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Hello and welcome! By way of introduction, our twelve-year old Sarah has a wacky, irrepressible sense of humor and loves art, dogs, music, and writing her own books. She used to be blond and curly-headed but chemo, radiation and a stem cell transplant did away with the old look. Her new look is brunette and her new attitude is, "I have survived and I'm glad to be alive!"
Diagnosed with Stage IV neuroblastoma in May of 2002 when she was six years old, she's been through too much and grown up too fast; however, she still manages to sprinkle each day with her special, custom blend of giggles and joy, compassion and courage.
In July of 2005 she was declared to be in remission; in June of 2006, she relapsed in her adrenal gland, femur, hip and backbone. After three rounds of Accutane, her scans came back clear. She did two additional rounds of Accutane and is now considered to be back in remission.
Whatever lies ahead for our perky princess, we know that she is definitely up for it! She's not only our daughter, she is also our inspiration.
For those of you who may be new to our family, let us give you a brief history. We spent fifteen years traveling full time, doing about 160 concerts in churches every year. Sarah and her brother Nathan, (18) were on the road with us since they were about four weeks old and have been in forty states, Canada and Mexico. For seven of those fifteen years, our family lived year-round in a 45 foot, custom-built two-bedroom R.V. pulled by a Kenworth semi truck. In our fifteen years on the road, we recorded thirteen CD's of original music. When Sarah was diagnosed on May 17, 2002, we left the road so that we could dedicate ourselves to doing everything possible to help her get well. Sarah's dad, Rev. Steve Smith, now pastors First Assembly of God in Smithfield, NC.
Thank you so much for joining our family on this journey!
NOTE: We've been told by a number of people who just recently joined us that they wish they could read journal entries we had written before we started this web page. With those requests in mind, we have opened an "archive site" at Sarah's Spot Archives that includes email updates to friends that go back to the day Sarah was diagnosed. It tells our story up through December when this present site was added.
INFORMATION ABOUT OUR CD'S
We would like to give "Like A Blanket" to any cancer family for just the cost of postage. (It features a solo by Sarah!) This CD has quiet, peaceful music and is a wonderful de-stresser, especially for families facing the trauma of treatment.
If you’re more into a mixture of fast, slow, fun, and serious songs, we have a couple more CD’s you will be interested in. (All songs, except the hymns, are original.)
Sweetwater and Angel Fingerprings
Proceeds from the sale of our CD's will help to pay ongoing medical bills for Becky and Sarah.
Prices:
One CD: $12
Two: $20
Three: $25.
There are also cassettes available for Sweetwater and Angel Fingerprints which are $3.00 each.
Please add $4.00 (per order) for postage.
You can make checks out to "Heartsong" and mail them to:
The Smiths
7 Woodsdale Dr.
Smithfield, NC 27577
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Sarah's First Video!
Before you watch it, let me just explain that Sarah and her best friend, Victoria, were with Steve and Nathan at a friend's ski lodge and decided to shoot some videos.
This is a pretend newscast called "News at Ten" where they each change their name and then give news and commercials.
The last segment is especially funny because they pretend to be "Hillbilly" newscasters.
Enjoy!
For additional pictures of the Smith Family, go to:
www.picturetrail.com/princessgroovychick
Journal
Moday, May 12 A FEW MORE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS
I'm still working my way through all the wonderful questions you've posted in the guest book--don't give up on me 'cause I'll get to all of them eventually!
Amy from Springfield asked if Nathan had gotten his braces off yet.
He has an orthodontist appointment today where they will do some sort of impression of his bottom jaw and that will tell them if it's time to remove the braces. He's worn them for over two years so he is very excited about getting them off!
He's also excited about car shopping! He and his dad have spent many hours over the past week looking at car lots near and far trying to find a vehicle in his budget.
And speaking of his budget: when he was about twelve years old, Steve and I told him that for every dollar he saved for a car over the next few years, we would match it. He was very diligent about saving his money and now has $10,000 to spend on a car.
I realize that's not a lot for a person who's going out to buy a Lexus but for an eighteen year old's first car, I think he's done very well.
I know we have a good number of local readers that come to Sarah's Spot; if you know of any great places in the Smithfield/Raleigh area to purchase a vehicle at a good price, please email me. (E-mail is at the bottom of page.)
Okay, I got distracted from Question Answering by Nathan Talking.
Another recent question:
Which reader has been reading Sarah's Spot the longest? Well, I can't be real scientific on this but it seems like Alyssa (who has been reading since January 23, 2003) wins the award. I didn't even start the blog until the middle of January so she's been around since the very beginning.
Congratulations, Alyssa! We're glad to have had you as part of our family for over five years!
And lastly, Mary H from St. Louis, MO asked the following questions:
1. When does Nathan get home for the summer?
You can tell I'm really late on these responses because, happily, he's home!
2. What are his plans--will he try to get a job?
He's worked at Chick-Fil-A for two years in the summers and on school breaks. Unfortunately, they can only give him 15-20 hours so a week so he's pretty desperate right now to either find another part time job to fill in the hours or to find a full time job that will give him 35-40 hours a week.
3. Have you ever played the game "Apples to Apples?"
No, we haven't, but since Keely also mentioned the game in the guest book, it sounds like we need to try it soon!
4. Does Sarah get to go to camp this year?
Yes, for the fifth year in a row, she is going to Victory Junction Gang Camp. If you want to see an amazing place, Google the camp and look at the pictures and descriptions of activities. I don't think there's any place any closer to heaven on earth for a kid.
That's all the question-answering for now! Keep reading for a description of a happy Mother's Day!
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Sunday, May 11, 2008 2:52 PM CDT
DRUMMERS IN PJ'S AND SPOLING MOM
This morning at our 7:45 am band rehearsal, we realized we were without our regular drummer. Nathan is going to be filling in on drums some this summer but since he had been up until after midnight going to an amusement park with the youth group, I was reluctant to call him.
I thought, "Hmmm. Do I really want to bother a just-home-from-college kid and ask him to get out of bed immediately and come to band rehearsal?"
Well, I did. And he did.
When he walked in for rehearsal five minutes after the phone call, he had on basketball shorts, a t-shirt, flip flops and uncombed curls. The rest of the band got quite a kick out of rehearsing with someone who was technically still in his pajamas. (Just so you know, he DID go home after practice to shower and change!)
I must say that having him play was a special Mother's Day gift. His playing has improved immensely from last summer since he's been taking lessons from a pro player in Florida and also practicing a lot on his own. I got choked up a few times during rehearsal just thinking about what a joy it was to get to make music with my grown up boy!
After church was over, Steve and the kids cooked lunch for me and turned me into Queen for A Day. In fact, Sarah took the whole thing so seriously that before she served me a special pre-lunch soft drink, she stuck a pencil behind her ear and put a towel over her arm so she could look like a "real" waiter.
Do I look spoiled to you? (don't answer that)
Nathan worked diligently on the grilling of the chicken accompanied by his able sidekick, Snowy the Grill Man. Snowy looks like he's trying to be helpful but he's actually on the diligent outlook for any morsels of chicken that might escape and drop down to doggie level.
Steve is showing the garlic toast who is boss.
The Smith Sibs displaying their unutterable happiness at being allowed to cook a meal for their mom.
Steve joins in the "face making experience."
After lunch it was time for (drum roll, please) DESSERT!
And finally after grilling, eating, and dessert-ing, it was time for the highlight of the day--the dishes! This was the cue for Mrs. Queen for the Day to disappear upstairs into the Wonderful World of Naps while her poor, overworked, underappreciated children labored laboriously on cleaning up the kitchen.
Just one question.
Can we have Mother's Day again tomorrow?
Read Journal History
Hospital Information: Home!
7 Woodsdale Dr.
Smithfield, NC 27577
Links: http://jonathanshope.org A foundation which helps Neuroblastoma families
http://acor.org Good Neuroblastoma info
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