Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Legacy Park... making our mark.

First you oughta know that we take this odd looking dude everywhere we go! He has not lost both legs below the knee and one arm at the elbow. Yet, he travels with the Groves almost everywhere!

We went to Ruston to meet up with a group that was doing footprints and handprints to use as concrete tiles at the new construction of Legacy Park which begins later this month. Legacy Park is a park for special needs kids. It was really needed in our area. We have a large population of underserved kids, and I have been priveleged to serve on the Board of Directors for this organization.

(Please note the "low side ponytail" that Ellie is working so diligently on. Just sayin'!)

That one in the middle, squatting down, is Jana. She is the founder of Legacy Park project, and the mom of three boys, one who I have been happy to have in my clinic for the past few years.

And this is her mom. I love it when families come together to do something in honor or memory of a kid in the family!! I can't wait to see their Bailey Jack playing in this park!

Gabs just did not want to cooperate with the handprint thing. So, I picked her up, and away we went with the footprints!!





And like that... Ta daaaaahhh!!

Next up.... Ellie Sue!

F.I.N.A.L.L.Y, I convinced her to stick her hand in the concrete!



And see that runner there in the middle of the room? He is Kaden's dad. They also have an effort they are furthering in honor of their son, Kaden. It is called Cure CMD and they'll be raising money to send to this foundation this weekend as well. I hope to be there on Sunday. I sent two canvases, and I hope they raise some money for them in the auction.

There were lots of people there before us!! At $100 per tile, I was glad to see their efforts paid off!





This one was VEEEERY tempted to touch the finished products!!

Look at my girls' precious prints.

It required a bit of effort on our part. I got off work late, had to have Todd get the girls from the daycare and run them back up to the office, pile everyone in, and haul it to Ruston , about 30 minutes away, to make it by the cut off time of 7pm.

But when I thought of Legacy Park being built and my girls not having their name on it, it saddened me. I have been a part of Legacy Park since its inception, and I knew it was important that my girls know someday that their mama helped kids have a playground when they had nowhere else to play. And I think they'll be proud to have their names there as well.

So, here they are... the tiles that will be at the park for years to come. The Groves girlies.

MO

8 comments:

blessedmomof3 said...

These are so precious!! I am a special education teacher in Lincoln Parish and it is so exciting to know that all children in our area are going to have such an awesome place to play!!
-Leigh Ann

Bj said...

Such a great thing you guys are doing. Love the prints....you need a couple of those to have for yourself Mo! Precious moments....priceless memories!!....huggers, BJ

Amy K said...

I love to see such passionate projects like this. Something your girls can keep near and dear to their hearts all their lives. Congrats on this park coming to be.

Our community rallied around several families who suffered great loss (childhood cancer, death of a parent/husband) and created "The Happy Place", for these kids to go and be surrounded by happiness. They also sold tiles to raise funds.

Kathryn said...

Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful!

snekcip said...

What an awesome park!!! So great to see you expose Ellie & Gabbi to wonderful project such as this.

Christy George said...

Mel, Please email me! Just a HI so I can email back.
Thanks,
Christy
christygeorge@gt.rr.com

Shannon said...

Way to go Mo!!
I know all the kids using the park will LOVE it!!!
I know my son loves the barrier free park in our city.

Beth E. said...

I just went back and read all of your posts, catching up on what I've missed. Shew! Y'all are on-the-go all the time. I love it.

I'm also loving the yipstick, pucker pics, and the side ponytail. There's never a dull moment around your house...I know you wouldn't have it any other way. :-)