Running for Drew G!

I am in the process of training for a marathon. It's not just any marathon, though, because I am running for one brave young man.

His name is Drew. He has been battling a type of lukemia for a while now and is in remission. However, he is still going through chemo, which has been extremely tough on his legs. So much so, that there is no way he could run this marathon.

That is why I am running the 26.2 for him, as well as the hundreds of other patients at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. This past Friday, I got the pleasure of spending a few hours with Drew and his mom, Holly. We spent most of the day waiting for his appointments, but I got to meet two special friends of his that are also patients.

I tell you, these children and teens are some of the strongest people I know, as are their parents and other family members. There is no way I could endure the constant poking and prodding along with the nausea, fever, and other ailments that come along with chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Not to mention the psychological issues patients and family members go through on a day to day basis. I am in awe of this place they call St. Jude. As I walked through the halls with Drew and his mom, every patient I saw had a smile on their face. If it weren't for the physical things you saw (like masks and no hair) you would never know these kids had cancer. We are so incredibly grateful to have such an amazing facility right at our back door.

My visit to St. Jude with Drew put a lot of things into perspective for me. It taught me to not take small things for granted and to cherish each and every moment I get with Miles. You never know when things will change for you. This is why I am running. Many people may think I am crazy to run 26.2 miles, but it would be crazy not to for such a worthy cause. These kids can't run a marathon. Some of them can't even walk down the hall. So, in a few weeks, I will gladly endure the months of training so that I can to run this monster of a race in order to beat this monster they call cancer.

Please help me in my endeavor. I am registered as a Hero in this race, but I am far from it. Drew is my hero.

Since I am a St. Jude hero, I am trying to raise $500 for Drew and all of the other kids like him at St. Jude. You can visit my fundraising website at http://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/Heroes/Heroes?fr_id=4820&pg=pfind. You can put in my name and it will pull up my page. My cousin, Cara, is also raising money to run the half marathon for Drew. Please help us help these kids!

I will keep you all updated on my progress throughout the next few months.

Miles goes to Memphis

This past weekend we ventured to Collierville to visit some friends of ours. We got there on Friday afternoon and cooked out at the Butlers' new pad.

On Saturday, my friend Erica and I went running with Miles, while Matt, Kevin and Noah went to play tennis. After our morning workouts, we all went to the splash park. I'm telling you...it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I wish Jackson had something as cool as this! Miles, of course, loved every minute of it. I enjoyed myself too, until some kid sprayed me with an elephant water gun. However, the dismay of being soaked was immediately overturned into complete joy whenever I saw Matt, who was sitting in the middle of the splash park, get drenched when the water came back from its 2 minute break. Oh, how I wish I had my video camera rolling. HILARIOUS!

Miles and his new friend Noah.

This is such a sweet picture that was taken right before Matt got soaked!!

That afternoon, Matt, Miles, and I traveled over to Arlington to the DeBerry's for a sip and see for their sweet new baby Knox. He is precious!

Then, Erica's mom came over to keep Miles and Noah while all the adults went out to dinner. We were so grateful to her for doing this for us. We all went downtown to eat at the Majestic Grille, which was fabulous.

The Cleek's--minus Miles

The Butler's--minus Noah

We had a wonderful time. After dinner and a few beverages, we all went for ice cream at Maggie Moos and then ventured back to Kevin and Erica's house. We had a big day planned for Sunday.

Miles went to spend the day with Honey and Joe Pa.

As soon as we got there, he wanted to go swimming. I think we have a little fish on our hands!!

After dropping Miles off, Matt and I drove back to Collierville where we met up with Kevin, Erica, Trey, and Mimi to head to the FedEx St. Jude Classic at Southwind. This is usually an annual tradition with all of us. We had to skip out last year because Miles was so little and we didn't want to leave him.

We sat in our usual spot...right near the 17th green.

The whole gang-Jeff Lisco, Erica and Kevin Butler, Matt, Mimi, and Trey. I was taking the picture.

I think the coolest part of the day was seeing Phil Mickelson up close and personal!!

When the tournament concluded, we all headed to Carraba's in Collierville where Honey, Joe Pa, and Miles met up with us for some good eats.

We are so thankful to have such amazing friends and family we get to share these special memories and moments with! Thanks to all for a very fun weekend!!

 





Joe Pa on the Silver Screen

On Sunday, June 2nd, Mary Claire came over to keep Miles for a few hours while Matt, Trey, Mimi, Papa, and I all went to the movies.

But it wasn't just your every day trip to the movies....no...no...it was WAY more exciting than that!

We got to go and see my dad's (Joe Pa) newest movie--Now You See Me. He wrapped up filming in Louisiana a while back where he got to meet Morgan Freeman. I know!!! How cool is that? He was a stuntman in the movie and played a police officer that drove cars, wore swat gear, and got to wear a money suit.

I was beyond thrilled to see this movie because my Dad is in it. However, it was an awesome movie that made me think and left me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I highly recommend it to any movie goers out there. AND LOOK OUT FOR MY DAD!!

If you look closely, you can see my dad's name, Jody Looney, at the end of the first group of names.

I am so proud of his newest hobby-stunting and acting in movies. Who knew my dad of all people would be on the silver screen?! I guess I get my acting bug honest!!

Miles is 15 months Old

On May 28th, Miles turned a whopping 15 months old. I'm telling you....time is getting faster and faster and faster the older he gets. Matt and I are so incredibly blessed to have such a healthy, striving, vibrant young little lad on our hands. He is perfect in every way, and we thank God daily for giving us such a perfect child.

We went to visit Dr. Blake on the 29th of May for Miles' 15 month check up...and this time he got shots :(. But, Dr. Blake gave us a good report. Miles is 26.75 pounds and is 32 inches tall. He is in the 75th percentile in weight and 90th percentile in height and head circumfrance. Dr. Blake believes if Miles keeps growing like he is, he could be no shorter than 6'1" by the time he is finished growing. Matt was pretty excited about those stats! Of course, he wants a football player!!

Here are some of this month's MILEStones:

• I can run, but not as good as Mommy does just yet. No marathons for me!
• I can climb up and down from the couch and chairs.
• I am still talking my own language.
• I can understand many words, like "no", "ball", "toy", "dance", and "night-night".
• I love to dance.
• I love to watch Yo Gabba Gabba and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.
• I am still in size 5 diapers.
• I am wearing 18-24 month clothes and some 2 and 3T's.
• I LOVE to play outside. In fact, I get really upset when I have to come inside.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I love anything that invloves water, especially Honey and JoePa's swimming pool.
• I am down to one nap a day after lunch.
• I like emptying drawers and bags and then putting things back in them.
• I think Roxie and Luke are so funny.
• I like to eat macaroni and cheese.
• I still will not eat vegetables, but Mommy puts them in my juice.

Next, is a video that shows just how much Miles loves his puppies, Roxie and Luke. You will see how they love him, too!

Miles and his "conversations"

Miles has been doing a lot of talking lately. Here's a video of him having his own conversation with Roxie and Luke.

This next video was taken after Miles ate one of his favorite foods, black beans, a few days ago. The journalist in me wanted to interview him about his meal. Here's what I found out.