One year ago, my baby was born into this world! I am flooded with wonderful memories, holding Abby, singing to her, amazed at her strength and perseverance! I remember the first time I laid eyes on her and I couldn't wait for the doctors to wrap things up so I could get to see her again! I was crawling out of my skin, literally! Below is my video that I posted last year of all of our pictures. I thought I would share it again so that you can all see her beauty! The song rights belong to Selah, "I will carry you".
To commemorate Abby on her special day, this morning we took the kids to IHOP for breakfast. We laughed and toasted to Abby. The kids were soooo cute! They miss Abby. They don't mention it alot, but I know that they do.We then headed off to the cemetery to sing Abby HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We were lucky to be able to even enter the cemetery, thanks to the all the rain we had. My neighbor is so wonderful to me. She makes these beautiful boxes for Abby's resting place. She did one for Christmas, Valentines Day and now her birthday! It makes my heart warm when she does this for us and for thinking of Abby. I love Abby's bling!!
After our visit with Abby, we dropped the kids off to school. I headed to see my therapist (much needed for someone like me after all I've been thru) and then picked up Lily from my neighbor and went to visit my friend, Erica. Erica just had a baby girl a week and a half ago and I've only seen a glimpse of her newest addition, Laura. As soon as I saw Erica with Laura, I stole Laura from her. It just felt right. It felt so good to smell and touch and feel a teeny tiny little soul. So perfect in every which way. Some moms get so upset when holding a newborn or seeing a newborn around their circle of friends/family. I have to admit, I have and do too. It just hurts so badly at times, wishing for something that we can never have. But not this time. This time was different. I could feel Abby with me holding this precious gift from God. The ability to hold her, I felt it was not of my own doing but of greater intervention. I felt peace and that felt good!
The day is not over, but I'm sure we will continue our day to celebrate Abby and her sweet gentle self! :)
To prepare and plan for Abby's Remembrance Day Celebration, we are going to have a balloon release! I am so excited to do this and I think this will be my favorite part of the day. To see the balloons floating into the sky reminds me of Abby's spirit, floating and soaring wherever she wants to go. The world is her limit! We decided to go back to Balloons All Over in town. They took such great care of us for Abby's wake/funeral, we wanted to give back to them. Well, I was in for a delighted and unexpected surprise! I wrote to my mom's group about my experience and I will add my message to them here. (for ease of story telling). It is such an uplifting experience and one that deserves to be shared!
To everyone in the Northborough Moms Group,
I just wanted to share my experience with you regarding Balloons All Over and give my gleaming recommendation for them.
Balloons All Over is in Northborough and the owners are one of a kind!!
Last
year, my baby died and for her wake/funeral I wanted balloons. Tons and
tons of balloons. So we decided to order them from Balloons All Over.
We could have chosen Iparty or Hannafords but we wanted to have them
delivered to several locations and they were more than willing to do
it. She asked what was the
occasion and reluctantly and sadly I told her my baby's funeral/wake.
She then asked what did we want and I truly had no idea. I just knew I
wanted pinks and purples. She
said, "I got this, I know what to do". When it came time to pay for
the order, she wouldn't accept our payment. She said she has four
children and she couldn't imagine having one of her own children die. I cried. She cried. We embraced. It was a moment that I cherish to this day and share with anyone who will listen!
The
balloons at Abby's
wake/funeral were the center of our theme. They did an amazing job!
We even put some on the hearse as we drove thru town. My kids loved
having them there also. It brightened the mood and really helped make
the atmosphere brighter. The balloons are still spoken about in our
home, all the time. I wrote about my balloon experiences on my blog. I
sent a thank you to Michele, the owner, to express my gratitude. I've
never stepped foot in their business prior to this and to do such a kind
act like this to a complete stranger shows the kind of person that she
is. Not knowing at that moment in time, she gave us a gift and we gave
one back. It is a huge financial undertaking paying for a funeral.
She lessened our burden. Our gift to her was to give an act of charity
to a couple that she did not know. In all of my years as a mother,
I've never received an act of kindness from a business owner like that!
The other day I was in the store again, ready to order balloons for Abby's 1st Remembrance Day Celebration that we are having on Saturday.
I placed the order and Judy said she would get back to me that Michele
handles the pricing. I hadn't heard from them so today I called again.
Judy called back and I told her I wanted to change the order a bit
because my original one didn't feel right. She said no problem. She
also said that they weren't going to charge us for the balloons AGAIN. My
reaction was "No, no I can't accept that",
holding back the tears. She said, "yes you can". We spoke a little
bit more, and honestly I can't remember exactly what she said/I said
because I am still living on that cloud of appreciation and receiving
end but the point here is that these two amazing women are a wonderful
contribution to the Northborough Community. They were completely
generous and thoughtful one year ago and their generosity continues!! I
am so touched, my heart is just bursting!!
In Abby's memory, I want to do something in return for these remarkable women. They seriously won't let me 'pay' for their
balloons!! So l have decided to pay it forward by sharing my experience with you and give a shout out to our community how special they truly are!
Thank you to Balloons All Over, once again! My heart has been shattered into a thousand pieces. As a result of YOUR generosity, two pieces of my heart have been mended together. It sure does feel good to have this mingled in between all of my sorrow...
Happy Birthday to you....
Happy Birthday to you....
Happy Birthday Dear Abby....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you!!!!
Hugs and Kisses, Love Mommy, Daddy and your sibs!!
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