This past summer, we received a call telling us that Anna had been nominated for Make-A-Wish. This was a very exciting surprise! The Make-A-Wish foundation is an organization that makes wishes come true for young people with a life threatening illness. You don't choose to get to make a wish, a doctor has to nominate you.
These two wish granters came over to our house in Seattle, bringing special little gifts for all of our children and going over the rules for making a wish. The number one rule for parents: Let your child choose something they want....let them be "selfish" for just this once!! We enjoyed our time with these two ladies...you can tell they love what they do!
The wishes you can make include:
I want to have...(excluding money, reality, anything requiring a permit)
I want to meet...
I want to be.....
and, I want to go.....
Anna chose, "I want to go to London!" We knew this was a tall order as this wish was for her whole family to go! We were told that large families are NOT discriminated against but we felt for sure this would be too tall an order even for Make-A-Wish!
Tonight we had the honor of having our wish granters come over to Bremerton, to our "real" home! The children were all excited to see them again as it has been about 6 months since last seeing them!!! Anna made a delicious dinner and we enjoyed pleasant chatter before being served dessert. After our meal, Steph brought out her magic blue bag to go over a matter of business before heading out. She handed Anna this lovely hand made card and said it had been mistakenly sent to her rather than to Anna! ;-) As Anna read the note out loud, we all started to cry! We are so humbled to learn that we will all be flying to London this summer!!!! Wow! I am still in shock! What an awesome opportunity!!!! We will have more details in time, but for now....let's pack our bags, we're going to London!
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| A very clever way to tell Anna her wish was coming true! |
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| A little excited! |
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| Checking out things to do in London! |
How wonderful! My family and I are all so excited for you, and more than a few of us were fighting back tears as we read the invitation! Praise the Lord that he has granted you all this wonderful opportunity. You all deserve it. Love you all! The Hilsons
ReplyDeleteWonderful news! We are so excited for you all! What a treat for the Queen of England to meet our dear Anna and her very supportive family!
ReplyDeletePraise the Lord. This is wonderful news. Anna, you have a huge heart and it will be an amazing experience for your entire family.
ReplyDeleteHOW EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's incredible! Congratulations! SO happy for Anna, and you all!!!
ReplyDeletePraise the Lord for the entire Houston family getting this opportunity to visit London. Your family is such an encouragement.
ReplyDeleteRick Potvin
O.K., O.K., wonderful already. Was hoping for Uganda, but ......;-) So thrilled for you all. What an incredible opportunity! Will look forward to pictures and notes on the trip so we can enjoy the adventure with you all.
ReplyDeleteWe asked about Uganda...we weren't allowed as it is deemed "unsafe" and therefore Make-A-Wish wouldn't be able to send us. :-( So London was 2nd. And you may ask, why not Paris? She wanted to go to a place that spoke English! ;-)
DeleteOhhhh Myy!!! Congratulations Anna :-) This will be soo much fun your entire family. Passports ready everyone?
ReplyDeleteI am so incredibly excited for you!! You are all heroes in so many people's eyes. We love you!!
ReplyDeleteHow awesome is that!! So happy for your whole family! :D
ReplyDeleteAnna so happy to hear your news and to see your progress. I am Shane Hilson's mother and have followed you since the auction and the funny bidding war I got in to over Cody's drawing I'm looking at that picture and thinking I'm so glad I could be a small part in your stay in Seattle. May the good Lord continue to bless you and your sweet family and look forward to hearing about your trip. rose hilson
ReplyDeletePraise the Lord. This is wonderful news. Anna, you have a huge heart and it will be an amazing experience for your entire family.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's so awesome! I'm so happy for you guys. God is so good.
ReplyDeleteOh how wonderful! God is awesome!
ReplyDeleteOh, that will be amazing! What a wonderful trip to look forward to and plan for!
ReplyDeleteWow, that is fantastic, does the whole family include grandpa? Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteYah!!! Oh my goodness, we are so excited for all of you!! What a tremendous blessing!
ReplyDeleteWe are very excited for you guys! What an opportunity of a lifetime! Garth's likely going to London on business in July and I wish I could hide in his suitcase. :)
ReplyDeleteEllo! Your of to Jolly Ole England! I am to over Joyed and thrilled for your entire family and Anna!!!:) Naomie&Anna will be very Posh Sipping Tea ;) lol Praise the Lord for such a Blessing. Much Love and prayers to y'all!:)
ReplyDelete~Celeste Epheisans 1:3