Happy Birthday Rach!

Just made plans with your parents for your birthday celebration
How they keep themselves together, I have so much admiration
This is your 2nd birthday we will be celebrating without you
How I wish we could go back and make everything anew

Today your 28, I know you’re celebrating your day
I HOPE you are celebrating in all the fun ways
Dancing and having fun all day long
Spinning and singing and making up songs

We will be sending you balloons with messages from below
To tell you we love you, miss you, and a big hello
We will have your favorite Italian and share memories of past
None of our new memories will those ever surpass

“They” say losing you gets easier as time goes by
Whoever made that up, made up a huge lie
Tears flow from us every day from the loss of you
Not just only your family, but from your friends too

We love you so much Rachel, happy birthday to you
We miss you so much Rachel, send us another clue
Can we see a Rainbow for your birthday in the sky?
Maybe send us just one rainbow from way up high?

Finally - A Post!!!

Hello Everyone! I am finally going to update everyone on what we have been doing this year (well, past two years)!!

We are now 3 days away from the Georgia Ovarian Cancer Alliance's largest yearly fundraiser: The 5k Overcome Ovarian Cancer Walk!! This is our team (Team RachelsHOPE) 2nd year participating in the walk. Rachel's family and myself formed the first team in 2009. The response we received was nothing short of AMAZING!! Our first year participating (GOCA's 4th year) we had over 60 walkers and raised just short of $21,000! And that was just for us, GOCA raised over $100,000 for the whole walk.

Apparently Larry, Donna and I made such an impression with GOCA (with help from Rachel up above, Im sure) that we were asked to become members of the Board of Directors this summer! We are all so honored to hold this position. Personally, I think we are all relieved because it will keep us busy throughout the year keeping Rachel's HOPE alive and reaching so many women in the community.

As of tonight, Team RachelsHOPE has 66 walkers and over $14,000 raised....Not to brag, but we're pretty much beating all the teams...in a healthy-happy competition way. I can't help but think that this gives Rachel extra satisfaction, as she would never accept 2nd place as good enough. For anyone who asks, she got this trait from her Dad!

We have a very special addition to this year's walk that I would like to mention. Rachel's grandma (Donna's mom) is making the trip up from Sarasota for the walk. Rachel's family lost her Grandfather this past year, so her Grandma making it to this walk is extra special to all of us involved. I'm personally looking forward to seeing her, it's been almost 2 years!

I will post again after the walk to keep everyone up to date on how we did (individually and GOCA as a whole). I also want to share how Donna and I spoke at the "Survivors Teaching Students" program at Emory College of Medicine this summer.

With HOPE,
Heather