We are so happy to report that our nonprofit, Write With Light Project, raised $22,642.22 for the Fontan Go program this year! Grateful, humbled, totally in awe of everyone who advocates on behalf of our family — That is how we feel.

Sunley will have her first appointment with the Fontan Go program in the Spring. In 2018, as we watched our beautiful newborn fight and fight and fight, Derek and I wondered what her life would be like if she survived. Would she make it through all of this, only to reach adulthood and have almost no one understand how to treat her medical issues? We heard whispers in 2018 of a program that the doctors at Texas Children’s were thinking about launching to treat the growing population of kids who lived, who then turned into adults who lived. There are more and more and more of them, praise God. We heard whispers of this idea, and now it is here. What an answer to prayer. To see that come full circle so quickly is incredible, and it is thanks to YOU. The program has already grown exponentially in just a couple years, and the passion that the doctors who run the program have for our kids is truly inspiring.

It’s hard to put into words what it’s like to be raising a daughter with such a rare medical condition. Navigating all of this has the potential for some pretty potent loneliness, of course. We’ve had our seasons of isolation, but the decision to be open about our journey has brought so much support and camaraderie, and it takes my breath away time and time again. We had so many people host lemonade stands this year for the second time in a row, and we also had people who barely know us sign up. There were hosts who have followed Sunley’s story since day one, and others who have only just met her; Still others, who have never met us in person, but decided to reach out and help us anyway. What a beautiful picture of His kingdom.

There are no guarantees for Sunley. If you have been a reader for any time at all, you already know this. We could have all the lemonade stands, raise all the money, and her chapter with us could still end sooner than we wish. But what I do know is that this teamwork found in sprinkling lemonade around the country, the conversations had at every stand, the bonds reflected in a family as they host a stand with their kids — that is all reflecting the love of Christ. And good fruit always comes from that. I hope the things God chooses to do through our story and through our tiny little nonprofit are too spiritually significant for me to ever understand. I don’t need to see every end result — He continues to take things further than my eyes could ever see anyway.

Tonight, maybe celebrate with us and have a glass of lemonade for Sunley. Sign ups for our lemonade stands next year are open HERE.