Mattie Miracle Walk 2023 was a $131,249 success!

Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation Promotional Video

Thank you for keeping Mattie's memory alive!

Dear Mattie Blog Readers,

It means a great deal to us that you take the time to write to us and to share your thoughts, feelings, and reflections on Mattie's battle and death. Your messages are very meaningful to us and help support us through very challenging times. To you we are forever grateful. As my readers know, I promised to write the blog for a year after Mattie's death, which would mean that I could technically stop writing on September 9, 2010. However, at the moment, I feel like our journey with grief still needs to be processed and fortunately I have a willing support network still committed to reading. Therefore, the blog continues on. If I should find the need to stop writing, I assure you I will give you advanced notice. In the mean time, thank you for reading, thank you for having the courage to share this journey with us, and most importantly thank you for keeping Mattie's memory alive.


As Mattie would say, Ooga Booga (meaning, I LOVE YOU)! Vicki and Peter



The Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation celebrates its 7th anniversary!

The Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation was created in the honor of Mattie.

We are a 501(c)(3) Public Charity. We are dedicated to increasing childhood cancer awareness, education, advocacy, research and psychosocial support services to children, their families and medical personnel. Children and their families will be supported throughout the cancer treatment journey, to ensure access to quality psychosocial and mental health care, and to enable children to cope with cancer so they can lead happy and productive lives. Please visit the website at: www.mattiemiracle.com and take some time to explore the site.

We have only gotten this far because of people like yourself, who have supported us through thick and thin. So thank you for your continued support and caring, and remember:

.... Let's Make the Miracle Happen and Stomp Out Childhood Cancer!

A Remembrance Video of Mattie

June 25, 2016

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Tonight's picture was taken in July of 2007. This was what our deck used to look like. You can see the big inflatable swimming pool in the left hand corner of the photo and if you look closely you can even see Patches, our calico cat, in the lower right hand corner, sitting on Mattie's green frog sandbox! Literally the whole family loved spending time outside in the summer time!!! 


Quote of the day: Flowers have the greatest talent in converting an ordinary place into a magical palace! Mehmet Murat ildan


There is a lot to be said about today's quote! Of which I TOTALLY agree with it! Flowers can transform just about any place. I think they can also uplift your spirits! These glorious lilies, we call our "Father's Day lilies." Why? Because they always bloom around Father's Day! The funny thing about these lilies is we bought them over 20 years ago! At Home Depot, believe it or not! We do not take the flower boxes that they are plant in inside over the winter. Yet these bulbs produce EVERY June without fail!!!

Of course back when we first got the lilies, Peter was not a father yet! So when we would see these lilies bloom we would think of our dads. Once we had Mattie in our lives, the lilies took on a whole new personal meaning to us. 
The flower pots you see sitting on the deck are our beans which we have been growing from seed! They are truly climbing and growing. 
This is our herb garden. Naturally we live in the city and have NO land, but just give us a flower pot and we can plant just about anything. 
Our glorious basil! This is my favorite time of year because I literally can cook with fresh herbs from our garden. 
Mattie's fountains bring us lots of peace and tranquility in the summer months. I am SO GLAD Mattie insisted on making fountains with Peter for my birthday in 2008. The fountains get cleaned out EVERY Mother's Day and restarted for the spring/summer months. 
I am a BIG petunia fan! Peter tolerates them. I don't think he cares for the fact that you have to be diligent about shaping them and dead heading them! Otherwise they look like a mess and get stringy! I don't mind doing it in the summer, I actually find it therapeutic.  
A portion of our deck! Things are growing and thriving!
I bought sunflowers this week and I snapped a photo of them today. Sunflowers are one of my favorites. Sunflowers are happy flowers and you can't help but smile when you see one. 

When Mattie was battling cancer, our support community consistently gave me sunflowers anytime we were home between treatments. Sunflowers have come to symbolize for me.... love, compassion and community!

1 comment:

Margy Jost said...

Vicki,
Your garden is so ALIVE!!!! The beauty of it is astounding. We would have no garden if not for Ken. He has always planted a garden each Spring and then in Fall plants different colors of mums. This is the first year, I bought plants because I wanted my KIMBER GARDEN. The beauty of your garden is so inspiring. Thank you once again for the seashells. We are putting them in our Kimber area. She loved the beach. It was her go to place. Her plan was to one day, retire to a beach with Mike. She never saw the Pacific Ocean so your shells have another whole meaning to them.
I love the picture you posted of Mattie tonight. His smile along with the beauty of your garden seem so appropriate together!