A Donation and Hailey’s Giraffey

Do you know about Hailey’s giraffey? I’ve written about her giraffey before… but just in case, here is a recap:

Giraffey is Hailey’s stuffed animal that is a giraffe, of course. I ordered it for her while she was still in my tummy. I saw it online and thought it was the most adorable, most wonderful stuffed animal ever. If one of Hailey’s stuffed animals was going to stay with her forever (you know how we all have the cliche blankie or what not – in my case it was a musical stuffed animal that was a horse…still have it 25 years later!), this was going to be the one. And what made it so fabulous, was the scripture verse sewn on it: “Your love O Lord reaches to the heavens. Psalm 36:5.” I loved it.

Hailey’s Hope Update

Hi everyone! I want to take a minute to share what’s been going on with Hailey’s Hope since the last update.

In the past week and a half we have received 2 monetary donations that will help us purchase 1 and 1/2 bags. Thank you to those people who have given generously to our project! That means we’re at about 4 and 1/2 bags – which also means that we’re almost 1/4 of the way to our goal of a minimum of 20 bags by June 1st!

Yesterday we received our custom order of gift bag cards, business cards, and thank you cards (our personal investment in the project). They turned out beautifully!

Bitterness is easy

“Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky,

are best relieved by the letting of a little water.” ~Antoine Rivarol

Well the other night, the night of my last post, I started deeply missing Hailey. And of course I cried as the dull aching that comes along with the depths of that loneliness and longing for her swept over me. I haven’t had that happen in a long time. In fact, I thought to myself as I cried, “It’s about time.” The flood gates opened back up to release some of the pain and anger and bitterness of unaddressed things in my grief. It felt good to release some tears. Not that missing her and crying ever feels good… but tears really do help heal and eventually bring relief.

(and by the way, when I say that I haven’t missed Hailey and cried in a long time, I don’t want you to think I haven’t missed her or been sad in a long time. Rather, I mean I haven’t been to that level in a long time. I miss her every single day (and could cry every single day if I let myself)…but I’ve come to learn that there almost different depths, levels, kinds of sorrows involved in grief…)

I don’t know what triggered the longing and missing and crying. Could have been any of a million things. But if I had to pick something, it would probably be the thoughts and feelings that came up when I wrote my last post.

…when the sacred is torn from your life, and you survive…

I’ve heard this song many times before. But today was the first day I took the time to listen to the words Natalie Grant sings…and in doing so I discovered my heart crying out to each word as I realized how deeply this song speaks to me and of me. Would you take the time to listen to this song and the lyrics behind it?

And I have a confession. Another one.

Some quick updates from over the weekend

Sorry I haven’t posted in awhile. Here’s what’s been going on:

First, Josh completed his primary checkride on Friday and we finally had a free weekend to spend together that didn’t involve hours upon hours of studying.

Second, I somewhat broke my laptop and lost a lot of links and things which made it more complicated for me to do things on Josh’s laptop…but hopefully I’ll be able to use my laptop again later this week.

Third, I’ve been playing around in my spare time with creating a new blog and not really updating this one…I’m still figuring it all out… I’ve stepped somewhat out of my comfort zone/ knowledge base with this one… but once I have a product that I feel proud of sharing, I will let you all know where my new blog will be located.

Difficult days lay ahead…

As I wrote down an appointment on my monthly planner for May, I looked at what events would be coming up… And then I saw that the first week of May, piled full with events that are going to make it a difficult one.

Here is a picture from my planner:

Hailey’s Hope update

Well our project is off to an amazing start.

Here’s a recap:

As I’ve mentioned already, we have received our starter kit from Project Sweet Pea, and we have word of some very amazing donations and opportunities to promote Hailey’s Hope in hopes of gathering more donations – still waiting to reveal the details on these until they are 100% for sure. I have also received word from a friend and family member that they will be donating some blankets – handmade and new.