Over the Valentine's Day weekend I left Jake and the kids behind to fly to Phoenix to work side-by-side with my family to help with a fundraiser for my sister's two-year-old conjoined twins, Emma and Taylor. The event was to raise funds to help with the cost of travel, therapy, and a possible upcoming surgery in Seattle. The girls share a heart and are already showing signs of heart failure. The heart would not be usable after separation and so the girls would each need a donor heart if a separation were to happen. It is a miracle that they are still with us and have shown such zeal. It was such a pleasure for me to spend some focused time with them: bathe them, read stories and rock them, balance them as they walked, and listen to their chatter and laughter. You can't help but see the miracle in all of it and be overwhelmed to tears.
The fundraiser was a 10k, 5k, and 3k with a family carnival afterwards. There were 3,000 attendees, including 900 racers. There was a silent auction with some great items (a signed collectors edition of "Twilight"), a rock wall, bounce houses, a petting zoo, train rides, crafts, games, face painting and about 40 vendors. Entertainment included Mary Hoffman (she has opened for Keith Urban) and a variety of local entertainers. It was a memorable weekend for many reasons. I loved being a part of something that was so big and so desperately needed. Our family and all of the volunteers worked our tails off and we couldn't have been happier doing so. I realized how dearly I love my parents, my two brothers and my 4 sisters. It had been 4 years since we'd all been together. They are precious to me and I grew to love them more as we worked, cried, and laughed our heads off. It was also amazing to see thousands of people offering their talents and resources to help this family. I have come away realizing that their are many, many caring and loving people who want to make a difference in the world. I am so grateful for this opportunity to be a part of this fundraiser and a part of Emma and Taylor's lives. My testimony is strengthened as I have witnessed God's miracles and His tender mercies for His Children.
Unfortunately, I took the old camera and can't get it to turn back on to retrieve my photos, but you can check out my sister's photo slideshow.
7 comments:
What an amazing thing to do and be a part of. I watched about half the slide show and kept getting choked up to think of how much love and service they represented and how important those little girls are to Heavenly Father. Thank you for sharing.
I am so glad you were able to go and be with your family for such a wonderful event. We hope and pray that everything works out for the twins and your family. I'm glad you found my blog so we can stay in touch.
I am blinking back tears as I write this. I wish so much that we all could have been there. We were definitely thinking about you all that weekend. I am so happy that it turned out so well. The twins are such an inspiration.
Wow, what an amazing event to be a part of. I am so glad your whole family was there, and we are praying the sweet twins will get their hearts they so deserve. They are lucky to have such a wonderful, caring aunt Abbey!!
Abbey-I LOVE this post! I wish that we were still in Arizona and I would have been there for sure! It looks like you had a great time with your family and that it was so successful! What a great experience!
How great that you were able to be there and help 100%. Looks like it was an incredible event. I'm sure it was so much work, but in every picture everyone has the BIGGEST smiles. I can't imagine what an amazing experience it must been.
Calverts! Wow. I am in tears, and I don't even know those little girls. What a neat experience for you guys to help out and be so involved. You guys never cease to amaze us.
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