At the beginning of the month our family was honored to be included in a special event at the Wichita Children’s Home. A years-long project, put together by bunches of selfless and tireless individuals who are passionate about foster youth, was recently completed! A beautiful new park on the WCH campus. A safe place for foster children and families to get fresh air and move bodies. While in police protective custody, it can be unsafe for children to be out in public. This playground is a secure spot for the 100’s of children who come through the Home each year.

Before the big ribbon cutting event, the Children’s Home called to let us know they had plans to include Deacon in the park and that they wanted to create a play space there in his honor. We cried (per usual) and said we’d he honored to have him remembered this way.

The day of the ribbon cutting featured Kansas wind in all her glory but it also showcased the heart behind so many people in Wichita in the creation of this park. We were humbled and excited to be included. While the kids were a little disappointed the scissors weren’t massive, we had a great time helping to officially open the playground.

There is a water feature still in the works (you can see the water pump on the left in this picture) that will flow down through the rocks. This is the space that will celebrate Deacon. We can’t wait to update pictures when this section is finished.

It’s perfect because Deacon loved water and certainly would have found a way to end up drenched.

It was a good morning. Good for the Children’s Home, whom we love. And good for our hearts. We say so often at things like this, “Deacon would have loved this”. The bitter part is, if he were still here, lovely things like this wouldn’t be happening. While I’d give anything for that playground to not need a section in Deacon’s honor, it does help in our healing. And in our hunt to see and feel pieces of him out in the world still. It helps to know that a little boy, who was once a foster child himself, made his love of others loud enough to be heard and recognized by others. Deacon would have loved this.