A Beautiful Day

It was a beautiful day on Saturday for our 2013 Holly Hoop.  It was unusually sunny and warm, and the leaves were their beautiful bright fall colors.  We had so many wonderful friends and family come out to support us and the Jones family.  Thank you thank you thank you thank you for your time and your love.  

It really is hard to explain how grateful we feel for people who will take time out of their Saturday to come and remember Holland, as well as Vienne and Georgia.  And on top of that, so many people were so generous with making financial contributions.  

It's a gift to feel so blessed at a difficult time of year.  By watching everyone be so generous, I was reminded of the person that I want to be like.   And I was also reminded of the contribution that community can make to the grieving process.

I was still a little sick, and so I wasn't able to run it like I wanted to.  But in the end, it didn't seem to matter too much because I was just so happy seeing so many people I care about.  

Thanks for making it a wonderful afternoon!

P.S. More pictures and details to come.

Course Start

We will be following the same course as last year, but just starting at a different location along the course.

We will be starting at Uplands Elementary School, and for those of you live in Lake Oswego, you are probably familiar of where it is located.  For those of you who don't know, the easiest way to get there is to get onto Country Club Road in Lake Oswego, turn onto Wembley Park Road, and is it the first right.  It is somewhat hidden, so keep your eye out for the turn to go into the school parking lot.  We will have balloons out to help you find it.  And please, don't hesitate to give me a call or shoot me at text if you get lost: 503.400.1512.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=map+of+uplands+elementary+school+lake+oswego+oregon&ie=UTF-8&ei=Fl9cUsmCB6b8igLT3ID4BQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg

Race Recap

Now that it's been a month since we had our first Holly Hoop race, I might be recovered enough to share pictures from that day.  Actually the truth is we have had a lot of chaotic things happen since then that we haven't really had a chance.  It was a wonderful day, including lots of cold rain, rainbows, smiles, tears, and not to overwhelm with the cheesiness, but a lot of love.  

After Holland died, one of the things that saved me was working out a lot.  It was one of the few things I felt like I could do.  It felt like a way to push myself without getting overwhelmed.  It made me feel stronger and capable.  It gave me something simple to look forward to (I won't really mention how I have since become a huge slacker with working out).  

Georgia Grace

This year at our Holly Hoop, we will be remembering Georgia Grace Jones.  She died September 12th from being born with Trisomy 13.  Below is a letter that her mother Courtney had written to her and was read at her funeral.

 

Your eyes will never open because they have seen the purest of Heaven. Your heart will not work 

properly because you have received such great love from Heavenly Father and have breathed in pure 

air in Heaven. 

My dear baby Georgia, when I had first heard of your fatal condition my heart tore into pieces. We 

were given a choice to make and when we decided to go with the Lord's will I was overwhelmed with 

great love and peace. We were blessed to start a journey that we never imagined to experience. 

As the days got closer to seeing you I got more nervous and anxious. Then the day had arrived. You 

came a little early but you decided that you were ready to come into our world. Everybody hurried to 

the hospital. Everybody was scared and nervous. When you came into our world we heard the most 

beautiful sound ever, you had cried. As they put you onto my stomach I thought I was seeing an angel 

because you were soo beautiful. What I saw was the most perfect child I have ever seen. I did not see a 

blind child. I saw beautiful bright blue eyes. I did not hear a faulty heart. I heard a heart full of love and 

happiness. Georgia, you might not have seen what was around you but you were surrounded by such a 

great family that has fallen in love with you before you were born. 

Baby Georgia, Heavenly Father heard my prayer and we were able to take you home. To have you 

home was a great blessing. We got to spend time with your brother and sister and share our great love 

and joy with you. Then you decided that you were ready to fly back to Heavenly Father. No amount of 

preparedness can get me ready to say Good bye to you. We knew that you were going to leave us but 

I would have never been ready to say good bye. You were my piece of heaven. My heart aches for my 

baby angel. But, as I close my eyes I can imagine you with your beautiful blue eyes and little pigtails. I 

can see you running to me with open arms.

Baby Georgia, because we have the Plan of Salvation, I know that I will see you again.

I love you my sweet angel for all time and eternity,

Your momma

The Last Year

As we are getting ready for the Holly Hoop in a few weeks, I feel that I need to update my blog.  This is a tough month:  here is a distinct change in our environment, the leaves start to change, the flowers are done blooming, it's getting colder outside, and certainly darker.  I feel a bit darker inside, and it creeps up on me without even noticing.  I am so grateful, however, because, this darkness is so much lighter than it was a year ago, and exponentially lighter than it was two years ago when I found my sweet daughter in her crib.  I have learned about healing in the last two years in a way and I am grateful for the lessons I've learned (and am very much still learning).  I wanted to share a little bit about our last year and some of our moments of healing.

Holland's 2nd Birthday 

August 2013

A Hard Moment

Memorial Day

Mother's Day

Brief Encounters Support Group

Easter

Packing away baby things

18 months

Christmas

One Year

Save the Date

Save the Date for our Holly Hoop: 

Saturday, October 19th at 3:33 PM

Uplands Elementary School - Lake Oswego, Oregon

To RSVP:

Email at nickandlexie@gmail.com

Vienne's Video

Here is a video that was made for Vienne and played at her funeral.  We played it at the start and end of the race.