June 11th-An extremely grateful post-thank you all!!!

This is going to be my blog where I'm going to try to express my gratitude, but no matter what I say it's not going to be enough. I cannot put into words how incredibly thankful my family and I are for all of our friends and for the community of St. George. We are so completely blessed to know all of you, thank you for your support of Abby and love for us.

Yesterday was an unbelievable day. I'm so glad I was able to leave Salt Lake for a day so that I could be a part of it all! I almost didn't make it to St. George. Brock and I left Salt Lake on Friday afternoon, and by the time we were to Draper, I was ready to turn around and go back. I just didn't feel like I should be leaving Abby, I felt like a bum for ditching her for the day. I knew she would be okay, she was with my mom and dad and her cousins, but I still felt like a bum. Right when I was ready to exit the freeway, my phone rang, it was Lesley-good timing Sparky! She told me just to keep on driving, I needed to be there. Another quick call to Ali, and I knew I should keep going! It's such a good thing that I did, because If I wouldn't have seen everything that was happening, I would never have believedv it!

The yard sale at Arrowhead was totally mind boggling. I honestly could not believe it when I walked into the gym at the school Saturday morning. To say there was a lot of stuff, is the understatement of the year. There wasn't even room to walk, and it was piled high! Seeing all of my Arrowhead Elementary friends walking around with their “Team Doman” shirts on was the greatest. So much time, so many donations, so much love. I loved it when my friend Tui said, “There's a lot of Doman love in this room, it's just filled with love!” I walked in and just cried.....it's just so hard to think that so many people would do this for us! I just wish Abby could've been there, because it's hard to even explain, I can't put it into words. Thank you Les for the idea and the organizing. Thank you Brenda, Tui, and Cheryl and the rest of the Arrowhead team for the hours spent collecting, organzing, moving, pricing, etc. etc. Thank you Meri and Rich for the cool banner that was hanging up and for organizing and selling the food. Thank you everyone for countless hours that you spent on us, and thank you to everyone that donated your stuff, and for shopping there! I could not believe it when I heard the grand total! I think I was shock. I hope you know that the money will not be wasted. Like I said....my gratitude can't even be expressed. It just proves that people for the most part are good, and when the opportunity arises for people to show that goodness, they're ready. I could feel the support and love you have for my family, and it felt so reassuring. It reminded me that I don't have to do this by myself, there are so many people that will be there for us when we need it, and that is comforting. Thank you....We love you.

But, the love didn't stop there......then we got to go be a part of the Dixie Rebels semi-pro football game! It was so incredible, we felt so honored to have that game dedicated to Abby, and we definitely felt like the guests of honor. Tia, Wayne, Andy-thank you. Even though I just met you for the first time, I felt like we'd been friends forever! I could tell how much you cared about Abby and about us, you made us feel like gold! It was awesome walking out to be the honorary captains and participating in the coin toss-way to flip that coin Brock, and yes.....we did win the toss, that's what started us out on the winning night I'm sure! I know this sounds corny, but standing on the sidelines with the team by us during the National Anthem was an experience I'll never forget....just knowing that so many people were there supporting us, supporting Abby, made us all want to cry. I know Britt didn't want to go on the field with us, but I'm so glad she did, she also needed to be able to experience that. I loved sitting in the stands during the game and visiting with friends and seeing people that I haven't seen for so long. I just felt so loved, so cared for, so protected, it was just awesome. When I called Abby and tried to explain it all to her, she just said she wished she could be there so bad and tell them thank you from her, and that she gets it....she knows what's going on, all the effort, and she thanks you so much! When the box of money was presented to me at the end of the game was when I ran out of words, I just didn't even know what to say. It's something that can't be expressed, it's too just too big for some simple words. I just wish there was some big way for me to thank everyone that was there supporting us, but I just don't know what to do. My sincere thank you will just have to do. Like I said above, we are so completely blessed to be able to be a part of the community of St. George, there is no better place to live, we couldn't ask for anything more.

For those of you that were there in St. George that I missed seeing or didn't get to spend the time with you, I'm sorry. I have to admit that the day was a little overwhelming to say the least. I was so tired by the end of the game that I could barely keep my eyes open, I think I was emotionally spent. I'm sorry if you felt shunned by me, I didn't mean it. I wish I could just sit and talk to everyone. There are so many people I know I need to thank even more than I have, but I have to get back to Abby now, I need to take care of her again.

Lessons to be learned from the past couple of days are:

1. Most people are instinctively good and want to help. We have received so much help from people we don't even know! For all of you that have helped us, I hope it felt good, I hope you feel better for helping us. I know it made us feel incredible and I want the same for you. Feel good about what you've done and remember that feeling. I can't wait until I'm on the other end of things and I can somehow be returning all of this goodness. The day will come, and we'll be ready. I feel like I owe so many people so many things, I just can't wait for the payback. I know my day will come.
2. St. George is a great place to live. Now I know why we made the move 6 years ago, it was so we would have this support when we needed it. I just can't believe how a community of that size can come together for us like it has, it's simply amazing. We love the people in St. George. For those of you that live in St. George, I hope you realize how blessed you are, don't take it for granted.
3. It may not seem like it, but the way you treat other people and the relationships that you form with people is what is most important. I feel so fortunate that I have met so many great people and that they are a part of my life and my kid's lives. I'm so lucky to have been able to take the time to talk to people, I know it's way more important than anything else I've done. Everyone has a story and it's fun to talk to people and get to know them. Knowing so many people and spending time with them has made me a better person. I know that my Heavenly Father us comforting me through all of you.
4. This next one took me a few weeks to figure out, but being in St. George this past week made me realize that even though we are going through such an incredibly hard time right now, we are being blessed more than ever before. While the worst thing is happening to us, the best things are too. I guess that maybe it's the Lord's way of keeping things in balance and making sure that we know He is still there. We just need to continue to keep things in perspective and focus on the good that is coming from all of this.

Thank you everyone! Come visit if you're passing through Salt Lake, and if you live in Salt Lake, you should be visiting us anyway! Just call or facebook us first to make sure we're around. Feel free to comment on the blog, so many of you are reading, but I don't know what you're thinking. You can also facebook message us if it's more personal. We love to hear from you! I still love your text messages and your emails. After this weekend, we feel so loved and comforted and it feels good! Thank you!