Many thanks - from Jean and from me...

I want to thank all of you for your generosity in the raffle for Jean Yates and her family! It was a big success, raising $4,950! I'm thrilled, and so is Jean. Below is a note she sent me to pass along to all of you. Collectively, we've done a Very Good Thing.

The prize winners have been chosen, the prizes mailed, and the check to Jean also. The winners are... #1 - Gail Bollard, #2 - Krystal Himmler, and #3 - Margot Potter. Congratulations to all of you!


Here's Jean's note to you...

"Dear Kim, Rick and all our new, dear friends who participated in Kim's Wonderful, Phenomenal, Auction:

Jim, Dylan and I would like to thank all of you--EVERY SINGLE ONE of YOU!!!
You have made it possible for us to "keep on keeping on" during this really tough period we have been experiencing with Dylan and his seizures. It isn't just the financial help, although that has allowed us to take a breath, emotionally and otherwise.
IT'S AMAZING--IT IS AN AMAZING THING. Kim will be forever one of my personal heroes.We are in her debt in all ways, always.

This has been is so important for our family after months of struggling. However, even more, there is this realization that there are people all over...it seems as if you are all over the world! And you are expressing such love for Dylan, our little boy who is so dear to us. To us, he is so special. He has always been so sweet and innocent. I think what you all have done is so powerful it takes my breath away. You are, each one of you, stars in my eyes. Your light, gathered as one, has such beauty I cannot tell you how we feel when we are presented with it, as a family.

This past week, vacation week, was unexpectedly hard for Dylan, and made us realize we are not out of the woods yet. We remain determined and optimistic, yet it is a wonderful thing to know that you all have been thinking of us enough to send out every sort of comfort and major support to us in our time of need.

Dylan is a strong kid and a fighter. He always has been. Jim and I are fighters, too. We aren't used to accepting assistance, but this auction Kim has fashioned with such imagination, style and beauty has enabled us to pause a moment and reflect on some of the good things in life once again. We don't have to fixate just on the crazyness we have unfortunately been experiencing since November 11th of this past year.

We have long ago given up the desire to have a "regular life". With two children with autism, we have accepted the fact that we are not part of the mainstream, and that is really OK with us.

To have you love us anyway and assist us right now, when we needed it so much, really makes us feel incredibly grateful and amazed and happy and thankful. I would write a song about it if I could. Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed" is a good song which says how I feel about you, Kim, Rick, and these past few weeks. Thank you from all of us. We truly love you.

Jean"

~~~
Back to beads for a moment... this week has been filled with other facets of life. No complaints, but I haven't had time to make a lot of beads. And now, thanks to being forced to hang out at the big, dirty, public court house, a cold is trying to catch me. (Why on earth do we tend to say, "I'm trying to catch a cold"? Who would want to do that?) I'm staying out of it's path as well as I can, but I'm still moving a little slow... feeling a bit under the weather. (There's another one... "under the weather". Aren't we always under the weather, since it tends to stay mostly above us in the atmosphere someplace? I guess if you're in an airplane you can be "above the weather", but you could still have a cold, and are likely to catch one up there even if you board the plane in good health...) I think too much sometimes...
Think I'll see if I can make beads...