Eat Dessert First

We were contacted by Ronald McDonald House following our evening there for a write up and blog post about our family.  They did a really nice story on us that was shared on their blog.  They used a few words that were a little too “Showy” for my liking, but still pleased that they honored Logan and our evening at the house.

Families staying in House C recently enjoyed an amazing dinner served by the Ballard family of Kent. The family brought not only delicious food and goodies but went all out in festooning the dining room in decorations celebrating springtime, decorating each table with cute rubber boots and flowers in a combination of cheerful colors. Martha Stewart herself would have admired the jars of individually wrapped cookies and displays of cake pops and brownies. We are “eat dessert first” people here at the Ronald McDonald House! Dozens of chocolate chip cookies and double chocolate chunk cookies were homemade. Other baked goodies were donated for the dinner by local businesses One Wild Strawberry and Sweet Themes Bakery.

The Ballard Family

This year marked the 10^th year of the Ballard family generously serving a meal at the House, and perhaps even more special than the creativity and care with which the family served was their reason for doing so. 13 years ago, the Ballard's lost their little boy, Logan, to a congenital heart defect diagnosed at birth. He fought as hard as he could for the 6 ½ weeks of his life and his parents Paige and Brian stayed at both the Sioux Falls RMH in South Dakota and the Ann Arbor RMH in Michigan throughout his battle. Three months after Logan passed away, the family moved to the Pacific Northwest and longed for a way to both ease their grief and remember the joy of Logan’s birth.

For the past 10 years, now with 10-year-old daughter Kelsey, the family celebrates Logan’s birthday by helping and connecting with families at the House. “It’s always a little bit emotional on his birthday, but his birth day was a very happy and exciting day, so we remember that. It helps us heal to serve the families at the House and see their smiles,” says Paige. Thank you, Paige, Brian and Kelsey, for bringing smiles to families here. And the cookies were pretty great, too!

10-year-old Kelsey helps celebrate the brother she never got to meet.

 

Lot’s and lots of pictures from that night.  They don’t allow us to take photos while there, but we always try to sneak a few in of us as well as the meal and treats we served.  We always ask permission from a few of the families if they mind us taking a picture with them.  Kelsey worked hard on making some hats to donate to the cancer patients and our friend Roma Knight did some beautiful ones as well.  Kelsey got to hand out one to a couple for their new baby girl that was in the NICU. 

Spencer is still too young to join us, but had a wonderful time with “Banana” Price as he calls her and her grandson Jayden.  It is always such a joy to pick him up after a long evening and see his smile and love for her.  She is the best adopted grandma a kid could ask for!