A Bittersweet Day

I had a wonderful meeting this morning and I'm proud to announce that we finally have our first hospital! I'm so excited about our partnership with Randolph Hospital. They were so grateful and excited about our memory boxes! Just talking with them, I could feel their passion and love for the families that they serve. I just know that this is going to be a fabulous collaboration, with the end result being such a gift to their patients. While it is always our hope that the memory boxes are never needed, we hope that our partnership with Randolph Hospital will be a successful one for many, many years to come!

Today has been a bittersweet day. I was so excited as I left the hospital but I couldn't help but think of how different my life was a year ago. A year ago, today, I laid on an exam table staring at my son's lifeless little body on an ultrasound screen as my OB sadly told me that he no longer had a heartbeat. I was induced on July 20th and he was born on July 21, 2011 at 2:32am. We're having a cake made for him and plan to release a sky lantern on Saturday for his 1st birthday. I will be working on assembling the boxes to see what else is needed before the first donation drop-off. Other than having him here, I can't think of a better way to spend his birthday than assembling memory boxes.

Thank you all for your love and support over the last year! It has been sincerely appreciated.

Sewing Machine

I finally got a sewing machine! My mom found one at a yard sale a couple weeks ago. A lady had passed away about a year ago and her son was selling all of her sewing stuff. She was a serious sewer... sewed her own clothes, etc. We ended up with 4 boxes and two suitcases full of patterns, thread, bobbins, latches, zippers, buttons, etc.

I've been told that as long I continue to service it, I should have many more years of use. The sewing machine I got is a Vintage 1950's Singer Touch & Sew. It came with the manual and all the accessories... all in their original boxes!

I stopped by Joann's and got some cotton flannel fabric and brown minky dots fabric.

I decided to try my hand at a self-binding baby blanket. I found the tutorial on YouTube and I thought it looked so cute and simple!

Crazy me decided to start with flannel and minky dot fabric. Wow... minky is NOT a forgiving fabric. In addition to being an expensive fabric, minky is also an unforgiving fabric. If you screw up, it will shout loudly and announce it. LOL. However, I think it turned out okay. Especially considering that I've never sewn before. (The pink minky fabric was donated by Mommy & Me Consignments.)

My second attempt turned out a little better. I used two different patterns of cotton flannel and I think it turned out really cute!!

Photography

If you are a photographer or know someone who is... please watch this video. This is an AMAZING organization! Sadly, Nathan was born too early to receive the services of NILMDTS but I know many families who have cherished photographs because of them. They are always needing more people to volunteer their skills and talents. If you are able, please consider contributing in some way to this worthy organization.