366 Books Day 10 - Jabari Jumps

Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall

Jabari is ready. Or so he thinks. Ready for the diving board. This book takes you on an adventure of overcoming fears. Taking the moment to process the fear, then going for it. Jabari learns to conquer the diving board. Will he jump? Will he like it? Open this book to find out more about Jabari's adventure.

"'It's okay to feel a little scared,' said his dad. 'Sometimes, if I feel a little scared, I take a deep breath and tell myself I am ready. And you know what? Sometimes it stops feeling scary and feels a little like a surprise.'"

YouTube reading of Jabari Jumps

Age : 4 - 8
Grade : PreK - 3
Guided Reading Level : J

This book can be purchased for donation from our Wish List: 366 Days of Books Wish List

Please ship all books to :
Forever Got Your Six : Sammy
1300 S Watson Rd A114 PMB338
Buckeye, AZ 85326

Paypal link : Paypal.me/pumafamily - Please notate Book Drive

366 Books Day 9 - A Stone Sat Still

A Stone Sat Still by Brendan Wenzel

Day 9/366

The impact of a rock in the world around it. Who that rock is to everyone who visits, what that rock is in the space. This book opens up an adventure into a space of exploration of size, color, shape, and all the senses involved. Also takes a look at the passage of time. The illustrations are a beautiful combination of various mediums. This book has a wonderful rhythmic narrative. Very enjoyable and easy to read.

YouTube reading of A Stone Sat Still

Age : 3-7
Grade : PreK - 2

This book can be purchased for donation from our Wish List: 366 Days of Books Wish List

Please ship all books to :
Forever Got Your Six : Sammy
1300 S Watson Rd A114 PMB338
Buckeye, AZ 85326

Paypal link : Paypal.me/pumafamily - Please notate Book Drive

366 Books Day 8 - Hello Lighthouse

Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall

Day 8/366

This book is the 2019 winner of the Caldecott Metal. It walks you through the life of the lighthouse and the lighthouse keeper. I know that Sammy would have loved this book. We toured several lighthouses with him in our travels, as he loved the ocean. Even when he could not walk, we carried him to the top of the towers, if we were allowed, so he could see out over the land and sea. This book takes you back into time and into beauty. They illustrations in the book are breathtaking and add so much to the telling of this book.

"The sky grows dark, and the waves rise and crash. HELLO! HELLO! HELLO!"

YouTube reading of Hello Lighthouse

Ages : 3 - 8
Grades : P - 3
Guided Reading Level : P

This book can be purchased for donation from our Wish List: 366 Days of Books Wish List

Please ship all books to :
Forever Got Your Six : Sammy
1300 S Watson Rd A114 PMB338
Buckeye, AZ 85326

Paypal link : Paypal.me/pumafamily - just notate Book Drive

Weight of Grief

This is what childhood cancer and grief looks like. This is over 3/4 of a year of being in a hospital room. Nearly 9 of those months consecutive. This was giving up on eating right because it was hard and repetitive with the choices. And I wanted comfort food. I sat for long hours, would walk the hospital when Sammy slept and a nurse would stay with him. But the combination of high stress, eating poorly and being minimally active took its toll. I gained 40lbs in 9 months.

And then gained more in the death of Sammy. I didn't eat, but when I did, it was out. I had no capacity to cook. We were given meals for a short time. A lot of pasta. A lot of comfort foods. We started with asking for our dietary needs, but found it was hard for people sign up, as they had no idea how to make a gluten free, dairy free meals. So we removed the restrictions of the lifestyle we once followed. And the weight just added on.

In April 2016, I was at 140lbs. I was working on getting down to 135lbs. Working to get the baby weight off from Logan being born April 2015. I was eating right. I was active. I would hike often, go on walks, just find ways to move.

Here I am now. 3.5 years later. Nearly 175lbs. I lost the extra 20lbs I gained in grief. My high by end of 2018 was 195lbs. So here I am with an extra 40lbs.

My clothes do not fit. I wear men's large shirts, and leggings. As leggings fit. But my leggings are wearing out after 3 years of wearing them. And I want to buy clothes I feel confident in. Not at a size 16. I want my size 8/10 back. I want my 32 inch waist back.

But grief is a weight. Having the motivation to work out. The motivation to cook. Some days I just do not have it in me. Some days I just want to stay under the covers all day. I want to eat chips and only chips. We have food in our pantry, we haven't in years. Frozen pizzas, boxed foods, frozen meals. I used to cook everyday. Our pantry with minimal foods as we used fresh foods. But grief changed that. We eat out too much. Because it is easier than cooking. Than meal planning. Than grocery shopping. Grief has changed the way I function.

This year I am fighting grief. Taking my life back.

FAM - Fighting All Monsters has created an accountability group for parents of medically complex kids to strive for a healthy lifestyle, despite our complicated lives. This is one of the ways FAM fights for families. Recognized that many of us have struggled in the diagnosis and after of our kids complex life, and created a way to support us. To challenge us. I am taking that challenge. To be healthier and more active starting now.

We are hosting a fundraiser for FAM for Sammy's 8th birthday. Our goal is to raise what FAM gives a family suffering the death of thier child. Their hospice/child loss grant. $10,000. We were not supported in a big way after Sammy died. So we know how needed this grant is for families. Our stress was high and added financial stress did not help. To ease the financial burden allows families to work through the stress of just grieving.

Would you help our family give back, support a family suffering the pending death of their child? Donate even just $1 to FAM in honor of Sammy. Click this link to help!
Sammy's fundraiser for Fighting All Monsters

366 Books Day 7 - Press Here

Press Here by Herve Tullet
Presiona aqui by Herve Tullet

Day 7/366

If you are looking for a fun silly interactive book. This is a great book to jump into that adventure. This book has been a favorite in our collection for a long time. As it is just full of interactive imagination. It will keep you on your toes as you interact and turn the paged. This was a great book for us to use during therapy with Sammy, as we working on him regaining his fine motor skills. It is fun with Logan now, as we talk about the colors, how many dots, how they change. It is fun to see what his imagination picks out and him to share each pages surprise.

YouTube trailer of Press Here

Age : 2 - 5
Grade : PreK - K

Both English and Spanish translations of this book can be purchased for donation from our Wish List : 366 Days of Books Wish List

Please ship all books to :
Forever Got Your Six : Sammy
1300 S Watson Rd A114 PMB338
Buckeye, AZ 85326

Paypal link : Paypal.me/pumafamily - Please notate Book Drive

366 Books Day 6 - The Black Book of Colors

The Black Book of Colors by Menera Cottin

Day 6/366

A colorless book about colors. It is beautiful. It takes our world and explains colors in a way with the other senses. To see the way someone without sight may encounter our world. Interpret our world. To touch colors, smell them, taste them, hear them. What are colors when you can not see them? This book takes an adventure into the life of a child exploring our world of color, where everything appears black. It is a beautiful book that opens that conversation to being inclusive and having understanding of someone else's perspective.

"Thomas says that yellow tastes like mustard, but is as soft as a baby chick's feathers."

YouTube reading of The Black Book of Colors

Age : 3 - 8
Grade : P - 2
Guided Reading Level : L

This book can be purchased for donation from our Wish List: 366 Days of Books Wish List

Please ship all books to :
Forever Got Your Six : Sammy
1300 S Watson Rd A114 PMB338
Buckeye, AZ 85326

Paypal link : Paypal.me/pumafamily - Please notate Book Drive

366 Books Day 5 - One

One by Kathryn Otoshi

Day 5/366

One is a simply illustrated book done beautifully with watercolors. The story focuses on feelings and bullying. It helps to teach about accepting each other's difference. And that it just takes one to voice to stand up and make everyone count. It is a playful story using colors, numbers, and various feelings. This book has a beautiful take away in being inclusive.

"One turned to the colors and said,
'If someone is mean and picks on me,
I, for One, stand up, and say, No.'
...
Sometimes it just takes One."

YouTube reading of One 

Grades : PreK - 1
Ages : 3 - 8

This book can be purchased for donation from our Wish List: 366 Days of Books Wish List

Please ship all books to :
Forever Got Your Six : Sammy
1300 S Watson Rd A114 PMB338
Buckeye, AZ 85326

Paypal link : Paypal.me/pumafamily - just notate Book Drive