CHF Heart Walk 2013

Yesterday we attended the 10th annual Walk With the Heart of a Child put on by our local Children's Heart Foundation. It was our family's second time attending.
Just like last year, this year was unforgettable and tons of fun!

This year we went all out. We ordered shirts from Neil's Uncle Cal. He owns a business in Utah and we were grateful to have him and his daughter Amber help us get these done. I designed the front of the shirts and they just printed them on white shirts for everyone. They even were kind enough to do just one shirt that said "Heart Warrior Mylah" for our precious girl!
 

The shirt had Team Mylah on the top and her heart logo in the middle
with CHF Heart Walk 2013 on the bottom.


 We also ordered a custom banner from a local print shop.
I designed this as well and it turned out amazing! 

Here are our nieces Bella and Hannah helping Rylee carry the banner, they were so cute leading our team in the walk.

I am so grateful to those who are willing to help us and support our family in creating awareness about CHD's and encouraging Mylah in her fight against TOF.

Here is our whole Team, we had a wonderful turn out!
{Back row, L to R: Wade, Steve, Kyle, Burton, Neil.
Second Row: Kim, Jessica, Margaret Ann, Geri, Hailee, MaryAnn, Mylah, and me.
Third Row: Jonathan, Carson, Mason, Austin, Jakob
Bottom Row: Bella, Hannah, Dallin, Rylee}

We began the day with a quick Jamba Juice/Starbucks breakfast, taking pictures with the various characters who show up for the walk, and dancing our hearts out to Gangnam Style! 

After pictures and fun, we lined up to begin the walk. Children's Heart Foundation showed a video about Camp Mend A Heart. It was a cute video. Only children with heart problems attend this camp along with support from Camp Counselors. The camp is actually in a small town like ours only a little bit away from us! Mylah will be able to attend when she is seven! We can't wait for her to experience this and create lasting friendships with kids who suffer from similar heart defects.

The countdown to the walk began and my heart was overwhelmed with pride. With lots of cheering, smiles, and laughter we stared our walk in honor of Mylah and all the other Heart Children suffering from heart defects! I am always so close to tears when I participate in these walks. My daughter is a Heart Hero, she's taught us more than we could ever imagine learning from such a small precious girl, and we are grateful to watch her grow and thrive and to have her here. Too many families were walking without their hereos. I honestly could have cried the whole time. 

Probably my most favorite part of the whole walk was seeing Mylah being carried by her Uncles, Aunts and Grandparents. They all love her so much, and if it weren't for them, we couldn't have made it through her two surgeries. They are and were such an amazing support to our family! 

Mylah and her Uncle Wade (Neil's older brother) 

Mylah and her Uncle Kyle (Neil's oldest brother) 

Mylah and Aunt Jessica (Wade's wife) 

{Side note: This photo ended up being used on the Children's Heart Foundation's Facebook Page!!}

Nothing brings me more joy than to see Mylah enjoying the walk too! She loved all the characters, music, and seeing all the sights around the mall.

 She did spend a few minutes in her stroller making silly faces! 

The walk didn't take too long, afterwards we gather at the staging area to hear the winners of the different prizes and raffles. Our lucky nephew Mason won a Ninetendo 3DS gift set! It was fun to see his family win a prize. We have never known anyone who won anything!

We also took a few pictures of our individual team members and Mylah. Kyle and Geri had to leave early and so did our friend Kim and her son Jonathan. We were sad that we missed taking a picture of them with Mylah! 

{Papa and Grandma H.}

{Jakob, Mylah, Jessica, Wade, Mason and Hannah}

{Grandpa and Grandma C. - Mylah was a little grumpy, so this was the best picture we got with them!}

The walk was a success, we can't wait for next year!

Thank you to everyone who donated to Team Mylah and those who came and walked with us. You will never know how much it means to our family. I am so thankful to watch Mylah grow, she is here thanks to her amazing Cardiologist - Dr. Thomas and her amazing surgeon - Dr. Ciccolo. They keep her healthy, happy and growing. We are blessed beyond words!