Thursday December 27th, Make-A-Wish Magic!!

So we've been keeping a secret for a while now and finally can let the cat out of the bag...or I guess I should say MOUSE!!!  Ingram's Make-A-Wish has been granted and tonight was the granting event.  We felt so honored to be able to receive such a gift from Make-A-Wish, but even more honored and humbled that our friends Alicia, Jonathon, and Ramsey Harrison were able to be a part of it as well.  Their daughter Evie, Ramsey's twin, passed away two years ago in December and they raise money for Make-A-Wish in her memory all year long and serve as Make-A-Wish Sponsors or Wish Granters.  They also had a team running in the St. Jude Marathon Weekend and raised money for St. Jude on top of raising money for Make-A-Wish. 

We love the Harrison Family and our relationship with them goes back to when Madison was 4 years old and "Mrs. Harrison" (that was Alicia's teacher name) was her teacher at Germantown Baptist Weekday Preschool.  Madison even broke her nose that year chasing Alicia's shadow around the playground! Then two years later, "Mrs. Harrison" was Lindsey's teacher in the 4 year old class; then Evie And Ramsey were born that Spring and we knew Alicia wouldn't end up being Ingram's teacher.  Instead, Ingram and the girls were friends and in the same classes at church and their classes were next door to each other at Preschool.  We even ran into them at the beach when they were in the "One's Class" and Ingram went up to Evie and started hugging her because he recognized her before even any of the adults did. 

Tonight we (our family including G-Daddy and G-Mommy, the Harrison's, Tim, and Nala) all met at Chick Fil A (shocking I know!) and when we got there, a section was reserved for a Birthday Party, but it had the Make-A-Wish sign on the window with blue and yellow balloons tied to the chairs.  Madison had used her deductive reasoning (and sneakiness) to figure it out, but Lindsey was just beginning to catch on, especially once she saw us talking to our MAW people, but she still had no idea what was happening.  The kids played a bit in the playground area and then we all sat down and started eating.  While we were eating dinner, Tim (MAW Volunteer) started talking to Ingram and it was pretty funny because like at our house when we had our MAW meeting, the conversation went all over the place!  Then Tim asked everyone to go around and say who their favorite Disney character was; Ingram kept saying Scooby Doo and we could not convince him that Scooby wasn't a Disney character, but I think he finally settled on McQueen and Mater.

Nala (MAW Director) brought out a cake that read "Ingram, Your Wish Has Been Granted!" and Tim hollered out "Your Going To Disney World!" and then everyone (including the kids and adults) started cheering and "woohoo-ing!"  The best part was watching Ingram's and Lindsey's reactions and realizing how they had NO idea and how excited they were; Madison found out a few days ago on accident, but wasn't allowed to tell Lindsey, Ingram, or her friends (I know, that's shocking too!).  

All three of the kids got backpacks filled with gifts for the trip and Ingram got another special gift too!  He loves baseball (we were even playing it this afternoon in the freezing cold with the Boyd family that stopped by from Austin,Texas on their way to Jackson, Tennessee) and they got him an automatic pitching machine, a bat, batting gloves, and a helmet.  The second he pulled out the bat, the whole area dispersed immediately because we knew what could happen!  The helmet wouldn't go one his head because he's got such a big head; I think Tim, Craig, Jonathon, and G-Daddy all tried to get it on but it was not going to happen.  The funny thing about it was that it fit Madison's head, but not Ingram's! 

We're so looking forward to our trip and can't wait to have some time away as a family.  We'll be staying at Give Kids The World Resort which is a Make-A-Wish resort and are sure to meet other families that have been dealing with cancer and other catastrophic diseases.  We're very excited to be able to give all three of the kids some extra special attention that they definitely need and pray that this will be not only a super fun time, but also one that makes some very special memories for all of us. 

 

Madison, Lindsey, And Ingram With Koffman Boyd!
It's Always Fun When Friends Stop By Passing Through Town!

Ingram Giving Tim The Low Down On Everything Under The Sun!
We Sure Missed Liz, But Hopefully She'll Be Feeling Better Soon!

 

Madison Reading A Book To Ramsey After They Finished Dinner.
Apparently The Adults Were Talking Too Much Instead Of Eating!

I Love This Face!!!
Talked About Totally Surprised!!

Ingram Showing Us His Passport To Fun!!

This Was A Sweet Sister Moment...
Madison's Bag Had Hershey Kisses And Lindsey's Bag Had Skittles.
As Soon As They Each Saw Their Own Bag, Without Hesitating,
They Picked It Up To Hand To The Other...Without Seeing The Other Candy First!
It's A Silly Thing, But I Was So Proud Of Them!

Are You Kidding Me??
My Own Baseball Machine??

So Honored To Have The Harrison's As Part Of Our Wish!

If Only You Could Have Heard Everything That Was Going On Right Now!!
Our Family With Alicia, Jonathon, And Ramsey Harrison!

Ingram And Nala!

Tim With The Kids!

Part Of Our Amazing Make-A-Wish Team!

Talk About Fully Loaded!
Ingram Couldn't Even Carry His Bag It Was So Full!
I Predict He's Going To Be Playing A Lot Of Baseball!