Well, it was a HUGE success!!! Over $14,000 was raised between donations, ticket sales and silent auction items. How incredible is that?! Thank you is not enough to all who contributed and danced the night away with us, and we (our family and our Pitt Hopkins family) will be forever grateful to Caroline for choosing us as her senior project. This seriously must have been the most successful senior project ever.
The amount of planning that Caroline and all of the Harris crew did was unbelievable. If you know this fabulous family of 7 (!), you know that whatever they touch turns to gold. They are a beautiful family with huge hearts, open arms, creativity, and an incredible amount of talent. Now, they can add event planners extraordinaire to the list.
The event was held at their house in High Point, NC. They set up a huge tent, had the perfect DJ, the most incredible Barbecue you’ve ever tasted (thank you BBQ Joe’s for donating ALL of the food!), and even had the NCAA Final 4 games televised throughout the property. Go Heels!
The evening was filled with dancing, silent auctions, lots of sports and activities for the younger crowds, a photo booth, and some emotional speeches. Jason (Caroline’s dad and Logan’s godfather) gave a heartfelt speech about our family and how he felt when we asked him to be her godfather (before we suspected anything was wrong). We are so thankful for him, and could not have chosen someone better for her. His heart is a true blessing. Caroline held back some tears in her speech, and all I could see was the sweet little girl putting a Tar Heel tattoo on my cheek the very first time I met her over ten years ago. My little pal has grown up to be one of the most kind hearted, beautiful people I know I will ever come across. She is the definition of beauty for sure.
Theresa and her family spoke about Pitt Hopkins and the research that is happening. She had this fantastic way of simplifying something that is so complex! Then we were called up, as a family, and David said some words. I honestly cannot remember anything past “thank you”…Logan was a bit overwhelmed and was on the verge of a meltdown. I’m not sure if it was all of the excitement and noise, or if it was wild man Wes running around like a dance crazed lunatic while everyone was speaking. I had to take her inside mid speech. But, I know whatever David said was from the heart and just perfect. Just like him 😉
What made the night so memorable was the amount of love and support we received. Many old and new friends were there (my “Dead End” mom crew surprised me, thanks ladies!), and there were tons of young kids who just couldn’t get enough of Miss Logan. We got to hang out with one of the first Pitt Hopkins family we met…Liz is 18 and is just amazing! She is our role model for sure. And, we finally got to meet The Pauca family! Theresa started the foundation, and I seriously don’t know where we would be without her. Her son, Victor is another role model of ours. He is one incredible kid. He has two phenomenal sisters who swooped Logan up and had her melting in their arms. It was so heart warming to see fellow siblings and how they interact with our unique kids. Siblings of special needs kids just might be angels in disguise.
Towards the end of the night, one of the brilliant researchers from UNC came. We reached out to Ben Philpot and his team when Logan was first diagnosed, and he graciously invited us to their lab to discuss their findings. Since then he has been a steady figure in our journey. More on him at a later time 🙂 Logan immediately shifted her focus on him when he entered the room, and she lit up. It was almost as if she knows what he is doing for her. I mean, seriously…Logan doesn’t hug many men like this!!!!
I could go on and on about the night, but I will let these pictures do the rest of the talking. The next day I asked Jack what he was feeling when we were standing up in front of everyone, and without hesitation he said, “Proud.” I don’t think it can get any better than that.
Thank you to everyone who made this night a complete success!
This is such a seeet blog post and we are so biessed to have been part of this! Love you guys!!
This is such a sweet blog post and we were so blessed to be a part of this great event. Love you guys!
We are thrilled with the tremendous success of the dance a thon and we are so proud of our awesome family.
[…] both David and his brother JP played safety on the football team. Jenny’s oldest daughter, Caroline is on the dance team, and ironically this will be her first game […]