Thank You...Thank You Very Much!

This is a difficult post to write. Not because it contains any upsetting information, in fact it’s the opposite…it contains absolutely wonderful information! It’s difficult because no matter how long I write, or what I say, you all will never know my true feelings on how wonderful the Eagles of MD are. I have mentioned this group several times before (here, here and here), and I have mentioned how wonderful they are in each post, but no matter how many times I mention them or how much I say, I simply can’t put into words how incredible, kind, loving and giving these people are. I am not a woman of few words (I’m a woman of a lot of words…if that makes sense), but even I don’t have the words to express how much these people have touched our lives.

So this weekend marked the end of the cycle for the Eagles. That means that starting today they have new Presidents for their chapters, and new charities to raise money for. This also means that this weekend we traveled up to MD and met up with Mary, the Executive Director for Debra, for the Eagles event celebrating the end of the term and presenting all the funds they’ve raised over the past year.

We arrived a bit late (what’s new) and were escorted to the front of the room where they had reserved us some seats. There were butterflies everywhere! Butterfly cakes, butterfly napkins, butterfly decorations, butterfly EVERYTHING! I loved it! Right after we arrived they served dinner, which was phenomenal! Ella preferred to stick with the mashed potatoes and bread, although she did take a couple of bites of meat. After dinner and a beautiful sign language performance, the presentations began. I won’t go into all of the details, but I’ll just say that this group isn’t just nice…they are also a lot of fun! Joe and I love the camaraderie the group has. They love to joke around and pick on each other. We spend much of the night laughing at something someone has said or done. After dinner they had a special surprise for Ella…everyone sang Happy Birthday and they brought her a star brownie with a big 3 candle in it. She loved being sang to, and blew out her candle like a champ. Then they gave her a basket full of cards, and one table had taken up a collection and gave that to her as a birthday present. When the money was laid on the table Ella’s eyes got really big and she said, “MONEY!!!” and grabbed the top few dollars. She (like usual) licked much of the frosting off the top of the star…since I’m such a great mom I helped her eat the brownie.

I won’t go into all the details of the night, but to sum it up, the Eagles raised around $31,000 for Debra! Incredible! I can’t remember the exact amount, but that doesn’t include the $5,000 they gave earlier, the $2,500 they gave to Ella (in savings bonds) or the money they donated for the CD that Jenni made when Ella was a baby. This group has worked so hard this year to raise money for EB. Like I said, there is no way to even begin to share how much their generosity means to Joe and me. Joe and I struggled to put into words how grateful we are (yes, I cried) and Ella even spoke into the microphone and said, "Fank you very much!"

After the presentations there was a dance, which Ella was very excited for. Joe and I made the mistake of telling her earlier in the day that we were going to a dance, so all night she kept asking when the music was coming and when were we going to dance. The first song started playing and Joe and Ella were the first ones on the dance floor. She had so much fun! Unfortunately it got late for Stinkerella, so it was time to head home. There was a quilted butterfly wall hanging that has been used throughout the year to raise EB awareness, and it was auctioned off at the beginning of the night. The couple who bought it gave it to Ella as a present (see, the Eagles are such good people!) and on the way home Ella said, “I need my new butterfly blankie.” So she covered herself up with the butterfly wall hanging and slept the entire way home (in fact, the wall hanging has now become a blanket and Ella sleeps under it every night).

The most touching part was at the end of the night we had person after person coming up to us and THANKING US!? What? THEY were thanking US? Umm…seriously? WE should be thanking THEM! They are the ones who have done all of this for Ella and all kids with EB! The VERY LEAST we could do was come to their events!

This group will always be a part of our hearts. They may be finished having Debra and EB as their charity for the year, but they can’t get rid of us…sorry Eagles. We’re sticking around, and you never know when we may drop back in for a visit. We love these people too much to say goodbye!