After all the toys were boxed, counted and loaded, Hayden's Toy Drive with the help of Austin's Eagle Project collected 2032 toys in all. We need this extra long trailer and the truck was full inside. Josh, Steph, Austin and Brinley came and picked up me, Hayden and Brooklyn and we were off to deliver the toys to Phoenix Children's Hospital!
Cute kiddos watched a movie on the way.
Here we are with Casey from PCH. She is heading up our next endeavor which is a toy closet year round.
Hayden and Austin were treated like kings for their great work. They loved every minute of it.
Lindsay from Child Life joined us. She is amazing. I love her spirit and enthusiasm. It is contagious.
Hayden and Brooklyn worked their tails off carrying bags and boxes that were very heavy.
Hayden was all smiles while dropping off the toys. He really gets how important this is to the sick children and delights in each box that brings smiles and hope to other children. He really has caught the incredible spirit of the toy drive.
It took quite a while to unload and we filled an entire pod this year. We certainly had some neat toys.
These two were all smiles because of their hard work. Hayden looked at me and said, "Mom, I love when I feel the Holy Ghost so strongly that it feels like my heart will beat right out of my chest. This is the happiest happy feeling ever."
Me and the cute kiddos that made this all possible!
We all definitely had a great time unloading and playing with the child life sponsors. They loved Ashley's "Got Toys" shirt. I think we all need to get those.
Hayden and I with the head of fundraising for PCH. He wanted to personally come meet us and the boy that was responsible for collecting so many toys. I was very touched.
This is a small glimpse at the toys that we helped to collect. It was definitely a merry Christmas for the children in the hospital.
My sincere thanks goes out to all those that donated time, money and toys for the hospital. Hayden's Toy Drive could not work if it were not for the donations of so many kind and wonderful people. We are lucky to be apart of this great work.
Hayden was so happy with the success of this year's annual Hayden's Toy Drive. We collected well over 2000 toys for the hospital. Hayden has loved every minute of this toy drive. Each year he dives in and is responsible for more and more of the work.
He has helped come up with new ideas, his abilities to speak to people about the toy drive has improved and he is so excited for some upcoming ideas and things we are putting in place to help the toy drive even be more successful this next year.
Brooklyn gave coloring book, crayons and a stuffed animal to this little girl that was hooked up to a dialysis machine. She wouldn't talk, but was all smiles. The feelings I felt were so intense that I had to struggle to hold back tears of joy and gratitude.
Hayden was able to deliver toys to Leo, his new dialysis buddy. Leo was all smiles as Hayden tried to talk to him. He was in heaven that another boy would work so hard all year to collect toys for him and the other kids. I fell in love with Leo and oh how I would love to go sit with him and read or play with him. He was such a cutie.
Even Austin loved Leo. I loved watching the tenderness come out of Hayden for Leo. He sincerely asked Leo how he was, what he liked, what he asked Santa for and took a real interest in how Leo was handling his hospital stay. Hayden has a touch with these kids. Probably because he has spent so much time with doctors and hospitals, he understands. I was so proud of him.
After we delivered toys, Ashley took the time to talk to Hayden, Brooklyn and Brinley about these kids. The kids we gave toys to have to come to the hospital every other day for 4 hours to have their blood cleaned. Hayden's face says it all, his jaw dropped and said that he needed to collect more toys so Leo and his friends wouldn't be bored.
We were also able to tour the hospital, we were treated like celebrities and taken all over to see the ins and outs of how Child Life and PCH Foundation pull off Christmas for the kids. While there, Willy Bloomquist from the Arizona Diamondbacks was handing out Kindle fires, Nintendo DS consoles and Leapsters. The staff went up to Willy and explained to him that Hayden ran Hayden's Toy Drive and has collected over 12,000 toys for the kids in the hospital and over 2,000 this year. Willy told Hayden what a great thing he was doing and how wonderful he was. He told Hayden thanks for helping him out and making his job easier. Hayden loved every minute he spent with Willy.
Willy with Hayden and Austin. He was so, so good talking to them about being generous and taking care of others. I think he made a lasting impression on Hayden. Hayden felt so good about himself and the work that he does to raise toys and money for the kids in the hospital. It was so special.
I had an incredible day. I almost felt like I had my own, "It's a Wonderful Life" experience. The Lord allowed me to see the difference that we are making. He allowed me to see what others say about me and what they think about me. He showed me that in my own small way, that I do make a difference in life. I will be forever grateful for this day and the lessons that I learned. I felt as if the Lord gave me a huge hug. What a feeling! What a high! What an awesome experience.
