The Greatest Day Ever!

So, if you live under a rock, then you may not know that Monday, May 23, was the first annual Will Saunders Day at Wild River Country, a local water park. This was a gift from our church to Will (and us of course) so that he could enjoy the water park and we could enjoy him. You see, as part of Angelman Syndrome, Will has a fascination with and love for water. I mean it too! If he sees water, he's in it. You name it, and he's played in it - the sink, the bath tub, the toilet, the dog bowl, the water hose, a puddle, a cup with water in it, and even the deep end of a pool (that was scary!). So when our church said, we love you enough to give your son something he'll love, we were elated! Okay, maybe that's not exactly what they said, but that's what I heard. Anyway, I want to show you some pictures from our day. There was a "real" photographer there, and when I get his pictures, I'll share them too. But, for now you're stuck with our amateur photography. 

Posing in front of the Will Saunders Day sign (I'm covering the "S" at the end of Saunders)

She was ready to swim!

His lips were blue and his teeth were chattering, but he was not getting out of the water.

I'm pretty sure he could have stood there all day and played in that little toy.

Her parents were in tears and said "Thank you. We never thought we'd be able to bring our daughter to a water park. This was amazing!"

Me and Will with Blythe and her mom, Donna. Blythe also has Angelman Syndrome, and her mother had never met another child with it. It was pretty neat getting to meet them.

To say the least, the day was amazing. I don't think I can really put into words what it meant to us to get this opportunity. But you know me, I'll try! We never thought we'd be able to take Will to Wild River Country. We knew he'd love it, but we would be way too stressed out trying to keep up with him and prevent him from getting lost, kidnapped, or drowning. This day allowed us to be "normal." We got to see our son do something he loves and something that "normal" kids get to do all the time. We've heard story after story from other families who felt the same way. We love our children, and wouldn't change them for the world, but I think deep down, every parent wants to get to do this type of thing with their child. 
First Assembly North Little Rock is a church that, as my mom says, puts feet to their faith. Their motto is "Every soul matters to God" and when they do things like this, they prove that they mean it. To anyone who participated in organizing, setting up, working, or attending Will Saunders Day, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for loving our son, and my family, so much. Thank you for loving other families too so that they could enjoy this day. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I cannot wait for next year!