Madagascar results!

Hi there everyone...

just thought i would share (very proudly)...a certificate of appreciation to the "BLA" for their great work raising $442.00 for the Leukaemia Foundation in December 2008.

Donna, B, Leona, Yas and Nat did a terrific job putting together a lovely afternoon at the Bairnsdale Cinema to watch Madagascar 2 and raise some $$ at the same time!

So thanks to the Bairnsdale Cinema for helping us raise the money, and for all the local businesses who donated stuff for the kids 'goody' bag, and the local party hire place for the wonderful decorations.

Lastly a bloody HUGE thanks to all of you who supported us in this cause, and came along to enjoy the film...you guys are all truly AWESOME...

luv and hugs
the simpsons (and the BLA)...
xox

Leg it! - To Guthridge Lake in Sale!

hey there everyone

our 'worlds greatest shave' is absolutely zooming along, and we want to thank EVERYONE of you who has donated to this worthy cause...i think at last check i was sitting at 80%, only about $1000 or so to go before the big chop happens...its an amazing feeling...and i seriously cannot WAIT to be a part of it...

Team Melonhead has been able to raise an enormous $6689.00 to date...what a bloody fantastic effort, and thanks to team melonhead members - Russell, Tonia and Marnie for putting their heads on the line!

if you are interested in donating, jump online - www.worldsgreatestshave.com and click on "sponsor"...you can sponsor me, team 'melonhead' or individual team melonhead members...

We have been training (well, a tiny bit!) for the 'celebratory walk/run' for "Leg it for Leukaemia" which is held this sunday at Lake Guthridge. For those who have not registered, you can rock up on the morning (bout 8.30am) and register, otherwise the run/walk starts around 9.30am. It should all wind up around 11.30am...

If anyone needs any help registering, just leave a msg and i will get back to you...

If anyone wants to leave a message, question or ANYTHING, you can contact the simpson family on

eli-simpson@hotmail.com

i set this email up to help us through the next 12 months as we have heaps of fundraising on the go...i think all of the BLA - bairnsdale ladies auxillary are already looking forward to a holiday...they have been working exceptionally hard!

anyways...overall we are travelling ok...its hard to believe that melon has been gone nearly 2 and a half months...its funny, we tend to take extra care when we are planting plants, or painting, or even sewing...everything we do, we have melon in mind...its actually quite a nice feeling - its like Eli is chief quality controller!

Pete has finished the painting on the balcony which is exciting, and has moved onto the boards around the house...we are getting some more mulch in the next few weeks in anticipation of our 'planting' day...we are also taking steps forward to see how we can set up a 'foundation' in memory of eli to help us keep melon's cottage moving forward! Lots of things going on and more importantly, to be positive about...

best fly
lots of love and hugs (and secretly hoping for some rain!)
the simpsons
xox

The week that was!

Hi everyone...
like all of you, it has been a pretty busy week...
Lots of different things going on. I celebrated a birthday on sunday (of course my age is umm...21 again!)...but seriously, a huge thankyou to all who made the weekend a continuous celebration...lots and lots of yummy food, good wine, absolutely great mates, family and BIRTHDAY CAKES!



All we can say yet again, is the day was bittersweet...i guess these are the milestones that are really going to hurt for a long time to come...

But, we are learning to laugh again and thats a nice feeling...you might not see it all the time, but we are taking small steps forward...

Melons cottage is going well...pete and i are inspired to start some 'landscaping' soon. We went to bunnings on the weekend and bought some more gorgeous paperdaisies...lucky we were on a timeline otherwise we would still be there! pete is madly trying to finish off the balcony and then start the big boards under the house...slowly slowly coming together! We are very excited, and are definitely planning for an autumn planting session...
We are very slowly getting the km's into our legs for the "Leg it for Leukaemia" run...dont forget that for those that are interested, it will start at 9.30am at Lake Guthridge in Sale...should be a nice walk/run and one that we will certainly use to remember and celebrate Eli's life...and all the other people who have succumbed to leukaemia and other cancers/disorders...

We had our debrief at the hospital on monday. Some of the tests provided some good information and confirmed that eli had no JMML in his body as well as other things they originally thought was going on. Because they could exclude a fair bit with some of the very specific testing they undertook, one of the things were became the focus was an auto immune dysfunction. Some of the testing in this area proved to be 'inconclusive'. Eli had tested positive for haemalytic anaemia about 2 weeks into his last stint in hospital and it was because of some follow on complications from this causing antibodys doing some really weird stuff, it was thought that the antibodies caused disease in his lungs and liver, something he could just not shake. Very difficult time to go through, but i guess it just confirmed in our own minds that he absolutely fought with all his might and he really was just unlucky. As the Dr's explained, the bone marrow transplant process, especially using cord blood, is still very much in its infancy, and there is clearly much to learn. We just hope that the results from all the tests done after eli died will help build a better picture for little poppets with these diseases...and will hopefully one day add to the information already known. Bottom line, we would all love to be free of these diseases...
Pete and i are both really pleased we went through with the meeting, and once again, it has just made us so proud that our 'melon' gave such a fight after really understanding how sick he was...heartbreaking is one word that pops to mind, and you would give your own life to make it better, but its just not the way it worked out...

On a brighter note...
Our 'worlds greatest shave' gig is ramping right up...we have some details for those that are interested in helping us raise some money for the leukaemia foundation...

The official 'shave' will be held on Friday 13 March at the Lakes Sports & Community Club (the new name for the old "Entertainment Centre" in the middle of town)...shaving/waxing/colour kicks off at 8pm... for those that want to book a meal before the fun begins, bookings will be essential - please contact the Club on 5155 3500. The evening was a huge hit last year and we are hoping for even more fun so please come along! There will be spot prizes on the night and a few local 'famous' and not so 'famous' mugs to help! If you would like to donate online - go to www.wgs.org.au, sponsor a 'team' - melonhead or an individual - jodie simpson...

So jump on board where you can...and we will keep you posted..

luv and hugs
the simpsons
xox

RAMP UP FOR A SHAVE!! GO TEAM MELONHEAD!

HI there everyone

its with huge excitement that we are just about to ramp up the world's greatest shave to be a part of again this year...For those that dont know, we participated last year (pete did the shave) and collectively, we raised nearly $22,000 which is bloody FANTASTIC!!!

Its my turn this year and i must say, am really looking forward to giving something back to the organisation who helped us so much. It is also going to be an amazingly deep personal tribute to the memory of our son.

If you are interested in sponsoring me (and team 'melonhead'), to see if we can beat last year, please log onto www.worldsgreatestshave.com.au and search for 'jodie simpson'. Just follow the prompts to donate some money! Once all the 'logistics' are sorted, you will (or should) be able to sponsor other team members as well. Very exciting...

The actual shave will take place at the Lakes Entertainment Centre on Friday 13 March 2009 from 8pm onwards. Last year was a hoot, and we are hoping to make this year bigger and better...

We wish to thank all those people who have coughed up some cash to start off, and we are at a grand total of $215.00 in 24 hours! Hopefully we can continue the good work and get some groovy looking nudenuts over Australia...

Please dig deep, it really is for a fantastic cause!

If anyone has any questions, just give me a buzz...or leave a message and i will get back to you..

love and hugs to all

the simpsons
xox

One more week passes

hi there everyone...

it is unbelievable how quickly time passes and in lots of ways, how sad it is that time stops for no one.

We are both well and truly back at work with a fair bit going on...busy time for pete with all the tourists down this way...

We are hoping to meet up with the BLA this week to finalise some fundraising efforts...i have been completely SLACK and not run at all this week (yikes!)...so im going to have to pull up my socks and get some km's into my legs...otherwise its going to hurt BIGTIME!

i headed to melb this week for work, and struggled a little in the car...all that time by yourself lets you think about all sorts of weird and wonderful things. I guess we have to keep moving forward, but every day presents its own sets of challenges. I didnt realise that even visiting lygon street to catch up with friends would be difficult. The last time we were in lygon street, we had eli in the pram. Lots of hard stuff to face, but we are very lucky to have friends hold our hands and to help us along our way.

I came across a couple of little ditty's which we just loved. One was on a card we were given, the other from a deck of 'angel' cards i bought.

"Your angel flies ahead of you, to guard you along the way"...i like this one, i just reckon eli is clearfelling a massive track to keep us safe...

"Dont cry because it is over...smile because it happened"...this one i absolutely adore, and have it in my mind in times of sadness.

Clearly, we are still hurting. Its kinda funny because many people who have well wishes say that time will heal, and perhaps make life a bit easier to bear. We feel that some days are ok, then we get blindsided by grief and we are back at square 1, like it all happened yesterday. Just normal feelings and lucky to have a great support crew to be around, or have on speed dial if we need to.

We have a big month coming up, my birthday and our 'debrief' with the hospital...bittersweet are the only words i can find. We are hoping to have a nice weekend for my birthday, we are heading to melbourne to do just 'stuff' and catch up with our great mates. again, bittersweet comes to mind. I guess its milestones like these that are going to be our hardest days...

righteo, enough of that stuff...

we are still going to do the shave for a cure...when i set up a website, i will let you know...pete did it last year, and we are really keen to do it again this year, my aunty from sale and me. I promised last year i would this year...so look out for a nudenut...the fun begins again!

i will keep you all posted...

best fly...heading down to sale to visit pa which will be great. We are also going to see nana (eli's ninny) for the first time since she passed away in july...it will be a big morning.

love to all
the simpsons
xox

Melon's cottage!

hi guys

i thought i would get my bum into gear and get some piccies posted so you believe there really is a 'melons cottage'! So...here they are...


We are making slow but good progress on the garden, and are hoping to get it all ready for an autumn planting...Pete is looking at painting the balcony out the back over the next few days (weather permitting of course!)... Bodsie puss seems pretty happy catching mice (yay for bodsie) and pete has done a great job setting our little avery up in preparation of putting a couple of little budgies - 2 girls called rae way and alison...


The girls on christmas day

eli's cow 'moowhistle'...big fat thing she is!

pete with moowhistle

a calf we called 'harold' after our uncle from sale who milks cows on a dairy farm

'harolds' mum 'mondy' after our pa 'raymond'...

eli's gift - the paperdaisy front and centre on the balcony out the back of melon's cottage

the front of melon's cottage

the westernside of the house and the first 'official' garden planted over the xmas/new year break

the back of the house and balcony ready for painting

melons candle, i always have one in the holder and keep it at work for when i need to remember...


slowly slowly coming together.

every day we remember eli, sometimes with tears and sometimes with little giggles. He is never far from our thoughts and we continue to celebrate the fact that we had eli in our lives.

Anyhoo, love to everyone and look forward to updating the blog again soon.

the simpsons
xox