The Unstoppable Umsteads

There are so so so many people whose help and generosity is just overwhelming. I'm lucky to be surrounded by such a support system. It would be unfair to single out one particular person or persons.

That being said: Todd Umstead and his family are hysterical! And they have kept me smiling this whole time. When I said "funny cards" - they found funny cards. The Easter VaJayJay card was from the Umsteads. I don't know that Jesus meant for the Easter celebration of his Resurrection and VaJayJay's to appear on the same card - but Todd and Dawn found it. And I loved it.

This is the latest well wish:

Old lady, furry dog: "Sorry my dog humped your leg... he feels really bad about it!"

Hysterical! Where do you find a card like this? And if I found it, I would be buy all of them because I can think of about a dozen people who would bust a gut if they opened this up!

On top of the dog cards, the Umstead's rock a menagerie of dogs and other animals at home. And the best part is ... they put them on the return address label with those little cartoon faces! When I get a card from them, at first glance, I'm thinking it's the Rodgers (who also send the funniest cards!). With five children and the same type of return address label, there are seven smiling cartoon faces on the Rodgers sticker. Those represent actual human beings. Todd and Dawn, plus daughter Olivia, are on the label along with 37 animals! I swear between dogs, cats, a hamster, plus an elephant I think - it's the Umstead Zoo! Makes me laugh every time.

Dawn keyed in on one of the biggest things when I first got sick: running errands. I - the Queen of Errand Running - simply could not get in and out of the car 53 times in an afternoon to get my stuff done. She was out running errands, she offered to run my errands. It's like a family of Visiting Angels.

Todd sent the last card, one of those talking ones, with an extra surprise inside: a print out from WikiAnswers.com.
Check this out:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_tall_is_meredith_jorgensen 
The whole first post is crazy, CRAY-ZEE (except for the part where he says I'm prettier in person - that part is all true! Ha!)
So Todd finds this, prints it out, writes WTF on the top and sent it along. If this kind of stuff doesn't pass the cancer time, I don't know what will.

While it's all fun and games, my thanks and appreciation is serious. This man is bald for me. Todd's been a part of St. Baldrick's Day for years. It's an organization that urges people to raise money to shave their heads in support of children diagnosed with pediatric cancers. It's a fun and awe-inspiring event as dozens of people - a lot of local police officers and fire fighters - shave their heads. I was really hoping to go, see my friends and support the cause in April. Alas, I was having one of those "bad" cancer days and missed all the fun. But then Todd texted me this picture:

Todd definitely rocks that look better than I do. Thank you for all your support and well wishes. You have no idea how much it means!