Best Shot Monday: Help Me Help a Friend in Need

This is a longer post than I usually write, but I ask that you give it a few moments of your time. See those two little girls?  Looking outside wondering what the big wide world holds in store for them?  Dreaming about the time when they will be able to go out and explore every corner of it?  I want to tell you a story, and though these are my two little girls many years ago, this story could be about any little girl, but it is a story about a beautiful little blue-eyed blonde named Blaine.  She has a beautiful green-eyed blonde mama named Vanessa and a handsome blue-eyed blonde daddy named Lance. 

Lance and Vanessa are childhood sweethearts who fell in love two lockers apart in the 9th grade. They went off to college together and eventually married and welcomed that beautiful little girl into their lives.  And then a little darkness entered their world. At 19 months old, sweet Blaine was diagnosed with ALL leukemia.  But her family and friends rallied around her, and through many prayers and a hard fought battle, after two years, Blaine beat that leukemia. 

Blaine went on to enjoy the beautiful times of childhood, playing sports, dancing and making things with her mama. Imagine a sweet little girl dancing with her daddy at a daughter/daddy dance, or a thick blonde pony-tail bouncing down a basketball court, or even an adorable little pixie dressed like one of Santa's elves. Now imagine sweet Blaine at 11 years old, getting ready to start 6th grade.  Can you imagine how excited she is?  Having two 10 year olds excited about going into 5th grade, I certainly can. Now imagine the unthinkable.  Just as she was getting ready to start 6th grade, after seven years in total remission, Blaine's leukemia returned last month.  She was in the hospital for nearly a month and had just been able to return home for a few days just a week ago. But, really, that wasn't the unthinkable, as that was yet to come. Last week, beautiful Vanessa and sweet Blaine tragically lost handsome Lance, loving husband and doting father. Can you imagine it now?  A child fighting for her life, a mother fighting for her child, and both instantly and unexpectedly losing the man that completed their sweet family?

That's what I've been imagining since this happened last week. Imaging how I'd feel if my girls were in Blaine's shoes, if I were in Vanessa's. Now I ask you to do the same. Even though you may only know them from this story, Vanessa and Blaine need you. They need your prayers.  They need your love.  Let's do all we can to make sure those prayers and that love reaches out and surrounds them so that Blaine can find out what beautifully amazing things the big wide world holds in store for her, and so that she can stop dreaming and actually start exploring every corner of it again. And so that she and her beautiful mama Vanessa can find peace through this tragic loss.  You see, I know Blaine and Vanessa and Lance as Vanessa has been my friend for 15 years. 

I want to offer you two ways to help them, as Vanessa will be facing mounting medical bills in the days ahead.  First you can visit Blaine's Go Fund Me page to make a donation directly to the family into an account for Blaine's medical expenses. Let's help them far surpass their goal. Second, my family has already made a personal donation to Blaine's fund, but I will also be donating 100% of the profits from any sales in either of my Etsy shops (here for photography and here for jewelry) to Blaine's fund through the end of October.  If you've had your eye on anything, now's the time.  Let's help this sweet family all we can. Please hold them up in prayer.  Share this post with your friends.