This Is My Normal

Just some shopping for Valentine's Day for my two favorite girls.

Decor to make my daughter's resting place look pretty and a new stuffed animal to add to my niece's ever-growing and beloved collection. :)

This is my normal. 💗 ❤️

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NC Tears Foundation Rock & Walk 2017

This past Saturday, October 21st, we walked for our Lily-girl at the North Carolina Chapter of the TEARS Foundation Rock & Walk! We look forward to this event each October, which coincides with Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. 💗 💙  

Lily's family! #TeamLilysLegacy

The TEARS Foundation financially assists families walking through the loss of a baby. It's such important work!

All the butterflies lined up that honor the babies that the families are walking for. 

Here's a little video I took of all the butterflies...

Here's a video from before the Walk when they read aloud all the names of the babies.. Lily is mentioned towards the end.

Cousins 💗 As were standing near the butterflies before the Walk, a family arrived and a little girl, probably 7 or 8, ran up and found a butterfly, excitedly shouting, "I found my cousin!" It brought tears to my mom and I... soo precious. I hope Harvest is like that one day about Lily.

Lily and Harvest ~ cousins... This is Lily Bear from the ministry Molly Bears. They make bears for families that have lost a baby, weighing exactly what their little one weighed. Lily's is 7 pounds 9 ounces (her birth weight). I've gotten a photo of Harvest and Lily bear at the Walk the last 2 years and want to make it a tradition. 

Here's the photo from last year. :)

Walking for her big cousin!

Lily's butterfly!  They made each of our babies one that we got to take home. :)

I love me some Ellen!

Bo's mom is pretty great!

Bo's grandmother... one of the sweetest ladies for real!

I'm thankful for what these ladies do!

Walking for her cousin wears her out!

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Cousins Who Love Jewel

My precious niece, Harvest, recently fell asleep on my chest and I melted over how wonderful she is. 😌

Lullabies drifted into our ears. Not just an lullabies. Lily lullabies. The Jewel "Lullaby" album that I've written about many times before. One of my favorite pregnancy memories was listening to this album and how Lily would dance in my belly more than she ever did at any other time.

My sweet girl's perfectly formed little ears knew the tunes that now carry my niece into dreamland.

I can't listen to these tunes without tears welling up in my eyes over achingly beautiful memories. Wishing with all my heart I could have held Lily while she fell fast asleep to the same CD, as I do now with my niece. Smiling with knowing that though my arms did not, my womb did hold her, soothe her, comfort her, while she enjoyed these songs that became familiar to her. A love for this album is something these two cousins share and that is very special.

🎶  My love is as true as the oceans are blue,
and I always feel this way.
Just listen to the beating that keeps repeating.
My heart wants to say
Like Gala and Dali, it's you and me,
Forever and a day.
Forever and a day,
Always 🎶  
~From "Forever and a Day," which is mine and Lily's song, which just so happens to be 3 minutes and 16 seconds long for my little girl born on 3-16. ❤️

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Harvest Turns 1!

It's crazy that a year has passed (on May 20th) since I held Lily's darling cousin Harvest in my arms for the first time... yet she captured my heart many months before that. She's a precious gift to our family and it's been a joy and delight to discover part of who God created her to be over these past 12 months. She is full of laughter and spunk and has truly made my world a lot brighter. I love you more than you'll ever know, my beautiful niece, Harvest Brooke!

It was fun capturing the milestone of her turning 1! These were taken a couple weeks ago at the park where her birthday party was. Isn't she adorable?! ❤️

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Her Very Own Cousin

On Mother's Day, I wore a necklace with Lily's picture on it. My niece kept grabbing and holding it and my mom sweetly and enthusiastically said to her, "That's Lily! That's your very own cousin!" It melted my heart. 😌❤️

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Same Hair Color

My niece has the same hair color that my daughter had. Cousins, so similar and so different all at once. Born at the same hospital. One brown eyes and the other blue. One here on Earth and one in Heaven. Both equally loved by their family. I wonder if Lily would still have this shade of hair. I'm so very thankful I have this piece of her hair to treasure, and that her daddy also has a piece. ❤️ 💔 

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