::Orlando Gala::

Hi everybody! I know I haven't posted in a while....

I just wanted to give you all an update of my first event with FFP. Saturday was our gala in Orlando and it went really well. We drove up Friday morning and went non-stop the whole time. Friday evening we went to dinner with Dr. Lynne, the event chairwoman. She is really sweet and genuine. She loves the Lord and has such a heart for the poor!!! Fr. John joined us for dinner, too. We ate at Bahama Breeze (yummy!).

Saturday morning we started set-up at 8 am and went all day. It ran VERY smoothly. We didn't have any major issues except that we didn't have enough room in the ballroom. It was a good problem to have -- too many guests. Dr. Lynne kept trying to add tables and we just couldn't.... All told, there were 260 guests. There was a silent auction that raised about $17,500. Then we did a house rally that raised $120,000. In total, we raised over $250,000!!!! AMAZING!!!! All of this money goes to build houses in Haiti!!! When I get them, I'll share some pictures....

We got done tearing down and re-packing everything around 1:30 am. I was in soooo much pain with my back. It was too long of a day and I did too much lifting. So, I couldn't wait to get in bed, do my stretches and go to sleep. Unfortunately, my roommate was sick ALL NIGHT! I was up every time she went to the bathroom. On top of that, the stretches only helped so much with my back. At some point, I got up and asked her if I could pray for her. In the morning, we stopped at the drug store for a icy/hot patch for me and Imodium for Denise. I wish we both would have had those things the night before -- what a difference?!

Yesterday, I was wiped out and so happy to get home. I missed my honey so much and it was really good to see him!!!