My Dad and brother ran the kitchen. My Dad was a chef and restaurant manager for roughly 30 years, and my brother has fallen in his very big foot steps, so needless to say, the spaghetti was cooked perfectly al dente! So many family members helped in so many ways! My sister is a perfect planner and should really consider throwing events for a living because every detail is thought through and planned to the T when she's in charge! It was so beautiful!
Many people came, we had a really great turn out, and it was so nice to see all of our family members together and celebrating for Mira with the community. We had a great time, and we made enough money to where Joe and I agreed that we would share some of the proceeds with a couple other local families that also have babies with spina bifida.
We wore t-shirts to honor Mira, purple (the awareness color for the Arnold chiari malformation) shirts with yellow (the awareness color for spina bifida and hydrocephalus) print. I also made tons of little yellow ribbon pins for everyone that attended, and I made a few extra into hair bows for Aryanna and I.
We had a 50/50 raffle every hour and a Chinese auction that had over 60 items (including steelers tickets, corn hole boards, hundreds of, if not over a thousand, dollars worth in gift cards, and so much more!) The gentleman who won the first 50/50 drawing insisted that I take his winning ticket, and while I don't know your name sir, I thank you, because you were so kind, and I don't think I'll ever forget my interaction with you. It was amazing seeing complete strangers, old friends, acquaintances, and family members alike gathered and having a blast to come support my daughter.
At the end of the night, Joe and I went in front of everyone, took the microphone, and personally thanked all that attended, donated, and worked so hard. I got about three words into my 'speech' when I started crying. It was really amazing, to stand before a crowd of people, some who don't know me, my daughter, or spina bifida from a hole in the ground, yet to feel how loved and supported we were! To just spend a day constantly seeing and feeling how much Mira matters to so many people, to see how many people are pulling for her, thinking of her, praying for her, and loving her! It was beautiful! It was absolutely beautiful!
