She looks like an angel!
Charlies' Angels Pose!
She was in Heaven, and felt like a Princess!
Once upon a time...In another life, another world- a story like this one would begin this way. For the past 15 years, I have been raising my girls - mainly on my own- and as they have heard me say *many* times, "I am doing my best". But my best has included years of going without, struggling to pay the bills, going without hot water, empty pantries, recycled clothes, shoes, toys, etc. We have been blessed with angels who have made sure the girls had Christmas, but I have also been heartbroken when one of my girls needed something (Calculators that averaged $90 each), supplies for a class, fees for a test or activity, and I knew there was no money. Fee waivers have helped...but they have heard the words *We can't right now* or *I'll figure it out somehow, we don't have the money* so many times they want to Scream! And I have begged, borrowed, and sold almost everything of value that I could find a buyer for.
But we have been blessed- my girls appreciate the little things. When a friend told Brianna that she was going to give her an Ice Tea Maker for Graduation, after she had been hounding me about one for 2 weeks...she ran squealing across the room and jumped in our friends' lap...saying Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!! :) They say its the little things....
Well, at the beginning of the year, the Prom magazines started coming in. With 3 daughters, We have figured that by the time they graduate, We will have done Prom 5 years in a row...And before you ask...all 3 girls have COMPLETELY different body builds...and aren't even CLOSE to the same size! When the first book was opened, this amazing dress jumped out...yes, even *I* say amazing...the colors, the style, everything about it screamed Brianna's name- and I heard- *this is IT Mama- I have to have this dress*...I replied that I would work on it- and we would see...Then, I looked at the price- and we sat down to talk. There was no way, in any life, that we could afford that dress. All was not lost tho, as I spent years making and designing dresses! I looked at the structure of the dress and realized the design was simple...the hard part was going to be painting the fabric-- but I could do that! So I started getting the supplies, and lined up the fabric, and all was well.
Prom was set for April 16th. On March 25th, I went to the ER, not breathing well, and feeling cruddy (See the Blog from April)- I was admitted- *for a few days*...2 weeks later, I wasn't out, and was starting to panic about the dress. So, with just over a week left until Brianna's Prom (And getting surprised with another Prom she was attending with a friend a week earlier) I sent out a plea- Could someone pick up fabric for me, so I could paint and begin working on the dress while I was in the hospital...(Don't ask me how I thought I was going to get it sewed together in the hospital...)
Can I just stop and say that Facebook is a wonderful thing?? In less than 30 minutes- I had 3 messages- all asking how much the dress I was going to copy was. My response- *Too much*. They persisted. So I responded with the total. (It was as much as I paid for my wedding dress) But instead of the conversation being dropped like a hot Potato- The responses were: I can chip in $100, and another that said *I can pay Half* by a dear friend- who said- my husband is also kicking in $100! (The total of the dress was $500.) She said she had 4 boys and this might be the only chance she had to do a prom dress! Lori- the friend who came up with half, put the word out with some other angels, and before I knew it- they had jewelry, and the dress was being drop shipped to a local store. Lori picked me up from the house the day I got home from the hospital, and we went and picked up the Cinderella dress.
One detail I didn't mention, was that the weekend that I got out of the hospital, and we were picking up the dress- Brianna was up on her official Visit at Princeton- they flew her up for an official visit, and she was flying in with less than an hour to get ready for the first Prom! But when she walked in the door, she had no idea what she was wearing- as usual- the only answer I gave her when she asked (repeatedly) about the dress, was that I had taken care of it!
We hung the dress at the top of the stairs, and when I heard the car drop her off- I stood at the top of the stairs- to block the dress for just a moment...then, I let her see...Thank you Lori, Kathy, and the anonymous angels for the joy that you brought to my girl! This dress is a dream come true for her- and neither of us will EVER forget the miracle of love and generosity that helped make this dress happen!! I love you all! Above are a few pictures from that amazing day!! Please Enjoy!
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