The Bat Mobile...

...came to our house! What an exciting thing to happen. How many times can a person say, 'the Bat Mobile came to our house?!' We were very blessed to have this wonderful opportunity for our family and friends through Hopekids. The story of how the Bat Mobile came to the McPoland residence goes like this: For the last 3 years...we have raised money for Hopekids, particularly for the 5k Hopewalk. Ethan (on the right) won the first year for raising the most money for fundraising. His team was called Ethan's Peeps. The second year, Mia won for raising the most amount of money for fundraising, and her team was called team Mia Minie Moe. This year, Ethan's mom Laura and I decided to join alliances with Trevor, to ensure that we could get Trevor to win for first place, with one of the prizes being a ride in the Bat Mobile. This was my mission in life for the few months leading up to October for the Hopewalk. Trevor's mom Wendy, our friend, passed away from cancer this April. Trevor himself has been battlign brain cancer. There are no words...just imagine yourself in that scenario. I still can't fathom it. However, I do know that God's plan for us is bigger than we could ever imagine, even if we can't see it.

The new team name: TEaM Hope - Trevor Ethan & Mia

~ Apparantly, the word got around that Mia and Ethan did this for their friend. (After all, that's what friends do for each other!) Hopekids wanted to do something nice for them. They arranged for the Bat Mobile to make a special visit to Ethan & Mia.


Friends and neighbor's showed up for the special night...Matt & I decided to make chili, and have hot chocolate and cookies for all! Brrr....it was SO cold out.

What a GREAT evening for the kids...they loved it!

Everyone was having fun waiting for the Bat Mobile to drive up.

Here it comes!!! You could hear it turn the corner...how exciting!

The Bat Mobile

Mia & Ethan got to see it first!!

Look at their faces...oh my. How FUN for them to just do exactly that...Have FUN.

Everyone knows the kids were excited...but lets be honest the DADS were just as (if not more!) excited as well. Just look at the faces...it says it all.

Look close...there is a huge grin behind Matt's hand. He got to drive Mia around the neighbor'hood' int he Bat Mobile...awesome! I'm pretty sure they cruised by the park...

Yeah...go Mia!

Again, it was so cold out!!! Thanks goodness for our neighbor's firepit...it saved the evening!

While Matt was busy giving rides to his daughter's...everyone enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies.

Yep...even Ashley went for a cruise with dad.

Alyssa did too!! The only girl who didn't get a ride was Madison...but she was too busy.

Did you know...a very special surprise came. Nobody knew...except for Bridgey :) As one kid pointed out...'hey I didn't know Santa drove a red Escalade (LOL!) and Santa said, 'Well there isn't any snow on the ground here.' ~ Oh my goodness, way to funny!

Santa came for a visit!!

He asked Madison (who was very shy) what she wanted for Christmas. To everyone's astonishment...she said, 'For my mom and dad to be happy.'

She's a precious angel. She did tell me when I put her to bed that she didn't know what to say when Santa asked her, but she really wants a toy dog that walks. Ha ha!!

There was one more special surprise for Ethan and Mia...from the Bat Mobile.

They both got their own KEY to the Bat Mobile...so when they turn 16 years old, they get to drive it! Wow!! How cool is that?!

Here is Bruce Wayne handing them each of their keys...

We better keep those keys safe for the next 7 years or so!!

ANOTHER great surprise for Bridget at Hopekids...was a check to go towards Hopekids! Yay!! Thank you so much!

We wouldn't have had this wonderful evening with our family and friends if it weren't for Hopekids. Thank you SO much! We so appreciate everything you do for families like us. We are blessed beyond measure!