9:00am

We have arrived in Seoul, Korea!! Everyone is a little tired, cranky, stiff but really excited to be so close to Qingdao. We board a plane in 4 hours to Qingdao (only a 35 minute flight). When we got here last night, I was too exhausted to update the blog - sorry.... Once we get settled in Qingdao, I'll fill everyone in on our trip!!

5:10 am

It has been CRAZY this week. In less than 48 hours we will be leaving our house to go to the airport. For 8 months, we have dreamt of this moment. Through blood, sweat & tears we are finally at the end of one journey and we're about to begin another chapter of our lives. And we couldn't have done it without the people who have fallen in love with our little boy. Brandon has touched so many lives just has he did with me the moment the nurse placed him in my arms. As I write this, I can't help but cry. We are about to embark on a journey of a lifetime. My baby has this wonderful opportunity to see and I'm so happy for him. If I have learned anything from the last 8 months it's that people truly care. We met a lot of wonderful people who have made a difference in Brandon's life. One family we met a few weeks ago put their God given talent to work to raise money for Brandon this past Sunday. Kim Phillips heard about Brandon and wanted to help. Her wonderful family put on a concert for Brandon at Harmony Bowl on Academy Blvd. Honestly before Sunday, I had no doubt they could sing - I just didn't realize how well they could do it. What came from their mouths gave me goose bumps. I had never heard someone sing as well as they did. (even the pros could take lessons from that family!) 100% of all donations went to Brandon's Fund. Harmony Bowl also donated 21 lanes which we sold for $10.00 a person for 2 games. It was great fun! The highlight of the day was when Thalia & her father, George sang Brandon's favorite song - Fast as You by Dwight Yoakam. Brandon who had been exhausted from Saturday night's fight suddenly gained enough energy to dance. He absolutely loved it! So THANK YOU Thalia & George for making Brandon's day. THANK YOU to the Phillips family (and Larry) for putting on such a great fundraiser.

Photo's: 1st: Brandon's banner at the entrance of Harmony Bowl 2nd: Kim Phillips - the one who made all of this possible 3rd: Thalia & her talented daughter - hard to believe a 14 year old can sing as well as she does. 4th: Trent & Thalia's father George - gotta love him! 5th: Kim's husband, Trent Phillips singing for Brandon.

3:35 am

Tonight was the "No Mercy Extreme Fight". I have never experience anything quite like it! It was exciting and I'm still in awe over the whole thing. We were treated so well! They gave us VIP seating (THANKS NATALIE) so we had a great view. We were given a T-Shirt and I believe almost all the fighters signed it for Brandon including the announcer. Our favorite signature was from Tyrone Wright. He went into that ring to fight for Brandon & he did an amazing job. We were so proud of him!! His opponent in the cage was Chris Holland. When I first met him, the first thing I said was "I hope you lose". Later I felt guilty because he truly is a great person. Tyrone & Chris both posed for pictures with Brandon after the fight and that's really was it was about. Tyrone had a pre-existing injury which he tried to ignore but in the end, it wouldn't be ignored. He gave it his all & we are so proud of him. Doesn't really matter who won in the cage - Brandon was the real winner tonight. Tyrone apologized to us for not winning the match and my heart went out to him. He really wanted this for Brandon & we really wanted it for Tyrone. It just goes to show what type of people these guys are. In the cage they are vicious. Outside, they have a heart of gold. During intermission, they called us into the cage and the announcer told the crowd about our fight for Brandon. So many people clapped for Brandon, I wish I would've explained it to him better. After everyone knew about Brandon they proceeded to go to our table to donate money to him. We had a large jar which filled up in a matter of minutes. The grand total of amount raised tonight......drum roll please.... $1,853. We had fighters, kids, women, & men standing in line to donate to him. It's hard to describe how wonderful that felt. And this all happened because Tyrone Wright happened to see Brandon's story on channel 13 news website. God sent us an angel. He sent us Tyrone. And well Louie too :) Louie made sure we were comfortable and was a great host.

Photo's:

1st: Cage Opponents Chris Holland & Tyrone Wright with Brandon

2nd: Brandon's holding the championship belts for some pictures. It was kinda loud so Brandon kept holding his ears. For those who don't know him, his ears are really sensitive. I was standing on the right trying to talk him into putting his hands down long enough for a picture. Also on the right is Brandon's dad, John & Tyrone's Manager, Louie.

3rd: Brandon, his proud dad - John and I (proud mom) in the cage during intermission as the announcer (far right side) introduces Brandon and tells the audience his story. Squatting with Brandon is Louie, Tyrone's manager. Louie has been great to us and we will never be able to thank him enough for the kindness he has shown to our family.