Pink 'n Blue Make Two: A Visit With Ronald McDonald

Wow, it seems like over a month since I have posted anything to this blog, and to be honest it has been. To all of you who have been dying for a fresh Emily fix, I apologize; it seems as though there just aren't enough hours in the day. I will stop complaining now and get down to business. You will notice that this blog is dated back in December, there are two reasons for this. Number one, that is how far behind I am in catching up with what Emily has been doing. Number two, Christa at least has the fore site to name and save a blog for me so that when I do get around to finally writing them, I do not appear to be such a blogging slacker. All of that is negated, however, when I go on and on about how behind I am in getting this done. So here we are at the end of the first paragraph and I still haven't gotten to the point, by now you must be thinking, "Will he ever get to the point?" "Does he even remember what he is supposed to be writing about?" "Does Emily know her father is such a nut?" "Should somebody tell her?" All valid questions I am sure, and the answer to each is "Yes." So, with all of the serious stuff out of the way let us get started.

If you have read the blog from the beginning, you would know that while Joseph was in the hospital, Christa, Emily & I were staying at the Ronald McDonald House outside the Comer Children's Hospital. You may have even noticed our link to the Ronald McDonald Charities on the sidebar of our blog. Well the house we stayed in was a temporary site until a new house could be built. The original house had to be torn down to build the Children's Emergency Room at Comer Children's Hospital. The house we stayed in was nice, and served its purpose well, but since it was also slated for demolition, it was never intended as a permanent site for the Ronald McDonald House, and a new house was already under construction. Well, on December 13, 2007, the grand opening/ribbon cutting of the new house was held, and we were all there. It was really great to see the new house and take a look around. It was especially great to know how comfortable the families that will use it will be.

We got there a little before the ceremony was scheduled to start and quickly looked for the brick that had been donated in the garden walk for Joseph. After finding his brick we went inside to take a look around, and we were BLOWN AWAY. This new house is gorgeous, all of the people involved with the design, construction, and decoration did an amazing job. We looked around the main floor briefly before going back out to listen to the speeches and watch the ribbon cutting. I have to say that all of the speakers really impressed me, especially the politicians who managed to keep their remarks very brief, given the chill in the air. After the ribbon was cut, we went back inside and found Grandpa Ray, who also came out for the ribbon cutting. Emily also had a quick visit with the REAL Ronald McDonald who was on hand for the occasion, and Ronald noticed that the two of them were wearing matching outfits. Emily, our fashion plate, knows the appropriate outfit to wear for every occasion. Christa spent some time outside making rubbings of Joseph's brick while Emily & I sat in the living room and enjoyed the classical music group that was performing for the Grand Opening.

Christa, Emily & I then took a tour of the upstairs of the house and were really impressed with how nice and spacious all of the rooms were. Each room was like a nice hotel room, some with one bed, some with two, all with their own bathroom. The house we stayed in had several "community bathrooms." All of the rooms were nicely furnished and very bright. The rooms on the third floor all had really cool ceilings, as they followed the contours established by the roof, instead of being flat with an attic space above. Each floor also had a very spacious family room with a flat panel T.V. and lots of couches & chairs. The third floor also had a lovely chapel with a picture window that looks out at the front of the Children's Hospital.

We had a great time and made our plans to come back and cook a dinner in the incredible new kitchen in January. Emily said goodbye to Ronald and we headed home.

So there you have it, a new post with more to come, soon I hope (although, I have said that before.). . .

The ribbon cutting ceremony.

We managed to get a place in the middle of the action for the ribbon cutting. (That's Emily in the purple coat. I'm holding her, and Christa's head is right next to Ronald McDonald.)

A little hug for Grandpa B.

"Hi, Ronald! What are you doing here? You weren't at the house while I was staying here."

"Don't worry, Mom. It's only a pretend chainsaw."

Taking a tour of the house. The rooms are all very nice.

Each room has its own bathroom.

The turret rooms are really neat; they have a special sitting room area. The turret room on the 3rd floor is probably the coolest room, it has a really interesting ceiling and the special sitting area.