eli simpson: August 2012

Hi everyone

I have just realised its been nearly 3 months since we have posted...where has that time gone? amazing how quickly life just flies by...

Alot has happened in that time...as it always does...so, i will try and remember to cover EVERYTHING...

first and foremost, we have had some terrific families come through the cottage...it has been an amazing success and we look forward to hosting more families into the future...so if you know of ANYONE who is bereaved or is looking after a child who has cancer/leukaemia, please put them in touch with us...they are more than welcome to stay!

we have also been amazingly blessed with some terrific support from our local community groups, businesses, and as always family and friends. Pete and i are busy with presenting the cottage to those groups who are interested in knowing our story. We have been seriously overwhelmed and extremely humbled by the generosity of these groups and their ongoing support to our cause. Because of them, we have been able to watch our bank account grow, which is a massive relief for us..as it will ensure the cottage will remain free of charge to our families that visit. Without the support, we just cannot do what we do...so from us to you...thankyou so very very much. It truly means the world to us!

Family life has been busy busy...after a different job for 3 months which took pete to the city once night a week, he has well and truly settled back into life at home (and we are happy to have him home consistently!)...Archie has been so-so...and has suffered terribly with recurrent ear infections. Poor little thing has been constantly on antibiotics and really miserable, so it was off the ear specialist and within 2 and a half weeks (and the threat of leaving him with the specialist!)...archie had grommets put in and seems to be much much better. Hard to believe archie is almost 16 months now...he is at a fabulous age...nice and interactive and most importantly, he loves to dance! Its a cracker...

We had our final fundraiser for the year in early July, with a couple of local politicians - Darren Chester (Federal MP) and Tim Bull (local MP) brave enough to colour their hair and walk onto a footy oval and umpire a game of seconds....then half time through the seniors, they shaved! It was great to watch, and the crowd got right behind them...so on behalf of Eli's Foundation, we would love to say thanks to everyone involved with the day, and particularly Darren, Tim and Ray Burgess (and of course the chooks)...who helped make the day a great success. We raised about $3500 which was a tremendous effort, but most importantly, we raised awareness within the community about the cottage.

We are also truly amazed at the generous offer from the Lakes Lions Club who are kindly donating half the proceeds of their "SPRING RAFFLE" to Melon's Cottage, the other half is going to a terrific cause in the Peter McCallum institute...So if you are floating around Lakes Entrance, please get behind this great raffle - the proceeds are going to some awesome causes! Marnie and I will be selling some raffle tickets out the front of Foodworks on 15th September (in the morning)..so if you are around, please call by and say hello...we would love to have a chat!

We have been really lucky and able to tell our story of Melon's Cottage to roughly 2-3 community groups a month...so while we have been extremely busy with that, we are just so proud to be able to spread the word far and wide...and while its hard work trying to fit it in with everything else, i think its been a great success...with heaps and heaps of support coming from the most amazing places...so THANKYOU...i know how much this means to the families using the cottage.

Speaking of which, we would also like to say a massive thanks to Challenge, who allowed us to use their retreat on the gold coast for a week...unfortunately we had a pretty rough time, and pete had to fly home early, we still loved our time away-even though it was a short stay...archie LOVED the open areas and the beach...and he was tuckered out at the end of every day...

its with great sadness that we found ourselves saying goodbye to three people over the past 3 weeks. Yeiyah (our 'nana' next door when we lived in altona all those years ago) passed away, a much loved member of the Department of Sustainability and Environment - Dave Needham and very very recently, Sue Morrison...a woman who had the most amazing and loving spirit and a true angel passed away suddenly. All three made a deep impact on our lives and im sure on many many others...you will all be sadly missed. We met sue (a dedicated member of the Bairnsdale Amaroo Country Womens Association) when they catered for Eli's wake and then again 6 weeks later when pete and i attended Silver Linings Funeral's christmas memorial. Pete being pete chatted sue up and volunteered me to join the CWA to 'make a decent sponge'...sue and her fellow CWA ladies were happy to have me in their fold when i was ready. From then on, the simpsons and the CWA ladies formed a firm friendship and bumped into each other from time to time, but always at christmas, at the memorial where the CWA catered. We kept in touch and they were all thrilled when they found out Archie was born. Their card congratulated us on archies birth, and it was lovingly signed "CWA Aunties"...and thats what this group of fabulous women are to us...a whole bunch of new 'aunties'...

I approached Sue to see if the 'aunties' might like to cater for our Cottage opening, on the proviso they bought some jelly slice! And so they did...and put on a great CWA spread for all our guests...We were then asked to present to the group, just last wednesday (15 August). I remember talking for much longer than i was given, but was much more open to the group..such was the relationship we have. It was a massive shock to learn sue passed away suddenly, and i can only begin to imagine the lasting legacy she has left for us all. I said to Jill (president of the CWA in bairnsdale)...giving sue a cuddle was exactly like giving my nan a cuddle. She will be deeply missed by everyone who knew her...

Its ironic that in someone's deepest grief, there is the gift of life...we would love to say a massive congratulations to rae-lee (our fave nurse) and shane on their impending arrival...and also megs and adrian on number 2...what an amazing gift.

The month of september brings time of reflection...it would have been Melon's 5th birthday. All we have are photos...and his smell on his special clothes has all but faded. We still wonder what he would have been like...how he would have embraced his little brother archie, whether they would have looked the same and whether he would have retained that beautiful sensitive soul he had. 5 years old...i can only wonder 'what would have been'...off to school next year...but it will never be.

anyways...thats about it...3 months packed into a post! i promise not to leave it as long next time!

hope all of you are going well...

take care

loads of hugs and sunshine

the simpsons

xoxoxox