A Rewarding Afternoon

On Saturday, we attended our JDRF Walk Awards!

Or as Sweet's called it, the Walk REWARDS.

Because really... that's what it was all about for her!  Her REWARD.  Aka...  her TROPHY!

I can't tell you how excited she was!  She really looks forward to this day and just loves getting a trophy!  Other than walk day itself, this day makes her feel so incredibly special. 

For that, I am so thankful to all the people who worked so hard to make it happen! 

The awards luncheon was held at a local country club.  It was beautifully decorated for Christmas.  Sweets spent half the time staring at the lights on the tree and the lights hanging from the ceiling!  (The other half she spent drawing all over the research update!  She's just so excited that she is now able to write her own books and stories that she can't be stopped - and why in the world would I stop my little author, anyway!?!?)

But her favorite part was then she got her awards!  The girl cleaned up!

She got a trophy for her Platinum Award - meaning that our walk team raised over $10,000.  Our actual final total was slightly over $14,500.  She also got a Golden Sneaker award for raising over $1,000 as an individual. 

But the surprise of the day was that our team won FIRST PLACE in the BEST T-SHIRT CONTEST!  Woo Hoo! 

In case you don't remember what our t-shirt looked like... here it is!

She was so, so excited!!!  Have I said that enough times?!?  Because she was!

We had to go show Gaga and Mimi her trophies.  And then we all had to play awards ceremony where she  handed out her trophies to those of us in the audience!

"This is the best day EVER, Mom" she said later that night.

That makes me smile.  We all know that Diabetes can be pretty crappy at times.  And she's really been struggling with that recently.  So anything that can make her smile, make her feel special, and help her see that there are few GOOD things about diabetes, too.... it's just what we need right now.  And always. 

And speaking or AWARDS.....

See that little pink button over there on the right side of the blog?  Go on and scroll back up to the top if you need to.....

I WON!  I won the Parents Magazine Best Kids Health Blog - Reader's Choice! 

So I wanted to share that with all of YOU... and say a BIG THANK YOU to all of YOU....  because without YOU - well, I wouldn't have won!  It's because of all you took the time to vote!  And I really thank you for that!  I'm incredibly honored that you would think so highly of this blog!  You've all made my day, week and month! 

In all honesty, I'm incredibly honored that you take the time to read my blog at all!  We all lead super busy - super crazy lives.  So I know how valuable your time is.... and the fact that you would spend a few minutes with me just makes my heart smile!  I hope that by sharing the realness of our daily life and our ups and downs with raising a child with diabetes that it helps you not feel so alone in this journey.  I know that because of you, I don't feel so alone anymore, either.  What a blessing!!!

So.... Thanks again to my wonderful readers and the amazing folks at JDRF for the love you have showered on us!  We look forward to many more blog posts.... and more JDRF Walks to Cure Diabetes... until - of course, we're just getting together to remember when....