Visit a Lemonade stand

PLEASE COME OUT AND HELP US HONOR CAITLYN TODAY. WE WILL BE HAVING A LEMONADE STAND TO RAISE MONEY FOR THE CAITLYN CHURAK FOUNDATION. ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TOWARDS GRANTING A WISH FOR PATRICK FREUND WHO IS BATTLING LEUKEMIA.



WE RECEIVED SO MUCH FROM PEOPLE WHILE CAITLYN WAS BATTLING HER CANCER. WITH THE HELP OF OTHERS WE WERE ABLE TO LIVE A LIFE TIME IN THE ONE YEAR THAT WE HAD AFTER HER DIAGNOSES. WE WOULD LIKE TO DO THE SAME FOR ANOTHER FAMILY THROUGH CAITLYNS FOUNDATION.



YOU CAN FIND A LEMONADE STAND AT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS:

10 e COMFORT LN PALATINE ( AT THE CORNER OF COMFORT LN AND PLUM GROVE RD)

ON HILLSIDE RD IN BARRINGTON EAST OF HOUGH ST.

AQUARIUS HAIR SALON IN PALATINE ( AT THE CORNER OF NORTHWEST HWY AND PLUM GROVE)


AND AT 2PM HAMILTON PARK IN PALATINE

Lemonade stands in memory of Caitlyn

First Annuel Lemonade stand "6/08"

It has been awhile since I have posted. I do this with encouragement from dear friends. We are approaching the one year mark since Caitlyn's death of June 27, 2008. This months has been a time of reflection over the past year. Seeing where we were a year ago and seeing how fare we have come, is some what overwhelming. It is a daily challenge to over come every odd that is handed you when you lose a child. This year has been a struggle for us I will not lie, we have had low times and then even lower times. But somehow I feel like we have won some unbeatable challenge. The challenge being cancer; it challenges you to see how far it can pull a family apart and then see if they can stay together. We are still here and at some level it feels victorious because we most certainly could be in a very different place.

The following is a passage I read and could not believe how it completely mirrored how we are feeling right now in this point in our journey. When you come across something that describes your feelings so clearly, it's comforting to know someone else gets it. It reassures you that your not crazy.

In the Bible the apostle Paul says that you should rejoice in your suffering.This advice sounds incredible, especially when you are in the midst of pain. "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (Romans 5:3-5).

After looking closer at Paul's words, you will realize that he is not saying to be glad about what happened, not at all! He tells you that you are to use your suffering as a time of personal growth in which you ultimately experience an outpouring of God's love into your heart.

Dr. Ray Pritchard says, "Christians who most deeply experience the love of God are those who have not fought against God at the point of their suffering, but they've said, 'Lord, I don't understand. God, this doesn't make any sense. I wish this would go away, but, Lord, I'm going to cooperate with You. I'm going to walk with You through this.' "Through that, God gives them perseverance; He develops character; character becomes hope, and in the end, their hearts are soft, and then they experience the love of God.

"Lord, I'm not happy with this, but I will make the best of it. Pour out Your Spirit on me, and give me perseverance, character, and hope. Lord, I sure need hope.

So with this said we are PERSEVERING on with the 2nd annual Caitlyn Churak foundation lemonade stand this Saturday June 27th in memory of Caitlyn.

Last year just a few weeks before she passed we did our first annual lemonade sale (see pictures above). The proceeds from that went to one of Caitlyn's friends Rosie Colucci who is also battling a brain tumor.

Our goal This year is to use the proceeds to grant a wish trip for another friend of Caitlyn's whom we have met while on this journey. He is battling leukemia that has come back for the second time. Our goal is to give this family HOPE with a small act of kindness from friends and strangers.

We would like to make this a HUGE event with the help of all of you. We want to see how many people we can get to have a lemonade sale on June 27th. If you would like to participate please email me with your location. I will post it on our web site where all the stands will be. So if you can't have one yourself you can stop by one, or tell a friend where to go. As of now we have 2 in Palatine, 1 in Barrington, 1 in Schaumburg. Once you email me I will send you information that you can post at your stand about Caitlyn's foundation and where the proceeds will be going. Please spread the word and try and get as many people to have a lemonade stand as you can.

Know matter how great our own pain is cancer can not take away our CHARACTER. Character is what we have that allows us to care about others in the shadows of our own pain.

There is nothing more Caitlyn loved in the summertime then ice cream trucks and lemonade stands. So I know she will be smiling on us all while we help grant a wish for someone else.

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY CAITLYN, WE LOVE YOU!!

Caitlyn at her tea party bithday party -March 2008

2009 Children Memorial/Northwestern Memorial

ToyDrive

Special Thanks to:
Mrs.Held 1st grade class
Ms.Duncan's 1st grade class

Special Thanks to:

Ms. Wosniak's 3rd grade class
Mrs. Burns 3rd grade class

Patrick and Jackson delivering gifts



Patrick and Jackson were very excited to see the children on the oncology floor receive the gifts that their classmates donated. We had fun as a family picking out baby dolls that we know Caitlyn would love. We bought several different types of babies. Caitlyn loved the dolls with bottles, so we got a doll that came with "the works" bottle, diapers for potty, food. One little girl saw it right away and took it. She continued to browse to make sure she made just the right selection. Jason showed her another doll thinking she was uncertain but she stuck with the doll with the works and took off. I just laughed and thought she was a girl after Caitlyn's own heart.


After the children from the floor came, the nurses came and got toys for the patients that could not come out of their room. There were still enough toys left to fill the toy closet for another day. We were also able to take toys over to the radiation department at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. They also have a toy chest for children to visit after radiation treatment. Caitlyn visited that toy chest often. It felt good to give back to the places that were so kind to us and Caitlyn during her treatments.

THANK YOU TO ST.THERESA SCHOOL. THANK FOR HONORING CAITLYN'S BIRTHDAY BY RECOGNIZING THE CHILDREN STILL BATTLING CANCER. THANK YOU TO THE FIRST GRADERS WHO WERE SO GENEROUS WITH THEIR GIFTS. THEY ALWAYS REMEMBER CAITLYN EVERY TIME I SEE THEM AT SCHOOL. THEIR LOVE FOR HER IS VERY TOUCHING. ALSO THANK YOU TO THE THIRD GRADERS FOR SHOWING SUPPORT FOR PATRICK AND JACKSON WITH THEIR GENEROUS GIFTS. IT MEANS SO MUCH TO US WHEN PEOPLE REMEMBER OUR PRECIOUS CAITLYN.

I think this "first" is harder than all the other holidays we have gone through since she passed. This one is different because we should be celebrating another year. Birthdays are a celebration of life, however this life was cut way too short and left our family forever missing everything about her.

CAITLYN WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU. YOU ARE ALWAYS ON OUR MINDS AND IN OUR HEARTS. XOXO LOVE MOM & DAD PATRICK AND JACKSON.

Thanks to everyone who decorated Caityn's tree