It was very important to us to try to do something positive in Ethan and Tommy's memory for their birthday. We decided that it was most beneficial to "pay forward" the gifts of love and support that we recieved during the hardest time of this trial (right after the birth and the loss). When I was in the hospital delivering the Boys, I recieved a huge outpouring of gifts. Most of the gifts came from the hospital. The gifts were a variety of mementos and keepsakes to help us preserve the memory of our sons such as a scrapbook, pictures, picture frames, candles, beanies, blankets, etc. Those precious items have become very special and sacred to me because they remind me of my sweet babies. We decided that we would celebrate the Boys' birthday by making a donation in their honor to help show love and support to other Mothers and families that would have to endure the hardships that we have gone through. I was incredibly blessed to be able to request for donations from our Ward Relief Society, the entire Police Department where I work, and our dear family and friends. We were completely stunned by the outpouring of love and generosity we recieved on behalf of our sweet babies. Over several months we collected a huge amount of items to donate in loving memory of Ethan and Tommy.
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| This was a gift basket for the loss of twins | |
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I was also able to make little scrapbooks to give as gifts to the Mother's so that the special moments and information might be able to be preserved in a way that was cute and ready to share. Each scrapbook contained 5 tags that pulled out to reveal different poems about the loss of a baby. These poems were my absolute favorites that i have found and helped to share my thoughts and feelings about the loss of my sons.
We are absolutely so grateful to everyone who donated items, money and time to help to make this possible and such a special event in our lives. I truly hope that the loss of our Sons and our family's sacrifice may be able to bless and benifit others, even if it is in dealing with a tragic loss of their own. Thank you!
My cute friend has a super fun Christmas tradition of doing a homemade ornament exchange party. When she asked if I wanted to participate, I have to admit at first I wondered what in the world I would do with 17 homemade Ornaments (especially with the hopes that we will have a house full of children some day who will provide a great deal of homemade specialities to add to our tree) but after she explained a little further and directed me online, I was in. She invited 17 different people to participate and then each person had to make 17 of the same ornament. This cute little guy was my creation. I wish I could take credit for the idea (I found it online), but I did make it from scratch. My wonderful hubby even helped me. The Marshmallows are made out of clay, which I had to spray paint white because they dried gray (grrrrrr!) the chocolate is brown foam and the graham cracker is cork. The rest is paint, ribbon, and wire. I am pretty proud of how cute they turned out, but I have to say making 17 was a lot of work! It was really neat to see what the 17 different people came up with. We each did something unique and different! It was a great time and I am super excited for next year's party. I am totally hooked and already have planned my ornament for next year :P 
It was very important to us to try to do something positive in Ethan and Tommy's memory for their birthday. We decided that it was most beneficial to "pay forward" the gifts of love and support that we recieved during the hardest time of this trial (right after the birth and the loss). When I was in the hospital delivering the Boys, I recieved a huge outpouring of gifts. Most of the gifts came from the hospital. The gifts were a variety of mementos and keepsakes to help us preserve the memory of our sons such as a scrapbook, pictures, picture frames, candles, beanies, blankets, etc. Those precious items have become very special and sacred to me because they remind me of my sweet babies. We decided that we would celebrate the Boys' birthday by making a donation in their honor to help show love and support to other Mothers and families that would have to endure the hardships that we have gone through. I was incredibly blessed to be able to request for donations from our Ward Relief Society, the entire Police Department where I work, and our dear family and friends. We were completely stunned by the outpouring of love and generosity we recieved on behalf of our sweet babies. Over several months we collected a huge amount of items to donate in loving memory of Ethan and Tommy.
It is hard to believe that it has already been a year since we lost our sweet boys. The days approaching their first birthday were incredibly difficult ones as we prepared to celebrate their memory. Eldon and I decorated their plot. Because it was December it was important that they have a Christmas tree and gifts, but we also needed the balloons for all to know it was their birthday. On their big day, we a balloon release in their honor. "Sending our love to Heaven". In good Seals' family fashion it became a competition to see whose balloon could reach Heaven first. It was actually quite sweet and entertaining and definitely lifted the somber mood. 
