Blessed

One thing is for sure through our journey with Miller, and that is that we are BLESSED with the BEST friends in the world!!! I can't even begin to explain to you how much all of our friends and families thoughts, prayers, and kind gestures have meant to us over the last few months! I can only hope that I am 1/2 the friend to my friends as they have been to me! I told someone the other day that everyone keeps talking about what an inspiration Patrick and I have been, but the street goes both ways, because our friends and family have been inspirations to US! They have done things that I never in a million years would have thought about doing. From the biggest acts, to the smallest, they are ALL so very appreciated. From a prayer being said, or getting a card in the mail, to sending a cleaning lady to our house to clean (because Lord knows it needed it;)! Now, when I go to Walmart, I pick up a "thinking of you" card to send to someone "just because". You don't have to have cancer, or have a death in the family to appreciate a nice card. Maybe you had a crummy day at work, or your kids are driving you crazy? I think those things deserve cards too;)! Everyone deserves to know that they are special and being thought of. So I encourage you (as I'm going to do myself), next time you are at the store, buy a stack of cards and randomly send them to someone "just because". Other than just cards, here is a list of some other things that people have done for us:

• Someone REALLY did send their cleaning lady to our house:)!


• Use your talents. If you're good at taking pictures, take pictures! If you are good at writing, write a poem! If you're good at setting up websites (or know someone who is;), set up a website! These are gifts that can't be replaced!


• Yard work. Mow, mulch, plant flowers. Whatever you are able to do. This has been a huge blessing to us!


• Send/take care packages to the hospital (gift cards, lotion, lip gloss, Listerine, magazines, snacks/drinks, gum, a blanket)


• Of course, meals are GREAT! The last thing you want to think about is cooking (and in our case, getting to the grocery store was near impossible). If you can't cook, or live out of town, send a gift card from somewhere.


• DRINKS! Patrick's cousin brought a TON of assorted soft drinks. It was so nice to be able to offer our visitors something to drink, rather than just tap water. Of course, a bottle of wine every now and then is nice, too;)!


• Our friends stocked our fridge/household necessities and made sure our house was clean and in order before we came home from the hospital. This was so nice! Y'all know how much I love "lamps/light", so I was glad to not come home to a dark house;)!


• Personal shopping! This cracked me up, but since I was sort of "home bound" with Miller, and I was at that awkward in between stage (between maternity and normal), I felt like I didn't have any clothes to wear, so my friend Kate would go buy TONS of clothes at Forever21 and Target, and whatever I didn't want, she would take back! It sounds random, but it was so nice and helpful:)!


• Jewelry- (no diamonds, of course;) I have gotten several bracelets and necklaces from friends. I love them all! It's something I can wear to remember him by:)!


• Books- We have gotten lots of books. This has been great! We haven't gotten to read them all yet, but I'm looking forward to it.


• Pet sit! We were so thankful to have our neighbor take care of Lucy while we were in the hospital! Pets are kids too:)!


• We are Catholic, so several people have arranged for different masses to be for the intention of Miller. Such a neat idea! I wasn't even aware that you could do this!


• Crosses- we've gotten multiple crosses, and they are all so special to us


• Prayer cloth and/or prayer shawl- if your church does something like this. Ask them to do one for your friend/loved one.


• Pampering- massages, facials, mani/pedi, anything to RELAX! I've loved these gift certificates:)!


• COLE- don't forget siblings. People have been so kind to remember Cole:)!


• If you have a pool or a boat, offer it up for the day. A relaxing day on the water is a nice break:)!


• Offer to babysit:)! The pictures below are from what our friend Nancee did. After Miller passed away, she offered to keep Cole so we could have a date night, and on the way out the door, she handed us this box. Inside was a note from her, and a gift certificate for dinner, movies, and dessert! SO SWEET!!!

There are MANY more things that people did for us, but I would be here all day if I tried to include everything, so here are a few examples. I write this to try to give other people encouragement on how to reach out to their friends/family that are going through a tough time in life. Sometimes we don't reach out, simply because we just don't know what to do, so here are some ideas:)! Of course, simply PRAYING is the most powerful thing you can do, so please don't forget to do that! And if that's all you can offer, that is certainly enough! Like I said, from the smallest act, to the biggest, they are ALL very much appreciated!

So, THANK YOU, to our family and friends! We are forever indebted to you for all you have done for us over the past few months! We couldn't have made it without you!