Walk Shirt Design! (and a fancy new word..)

Ok, I'll let you in on our current dramas...first, our Walk shirts!  I don't know why it's so hard this year, but I think it's because Maryanne who usually does our designs has been on vacation for two weeks!

Our theme this year is "Lights, Camera, Cure!"  We started with a Hollywood star with our team name in silver (on lavender) (and I was going to have everyone autograph their shirts in Sharpie marker on the star)...and slowly (Ches) changed it to red with white and *silver*.  Here is our current design:

This is Old Main, from the University of Arkansas campus (another drama-getting it approved!), and the kids are dropping their diabetes stuff, they're CURED! : )

The back: with our team name and our sponsors. : )

I wasn't thrilled with the kids' eyes on the front, but she made them smaller...and I have to move on.  I have lots more to do this week, and we've already pushed printing to Wednesday (and hopefully that's long enough to get UA approval!).

We are excited to walk, and it's getting closer...5 days! : )  I ordered new banners for our tent, here is a proof (and they should be here tomorrow!):

They don't go exactly with our shirts..but they had the big Clapboard Slate (I had to google to find out what it's called!), and it looked movie-ish enough! : )

And..I ordered 30 yards of red ribbon with white polka dots (and stripey little ribbon for the middles!) to make matching hairbows, but I've yet to see the ribbon in the mail..we will have to make our mailman cookies-we are salivating as he rounds the corner every day! : )  We must drive him nuts! : ) (..ooo-we can add nuts to his cookies!) (and the ribbon is HERE!)

It's the final days, and we are both excited and anxious.  The local JDRF chapter didn't do a group picture sign-up...they assigned times based on abc order, and they put us post-walk.  When everyone is sweaty and gone to their kids' ball games-we have four on Saturday!  I suppose next year we'll have to be Allstars for the Cure.  I feel like they should at least be a little accommodating, since we are asking our friends to come, donate, and walk.  Seriously, they are only walking out of kindness for our family (and some feel-good altruism?).

Next year's date is strangely opening up.. I mean every year, I wonder how I ever made it through and wonder if I have another Walk in me.  It is a serious undertaking in organizational event management.  

Let's take a look at our multi-hat job leading a family walk team.  Just for fun.
Letters (including reviewing friends' addresses, writing, inserting picture, copying at Kinko's, buying envelopes plus return envelopes, folding and stuffing, stamping, mailing)

Donations (incoming envelopes, thank you notes, writing/mailing personal thank you's and receipts, keeping a spreadsheet)

Registration (including registering people online, helping field questions for those brave enough to do it themselves, taking paper registrations, not to mention...encouraging people to walk)

Tshirts (including design, scheduling printing, keeping a chart of sizes, getting shirts ordered prior to printing, receiving, sorting by family or location, delivering) (oh, and make matching hairbows for all the girls!)


Logistics (including getting everyone to the same place at the same time, composing walk day info (when we have it..not yet!), making sure the Walk Day Info gets mailed out in time for far-away walkers, printed to hand out with shirts, or emailed, and keeping us somewhat together as we walk since we take a shortcut with so many kids on a mostly uphill route!)

Pictures (including getting a sign-up time, making sure our walkers know about the time, and then actually getting there, then making sure we/they get a copy)

Family (including entertaining before/during/after the Walk, trying to make it look effortless so your daughter doesn't know what a job it is.  And have some quality family time! : )


Ahh..gotta love having a disease you didn't want.  It makes you cry, lose sleep, spend money, work harder, advocate, and have to do things you never wanted to do.

Praying for peace this week and c-a-l-m at our house (today: two home sick, doctor's appointments, dentist, baseball game, choir...and tomorrow?  Mother's Day Out (I hope!), Bible study, conferences, and Bunco!)  Whew.  I'll be sleeping in my Cheerios again soon.