Tell Me Thursday - Amazing!

This picture is probably the most difficult to discern of all my "Wordless Wednesday" posts.  What you're looking at is a photo collage and a stack of golden trophies.

On Saturday, very dear friends of our family came over to help celebrate Nate's birthday.  They came a little early, and gathered everyone in the living room so they could present something to Nate.  Their sweet, oldest child made a little speech and handed Nate this photo collage, the trophies, a card with a note and a check for an amazing amount of money.

They know how important the National Stuttering Association is to Nate, and how important attending the annual conference this summer is to both of us.  My dear friend has brainstormed with me a little about fundraising ideas, and I was putting any further efforts on the back burner until the kids were out of school.

What I didn't know is that my friend was planning something and kept it a secret from me. This wonderful family arranged a car wash asking for donations to help Nate and I attend the conference.  It was a complete surprise to us!  My friend made the effort to get information from the NSA about stuttering, contacted people to let them know about the car wash, made posters explaining their efforts, arranged for a location and then her entire family gave up their Saturday to wash cars and raise money.

Just for us!!

The photo collage shared pictures of their efforts with us. The golden trophies were signed by all the wonderful people who had their cars washed and donated money.

To say that we were blown away is an understatement.  We are privileged to be blessed with such wonderful friends and we can't wait for the conference in July.

I met this sweet woman 4 years ago when she swept into my house carrying food and groceries after Lydia was born.  She can always make me laugh, astound me with  her generosity, and humble me with her positive outlook.  She is a fantastic mom. Our children count each other as best friends and her oldest is always quick with a smile and a kind word.  Her husband is a hard-working, friendly, kind man who we are lucky to count among our friends as well.

This is a very public THANK YOU to this sweet family.  We appreciate all of your efforts and are glad we can call you friends.  Nate and I are looking forward to the conference in July, and are so thankful that we have the money we need to make the trip!!