May 27th marks the birthday of our beloved friend Justin Hertz. I met Justin in 2008 and had the honor of guiding him through 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades. From the moment I met him, he lit up the room with his big smile, laughter, and silliness. Just a few months before meeting Justin, our family went through a very difficult time. Grace had been recently diagnosed with cystic brain lesions and had needed emergency brain surgery to relieve pressure. How this young boy who had only just met me knew I was hurting is beyond me. You see, Justin had a way of looking through you. He was very spiritual, an old soul. He assured me that no matter what happened, things would be okay. He gave me a 4-leaf clover silly band (yes, silly bands were once very popular! And I still have it!) and told me luck was on our side. Little did we know that only a few years later, Justin would need all that luck he had assured us. Justin develop a cancer called Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. We were beyond devestated by the news, but Justin, he took it with grace. His fight was far from easy, but he lived each day the best he could, and still kept that sense of humor until the end. Sadly, on December 6, 2013 Justin left this world. God gained an angel, but we lost a hero that day. 

Beginning today we are rasing funds for Alex's Lemonade Stand in memory of Justin. We will keep going until we reach our goal....because that is what Justin would do. And in case you are curious, we named our event JustIn Thyme because everything is timed perfectly according to our God, and also because we have an herb garden named in his honor since he loved gardening at MCH. Lemon thyme is our favorite!