Kipele

Can you believe that?  That is Anya putting a carrot onto the sixteen inch tongue of her new friend, Kipele.  Kipele is a giraffe at the Denver Zoo that we were lucky enough to meet on Sunday.  I am sure I have said this before, because I have certainly felt it - we have been shocked at the generosity of others throughout this journey.

I think that when someone hears about a child with cancer, they want to do anything they possibly can for that child.  "A child with cancer" - that phrase seems so unnatural.  It looks that way too if you see Anya running around.  Her extremely short hair still gives it away, but otherwise she doesn't show any visible cues that she has tumors in her body.

Back to the generosity of others...we were connected to the president of the zoo through a friend.  Immediately, he invited us to come to the zoo and feed the giraffes.  Not only that, he came in on what I assume is his day off and personally escorted us through the hordes of visitors that came for free day.  At the end of our private giraffe encounter, he presented Anya with her own stuffed Kipele.  Not to be easily impressed, she informed him, "I already have thousands of giraffes."  In the end, though, she was won over, because her Kipele has hardly left her side, sleeping with her and even going to school on Tuesday.

If you want to see more of our time with Kipele, check out
Anya and Kipele on the blog of our friend, Chris, the photographer.  It sure is nice to have a professional take pictures of all the important events in our lives.  Maybe we'll take him along on our next vacation.