Jennifer Ireland

Belle...

We enjoyed an eventful Memorial Day weekend. Ours included, barbeque, Shrek the Third, golf and much more. You can't beat good times with friends and family. I hope everyone else had a great time. It'll be less than 48 hours and the next weekend will be upon us.

Many people have asked how our kitten Belle is doing. For those that haven't heard much of Belle, she is a kitten that Jen and I picked out for the girls late last year. Belle wasn't old enough to be brought home until late February of this year. She is a beautiful bengal and really fits in our household well. She loves to be in the middle of the action and actually puts up with the girls pestering her. I have never been a big fan of cats, but Belle is definitely worth keeping around. She's almost like a dog but with a lot less maintenance. Here are a few pictures of her...one as she lounges on the couch after a long day of play, and the other of her being pushed around the house by Emma in a stroller. You can see how well her spots have darkened up.

By the way, this blog officially surpassed 500,000 page views today. It just blows my mind!

Examiner story...

Thank you very much to Debbie Coleman-Topi of The Examiner (Eastern Jackson County Missouri newspaper). She wrote a nice story about our family and the Jennifer Ireland Foundation. Thanks also to Julie Scheidegger, Examiner photographer, who spent an evening hanging out with us as we went about our business.

Click here to go to The Examiner Online and view the story.

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. Enjoy your short work week!

My new camera...

Well...my old camera never turned up, so I had to purchase a new one. I'm kind of a gadget guy, so buying a new camera didn't take any twisting of my arm. The first picture of Em and P on the new camera is great!

I was looking at this picture a few minutes ago and could not believe how old the girls look. It actually took me back to a conversation with a counselor at North Kansas City Hospital just before we lost Jen. This particular counselor specialized in helping children cope with mortality, whether it be their own or that of a loved one. She said children that lose a parent at an early age "become old souls very quickly." At the time it made sense but I could not agree out of experience. Now, I know exactly what she was speaking of. Besides being very intelligent--don't I sound like a boastful parent--there is something additional they have gained from their experience in losing their mother. I can't quite explain it, but "old soul" fits. It is almost as if they have found peace with their loss and are now stronger and wiser because of it. I wouldn't be surprised if during one of my difficult moments they would sit me down on their lap and console me.

We are planning a relaxing weekend here at home. I hope you all enjoy yourselves and stay safe. Memorial Day weekend is one of rememberance for those that have given their all, which is often a life, in service to their country. As far as I am concerned, our nation is at war with cancer and Jennifer Ireland gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Some quick pictures...

I haven't posted many pictures recently, so here's a hodge-podge of pictures over the past couple of weeks!

Jan and I at the movie premiere.

Doug and Shawndra Turner also at the movie premiere.

Emma and her buddy Dominic cruisin' in the Caddy.

Our two princesses playing at Nana's.

Here's the front of the Crawl for Cancer t-shirts.

Crawl for Cancer shirts available...

I hope everyone's weekend was great. I spent the weekend in Chicago on business, and it ended up being an enjoyable trip. The only exception was the recollection of memories I have of Midway Airport last December. It was there that Jen and I had one of our first discussions regarding the possibility of her not surviving. It is strange how those memories are so vivid when you find yourself back to the location again. I went so far as buying honey roasted almonds and a Snapple iced tea and sitting at Gate B9, just as Jen and I did that night.

Back in KC, the girls had a fun weekend with Jan. I hear the weather was beautiful.

I should also mention that the Crawl for Cancer t-shirts are available on the Jennifer Ireland Foundation website. The price is $20.00 and includes shipping. We will take orders over the next two weeks and send one large order into the Crawl organizers. Please be patient as turn around on your orders may take up to four weeks. We'll post a picture of the design for those of you that have not had the opportunity to see the shirts yet.

It has been a productive week...

This week has been a productive week with the exception of getting pictures up from last week's events and putting Crawl for Cancer shirts up for sale. I promise I'm working on it! One of my problems is that my camera, a trusty old Canon of about 5 years, was lost the night of the movie premiere. Jen and I have taken thousands of pictures with that camera over the years. It still had some great pictures on it too! Hopefully it turns up.

Emma wrapped up the school year today. She had a great year in the Little Angels program at First Baptist Church in Blue Springs. Thank you very much to Cary Cornick for being such a wonderful friend to me and mentor to Emma. Emma felt so special riding to school with Mrs. Cornick every morning. Over the course of the year she has learned a ton and made some very special friends. Peighton will have to wait another school year until she is old enough, but she already talks about going to school like "sissy" when she gets bigger.

One of the memorable days of each Little Angels school year is Big Wheel Day. I have friends that still remember participating in the big event over 20 years ago. Last week daddy here didn't put enough sunscreen on Emma's shoulders and she got quite a sunburn. Tonight, ten minutes after putting Em to bed, I heard a blood-curdling scream. It ends up that she decided to take her nightgown off and model in front of the mirror in her underwear...she didn't get that from me! Anyway, I guess she wasn't expecting giant pieces of skin to be hanging off her shoulders. We got over it though and she's having sweet dreams now.

This weekend I take a rare business trip to the Windy City. Looks like I'll be missing some great K.C. weather and outdoor activities.

A great time!...

My brain cells are doing their best to help me type this post even after the abuse I put them through at the Crawl for Cancer!

I'll begin with last Thursday's movie premiere. It went wonderfully. Thank you so much to those that attended. Several months of hard work resulted in a memorable night. Shawndra Turner and her husband Doug, graciously accepted the first grant provided by our young foundation. As I mentioned that evening, there are so many out there that we would love to help -- and in time we hope to touch many lives -- but the Turner family just holds a special place in our hearts. There are so many similarities between their family and ours. Much like Jen, Shawndra is a very strong woman and she is handling this cancer experience with such grace. She is truly an inspiration.

The Wind That Shakes the Barley ended up living up to the great reviews and many awards. It was an honor to be able to enjoy the movie with one of its stars amongst us. Thank you so much to Mairtin de Cogain for everything that he has done for my family and the Jennifer Ireland Foundation. Mairtin and the Kansas City Irish community have help us lay the groundwork for a successful future and we hope they will all continue to be involved for many years to come.

As many of you saw, we entered 16 teams (over 150 people) into Saturday's Crawl for Cancer event. The organizers of the Crawl were unbelievably accomodating and allowed us to pick up our shirts early so that we could have some additional screening done on them. Our intentions were to put something on them to honor Jen. To my surprise, EVERY shirt worn on Saturday said "In Memory of Jennifer Ireland." It was a gift from the Crawl for Cancer committee that brought tears to my eyes. It was so cool to see almost 5000 people all over mid-town Kansas City wearing those shirts. In addition, our 16 teams wore an exclusive light blue t-shirt. It matched our Jennifer Ireland bracelets perfectly. The day was beautiful, the beer was cold, and the cause was very worthy. We'll do it all over again in October!

Overall, the last four days were very humbling. It is hard to put into words how special it feels to have so many people want to help carry on Jen's legacy. Jan and I, along with all of our friends and family, are forever grateful.

Here are the Ireland boys at the KC premiere of Ireland's highest grossing movie - ever! Later in the week, I'll be sure to post some of the great pictures from the premiere and the pub crawl. Also stay tuned for the opportunity to order KC's official "Crawl for Cancer X" t-shirts.

Check it out...

Thanks to Dan Regan, we now have an awesome new logo for the Jennifer Ireland Foundation. He did a wonderful job. In time, with lots of hard work and your continued support, it will become widely recognized.

Speaking of Dan Regan, please check out his Kansas City Irish Fest blog -- Tir na Blog. He wrote a great piece calling on Kansas City to participate in tomorrow night's movie premiere event. As he states: "The movie is fantastic, the cause is worthy, the bar is open. Sounds like a great way for Kansas City's Irish to get together and start the weekend a little early. Please get your ticket and join the fun."

If you can fit it in your busy schedules, come join us at 6:30 tomorrow evening. Tickets can be bought at the door. Don't let the "creative black tie" scare you away. You can come in your skivvies for all I care!

Check out Kansas City Live tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM on KSHB Channel 41. Our good friend Mairtin de Cogain will be a guest. He'll talk about the movie, tomorrow's benefit, and maybe even sing a song or two.

Updated "Crawl" roster...

As promised, click below for the updated Crawl for Cancer Roster:

Download pub_crawl_roster.pdf

The plan is for those riding down on buses, meet at the Blue Springs Courtyard Marriott at 11:30 AM. The bus ride will cost each person $10 roundtrip and can be paid as we load up. A small price to pay for a safe ride home. We'll depart for Westport a little after noon, following t-shirt distribution. Those that are not riding the buses, meet us near the Beaumont Club (on Pennsylvania) around 12:30. We'll finish distributing shirts and telling everyone where there bar assignments are. Those riding back on the bus will need to return to the Beaumont at 7:30 PM where we'll depart for the Courtyard Marriott. Please be timely because we don't want to leave anyone behind!

Those listed as team captains don't have to worry about picking up t-shirts, as we'll handle all of that for you. If you have any questions, e-mail Rachael at [email protected].

It's going to be a great week...

Well...it sounds like half of Kansas City has a wet basement. Mine really isn't a disaster, so we'll get it taken care of. It was pretty crazy driving around town and looking at the overflowing creeks, rivers, and lakes today. I hope the golf courses dry up soon!

Not much to report around our house today. Emma is hopefully recovering from a viral infection that had her tonsils swollen up to where they were almost touching in the back of her throat. A visit to urgent care on Saturday proved she didn't have strep. Peighton seems to be doing fine - knock on wood.

The storms had Emma awake last night at around 3:30 AM and down in bed with me. Jen and I raised both girls to sleep in their own beds at all times and this was the first time that I let Emma sleep with me until morning. Needless to say, she thought she was a big shot and was bragging to Peighton first thing this morning. I have to admit, sharing a bed with a spouse for five years and then suddenly sleeping alone is an adjustment. It was kind of nice to wake up this morning to Emma's smiling face and a sweet "good morning." However, she is back in her bed tonight where she can kick and squirm all night long without waking me. Peighton usually sleeps like a rock, so she probably won't be joining me any time soon.

I'll post the most up to date Crawl for Cancer roster tomorrow. I hope everyone that is participating is as excited as I am. What a great week -- movie premiere and pub crawl!