Honorary Gift....

OK everyone, get ready for a real tearjerker....

A few weeks ago, during the "big snow" our local rec. department was having their homecoming games for rec. basketball. The little girl's cheer leading coach (a girl who I went to school with) had purchased a uniform for Faith to be an honorary cheerleader at homecoming!

We were not able to make it due to Carl's truck being wrecked but they kindly delivered her uniform to Carl's office a few days later.

Fast forward to this afternoon. I get a call from the coach telling me that they were having the awards banquet, tonight, and they wanted Faith to be there!

So I packed Faith up, tonight and we headed down with Faith decked out in her little cheer leading uniform.

When we got there, there was a spaghetti dinner (great, no cooking for me!) and cake! Several of Faith's girl scout troop were there so she was instantly surrounded with children...

They played "peek a boo" with her and drove her all over the dining hall. Then other girls we didn't know started flocking over....At one time there were no less than 8 girls around Faith. They were playing with her, holding her hand, reading her id badge, introducing themselves to her. It was the cutest thing ever!

Then the coaches started calling the children up for their awards....team by team...group by group. Then they got to the end of the cheerleaders and they called Faith up to the stage! She was given an HONORARY medal with her name on it and everything. The woman said some beautiful words about Faith (forgive me for not getting it on video, I was too busy bawling my eyes out!) and hung it around her neck!

Then she got a standing ovation!

Faith was thrilled!
She had this huge smile across her face as she was paraded around for everyone to see! When she came back down all the children came around her to see her medal. She was all to happy to show it off and even wanted to put it on the other girls! Then she wanted the girls to put it on her and she would just grin her head off!

I was crying my eyes out with pride....

How our community has welcomed our little girl into their arms over the last few months has been a real eye opener for me! More people than I ever thought care about her and want her to be a part of the community. All you moms out there, know what I mean! We can often feel like we are standing in the shadows of life...misfits....outcasts....noncitizens.

But here in this small mountain community.... where we don't even have a stoplight

where people still pray at awards banquets....

Faith has been accepted..

Children were asking to have their pictures made with Faith!

Then Faith decided that EVERYONE needed hugs...

ALL THE WAY AROUND (SEVERAL TIMES)!

Faith was a super star, tonight. I felt like I was escorting royalty around the room!
All the girl scouts helped bridge the divide for Faith and the new children we had not met and by the end they were all bosom buddies...hugging, playing, exchanging medals.

Here a picture of our girl, after her late night... Can't you see the happiness in her eyes? Wish you all could see it in mine! One happy momma, tonight...