AN UPDATE ON KATE

Wednesday, December 9, 2009 8:39 PM, MST

**AS POSTED BY HOLLY MCCRAE (KATE'S MOM) ON CARING BRIDGE.ORG**

Well, we have been trying our best to do a few little holiday "family" things tonight before Kate's potential readmission tomorrow. It felt more like an emotional zoo, but at least we were all together in our chaos. We tried taking pictures of the kids in front of the Christmas tree, in their matching pajamas. Our last attempt with them all together for the season. Someone is crying in most of them, scowling, or looking to see what Patrick is doing. I think we may have gotten one where everyone was looking and smiling though. My mom and sister then attempted to decorate a SpongeBob pineapple gingerbread house with the kids. Not your typical seasonal house, but seemed to suit us quite well this year. The pineapple would not win any awards, and the dog enjoyed a few of the decorations that ended up on the floor. There were candy beads being thrown, fights over whose turn it was next, Kate's feeding pump alarming it seemed every other minute, Will tooting about the same amount of times and all of us ready just to crawl into bed and call it a day. The pineapple however turned out cute and the kids were proud. A day that started and ended with lots of tears, both of sadness and of gratefulnes​s. The stress of the upcoming round evident in everyone tonight.

I am excited to continue sharing stories from the Christmas drive with you again soon... your generosity has been very moving to us during this time. Thank you!

Someth​ing new has come our way, something we wanted to share with all of you. Author Karen Kingsbury has offered to place Kate in one of her upcoming novels as part of her Forever in Fiction program. Karen is the nation's No. 1 Christian novelist, and she is best known for her Life Changing Fiction. You can read more about her at KarenKingsb​ury.com. I will let Karen tell you in her own words what she has pulled together for Kate:

Dear Friends of Kate McRae,

Like all of you, I've been following the courageous, sometimes heartbreaki​ng, miraculous story of little Kate since her diagnosis with brain cancer this past summer. Kate's family is dealing not only with their daughter's illness, but with the enormous financial strain that has come with it. For that reason, I'd like to place Kate Forever in Fiction, honoring her as a character in one of my upcoming books. Usually this item is auctioned off to raise money for various charities. But in this case, we are trying to raise $25,000 for the McRae family. Here's how it works. Any of you who'd like to help put Kate Forever in Fiction in one of my novels can donate to the Kate McRae fund. With a donation of $100 or more, you will have your name mentioned in the acknowledgm​ents of the book where Kate will be honored. If we have a whole page of your names, that's fine. I welcome all of you to take part in this fundraiser for the McRae family. If we exceed the goal, then that will create a greater relief for Kate's family. Obviously, larger donations will help us reach the goal sooner. Once the goal is reached, Kate will officially become a character in one of my books, where she will be Forever in Fiction. If you'd like more information about Forever in Fiction, visit my website at www.Kare​nKingsbury.​com. Every dollar raised by this fundraiser will go directly to the McRae family. Thank you for being a great encourageme​nt, an amazing prayer support, and for standing with the McRae family in their most dire hour. And let's keep praying for a miracle for Kate. In His light and love, Karen​ Kingsbury

T​his information will soon be posted at www.prayfor​kate.com under "support" if you are interested. Thank you for your continued prayers as we go to clinic tomorrow and see if Kate is ready to start the 5th round of chemo.