Peyton’s Adventure :: Part 1

Have you ever met a family and just been instantly drawn to them? Maybe it was a kind “hello” or a similar path in life or a story that rocked you to your core? Whatever the case may be, I think we all have people in this world whose paths we were just meant to cross. I recently had one of those chance encounters happen to me…

A few months back, an email came into my inbox about a brave and beautiful girl named Peyton who lives just down the road in Sugar Land, and her story absolutely drew me in. You see, Peyton has this beautiful red curly hair, a kind and gentle demeanor, and a love for the ballet and dancing en pointe that runs so very deep. She is also battling acute lymphocytic leukemia {ALL}. Reading through her story and watching her video rocked me to my core and pulled at my heartstrings. Not only was I inspired by Peyton’s positivity and strength during her fight against childhood cancer, but my heart was also filled with overwhelming emotion for what her sweet mama must be going through as she braves this journey with Peyton too.

Then, I found out about her amazing adventure…

For the second year in a row, our friends at Northwestern Mutual will once again be the presenting sponsor of the Rose Bowl Game. The theme of this year’s Rose parade is Find Your Adventure. Northwestern Mutual is dedicating its float design to Peyton’s greatest adventure and dream – to see the performances of the distinguished ballet companies of the world. Northwestern Mutual is committed to raising awareness surrounding the fight against childhood cancer, accelerating the search for cures, and providing support to families battling the disease. This float is just one of the many ways the company is showing support for its philanthropic cause. Peyton’s adventure will be brought to life in flowers on the company’s float and she and her family will ride in the parade. How fantastic is that?!

I knew that I had to learn more – I had to find a way to support this tremendous cause, and I had to follow along and watch as this amazing adventure unfolds. So I got in touch with Carrie, Peyton’s mom, and the bond was instantaneous. We laughed together when she told me about Peyton’s childhood…and we cried together when she recounted the day of diagnosis…and then we came up with a plan to spread awareness and share Peyton’s adventure right here in Houston. And of course, I want all of you – the Houston Moms Blog readers – to join in, too. So for the next several months, we are going to follow along on this adventure with Peyton and her precious family, and I hope you will join us as we learn more about Peyton’s courageous story and her newest and greatest adventure with Northwestern Mutual. This is just Part 1 and a brief introduction of all that is to come, and I so look forward to being a teeny-tiny part of it with you.

“And so…the adventure begins.”

Please Note :: We can’t wrap up this post without giving a BIG shout out to Northwestern Mutual for graciously sponsoring this series and for all that they are doing to spread awareness and provide support for childhood cancer.  We are so proud to call them our partners!