The birthday party....... and the thank you note

Saturday didn't feel very out of the ordinary. There was laundry and grocery shopping. Cleaning and errands. There was even a get-together with the Fruit Bowl families. But somewhere in the midst of it all, our family paused to have a quiet celebration.

We took four balloons and stood together at her grave.

We sang Happy Birthday.

Lydia sweetly brushed the leaves from around her tombstone.



And David held onto me as I wept.

We tied the pink balloon to her vase and let ours go in the wind. We stood and watched as the three colors floated for miles and never drifted apart. And with that God whispered to me again. "I'm with you just as I promised I would be."

Indeed You are.



I don't know how to express what the past few days have meant to me. Every card, every email, every phone call, every hug and every prayer has been like medicine.

One of the hardest parts of losing a child is the silence that follows. Nobody wants to talk about her, ask questions or even say her name for fear of upsetting us. Sooner or later it starts to feel like she never existed. At least not to the rest of the world.

So, thank you for remembering her. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for seeing Jesus in the midst of it all.

I want to especially thank my friends Angela (Big Nanny) and Melissa (Stretch Marks) for dedicating a post on their blogs to our baby girl. Both were completely unexpected and beautiful. And it's not lost on me what a sacrifice it was for the two of you to post about something other than yourselves. (See how I can be sarcastic and witty even in the midst of serious circumstances? That is why the two of you love me!)

Thank you to each and every one of you who left a comment and said a prayer on her behalf.

She is still touching hearts and changing lives. And that makes me a pretty proud Mommy.