Sparkles For Grace

A couple of years ago, Kyle's mom bought Grace a shirt that said "I share my sparkle with the world." We just thought it was so fitting for Grace's personality, especially her sparkly smile.

Thanks to the generosity of Marilyn Mueller of Premier Designs Jewelry, we certainly had a sparkly week and raised a lot of money for INAD research.

Grace was so excited to come to the jewelry party!

Last fall, Marilyn stopped by the paper and told me she wanted to host a Premier Designs Jewelry party as a fundraiser for Grace. We have been so blessed by people giving of their time and talents to help us raise money for INAD.  Originally, we set up a date in the fall, but I ended up having to postpone it when some family came into town. We tried to set up a time before Christmas, but it just got to be too busy for both of us.

In the end, we decided to wait until after the first of the year, and picked a date toward the end of January.  At first, I was a little nervous about sending out all the invitations, but once I got started, it ended up being a lot of fun.

Cousin Izzy came with her mom, and won a new scarf!

Mom and I kind of brainstormed a list of people to invite together, and she was a huge help in getting the refreshments ready. 

Before I knew it, the night of the party was here. I didn't really know how many to expect, but I was hoping to have 20 or so come. Marilyn already had her tables set up when mom and I got there, so we worked on refreshments and punch. 

We loved seeing our friends at the party, and are so grateful to everyone who came!

The guests started arriving, and we ended up with 25 or so, and others have placed orders as well.  I greeted guests as they arrived, some of which I just met that night. One woman introduced herself and said she followed our story in the paper, and that she just loved to see Grace's picture in the paper.

When the party started, everyone had a chance to look at the jewelry and enjoy some refreshments, and then Marilyn made a presentation as well.  She introduced everyone to her friend "Stiffany," which is the model she uses to display jewelry. We had a lot of laughs, and enjoyed seeing the latest in jewelry trends. Marilyn encouraged everyone to try the jewelry, even some pieces they might not normally wear. The first piece she showed everyone was a blingy cross necklace, called Grace. Although I did try it on after the presentation, I decided it was probably a bit bigger than most of the jewelry I usually wear.  I had already decided what I wanted before the party, a silver bracelet called inner strength. The words "she believed she could, so she did," are inscribed in the middle. I thought it was very fitting, and it reminds me so much of Grace.

Marilyn brought TONS of jewelry for everyone to look at!

Kyle brought Grace after she finished her dinner, and she loved the party.  First off, because she got a chocolate chip cookie, but also because everyone stopped by to see her. I think she had a Grace smile for each and everyone there. She may not be able to say the words "thank you," but I think everyone there knew Grace was thankful that they came.

As Marilyn began figuring up the total sales for the evening, I was shocked by how much we were able to raise for the study. Some orders and donations are still coming in, but I'm pretty sure we have raised more than $1,000 from the evening, which I lovingly called "Sparkles for Grace." 

Marilyn showed everyone the jewelry during the presentation.

I say it all the time, but we are so lucky to live in this amazing community, where we are always surrounded by love and support. Thanks to everyone who made "Sparkles for Grace" such a HUGE success, and helping us to #beatINAD.

MLH