Gettings Ready

Well the preparations were well under way for the 2009 Bonk's Blessing Greek Benefit Dinner when I arrived at Kim's house on Saturday, November 1st. Kim and Jen had been cooking for weeks. There were 12 trays of Moussaka, lots of hummus, and 400 spanakopitas that had already been made. Still to be done was an amazing list of of remaining items to complete for the dinner:

1. Make 12 Pumpkin cakes
2. Make frosting
3. Make Apricot Almond Salad
4. Make Greek Salad
5. Make Greek Rice
6. Make Greek Potatoes
7. Make Tzatziki sauce
   
8. Make table centerpiece
   
9. Make flower arrangements
10. Set up and decorate the hall for the dinner

The dueling mixers.

There were many other finishing touches as well.... But as you can see there was a mountain of work still to be done.

Shawna working on Centerpiece.

Saturday night we worked on centerpieces until we were too tired to focus.

Sunday morning there was a mixer dual under way as Kim and Jen made and baked the 12 cakes. It was a big task and you can only imagine the wonderful aroma coming from the ovens.

Baking under way!

Finally when all these tings were done we sat back and and let the event take place. Chad started out the event with an wonderful warm welcome speaking about "connections" and Pastor Dave had the Blessing then dinner was served.

Table is set!

After dinner Nicole Giesbrecht took the stage and gave a great talk about grief and the stages of grieving, and what to do or say when you want help others who are grieving. Her talk was so informative that we will work on sharing some of her information on another post.

Dessert was served and Rima took the stage and talked about her role as a photographer with the "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep" foundation. She had such a moving talk about why it is so important to be able to offer families photos to remember their babies that they love. These photos are lovingly retouched and edited for the families so that they have photos that they are comfortable sharing with others who want to know and remember their child. Amidst all the grief babies are precious and should be remembered in a beautiful and loving way and that is what these photographers provide families.

Beautiful quotes from the evening.

I felt such warmth and friendship amongst the crowd most of whom did not know each other except for their connection to Kim, Chad and baby Bonk. I am sure there were some apprehensions for some prior to attending an event for a cause as personal and tragic as infant loss. I feel that despite tears that were shed at the event, that everyone left with a better understanding of this loss and how to better support the families and remember their child in their time of grief.