What A Day!

The day of the fundraiser was picture perfect.
The weather was fantastic, fellowship was great, the Market was bustling, the music was superb, and the food was oh-so delicious. It was so nice to see so many faces we haven’t seen in a long time!

The day time event was filled with so many family-fun things. The kids loved getting their faces painted and snuggling kittens. (I’m sure those kittens took mighty long naps on Sunday!)

Families enjoyed all sorts of yard games, fishing, and the bean bag tournament.

The biggest hit was the Market! Wow, did we have some pretty amazing things to showcase. We had so many beautiful handmade items, and unbelievable baskets donated. THANK YOU to everyone who donated baskets or hand crafted goods. We have some pretty talented folks in our community! Every thing donated helped make this Market a success. The tables were full, and the raffles and silent auctions were exciting to watch too. Hope you went home with some awesome goodies!

The night time event was just as fun! Many of the day time activities continued, the kittens were still being snuggled, and the Market stayed open with an exciting Blackhawks tickets live action! (Thank you Homewood Disposal for the generous donation!)

This event featured a fancier dinner menu, a bonfire with s’mores, and wonderful live music by Molly Adamson. Man, can she sing! Absolutely fantastic!

I think it’s pretty safe to say that everyone had a great time on the farm. We are so delighted to introduce you all to one of the happiest places on earth…Disney has nothing on Locavore Farm. 😊🥕🎃😻

Now, I’m sure a lot of you are curious as to how much money was raised on this wonderful day…and we are so excited to tell you!

The grand total including all the donations that came in before and after the event was…drum roll please…$58,513.60!

Can you believe it? We can’t! This is unbelievable, and ALL glory goes to God for once again abundantly blessing us through our unbelievable community.

I think Brad and I are still in shock.
Brad hasn’t been able to work in about a year. Short term disability ran out mid July. I’ve been doing little side hustles as I’m able (it’s not much, but helps!) and yet our bank account has NEVER RUN DRY. We feel like we are living a modern day “5 loaves and 2 small fish” over here.

As the brainstorming for this fundraiser started, I was asked, “What’s your goal to be raised?” My answer? “I don’t have one….” And I didn’t, because I knew for certain that God would know how much money we needed, and was certain He would provide it. He absolutely did…and threw a blessing in there as well. We didn’t want the focus to be on money, but on God’s community doing good things together…I think that was accomplished too.

This unbelievable gift is life changing, and will allow us to just keep living life! We’re still not certain what Brad’s capabilities will be and he currently is still in therapy, and also not driving. I’m busy getting everyone where they need to be and trying to stay on top of life. A lot of times we feel like we are in survival mode…Thinking outside the box to treat cancer can also be costly. (If only insurance would acknowledge different treatment options!) This gift will allow us to afford these different options we are looking into, and supplement the income that we don’t have right now. What a great burden that has been lifted off our shoulders.

Sometimes it gets really hard to be in that place of “need”. We’d prefer to be on the other side helping instead of needing help. God calls us to be helpers, but in order to fulfill that calling, there has to be someone needing help. I guess we’re the ones in that place right now. Our hope is that some day the tables will turn and we will be able to bless others the way that we have been blessed. We will never forget the kindness and generosity that has been shown to our family the past two years. We are thankful for such a loving God, and loving community.

So again we want to say THANK YOU!
Thank you to everyone who volunteered and put MANY hours into this–you know who you are…
Thank you to everyone who donated in any way, shape, or form.
Thank you to everyone who came out, we hope you had fun!
Thank you to everyone who sent donations to us that couldn’t attend (we missed you, and appreciate your generosity!)
Thank you to everyone who gave–you all gave so GENEROUSLY.
And a very special thanks to Locavore Farm for opening up your space to us. This wouldn’t have been possible without you all. This day will forever hold a very special place in our hearts. The memories created will not be forgotten!