Raising Kindness

This past weekend we had our girls’ combined birthday party. Their birthdays are two months apart and we thought it would be fun to have them together. One big party a year is pretty doable.

Last year we had their first combined party and it was huge! A ton of kids and double the ton of gifts, it took them several days for them to open all the gifts, it was way too much. 

This year we suggested they would raise some money for the Stollery Hospital where Jordan Grace had open heart surgery. We thought it was be nice to pay it forward. They girls were all for it, well Ana María was, Jordan Grace doesn’t yet quite understand, but she does know about gifts and she likes opening them. 

We keep the expenses to a minimum. There is free community skating, all the kids are free and we rent a room with tables. We gather there after skating and have pizzas delivered, we bring snacks, juice boxes, and of course cake. 

The party was super relaxed and fun, no stress, just laughs and friends coming together. The girls had the best time and so did us parents. We couldn’t have felt more loved and blessed. 

The tears however came after the party. After getting Jordan Grace to bed, having more pizza and talking about the highlights. Ana María began to open all the beautiful cards, some of them homemade, but all of them filled with sweet words. I’m proud of my girls, but it’s so wonderful to hear when others say how sweet my girls are. 

And then the donations began to slip from each envelope and my tears just wouldn’t stop. Each bill donated with such love to a very wonderful cause. But the real breakdown, the loud, cry like a baby came when Ana María said “I want to donate some money.” I thought she was going to offer a couple of bucks, but she ran out of her room, I will never forget her beautiful face glowing with pride showing me a twenty dollar bill. 

This young lady had to grow up too fast, seeing her baby sister, the one she dreamed about for years to have, the one she prayed for so much, plugged in to all kinds of tubes in a hospital bed, she knew this money would go a long way. But she also knew what it truly meant to pay it forward. 

This year’s party was beyond a success! The grand total as I write this post is $1,088!!! Kindness is contagious! 💜 Pass it on...