An Amazingly Great Day!

Every once in a while a day happens that just goes so perfect that you just can't help but think did that just happen? I had one of those days today. First let me tell the story of how it came to be.

While on our cruise to Bermuda, I met this wonderful lady in the line at Starbucks. (Proof that Starbucks makes the best things happen.) Marirosa had seen our family around the boat and we just started chatting. I found out that she was a Navy spouse, a photographer and she lived in the DC area. She offered to take pictures of our family and we exchanged cards and agreed to stay in touch.

Fast forward a few weeks and we decide to have a day of sessions for wounded warriors and their families. I proceeded with securing the location and filing all the paperwork with the hospital. Marirosa contacted a few of her friends to see if they would like to help. Poof, the Navy said yes, Fisher House said yes and Marirosa had three other friends to join her. All we needed to do was sign the families up.

Fast forward a few more weeks and I am hosting our first cooking lesson with Admiral Winnefeld's culinary team. We decide to have them come back and host another cooking lesson the same day as the photos. Once again paperwork is filed and we're all set.

Fast forward and I put out the email to get the families signed up. Then I am informed that it's Army/Navy weekend. Then I find out that the hospital has a trip planned for the game, a trip to Vegas and one for Breckenridge. I remained optimistic and we stuck with our original plans. Well that hope and optimism paid off big time today.

We all showed up at 9 this morning. The chefs went to the kitchen and the photographers set up in the living room. My family dropped me off and went to grab breakfast at McDonald's. By the time they came back we were all set up and ready to go.

Our first family showed up early and we got the ball rolling. Over 20 families showed up to have their pictures taken by our four lovely ladies. Here's a quick pic I grabbed of them so I could show the faces of the incredible professionals who donated their time and services and USB drives to our wounded warriors and their families today.

Each family had a little mini-session and received a USB drive with five pics on them. This way the families could go home and upload the pictures at their leisure. Then they can create their Christmas cards or maybe even just give grandma a updated picture for her brag book. How great was it that these ladies gave our wounded warriors and their families their time and talent today?

Now in the kitchen, three of Admiral Winnefeld's culinary team were cooking up some Paella. Once again these guys showed up to share their talent with our wounded warriors and their families. The families love the cooking lessons. Now only are these lessons quick and easy, but the food at the end is simply amazing. Here are the guys showing off their delicious masterpiece.

I just love hanging out with these three. They always have the greatest stories to share. They really love their jobs and they really love giving back to our wounded warriors and their families. You cannot imagine how awesome their Paella was. I give it four stars.

Thanks to some great teamwork over twenty wounded warrior families were treated to free professional pictures and a delicious lunch today. To add another level of this awesomeness, Admiral Winnefeld and his amazing wife Mary stopped by just to hang out with the families and say hi. They are always such a delight to be around at any time.

The entire day went so incredibly smooth. There were smiles every where. There were very happy bellies everywhere. I still can't believe how great the day turned out. I want to thank all the people mentioned above for helping me pull off such a great day today. I also want to thank Becky, the Manager of the Fisher Houses at Bethesda, for letting us all invade today!! I guess this is all proof that when amazing people come together to share their time and talents with others great days are created!!