Friday, April 11, 2008

The Big Give





this was an incredible moment!
so many of you pitched in for the romey family
and made the big give something larger
than we could imagine!
in total...you gave $795.00 to go towards an
account for main dish kitchen.
and $475.00 was given for travel expenses.
the family is going in october to georgia
to pick up callie's canine assistant.
ryan, tabby & the kids were completely surprised by your generousity. they really were unsure of what was happening.
they were so grateful and very touched by all who were involved.
the next day, tabby called... she kept saying, we didn't know how to respond...we were just SO surprised! more than anything...she thanked you for "getting it"...for understanding.
my heart was moved most by their children.
i believe that they knew what this gift meant.
it meant more time with their family -
it meant that a couple of burdens were
lightened for the time being.
literally - you could see it in their faces, hear it in their laughter...and feel it in their hugs.
and, even though callie isn't able to communicate through verbal words...just one look into her eyes...truly is a window into this child's soul. she said everything to me with one simple look into her eyes. it was amazing - and i was, and am humbled to get to be a part of this
big, big give.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

a night away....

ben & i were able to get away to the jw marriott ...a new hotel
downtown grand rapids. what a great escape - we aren't taking
any personal vacations this year...so, we decided to take quarterly
mini-trips. this one just happened to be in our own city.
it's amazing how you can feel like a tourist in your own town.
asking questions like,
"how long has this restaurant been here?"
instantly labels you an "out-of towner".
we dined at gill's fish house in the b.o.b. - after dinner,
we went to z's partypantry store in hopes of getting a
lucky lotto ticket-or two (: - and then went to z's for a night cap
and to scratch off our $1.00 lottos. we were living large!
i think we won $3.00-enough to tip the valet in the morning.
we stayed up watching a late-night movie...eating snacks we purchased at the party store.
the next morning we enjoyed a fantastic work-out and then cashed in our complimentary breakfast vouchers at six.one.six - the restaurant in the hotel.
eating guilt-free thanks to our work-out...we enjoyed fresh o.j. - omlets/waffles/fresh fruit & yogurt...truly anything you would want was served at this breakfast buffet! we didn't have to check out until 2 p.m. we enjoyed every minute we were away!
we both feel so refreshed...it is so good to get away!