Paul's Dinner & Dance

See that adorable little boy above??? Thats Paul Thomas Seiwert. He passed away on 3/21/08, from cancer. His dream was to help other children afflicted with cancer, never losing hope for healing. Last weekend was the 3rd annual Paul's Dinner & Dance at the Park Ridge Country club. It was beautiful, it was sad and it was reality. This year was the first year that they had a silent auction. It was amazing! They did a fantastic job and raised a lot of money. 

The evenings proceeds benefit Paul's Special Friends at Advocate Lutheran General Children's Hospital. We never were lucky enough to meet Paul. One of B's best friends from high school is Pauls cousin and God Father. We have gone every year for the last three years and every year it has gotten bigger and bigger. WOW those children fighting are so lucky to have Paul up there looking after them. 

Dr David Sheftel (Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital) was the Keynote Speaker. He said something that really grabbed my attention he said that we were creating greatness our of adversity. I think we do that every time something bad happens and we continue to move forward. Celebrating Paul's life while raising money for his friends with cancer is creating greatness. From what i can tell that is exactly what Paul would have wanted.  He ended his speech with,

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own.

And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go.” Dr. Seuss

We had such a wonderful time celebrating Paul's life, while dancing, bidding on the silent auction and spending time with some very special friends. God Bless You Paul:)