Hope

Well, have you?

I can safely say that I haven't actually lost hope, but with recent news, my heart was very heavy. I was discouraged by the world around me, wondering how much worse things will get as the years go by.

Can I just say that this is not a great idea to ponder on - the loss of humanity is a pretty devastating and depressing train of thought.

Thankfully, I had an invitation to attend an event that would pull my heart out of that dark cave and bring to light the goodness and hope that do exist. I got a great view of that last night, and I am so grateful.

I must first start by thanking my sister-in-law (Cinderella) who decided to throw a royal ball for children who are suffering from all kinds of diseases and disabilities. She worked her fingers to the bone getting this event organized and I was able to help with a few of the little details. The newspaper wrote up a wonderful article about this event, and it really captured the spirit of the evening, so if you need a little cheerful news, read THIS.

But just so that you can see how every detail was attended to, here's a little peek into the evening.
It started off with Cinderella (literally):

There were attendants at every corner, even before you entered the Castle.

And we set to work, all decked out in our fancy schmancies.

I was excited to see Princess Tiana ... I helped make that costume and was anxious to see how it turned out. And then there was the fairy godmother cape I whipped up ... my mother-in-law looked great.  And that was my contribution to the evening. At times like this, I am very glad that I can sew (okay - I am always grateful that I can sew), however,  it was fantastic to be able to help Linsey with a few of those little details.

Everyone seemed to rally together with their talents for this event. Our friend Margo contributed this cake - AWESOME!!!

My sister-in-law Katie brough her favorite photographer with her, they took photos of the girls and then printed and mounted them on a little princess frame that night.

So, each girl was able to go home with one of these:

Other friends came ... Marcus the Juggler and Carol (his mom) tying balloon flowers and swords for the kids ... and then my girls were busy bussing tables throughout the evening.

There was a string trio playing chamber music and then Ali and Karyn were off to the side helping out, too!

There were even cameras from the News Stations - here is Marti Skold from Channel 4. She wrote a blog post about it too. They played the story, we'll see if they post it.

And our local Fox channel showed up too, but I haven't seen their story yet.

We had the royal family (my father-in-law, niece and sister-in-law) attend the ball.

There was dancing, too. This little pair just melted my heart!

And then the kids were able to meet and greet all of the princesses - it was incredible to just wander through and watch the interactions going on. Everywhere you looked, there were hugs and smiles and twinkling eyes. And not just in the girls. I watched the parents of one of the girls while she was visiting with a princess. They had such a contented look in their eyes, there was gratitude and relief and peace all wrapped up in that, I about lost it right then.

As the night wrapped up, I had to sneak in a few more photo ops for my own sake. I don't know that I have ever had my photo taken with Cinderella - better late than never (she is my favorite princess).

And the girls went around and met with all the princesses - Ariel was delightful!

And we played around a little, too.

And as we were leaving, one little girl just hadn't had enough, and what she did just sums it all up:

What a magical night, what an incredible experience.

Anyone can be a force for good and do incredible things to bless those around them.

And although I was discouraged as I arrived, I left with the knowledge that there really is so much more good out there in the world than evil.

So Much More!

(I needed that!)