HARRISBURG -- A blue and white Penn State flag waves lazily on a sunny Saturday afternoon above several Penn State knick-knacks surrounding the cream-colored door.

In this home, located about two hours outside of State College, resides the Ostotts -- Bob and Sharon, and their two daughters, Ashley, 9, and Dani, 6. Inside, a Penn State lamp, autographed basketball and assorted Penn State-themed figurines adorn the Nittany Lion-friendly apartment.

Just below a portrait of the two chestnut-haired girls, there is a homemade picture frame with "Thon 2002" painted down the side. The frame holds a picture of a smiling girl with no hair -- Ashley, at age 4, at her first Interfraternity/Panhellenic Council Dance Mara-thon.

Ashley was diagnosed with leukemia in September 2002, on her father's birthday, just two days before she turned four. A bruise on her leg just before she started pre-school alerted her family something was wrong, Sharon said.

"Because the bruise was on the back of her leg, we didn't think anything of it," Sharon said. "Then she was tired, wasn't eating and there were more bruises."

A trip to the pediatrician at the Hershey Medical Center confirmed Ashley had cancer. But the Ostotts didn't have time to feel sorry for themselves or for their daughter.

"Some families put their lives on hold," Sharon said. "As long as she was feeling fine, that's what we based our life on. We lived life one day at a time."

Ashley received chemotherapy through her mouth on a daily basis, had to go to the clinic initially once a week and have numerous spinal taps. She received chemotherapy for 26 months, ending in November 2003, Sharon said.

Still, Ashley was brave.

"When Mommy told me I'd lose my hair, I said, 'It's OK, it'll grow back, but Daddy's won't,' " Ashley said, referring to her father's baldness with a giggle.

Through Ashley's dramatic illness, the tight-knit family tried as hard as they could to lead a normal life for Ashley and her then-11-month-old sister.

But the cancer yielded a struggle from which has emerged a victory. Having been in remission for five years, Ashley is like any normal 9-year-old. She plays softball and basketball and her favorite TV show is Full House -- the later seasons, not the ones that were filmed when the character Michelle was a baby.

Looking at Ashley now, sitting quietly next to her cat, Zoe, no one would guess she endured a battle that left her hairless and her family emotionally changed.

Thon has allowed the Ostotts to meet some new friends, and it gives them something to look forward to every year, both Bob and Sharon said. This upcoming Thon will be the family's sixth.

"Thon is a weekend celebration of life," Sharon said. "Kids are able to forget what they're going through, and they can laugh and smile and be normal kids."

The Ostotts have even gotten the opportunity to be guides for new Thon families unfamiliar with the process and the events throughout the season.

"[Thon] means getting together with other families, interacting with other families, sharing experiences," Bob said.

The family is quick to praise and defend Penn State students, especially those involved with Thon.

"The media is quick to say Penn State is the No. 2 party school in the country," Bob said. "But these kids stand in the cold weather and can for kids they don't even know."

Sharon said her first Thon was very emotional.

"During [the song] 'Angels Among Us,' I was holding Ashley, and she looked up and said, 'Mommy, why is everyone crying?' "

Sharon said during the family's first Thon, she was able to see her "normal child."

"We didn't see smiles at home because of the effects of the medicine," she said.

Ashley is sponsored by the Delta Chi fraternity, 424 E. Fairmount Ave., and the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, whom Sharon affectionately calls "the Kappa's." Canning trips with the organizations provide Bob and Sharon with a night off from parent duty, and Dani and Ashley with babysitters.

"We count money on the floor, paint nails, watch movies, make icees and do karaoke," Ashley said."

Even the men of Delta Chi get their nails painted, she added, smiling shyly. To Ashley, her Penn State friends are "cool."

"Ashley absolutely loves her Penn State friends," Sharon said. "[The] support from them has been phenomenal."

This year, for Thon, Ashley said she is most looking forward to the variety show, which she will be participating in, singing a Rascal Flatts song, "What Hurts the Most."

Sharon summed up the bittersweet sentiment many families feel during Thon.

"It's good to see the amount of families, but it's sad to see more kids with cancer," she said. "It's sad to know that there are many people out there with sick kids."