What a fantastic way to begin!!!

Hello Friends!

The whole limo gang

I am writing to you today a very happy person! I would like to say that I am always happy, believe that if you want, but today I am especially happy! Of course you should already know why since so many of you have been waiting to hear about our fantastic Limo ride on Saturday (Bucket List item #11). Well let me share with you my friends, this bucket list thing has it perks! I am thinking that I need to start mine now... today... okay, maybe last Saturday.


But some joking aside, we are celebrating the life of my mother, Wanda, and without her as the focus it was just another ride in a extra-long stretch, black, sleek, leather decked, mood lit taxi ride. Umm... with free alcohol. Seriously though, it was a wonderful time with family and close friends. Thank you to the special family who donated the unlimited dream ride for the day, your hearts know absolutely no bounds and may God bless you for your continuous displays of love.


Saturday afternoon, the ride started out with the extra-tall Reid clan wedging ourselves into the limo with my mom's dear friend, Joann and her wonderful grand daughter who just happens to be a complete doll and my daughter's best friend. So the entire "family" set out from Murrieta at about 2pm with our driver, James. YES! Your heard correctly, his name was James! I am still wondering if he made that up for us so that we could bust out with our ridiculous, pseudo English accents and say typical things like, "drive on James" or "have a care James, the old bird is dozing!" For putting up with our jokes he wins the "101 stupid limo jokes" award and he really was a dear man despite his lead foot (more on this later). 


In the Limo we all poured champagne and sparkling cider respectively and took turns toasting Wanda and telling her the one thing that stood out in our minds most about her. Here is a highlight:


Wanda is always there when you need her, so very dependable. She is always smiling, at everyone, at everything, she always has a smile on her face that glows. Wanda is good at taking care of her family and is always performing acts of love for others. She is the glue that holds people together, no matter the cost. She is a woman of great faith and of great love. 

The Reid family and mama Wanda

Needless to say, my mom is a woman who has already made her mark in this world and no matter what happens, she will be remembered forever. 


After the special time of togetherness, and of watching Joann and mom play with all the gadgets and buttons for a while, we finished our champagne and settled in to chat about life and the sweet gift that it is. Mom talked about how much she loved her first limo ride and how nice it was inside. We talked about ministry work and sacrifice and how blessed we are as a nation. I think these conversations never get old, they always remind us of the perspective that God has blessed us so much!

The very beautiful Wanda and Joann

We made it to Mission Bay (San Diego) in record time, 1 hour flat! All that in traffic with a light drizzle. I am quite the indy-driver myself and I am sure he would have beat me hands down. It is definitely a good thing that I was facing sideways, it is less scary when you cannot see the cars that you are careening around and bumpers so close that I could use braille to read the license plates! In the end we are alive and I am here writing this blog entry so, "Jolly good sport James!" In fact, he was so "efficient" in getting us there, we had enough time before our dinner reservations to stop for a stroll along the bay.  Mom just loved it there and I was again reminded of God's glory that is revealed in His creation. 


Dinner was at the divine Firefly restaurant located in the Dana Resort in Mission Bay. Actually, I should call in a Linner sort of meal since we were there and starving by 3:30pm. We had the restaurant to ourselves and took full advantage of the waitresses attention. Mom ordered fried Brussel Sprouts for an appetizer and hearing this I was mentally pitched back to my childhood with memories of all the absolutely awful things my mom made us eat. I suppose as an automatic defense mechanism I suddenly remembered the creative ways to throw out my mushy veggies without my mom catching me. I mean, I have it down to a science, but here 25 years later, I felt a little rusty. Was she serious?!!! FRIED BRUSSEL SPROUTS!  I tried to calm myself down. After all, I was now a grown woman and could just refuse to eat them. Seconds later and probably sub-consciously, I spied the nearest trash can just in case. 

The gang at Mission Bay

Nervously fingering the heavy napkin I held in my lap, I wondered just how many of those dirt-tasting little green sprouts I could fit into there without being seen. As if the words "I told you so!" could be heard on the Mother is Right network, the waitress set down an aromatic plate full of these teeny-weenie Brussel Sprouts swimming in a sauce that I was sure I could lick right off the plate and call it a day! And to everyone's delight, we polished off the now-redeemed little vegetable and even spent a good deal of time trying figure out the recipe. So, the next time I have one of you over for dinner, watch out... and have a little faith! 

Enjoying Firefly restaurant in Mission Bay

As I am sure you are expecting, the meal was delightful and we all headed home shortly afterwards to spend the evening in the euphoric high you get when you have just spent "the best day ever!" It sure is a good thing those days are not limited to one. 


May my sweet mother bless us with many more of these days in her company. As we look forward to the next bucket list item, I am reminded of just how important people are in our lives. As you finish this story, take a few minutes to think of someone special to you. If they were dying, what memories would you want to create? What would you want to tell them? 


Then start doing it now, not later... and not never. Today is here.



All my love and until the next time,


Sarah

Fundraising success!

Hello friends!


It's time to sit down with you all again and share our latest comings and goings. First of all, thank you all so much for asking after my mom these past few weeks. Most of you are familiar with my typical response now, "She's doing great! I wrote on her blog, did you read it?" So there it is, I am committed to updating this blog every week so go ahead and spread the word! 


Our fundraising efforts for October were a huge success! Thank you to everyone who purchased a gift certificate, we raised over $1,400 towards the bucket list! What a blessing it is when everyone participates to help someone's dreams come true. 


And so here we are... all dressed up and nowhere to go. Okay okay, seriously, I am working out a few details still but it looks like we will begin our bucket list within a few weeks with #11. 


Now what is #11 you may ask? I invite you to go back to October's postings to the original list and take a look again. It's my little invitation to reacquaint yourselves with my mom's goals for this year. Settle in and get familiar again with the list because we are on our way my friends!


Many of you still ask what you can do to help. Well, there are still lots of items left on the list that have not been tackled. If you see the list and think that you may be able to help out, please let me know. If you have an idea of a way to compliment the list in a small way, then it's a big deal to us! Just contact me and let me know. My mom and I read every comment you guys make on this blog and it truly speaks of your love.


I will be in touch soon!

Update on Hope

Hello friends and family!


It has been a while since I have been able to give an update. Most of you know that Emma and I were traveling throughout Europe over the past 3 weeks with a special visit to Scotland. We truly had a fantastic time and in good and proper jet lagged condition, I am just now able to sit down and write. The truth is, I still am on another time zone since I keep waking up at 4:00 in the morning and staring at the ceiling, willing my mind to stop thinking about all manner of random things. 


It has not worked. So alas, I find myself with some time to sit down with a good cup of coffee, or three, and chat with you all. Since my last update so much has happened...


My mom has been accepted into a clinical trial with the City of Hope. I know I just got started with my story but let me pause quickly and tell you want fabulous people they are! If you ever get a chance to look into their organization, you will see the millions of lives they have touched with gentle and loving hands. I have shared with many of you that my mom has received less than adequate care to date. You can only imagine what her first visit with them was like. But let me share with you her own words:

My City of Hope story…

Wednesday, Oct. 6-  I was getting my last checkup from my Radiologist when he said that I shouldn’t give up that I should call the City Of Hope.  I thought that would be a good idea, that if nothing else maybe I could get a second opinion. I came home and googled C.O.H., got a number and called.  A very nice lady answered.  I told her my condition and prognosis and she transferred me to Debra, a nurse there at the hospital.   She took all of my medical information and said that she would call all the doctors and request my test results.  Within 5 min. of hanging up she had faxed me the medical release form which I signed it and sent back.  She called me and said that she will be sending out the requests that day to all the doctors and to call her in a few days. You cannot imagine my shock after dealing with county hospitals and a million miles of red tape.

 I called on Monday was told that she had everything she needed and had already made me an appointment with the Doctor on Monday, the 18^th .  I can’t say enough about how caring Debra was and how quickly Debra got all of this done.  It is so uplifting to know that there are people and medical facilities out there that still care about the patient. I am excited about their new clinical trial and my experience so far has not been a wonderful one!

About 3 weeks ago my mom began tests and treatments for a new drug and treatment plan that has shown a 50% success rate to slow down the aggressive nature of triple negative breast cancer. They have not been successful at curing it completely, but there are more studies coming along this vein of medical procedure.


What this means my friends is that my mom's life has a higher probability of being prolonged! Praise God that He blesses men to work these medical miracles in the lives of dying people. My mom's spirits have been lifted and she has hope of spending more time with her family.


If I had to be honest with you, and those who know me understand that I can do that to a fault... I would tell you that I was worried that she would not live to complete the bucket list at all. But now I have hope as well that she will be able to complete the list with the support of her wonderful doctors and all of you.


Thank you so much for getting involved and I have more great news as well as the first Bucket List date to share with you very soon.


My God richly bless you all this Thanksgiving season. Give thanks and praises to Him!

I Chronicles 29:11-13

¹¹ Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power 

   and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, 

   for everything in heaven and earth is yours. 

Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; 

   you are exalted as head over all. 

¹² Wealth and honor come from you; 

   you are the ruler of all things. 

In your hands are strength and power 

   to exalt and give strength to all. 

¹³ Now, our God, we give you thanks, 

   and praise your glorious name.

A few drops in our bucket

Hello my friends!


I have some exciting updates for you about my mom's bucket list as we have had a few drops begin to fill it! We have received such wonderful response to our celebration of my mom's life and I am pleased to share that a few items from the bucket list are already arranged and financed.


Just to clarify, this list is being worked on, but nothing has taken place as of yet. As many of you know, we had plane tickets to take my mom to Scotland but due to the advancement of her cancer, we have had to cancel that trip (but we have not given up on that item!). We plan to pick up with the rest of the list starting late in November.

Below is an update on the bucket list by item number:

1.       Visit Scotland - This will take place, albeit in a non-traditional celebration. More to come on this one so be looking out for some crazy creativity!

2.       Eat a whole Marie Calendars Pie - This has been graciously taken care of and will take place next month

3.       Visit a Castle - This is partially set up, we will visit Hearst Castle on our way to stay at a beach house (item #6)

4.       Stay on a Houseboat - We need help on this one, I am thinking of renting a VERY LARGE houseboat, and having our entire family stay on it. Mom, Dad, all the kids and their families. Nothing set as of yet.

5.       Ride in a hot air balloon - Nothing set as of yet

6.       Stay in beach house - Some ideas, but financing is still being worked on (the photography fundraiser I am running right now! We hope for this to take place some time in January as a combination of #3 and #7.

7.       Take an all girls trip - Combined with #3 and #6

8.       Do something outrageous (more to come on this!) - This is an open idea and will randomly take place

9.       Drive sports car - We have had inquiries on this one, but nothing is set up yet. 

10.     Visit the New England area - This will be the tough one. Since my mom cannot fly on a plane, I am thinking a big RV and LOTS of gas. But hey! We can visit friends all across the US on our way right?!!! I do expect this to be a monstrosity of fundraising (unless you are lending us your R.V.!!!) and effort on many people's part.

11.     Have a night out in a Limo - This has been graciously taken care of


For those of you that are asking how you can help, I hope this gives you some direction. I know we have a fabulous group out of Oklahoma that are geared up to start working on this list. I have no idea what or how they are doing it, but I am praising God for their love and their faith! In addition to this, I have already had several bookings and purchases for our photography fundraisers.


This blog has received over 460 page views in the past 3 weeks!!!! Praise God that so many people are reading about this journey and if just one of them finds comfort in God's love during a time of trial, then it will have meant so much more to my mom.


I will be away in Europe starting next week and will be picking up a little bit of Scotland while I am there! I will post as much as the Lord puts on my heart or the developments move forward on any more of this list. Please share this blog with everyone you know, email the link to the home page and have them join our adventure!

Hillsong - From The Inside Out - Let us Worship together!

Friends, let us worship together today and pray for the 562,000 people that will die this year from cancer in this country alone.

Let our "souls cry out" to Him. Praise Him!

All things made new...

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." Rev 21:4-5

So by faith, let us pray for His kingdom, and for everyone to believe.

A bend in our road

When my family began this journey, we acknowledged that we have no control over what the future would hold for my mom's final months and it seems we have met with our first bend in the road. 


Last night, my mom received a phone call from her Oncologist to inform her that her most recent PET scan results show that the cancer has spread to her femur bone, a rib bone, the L4 lumbar (spine) as well as continuing to grow in her chest bone. I regret to share with you all that my mom is losing the physical battle with her breast cancer. 

In addition to her prognosis, Her doctor instructed her that under no circumstances should she ever set foot on a plane again. That information barely registered with me as I sunk down on my bed to listen to my mom tell me that she was that much closer to the end. We both struggled not to give up our joy and by sheer will, focused on Him and His blessings in our lives. 

My dear friends, as I woke up this morning He reminded me of His promise to us, "Through the Lords’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23) God is good all the time!

Tonight, as I update you, I have had the past 24 hours to reflect on my thoughts and feelings. I have taken all of this to God and prayed for His will to be done and He reminded me of this... the cancer cannot win! 


That's right! The cancer CANNOT WIN! Remember this one thing and believe on it with all of your heart: 

We have eternal life in Jesus Christ! 

This is not a slogan or an empty promise, if you believe on Him then you will never die! (John 11:26) Let me repeat myself unless you think I cut and pasted these words from some self-help website... here it goes, IF YOU BELIEVE ON HIM THEN YOU WILL NEVER DIE!


Wow! That felt good didn't it? And now with my usual flare for the dramatic, I say back to the Cancer, "Oh death where is your sting, oh grave where is your victory!" (1 Cor 15:55) I still believe and pray that God can fully heal my mom, but I am surrendered to His will and will praise Him every day. 


I am writing to tell you that our family will continue with the rest of the bucket list! There is no particular order to how we will accomplish these things but a few of them are already in order and I will begin planning the next one very soon! (you want to know what it is don't you?).


I hope this blog is a blessing to anyone who has or is struggling with cancer in themselves or a loved one. I am deeply touched by all the phone calls and emails I have received by people who have been inspired by our faith and our journey.


My final thought on my mom's cancelled trip to Europe is this...

If my mom cannot go to Scotland, then Scotland will just have to come to my mom! 

(We will talk soon my friends)

Join this awesome fundraiser!

Hey everyone! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it could not come at a more appropriate time for my family.

Many people have come forward to donate items, connections and financial needs. Thank you all so much for your support and your faith!!! You have brought us so far and I am committed to doing my part for this wonderful journey.

I am doing a fundraiser on Sunday, October 24th. Family Beach Pictures at La Jolla. I know many of you have been interested in beach pictures at one time, so I hope that I am fulfilling a need for you as well as a need for my mom.  

IN ADDITION to this fundraiser... from now until the end of this month, I am selling gift certificates for Jane Studios portraits for HALF OFF. So, for example if you want to donate $150 towards the bucket list, I will give you a $300 gift certificate good towards any individual service we offer; family portraits, senior pictures, kids school pics, etc... ALL of the proceeds go towards Wanda's Bucket List.

These gift certificates DO NOT EXPIRE and are FULLY TRANSFERRABLE. So you can buy one for a friend or family member.

I am looking forward to being able to thank your donation with the gift of portraits. Being able to preserve memories for a lifetime is a notion that has become even more poignant to me through my mother's sickness. I am pleased to share this experience with you!

#1 Visit Scotland

Well, it's here! Our first attempt at the bucket list is starting off with a bang! Some of you may know, since I am not good at keeping surprises to myself, that my daughter Emma and I are traveling to Europe in three weeks. One of those countries happens to be Scotland, and so this is where Wanda's bucket list starts as a "God thing."


Since the spring I have had this trip planned with my daughter. Our tickets are booked and extra camera supplies are ordered. As a photographer, I am practically salivating over the thousands of pictures I am going to take! 


We are going to visit some friends in the Netherlands and are only able to do this because of the wonderful values we are getting. We traded our airline miles for free plane tickets, thank you American Express! In addition, we are visiting some wonderful friends who have extended to us their hospitality and connections to stay and play at almost no cost to us. And so this is where my mom enters the story.


When we received the news of her terminal diagnosis, the thought crossed my mind about what she wanted to do with the remainder of her days, not knowing how many there would be. And when she replied, "visit Scotland," a light went on! You see, she did not know that Scotland was one of our destinations because we were still working out the details ourselves. I remember my mom mentioning Scotland to me many years ago as the one place she always wanted to visit. I think it might have been six or seven years ago, neither of us knowing that our paths would cross on this subject again. 


So after a discussion with my husband, we called the airline to see if we could trade what was left of our miles and pay the difference, and wouldn't you know it? There was availability on our flight using airline miles, but just one seat left!!! Isn't God so amazing?!!! Long story shortened, the one ticket disappeared the next day before we could book, the price kicked up and our story almost ended there. But in faith, we prayed about it and the Lord provided. After an hour on the phone with a wonderful Delta ticket agent, we were able to change our flights completely (they waived the fees for that) and get a ticket for my mom after all! God gives His children such good gifts. 


But still there was one more major consideration. Thankfully, my beautiful friend in the Netherlands, Cathleen, was ecstatic to meet my mom and extended her heart and her home to all three of us! So here we go, can you believe it? My mom has never been anywhere out of this country, and here she is going halfway across the world to live her dream of seeing the Scottish moors and seeing big, hairy men in kilts! (ok, so I added "big" and "hairy" for my husband's peace of mind)


Where God has opened doors, we have danced through singing His praises! Her passport is all set and we are going to be on our way. Please join us in your hearts as we leave on October 27th and will return November 16th. 


I ask with a fervent heart, please pray for my mom's health and for our safety. I want to thank two very special and yet anonymous people for contributing to my mom's plane ticket and my fabulous husband for helping us work this out and sacrificing his airline miles to get her to Europe. I have much more to share with you and look forward to my next post!

The bucket list has arrived!

So after much anticipation on my part, I received the Bucket List today. It is amazing to me how much you can learn about a person through something like a bucket list. However, I don't want to get ahead of myself here. Not everyone may know what a "Bucket List" is...

A Bucket List is basically a list of all the things you want to do before you die, or "kick the bucket." This concept was made popular by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson in the 2007 movie of the same title directed by Rob Reiner. You can check out the theatrical trailer here. If you haven't already, I highly recommend watching this movie. Especially if you continue to follow us along our adventures. One thing about me, I love movies! I think many great stories are told through movies, I tend to view life through this lens at times. Everyone has a story (a little shout out to Don Miller there). But I digress.

My mom has written her bucket list and it is from here that we begin our adventures. I have no idea how all this is going to happen or how it will all be provided for. But I do know this, God is a loving God, full of goodness and mercy. He wants to give His children good gifts when we put Him first. I have seen my mother put the Lord first in her life and I know that this is no different. We are starting this adventure by committing it all to Him (Prov 16:3). It is by His will that my mom spends another day here on earth. It always has been and always will be so.


I know that there are several different ways of dealing with death. Some say not to give up hope, that God is the healer. Yes, He is. Some say that she can live a long and healthy life just like someone else they knew who had cancer. Yes, she could. Some say that it's a great idea for us to do this together and share it with everyone else. Yes, I think it is.


These are all true statements and we have taken every one of them to heart. God alone knows the day that my mom will die, whether it is is 6 months or 6 years (James 4:14). We do this list not to just accept death, but we are doing it to live life!

I encourage you to do one thing after reading this. What is your bucket list? If you were going to die, what would you spend your last year doing? There is no right answer to this question and we would love to hear some of your thoughts. Please feel free to post your comments here!

Wanda's Bucket List:

1.       Visit Scotland
2.       Eat a whole Marie Calendars Pie
3.       Visit a Castle
4.       Stay on a Houseboat
5.       Ride in a hot air balloon
6.       Stay in beach house
7.       Take an all girls trip
8.       Do something outrageous (more to come on this!)
9.       Drive sports car
10.     Visit the New England area
11.     Have a night out in a Limo

Welcome to Wanda's Bucket List

Sarah, Wanda and Tammy (my sister)

Welcome to our journey. My name is Sarah Reid and my mother, Wanda Eck, was diagnosed with breast cancer last summer in 2009. This was devastating to our family as my mom is the Matriarch in every sense of the word. She is kind, humble, full of humor and generous to a fault. Everyone who has ever met her just loves her!

My mom has triple negative cancer, learn more about that by visiting tnbcfoundation.org
She has already undergone chemotherapy and radiation, both with very little effect overall. The cancer is ravaging her body at a tremendous rate. It has spread to her bones, the bone marrow, as well as her lymph system. On Friday, she was given 12-18 months to live. This is a typical prognosis when someone is in stage 4 cancer, and all treatments so far have failed. This is exactly what we were expecting to hear.

So this is where you are joining us. Wanda has written her bucket list. I have only heard a small part as of yet, and I look forward to posting the full list very soon. As of now, I know she wants to visit Scotland, see a castle, eat a Marie Calendars pie (hmmm... which flavor mom?), stay in a beach house and drive a sports car, amongst other things.

This list has revealed so much about my mother that I never knew. Specifically the sports car mom, what's that about?! I love it!

One thing you should know about our family. It is full of laughter with a dose of insanity for good measure. There is nothing too politically correct about us and we certainly feel and speak our minds. But we are bound by a love of our Savior, Jesus the Christ, and with His help we will see these last months through. We have no idea how long my mom will live, that is in God's hands now, but we will not be sad. We will rejoice for the life we have in Him!

I have a lot more information to share with you in the near future, as well as give you much more information about my mom's journey through cancer. I will bring you along our journey through my mom's bucket list, and I assure you there will be plenty of laughter and some tears. But for now, I just invite you to join me in this adventure.