Well fall is here. Tomorrow is October 1st and I feel like the official beginning of the holiday season. Now if only mother nature felt the same way and sent some cool weather our way, I am very over 90 degrees in Southern California. Anyway, I LOVE the holidays and do everything and anything with my kiddos to celebrate the season. 

One thing that we feel very strongly as a family is teaching our children to give back. We are very blessed in so many ways and I do not ever want to take that for granted. One event we look forward to is the CHOC Walk (Children's Hospital of Orange County). The walk is on October 11 and covers three miles throughout the Disneyland Resort. This year is its 25th year!!!! The walk has raised millions of dollars and is a wonderful experience. Last year was our first year, we met an amazing family at our daughters preschool and joined Team Kyle Lee with them. Tears were brought to my eyes to see all of the support in the very early morning hours. 

Little did I know that about a year later our family would experience CHOC and put our little 3 week old into their hands when he spiked a 103.5 fever. It was our 3rd little guy and Jason and I felt pretty confident at the whole parenting thing.... well..... at 5pm on a Monday I noticed that we had a warm baby who was getting hotter by the minute. Of course everything happens after hours and after a frantic call to the doctor I was on my way to the ER while my husband stayed at home with the older two. Our ER trip turned into a week long stay of tests, medicine and fluids. To see your little helpless baby laying in a crib so sick and then to know that your two older kids are at home needing mommy was a feeling of complete and total helplessness that I cannot even begin to explain. Thank goodness for a loving husband who's an amazing daddy and a support system of family and friends that was there for us. In the hospital I found support that I never thought I'd find in the nurses and doctors. Each and every one of them handled my baby like he was their own. They were gentle, loving and patient. They asked me how I was holding up and feeling and they were never too busy to stop and listen if I needed to talk. We now have a chubby 3 month old who's smiling, cooing and trying to hard to sit up and be big like his sister and brother. I will never be able to express my thanks to the nurses and doctors that work so hard to take care of children and families in need. This is my families way to rally, fundraise and get up at the crack of dawn to walk thru the Happiest Place on Earth. 

Please take a quick minute to check out how you can help a charity in your area and lets teach our children to be kind, loving and compassionate. 

http://choc.convio.net/site/TR?fr_id=1110&pg=entry