Charlotte's Balloons

i wanted to share the pictures that i have received from the celebrations that friends and family had for Charlotte on the 18th. we are so blessed to have so much support from all over! i will post a link to the pictures that my friend emily from ciao bella photography took for us...there are too many great shots to post all on my blog. i will also post them on facebook with tags and memos so that you can figure out who is who and what is what :) i also had family that were unable to do balloons, but they gave donations to the turner syndrome foundation in memory of Charlotte. the foundation in turn sent me a very sweet note! :) the photos of the kids with bubbles are my cousins in allegan, michigan...chase would not have liked letting go of a balloon! lydia was just blowing her own bubbles! the butterflies were from the celebration that my mom (kalamazoo, mi) hosted with some family and close friends. the three purple balloons are from my mother-in-law in pennsylvania. the sunset picture (the ballon is a black dot) is from my college roomie, kristin, and her family in traverse city, michigan. pink balloon with the two little boys are pics from my friend since middle school, sara, in georgia! thanks again to everyone who celebrated with us both near and far!!

i wanted to share with you the poems that my mom read at her butterfly release. this first one actually came with the butterflies and the second she had read by a friend. 

butterflies

"a butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam, and for a brief moment, its glory and beauty belong to our world. but, then it flies on again, and although we wish it could have stayed, we feel blessed to have seen it."

tiniest angel

"i never got to know you before you went away 

becuase God took you home to heaven where we'll meet another day.

God says that you're His tiniest angel and you needed to come home.

for reasons we do not know, you went where angels roam.

please know how much i miss you and though i may not understand,

i will trust a God who's faithful and live the life that He has planned.

He says that you'll be a while now, so there's no need to cry,

then he reminds me of his son, who on the cross for me had to die.

i know one day i'll meet you, but for now i'll just stand still

and not question our Father's reason because i know it's His will.

if i look when it's darkest at the stars that twinkle bright,

i will see God's tiniest angel and the wings reflecting light."

i have been asked if having the celebration for Charlotte was helpful for me. yes. i still have grief. i still miss Charlotte everyday. but, it was so nice to be able to celebrate our love for Charlotte. i didnt know how i would feel after may18th, and i was kinda dreading feeling like i was just supposed to be "over it" because the due date came and passed. that didnt happen, and i am so glad that i did not put too much pressure on myself. so, not much as changed in my thinking since we are past the due date, but it is not worse...i still choose to get up in the morning and i still choose to look for the blessings of this new normal. i haven't heard from anyone that may have found a random balloon drifting in their yard...like lisa said, maybe they all just went straight to heaven :) 

so, where is the slideshow of the photos! arent they all so great?? thank you again to emily and all the others who sent me pics! :)

here is the link if you dont want to watch the slideshow :)

blessings, ALo