I won 4th place!!!!!!!

I entered a contest from Wachovia called "Who Would You Thank". I wrote about wanting to thank Rachel Coleman, creator of the great Signing Time! DVD's I'm always talking about. I got a call at the beginning of January saying that I was one of 25 4th place winners. I was so excited. I won $250.00 to be used to thank Rachel in a special way. The $250.00 went to the Signing Time! Foundation's trip to Ghana, Africa. Rachel and the gang went to Ghana to teach the children and teachers at the deaf school there ASL. Anyway here is a copy of what I wrote and the letter that Wachovia sent to me.

I would like to thank Rachel Coleman. Through her children's ASL video series, Signing Time!, we have been able to communicate with our daughter who was born with a rare brain birth defect called Schizencephaly. Rachel created Signing Time! as a way for her friends and family to communicate with her daughter, Leah, who is deaf. Out of this need in her family came this incredible gift to so many other families. Signing Time! is a fun way to engage children into learning sign language. Our daughter, Julia, no longer screams in frustration because she can't be understood. She now confidently gets her needs and wants accross to us. We are thankful to be able to see Rachel daily, and would love to be able to personally say and sign Thank You, Rachel. You gave Julia the ability to "speak" with us, and for that we are eternally grateful.

Here is the letter that Wachovia sent along with the prize money:
Dear Stacey,

On behalf of Wachovia Corporation, we would like to congratulate you for being selected as a 4th Place winner in our "Who Would You Thank" contest! Your essay was one of thousands of entries from across the country to be judged, so we hope you take some pride in knowing that your story stood out among so many.

It is in the spirit of thanking customers like yourself that we created the contest. Your story captured that essence and has inspired all of us here at Wachovia.

Enclosed is your 4th Place prize check in the amount of $250.00. We hope the winnings help you find a very special way to say "thank you" to Rachel.

Thank you for sharing your story with us.
Congratulations!
Michael Sherck
Senior Vice Prsident
GVG Customer Experience Executive Leader

My cousin got married!

I went to Anaheim this last weekend because my cousin Jake got married. I flew down on Sat. morning with my sister and her husband, and met up with my parents. We then flew back home on Sunday afternoon. We had a great time visiting with family and celebrating Jake and Debbie. I loved being on my own for a few hours. I laughed at dinner because I didn't have to cut any food for anyone or tell people to settle down and eat. I have to say that Tom is a saint for staying at home with the gang and not once complaining. Jake was very happy that some of his family was there to support him. It was a beautiful wedding and Jake and Debbie are now in Maui on their honeymoon. Thanks Jake and Debbie for inviting me and letting me share in your special day.