Abigail's Playground
The Dedication Picnic
We had a beautiful day for the picnic and dedication. One of the special blessings was having the families of two of Abigail's angel playmates here with us.
Rose, Allison, Mindy (and Sarah)
Steve spoke of how the playground got started and thanked those who contributed to it, both financially and physically.
"The reason we are all here is joy: joy that we had Abigail in our lives, joy that you are in our lives, and a desire to bring joy to other children. Abigail was only here for 5 days, but she brought us such joy.
And that is the purpose of the playground: to remember the joy that we had with her and that we all have with all of our children. Abigail’s life was very brief, but all of our childhoods are very brief, and so the time is precious. We savor the time to play and to watch our children play.
One of the joys of childhood is chasing bubbles, and so now we’d like you to help us fill the air with bubbles and have a joyful time. "
Click on picture for more photos of the balloon release.
After a wonderful time of everyone blowing bubbles, we continued:
Another great joy of childhood is playing on a playground, and now it is time to dedicate this playground.
It is in Abigail’s memory that this playground was built, and when we see the children playing on it, we want to remember her life and the joy it brought to us. Now we are going to release a balloon for Abigail and for Marie, Luke, and Savannah, whose time on earth was also very short.
After Steve reviewed the rules of the playground, Mindy cut the ribbons and said, "Let's Play!"
The kids headed for the playground and also for the "balloon man" who was making balloon animals. We had a wonderful picnic and time of joy and fellowship. The day was very joyful and happy, just as we had hoped.
We had a display of photos from the construction of the playground, showing the fun (and work) involved.
We are so thankful for the love and support everyone has shown us throughout this endeavor and hope that the playground brings joy to many children, as it brings joy to us.
