Yesterday was a really nice day, it’s been a while since I turned off my school/work mode and just enjoyed a day. The weather was perfect, and everything was exactly what I needed.
We started off the day by heading to a park nearby that Casey always loved. It’s called the Play for All Park and it is a park that is fully adapted so that kids of ALL abilities and ALL ages can play together. There was a wheelchair swing there that Casey could hang out on all day. Her last birthday party was at this park as well. Shortly after Casey passed away we saw that they were doing a major expansion on this park. We decided to donate to the expansion and part of the donation included a special bench placed in Casey’s favorite area just for her. The grand re-opening of the park was yesterday and we finally got to see her bench. It came out better than we could have ever imagined. The Round Rock Parks do a lot for the special needs community and we love being part of this community.
We told our families about the bench and my mom and step-father were able to come to town to attend the event with us. We had no idea we were going to be part of the event. They actually had a special presentation where all of the donors were given framed photos of the park. The news was there and about half of Round Rock. Some of our friends came along as well. It was a great way to start the day.
You can see the news footage here:
KVUE- Play for All
At the end of the clip you can see the bench behind the 2 little girls on the swing. You can see John and Elmo (the poodle) at one point too.
After we left the park we all went to Torchy’s for lunch. I love Torchy’s! We sat outside and just relaxed and enjoyed everyone’s company while we ate lunch. After lunch we came home to change clothes and take my mom and John out to see the farm. While at home we picked up the second half of the books donated and wrapped by HMH for the upcoming Casey’s Christmas party. HMH is such a generous company and we are so lucky to have them as one of our supporters.
On our way out to the farm we drove through Killeen so that we could visit my grandparents graves. The VA cemetery is so well taken care of and it’s always nice to stop by for a visit. We haven’t made it out there in a while so I was glad we added that to our day.
My mom and John seemed to like the farm. John is an electrical engineer and has restored some really old houses himself so it was helpful to get his take on some of our projects out there. I am sure we will be dragging them both back out there frequently while we work on the wiring.
After we got back home a lovely couple that we met around this time last year came by to drop off ornaments for the families that attend our bereavement Angel Ornament Dinner for Casey’s Circle. The wife heard about us through Hallmark and reached out to donate ornaments and lots of goodies for the families last year. This year they totally outdid themselves. She was able to get a special ornament and modify it so that it will be a gift all of the families will be able to take home. She even had special ribbon made for the ornaments and updated the boxes- no detail was missed. They donated a bunch of other ornaments, gifts for the kids and families, and even reached out to another couple that donated a bunch of goodies too.
Spending the day with close friends and family, and topping it off with the generosity of wonderful friends we have made through Casey’s Circle made yesterday a pretty great day. We felt very blessed, and felt very close to Casey and my grandparents yesterday. Today we get back to work. Tim has some orders to fill for Timber Hearts, I have test on Monday and lots of work to do for Casey’s Circle, Navigate Life and of course around the house and the farm (as always).
