they need love and we have love to give.

You will never be able to convince me otherwise: the only real way to teach your child how to care for others or how to 'each other' is by actually doing it around them, with them so that they learn from your behavior. I'd like to think this is on the front burner at our home all the time because we really try.

When we sat down Roz and Ella last Friday and explained to them what our Friday afternoon adventure was going to entail, I borrowed a line from one of my favorite Todd Parr books (We Belong Together, and thus title to this blog) to explain our trip to the Ronald McDonald House. It worked. TeamAddy was ready to go.

Our little friend, Addy, had major cleft palate surgery performed on Friday morning. The Ho family was all set to have extended stay at the RM House from Thursday until her discharge date. Behind the scenes, I contacted the House Director to see how we could help and give back to the House for taking such good care of our friends. Everything aligned perfectly as they needed someone to prepare dinner for all 14 families on Friday night.

Mary Pat, Katie, Ella, Roz, Thomas and I had a wonderful time in the huge kitchen. The kids could not have been better.

We did all this quietly so that neither Sara nor John would feel guilty or obligated to come over while we were there. Addy's surgery was a success. Rockstar Addy also handled the recovery period after the long surgery quite well which meant they could steal away for dinner at the House.

Oh the tears and smiles when they walked in!! The relief from weeks of worrying, the nail biting during the surgery - all of it - seemed to wash away as we all gathered around the kitchen table. Oh and the food wasn't too bad either.

It was my first experience volunteering there. I was impressed at the community support our particular House gets and how smoothly everything runs. It is top on my list of "must do again soon!".

And our little Addy? Well, don't think major surgery is going to get the best of her. That little stinker did so well that she was discharged from the hospital on Saturday! She really is a dynamo.

I was super happy to take this post-surgery selfie with her on Sunday.

Way to go TeamAddy!

~H