about it. Attaining that goal, that sapphire level of fundraising, will make this event even more special to me than it already is.  The Cave Crashers will do their best to fill in that purple box and raise $15,000!

Thank you, dear readers, for your support and for keeping this blog going.  Thank you to those of you who have accepted Nathanael's Knock Out Cancer challenge.  You have all touched my heart.