Thanks Gigi for being the best blog friend.

Dillon Maxwell, age 3

I've never met most of you who read my blog.  Still, I feel like over the last year and a half I have gotten to know many of of you.  Gigi was one of my first blogger friends.  I have always loved her blog, and commented there long before starting my own.  She has always been so friendly, funny and real.

When my husband Zack disappeared on May 29th, 2013, Gigi immediately encouraged her blog readers to donate money to Texas Equusearch, the nonprofit volunteer team that organized search parties for Zack.  On June 4th Zack's vehicle and body were found in a rural area north of Cincinnati.  He had taken his own life...and with his life, he has taken a part of my life...and a part of our three young sons' lives.  After the news broke, my best friend from college set up a family fund for our children.  Gigi immediately encouraged blog readers to donate to our family fund.  Amazingly, Gigi  and you, our amazing blog readers from all over the world, donated more than $2200 to the fund.

I can't thank you enough.  To put in in tangible terms: The money that you, as blog readers, raised is enough to send our 3 year old son Dillon to preschool this coming year.  Dillon probably won't remember his dad.  That breaks my heart a thousand times over.  But he will know the kindness of people whom I never met in person, because I will tell him when he is old enough about how you donated your kindness and money to help my family during this tragedy.

I will be grateful to you forever.