The day before Thanksgiving, Jamie and I went back to Columbia to take more gift cards and meet with our second family! We were really excited that we had the opportunity to help more families. God has been so good to this foundation - we've been able to meet our goal for the next two quarters.
We were able to meet our second family, the Kennebecks. They had twin boys at 25 weeks - born mid-October. Their names are Camden and Masen and they are super cute! They will most likely be in the NICU until the end of December, but are hoping for an early release. We were able to meet and spend time with the mom, Chelsea. The dad, Michael, was in Afghanistan. I can't imagine going through all of this without my husband there. Please pray for this family as they still have a long journey ahead of them! Here is a picture Chelsea and her boys.
Our friends donated the diaper bag and everything in it (to include adorable monogrammed onesies!). Thank you Matt and Erica!
I've been praying for some fundraising ideas and one landed in my email! Carrie Kuster was my nurse when I was in the hospital when Alyssa was born. She is a wonderful person and I truly appreciate her generous offer! Please pass this around!
Here is what Carrie is offering...
For the month of November when you place a Mary Kay order with me (Carrie Kuster) and say you are doing it on the behalf of the Hold My Heart Foundation, I will be donating 60% of my earnings to the foundation and covering your shipping costs!! What a great way to do some holiday shopping and support a great foundation! You can place your order by messaging me on Facebook or visiting my website at www.marykay.com/carrie.kuster31I have gifts for all the ladies and men too! Lots of great cologne's, perfumes, body washes, lotions, skin care, and makeup options to choose from! Please feel free to email me with any questions. God Bless!Carrie KusterMary KayIndependent Beauty Consultantwebsite: www.marykay.com/carrie.kuster31email: carrie.kuster31@marykay.com
The holidays are right around the corner! Order today and help families in Missouri!
Well since the walk is finished it has been pretty quiet here. We are planning another fundraiser to occur in December - another raffle - but other than that it has been administrative work. The walk/raffle was awesome! We made a little over $3,000 and mostly everything was donated. How amazing is God? We have enough for gift cards, for sponsoring a family, and for scholarships. We would like to wrap some books to give the families around the holidays and we have money for that too! So exciting!
We are looking to visit the NICU in Columbia again the week of Thanksgiving. It is just easier this way because I have 3 days off of work and that way I don't have to miss any more work. I just hope that Jamie will be able to go with me but he will start another class Friday.
We have a lot of momentum and I hope that we continue to keep it moving! I don't want to lose it and I have an appointment with someone who has fundraising ideas for the foundation. I am really excited and hope that we will continue to reach others who have a heart for this foundation. I hope that our foundation inspires others to help - whether it is our foundation or an organization that is close to their hearts.
Our first Hold My Heart benefit walk was this Saturday. We had 150 people there - either walking or helping out. It wasn't easy but God provided us with a successful first event and with wonderful people who supported us. I can't tell you how many people dedicated their time and money to help us out. It's so awesome to see people come together to help others. That's what this foundation is all about. God has blessed us so much with this foundation to glorify Him and remember our sweet daughter.
Here's a recap of the day: We woke up super early to get things done. Jamie went with his good friends to set up and I went with my good friend for the event to try to pick up some coffee for the volunteers. Unfortunately that did not work out at Starbucks. Kinda funny - I called ahead asking for 2 coffee-to-gos and when we got there the lady thought we meant 2 coffees to go. But with a quick call to another friend we were able to get some coffee.
Once we got to the community center, we started setting up all the registration stuff and the tables. Before 8:00 we had people coming to sign-up that day! Pretty soon it got pretty hectic with people checking in. Note for next year: Have 2 tables. Live and learn.
Spirit FM got there and started setting up. It was awesome that they were able to come out. We were able to get a live broadcast so people could hear about our event.
At 9:00 they were off! It was so awesome to see everyone start off. There were some hard core people there! After the runners started I went with Fred, the DJ from Spirit FM, and did an interview. I was nervous but it went well. Hopefully people heard it and visited the website. The more we get out there the better for this foundation and the families that we help.
In about 30 minutes the first few people started to come in. As I talked more with Fred, more and more people came in. A couple of hours later the last person came in and it was time to draw for the door prizes and raffle! Thanks to a good friend we had a ton of door prizes. She was able to go out the day before and get us awesome tool prizes. For a complete list of our sponsors please visit our website at www.holdmyheartfoundation. We will also get pictures of the event up at the website as well as on our Facebook page.
It was so awesome. You never know what will happen in life but one thing is for sure. God loves you and will help you through anything. We've had a rough year but the positive has outweighed the negative. Thank you too all of our family, friends, sponsors, and participants who helped make our first event a success. We'll see you next year!
Today is Alyssa's first birthday. It truly breaks my heart but at the same time this is the day that God blessed us with her. I can't help but cry and at the same time rejoice.
One year ago our world was turned upside down. I was flown to Columbia for an emergency C-section not knowing whether I would ever see my little girl alive. But God gave us time with her and I am so thankful for that.
We got to see how she always wanted her left foot outside of her snuglet. Every time the nurse would put it back in, she would always find a way to stick it back out. We got to see how she wanted to know everything that was going on. If someone came into the room she would always look. One day she started to get upset at a doctor who she could not see. That's when I realized that I had a feisty little one on my hands (FLO for short). We were able to read to her, to sing to her, and to place one giant finger in her tiny hand. We had really good days and really bad days. We were told that she wouldn't make it but she made it 11 days more than what they thought. Our little girl was a fighter and an inspiration to many. My little girl, my precious angel who would be turning 1 today.
How my heart aches. I should be choosing her party outfit and theme. I know one day we will be together and for that, my heart rejoices. I like to think that when that happens we'll have the biggest, awesomest party ever. I mean, Jesus and my little girl will be there and that in itself makes it awesome!
So Happy Birthday, my sweet little girl. We love you so much!
Today was the first day of walk registration and raffle ticket sales. Yesterday, Jamie and I ran around getting things ready. Procrastination? A little. We bought a canopy to stand under, flyers to hand out to people walking into Wal-Mart, a cash box, and poster board.
We went to church this morning and during service I said a prayer. I asked God to open people's hearts to our foundation and to please let us get 10 people to register for the walk and 100 raffle tickets sold.
We left church and went to Wal-Mart to set up. We had everything but the TV out for display and started handing out flyers (thank you Zach, Chris, Amber, Josh, and Heather!). At first, many people were interested in the raffle. But as time passed, some of the people who were working at the doors started to bring money. People were giving us donations - I hadn't really counted on that! It was just nice to know that there are so many caring people out there.
We met a lot of awesome people this afternoon. For those of you who came out to support us, thank you so much!
God provided for us and then some! We had donations and t-shirt sales as well as 12 registrants and waaay more than 100 raffle tickets. Our total today was three times what we expected - isn't God so amazing? I honestly can't say that enough.
It's been awhile. I took a little bit of a vacay...I didn't go anywhere but my family was visiting and I wanted to spend time with them! I haven't stopped completely - the walk and raffle are always on my mind. Especially since our first day of raffle sales is this Sunday at Wal-Mart. Can I just say how fast time flies?
A week ago I was invited to speak at a Rotary Club meeting. I met some really awesome people. God never fails to to introduce us to the right people at the right time. I know I say that a lot but it is so true! Some days I don't know what direction to go but with God directing our path I know it will be right.
Just please pray for me now that a new school year has started! Balancing work for the foundation, work and church activities may end up with me losing my mind! If you are interested in purchasing a raffle ticket, please stop by the St. Robert Wal-Mart Sunday from 11-3!
