So Much More...

This years Walk to Cure Diabetes was so much more then just Walk Day itself.  Here are some of the many blessings I received along the way this year...

It stared back in June....when I started searching for someone to design a logo for our team.  I decided to go with Kelly at Perilight Graphics.  I just could not have been more pleased.  She focused the logo on Lovebug rather then the Walk or Diabetes.  The logo just meant that much more to me knowing that there was thought and purpose behind it.

Then in August I received on email from a high school classmate that really touched my heart.  She thanked me for the education I had given her (and others) over the past few months about how Type 1 affects families and not just the diabetic affected by the disease.  (you mean people are actually reading what I'm writing about?) That really touched my heart to know that I am doing something right!

So many stories like my husband has been selling sneakers at work for the past month. He sold over $40 in sneakers!  I amazes me that people I have never met and have never met Audrey would donate to help make her life better.

I reconnected with a friend earlier this year whom I hadn't talked to in a few years.  It was her idea to throw together a garage sale fundraiser for the JDRF just two weeks before Walk Day.  We got donations and put it together in about a week.  (with her doing most of the work!) We ended up raising $250!  I thought that for putting it together that quickly the amount was incredible! My sister's sister-in-laws even stopped by the sale that day and donated! (yes, it was out of their way!)  Did I also mention how Kristina's daughters and two of their friends kept an eye on my girls for me? She even explained what Diabetes is to the girls along with her pump and Dexie.  Kristina is such an amazing friend!

My niece tried selling sneakers in her dorms but it didn't work out.  There was too much red-tape. (boo) But she still managed to get some donations from friends!  Then her mom, my sister-in-law raised $500 dollars in ONE day!!!  That is AMAZING!!!  (and also much better then I did in any single day!)

Then there is the story about our t-shirts. When it was time to decide on a screen printer for our shirts, I decided to go with a recommendation that a friend had given me.  We decided to use Screen Ideas, a local screen printer, even though it wasn't the best deal. Well after the t-shirts were completed he called me and asked me what he had quoted me for the shirts.  I told him but then shortly after getting off the phone I looked at a couple other emails and realized I had given him the price another screen printer had given me. (which was cheaper then then one he had given me, but I had to pay shipping)   I sent him an email and let him know I had mixed up the quotes and to apologize.  When I received the invoice for the t-shirts the price the other screen printer had given me was on the invoice.  I called him and he told me he gave me that price because he really appreciated my business and my honesty.  WOW AWESOME!  :)  But that isn't even the best part!!

When I went to pick up the t-shirts I got the meet the guy who actually printed them. Guess what??  He is a Type 1 diabetic!!  He has had it since he was 8 years old and is now 22 and wears an insulin pump.  I just couldn't believe it. It really touched my heart knowing that someone else who grew up with the disease printed Lovebug's shirts.

Then last but not least in way of blessings is the last week.  Last Saturday we were still $1400 dollars away from our team goal of raising $2000.  I was disappointed but kept looking on the bright side that we had tripled out team size from 20 walkers to 57 walkers in just one year!  Well I was talking about that with my husband on the way home from his company picnic.  He told me you never know....yeah, okay, I'll admit it, he was right again.  Just a few minutes later when we got home there was a check in our mail box for $200.
Then this week donations came flooding in. Most of them in the past couple days.  We had some many donations the night before and the day of the walk that I lost track of how much money we raised!!  I know we exceeded our goal of $2000 but I just don't know by how much.

Do I think all of this is coincidence?  Not at all!  Something I have been learning a lot the past year is to put my trust God, even in the little day to day things.  This year He has shown me over and over that his hand has been in this every step of the way.  Everything I shared above is a blessing directly from him. I couldn't have done any of it without Him. Even when I had set backs and questioned whether or not I was doing the right thing,   He has been guiding me, giving me little glimpses of Himself.

The support of my family, friends and strangers is just simply amazing to me.  So hard to put into words just what it means, it brings tears to my eyes when I think about it.