HOLY MOLY!

I thought I would write a quick update to let you all know how "Books for Charley" is going.  Let me start by saying THANK YOU to all of you that have participated by buying books, donating money to go toward books and spreading the word to help us make this event a success.  I don't really know WHAT I expected to come of this whole thing, but the response we've seen 100% blows me away.  

• As of Friday, Tara had received 223 books.  Thats a lot of books in only TWO weeks!  
• In those same 2 weeks, a fellow heart mom from Michigan raised enough money to purchase 110 books!   Wow, Team Aly Jean!  You guys are AWESOME!  
• A few heart families in the Omaha area have decided to throw "Books for Charley" birthday parties for their kiddos, just like the idea of Tara's that started this whole fundraiser.  Not only that, but a heart family from South Carolina is doing the same!  Seriously?!  WOW!  I have no words.
• The other day I stopped by to visit our old daycare family.  As soon as I walked in I noticed that on the dry erase board where I always used to see "Charlotte needs diapers" I now found "Books for Charley!"  Rich, Sylvia and all of the little kiddos at daycare loved...and still do LOVE Baby Charlotte!  
• Right now there are 55 books in the back of my car, with many more scheduled to come our direction!
• In a week my mom is heading to Harlan and will be picking up books that my aunt has been collecting.  Rumor has it that there has been quite the turn out!
• My sisters have been collecting books from friends and co-workers...it just never stops!

See what I mean!?!?!  ABSOLUTE CRAZINESS!  

The plan is still to make a delivery to Children's sometime in August.  I'm actually going to head to Omaha and go with Tara for the big drop-off.  It will undoubtedly be a hard day...my eyes well up with tears almost every time I even drive past the hospital...but I know I'll have a little angel helping me through.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU EVERYONE! 

(Haha...I just re-read this post and noticed how many "!!!" I used.  I must be pretty excited!)

Its a BIRD! Its a PLANE!

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines HERO as the following:

a : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability

b : an illustrious warrior

c : a man admired for his achievements and nobel qualities

d : one who shows great courage

Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure that they just described a Heart kiddo!  

There is one problem though....most heroes wear capes!  That seems like a pretty easy problem to fix.

Enter....Heart Heroes.

Heart Heroes is an organization that recognizes heart warriors like Charlotte for the heroes that they are.  They understand that while these kiddos laugh, play and enjoy life just like any other child, they have "super powers" that carry them through life-saving operations, countless hours in doctor's offices, pokes, prods and everything else a child shouldn't have to experience.  Heart Heroes rounds out the superhero exterior by providing capes to children with congenital heart disease in hopes that they will feel invincible!

This weekend I was HONORED to be a part of the Heart Heroes fashion show in Omaha.  This event accomplished 3 huge goals.  1) To give these little heroes the chance to strut their stuff in their incredible capes  2) To raise awareness for congenital heart disease among new and expecting parents and 3) to raise money so that they can continue to donate capes to all of the heart heroes out there.

Since we happened to be in town the weekend of the big show, one of the Heart Hero moms asked if I would want to take part in the event.  Lucky for me I had a few of Charlotte's biggest supporters along to help out with the actual "modeling" part and a HUGE group of supporters in the crowd!  Thank you HEART HEROES for including us in this special day and for helping us honor our own little hero.

Aubrey sporting her new cape!  They gave this to her in memory of Charlotte.  It has two hearts on the back...one to represent Aubrey and the other one Charlotte.

Check out Heart Heroes at http://www.heartherocapes.com/. 

The 14th 14th

Bear,

It's been fourteen whole months since we first laid our eyes on you, our perfect little girl, for the very first time. It was a day I will never forget…not in a million years. Since that day we have celebrated (even if just a little) on the 14th of ever month, knowing that every month (every day for that matter) was an incredible blessing. Each month we took your picture in your little polk-a-dot chair and then would “oooo” and “ahhh” over how much you had changed since the last. It has only been 45 days since you went to be with Jesus, yet I’m sure that in those 45 days you would have grown so much. It would be a lie if I told you that that didn’t make Mommy sad.

I know that you are probably looking down at me right now from your party in Heaven wondering why I’m crying on the 14th when it is supposed to be such a happy day. Well, baby girl…in all honesty and simplicity, I’m crying because I’m sad. Sad that I don’t get to hold you in my arms while I wish you a happy 14th month. Sad that we have now gone two 14ths without chair pictures. Sad that this is going to be the case month after month after month. And while I’m sad, I know that you are having so much fun in Heaven celebrating today with Jesus. I’m guessing his parties are WAY cooler than any that I could ever dream up! Daddy and I will be blowing you lots of kisses today, so keep an eye out for them!


I love you Miss Charlotte, beyond words or explanation.


Mommy

A Heart So Big

A few weeks ago I shared the lyrics to Coldplay's song "Fix You" that was played at Charlotte's memorial service.  I thought today that I would share just a line from the other song we played.  The whole song is great, but this line just seemed perfect.

And if you were with me tonight,

I'd sing to you just one more time.

A song for a heart so big,

God couldn't let it live.

May angels lead you in.

Jimmy Eat World

"May Angels Lead You In"

Crazy Lady With a Cart

I'm continuing to put one foot in front of the other these days.  I pull myself out of bed every morning, successfully eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, can look people in the eyes...I make it through each day.  Yes, my mind is distant.   Yes, I think of Charlotte constantly.  Yes, I cry multiple times a day.  I think thats to be expected.

What I hate are the bad times that just come out of nowhere at the most unexpected times.  I will be half way through a perfectly "good" day when some magical switch is flipped and I find myself on the verge of tears.  Yesterday it was while waiting in line at the bank, today it was at the grocery store.  I paced through the aisles with blurry eyes and mindlessly grabbed the items on our list...without that list I'm pretty sure I would have come home with nothing.  I didn't want to shop, instead I just wanted to ram into everyone with my cart and scream.  Its hard to do "normal" things when you feel like your heart is going to explode.  I fought for my composure and wiped away my tears.  Its not normal to cry in a grocery store.  People look at you like you are crazy.  If they only knew.

So while I'm doing....well....as expected, I'm unpredictable.  

I miss my little girl.  I miss her crazy hair.  I miss her goofy little grin and her goofy belly laugh. 

Sigh....I miss her so much.

Books for Charley

Wow!  Two posts in one day??  There must be some pretty important things going on in our world!  To those of you on Facebook this post may be "old news" but I wanted to share here as well because I am so super excited.

Last week I got an email from my cousin Tara that found me covered in goosebumps and with eyes full of tears before I was even two full sentences into it.  These weren't sad tears (for once!) but rather tears that resulted from a first-hand encounter with the generosity of others.  

Tara's message started out as follows...

"Ever since I heard about Charlotte earning her wings, I knew that I wanted to do something to honor her.  A couple of weeks ago I was at Borders buying a book and at the counter they asked me if I wanted to purchase a children's book for Children's Hospital.  I did it in honor of your little girl, but that wasn't enough."

Wasn't enough?  Where was she going with this?!  

She continued to tell me about an idea to take that simple book donation to a whole new level.  

Tara has 2 beautiful little girls who both celebrate summer birthdays.  For their party this year, they are asking that their guests each bring a book or 2 in place of gifts.  These books will then be given to Children's Hospital in memory of our little girl.  Wow--how cool is that?

As if the above wasn't awesome enough, Tara also turned her idea into a Facebook event entitled "Books for Charley."  This means that whoever you are, where ever you are, you are able to participate!  If you are on Facebook, just search for Books for Charley!  If you aren't on Facebook and are interested in donating an infant/children's book, please let me know and we can figure out a mailing/drop-off plan! 

As of right this very second, 185 people have stepped forward to take part in this event.  HOLY COW!  185 people?!   I mean, HOW INCREDIBLE IS THAT?!  They might have to build the Charlotte D. Ritchie Memorial Library!  

Each book donated will get a special little sticker to honor Charley before making its way to the kiddos at Children's.  We are so thrilled that Tara is not only helping us honor Charlotte, but is also helping us give back to the hospital that allowed us to have one precious year together.

Charlotte may have only been with us for a short time, but it is becoming quite clear to us just how many people her story has touched...its actually quite overwhelming.  While our hearts continue to ache, Matt and I realize how blessed we were to be her Mommy and Daddy and fully intend to continue giving our little girl purpose in this world.  

We love you Bear, always and forever.

Happy Holidays and a Quick Update

Happy Day After the 4th of July! I hope that you all had a happy and safe holiday. I’m sure that I’m not the only one who feels like the days passed way too quickly! Matt and I spent the weekend back in Omaha with family. You know that it’s going to be a fun day when there is a bounce house, dunk tank and “Minute to Win It” games involved. Have I ever mentioned that I love my family?  Many thanks to Alyson and JR for hosting!  

Speaking of family…I’ve had a couple of people ask about how my cousin’s son Luke is doing. SO sorry that I didn’t update you all after my initial prayer request. Well, I’m happy to say that Luke and his family are back in Omaha and doing great. He was at our 4th of July celebration and you would never guess that there was anything wrong. He will complete 6 weeks of antibiotics and then they will take him to surgery to remove his ruptured appendix.  Thank you all for sending extra prayers for Luke and his family.