What's 10 Inches?

Before

After

We finally did it!

We donated our hair to Locks of Love. This has been over a year in the making and last Friday was the big day! My SIL, the girls' Aunt A cut our hair for us. Here's what got it all started...

One day when we were out for a walk we passed a family, the kids were all smiling and saying hello to all of them, it was a heartwarming moment to watch my children be so sweet. In the back of the group the father was pushing a wheelchair with their daughter who was disabled. Her head was propped up, she was looking to the sky with a smile on her face. My children stopped smiling and just stared. They weren't walking anymore and as the father passed by their eyes followed the wheelchair. I know this is a normal response for young children who are curious, but at that moment my heart sank. I realized that I have not been teaching my children enough about other people's lives. As I shooed them down the sidewalk, we stopped in the grass and sat. We talked about that little girl in the wheelchair. We talked about manners and staring. We talked about being thankful for our health. It was a pretty indepth conversation full of questions, some that I didn't have the answers to. That night at dinner we went around the table and we each said something that we were thankful for. The responses were heartbreaking.

After we ate, I opened up the newspaper to check a time for something and I saw a picture of a little girl who had donated her hair to Locks of Love. Perfect! This was a great opportunity to teach the kids. I showed them the picture, explained why she would cut her hair to give it to someone else? What was a wig? Why some kids have to wear wigs? Why they have to take medicines that help them, but make them sick? Sat dumbfounded searching for a response when asked why God would allow these children to get sick? The questions were tough, but they were learning, I was learning. After talking for awhile, sweet Lolo with tears in her eyes looks at me, grabs her ponytail and says, "I have lots of hair, they can have mine!" To my surprise Molly agreed as well. They were ready to get the scissors and donate at that moment. So we got out the measuring tape. Unless they went for a pixie cut, they didn't have long enough hair. They decided that night that they were going to grow out their hair. To show my support, I agreed to join them.

And there you have it- over a year ago we had this conversation, but to this day and always, we will remember it!

Summertime Kids' Parade

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer. This week is our Festival week, full of fun activities for the kids and grown kids alike. These pictures were from the Kids' Parade.

Tomorrow is our Big Parade and since our house is only one house off the Parade Route, we throw a HUGE party. Needless to say I haven't been blogging because I have been weeding, cleaning, planning...pretty much in that order. We serve Pulled Pork BBQ sandwiches- I bought 100+ hopefully this will be enough. We have a Keg of Oberon and a pony keg of Molson. The Party has gotten so big that we now have "sponsors" My Dad and his best friend Goof have graciously sponsored the big keg. We have tables, chairs and tents being offered. The "POP" (aka Soda- it's Pop around here) was donated by my In-laws, as well as an unbelievable cheesecake that looks like an American Flag- YUM!

My Mom has been an unbelievable help. She has been here daily helping me out. She went shopping with me yesterday and helped me heave 10- 2o pound bags of ice. She made curtains for my kitchen- that look awesome! She has been bringing supplies, helping with the planning and best of all...she's making 2 Veggie Pizzas...my favorite! My Dad- my rented handyman who works for Oreo's- came and fixed a bunch of stuff around the house. My fence and gate needed fixing. My handrail coming down the backsteps was pretty much pulled out of the wall. And my dishwasher that is a whole nother story in itself, is now screwed back into the cupboards. He took the day off today and will be busy washing yard chairs with me later today. My Mother In Law, Father In Law and Sister in Law have been here babysitting and helping me out hugely. It is so much easier to shop for 10 big bags of ice, 75 cans of Pop, 24 bottles of water, 100+ hamburg buns, paper towels, napkins, plates, silverware, cups...when you don't have a cart full of children! THANK YOU! My Hubby has been having back spasms and was not walking too well the beginning of this week. My Sister In Law ran over to babysit so that I could take him to the hospital. He is on medication now, walking- slowly, but he's moving much better. I am thankful for her coming over, because I don't know how I would have pushed the wheelchair and the stroller at the same time! Overall, I could not have done any of this by myself and I appreciate them all so much. SO with a huge list yet to get done, WHY AM I BLOGGING? Because my Dad still checks it daily and pesters me about not posting more often. This is for you Dad! This is my way of saying Thanks to all of my HELP! Family and Friends is what it is all about- Thank You for showing me that.

With that said...

IT'S PARTYTIME!!