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Saturday, October 24, 2009

Make a Difference Day...

Happy Saturday!!! Did you know that today is "Make a Difference Day?". There are so many ways to make a difference. In fact I just realize how today's holiday really fits into yesterday's Freebie Friday! There are so many causes out there that you can help, support, volunteer to help.... where you can make a difference! (So I think I will leave the Freebie Friday file up for a little longer!!)

And you know that kind of ties into the challenge I am hosting over at VDBC. You could scrap a page about how "YOU" make a difference. Maybe it could be about how you helped an organization. Or how you helped a neighbor. Or even how you made a difference in your OWN life!!!!

I have been so blessed this deployment to see how one little group of ladies have truly made a difference in people's life's.

When Andrew left to deploy to Afghanistan, I went to AZ to spend a few weeks with his parents. My father in law was having some health issues and I went up there to see if I could help out. If you have been following my blog for long - you know I ended up staying there for a little over five weeks. Well while I was up there, Andrew's unit encountered their first casualties and there first serious injuries.

My mother in law belongs to a quilt group in AZ. and in the past they have made patriotic quilts for Bethesda Naval Hospital, Brooke Army Medical Center, and Balboa Naval Hospital. When we heard about the casualties/injuries my mother in law went to her quilting group (Pine Needlers Quilt Group of Heber-Overgaard, AZ) and asked them if they would mind lap quilts to the wounded warriors of the 1/10th CAV (Hubby's group). It was a unanimous yes!

So with the help of Commander and our Rear Det AO/S3 my mother in law and her quilt group started mailing out the lap quilts to our injured.

Each quilt was handmade by one of the exceptionally talented ladies of this amazingly generous group and each quilt had a hand sewn label that said “Pine Needler’s Quilters of Heber-Overgaard AZ made this quilt as a token of our appreciation for your service.”

A few months after I got back to GA, the Rear Det AO/S3 came to visit me and she told me about a trip she had just made to Walter Reed Hospital to visit one of our injured soldiers. While she was there he was telling her how amazed he was at the out pour of love and support that he was receiving from home. He said to her, "Someone even sent me this awesome quilt!" To which the AO/S3 said - "Oh did that come from Major McDonald's mother and her quilt group?" And he was like YES!!!!

(This is Andrew's mother with the first three quilts that were sent out.)



Additionally, last week I got the pleasure of meeting a hero of my own. I had the pleasure of meeting Spc Chistopher Lowe. Spc Lowe was injured in a fire fight that claimed the life of Marine Captain Matt Freeman on August 7th, 2009. Come to find out his mother and grandmother own the local quilt store here in Savannah, Ga. Needless to say they were "thrilled" with the quilt that my mother in law's group had sent them.


I just happened to be at the quilt store when Kit and his mother showed up. He was home for the first time since his accident and only for a few days of convalescence leave before heading back to Walter Reed for his fifth surgery on his leg. I introduced myself as Andrew's wife - and as the daughter in law of the lady in AZ who's group sent the quilt. They were so appreciative! Kit even said to make sure I tell my MIL that he LOVES that quilt and that he sleeps with it every night!

Kit Lowe has decided to make a difference as well in other people's life. He has joined in with the family of CPT Freeman and Master SGT Temple to collect school supplies for the children of Afghanistan. You can see a very amazing video and read more about the program HERE.

So I encourage you - make a difference.... and celebrate "Make a Difference Day" today!

Before I go I want to leave you with one last thought....

The purpose of life is not to be happy - but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all. ~Leo Rosten

Until Next Time!

Cya~


Lori McDonald, Designer

My cutter files work on many machines. Some examples are the: Klik-n-kut, Pazzle, Wishblade, Silhouette, Cricut, Craft Robo. Some of the most common softwares involved with these machines are: Funtime, Scrapbooking, WinPC/Signlab, Inkscape, Create and Cut, Illustrator, KNK Studio, and Robomaster. These file are available exclusively at: VDBC!!!

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2 comments:

Bec,  October 24, 2009 at 11:55 PM  

Your post is very inspiring Lori. Makes one think! Hopefully all who read it will be determined to make a difference. Have a wonderful evening.

Sue aka barracudasue,  October 25, 2009 at 12:39 AM  

What a lovely story, Lori and a super inspiration! I think, in our own way, we all make some small difference in someone's lives just by being in them! God bless...

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