Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Such a Terrific Day

Hey - I have to tell you all what a wonderful event the ladies of Light of Life church in Kent put on for Kam's van this past Saturday. It was a rainy day - shocking, right? - and despite the rain, they had a room packed with tables and displays and shiny things. There was a raffle going on; candles lit; chocolate (score!); balloons; and more.

I took my hats, too. Now, my original plan was to have daughter Kelsey there to act as back-up for the monsters (you know who I mean). I know my fam, and their ability to maintain in a social situation starts to degrade after about an hour, tops. And in our family, when they are done, the gloves come off.

The trouble was, Kelsey's college had graduation right at that same time. She's going into her senior year and had a ton of friends graduating. And, in my opinion, Kelsey's given a pretty big chunk of her twenty-one years helping with the "little kids." I insisted that she go to the graduation. "I can handle the kids, Kels. I do it all the time."

Big words.

The event went from 10am - 3pm. That's five hours. Yeah...you can see where this is headed.

We were late to begin with. Not surprising. When I think of analogies to getting us all ready and out the door for anything, I think of how difficult it must be to, say, maneuver a massive cruise ship or one of those jumbo-sized container vessels through the Panama Canal. You know, they don't exactly turn on a dime. You need lots of lead time.

Plus, we had lots of things to load up: wheelchair, backpacks full of potential distractions for all three kids, the boxes with my hats and stuff, flyers, and changes of clothes (just in case). Totally forgot food or snacks. But, hey, I'm not perfect, right?

We got to the event just before 11am, and I have to say, the kids did pretty well. Klaryssia tried to talk to anything and anyone that moved (nothing new here), Kobi exhibited his newly-emerging rebellious behaviors (glassy stare, ever-so-slightly raised eyebrow in response to my requests, and flat out ignoring me), and Kameron tried to hug anyone nearby. This can be a little off-putting, because since he's sitting down, his hugs land around most folk's hips. Awkward.

But, they eventually settled in, and kept busy for quite awhile. I was proud of them. We made it almost to the end, and they really had a great time. It was only in those last hours that Kam hit Klaryssia and she squealed loud enough to be heard in the next state, and Kobi hit Kam because Kam wanted Kobi's Nintendo DS, and Kam started trying to wheel his chair over everyone in his path because he wanted to go outside in the rain and play basketball.

But before all that, these wonderful women spoiled us and came over to meet us, and just generally made us all feel very welcome. I wish I knew everyone's names to say personal thank yous. The kids and I are so grateful for your efforts, and we had an amazing time. God bless you, every one!

Friday, May 06, 2011


Hi everyone! Lots of stuff happening!

We have a big fund raiser for Kam's van tomorrow, Saturday May 7th from 10am - 3pm. The Light of Life Lutheran church in Kent, WA is holding a gathering of several home-based businesses like Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, Scentsy, Avon, Touchstone Crystals, and I don't know who all else. I'm planning on being there, too - with my hats =-). The address for the church is 28525 216th Ave. SE in Kent.

I'm so incredibly grateful to this group of women; most of whom don't know us from Adam (so to speak). They heard about our project from Ellen Lamb, an old co-worker of mine and an adoptive mom, too. This apparently led to this wonderful fundraiser. They've even enlisted Thrivent Financial, a Lutheran Foundation (I believe) to match funds raised during this event - 2:1. AWESOME, yes?

So, if you pray, please do for this event - it would be SO fantastic if we could have a great turnout. However it goes, I am feeling blessed by these women and their hearts for my son and my little family. I can't wait to meet them tomorrow. Pictures will be taken and posted on Kam's Facebook group/page.

My little Etsy store has generated a few hundred dollars in sales toward the cause - Yay! I love it that people like my things; one of the teachers at Kam and Kobi's school special-ordered a men's beanie in Sounder's colors. That was fun. And the Front Desk Lady ordered three hats for her granddaughters for Easter. So sweet! I make afghans for big and little people, too. Feel free to message me if you are interested. It all goes to the van!

Love to everyone, and don't forget Mother's Day!!!!!

K+