This past Saturday, the American Legion in Waynesville, NC hosted a benefit for Dallas. It was absolutely wonderful! From the moment we arrived, everyone was so welcoming.
Dallas was super excited and had a really great time!
I wanted to post some pictures from the event so that you all could enjoy that day with us, once again... as well as for those of you who were unable to make it, and those who continue to follow Dallas' progress.
This is when we first arrived. Dallas was overwhelmed. With excitement, with happiness, perhaps with some fear and reservations.
Most of the time, he's really not a shy child, but since this has happened, he's been more guarded.
Thank you to everyone who talked to him, who played with him, and helped him to come out of his shell. :)
Dallas was so excited to be able to get his face painted. This is something he hasn't been able to do in a very long time.
What did he choose to get? A Dallas Cowboys star, of course!
He really enjoyed doing this.
Dallas got to ride Madelyn's horse! This is the first time he was able to go horseback riding, and he really, REALLY had a blast!
Just look at that smile!
This was something that surely brightened his day!!
Thank you! :)
Another one of him riding.
I cannot tell you how much he truly loved doing this!
He wanted to keep riding.
Now we know something else he enjoys, and hopefully he'll get to do it again soon!
Dallas on Stage with the Hoss Howard Band!
As you can tell, he had some reservations holding him back. But after he got off stage, all he talked about was how he was up there, playing the guitar. "Did you see me?" "Did you see me playing the guitar?" "I did good, huh?" It was adorable!
And a big thanks to these guys! They were amazing.
We all really enjoyed the show and are very appreciative for you guys helping support Dallas through this time.
Dallas sitting in one of the race cars that was brought to the event!
He was so excited to sit in it and pretend like he was driving.
Every week Dallas watches the race with his Daddy, so this was a big thing, him getting the chance to sit in a race car. :)
Dallas participated in a "cake walk", one of his favorite parts of the event, and won! He was so excited.
And rather than keeping the cake, he gave it to the lady that "almost" won.
Looks like Nanna was a little more excited than Dallas to give the lady the cake. LOL. :)
Dallas playing with his "Bubba" (Tyler) before joining another cake walk.
He doesn't get to see him too often, so when he does, he tries to play with him as much as possible.
And here's Dallas participating in one of the cake walks.
He ended up winning this one too. :)
"May I have your attention please?" "May I have your attention please?"
These were the words that Dallas first spoke on stage.
Here he is with Daddy, thanking everyone for everything they did. Telling everyone that he is getting better every day.
No more stage fright! :)
The lady pictured here on stage with Dallas is Ginger. There was a raffle for all of the Halloween decorations they had displayed. Two inflatables and a skeleton for the yard. Well, she won the raffle. And rather than keeping the decorations, she decided to give them to Dallas. She told me, that as soon as she saw him standing there, smiling and looking at the inflatables, she just had to give them to him. How sweet is that?
Dallas can't wait to put them up! He is so excited. I'm thinking this next weekend, we will have them up! :)
This little guy was given to Dallas at the Benefit. Something that he didn't expect whatsoever. When he was given to Dallas, his face lit up like a Christmas tree. He absolutely adores animals, especially dogs. Before this happened, we had a dog, Sarge. He was going to get big, and was very active and playful with Dallas. Once the accident happened, we had to give him away, in fear that he would hurt Dallas. So this was a wonderful gift for him.
Dallas decided to name him Legion.
Fitting, don't you think?
Dallas had a really great time at the event, and so did the rest of us! It was wonderful to see him run, to play, to jump, and to have so much fun! We have met some wonderful people, who I hope will be lifelong friends. Dallas was shown so much support, and he enjoyed every minute of it!
This is Dallas with Chuck and Wendy. We wanted to say thank you for helping to put this event together. They also provided lunch for everyone, Blue Ridge BBQ (amazing food, by the way!).
They were also kind enough to allow us to stay with them. Dallas loved it there! Right on the river. Beautiful.
Thank you guys again for everything you did for us. You made us feel welcome and showed Dallas, as well as the rest of us, a really great time!
Hopefully in the near future, we can make it back out to Waynesville. It was a great little town, with a down home feel. Everything that we could ever ask for, and more!
Thank you all for your continued support, thoughts, and prayers! It means a lot to know that so many people care, that so many people are still supporting Dallas. So many times, once the "worst" is over, people tend to go back to their lives, to "forget" about what happened. Well, Dallas has a LONG road ahead of him, many more surgeries, both for function and cosmetic reasons. He has years worth of strange looks and having to explain what happened. So this will be a hard journey, mentally, physically, and emotionally, and he needs all the support he can get.
Words cannot explain how appreciative we are for everything! Thank you again. :)
