It is with sadness that I pass on the news that two more kids have lost the struggle but have earned their wings, Peter Barr and Rebekah Hines. Please visit the sites and leave a note for their families. These two have joined all the kids that have gone before them and will be in good company. I'm sure that Hannah, Matthew, Ariana, Mackenzie, Elena, Leo, JJ, Kate and the others will make them welcome. There are other kids that we need to offer some support to as well.  Please visit Gunner, Katelyn, DaeHon, and the others at I Could Be Your Child. They all could use a kind word and some strength.

Reading about those two kids yesterday and remembering all the others that have died, I got a little depressed. I visited Hannah's tree and spent some time sitting on her bench just thinking and talking to her. Asking her about how she's doing and telling her about what's going on. I got to thinking that I wasn't feeling like I was doing enough to help. But as I thought about it and talked a little to Kathie about it, I have come to realize that I need to start small. The fundraiser is one step on a long road. Before that it was the Christmas cards. Before that it was establishing the Foundation. And before that, it was Hannah. It all comes back to Hannah.

She was/is the driving force behind most of the things I do. She is the reason that we set-up the Foundation. She is the reason we are having the fundraiser. She is why I will be doing what I can for many years to come. Building a charitable foundation is not something that can be done in a few months or with a fundraiser or two. I will be spending a lot of time in this over the coming years and will do what I can to build it into something special. Something that can make a difference. It's my dream, and Kathie's, and really everyone else as well, to one day hear that a cure has been found. If we can in some way, know that we've help that come to pass, it will all be worth it. Perhaps the money we've raised, will have helped a research program find some key piece of knowledge that in turn helps another program develop a treatment. And by raising awareness, we've gotten enough people to be aware of the issue and make changes in the way they approve new treatment protocols, and that a new protocol is developed using that new treatment, and that a hospital allows a doctor to run a trial and that trial gave insight into the treatment protocols that in turn allowed a child to survive. That is all result we're all trying to achieve.

"Baby steps", is what Kathie said. And there is that old proverb "Even the longest journey starts with a single step." I've got a lot of steps to take.  We all do. I don't want to assume that I'm already one of Hannah's Heroes. I feel like I still have to earn that title.

Lots of Love,

Tore, Kathie, Allie and Beautiful Angel Hannah