Mixed Nuts: Event planning and other fun stuff

Quotes

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." - Helen Keller
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
You may never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.- Unknown
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow' ~Helen Keller
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss
"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
"God doesn't give children with disabilities to strong people: He gives them to ordinary, everyday people, then He helps the parents to grow stronger through the journey. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family."Author Unknown
I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go – Abraham Lincoln
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein
The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step
Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale
Where there is great love, there are always miracles - Willa Cather
The Difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness
There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big Your God is..........
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it
Fall down seven times - get up eight - unknown
Despite our differences, we sink or swim together
Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, we might as well dance
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Event planning and other fun stuff

This weekend we are hard at work on a few projects.

First, we are working on a video we need to make. The next step in the R.A.R.E. book contest is to make a video to go along with the book. We came up with the idea to have our friends and family be part of the video as well. We are sending each of them a word that is in braille (and below it what it says), and some people a fact about LCA or Finley. We had an overwhelming response and are excited to put the video together.

We also are video taping Finley around the house and have a few other things up our sleeves. We weren't given much time to make the video, so we will be working hard over the next week to get it done.

My mom is working on getting the casino trip together for Connellsville. I posted the details yesterday, and the reservations are rolling in. We want to fill at least 2 buses, if not 3, so give my mom a call, or send her an email if you want to go. This is the same trip that was done in the fall, and it is so much fun. You pay $25, but you get $20 of that back to spend at the casino - what could be better than that??

But before you can go on a fun casino trip, there is the Dining in the Dark event in 2 weeks. TWO WEEKS people! We are getting very closer to this fun new event. We have filled Friday night and Saturday morning, but still have spots open Saturday night and Sunday morning. So - if you could please get your reservations in so that we can start to purchase the ingredients we need to make the food, we would appreciate it. If you received an invite from me, please RSVP either yes or no, so that I can stop harassing you. :) We want you all to come, and I promise this will be an awesome experience.

Mat and I are also busy working on our biggest event of the year, which is our August 5K/10K. The date is August 25th. I am giving you a 6 month notice, so you don't plan your vacation. (ha ha) It is going to be bigger and better than last year. It will be a timed walk/run (if you want to participate) with prizes! I can't wait to show off our trophies - they are being hand made and they are flippin' awesome.

I am working on securing some of our sponsors and working on some big raffle prizes. Want a small taste? Okay - we are getting 4, 1 day park hopper passes from Disney to raffle off. Some friends of mine are going to make an incredible basket around these passes. The passes alone are worth almost $500! So awesome. We are really excited about this. Plus, we have a bike to raffle off. A generous donor gave us a bicycle, and it will be another incredible prize. And my mother-in-law is hand-stitching a beautiful quilt as well!

We are working through our list of baskets as well, and will be sharing those closer to the event. I have also written a few other companies for some other big prizes, and I will be sharing that when it becomes a reality. This years raffle is going to be amazing.

The foundation is hard at work. I am also getting ready to wrap up our next newsletter that will be published in March. I will be sharing it on the blog as well, for all of those who don't get it otherwise. New and exciting things are happening with our foundation as well, and those details will be in our next newsletter, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, we are enjoying our weekend with Mat's parents who are in visiting us. We are celebrating Arlington and MAt's birthday with them while they are here. Tonight we took Mat to dinner and out for ice cream. Tomorrow is Arlington's turn. We got her a Lilo and Stitch cake - two of her favorite Disney characters, and we will be celebrating with her tomorrow. In just a few days she will be 9!