My Jessie Journal:: Hi Sweet Pea, it’s daddy=))). Miss you so much and love you tons more. I truly hope you are happy and doing great. I know in my mind you are but sometimes my heart and soul just can’t catch up with my faith which causes my deep longing to have you back with me spike. I’m sure other parents that have a child in heaven can understand. This is where I just need to keep trusting that this massive crater in my heart has some bigger purpose or meaning. It‘s not easy to find peace in your pain but that is the quest i’m on.
Enough about me and my junk. The new JoyFactory is almost finished. I’m here right now helping the plumber finish the bathrooms=). I also get to help clean the of floors and restrooms. It helps us save money and I truly feel like this new JoyFactory is a 2nd home. Shaya has made sure it is a reflection of you and your mission. So there is lots of bright colors and pictures of kids smiling.
Volunteers started coming in this week to help stuff JoyJars and make our other boosts of love for the kids, sibs and parents. Remember this picture? This was our first delivery of JoyJars. Back then the JoyFactory was in our garage…I did the labels….you did the stuffing. We made a great team Jess!!! I so wish we were back in the garage just having fun and thinking about the toys going in each one of your JoyJars and how they would help “cure a bad day”. Thank you again Jess for leaving us with a mission.
Speaking of your mission….this year our goal is 50,000 JoyJars, which is a big goal but we believe in setting big goals and asking amazing people to help us. The theme for our spring JoyJars is Safari….so fun! I will post new label soon so you can see just how fun they look and how we are using them to kick off our new series of plush buddies. These JoyJars will go to children’s hospitals, Ronald McDonald Houses, oncology camps, Give Kids the World and of course homes. As you know, 90% of the courageous kids fight from their own home due to limited hospital beds.
Our hope is to send them to kids in all 50 states and continue to reach more kids fighting globally. We are starting to build a network of “charity partners” who we send JoyJars too and they give to kids in their network. It’s working well so far…just need to find more that have a mission to help kids fighting cancer around the world. You said “help EVERY kid” so that means all 300,000 that are diagnosed each year. Some day Jess I hope I can tell you we “did it”…we reached “every” kid. Until then we will keep stuffing, keeping seeking support and keep spreading JOY!
Being your daddy is one of the best doses of JOY ever!!! Love you!!!
xoxo
daddy
