Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.....

We hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas and we are looking forward to celebrating the New Year! I tried to think of all of the things that made 2010 a great year for Kyle and we were blessed with so many amazing events. To recap all of the highlights of this year would make for a very long blog post so I will just name a few.

First and most important to me was the clean bill of health Kyle got this year. If you don't know a whole lot about Retinoblastoma and how it all works, Kyle has a gene mutation that puts him in a higher risk of getting a secondary cancer. Not every child with RB has the gene mutation but after genetic testing, they have determined Kyle does. He is checked every 6 months to a year and those appointments are always a bit stressful. We don't live our lives waiting for another cancer to show up but it is in the back of our minds always...I don't think that will ever go away. But for this year, all appointments ended in great news!!

We also had our first TKE golf tournament this year and we raised of $50K dollars for the foundation. It was a very successful event and Kyle shot his first hole in one on this day...what an amazing day! We presented a check to Retinoblastoma International research department for $30K!

Kyle also got to meet Tiger this year and that was a wonderful day for Kyle. He also got to putt around with him and Hunter Mahan and walked 9 holes with them to watch their practice round. Thank you to John Wood for all he made happen that day!

We also just celebrated a great Christmas and Kyle got a magic set that he absolutely LOVES!! You can see his excitement in the photo....

He has been putting on some magic shows for us, he says he needs some practice! HA!

All in all 2010 has been a very exciting year for us. We look forward to what 2011 brings and thank God everyday for the blessings we have received.

Thank you all for the emails, letters and cards that you have sent to Kyle and our family. Thank you to all that have donated to the Through Kyles Eyes Foundation....we are determined to do all we can help others in the battle of Retinoblastoma and to fund the research that works toward finding a cure. It is very important to our family that we make our mark on the world that we will all someday leave behind....we choose to do just that and fight for our children's sight.

God Bless You All and we hope you have a very Happy New Year!

Muddy day...

Kyle had fun on a long trail ride with Daddy this past Sunday. Even though it was pouring outside, he braved the weather and came home a little....MUDDY!

What a super fun day.....if you can't play in the snow, mud is the next best thing!! :)

Christmas Time ....

Well Christmas is right around the corner and Kyle is super excited! We have been busy wrapping presents, baking cookies and decorating the house. We just enjoyed a day of cookie decorating with some friends and Kyle's sisters...

Kyle had fun but as he gets older, he is not enjoying taking his time decorating the cookies. He just wanted to eat them and get back to playing with the lizards that our friends have as pets.....He is such a boy!

Being in southern California, all of the kids miss the snow we were so used to seeing back east. The mall here has snow machines that blow snow at different times during the day and night for the holidays..it was actually lots of fun for Kyle.

We were suppose to go see Santa that night too! Kyle was excited to go see him and when we got there there was of course a line to stand in. We stood in the line about 10 minutes then Kyle whispered in my ear "Mom, I am the only 8 year old in the line, everyone else is babies." I wanted to cry right then and there because I realized my lil' 8 year old was growing up! I am such a sap but he is my last baby :) We ended up leaving and not seeing Santa, he was a bit bummed about it but didn't want to stand in line anymore and I wasn't going to make him.

Kyle is counting down the days til Christmas....the only thing he has asked for is a college football xbox game! I am thinking we got off easy this year..Ha! He just started his Christmas break from school so he will be out until after the new year. He hopes to get some golf in during the break but right now we are having lots of rain.

We hope everyone has a very Happy Holiday!!

Kyle meets Tiger Woods!!

This was an amazing day for Kyle!!

Everyone keeps asking how the day went so I will try to recap the events. Kyle was so excited when we got to the course. We went in not knowing exactly what to expect or when we would actually see him. As soon as we arrived we were told that Tiger was on the putting green. Kyle was overwhelmed at the first sight of him. Kyle has an unbelievable ability to look cool on the outside even though inside he is about to burst! He watched Tiger talk to someone for a while then Tiger started putting. We saw a friend, John Wood who caddies for Hunter Mahan, and he was walking onto the green. He told Kyle "Come on, let's go on the green". Kyle looked up at us like REALLY?? It was so cute. As he walked onto the putting green, I was trying to hold the video camera but my hands were shaking so bad I am not sure how the video turned out. I just knew that out little guy was so excited and happy in that moment. He met Tiger and stood there on the putting green with him, Hunter and John. Then Tiger said "Let's have a little putting contest!" Daddy had to run back to the car to grab his putter. Kyle said he was shaking the whole time he was putting. It only took him a few putts to settle down and then he was putting really well. He sank a putt from about 10 feet out and I am sure he was so relieved that it went in. I overheard Tiger asking him about other sports he plays and genuinely wanting to know him. I could tell by the way Kyle was answering the questions that he was a little tongue tied. After the putting contest, our family went into the players clubhouse for lunch. Kyle saw Ian Poulter and Anthony Kim. Anthony joked with Kyle and said he had grown so much since he saw him last and kidded Kyle about being almost as tall as he was. He was fun! After lunch we headed out to the driving range where he got to see old buddy Bubba Watson. Kyle loved to watch him play and he is one of the nicest guys on tour that we have met. He is always joking around with Kyle..He had fun teasing Kyle about not playing with ping clubs anymore. Kyle now plays Clevelands! Tiger came out to the driving range too and Kyle watched him hit several too. After the range he followed Tiger, Hunter Mahan and Sean O'hair as the played nine holes for their practice round. Kyle was in HEAVEN! There were alot of high fives and fist bumps between Tiger and Kyle. At the end of golf it was time to say bye to Tiger....Kyle gave him a high five and said to Tiger "I am your biggest fan and i will always pray for you!" That makes me cry every time I think about it.

It was a fantastic day for Kyle and we are so thankful! Kyle has been waiting 6 years to meet Tiger and it could not have been better. Thank you Tiger for making our little guy's dream come true. This was truly a day for KYLE!

Tomorrow one of Kyle's biggest dreams comes true....Tiger Woods!

Yes, tomorrow will be the day that Kyle meets Tiger Woods. Tiger invited him up to his tournament in Thousand Oaks and Kyle is so excited he can't stand it. Kyle had a tough time hearing about all of the stuff that went on with Tiger this past year. Tiger has always been a "idol" to Kyle, when Kyle first started watching golf (when he was two) it was Tiger he loved to watch. After Kyle was diagnosed and going through his treatment, it was still Tiger that he loved. I remember the days when his chemo treatments made him so sick that all he wanted to do is lay on the couch and watch TV. I remember all the times that all he wanted to do was watch Tiger....I remember him laying on the couch with a golf club in his hand while watching Tiger on TV. I think that Kyle sought out some comfort in watching him play and for that we are very thankful. Even though Tiger's life has had it's fair share of bumps in the past year, we can never judge another whose shoes we have never walked.

Kyle took it a bit hard when he first heard about Tiger. We tried hard as parents to shield him from the media but it was just a matter of time before the questions started. We tried to answer him as best as we could but initialy Kyle  was disappointed and a bit angry at him. He told us he didn't want anymore Tiger stuff and he wouldn't wear his Tiger hat or shoes anymore. We let him deal with it however he needed to. After about 3 months, we were driving in the car and out of the blue Kyle said "Mom, I think I forgive Tiger now". I asked why and he said that everyone makes mistakes. I had to choke back that lump in my throat because to tell ya the truth, I was not ready to say the same. It is amazing how a kid's mind works and how big their hearts can be.

I don't think Jeff or I will ever truly understand how much Tiger means to Kyle. I am not sure anyone will.....I think through Kyle's battle with cancer Tiger has somehow helped him pull through the rough times. Some may say we are giving Tiger too much credit.....some say Tiger may not deserve such a fan....what i can say is that no matter what we may think of Tiger and his situation, I would never stand in the way of Kyle having his dream come true by meeting him.

Tomorrow Kyle will have lunch with Tiger......and am sure it will be an emotional day for all, emotional to all for several different reasons!  

Golfers Against Cancer...

Golfers Against Cancer 2010

Houston, Texas

What an Opportunity.......

We made it back from a very successful Golfers Against Cancer Tournament in Houston, Texas. We had a terrific time and Kyle played some really good golf! The night of the Gala, Kyle bid on and won the opportunity to work with Steve Azar and Ira Dean and have them write and record a song. What great guys they are!! Both are unbelievable singer/songwriters with huge hearts and we are so thankful for this opportunity... Kyle is very excited and ready to get this started :) We will keep you updated as we go through this awesome experience!

 Steve Azar and Kyle

www.steveazarlive.com

 WOW!

:)

iradean.com