Gavin

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Thank You to Our Littlest Angels

One of the sweetest sites under heaven had to be the Ft. Atkinson Preschool and Childcare children conducting their “nickel war” from February 19th through February 28th on behalf of sweet baby Gavin. Together, these darling angels raised $429.51. But, that is not the end of the story. Ms. Kay Sweet, their lovely instructor, decided to add her personal donation to baby Gavin’s campaign fund, bringing their total to an awe-inspiring $500.

The word angel comes from the Greek word, “aggelos” and means “messenger”. We graciously thank these extra-special, extraordinary “messengers” for working so hard to tell sweet baby Gavin’s story, and for their deep love in embracing his unfolding destiny. We are grateful!

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A Special Thank You from Gavin’s Mommy

I’ve sat at my computer probably ten times trying to find the right words to say. The words that could convey how much it means to us to know that Gav won’t have to worry about the financial cost of his disease, and what a relief it is to know that he will never be denied anything because we don’t have the financial weight to back us. Thank you to everyone who was inspired by his journey and donated, volunteered, prayed and/or shared their story with us. It has been a journey, one that will last a lifetime and each component of it will stay with us always!

Thank you to everyone who has helped us get to this point! It means so much to us and to Gav. He has had many blessings in his life, and this is another one! May all good deeds come full circle and may you be equally as blessed and have the pleasure of knowing how blessed you are!

We will throw a celebration during the summer to thank all of you when it’s nice outside and there aren’t so many illnesses to spread! Details to come!

Jill

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A Fairy Tale Ending

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”
—- Anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901-1978)

When sweet baby Gavin was born we asked God to change the medical facts of his body. But we learned, at least for the moment, that that wish could not be granted. So instead we prayed for strength, for hope, for courage and God gave us each of you.

You have made things different, through your prayers, your kindness, your compassion, and your generosity. Thank you for allowing us to fall into your arms. We will never exhaust your inspiration.

We will always remember how, oh so very much, you all loved sweet baby Gavin.

Jane Schwalbach, Gavin’s Grandmother and Gavin Winslow Campaign Chairperson

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Kettle Moraine Students Earn Gold Stars

An innovative Social Studies final exam had some Kettle Moraine high school students creating and customizing projects that would make a difference, implementing those projects, and finally, reflecting upon their project’s effectiveness.

Certain groups and individuals chose to construct various fundraising projects for sweet baby Gavin. Together they raised a glittering $2,185.00.

The students hosting these projects included:

Alison Hablewitz
Austin Poker
John Johnson
Katlyn Vogel
Jenna Chirillo
Shanley Bodoh

Kylie Yagoda along with the community of St. Anthony on the Lake, located at W280 N2101, Highway SS in Pewaukee contributed $1,485.00 to the total.

There were also twelve other students who participated in these projects that wished to remain anonymous.

Thank you all so very, very much for choosing to become a part of the very deep and delicate chain of baby Gavin’s life. You truly are his “golden stars.”

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Birthday Wishes Come True…Gavs Tipping the Scales at 17 Pounds and Will Get New Dialysis Machine!

What a weekend! We all celebrated Gavs birthday on Friday and just relaxed and hung out together. It was so nice to all be in the same place at the same time! Gav is looking a little older, OK OK, maybe not older but bigger. He is tipping the scales at 17 lbs! That, and we have gotten word that we will be getting his previous dialysis machine back! (A newer and much better machine that will allow him and us to sleep much better.) Talk about birthday wishes coming true! Between his new weight and all this snow shoveling, I am going to have arms of steel! (Although, I want to say thank you to all my neighbors who rescued us this weekend with snowplows, we had a small mountain at the end of the driveway!)

Gav is starting to crawl backwards, hasn’t quite figured out the whole forward motion – but it’s fun to watch. It gets him a little hot though, because when he finally gets the drive to do it he ends up further from his goal than before. Pretty soon I imagine that he will be crawling and then the true fun begins! Luckily the house is pretty baby friendly already so we only have a few adjustments to make. Look out world pretty soon he will be on the loose! Now if I carry him, he refuses to be anything but outward facing. He has also developed what Jay and I call floppy feet to throw his temper tantrums and let us know when he is displeased!

Gav is starting to stop eating orally, and I am concerned that we will have to rely solely on his feeding tube. While it’s not the end of the world, since I have gotten quite good at placing it and “little magic hands” Gav has also gotten good at pulling it out, I just don’t want him to lose the ability to self feed and have food aversions. I would like to avoid that whole bag if at all possible, but I can’t argue with the results of the feeding tube. It has made an amazing difference and now it feels like there is no stopping us to get to the 22 lb. marker! Plus, they changed some of his meds so I can leave the tube out during the day and place it in at night to give his cute little face a break! Gav liked touching his birthday cake and licked the frosting once but never put it in his mouth.

I asked Lauren what she thought of this snow this morning and she gave me what Jay and I are now calling a “Laurenism”—-

Me: “What do you think of all this snow?”
Lauren: “You know what I heard.”
Me: “What?”
Lauren: “That Christmas is going to come AGAIN!”
Me: “No hon, Santa only comes once a year and he just came.”
Lauren: “Well, thats not what I heard.”
Me: “Leprechauns will be coming soon, but Santa has the rest of the year off.”
Lauren: “Only Santa can handle this snow, leprechauns are too small.”

She then stormed away in a huff and returned with crossed arms. I was then told that I wasn’t a very good mom because if I was a “good mom” I would just call Santa…and then an argument with a three year old ensued of which I will spare you the details.

Apparently I got a 2 on the Lauren “mom-o-meter” that day, because when the conversation ended I was still “not a very good mom” AND no longer a friend. Are three year olds little teenagers in smaller bodies? Rationalizing with a three year old is not a possibility. Seriously cute, but seriously independent at three!

Well, Gav is getting up from his nap and Lauren is done so I better tend to the kiddos. We feel truly blessed for all that we have in our lives and truly grateful to the doctors, nurses, staff, friends, family and community that have gotten us to where we are now. It is true that it takes a village to raise a child, and Gav is proof of that! May you live each day to the fullest and embrace all those who you love!

Jill

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A Mother’s Birthday Wish for Her Son…A Letter to Gavin

My dearest sweet baby Gavin,

Believe in miracles. You are everything and more than we could have asked for. I look forward to the day when you read this and think that I was being an over protective mom because this disease no longer dictates your life (“mom’s crazy” – I can hear it now).

May you always know how loved and special you are. May you grow to be a man who gives freely and thinks kindly. May you continue to aspire to greatness and not be discouraged with the stumbling blocks (we all fall, get back up son). May you become a thirsty learner and a leader and a man of your word. May you remember how lucky you are and support those less fortunate. Be bold, ask questions and face your life with courage and honor. May you always love with innocence. May you see in yourself what I already see in you at the tender age of one.

If I could climb every mountain for you, take away any pain or hardship and steer you always into the right direction, I would. Your life is still unwritten and there is beauty in that, you determine who you are and we can only guide you on your journey. I can’t promise you perfection, I can’t promise you much of anything, except that I know that we were kissed by an angel twice in our lives, with you and your sister, and that every second that I breathe I love you more than the last breath! That, I promise you, will never change!

Happy Birthday my beautiful, perfect giggly baby boy! This is your year, Double 0 Seven: Mission Possible: Kidney transplant!

XXOOXXX,

Mom

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New Photos: January Fundraising Events

Below are some pictures of a few of the many fundraisers held for Gavin in January. Our heartfelt gratitude to all those who were a part of these special events.

Kurt Lakatos, the owner of Krav Maga-Milwaukee, organized and conducted two seminars on Saturday, January 6th which raised $1,100 for Gavin.
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On Sunday, January 14th, the Chilton Council (Calumet 2556) Knights of Columbus put on their pancake breakfast fundraiser and over 300 kind people came to support Gavin.
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The Jim Gill Children’s Concert held on Sunday, January 21st and organized by Samantha Christianasen and Sarah Kirschling raised $4,286.00 for Gavin.
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If you viewing this message in email and cannot view the pictures, please click here.

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A Warm Thank You to Mr. Carl Millard and Waukesha West High School Key Club for “starting your ovens”!

Research tells us that twelve out of ten people love chocolate…

If we follow the crumb trail back to Waukesha West High School’s Key Club, in-school bake sale, which not only included chocolate but a delicious combo of flavors, we here at baby Gav’s website are inclined to agree.

To Key Club Advisor, Mr. Carl Millard and all the kind Key Club Members who participated in creating this “edible art fund raiser” on behalf of sweet baby Gavin, our heart-felt thanks for adding an impressive $350 to his campaign fund. Your magical wire whisks made an important difference!

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Fort Atkinson Preschoolers Sponsor Nickle-War Fundraiser for Gavin

“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” —Angela Schwindt

Kay Sweet and her little Ft. Atkinson Preschool Sweethearts are “sweet-on” baby Gavin, and so have decided to sponsor a nickle-war fundraiser for him from February 19th – February 28th. Too winsome! A big “head-over-heels” thank you to all!