Butterfly Garden

In my last blog post regarding Circle of Life Hospice, I mentioned that we donated $10,000 to their Capital Campaign.  Well, at the end of last year, we decided to add an additional $5000 to that, making a total of $15,000 for 2011.  With that donation they are going to name one of the Butterfly Gardens at the new Legacy Village in-patient facility in memory of Miller:)!!!

To learn more about the Capital Campaign, read the info I pulled from their website below:

Partners...in Expanding the Circle

Partners...
As a Partner, you allow us to provide excellent hospice care to the communities of Benton, Carroll, Madison, and Washington counties. We need your financial support to build and maintain the facilities where inpatient care, family bereavement support, community grief counseling, and administrative services are provided.

In Expanding
In 2007, Circle of Life was serving approximately 100 patients per day. At the end of 2010, our average daily census was more than 160 people, and we anticipate continued growth over the next five years. To continue the excellent quality of service for which Circle of Life is known, we will need more inpatient beds. Earlene Howard Hospice Home opened in Springdale in 2006 with 16 beds and 8 additional beds opened in 2009.  In Bentonville, Circle of Life opened 8 beds in a temporary building at Legacy Village in 2010.  We plan to build a 24-bed facility at Legacy Village that will open in 2013.

The Circle
Circle of Life is committed to providing compassionate end-of-life care for a person’s body, mind, spirit, and family when there is no longer a cure. This is accomplished by providing individualized care and support, whether in the patient’s home, at nursing and assisted-living facilities, the Earlene Howard Hospice Home or at the Hospice Home at Legacy Village. 

The Campaign Goal
$15,000,000

Hospice Home at Legacy Village
$9,600,000

Earlene Howard Hospice Home Expansion
$1,400,000

Capital Maintenance Endowments
$4,000,000

Party with a Purpose- CAMDEN

Look at this precious little face!  This sweet little guy gave up presents for his 3rd Birthday, for donations to The Miller McNeil Woodruff Foundation!  See the email his mother sent me below.  SO touching!!!  What a wonderful, selfless family!  (We received their package in the mail last week, and they raised a total of $500!).  THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Patrick and Meredith,

Last night, I posted this on Facebook – “God has laid something on my heart for about a month now and I keep making excuses as to why it won't work and what people will say, but I think He finally broke me. :). W and I are doing something different this year for C's birthday - need to iron out a few details, but once I do, I will share what we have decided to do. :)”

The signs:

· It all started late December – Madeline and Andrea were turning 10.  Instead of birthday gifts, they asked their friends to make charitable contributions to a local charity.  The response was great – the feeling was great – knowing that 10 y/o girls would give up getting tangible gifts to give money back to the community made an impression on my heart.

o The thought process started – what if we did the same thing for Camden…and the doubt started, he’s only 3…he won’t understand…it’s a decision that would be made by Walker and me…what will people say/think – literally taking tangible gifts from a 3 y/o to support a charity of our choice…

· In January, one of our sermons was on “it’s better to give than to receive”.  Basically, use your gifts/talents/etc to support others, the feeling of giving will be greater than the feeling of receiving.  One night while Madeline, Andrea, and I were doing their weekly Bible Study lesson, one of the points was that God uses people of all ages – Josiah became king at the young age of 8.  Despite his youth and the bad examples before him, Josiah sought to follow God.

o I had not sent out invitations yet, so I started thinking – I should ask friends and family to make a donation vs. bring a gift…unfortunately, the doubt took over and I sent the invitations out w/o this special ask.

· Last night, during Bible Study, our teacher made a point – teach your children Godly characteristics – teach them to use their attributes, their talents, themselves for God.  Walker works for a toy supplier; I work for a video game supplier…we both have great jobs and we are able to buy “wants” as needed for our children as well as bring home samples – it’s the greatest…new toys w/o spending money…I come from a HUGE family – they ALL attend the parties and they ALL love to give gifts…we have a HUGE friend base which also loves to give gifts…Camden is 3…he doesn’t need any more things…it’s just more crap that will pile up in his room/play area.  J

o Last night, I got out of bed, went downstairs, and opened up my heart/thoughts to Walker and he fully supported the idea.  We agreed!  J

With all of this being said, in lieu of gifts, we would like to ask our family and friends to bring a charitable contribution in honor of Camden Mitchell to help support The Miller McNeil Woodruff Foundation.  Would you allow us to do this for Miller’s Foundation?

· Why The Miller McNeil Woodruff Foundation?

o Little Miller stole my heart!  My heart aches for you and Patrick.  I loved being pregnant, I loved hearing/seeing his heartbeat, I loved carrying him, I loved the hiccups, the movements, the growth, etc.  I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT BEING PREGNANT!  The first time I saw Camden, he took my breath away – we had created a human being – it was so funny to see him – the human that was in my belly.  God gave us a perfect, healthy baby boy.  God gave me a GREAT pregnancy.  Camden is healthy, strong, and the only bad thing we had to deal with were ear infections – so minor compared to what you all went through.  We have 3 healthy children and I thank God we have never gone through what you all have gone through.  If I can help a mom in any way to keep her baby healthy and alive, to never feel the loss of a child, I will.

o Another reason, I would have given up.  I would have not been able to continue knowing my baby boy was going to die.  I would have gone as well.  Meredith, the strength you have had to turn this horrible situation into a blessing for others, inspires me to do more.  Your encouragement to other mothers inspires me.  You inspire me.  When you could have given up and turned your back on God – you conquered and have made one of the hardest battles a mother could go through into something so positive.

My last sign was this morning – as I was preparing this e-mail to send to you two, I hopped on your blog to get the link for the story that was in Peekaboo magazine.  While looking, I noticed you added a post about Maggie and Lily Rusher’s birthday party.  August and Kim decided to do the same exact thing – it just confirmed our decision.  Maggie and Camden are the same age – they went to school at Kid’s Studio together – Kim and I play Bunco together – if Maggie and Lily at such a young age can do a “selfless act” like this, it just confirms what God has been telling me all along…silly me for not listening the first time.

Viva Las Vegas!!!!!

We went to Las Vegas to celebrate Tim Mason’s 40TH BIRTHDAY!!!!!  It was SO, SO much fun!!!  We were supposed to see Elton John, however, he cancelled very last minute to attend Whitney Houston’s funeral.  That didn’t hold this crew down long;).  It was a weekend full of great company, delicious food, the girls being pampered at the spa, the guys enjoying a round of golf, and of course, GAMBLING!  We couldn’t have asked for a better trip! 

The girls before leaving XNA…..

Our men…..

Two happy campers, ready for a weekend getaway!

There were 2 limos waiting for us at the airport…..

Tim and Lauri ended up in separate limos, so after we took the “couple” pictures, Tim decided to pose with an empty “red solo cup”.  Then, he decided that everyone should probably get solo shots.  What the birthday boy wants, the birthday boy gets……

The fire & water show at Ceasars…..

We saw Pete Rose…..

and Dick Butkus…..

One of the appetizers from dinner Friday night.  You can’t see the bottom layer of oysters, or the dry ice effects in this picture, but it was quite impressive…..

Patrick’s birthday was February 9th, so when they brought Tim cake, they also included Patrick (and Derek).  We had gone to the bathroom, and by the time we came back, the other b-day boys had blown out their candles, but I did get a pic of this happy guy……

One of the appetizers from dinner Saturday night, at Nobu.  Yummy……

Batting Practice vs. Dora

Taking a little break from batting practice to catch up on some Dora;)…..

Reading

Cole LOVES to read his daddy and Uncle Kyle’s old books when he is at Nana & Papa’s:)…..

Strong Like Hudson

Look at this BEAUTIFUL family!!!

On January 23rd (which happened to be Miller’s 7th month in Heaven), I received this email:

January 23rd

Woodruff Family,

My name is Jessica Lais and I heard about your story through a friend and have been following your blog. I wanted to write you and tell you how you have been such an inspiration to me and my family.

My son, Hudson, was born on February 13. He and Miller were only one month apart. During my last trimester with Hudson, I became very sick. To make a long story short, Hudson was not delivered "in time" and incurred a massive brain injury from a lack of oxygen. At first, the doctors told us that he would not make it. When he did, they told us that Hudson would be a vegetable for the rest of his life. Again, they were wrong.

While Hudson spent months recovering in the NICU, I went through a very dark and angry time. I was angry with God, angry with the doctor and angry at the situation. I became very depressed and did not have much strength left to give my family. It was at this time that I first heard of your family and sweet Miller. Your family's strength inspired me. I realized that everything truly does happen for a reason and sometimes the most beautiful strength comes from the most desperate of situations. You've also inspired me to start my own blog to spread Hudson's story (http://www.stronglikehudson.blogspot.com). This has been an amazing source of therapy for me as well.

Hudson has since been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. Although he is extremely developmentally delayed, he continues to amaze us every day with his will power. I have come to terms with our journey, but every day is still a struggle. I must constantly remind myself of our blessings and that every day with Hudson should be cherished, because it could have been so much different. Thank you, Woodruff Family, for reminding me of this.

As Hudson's 1st birthday quickly approaches, I find myself thinking of and praying for your family and Miller on a daily basis. As a parent, I can't even fathom what your hearts go through on a daily basis and especially during the big milestones. In my opinion, God only gives babies with special needs to the strongest families. No matter how short OR long their journey may be, he knows which families CAN handle the ups and the downs.

We've been wanting to do something special for your family and for your Foundation for awhile now as a "thank you" for everything your family has unknowingly done for us. I recently sent out Hudson's 1st Birthday Party invitations and inside them I've requested that people not bring him gifts. Instead, we've asked people to bring a donation of any size to the Miller McNeil Woodruff Foundation in Hudson's name. We would love to be able to give this to your family as a Happy Birthday gift to Miller from Hudson. I wish so badly that Miller could be here for his birthday, but I KNOW that God will have a very special celebration for him in Heaven.

Hudson's party is Sunday, 2/12. Please let me know how I can give you the donations afterward. I know that it isn't much, but it is a little something to let you know that Hudson (and the rest of the Lais family) will always be with Miller.

Thank you for everything.

Jessica Lais

(This email left me speechless!  For a family that is facing struggles of their own, to think of US, was beyond my comprehension!  To say that we are humbled would be an understatement!)

Well, this week I received a follow up email and pictures from Jessica:

Meredith,

Hudson's party was amazing, and we were able to share Miller's story with so many people. Thank you so much for the cards and Miller bands that you sent. We made adorable goody bags with them. I'll be sending you the checks this week. I'm still waiting on some from out of town friends & family who couldn't make it. So far, we've raised over $500!! I've attached a couple of pictures of our "Miller" table at the party and of the goody bags. Also, my sister had on a "Miller" dress at the party and didn't even realize it! I put some pictures up on the blog as well. Miller was definitely with us! :)

Thank you so much for sharing your sweet boy with the world and with our family. I hope we get to meet some day!

Jess

What an amazing, kind-hearted family!!!  Please keep little Hudson in your prayers.  Follow along their journey by visiting www.stronglikehudson.com.  I can’t wait to meet them in person someday.  I just know we will be great friends!

Michael Jordan?

Sarah and Jon are gettting married…

Saturday evening, after lunch at JJ’s…..after the Razorback Basketball game…..after driving back to Rogers for Cowen’s birthday party……we headed BACK to Fayetteville for the last stop of our busy, busy day!  A Cocktail Party for Sarah and Jon.  We aren’t going to be able to make it to their wedding, because it is the same weekend as Cupcakes & Cocktails:(.  I hate to miss it!  I know it is going to be beautiful! 

I didn’t get a picture of the happy couple, but Sarah is the precious, tiny little thing by Patrick:)…..

Valentine’s Day

Cole had a very fun Valentine’s Day. First, he had his school party, and then we had a Valentine’s themed Taco Tuesday at Nana & Papa’s, complete with chocolate covered strawberries and heart shaped cakes:).

Making chocolate covered strawberries…..

Cole’s special little cakes…..

the big heart cake…..

This picture CRACKS ME UP!!!  Check out Papa’s face…..