Christmas for Naomi

Naomi had a beautiful Christmas. On Christmas Eve, Naomi, Jeremiah and their dad Jermaine went to a party with Jermaine's family. Naomi's mom, Nina was sick with the flu and stayed home. My mom and I (Nina's mother and sister) decided to stay in and help Nina prepare the house for the holiday. Once the kids returned home, Jermaine put on some music, and despite the late hour (nearly 11pm), but kids had enough energy to give us a dance performance. They had a great time, and so did we!

The kids slept late on Christmas morning. Jermaine made breakfast for everyone (pancakes, biscuits, eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, etc.), and we all filled our bellies, and expressed our gratitude to him for doing the work, and to God for allowing us to all be together on such a lovely day. We then moved on to the living room where the children opened gifts.

So far, it sounds like a typical American Christmas, no? Well, it was truly extraordinary because the fact that there were gifts at all is miraculous.

Upon Naomi's diagnosis, Nina had to quit her job and take on the role of Naomi's full time caretaker. Jermaine has been working hard as the sole breadwinner, but given the cost of living in Northern California, it's a challenge to run a household on a single income. NIna and Jermaine were faced with the fact that they just couldn't afford to buy gifts this Christmas.

The Alves family donated a beautiful Christmas tree. Johanna Alves ran in the NIke Women's Marathon on behalf of raising money for the Leukemia/Lymphoma society. Johanna ran and completed the marathon (kudos to Johanna) on behalf of Naomi. Read all about Johanna on the Team in Training web site: Johanna Alves. So, the familiy had a beautiful tree, but no gifts.

Enter a wonderful charitable organization, the Kelsi Austin Lowe Foundation. The goal of this foundation is to provide emotional and financial assistance to families with seriously ill children in the Central Valley of California. Thanks to generous donations from the Kelsi Austin Lowe Foundation, Naomi and Jeremiah were able to open an abundance of gifts, including toys, educational materials and clothing. The foundation also provided the family with some basic household needs. Thanks to the Kelsi Austin Lowe Foundation, the family's prayers were answered. Please visit the Kelsi Austin Lowe Foundation website, and read all about this wonderful organization, and the child it's named for: Kelsi Austin Lowe, a beautiful, heroic, and amazing child who died in 2002 from the same form of Leukemia that Naomi is fighting, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Kelsi's parents turned their devastating loss into an opportunity to provide aid, solace, and relief to parents and child enduring the challege of serious illnees. Please make a tax-deductible donation to this worthy cause.

Here are some photos of Naomi on Christmas Day. Enjoy!

I hope you all had a beautiful, warm, joyous Christmas, filled with love, kindness, happiness and good cheer!

Have a safe, fun and Happy New Year!