**If this post takes long to load it’s because I did a total photo-dump. Sorry, not sorry.**
How do I sum up the last month in one blog post?
April 2017 has been a month filled with new challenges, long lasting rewards and life-giving encouragement.
First and foremost, I have to say a HUGE “thank you”. March 21, World Down Syndrome day, we launch the “This is Ella” book campaign. The campaign was to run 30 days and had a lofty goal of $8000! I was terribly nervous. 8K is A LOT of money and I am just an amateur writer trying to help my daughter and individuals like her – individuals who are seen as more different than the same. Her and those like her are seen as burdens on society – not as friends, but as outcasts. This could not be further from the truth. Ella is vivacious, caring, smart and a good friend just like so many other individuals in this world who sport an extra chromosome. The purpose of our book was to help children see that individuals with disabilities are more the same than different and that diversity is a beautifully wonderful and inspiring thing. It adds to our communities, feeds our souls and makes us better people. I didn’t know if others felt the same way however, or if they would trust my message.
But you did.
You did and you put your money where your mouth is to the tune of $13,000. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You have blown my mind. I am so beyond encouraged…and incredibly nervous at the same time. As long as “This is Ella” was an unfunded idea, there was no obligation (except to those people I had to pay, such as my amazingly talented illustrator, Celia and Joel, who told our story so eloquently.) Now that it is funded however, we finally get to set sail and put the wheels in motion to get this book on the shelves by November of 2017.
Please follow along with the progress on our Kickstarter page, Instagram and Facebook
April also saw the last of Ben’s doctoral course work. That’s right. No more school!!! Well, no more classes anyway. Now comes preparation for Ben’s final recital, candidacy exams and THE DISSERTATION. I feel like it needs it’s own hashtag, being an Everest in and of itself. Either way, the end of course work is a huge milestone and allows the scene to be set for the next chapter of One Beautiful Life: our divinely-directed, ever-wanderlust, page-turning story. Just in case I haven’t said it in a while, thank you for being a part of our journey.
Thank you for your prayers, your comments and likes. Thank you for reading and for letting us speak into your life.
We are wrapping up April with some much-needed family. We started out in our favourite place, Tofino, British Columbia. It’s the one place where we know how to relax – completely enveloped by God’s creation. We’re making a quick pit stop in the Okanagan to visit family and then it is back to Edmonton where we will pack up what has been our home for the last two years and get ready to forge new paths. If you think of us, please pray for God’s guidance and provision as we honestly, have NO idea what is next. Blessings, from the Ewert family.
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