Project RedButt {2013}

Last Thursday, Harrison and I had the opportunity to make our 3rd annual holiday RedButt donation to Children's Hospital and Medical Center.  It's hard to believe that this is year number three already.  As you all know...the first donation served as a way for us to simply "make it" through our first holiday season without Charlotte.  It was a way to keep our hands and minds busy...a distraction (a small one at that) from the pain that consumed most every minute of the day.  Back then I could never have imagined the transformation that would take place in the years to come - not only the healing that has taken place in our hearts, but with the growth of Project RedButt.  We've donated 60 monkeys to the PICU and have sent 100+ monkeys to heart kiddos around the US.  RedButt has even gotten his passport stamped a few times as he made his way to Germany, the UK and La Paz, Mexico with the Los Cabos Children's Foundation.  What started as something so very, very hard has turned into something so incredibly rewarding and central to our lives.  

I hope we're making you proud baby girl...

As always, the lobby at Children's was beautifully decorated --and we think it made it just a little bit more beautiful when RedButt decided to cozy up on the branches of their GIANT Christmas tree!

He even made friends with a soldier standing guard nearby.

I don't get to have pictures with BOTH of my kiddos together...but there is peace in my heart knowing that Charlotte is with us in all that we do. 

He's REALLY good at making monkey sounds :)

This year Grandma Debbie was able to come along for our drop-off.  She is a huge driving force behind Project RedButt, and simply put, we couldn't do it year after year without her.  She's got monkey making down to an art and I'm pretty sure that all 20 of this years RedButts were constructed by her.  (insert endless thanks, a round of applause, hugs, high fives...)

It's three years later.  The holidays are still hard.  The ache is still there.  The sadness still threatens to break us at the least expected moments.  The difference is that three years later we have learned how to function despite it all.  We look forward to our trip to Children's each December and are honored that the wonderful people there continue to share a tremendous feeling of love for our little girl.  

So much love.  Beyond words or explanation.

A huge thanks to all of you who made donations to Charley's Heart and Project RedButt this year.  The expense of supplies (socks, stuffing, buttons) and shipping can really add up and every contribution goes a long way.

Hey, Hey We're the Monkeys!

Project RedButt made its big debut in November 2011 and in one short month we were able to construct and donate 25 sock monkeys to the kiddos that were "stuck" in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Omaha Children's Hospital on Christmas.  In the grand scheme of things it felt like such a small gesture, but I hoped that our little monkeys could elicit a smile or two.  

Project RedButt

(Click here for details)

I later came across an article from the Omaha World Herald and learned that Christmas Eve 2011 was an especially difficult one in the PICU.  Sick kids.  Impossible decisions.  Broken hearts.  Our monkeys can't fix those things.  They can't make life in the PICU any easier.  All I can hope is that we helped one person smile when they might not have otherwise.

Much like with our Books for Charley event, I couldn't help but think to myself "why stop there?"  Why limit Project RedButt to the PICU at Christmas time when there are so many other kiddos in need of a smile?  Lucky for us, we had some extra monkeys!  I quickly started jotting down names of heart kiddos that I knew were facing scary surgeries and hospital stays.  As their big days approached I carefully packaged up our little monkey friends and shipped them off to find new homes.  I've been working on some updates for the Charley's Heart website and can't wait for you to see some of the pictures that we got in return.  Lots of little monkeys.  Lots of smiling faces.  I call that a success!

Here's the catch...

We can't make enough monkeys for the PICU and to send to other heart kiddos all on our own.  We have a little bit of a stock pile thanks to my mom (she has monkey making down to an art!) but they will go quickly.  

Over the course of the past year we have had some pretty amazing people offer to help us out with Project RedButt.  Some were proficient sewers who breezed through the process, others (including myself) taught themselves how to use a sewing machine because they wanted to help.  That's part of what makes this so special!  No monkey ends up looking the same...yes, they are made of the same pink and brown socks, but each one is unique.  Some are very traditional and follow a set pattern, while others get "jazzed up" a little!  Imagine my surprise when we started getting monkeys like these...!

We've had ballerina monkeys, diva monkeys with crowns and boas, monkeys with belly buttons and eyebrows...even tattoos!  The possibilities are endless!

Here's where I do my best to solicit all of you "crafty" people!

As I eluded earlier, Project RedButt cannot continue without the help of others.  

-Do you know how to sew and have a desire (and the time) to help?  Even one monkey goes a long way!  

-Do you know someone who might feel the same way?  A friend?  Co-worker?  Church group?  Sewing club?

-Not up for monkey making?  How about accessorizing?  We can always put tutus, pants or other items on our otherwise "naked" friends!  Let your imaginations run wild!

-Not able to help but know of a heart kiddo that is in need of a little cheer?  We're interested in hearing from you too!  Let us know and we'll try our best to create some smiles!

If you are interested in helping or have questions about Project RedButt, please feel free to contact me at charleysheart@gmail.com.  I am more than happy to get socks to anyone who wants to join in...I can even include stuffing and buttons if you'd like.  There are a variety of monkey patterns available online...like I said, every monkey ends up a little different than the next.  (And please don't be intimidated by the monkeys pictured above...they are pretty extraordinary!) 

RedButt is just a silly little monkey.

A silly little monkey that made Charlotte smile.  

A silly little monkey that continues to make our family smile.

A silly little monkey that we hope does the same for others.

Thanks everyone!

Brother and Sister

I know that all of you are familiar with our buddy RedButt, but I wanted to take a minute to introduce you to another monkey friend of ours...  

Meet BlueButt!  (Yes, I realize that his little bottom is still red...!)

These adorable little monkeys were "born" at the same time, but we didn't know about the blue guy until the baby shower that my sister held for me back in April.  They were separated at birth when RedButt came to live with Charlotte, but deep down they knew that they would be reunited some day.  You should have seen the looks on their faces when they first saw each other!  They both had smiles from ear to ear and they haven't let go of each other's hands since.

I'm so excited to introduce our little boy to these two crazy monkeys and to tell him stories about his big sister and how much she loved RedButt.  I see lots of love, laughter and snuggles in our future!

Thanks Aunt Angie for creating 2 very special additions to our family!!

Don't forget to check out the Project RedButt tab at Charleysheart.com.  Once we get moved and settled into our new digs in Nebraska we look forward to sharing these monkeys with lots of other kiddos!  

Giving Back - Project RedButt 2011

I'm happy to say that Project RedButt 2011 was a success!  We met at the hospital on Saturday morning to dress our little monkey friends up a little and left them behind for Santa to deliver to the kiddos in the PICU and other areas of the hospital.  I couldn't help but smile when I saw all of those crazy monkeys lined up by the Christmas tree in the lobby.

Today some family directed my attention to this story from the Omaha World Herald.  These are the children and families that were on our monkey list--children fighting for their lives and parents fighting right along with them.  I hope that for just one minute our buddy RedButt brought a smile to their faces like he did so often to ours.

    

  

   

A Project RedButt Update

I've been a bad blogger.

I've been a bad Christmas shopper.

I've been a bad holiday baker.

I've been bad at keeping our house clean.

I've been bad at a lot of things.

Let's blame it on these silly monkeys!

I'm totally loving Project RedButt, but I will be completely honest and say that it takes A LOT longer to make them than I originally anticipated...especially considering that I have a flashy new sewing machine helping me out! 

The monkeys are coming together slowly but surely.  I'm guessing that between myself and all of my monkey volunteers we should have about 25 of them.  Not too shabby for only 3 weeks notice!  I do know that next time I will make a monkey here and there throughout the year so that its not such a rush in December!  Hopefully there are lots more years of monkey giving in our future!  Thank you to everyone who volunteered to help with this years donation and to those of you who are planning to make some monkeys once the holiday craziness is over with.  I couldn't have done it without you!  

Our adorable little monkey friends will be delivered to the hospital on Christmas Eve and distributed to patients in the PICU with some other Santa gifts.  If anyone out there knows of any other heart kiddos that are stuck in Omaha Children's over the holiday but NOT in the PICU, please give me a heads up as I would like to get one for them as well!  Hopefully RedButt will bring as many smiles to those kiddos and their families as they did to ours!

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas.  

Our little family - Christmas 2010

  Charlotte was SO excited when she met her new buddy RedButt!

 Then she got hungry!

Two Little Monkeys

Good friends are sometimes hard to come by, but when you find one, you know that they will always have your back.  Last year at Christmas Charlotte made a new friend (courtesy of her Aunt Angie) that saw her through a lot of good times and a few tough stretches as well.  

Meet RedButt 

(So lovingly and creatively named for her precious little red behind!)

        

 Charlotte loved RedButt from the get-go.  I mean, what's not to love about a silly pink monkey with crazy long arms and legs, big silly ears and a big ol' smile on its face?  RedButt would dance and sing and always knew how to make our Charlotte smile!  They spent lots of hours playing together and every night RedButt would sit on the ledge of Charlotte's crib and watch over her while she dreamed.

And while I knew that our little monkey friend was quite the entertainer, I didn't realize how good of a snuggle buddy she was until Charlotte's surgery in January.  She did her best to keep our little lady feeling safe during the for long days/nights spent in a hospital bed. 

And she came in surprisingly handy when it came to keeping Charlotte's breathing tube propped out of the way, and at giving her arms a soft (and familiar) place to rest.

Here our monkeys are just minutes after that pesky old tube was removed.  RedButt never left her side...not for a minute.  Now thats a good friend!

It was never easy to see our little girl after surgery...not then...not now...but oddly enough, every time I look at these pictures I get a smile on my face.  At first glance I see my poor little baby hooked up to countless wires and tubes and covered in bandages/tape, but when I look past all of that, I see my perfect little girl and her bestest monkey pal.  It was a strange feeling of "normal" during a time that is anything but that.

The holidays are sneaking in and I find myself getting more and more emotional...anxious...sad...about the thought of "celebrating" in Charlotte's absence.  I don't feel like decorating.  I don't feel like Christmas shopping.  I don't feel like doing much of anything.  Yet at the same time, I know that I can't just sit here and mope or I will drive myself crazy. 

So now what?  What can I do to keep my mind occupied?

Make monkeys.

Yup, you heard me.  I'm going to make more RedButts!  

I've been in contact with the Fox River Mills sock company (the makers of the "official" sock monkey socks) and they hooked me up with a SWEET deal on their monkey socks.  Just today I came home to find a box on our doorstep filled with 40 pairs of socks (20 pink/20 brown) and there are even more to come!

I don't have a plan totally in place, but I would like the monkeys to go to heart kiddos like Charlotte...specifically those who are stuck in the hospital over the holidays. Sometimes my brain can only handle one thing at at time.  Now that the socks are here I'll work on the rest!  If anyone has any brilliant ideas, please pass them my direction.  

Now, I'm guessing you're all probably wondering...how on Earth is Kristen going to make THAT MANY sock monkeys?  Well....ummm....lets just say that I'll be looking for volunteers to help out!  If you are local (either Sioux Falls or Omaha so that I can get you the socks and a pattern easily), can sew and would like to make a monkey or two, just let me know.  The more the merrier!