Extreme Makeover

We girls had a great morning of serious treatment at the beauty shop on the morning of The Ball, and boy did we give them some RAW material to work with. They are some serious professionals.

Before.

During.

After.
Eyeliner is no longer optional... I'm just sayin'.

Everyone Should Have A Miss Sue

Sue is one of our very favorite people. She has the biggest heart for children and our kids' childhoods have been punctuated by regular and special events initiated by Sue. For about ten years now she has coordinated our Kids' Klub at church and has faithfully taught our kiddoes on a weekly basis since the time that our teenagers were kindergarteners. She is the kind of "back-up" that every parent should pray for. Our kids know that they can go to Sue at anytime and they will find a caring friend who gives wise advice and is so much fun to boot. She has executed the most spectacular parties which are the highlights of many a child's social calendar.

Sue and her sweet sister

She is a superhero- hauling busloads of rambunctious kids to camp each spring, planning service projects, and dressing up as just about anything if it will delight the kids and entice them to listen to her Bible story or memorize just one more verse. It is the highest honor to receive the weekly "Secret Seat" award and choose a prize from Miss Sue's box.

Oh, and did I mention that the girl can bake? Oh yes she can. When S. asked her to help with The Ball by baking her custom iced sugar cookies, it was Sue to the rescue once again.

Now these aren't just any sugar cookies. Sue makes each one by hand over the course of several days; first cutting and baking them, then piping the edges, then filling and glittering. She created TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY glass slipper cookies for the Father-Daughter Ball in honor of her own Daddy, who passed away at a young age.

Thank you, Miss Sue for all that you are to us!

Finally!

After much delay; a Target Photo disaster, a virus throughout The Pink Victorian, and all important Thanksgiving preparations, we will FINALLY resume our regularly scheduled blogging. First matter of business: another installment in the Cinderella Ball recap.

I'll let the pictures say it all. In a few days the dozens of photo cd's ordered by Ball-goers will be shipped out. Our trusty photographers snapped thousands of beautiful pictures and editing the selection down to a mere few hundred was not easy!

Thank you Diane, Valarie, Allison, and Walter for blessing us with your eye for beauty!

A Fairy-Tale Evening

It is going to require multiple posts to even begin to tell the story of The Cinderella Ball this past Saturday evening, and we are still recovering from the bliss of it all, but for far away friends who have been patiently waiting for a peek at the princesses and their daddies, here are just a few snapshots and stories. As beautiful as the girls were, their escorts' obvious love for each outshined all of the sparkle and glitter...

Tiny princesses, some of whom had never met before the Ball, spontaneously joined hands and twirled around the dance floor in a ring.

Older girls practiced their dancing with Dads who sang along with the music, or even shed a tear or two.

Every Cinderella had her own Prince Charming whose aim was to make a dream come true that evening.

A fabulous uncle outbid everyone to win his princess the American Girl Doll "Kit"!

A splendid grandpa escorted two grand-daughters and danced with both at once all evening. Their grandma had made their beautiful gowns just for the ball. How loved are they?!

In all, 220 guests were in attendance!

The Cinderella Ball was an evening to remember, and by God's grace the $3900 raised will be used through Shaohannah's Hope to place some lonely little one in a forever-family of their own, where they will experience the very kind of fatherly love that filled a ballroom...

Once upon a time on November 15th, 2008.

Of Course It Is

Just heard on the news that November 15th, the date of the Cinderella Ball, is

National Adoption Day. We had no idea. In fact, National Adoption Day is traditionally celebrated on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, but was changed for just this one year in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the death of President Kennedy. And for The Cinderella Ball, perhaps?. All we can do is smile at the undeniable fact that this whole endeavor is so much bigger than our feeble human efforts could ever hope to imagine! It did not even occur to S. to ask that National Adoption Day be rescheduled for this little event.

It puts us in mind of that great verse in Ephesians,"Now to Him who is able to do immeasureably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,to Him be the glory...."

Oh, Let it be.

A Forest of Cones

We fear that our friends may start to avoid us, but they did offer to help with the Ball in whatever way, so this is what they get....lost in a forest of paper cones. We thank these dear ones for enduring jammed staplers and sticky fingers in the creation of 200 paper cones for the candy bar. The girls are just going to love these!

Another big "THANK YOU" goes to Holly and Chris of ittybittybows.etsy.com who have so generously donated a collection of their adorable hairbows for the silent auction. They are so good at what they do. See for yourself! Their creations have been sold worldwide because any good do is enhanced by a great bow!

We will also auction 2 sets of Whimsy Wee Folks, soon to be available at pinkvictorian.etsy.com .Let the Christmas shopping begin!

The Song That Started It All- Practice Your Dancing!

Shoes? Check.

2 Days To Go!!

About 100 princesses are fine tuning their wardrobe selections and making hair plans and accessorizing.

Everyone has been so resourceful...dresses have been found at Goodwill and Nordstrom and everywhere in between. Some have been swapped between friends or lovingly made. So many sweet stories of God's provision for even these relatively insignificant things.

In a world gone mad, how precious that this many men are taking an evening to make absolutely certain that their girls know that they are loved, loved, loved.

The Banker has in the past accused me of being dramatic...but we both know he likes my ways..Anyway, last night I commented that this event is something that S. and the others will talk about after we are gone. No pressure, but it has the potential to be that significant.

So if you are a Cindy Ball dad reading this, while she fusses over clothes, shoes and hair, think about what kinds of words that you could say that would outfit her for a lifetime of security and well being. In the whirlwind of schedules, take this Saturday evening to commemorate that she is loved unconditionally and everlastingly. She can never hear it enough. Go ahead and say it again. Recite for her all of your observations of her inner beauty. You set the bar for any other man who might lay claim to her heart. Make sure she knows she has a Heavenly Father who loves her even more than you do. And spin her around the dance floor, because soon the clock will strike midnight and she will be grown!

No pressure, and

drama has its purposes.

Special Delivery

Three very special Ball guests were just dropped off at the house- American Girl Doll Kit and the AG Bitty Twins. An anonymous donor has lovingly given them to be bid upon at the silent auciton table. The funds raised by them will be used to provide a way home for some living dolls through Shaohannah's Hope, by God's grace.

Dear friends Charlotte and Jonna are putting their non-profit expertise to work for S. at the ball by running the silent auction table. Among other things, a vintage Longaberger basket signed by Dave Longaberger will be up for bid as well as jewelry, gift baskets, and experiences.

Got a great auction item you would like to donate? Call ASAP and let us know!

Cinderella Spotlight III

Our multi-talented friend Valarie is going to be one of the photographers at the Cinderella Ball. Along with the photos snapped by our other skilled shutterbugs, hers will be put on CD for ball-goers to order for their own use, with proceeds going to Shaohannah's Hope. That way the mamas of all of our Cinderellas can get a peek at all of the fun that was had!

Val sings, sews, snaps, decorates, is cute as a button, and her Christian faith just oozes from everything she does. Thank you Val for sharing your energy to capture these memories for our families!

Cinderella Spotlight II

10 Days To The Cinderella Ball!

Early on in the evolution of the planning of the Ball, S. thought that white and earthtone pumpkins would be the ideal centerpiece for each table, but could not rationalize them in the budget or imagine how to transport them to The Grand Ballroom.

That disappointment was completely unknown to our friends Roy and Sherry at Gaventa Farm when they called Monday morning and asked if she might be interested in some of the pumpkins from their bumper crop, and yes, Roy could truck them up to the venue on the evening of the ball. Unreal!

So on Monday afternoon we drove out to the field to pick out the 50-plus pumpkins that will adorn each table, the candy bar and silent auction tables. Lovely!Thank you Roy and Sherry for helping to make a dream-come-true! Your offer was heaven-sent!

Cinderella Spotlight- Eleanor

We really must introduce some of the special people who are giving of their time and talent to make The Cinderella Ball a night to remember.

Meet Eleanor of The Candy Box in Richwood, NJ.

The Candy Box has been in operation for nearly 60 years and has not changed a bit since my grandmother took me there as a child. That was soon after Eleanor, its current proprietor, acquired the business in 1981. Generations of South Jersey residents have filled the little shop behind her home at each holiday season throughout the calendar year. Christmas, Easter and Valentine's Day find folks lined up out the door waiting to purchase her confections.

Eleanor explained that she does as much Christmas shopping ahead of December, because she pretty much only leaves the shop to go to church during that month!

Eleanor has been so gracious as to donate pounds and pounds of specialty candies for the candy bar at The Cinderella Ball.

Girls will be given festive paper cones to fill with the candies they choose from a vast assortment which will be beautifully presented in large jars. A feast for the eyes it will be!

Thank you, Eleanor for sharing the vision!

14 Days To A Dream Come True!!

Wow, What a full week! Preparations for The Ball have really escalated and each time we've thought that absolutely everything has been thought of, another heaven sent opportunity has arisen.

On Monday our contact from Shaohannah's Hope offered us the gift of 3 tickets to the sold-out United Tour concert featuring Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman in nearby (?) Bethesda, MD.

Not only that, there was the hope given that S. could meet with Steven to present him with an honorary invitation to The Cinderella Ball! Most opportunities come with challenge, and ours was to sort out which members of the family would go to the concert. It worked out well that in the minds of some young ones not even the United Tour can compete with trick-r-treating at Mom-Mom and Poppy's and going to the church Harvest Party.

The Banker is much more fun for the kids on Halloween night, and I am much more the road tripper, so S., N. and I headed south on 95 with great anticipation while the candy fiends set off for their quarry.

Funny thing is, I had a little mental lapse, because I thought that I remembered that about 20 years ago a friend of ours had moved to Bethesda, about an hour away. No problem. Thing is, as we sat in Baltimore rush hour traffic 2 hours into the trek I had a revelation: Keith had moved to Aberdeen, not Bethesda. Oh well, we were committed. Turns out the whole event was well worth the nearly 3 hour trip down, but what is with that Beltway traffic?! I think they need a committee of women to address the situation. Anyway.

We got to the venue later than intended, and needed to find our contact people quickly. Quick prayers were being sent up as we rushed through the building looking for the right people. The Strathmore Music Center is a gorgeous labyrinth of a building. Unbeknownst to me, my friend Michelle from our homeschool co-op whas volunteering with her husband at the Shaohannah's Hope table and seeing her put us on to the lead volunteer, who texted SCC's assitant and road manager that we had arrived.

David Trask, road manager extraordinaire.

We begged posterboard from someone in the coatroom and S. made a sign to get SCC's attention during the concert. S. got this tip from a little friend of hers who was once invited on stage with his homemade poster. Thanks Kyle!

Next we flooded the concert hall with Ball fliers and settled into our seats for the big show.



SCC and MWS did not disappoint. Each sang old and new selections. I had a moment when MWS sang "Friends", remembering that my forever friends Beth and Heather and I sang it at our childhood pastor's farewell dinner. Hmmm...quick computation....25 years ago. We thought we sounded really good.


SCC's verse which he added to "Cinderella" after Maria's homegoing is very poignant. The dance will go on.

Once the concert wrapped up we met up with our group of fellow meet-and-greeters and headed backstage. On the way, N. picked up an official t-shirt at the merch table.

All along the way, we talked with great people and saw many friends who offered their help with Ball things. S. will definitely be calling on some of those offers in the coming days. It does take a village.

In our brief time with SCC, S. explained the concept of the Cinderella Ball and showed him the beautiful invitation which has gone out to so many families in these last weeks. He received our thanks for his music and the opportunity to serve Shaohannah's Hope through it.

As an aside, I've seen Steven in videos, etc., but as I stood there talking to him face to face, I had the worst time trying to focus because his every mannerism is that of our friend and pastor. It was unreal. Like some weird scene form an alien movie. I wanted to stare through his eyes and ask, "Phil! Are you in there?! I'll get my ray gun and we'll have you out in no time!". I guess my boys' love of science fiction is really beginning to effect me. My point is, he really acts like our friend.

We said our goodbyes and set out on our long odyssey back to NJ with lots of affirmation that this Cinderella Ball has been and will continue to be a blessing to so many. One new friend we met at the volunteer's table had even written her thesis on the significance of the father-daughter relationship to our society and reinforced the need to promote it. (Wish I had gotten her Email, would love to read her paper.) Other friends carried their fliers home with promises to spread the word of The Ball.

When our heads hit our pillows at 2 AM, we were so thankful that these unexpected blessings have come our way. And that we don't live near the Beltway.

HOT OFF THE PRESSES!!!

The Cinderella Father Daughter Ball was featured in this morning's edition of The Gloucester County Times. Reservations for The Ball have been rolling in all week and will remain available through October 31st to accomodate readers of The Times, while they last. Call or email soon to make reservations. You don't want to miss this unforgettable evening!
“Once every now and again, in the middle of our everyday lives, Love gives us a fairy tale...”


You are cordially invited to

The Father - Daughter Cinderella Ball

at Adelphia’s Grand Ballroom

on Saturday, November Fifteenth, Two-thousand and eight

from Six o’clock until Ten o’clock in the evening.

The purpose of this event is to celebrate the joy and love of Daddies and their Daughters. Enjoy a wonderful evening filled with an appetizing selection of exquisite dinner entrees, ballroom dancing, and unforgettable memories. Black tie optional. Daughters will be delighted and enchanted by this once-in-a-lifetime occasion.
To reserve ball tickets at $35 a person, please send to Shaunessy Hanrahan at 615 Barnsboro Road, Mullica Hill, New Jersey, 08062 the enclosed R. S. V. P. card and payment in full by October 31st, 2008. Space is limited, so early reservations are recommended.

Feel free to call or email with any questions or reservations at 856.256.7570 or heycrystal@comcast.net.

Help Wanted: Daddy/Daughter Playlist

Time to put on our thinking caps:

S. needs to compile a playlist of family-friendly songs for the DJ at the Cinderella Ball. "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman is the centerpiece of the evening and will be played at least twice to allow men with multiple daughters to dance with each one. Think Butterfly Kisses, It's a Wonderful World, My Father's Eyes, etc. Please post your suggestions on the comment page. She has 4 HOURS of air time to fill!

Other needful things: A number of corporate sponsorships have been received and more are needed in order to provide reduced-cost tickets for families who would benefit from them and maximize the benefit to Shaohannah's Hope.

Also, gently-used formal dresses could be donated to outfit some of these princesses. Again, post on the comment page if you wish to help! Thank You!!

Cinderella Ball Update

It's happening!! The ball invitations have been sent out and requests for more of them to be given to friends have been rolling in! S. has been in touch with radio and newspaper people who have offered to help spread the word. Next target: cable TV.
Little girls and big girls are all a-twitter and we're getting word that a number of daddies are sharpening their (in some cases non-existent) dancing skills.
And this will bless your heart: S. and I did our very best to be sensitive about the fact that a number of girls in our midst do not have a Daddy who is willing or able to attend the Ball. Invitations were sent to those families ahead of all of the others when possible and with a note that reads:

Understanding that not all Daddies

will be able to attend the Cinderella Ball,

girls are encouraged to honor a special man in their lives

by inviting him to be their escort for the evening.

Likewise, if a gentleman would like to

escort a girl in such circumstances

he is welcome to share an invitation with her family.

Do you know that to our knowledge, not one girl for whom we had a concern is lacking for an escort? Uncles, Grandpas, and precious friends have assumed the honor of an invitation to stand in the role of a father for an evening. What a beautiful thing. Worth dancing about!

Announcing the Father-Daughter Cinderella Ball

Our daughter S. has begun something beautiful!! Through one of those divine, one-thing- just- lead- to- another processes, she is boldly coordinating a Father-Daughter Cinderella Ball for this November 15th at the opulent Grand Ballroom at Adelphia.

In the last 3 weeks she has booked the ballroom which can seat 500, designed the invitations, and pursued corporate sponsors.

Today the 700 invitations were picked up from the printer and our dining room is now an assembly line manned by kids of all ages....boys even!! Her goal is to get the invites into the hands of as many families as possible in the next week.

Beyond the obvious blessings that could come as a result of daddies and their girls spending a fairy-tale evening together, S. has established that proceeds from the ball will benefit Shaohannah's Hope to help in removing the financial obstacles faced by families who are ready to adopt. Fittingly, the centerpiece of the evening will be Steven Curtis Chapman's song Cinderella (click on the "play video" box to hear the song) , written for his adopted daughters Shaohannah, Stevie Joy, and Maria.

Please pray for the many details that must be attended to by our dear girl. Her hope is to bless others through this endeavor. We can only imagine what can be accomplished by God's grace. Perhaps some precious child somewhere out there may find their way Home. Oh, let it be!

Stay tuned for regular updates as the ball preparations progress!

Our overnight guests gave their help in preparing the invitations for post. Only 550 to go!