Crohn's and Colitis Walk 2012

May 12th - 

Once again, God blessed us with beautiful weather for the Crohn's and Colitis Walk and it was a huge success! Since I was on the planning committee, we got to the walk a little early to help with last minute set up and scope out all the activities. Our walk manager, Tovah Domenick, did a phenomenal job considering it was her first year working with the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. 

We got registered and picked up our shirts, hats, and bracelets that allowed us to participate in all the activities and food!

Amaya's favorite activity was the "Bounce House."

And of course, the Crazy Hair Station!

Even the "Honored Patient" got his hair colored - BLUE!

Grandpa and Grandma Horning even participated!!!!

Tovah arranged for some massage school students to offer chair massages... I got one and it felt great to relax before the walk!

Amaya got her face painted....

Steve got a temporary "Take Steps" tattoo...

Amaya got her picture taken with the Rochester Honker's mascot - Slider.

Two of our youngest "walkers!" Tessa and Tate

Announcements and introductions prior to the walk.

Our "Honored Patient," Steve, sharing a little about his journey with Crohn's disease. It's a little surreal to think that a year ago, Steve was unable to participate in the walk because he had just had his third major surgery in a little less than 2 years. He was sick for so long, and now he has felt better than ever! What a tremendous answer to prayer! I am so proud of Steve and he truly is an inspiration!

Team Gatzke led the walk, following the bagpipers around Silver Lake.

It was pretty amazing looking behind us to see everyone supporting the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation.

Team Gatzke - Miles, Amaya, Grandpa Lowell, Pauline (hiding in the back), Grandma Ruth Ann, Steve, Arwen, Lydia, Grandma Elaine, Annika, Grandpa Paul, Me, Tate, Jen, Steve, Tessa, and Cooper. I will never be able to express my gratitude for those that walked beside us, supported us financially, and prayed for us. You are a tremendous blessing to our family and we are so thankful for each and every one of us. Together, our team ranked as the top third fundraiser and raised $1,780 towards Crohn's and Colitis research! Thank you again for supporting us!

Awana Award Program

Amaya completed her first full year of being a Cubbie Bear in Awana at our church! We are so proud of her and all her hard work memorizing Bible verses! Nothing brings me more joy than hearing her recite her verses, praying to God, singing songs, or asking questions about God. She has such a sweet spirit and tender heart. It brought tears to my eyes seeing so many kids participating in Awana. "Let the little children come to me..." What an awesome program! I hope Amaya continues to enjoy it for years to come. 

After the program, we went to Culver's to celebrate with a little bit of ice cream! 

A huge thank you to both sets of  grandparents and everyone who prays for Amaya! And for all of the dedicated volunteers who give of their time and energy to teach these children about Jesus!

May Day Baskets

This year, I finally had my act together to do May Day Baskets! Amaya was very excited to decorate, fill the baskets, and deliver them.

Amaya used lots of confetti to fill the baskets (thank you Grandpa) - lots of markers - and made a big mess! 

All her finished baskets - ready to be delievered!

Off and ready to go!

We had to make a couple of special deliveries in the car.. and when we came back Amaya had a couple of May Day Baskets on the front porch! What a fun day!

Garage Sale

Our garage sale was a huge success! We had plenty of stuff, plenty of people, and outstanding weather.It wasn't our largest garage sale by far. Typically, those that we've had with my mom's friends have been MASSIVE. But with just my mom, Carol, Arwen, and our stuff... we still managed to fill the garage! It's been so long.. I can't remember the exact total... over 1300?!?

 

 

 

Dad helped watched the two little girls during the sale.

Amaya was VERY excited to have her very own lemonade stand. Hope helped out too! She made a little over 16 dollars during the entire sale and shared some of the profits with Hope. I was surprised that she stuck with it for a couple hours on Thursday. Amaya reopened on Saturday when we knew a few of my co-workers would be stopping by. 

Twas the Night Before the Garage Sale

Twas the night before the garage sale, when all through the house...
Not a sweet little girl was stirring, not even her stuffed mouse...
My bed was calling, but I didn't care...
I was baking cookies, but dreamed I'd be there...

Amaya was nestled all snug in her bed...
While visions of quarters danced in her head...
And me in my apron and Steve fast asleep...
 "I have so much to do... I think I could weep."

Alright... a little cheesy... but nevertheless - IT'S THE NIGHT BEFORE THE GARAGE SALE!!! Amaya's doing a lemonade stand and small little bake sale, but our schedule was so tight this week that we didn't have time to make the chocolate chip cookies and Rice Krispy bars together. So... that means it's a late night for me getting everything baked, wrapped and ready to go. I'm so excited - my sister is here - little Hope is here - I love the garage sale! Quality time with my sister, mom, and sister-in-law - I LOVE IT! Wish us luck - good weather - and LOTS of people!

Busy Week Ahead!

We've got an incredibly busy week this week... I'm scheduled to work Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday... and MY SISTER and HOPE come on WEDNESDAY MORNING for the GARAGE SALE - Thursday-Friday-Saturday! Can you tell I'm excited?!?!? I dropped off all our stuff yesterday and tried to get everything as organized as possible before Carol comes. We always have a good time when they come and Amaya is especially excited to play with Hope. It may be a little quiet on the blog this week... but that's nothing out of the ordinary! :-) Sell, sell, selll!!!!

Picnic at Silver Lake Park

The weather was amazing last Tuesday, so Amaya and I decided it would be a great idea to pack a picnic lunch and eat at the park. We chose Silver Lake Park because we could spend the rest of the afternoon playing and we hadn't been there in such a long time. Here we are... a perfect spot right by the river.

Amaya chose one of her "friends" to come along and enjoy the picnic - Monkey

Amaya made her own sandwich - ham and cheese. We also shared a banana, carrots, and pretzels.

A couple of random snapshots of Miss Amaya...

Then Amaya wanted to take a few pictures... she did really well!

After lunch, she ran around the playground while I tried to keep up with her! She's very brave and can do most everything at the playground - with the exception of the monkey bars. Amaya made a little friend while we were there and had a blast! We'll have to plan more picnics this spring and summer because we had such a good time. Loved being out in the sunshine!

Girl's Night Out

Last night, four of my co-workers and I went out for dinner and a movie. Typically Friday nights are our Family Fun Night, so we're switching things up and having our fun night tonight. We're planning on heading off to church - it's Baptism Weekend and I LOVE hearing everyone's testimonies! Afterwards, we're going to watch "We Bought a Zoo." We've been anxious to rent it, but it's always been checked out at the movie store. Tonight's our night!

Anyway, so back to last night... we met up at Whistle Binkies. The food was surprisingly very good - I ended up getting the Bruschetta Shrimp Pasta. (No wonder Amaya likes seafoood... It must be in her genes, because that's what I always end up ordering.) Then when headed over to the movie theater to watch "The Lucky One." I've heard it described as a cross between "The Vow" and "Dear John." and it's a pretty accurate description.  Three out of the five of us had read the book and I wasn't hoping I wouldn't be disappointed in the moive because typically the book is always better than the movie. I was surprised that there were only a few minor changes from the book. Other than a few steamy scenes, it was a great movie! I still enjoyed Nicholas Sparks' movie "The Notebook" better, but check this one out - it's definitely one that I'll probably buy when it's released!

Thanks ladies for a great night out - we'll have to do it again soon! Steve thanks you too - I didn't have to drag him to another girlie movie! :-)

Update on Herberger's

Well... Herberger's Community Days was a success. We sold 9 coupon books - totalling 45 additional dollars to our team. Amaya was a great sport and we probably sold more coupon books with her help than I would have if I was by myself. And who can resist a cute kid selling stuff? I'm glad we did it even though I was completely out of my comfort zone. I'm a horrible saleswoman, but I'd do anything to raise more money for a cure for Crohn's disease. Our contact at Herberger's asked if we would do it again in the fall and we probably will. It was a great opportunity to get out in the community and a wonderful learning experience for Amaya.

Herberger's Community Days

Last night was our last planning session for the Crohn's and Colitis Walk. It's one thing to participate in the walk and another to be on the planning committee. I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't a little nervous. I'm A LOT nervous! I hope the weather is beautiful. I hope we have a great turn out. I hope everyone has a great time. And I hope we meet our fundraising goal. But, with all that said... my wise husband told me that regardless of the weather, regardless of the turn out, regardless of whether people have a good time, and regardless of meeting our overall fundraising goal of 30,000 dollars - the walk is already a success because of the generosity of our family and friends. I was hoping our team would be able to raise 1000 dollars... and to date... we've raised 1425 dollars! Already, it's a huge success!

Today, Amaya and I are setting up a table at Herberger's to do a little more fundraising. It's Herberger's Community Days and they allow organizations to sell coupon books during the sale with all the profits going directly to the organization. I'm not exactly sure what to expect... We have pamphlets and posters all lined up to go, but I'm just not sure how many people will be there, etc. I keep reminding myself that "Every little bit helps" and that anything we raise today is simply "frosting." This weekend, we'll also be hitting up a few local businesses for donations as well... so we'll see what happens...