Friday, May 29, 2009

Another do good idea!

A little bunny told us that a very special person came up with a very special way to usher in her birthday this year. Kathi Wilken celebrated her fabulous 40th birthday last weekend with friends, fun and all the celebratory accouterments, but she also turned the attention of traditional birthday giving into giving of another kind.

She came up with the idea of a "cover charge" for the big event, asking people to make a donation to either the SIDS Network of Kansas or The Kyrie Foundation. With the cover/donation came raffle tickets. Word has it that Kathi purchased LOTS of super cool items and made beautiful gift baskets for her generous guests to win!



Can you believe how creative and how AMAZINGLY GENEROUS Kathi is?! To give her birthday to charities that want to make sure that children get to have birthdays, too? So kind. So incredible.

Thank you, Kathi! Our birthday wish for you is that you have many, many more birthdays to share all that you are with others!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Thankful Thursday

Today I’m thankful for simplicity. It’s been very interesting to observe our culture over the last several years. On one hand, we are producing and buying more than we ever have before in the history of the planet. Buy whatever is newest, whatever is next. Buy the next video game system, the latest cell phone, a new shirt or a bigger TV when what we have now or what we could buy used would still be great. All of this buying junks up our homes and fills our municipal dumps faster than a Twitter update.

So ... simultaneously, we have the green movement. Eat local, consume less, reduce plastics, reduce waste, recycle, reuse, be responsible, make do in order to save our health and our existence. This “new idea” means that we buy less, have less, simplify.

Now this, of course, is occurring at precisely the same time economic pundits are saying “stimulate the economy!” In order to preserve jobs, we consumers need to spend, must buy stuff, keep consuming. Then we are back to our poisonous manufacturing and fickle appreciation that ends our polluting our air, water and soil.

Sometimes I get really confused. Do you?

So I’m thankful when I see another with self-control to be simple, when I see someone who knows that shopping isn’t a hobby; a hobby is a hobby. Or when I hear about someone buying used, refurbished or vintage wares. I’m thankful when I see just one dearly loved toy instead of a room exploding with stuff. And how about this simple message to manufacturers:

Make better stuff.

We don’t want the lead paint in our toys made in China nor the melamine in our dog food (also made in China.) I want one phone that will last and last. If you have new technology for a phone, make the phone software upgradeable instead of a whole new plastic system. Make clothing that washes well. Make lawn furniture that can last for more than just a season. Make your product beautiful, like the Italians do.

And here’s the simple, self-correction that would happen: Better, more beautiful things might cost a little more. Then we’d have to save and really think about our purchases, which would help curb needless spending. Then we wouldn’t be able to afford as much junk, which would keep our landfills smaller, our houses/yards cleaner and our savings accounts fatter. This would also have manufacturers making less, which would consume less raw material, saving us noxious pollution. And with less stuff to stifle us or to distract us, you know what we have? More time.

I’m thankful for simple solutions. ;)

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery


What are you thankful for today?

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for green grass. Few things show lush goodness like new grass in the springalmostsummer season. Springalmostsummer grass is the landing spot for cartwheels gone awry, the humble cushion for picnics and the silent scrubber of the air we breathe. Thousands of these slim, green blades grow together to provide soft, cool relief for soles tiptoeing across hot pavement. I'm thankful for the symbolism of green grass, too. Our lives are much like that ol' adage about grass: we're sown, grown, mown and gone. We are small; we must grow together to make an impact; we are here but a season.

Others have seen the symbolism, too.

As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
Psalm 103:15-16

What is life? It is a flash of a firefly in the night. It is a breath of a buffalo in the winter time. It is as the little shadow that runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
Crowfoot, Blackfoot Tribal Chief

For we are only of yesterday and know nothing, Because our days on earth are as a shadow.
Job 8:9


So what of this grass-life connection?

Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, "Grow, grow."
The Talmud


That's what this season is about. That's what today is about.

Growing versus lolling. Reaching versus sitting. Living versus televisioning.

This week I was lucky enough to watch a Kyrie blog follower in what I like to call her "blessed zone." It is the activity where she and God commune, where her gift is actively expressed, where she feels most complete, most like herself. She is fully aware that her ability to dance is her gift, and when she uses this gift, she says that it is her prayer. When you see something like this—this union of the seen and unseen in its active form—it is breathtaking.

I like to think it's always better to wear out your shoes than your couch. This season is so short. This life is so short. Please take this season to grow.

I am thankful for growth, but not just hindsight "growth." That's obvious. I'm thankful for growing, what's happening right now, today. I'm thankful for the active growth that is happening in you as you read this sentence. What is your motivation right now? What are you going to do right now? How are you going to live right now? What are you growing right now?

What are you thankful for today?

Friday, May 15, 2009

Great snapshots from "Hit for the Cure!"
















Andover Central was ready to pounce.

































Even the umps wore pink undershirts to support the event.



















































Time to play ball!




































The fans were riveted.



















Frakes kicks off the ceremony between games.



















Jordan speaks on behalf of The Kyrie Foundation.



















The Thome family with Frosty/E.B./Dorothy.


















Kamdyn giving Frakes a hi-five.































Special Walls of Honor, including Kyrie.






























Great job girls! A double team photo.





(Kamdyn making friends with Andover Central.)

"Hit" was a hit!

Heard it was a great evening last night in Andover! Good times, team spirit and doing good. Stay tuned for more details!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

This Thursday!

What a great time of year to take in a game, huh? And how about a double-header? And how about a double-header that is earning research dollars for The Kyrie Foundation?!

When Eggbert isn't dressed as an Easter egg or as an elf or as the Wizard of Oz's Winkie Guard, she coaches the girls' softball team at Andover Central High School. With decades professionally invested in public school systems of Kansas, Rita Frakes has been a superbly creative and devoted advocate for kids. (I was lucky enough to be one of 'em.) She has also been an instrumental source of encouragement and spirit for what The Kyrie Foundation is doing. Now, she has fused the two in a way in which you, too, can participate.

Frakes's Andover Central team will play the other Andover High softball team this Thursday, May 14 starting at 4:00 p.m. in "Hit for the Cure," an event where all players gather donations to fight cancer. Both teams will wear pink uniform tops and will donate their proceeds to the cancer charity of their choice. Frakes's kids know she does a lot with The Kyrie Foundation to raise money and awareness for pediatric brain cancer, so they want to give their donations to breast cancer and The Kyrie Foundation.

Isn't that AMAZING!!!! We LOVE it when kids help other kids! And it just goes to show how one person's commitment to a cause can be infectious, can inspire and can one day cure.

As for the big game? YOU ARE INVITED! Again, the girls start at 4:00 p.m. at Andover Central High School on the softball fields behind the school. (603 East Central off of Andover Road.) We'd love to see you in your Kyrie shirts!!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for sunshine—-and rain. The symbiotic relationship between these two weathers fascinates me. Isn't it phenomenal how something so beyond our control tenderly holds our breath in its rhythms? Too much of one and not enough of the other creates instant calamity and even threatens humanity's existence. It's the middleness, the average of the two that allows life to thrive. The push and pull, the lows and highs, the ebb and flow.

I'm thankful for the sunny days that inspire picnics and softball. I'm thankful for the rainy days that bring about naps and board games. I'm thankful that we need both, figuratively and literally. The rain stops our routines to nourish; the sun illuminates our growth. And all I have to do is appreciate them.

What are you thankful for today?

Friday, May 1, 2009

And the winners are ...

After completing the highly scientific Chad-picking-numbers-between-one-and-13 method, we have our t-shirt winners!

Jennifer Dorsett!

Shanda!

and

The Jayhawk Family!

I have two larges and one medium size. E-mail me at megan@kyriefoundation.org with your size preference and mailing address.

Congratulations!