Chili Cook Off 2011

First of all:

Thank you for coming out today to help us raise money for Daniel's Park Pets. Daniel absolutely loved going to the park and playing on the swings-especially the swings! I think we ran more energy out during park time then he did! Eise Park is one of the parks we frequented a lot and one that Karen would take all the kids to. Your help today is bringing us so much closer to our goal of providing climbable park pets for all the kids to enjoy when they come to the park, and helping us honor such a terrific and special little boy. Your generosity, kindness, and friendship has sustained us all and we are honored and blessed to spend this day with you.

Thank you so much again!

Today was an absolute success on a lot of levels. Total we raised 1,600 dollars to go towards the park pets! When I heard the complete count I was absolutely stunned. The generosity of everyone is completely humbling. I don't think there will ever be enough 'thank yous' to cover just how thankful we are that a community can come together for one another like ours.

Most importantly, to me, today was about the fun we had. Going in to today, I was unsure about how I would feel. For each time we do do something related to Daniel, a little piece of me is sad because of the reasoning on why we are doing anything. And I knew beforehand the paramedics who responded to our call were going to be there to show their support. And while I am eternally grateful for their help and kindness, I know what they saw, they know what I saw and it isn't something that can be wiped away very easily. But, today, oh today was so nice. Yes, I did grow a little teary eyed when I was introduced to one of the paramedics but she was so genuine it didn't feel completely awkward. But overall, people were laughing, eating and just having a good old fashioned good time. The kids all got to play together and run around like crazy, Jake only had 2 mini meltdowns, Andrew was an absolute doll, the washers tournament lasted for hours and there was so much chili and baked goods! We got to see the MHFD and MHPD and we got to share in our memories of Daniel. And it was good.