Life as a Leach

It is Giving Tuesday!  As always, our family is participating in The Red Shoe Shuffle on April 10th to raise funds and awareness for   Ronald McDonald House Charities of Baltimore​ .  We love this amazing house and all it stands for! From now until Friday (12/4), Matt and I will MATCH any donations made to our Red Shoe Shuffle page, up to $500!!  In addition, we will also donate $10 for each person who joins our team. ALL donations from the Red Shoe Shuffle go directly to supporting families staying at The Ronald McDonald House of Baltimore while their children receive medical care.  You can rest assured that your donation will be used wisely. If you have been thinking about joining us for the Shuffle, now is the time to register!   You can do that here.  Be sure to join our team, The Joy Runners!  If you can't shuffle with us but would like to support our team, you can double your donation! Please click here to donate.  Thank you f...

The Red Shoe Shuffle was on April 6th.  This is the third annual Shuffle, and this year we were Shuffling for Smiles!  All of the money raised will go to the McSmiles Fund, which provides special events and activities for the families in the House.   As always, this was not  your typical 5K!  They have people cheering at every corner holding encouraging signs.   A boy recovering from a kidney transplant was too sick to come out, so everybody cheered for him as he waved out the window.  Kids are EVERYWHERE, and it's like a family reunion with everybody running up and hugging friends they'd made during their stay at the House.   Everybody is wearing red, and The Redder, The Better!  There are heart headbands, boas, sequins, sunglasses, tutus...it's a sea of red!   Of course, we have to be different and wear our purple!  :)  It's Abby's color though, and it does certainly make it easy to spot each othe...

If any Abby Fans are interested in purchasing a Joy Runners tshirt to support The  Ronald McDonald House Charities of Baltimore , we are selling them for $15! My amazingly talented sister designed them and we are getting them professionally  printed at a local tshirt design company. They will be purple, in honor of our Purplelicious girl, of course! (I'm sorry I can't figure out why it is sideways.  It looks right when I load it!) Children's sizes range from XS (4) to XL (18-20) Adult's sizes are S-5X Ladies cut (cap sleeves, slightly fitted, order a size up) are XS-3X If you would like to buy one, please send me an email message at juliebleach@yahoo.com with your sizes. Checks can be made payable to Amy Bevard (she will write one check to the tshirt company and another check to RMH for the donated portion). They can be shipped for an extra fee to cover shipping (I'll try to keep it as cheap as possible!)  We need to have the orders by Thursday evening. Thank ...

Meet the Reeds. They first heard about Abby the day she was born, while they were at an Emaus weekend with someone from our church who shared the prayer request.  They have been praying for her ever since!!  They live a few hours away.  We have talked through email and they have sent gifts and cards to Abby, but we have never actually met them in person.   Until now. The Reeds signed up to join our Red Shoe Shuffle team, taking a leap of faith and joining up with a bunch of people they'd never even met! Can I just say how sweet this couple is?!?!?! We all (my parents, the kids, the Reeds, and me) walked together the entire 3.1 miles, and I loved learning about them.  It was surreal to finally meet two of the people who have so faithfully prayed for our family for the last 2 1/2 years.  (I know that there are many more of you, and I would love to meet every one of you!!) They played with Caleb and Abby as if they'd known them for...

Shuffle Day has quickly become one of my favorite days of the year!  Where else can you get free hugs, do The Cupid Shuffle with a few thousand of your closest friends, and sing along to "Home" by Philip Philips?!  Perhaps the same place where cheers erupt for the little girl who pushed herself the entire 3.1 miles in her wheelchair, then courageously walked across the finish line.   This is what The Red Shoe Shuffle is all about!  It's about celebrating the seemingly impossible and remembering those who lost their battle.  It's about loving kids who choose joy in the face of struggle.  It's about laughter, hugs, tears, and love.  It's about The House That Love Built! How did our kids love the Shuffle this year?  Um, they loved it!! We all had "We Are Family" hats to show that we are part of the RMH family.   RMH exceeded its fundraising goal, so the new shuttle was there for everyone to see! Abby loved m...

I have SO much to share about our 2nd annual Shuffle!  I just need a few spare moments to do that.  Until then, read a little about the shuffle and check out whose picture is on the RMH Baltimore website!

...cue Les Mis music and the horrible "singing" of Russell Crowe.  (Was his performance last night wretched, or what?!  I love that they muted him toward the end.  The sound technicians deserved their mixing award, because he was a piece of work!) Any way, tomorrow is the LAST day to order Thirty-One to help the Ronald McDonald House!  The fundraiser will close at 7 p.m. EST.  Will you help us reach our goal of raising $600 for RMH?! If you aren't interested in any products for yourself, take a look for gifts.  There are plenty of affordable gifts for family, teachers, therapists and nurses (always thinking of my special needs mommas!)  One of the reasons I did this fundraiser is because Thirty-One products are actually usable and functional, and lots of people like them! Please take a look at the products by going here .  There's a lot more to Thirty-One than bags.  They also carry a great line of organizational products, including thi...

So far, the sales from The Thirty One fundraiser are up to $1459, so we have raised $290 for RMH.  I would love to hit the $500 mark by the time the fundraiser ends!   To keep the orders coming, Stacy is offering a few incentives: - For the first three orders placed from now until 9:00 pm that are over $75, you will earn a Keep-It Caddy for FREE!! (excluding personalization or ICON it) - If we can get to $2300 in sales by  9:00 pm  tonight, she will do a raffle for everyone who has ordered for a FREE product of your choice valued up to $31!!!  ***Please note that Stacy is donating 20% of sales to RMH out of her own commission, keeping very little for herself.  This is SO generous of her!  Stacy, running a non-profit of her own, has a heart to help others raise money for organizations that are important to them.  If you are interested in hosting a fundraiser through her, let me know! If you are new to Thirty One, I...

2/20/13 Update:  Ok, the Thirty One website has been having issues.   Use this link to get to my fundraiser page.  So far we've had over $1200 in sales, which means over $240 for RMH!!!  Thank you SO much to all of you who have made purchases so far.  There is still lots of time to purchase something.  If you don't want or need anything for yourself, buy something as a gift for someone else.  Christmas is only 10 months away!!  :) ----- 2/18/13 Update:  I have heard that the link below wasn't working, so I have linked it again and it should take you to the right spot now.  So far, we have raised just about $200 for RMH!  There's still lots of time to order, so please take a look using the link below.  Thanks! ----- My friend Stacy has graciously offered to host a 31 party to help with our fundraising efforts for RMH.  20% of the sales will go to The Ronald McDonald House of Baltimore!! I love 31 and have severa...

If you are local, please join us at The Greene Turtle in PF on Tuesday, February 19th to help raise money for the Ronald McDonald House of Baltimore.  15% of ALL sales the entire day will be donated to our Red Shoe Shuffle Team!!  You can come for lunch and then get some take-out for dinner!!  :) The Leach family plans to be there around 5:30 for dinner and we would love to see you and say thanks for supporting The House That Love Built!

If you are local, please consider visiting Chesapeake Grille this week, starting Sunday, 1/20, to next Sunday, 1/27.  Any tip that you leave will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House. The Grille has wonderful food and is run by wonderful people!  Support a local business and make a donation to RMH! Note:   Only tips will be donated to RMH, so please make sure you put a donation in the container before you leave!

I have heard from a few different people that my pictures aren't showing up.  I'm not sure why, but I can see them fine.  If you are one of the ones who can't see the pictures, explain what is happening a little more because I can't fix problems I can't see.  I don't know what to do! If you want to print the Bob Evans flyer and are unable to see it bigger, right click the original picture and save it.  Then insert the picture into a Word document and enlarge it.  I know that's kind of a pain, but it is the best way I can think to tell you to print it. I'm sorry!  I'm working on it!!

If you are local, the Joy Runners are holding a fundraiser for  Ronald McDonald House Charities of Baltimore  as part of the Red Shoe Shuffle. All you have to do is print this flyer and take it with you when you eat at Bob Evans in Prince Frederick on this Su nday, December 16th from 4-9 p.m. Bob Evans will donate 15% to our team!! You MUST have the flyer in order for the portion of the check to be donated to our team, so make sure you print it out.  And as always, I would love to have some more people join our team!  You can do that by clicking the Red Shoe Shuffle link above and choosing "The Joy Runners" as your team when you register. If you are unable to walk with us but would like to show your support, please consider donating to our team.    If you are a local blogger, please share this post (and the flyer!) to spread the word!  Share it on Facebook too! Thanks so much for helping us raise funds for The House That Love Built! ...

I registered our family for The Red Shoe Shuffle last night.  I'm so excited to raise awareness and support for an organization that we love so much. If you are interested in joining our team, The Joy Runners, we would love to have you!!!  You can register at the link above.  Make sure that you click on our team when you're registering.   Not into doing a 5K, or not local?  Please consider donating to our team .  All funds raised will go toward the purchase of a new bus for the House so that families can get to the nearby hospitals. My goal is to raise at least $1,000 myself, and I'd love to see the team be at least 40 members!  That would be amazing! I wrote this last year after we finished the Shuffle.  I hope it gives you a glimpse into why this is so important to us. You see, for us, it wasn’t just a 5K to raise money for a great charity. Being there, standing outside of the House that we lived in for so long, walking on streets t...

Matt and Abby walking in the Red Shoe Shuffle I'm so thankful for my parents, who have been so incredibly supportive and willing to pitch in these last 18 months!  (And always, but especially since Abby came into our lives!) Our family, ready to Shuffle!! After the race...not looking too terribly tired! Matt did most of the stroller pushing, except for when Caleb rode on his shoulders.   Sisters, cousins, and best friends all around...pre-Shuffle Anna gets her We Choose Joy button Caleb was so proud of his button that he wore it the next day on his field trip as well!

This pretty much explains my son!  He cracks me up.  The team loved him! This was a little over halfway, and Caleb was in good spirits.  He really did very well throughout the race, considering it was 3.1 miles. 

A new RMH friend of mine took these pictures.  Are they not the sweetest?!?!

The start of the race! The Golden Arches Ronald and a guy from 106.5 were the MCs. Banners for the Shuffle Along the race route, there were volunteers cheering you on and holding signs to encourage you.  I loved it! Two mega strollers :)  My dad walked the whole way, even though he has a lot of health problems.  I was so proud of him! Emma and Caleb met the Oriole bird! Even Santa came out to walk!!  :) There are many more pictures to come!