Not quite two years ago, Clarissa Filhart was living between home and the hospital, caring for two sick children.

First there was Maverick. Born nine weeks early in January 2008. Then there was Morgan. A strong and resilient 7-year-old, diagnosed with kidney cancer around Valentine's Day.

"It was a dark, dark time," says Clarissa as she recalls the weeks she and her husband Brian spent with a newborn in the ICU and a second-grader under pediatric oncology care. "But God sends you people to say the right words, to be there, to give you hope. I really don't have a clue how I would have coped otherwise."

But Clarissa did cope. And Maverick and Morgan are home today. Both are healthy. Both are happy. And both just spent a summer on the family farm chasing butterflies, dogs and barn cats, and just being kids.

Clarissa and Brian married 15 years ago, and live on a farm in Clare. Brian is one of 12 siblings, Clarissa is one of three. When Morgan and Maverick were born, they were the first grandchildren on her side, but among dozens on Brian's.

For Clarissa, that family provided the support she needed from day one.

"We thought we would be home right away," says Clarissa, noting that Maverick was taken off his respirator the second day of his life. "But when he was 10 days old, he started having issues with his intestinal tract, and needed blood."

Maverick was in the hospital for close to 10 weeks. Toward the end of his stay, he was transferred to another hospital. That very same day, Morgan started chemotherapy and radiation for the treatment of Wilms' Tumor.

"That was another dark, dark day," says Clarissa. "At one point, both my children were receiving blood transfusions."

Morgan needed surgery, and was in and out of the hospital for 10 months. Doctors removed the cancerous tumor, and with it, one of her kidneys. She underwent extensive treatments and received 27 transfusions of red cells and 34 transfusions of platelets.

Because of her care, her grandfather, Ed Filhart, became a platelet donor through the American Red Cross. Clarissa, too, has attempted to give whole blood, and vows to give again when she's eligible.

Now that everyone is home and doing well, Clarissa believes there was a purpose for what her family went through.

"I'm so thankful for the strength and faith we gained," she says. "I hope it gives other people hope that they can go through things beyond belief and still be able to smile."