Good evening all!!  Today I am going to share with you two very special emails.  Last week Jennifer saw a segment on the Today show about some firefighters from California that had driven across the US to New York in a fire truck. They visited several states in the north and were heading south to NC before starting their journey back across the US.  One of the firefighters has had cancer twice and was forced to retire from his job because of it.  He and some friends decided they wanted to bring awareness to cancer, to honor their fellow firefighters who had battled cancer/and or lost their lives to it. Their organization is called Code 3 for a Cure. They were going to visit several cities in NC including Winston-Salem, NC.  They were in Winston today and it was the only time Jennifer could make the trip to see them.  She sent them an email and they immediately answered her.  Below is Jennifer’s and below that is the response from one of the Code 3 support crew members.

Hi, I saw a segment on the Today show about your organization and I just wanted to let you know that I think it is a wonderful thing that you guys are doing.  My little boy passed away from cancer on November 29th, 2007.  He would have been 3 on June 19th of this year.  We have some very special Firemen in our town that made his last months very special and also made his last day here with us on earth very very special.  If you ask anyone what Beau would have been when he grows up, I am sure the first thing out of their mouth would be a Firefighter.  Usually when we arrived at the hospital for chemo or if he was sick, the first thing that the child life specialist would bring him was the Fireman hat from the playroom.  He would wear it all the time.  Thanks to some of the great Firefighters in our community Beau was able to visit the fire station the month before he passed away and was able to take a ride in the fire truck.  The day that Beau passed away 2 fire trucks came to the hospital and one of them raised their ladder to his window and 2 Firefighters climbed up it and waved to him through the window.  They even brought him his own real fire man’s hat.  At Beau's funeral, a fire truck lead the procession to his grave and 4 Firemen were his pallbearers.  Firefighters will always hold a special place in our hearts.  After seeing your segment on the Today show, I could not help but to write and tell how wonderful I think you guys are for doing this.  We live in North Carolina and my Aunt lives very close to Winston Salem, so if your itinerary is right, my plan is to drive to her house next Monday, so hopefully we can come by the fire station that you guys will be at.  Well, I hope that you guys have a safe trip and God Bless you all!  I have attached some pics of Beau.  Thanks!

Dear Jennifer,
 
Thank you for your message.  Along our journey we have been told of your story, and we are deeply touched by it.  Beau is an inspiration of strength and courage for all of us, as are you.  We are very proud to hear how the Firefighters have given him the honor he so deserves. We would like to create a special seat on the fire engine just for Beau.  If you would like to bring a framed picture, we would be honored to do that so that he may join us as an honorary Firefighter on our journey. We look forward to hopefully meeting you in Winston Salem.  We are scheduled to arrive there on June 30 at 4:00 p.m., leaving the next morning at 10:00 a.m.  The location will be Station 1, the Bullard Station, 651 N. Marshall Street, Winston- Salem, NC  27101.
 
With much love and hugs,
 
Peggy Abundiz
On Behalf of the Code 3 Firefighters

Needless to say, when I read these emails I cried. I immediately called my sister and she had just read them and was crying as well.  We could not believe these firefighters from California had already heard about our little firefighter Beau.  How amazing and how awesome was this news. Jennifer and Kayla made the trip to Winston-Salem today.  Jennifer took a picture of Beau with his favorite fireman hat on (from the childlife room on 2West) and put it in a picture frame that had a fire truck on it.  She presented it to the Code 3 crew this afternoon.  Beau’s picture will be secured safely in the seat directly behind the driver and there he will ride with them back to California as an honorary fireman. Jennifer took his “Greenville Firefighter” real hat with her and Kayla wore it while at the fire station.  Auntie Rene and Cousins David and Whitney went with them.  Several TV stations from the Triad area were there to interview the Code 3 crew and they also interviewed Jennifer.  They had a wonderful visit with the Code 3 crew as well as the crew of Station 1.  Two of the firefighters are still on active duty and because of fires in California they had to fly back.  The crew that was left invited Jennifer to go with them for the next two weeks on their journey back to CA.  She told them she would loved to do it but couldn't this year but to keep her in mind next year.  How awesome would that have been if Jennifer could have ridden with Beau to California. The Code 3 crew took pictures and videos.  There was one of the crew at Station 1 in front of one of their fire trucks holding Beau's Greenville Firefighter hat.  They included Jennifer in one of the pictures with the crew at Station 1.  These pictures will return to CA.  What a great afternoon it turned out to be. As it turned out, one of the firefighters at Station 1 in Winston was from Greenville and had attended DH Conley.  All his family members are here in Pitt County.  He knew Parham’s cousin and had gone to school with one of Beau’s firefighters who also attends church with Jennifer and Parham.  It’s truly a small world isn’t it!!  Ruth 1:16 Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.  Life is a journey.  A journey that is sometimes fun and exciting and sometimes scary and uncertain.  The day Beau was born our family started on a journey only we didn’t really know it at the time.  The first year was filled with so many firsts, Beau learning to crawl, then walk, then talk and his 1^st birthday. It was a year filled with so much love and joy.  The second year of this journey was much different.  It was filled with uncertainty, scary moments, many tears and heart aches but at the same time with much joy and love.  God had Beau’s journey planned even before he was conceived.  Beau’s journey is over.  He is now with Jesus in heaven and I am sure he is wearing a red firefighter’s hat today.  I know he was laughing and waving at them all as they stood outside of Station 1 in downtown Winston-Salem.  I know he was excited to see Kayla there wearing his firefighters hat but I’m sure he was telling her “you can only wear if for a few minutes then it’s gotta go back to my house”.  Jennifer and Parham’s journey on Beau’s behalf continues on today as God continues to use Beau to touch the lives of so many people.  Beau’s legacy lives on in the halls of 2 West in the form of 4 red wagons with IV poles.  His legacy lives on with Beau’s Buddies Cancer Fund which will help so many in the years ahead.  I know none of us that stood outside the nursery window three years ago could ever have imagined what an impact this precious blue eyed little boy would end up having on this world.  God sure is an awesome God!!   God Bless!!  Love, Grammy

Good evening all!  I hope you all have looked at the slide show Jennifer put on here showing the events of Beau’s 3^rd birthday balloon release.  It was a wonderful celebration of Beau and his life and what he meant to us all.  There were over 50 people there with all shapes and sizes of balloons.  There were star balloons, a couple of fire truck balloons, dump truck balloon, happy birthday balloons and just plain balloons with messages to Beau written on them.  Kayla asked Beau if God had cheeseburgers, nuggets and MM’s in heaven.  Everyone gathered and talked for awhile and shared fond memories of Beau. Pastor Gene said a few words, prayed and we all sang happy birthday to Beau.  Jennifer counted to three and everyone let go of their balloons and they started their ascent into the sky.  It was so awesome watching all the balloons floating upward.  We watched them until they were out of site heading over Simpson were Beau lived and then heading on toward Washington and the river.  I think it was a very fitting way to celebrate Beau’s birthday and I hope it will become a tradition that we carry on with year after year.  1 John 3:18-19  Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.  And, by this we will know that we are from the truth.  Children are a blessing from God and Beau was a special blessing put on this earth to do God’s work.  God’s work you say well he was only a child and a small child at that.  It didn’t matter.  God used Beau in a mighty way and continues to do so even today.  As Pastor Gene said, Beau continues to touch the lives of so many people.  Beau may have been small in size but during those 12 months he held the world not only in his hand but in his heart. He touched the lives of people in all 50 states, Canada, Australia, and South Africa.  He ministered to more people then you and I will in our life time.  Beau reached out to everyone that came in contact with him, young, old, nurses, doctors, interns, caregivers, childlife staff, family and friends.  Beau will live on in our hearts and memories forever.  We will continue to talk about him and remember how blessed we were to have him in our lives.  Thank you God for sharing this precious little boy with us and for allowing him to be a part of our lives. God Bless!  Love, Grammy

Good afternoon all!  I hope you are having a great week.  As you have seen from Beau’s homepage of his website, this coming Thursday, June 19 is our precious little warrior’s 3^rd birthday.  To honor him and celebrate his third birthday, Jennifer and Parham are having a balloon release at 6:30 pm at Pinewood Cemetery.  I’m going to write a message to him on my balloon before I release it.  Please come join us this Thursday and bring a balloon with your own special message to Beau written on it.  All the balloons will be release at one time and will float up to Beau in his heavenly home.  What a glorious site this will be – the heavens filled with all colors, shapes and sizes of balloons floating slowly up to heaven.  We would love to see all our family and friends, especially Beau’s 2West family and Beau’s firemen there on Thursday to join in with us to celebrate Beau’s 3^rd birthday.  While he may not physically be here with us, he is still with us in our hearts and he will never be forgotten.  Beau loved balloons so what better way to honor him on his birthday.  1 Chronicles 16:27 Honor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place.  Family traditions are precious and they carry on from generation to generation.  Birthday parties are one of those traditions and what child doesn’t love a birthday party.  We join with family and often friends as we observe these traditions.  Thursday is Beau’s birthday so why shouldn’t we celebrate it?  Beau would want us to. God brought this precious blue eyed little boy with the huge infectious smile into the world three years ago.  Little did we know that day what was ahead and what a journey God would carry us on over the next two years and, what a journey we would continue on even today.  God used Beau in a mighty way during the last two years and He continues to do so with each day that passes.  While our hearts still ache because we miss Beau, we celebrate because he’s in heaven with Jesus and he doesn’t hurt any more.  We will celebrate his life and how much he means to us this Thursday so please come join us at Beau’s balloon release.  The pictures today are from Beau’s 2^nd birthday party last summer.  God Bless!!  Love, Grammy

Good afternoon all!  What a beautiful Saturday afternoon we are having especially after that horrible heat wave.  Tomorrow is Father’s Day and we would like to wish all the fathers out there a very Happy Fathers Day!  Parham received a very special father’s day gift three years ago – Beau!!!  He was born right at father’s day that year.  Two of the pictures we are sharing with you today are of Beau and Parham in the first few days after he was born.  Parham was one very proud daddy.  You could see the love in his eyes the first time he saw Beau.  And, Beau loved his daddy.  Beau loved to go riding in daddy’s big truck especially to the hunt club looking for deer.  He loved to go with him to feed the dogs and to look at the houses daddy was building.  Parham was patient with Beau teaching him how to feed the dogs and look for deer. They loved to sit in the recliner and watch golf on TV. And, when Beau started walking, Daddy would carry him with him to play golf down at Grand-dad’s place at the river. Parham has a tractor and occasionally he would bring it to the house and of course, Beau wanted to go riding so Parham would sit him in his lap and ride around the yard.  Parham bought Beau a real pair of cowboy boots before he was born and he finally grew into last year.  Beau loved his boots and crocs.  Last summer Beau got it in his head he wanted some boots like daddy had.  Jennifer, Kayla and I were shopping at Walmart and while we were waiting in the checkout line Beau said I want boots like daddy.  He would not stop talking about it and got upset so we had to get out of line and rush back to the shoe section.  There was one pair of rubber type boots that was his size and thank the Lord Beau loved them.   He wanted those boots on and I had to put them on him as soon as we got in the car.  He was so proud of those boots.  Parham drove up behind us as soon as we got back to the house.  Beau saw him and started hollering dada, dada.  It was all I could do to get him out of the car seat because he wanted his daddy.  He literally leaped out of my arms into Parham’s arms and said dada look at my boots.  I wish I had had my camera to capture the look their faces.  The other picture is of Parham and Beau walking on the pier at Grand-dad Miller’s place at the river.  It is one of my favorite pictures.  I think you can see why.  Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.  Within in every father’s heart is the desire to guide and nurture their children and to let them be all God created them to be.  Bless you fathers for being there for your children, for encouraging them and guiding them as they explore life and grow into the person God created them to be.  Parham had a two short years with Beau but they were a wonderful two years filled with so many wonderful memories.  God Bless!!  Love, Grammy

Good evening all!! It sure has been a hot weekend.  It brought back memories of Beau’s first swim in Grammy’s pool.  It was the summer of 2006 and he wasn’t quite 1 yr old yet.  Grammy had a float thing just that he could sit in and float around the pool.  Mommy put tons of sunscreen on him and Kayla put on her floaties and in the pool they went.  Beau wasn’t too sure about it at first.  In fact, he didn’t seem too happy about it.  Kayla played in the pool the year before so she wasn’t afraid of the water. Jennifer kept playing with him until he got used to it.  Finally we put Beau and Kayla on a big float that Grammy had.  He started laughing and had a big time playing.  As you can see from the pictures, he was very happy being in the water.  Isaiah 55:12 For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song.  You could see in Beau’s and Kayla’s faces that day the joy they had in just being together and playing in the pool.  We can express the joy of living in what we think, say and do.  We can go about in gloom and despair if things aren’t going well or we can set and fulfill our intention to express joy in all we do.  We know God is with us at all times, in all situations, in all we do.  We can choose to show up each day with an expectation of joy.  We can allow God’s love to flow thru us to all those around us.  Beau didn’t know it but the love and joy that radiated from him touched everyone that he came in contact with.  He constantly spread God’s love to everyone just by being Beau and he continues to do so because his love and memories live on in all our hearts.  His legacy lives on in the halls of 2 West because his little red wagon and three others donated by Jennifer and Parham are there bring joy to little kids.  Their parents can take them for a ride with their IV bags and not have to drag a pole with them.  During the Children’s Miracle Telethon I saw a clip talking about the Children’s Hospital and saw a parent pulling their child in one of Beau’s wagons.  It brought tears to my eyes and put joy in my heart because our little warrior’s wagon was bringing some peace to another child.  Thank you God for blessing us with Beau even for the short time he was with us and thank you God for continuing to use him in your service.  God Bless!!  Love, Grammy