Living through yet another angelversary….

Once again we lived through another angelversary and came out on the other side feeling like we had made a difference… feeling like we had honored Declan's memory and all of the people who fought so hard for his life.   We spent the morning running around, delivering donuts to the St. Peter Police station and Rivers Edge hospital… trying to make sure the staff knew how much their actions on that dreaded day continue to mean to us!!  It was nice to connect with them and express our appreciation.  We also volunteered to do a "Cooks for Kids" supper at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) in Minneapolis.   If you are not familiar with this program, don't feel bad… neither were we, until we benefited from it during our brief stay at the RMH.  It is a program where a group of volunteers prepare a supper for the families who are living at the RMH in attempts to lighten their load so they do not have to worry about spending time preparing meals when they could be by their child's side.  The typical stay at a RMH is 10 days.  At this particular Ronald McDonalds House (on Oak street) families have a longer stay than that and can be there anywhere from 3 months to 3 years.  These families primarily come from the midwest, however, because of the amazing hospitals in Minnesota, families have come from around the world to this particular RMH.  It was an amazing experience for us and I think I can speak for all of us who were there on Friday, when I say we would do it again in a heart beat!

When the families went through the line, they were able to see why we were there.

Our group…. my brother Lance, my dad Court, my bestie Jen, my mom Gayle, Nate's aunt Heidi, Nate's uncle Brian, me, my mother-n-law Lynn, my father-n-law Jeff and Nate.  Not pictured are my aunt and uncle Keith and Jean, along with those who were watching our kids, Aileen, Jenn, Anna and Brock. 

Working hard or hardly working… 

To make sure people knew who we were there for… our aprons. Although I didn't have enough for everyone :(

The kids were there for a little while, but technically were not suppose to be since there are children who are living at the RMH who are medically fragile.  We were able to get a family photo.

If you ever have an opportunity to do a Cooks for Kids, please consider doing it!  The families who are living there appreciate it so much!!  Check out there link for details on how you can volunteer: http://rmhc-um.org/how-to-help/volunteer/cooks-for-kids/