Quick Recap

What has been happening the last few weeks. It's been hectically busy. Got a ton of stuff on my mind. Prayers appreciated there.

Things are progressing on the house front. It seems like we show it a couple of times each week. The other house is coming along. I've been doing some painting and stuff on the weekends to get it ready. 

Isaac's Christmas Project is ready to go. We didn't announce it on the internet this year because we did an extremely scaled down version due to the fact that the house is for sale and we didn't have the space to store all of the tons of toys like the previous two years. Next year we will do a big toy drive once again .This year we are giving toys to the day clinic at Greenville Hospital. This is where a lot of cancer and bone marrow transplant kids receive their treatments on a weekly basis.

 A special thanks to Pam and Courtney with the Hendrick Marrow Foundation for all of the boxes of Nascar items for the kids that Pam dropped off this past week. All of these folks have a special place in their hearts for kids and the things they face going through transplants and illnesses. 

If anyone would like to give, we are in need of probably 15-20 more girls toys. Ages range from 1-15.  We are completely covered with toys for little boys.

Merry Christmas and The Latest

We started having Christmas parties last Friday and as of right now we are about halfway through. We have had at least one everyday and all the parties conclude on Thursday. One whole week of parties. So far I have racked up on everything from Outback Gift Cards to 1000 Cow Tails to a real live animal killing blow gun. I haven't killed anything with it yet although I have shot a couple of holes in the extra bedroom wall trying to hit a cardboard box. I just hope that any animals that I try to bring down with this blow gun are larger than a cardboard box, sitting still, and nowhere near our extra bedroom wall.

This past week we were able to drop off the toys from Isaac's Christmas Project to Shriners and Children's Hospital in Greenville. Isaac collected 750 toys which filled more than 56 boxes. We also gave a check to Shriners in the amount of $460 that people had sent to provide toys to kids. I hope to have some video in the next week or so.

Church is going great. For Christmas we had the Lord's Supper which was an awesome experience. We had a couple of people receive Christ last week. For the first couple of months we had a group that had come together to help us get started. They have now returned to their home churches and we are now seeing our people take ownership and see the excitement of making a difference in the community. We have a solid group that has grown larger than our original core group and it's exciting to see what is going to take place in the next few months. I am going to be meeting with some people in the next few weeks as we begin the steps of moving toward our multiple campuses. These will be all live venues not video. I know many are doing video venues but that is not in the vision of our church. Our desire is to develop a church of community that impacts the community. As we grow we will continue to open more campuses. One of the biggest compliments that we have gotten is the atmosphere of community. Our goal is to continue to keep that atmosphere as we grow.

The next few weeks will be huge as we will be making big decisions that will have an impact on the church for years to come. It is exciting and i can't wait to see what is going to take place.

I hope everyone has a great an enjoyable Christmas season. I'm off to steal the cookies and Coke that Isaac left for Santa.

Christmas Video

After a long wait, Isaac's Christmas Video has made it to youtube. This is the video from last year's delivery. This year we will be delivering gifts on Thursday of this week. Feel free to email the link to your friends and family during the Christmas season.

In Cincy

Has it been a year? It is hard to believe that this time last year we were preparing to move back to South Carolina. A year ago yesterday we had a U Haul full of toys heading to the Children's Hospital. It seems like yesterday. I am using his video in my message this Sunday.

Next week we will be delivering toys to Shriner's Hospital and Greenville Memorial Hospital in Greenville. Our church is also taking part in this and once again there are tons of toys to deliver. Toys are continuing to arrive. This is the highlight of our year. Seeing kids excited about something when they usually don't feel their best is the most rewarding thing ever.

We have an early morning tomorrow in the hospital. Isaac has a Dexa Scan, Ultrasound, GFR, MRI, labs , and two clinic appointments. Everything starts around 8 a.m. and ends around 8 p.m. Not what you would consider a fun day.

I saw something today that I don't understand. Shoes with velcro. If you are three or your hands are crippled with arthritis these are acceptable. If you are in your mid 40's these are not a fashion statement and neither is the fanny pack you are wearing around the outlet shops in Pigeon Forge.

Update and a Question

It has been an extremely busy the last couple of weeks. So much so that I haven't had much time to post. Here's a quick update on things.

1. Isaac is doing pretty good. His blood counts are better than ever. However, with the cold season coming up we will have to limit where he can go. He still can't be around kids in closed areas.

2. The toy drive is coming along quite nicely. So far we have received around 22 boxes of toys to deliver to the Hospitals. If you would like to be involved you can drop them off or send them to 108 Garlington Court Easley,SC 29642.

3. The youth building and our church offices are open as of this week. We have mostly completed our work on the building and it is going to be awesome for our students and good to finally have an office.

4. The church is coming along very well. I felt that today was probably our best overall service. Their was a ton of energy in the service. The volunteers were on their game and people seemed to really be getting excited about what is happening. We have had some people come and go but as of the last couple of weeks we are starting to see the real core of our people starting to take shape. Everyone on board seems to be really involved and inviting others. Today was really encouraging to see.


Ok now for the question. As of late I have had limited time to devote to this blog and I am going to try and narrow the purpose of this blog to just a couple of things for a while. Here is the cool part, you get to help me decide. So all you have to do is drop me a comment or email @scbushelno@aol.com and let me know why you read this blog. Is it the Isaac updates, is it Stone Bridge Church updates, is it the weird funny stories of my life? You tell me.

Giving Thanks

This Thanksgiving, we are extremely thankful for Isaac's health and not being in the hospital for the first time in three years at Thanksgiving. It still blows our mind to think that Isaac was admitted to the hospital at the beginning of his Bone Marrow Transplant process two years ago this past Thursday. Sometimes it feels like we lost a year and a half somewhere along the way. In the midst of our thankfulness we are also reminded of our friends who have lost their children in their fight with disease in the past year. You all are in our prayers and your children will never be forgotten.

In honor of them and in thankfulness for Isaac's health we are continuing this year with the Christmas Project to provide toys to children who are hospitalized during the Christmas season. This year we are focusing on Shriner's Hospital and Greenville Memorial. So far we have received around 19 boxes of gifts to deliver. If the number of toys exceeds the needs of the local hospitals, we will be making a delivery to Cincinnati Children's Hospital as well. If you would like to donate a new unwrapped toy you can send it to Isaac's Pit Stop Project 108 Garlington Court Easley,SC 29642. We will be accepting gifts up through December 15th. We would like to say a special thanks to Hendrick Motorsports and Motorsports Authentics for the generous gift of toys for the kids.

Here's The Latest

Here's the latest.....

• This Bobcat's Game in Charlotte was awesome. Isaac got to go on the court during pregame with all of the players including 7 foot something Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets. Isaac couldn't believe how tall he is. The suite we sat in was incredible. I have sat in the suites at some Clemson games before but this took suites to a whole new level. A special thanks to the Bobcats, Rick Hendrick, and The Jeff Gordon Foundation for putting together an awesome night.
• We have started painting in the building that will serve as our youth ministry building and our church offices. Things are coming together nicely. We will be working up there on Monday and Tuesday nights next week. A big thanks to everyone who has turned out to help. We are looking for some couches and chairs for the building for our small group areas. Contact me at scbushelno@aol.com if you have one you would like to donate.
• Isaac's Christmas Project is coming along. We have started receiving gifts already and we will be focusing on providing toys to the hospitals in the Greater Greenville Area. If you would like to donate a new toy or toys to the project, you can drop them off or send them to 108 Garlingon Court Easley,SC 29642. We will be accepting toys through December 14th. The delivery date will be Sunday December 16th.
• Last night was the first night of meeting for our student ministry. I went and tagged along with our youth group. It was a good start and I'm looking forward to see what happens with the group as they begin to reach their friends.

The Latest in Our World

Here is the latest that is going on with Isaac. Melissa usually provides more details so I just copied her latest post from his website. This week has been extremely busy and I haven't had time to post.
More good news to report….Isaac had a dentist appointment on Monday, this is the first time he has been since 2003 because of the risk of infection. We were anxious to find out how many cavities he had because for almost two years he was ordered by the doctors not to use a toothbrush because the slightest scrap or cut in the gum could cause major infection for him. I did clean his teeth with toothpaste on a toothette, which is basically a small sponge on the end of a stick.

As you can imagine this did not clean very well but we did the best we could. So, the dentist came in to evaluate Isaac’s teeth and she was talking dental words to the dental assistant and I did not understand. When she finished, I asked how bad the damage was. She said, what damage, there are no cavities. Let me repeat, she said he did NOT have any cavities. I literally about fell out in the floor when she said that, I had to ask her to repeat that several times until I grasped the fact. I was and still am amazed about this. This may not seem like a big deal to some of you but it is a huge deal for us, especially Isaac. This just proves, again, how awesome God is and how He has taken care of Isaac. The dentist did say that Isaac may need braces in the future and Isaac lost it! He was so upset! But overall a great visit.

Then Tuesday his homebound teacher came and after that it was Art Lessons. Katherine, a friend of ours has volunteered to give Isaac art lessons once a week. The cool thing about this is she has the lesson plans and the 3rd grade Art book that is being used by the Art teacher at Hunt Meadows, the school that Isaac would be attending if he was in school. This is a fun activity and something for him to look forward to during the week. Thanks Katherine!

Wednesday was home health nurse day for an IV infusion and labs. He did great through the infusion with no blood pressure issues. AND the lab results for his blood counts, for two weeks in a row now, are normal! Platelets are 185 up from 152. I know that I say this everytime but this is the best his platelets have been in over two years!!! His BMT doctor is very pleased with the improving blood counts. Today he had a doctor appointment with his Ped Gastro doc and tomorrow is a follow up with the Ped Hematologists. Full of doctor appointments this week, but it is so nice to be able to do follow ups here at home instead of having to drive back and forth to Cincinnati. We do have to go back to Cinci Dec 12th for lots of tests and clinic visits.

Sunday after church we will be in Charlotte, NC at the Bobcats basketball game. Isaac was invited to this game by the Jeff Gordon Foundation. The tickets are for box seats and there will be a couple of other bone marrow transplant families there. We are supposed to arrive at 5:00 pm in Charlotte. Isaac and the other BMT kids will get to meet the basketball players and stand out on the court with the players during the National Anthem. How cool is this!

And for other news…Isaac will be doing his Christmas Project again this year and it will be taking place here, locally instead of Cincinnati. This project will be called Isaac’s Pit Stop. This project is where Isaac delivers donated gifts to the children in the hospital for Christmas. So, if you would like to donate gifts for the children at the hospital, you can drop off or mail the donations to: 108 Garlington Ct., Easley, SC 29642.Take Care,Melissa

Christmas Project 2

Everyone knows that every good movie has a sequel, so we thought why not have a sequel to Isaac's Christmas Train.

Many of you remember Isaac's Christmas Project from last year that brought toys to hundreds of kids in the hospital. If you missed it click on the label on this page that says Christmas Train Project and read all about it.

This year we have decided to do this project again. Isaac is going to be delivering toys to a couple of different local hospitals and possibly others depending on the response. Isaac remembers what it is like being in the hospital during Christmas time and he wants to help kids that are in the hospital at Christmas time feel a little better by giving them gifts. This year Isaac has called his project Isaac's Pit Stop(he's starting to like racing a lot more now).

Anyway, if you would like to help with the project, we are asking for new unwrapped toys for kids from birth through teenagers. Toys can be mailed or dropped off to 108 Garlington Court Easley,SC 29642.

Guess What I Had For Lunch Today

So guess what I had for lunch today. http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/frozen-pizzas-recalled-for-possible/20071101165309990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001 Yes I had Totinos frozen pepperoni pizza at lunch today and then read this article tonight.


Some people have been asking if Isaac is going to be doing his Christmas Project again this year. Be sure to check my blog on Monday for some big news regarding this.

Isaac in the News

Isaac's article has been posted on thegreenvillenews.com this morning. It is under the headline "Christ is born in the suffering and compassion of children". I believe it will appear in the actual paper tommorow with pictures.

Isaac

Be sure to check out Isaac in The Greenville News on Christmas Day. They are planning on doing a feature story on him and the spirit of Christmas. From what we can tell it will be either in the main section or possibly in the Lifestyle section. The Cincinnati Enquirer is coming by the house tommorow to take pictures of Isaac to send to South Carolina for the story. If you are not in the upstate of South Carolina, you can check it out at Greenvilleonline.com. As soon as we see what section it is in, I will post it on his web site and mine.

Thoughts from Yesterday

Ok time for a quick recap for all of our new guests. Our son Isaac is 8 years old. He was born with a rare disease that required a liver transplant at age 3 and then subsequent complications from that meant that he needed a bone marrow transplant this past year at age 8. When we began talking about what he wanted for Christmas back in October, he suprised us both. He came to us and told us he wanted to sell some of his key chains that he had made so that he could buy presents for the kids in the hospital. Keep in mind he is 8. When I was 8, I wanted everything to be about me. But he has experienced more than my wife and I will ever experience. He has spent two Christmases in the hospital and he said that he knew what that was like and he wanted to make kids happy. Fast forward. We put on his website that he was wanting to give presents to some kids in the hospital. We had set a lofty of goal of providing presents for the 14 kids in the Bone Marrow Transplant unit.
The presents began arriving in early November and pretty soon we raised our goal to provide presents for the BMT and HEMOC departments(about 40-50 kids). Then December came and the presents began pouring in. We would receive 10, 12, 15, and even 17 boxes of gifts each day. Two weeks ago we realized that people had gotten on board with Isaac's project and we would be giving presents to the entire Children's Hospital(several hundred kids). Still more presents arrived and when all was said and done, Isaac was able to provide presents to the hundreds of kids in Children's Hospital, Shriner's Childrens, and enough for all of the families staying at the Ronald McDonald house in Cincinnati. What had started as an 8 year old's dream to put smiles on the faces of 14 had ended with hundreds of smiles on the faces of many beautiful children.
The day was filled with smiles. There were times that the joy of the kids receiving the gifts would make your heart break. We laughed, we smiled, and we cried. Thank you so much to everyone who sent have given gifts, money, and your time to make Isaac's Dream come true. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support during this past year. It has been almost 13 months since we have been home. Isaac continues to improve. Pray that his blood counts continue to come up and hopefully we can go home soon.

Article on Isaac

Isaac is on the main page online of thegreenvillenews.com today. Click on the link "Powdersville boy spreading hospital cheer". It is under the latest updates section.

Last Post for Today

Ok so we've had a long day and I will blog more about our experience tommorrow as well as add some more pics from the Isaac Christmas Train Project. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you tommorrow. Sammy

Still even more pics from the big Day

Even More PIcs from the Big Day

More Pics from the big day

The Big Day

What an amazing day. The big event went off without a hitch. Thanks to all of your support, Isaac was able to give out between $15,000-$20,000 worth of gifts to all the hundreds of kids at Children's Hospital in Cincinnati, Shriner's Children's Hospital of Cincinnati, and the Ronald McDonald House of Cincinnati. It was awesome to see all the kids excited about the gifts that they had received. What started as a an 8 year olds dream to give presents to 14 kids on the BMT ended with hundreds of smiling faces. Thank you for your support.

Ready for The Big Delivery

Today we put the finishing touches of Isaac's Christmas Train Project. All of the presents have been moved to the garage for loading. Tommorrow, I will be getting a U Haul Box and we have several people lined up to help us load and unload. Here are some pics of Isaac and all of the toys.