Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh-my!

Evie and her family were invited this weekend to attend Dream Night a the zoo. A special outing for disabled and chronically ill children. We were reminded of all Evie has overcome and the deep waters the Lord has graciously brought her through. We were so humbled to be included seeing so many, many children who are in a daily battle and whose conditions are critical.

The theme of the evening was a Hawaiian Luau and they truly put on a spectacular presentation for these special kids!

A red carpet Aloha celebrity welcome

They passed out flower leis.

There were tiki torches and twinkle lights

Facepainting

Games and prizes

Tatoos (which we still cant wash off:-)

Hula Dance Lessons

Grass Skirts

Dinner and refreshments

Makeovers and manicures by Miss South Carolina

(....the highlight of the night for my girls)

And, oh yes...lots of fun animals

We got to see another of Evie's heart-brothers. Cute Derrick's mom writes a beautiful blog about this little guy!

The significance of the zoo always tugs at my heatstrings. You see, on the 9th day of Evies life, I dressed her in her snugly little bear outfit for her first big outing - a zoo trip as a family. This was the morning the nightmare began. It was at the zoo as we strolled around that frigid January day that I first noticed her funny breathing. Later that night, we landed in the ER and after a battery of tests, they diagnosed her broken heart. We could have lost Evie that day. This could have been my last picture of my baby girl!

January 25 2004

It has been a long hard road since. But slowly, the nightmare of that day and the roller coaster months that followed are starting to fade into the background. And in its place are a million beautiful memories of our happy, healthy, life-loving little girl and the family who adores her.