Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Bereavement Donations

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.

This was a gift basket for the loss of twins

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!

1 comment:

Bekah: said...

Wow! Thank you for always being such an inspiration to me. The scrapbooks are incredible and I know they will be so appreciated. You are such a thoughtful, amazing person!