Bagging Date Set

Our next bagging date has been set! We will be bagging on Saturday, March 7th at 7:00 at our house. Along with donated animals we have received, we will also be bagging the animals made at Sew for Fun's sewing day with a special card stating they were hand sewn with love. Plus, the Foundation purchased almost 100 stuffed animals after Valentine's Day that can easily have the hearts removed to be an "anytime animal" to give (thanks to your monetary donations). So, bring a pair of sharp scissors and help us snip off hearts before we bag. We will also keep working on plans for the Celebration in June, so bring your fun ideas.

Fairfax Community Hospital Donation

We made our first donation of stuffed animals to Fairfax Community Hospital on Tuesday! They had just been taking coloring books, crayons, etc, but not stuffed animals. We are so excited to add stuffed animals to their hospital. They are what we love to donate the most since they bring so much comfort to kids.

Pictured are Rebecca Gatlin of Fairfax Community Hospital and Phyllis Schimming.

Abby Loved the Snow

From the time she was big enough to walk and be in the snow, Abrielle loved it. This seems kind of strange since she was such a little thing, she would get cold really easily (Randi and Kara can vouch for this), but we always had a hard time getting her to come inside. Her cheeks and nose would be red and her teeth would be chattering, but she would still say that she wasn't ready to come inside when we were sledding. Just to prove how much our little girl loved the snow, here's a picture of her....

Notice anything? She has on her nightgown and put on jammie pants, her snow boots, and her "big snow coat" and was ready to head outside to play. Obviously I didn't let her go out like that, but had to get her to pose for a picture before she changed.

This was taken February 25, 2007...two years ago today. I still have a hard time with the fact that my little girl is gone, much less the fact that it has been almost two years. It literally still seems like she was hear just yesterday. I still have vivid dreams about Abby doing something and when I wake up, it takes a few moments before I realize it was just a dream and she is still gone. I long to have all three girls together, three sisters able to play, laugh, run, and dance together. That was the way it was supposed to be.

Heart of America Tractor Cruise

The 2009 Heart of America Tractor Cruise will be held on June 20th and will benefit juvenile charities in Northwest Missouri. The Foundation was selected to be one of those charities! We are so excited the Tractor Club chose ANF again! Here's the scoop on the Cruise...

The Cruise will begin at NWMSU, travel up Icon Rd to Hwy 71 then on to CC and Hwy 148 to Pickering. The Cruisers will take a morning break there and then will continue on Hwy 148 to NN. From NN they will travel to E and to Hwy 246 into Sheridan. Lunch will be served there and then they will head on to Hwy 46, into Parnell and on into Ravenwood where the afternoon break will be. From there it is on to Hwy 136 and back to NWMSU Outdoor Pavilion where supper will be served. Supper is open to the public and is a free will donation barbeque. (It was super yummy last year!) There is also a raffle for a Farmall M pedal tractor and gravity feed wagon since this year's featured tractor is the Farmall-International. More info or registration forms can be found at their website www.heartofamericatractorclub.com I just LOVE their slogan of "Kids need Angels like you!"

Presidential Showdown Pictures

I received some pictures of the fifth graders dressed up for the Presidential Showdown and wanted to share them.

Teddy Roosevelt - Nick
Lady Bird Johnson - Haley
John F. Kennedy - Jackson
Jacqueline Kennedy - Jacqueline
Dwight Eisenhower - Kelly
Franklin D. Roosevelt - Michael
Martha Washington - Brea
Martha Jefferson - Hanah
Thomas Jefferson - Emily
George W. Bush - Joseph
Michelle Obama - Josie
Barack Obama - Shelby
Abraham Lincoln - Corby Walker
Caroline Harrison - Riley Spire

Not Pictured
William H. Taft - Mollie
Abigail Adams - Abby

Thanks again kids and Mrs. Halley!

Presidential Showdown

St Gregory's fifth graders hosted a Presidential Showdown in honor of Lincoln's 200th birthday and the proceeds went to us! Here's what they did...

The students were able to dress as Presidents and had a lot of fun duking it out to raise money. They collected $234, some ziplocs, books, and stuffed animals! They did this all in just ONE day! How amazing is that! The students are going to use the money to purchase items for the Foundation and then will help out even more by decorating cards and bagging up their goodies.

Thanks so much 5th graders in Mrs. Halley's class for doing this and thanks to all who participated!

Family Circle Celebration, Part 2

Since the last post was so long, I thought I should break it out into two posts, so here's part two.



NBC Action News was covering the story and asked for an interview. I am not sure when it aired, but here is the link to the article on their webstie and to the video. http://www.nbcactionnews.com/news/local/story/Childrens-Hospital-Celebrates-Organ-Donors/mG_zHuBk6U6ELKcHu3UYhw.cspx The interview was tough since I was fighting the emotions of the day to begin with and then to talk about Abby just made holding back tears impossible, as you can tell in my voice. I love that they link the website and use our butterfly along with Abby's pictures.



While at the ceremony, we were able to visit with staff from CMH and from MTN, some who we have not seen since that day. It was nice to see them, but since there are not any happy memories attached, it's hard to see them too. They are all wonderful and caring people that have helped us along this journey and we appreciate them for that. We did get to visit with some of the families too and share our stories. It is just like an immediate connection is made and you don't have to explain much, which is nice. A CMH staff member came up to me and said she had lost her son 3 months ago and wanted to know if it gets any easier. I just shook my head no and started crying. She replied by saying that she really hoped it would. I didn't have a response. Maybe I should have said yes, but I just couldn't. It's been almost two years and I still cry when I talk about it and miss my little girl every day. I don't know that it ever gets easier. Some say that it gets different, but the only difference I have found is that the feelings of disbelief and auto pilot are gone and I'm forced to try to conform with society's belief that things should be better by now.



I was not sure what Mady would think of the day, but she did good. She looked at the quilts with me and rubbed my back as I cried. She acts so much more mature than 8 at these things. She walked up front with me to receive everything and was such help the whole day. She visited with the news reporters and the ladies from MTN. She told one of them that she hoped she could put the figurine in her room on her shelf beside the pictures of her and Abby, the ones in the frame with the poem about sisters. I thought this was so sweet when the story was relayed to me. I guess I am going to have to buy her one too.