In the words of Kevin Bacon...."Let's Dance!"

Ok, think Footloose. For those of you too young, rent Footloose - you'll get it.

The Knights & Princesses Dance went very well and was so much fun. I was very happy to see all of the kids dressed up and so many parents too! I was worried I'd be the only one but there were alot. Let me get another thank you to Daryl & Joyce Dawson for allowing us to use their hall, Elm Ridge Party Center. They are such wonderful people! See our "Links of Interest" page for the others who made the night so special.

We sold over 125 tickets to the kids (parents were free). The DJ was great and taught the kids some new dances (me too). The kids were so mesmerized by Billy the Kid (magician). It was so adorable. They were asking for his autograph afterwards. I walked him out to his car and a couple boys came out in the parking lot to say thanks. It was sweet.

I heard such great things from those attending that we will definately do this again next year if at all possible. Moms, keep those bridesmaids dresses!!

Monday, I was able to be a part of something so incredibly special. Two residents from Echoing Ridge who have Cerebral Palsy came in to read to Luke & Lily's classes. It's called the ABC Project (Acceptance Begins with Children) and is such a neat program. They were Jamie & Kim, 25 & 41 (although, I hope I age half as well as Kim - I guessed her as early 20's!). They were both so friendly & great with the kids. They'll read a book, tell the kids about them, answer questions and show off their wheelchairs. The kids asked some really awesome questions and after a few minutes stopped gazing at their wheelchairs and listened to what they were saying. I think it's so neat and really showed the kids they were just like them but in a wheelchair.

It's just something I really wanted to work on with Jacob's Gift in teaching the kids to be compassionate to others, to learn about others and to give back. We're going to do it again in the fall and maybe wrap some other teaching events around it. Makes me really proud to be a part of it.

Tuesday, I'm taking 5 6th grade girls from Northwest up to Akron Children's Hospital to paint and decorate memory boxes. We received one when Jacob died and I cherish it. All of his items from his stay in the NICU are in there. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to have the girls volunteer, learn something about others and gain some compassion. They're getting a tour of the NICU also by my friend who's a nurse there and head of bereavement. We wanted to give the boxes to babies who also go home. The money for the boxes, etc. comes from the PTO's Kiss the Pig money we raised in February. All of the $1,300 was earmarked for the NICU. A small portion will go to this but I'll make sure it all goes to very worthwhile causes there.

Monday, the PTO is throwing a thank you luncheon for our teachers at NWE. It's a Cinco de Mayo party. Casa Perez is catering, we're making fried ice cream for dessert & I rented a slushee machine with a discount from CJ Dannemillers in Doylestown. We wanted to do non-alcoholic margaritas but thought it may be too much for school. :-)

Next Friday is our Munchin With Mom dinner for grades K-2. It'll be at the high school and the principal expects 600-700. I'm really working hard to pull it all off and make it a nice event for the moms, grandmas, etc. who attend. I have about 40 high school kids who volunteered to be waiters so I'm happy about that (thanks Vic!). I'll post how it goes but say a little prayer for us!

Ryan's breakfast is sold out! Didn't take long at all. Julie Barkey has collected a lot of wonderful donated items so I'm excited to see them all & bid. Luke will want the CAVS ball signed by the team but it should go pretty high. You can still come and bid, buy raffle basket tix and support the family even if you don't have a ticket. Thanks to all who have worked so hard on this! It's been a great community effort.

Just sent out a flyer on Northwest backpacks & picnic baskets we're selling for the PTO as a fundraiser. They are really a great deal and would help us raise funds as well. I'll be selling them all summer too.

Once again, thanks for checking out our site and supporting Jacob's Gift!!

Joanna