"To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." Isaiah 61:3

The Burckhard Family

The Burckhard Family

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Buddy Walk & Pumpkin Patch...

Today was a very fun day! Our whole family (except for Elizabeth who was scoring all the points for the VB team--she's the stats person :) headed out to Bismarck to our state capitol building where the 6th Annual Bismarck/Mandan Buddy Walk was being held. And guess who was asked to be the host family?



The weather was perfect: blue skies, low 80's, light breeze--a beautiful ND fall day! Over 1,000 people turned out to support loved ones with Down Syndrome. Kevin did a great job welcoming the group and sharing our journey! It was so encouraging to also have Grandma, Grandpa, and my brother Joe and his wife Brenda there to support us!
There were also many families from Minot who made the journey down; so maybe we will have to start our own Buddy Walk!


Also, Sam was a great Reece's Rainbow ambassador. He had a big basket of Lifesavers gummi candies that he handed out with Reece's Rainbow brochures and magnets explaining how they can support the ministry or maybe even adopt themselves one day! He would hand out the lifesavers and say "Be a Lifesaver; support Reece's Rainbow!" Do you think he takes after Dad, the life insurance agent, a little bit? :)

Here is a hefty dose of our day....










After the Buddy Walk, we went to Papa's Pumpkin Patch. It is an amazing place with so much to do...the kids had a blast!











Thanks, Bismarck Designer Genes for asking us to be the Host Family this year! We were humbled and honored to have been selected. And you put on one great Buddy Walk!

Love, Paula

3 comments:

  1. Wow, it looks like everyone had such a fun time! Ours is tomorrow, I can't wait!
    Amy

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  2. Looks like fun! Lots of great pictures!
    You had quite a group for your Buddy walk. Wish we could of been there!!

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  3. We were the honored ones having you start our journey out that day! Love seeing your pictures and I would love a Reese's Rainbow magnet - throw in the gummie savers too - completely missed that activity. Good words - we are working on a thank you for you, so don't feel neglected. We had so many great comments about the program this year - I think everyone felt the information was straight from the heart and really meaningful to them.

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