Happy Birthday Kel!

We all miss you so much!

-Jason, Will, Ben, Sam and Ella

Tatum

Sorry, but I couldn't narrow it down so I thought I'd share all of these - I just miss that crazy curly hair so much....

These pics are from 18 years ago, and that cute little flower girl is my niece, Tatum.  She's all grown up now, and she and one of her sisters, Jill, are both down at A&M.  It's incredible how quickly all of that went by!

There's good blood in this family when it comes to the women - Granny Biggs; Grand (Prewitt) and all her sisters; Kim, Kelly and Carol; and this fourth generation - Tatum, Jill, Cate, Ella and Meg. That's not to mention all the 3rd and 4th generation daughters from those other Biggs sisters. They've all been a huge blessing to me and my family, and to Kelly while she was with us.  But today I wanted to give the spotlight to my eldest niece Tatum, and thank her for what has turned out to be one of the greatest blessings of my life.

When Kelly passed, my employers were very gracious in allowing me to take my time getting back to the office, but eventually you have to move on and get back to some form of normalcy.  Faced with the sudden onset of summer I figured I had to find someone to "babysit" the kids.  What I didn't realize at the time was that what I really needed was someone to take complete charge of my household.  I knew in my heart who the perfect person was, but she had a summer job already, plus she lives in Rowlett and I knew I needed someone to be in Frisco at the crack of dawn every day and stay until I made it home from work.  But I mentioned it to my brother in law anyway, and in short order, Tatum made arrangements with her summer employer and was "all in" for the summer.  

 When I say "all in," I mean ALL IN.  I've used that term for Kelly, and it fit for Tatum too.  Many of you got used to me telling you this summer that if you wanted to know if one of the kids could come over, stay the night, go to the movies - whatever - that my response was "Call Tatum - she's in charge."  Every day in the Stewart household is like planning the D-day invasion, and Tatum was up to the task.  Every time I thought of something I'd forgotten to write down, I'd find out Tatum was one (or many more) steps ahead of me.

The kids never missed a practice or a game, were all well packed for camps and vacations, kept the tradition of the summer "bucket list" alive (and checked off most of the items), beat the Dills in the 2nd annual Stewart-Dill Olympics,  built a massive rainy-day pillow/blanket fort, got registered for school, made it to pick up their schedules, met their lockers and walked their schedules, even got all their school supplies, and actually did chores - and on top of all that they were actually loved and nurtured by someone that learned how to love and nurture the way Kelly did.

My poor planning late in the summer resulted in a gap between caregivers.  I figured they'd survive a couple of days, at home by themselves.  I almost had a mutiny on my hands!  I had to call Kim and Carol to the rescue.  It's probably not accurate to describe anything my kids have been through as "being spoiled," but they certainly had gotten used to being guided and watched over by someone special.

Tatum and I missed each other the last couple of days before she left to go back to school, because I was off at our lease land in OK shooting and blowing things up with friends, so I never had a proper chance to thank her for what she did for me and my family.  I returned from the trip to find that she had managed during those 10 weeks to document in a journal all the funny and touching conversations she'd had with the kids.  All five of us will cherish that forever.

But most importantly for all of us (I think including Tatum) we got to take valuable time to grieve and heal.  I believe that most in my circumstances would probably have been faced with constant worry, pressure, and outright fear for the safety and well-being of their families.  Instead, God gave us Tatum, and because of her our home was filled all summer with peace, love, and laughter - and that adds up to a whole lot of Kelly!

Tatum - we all love you very much, and miss you a ton!  Not sure what your plans are for next summer....

back to school...

Hi there team kelly :)

I stare at this blank screen trying to come up with anything to write or report to you.  I try channel her thoughts...if only I could say "beam me up scottie" just to have a little chat with her!  Please know that so much of this blog was TYPED by me, but WRITTEN by her...many times over the phone late at night or early in the morning.

While trying to think about what she would want me to say...it dawned on me that she would want to show you that the kids are ok.  God answered some big prayers with moving Jason's mom...aka Nana...into a nearby apartment during the week.  Nana's law firm (that she has worked at for many years) allowed her to change her work schedule to accommodate getting the kids off to school and being home for them in the afternoon.  An incredible sacrifice for Nana and Pops no doubt (Pops, we hope you aren't starving!)  Relying on Nana, we all made it through the first and second weeks of school.  It has been very emotional, but we still made it.  Here are some first day pics :)

This pic by the tree has been a tradition for the Stewarts for some time now.  

I wish I had those previous years pics to show you, but this will have to do for now :)

 2013-14 school year!

will 9th, ben 8th, ella 4th, sam 5th

sweet ella texted tatum to make sure her outfit was cute for the first day of school :)

and the cousins did just fine as well...

cole 6th, meg 2nd

cate 7th

and the big girls...tatum and jill...made it through their first couple weeks in Aggie land...

tatum is a junior and jill is a freshman.  If only I knew how to steal pics off instagram...sorry :(

So a few other things to tell ya about...

--THE PURPLE STRIDE - Let's all sign up to walk in person or virtually with TEAM KELLY!  It was such an incredible turn out last year!  Wouldn't it be amazing if we doubled our numbers in honor of our sweet Kelly this year?! 

--TEAM KELLY FOUNDATION - We are still trying to figure out TKF's vision and mission, but we are well on our way to making this foundation something truly astounding!  We even have a website!  Although we aren't quite ready to launch, it is HAPPENING!  That gets me crazy excited.  Kelly wanted her illness to transform into something that glorified God by helping others.  I know she is smiling!  

--TEAM KELLY MUM RIBBONS - Kelly's dear friend, Katy and her husband Greg have donated TK ribbons for your high schooler's homecoming mums!  Each ribbon will cost $1 and will be sold at Frisco Centennial High School.  All proceeds will go to TKF!  Thank you Katy and Greg for your generosity, love, support and prayers.  

Some prayer requests for now:

1.  For the TK Foundation...vision, direction and execution

2.  For Nana and Pops as they settle into a very different unknown routine

3.  For Grand and Pa-paw, Kim and Kevin, Carol and Blake as well as Tatum, Jill, Cate, Cole and Meg

4.  For our sweet friend Katy going through some really harsh chemo

5.  For Jason, Will, Ben, Sam and Ella...always.

TEAM KELLY PURPLE STRIDE

Please join us November 9, 2013 to walk or run in the

Pancreatic Cancer PURPLE STRIDE

to fund a cure for pancreatic cancer.

Sign up here:

Team Kelly Purple Stride

Event Details

Date:	Saturday, November 9, 2013
Event Schedule:	Registration Opens: 8:00 a.m. Opening Ceremonies: 9:00 a.m. Run/Walk Begin: 9:30 a.m. Closing Ceremonies: 11:00 a.m.
Location:	Klyde Warren Park 2012 Woodall Rodgers Freeway Dallas, Texas 75201