Leah's Angel Day

One year ago today Leah, Jeff and I sat together for the last time, this side of heaven.   

And one year ago today Leah became our little Angel Leah; carried home in the arms of Jesus.  

This is my song for her, a song written by another Mommy and Daddy who had to say goodbye to their little girl.  It is sung by that little girls Daddy, Todd Smith of the Christian band Selah.  

Christmas without Leah

Well Christmas is approaching, and I'm so not into Christmas this year; I'm sure you know why.  But with that being said, I'd still like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.  

There are no lights outside our house, we don't have a tree, no stockings are hung, and the furthest I got doing any kind of Christmas decorating was stringing some garland up the banister.

The thought of hanging Leah's ornaments on the tree without her being here doesn't make sense.  Even going through all the bins in the garage full of the decorations seems like too much.  

The garland I put up?  That was a new purchase - no memories are attached to it.  That's the only way I can walk up and down the stairs without sighing to myself.  

Why did I buy it?  Because I thought I'd want to decorate for Christmas, just like I have every other year.  But in comparison to the rest of the non-decorated house, it looks silly.

I ordered a personalized doggie stocking for Sam - it's sitting in my office.  

I even bought 2 ornaments for Angel Leah in Germany - they're laying on top of Sam's stocking. 

We have no set plans for Christmas.  I'm leaning toward a plan of just sitting at home and pretending like it's any other day; that is, if on any other day TBS showed A Christmas Story for 24 hours straight.  Maybe we'll venture out to a movie theater, since for some reason they are open on Christmas day.  

I was thinking the other day about how quickly the past year has gone by - and how in a lot of ways things are back to 'normal'.  We live as if we never had a child because we have no living children.  No toys are strewn across the living room floor - no bottles sit in the sink - and the laundry never includes tiny socks, fuzzy blankets or drool soaked bibs.  I don't buy diapers, and my car is carseat-less.  Unless you went into Leah's old room and saw her unassembled crib and bins stacked up to the ceiling with toys, clothes and blankets - you'd never know that once upon a time not too long ago, a baby lived here.

In the living room we have her teddy bear urn, some of her favorite toys, and pictures; lots of pictures. 

In my office, which was Leah's downstairs room, my desk sits where her crib once did.  Sammie's pen is where the recliner used to be.  That was Nurse Ann's spot to sit overnight.  And sometimes I'd sit there and watch Leah sleep in the mornings.

One of the things I miss the most is the way Leah would smile at whoever fetched her from her crib in the mornings.  Still sleepy, hungry, and probably not too comfortable with stiff sore skin; she'd look up at us with the best smile.  It wasn't her smirk and it wasn't her regular happy smile.  It was 'You again! I know you, I'm happy to see you, and I love you'.  The last month or so she didn't smile at us like that in the morning, but her eyes still said the same thing.  

This past year has also taught me a lot about how other people react to our grief.  

I have blood relatives I've known my whole life who all but ignore me, because they don't know what to say to me.  Which is fine; I get it.  If the shoe were on the other foot I may not know what to say either.

And then I have relatives I've only recently re-connected with who have been awesome.  They don't avoid talking about Leah, they're not scared to talk to us, and they don't see any reason for there to be 'weirdness'.

Also, there are these wonderful perfect strangers I've never met, that I only know via this blog, or Facebook who email me just to say they're thinking about us, who have sent us cards, gifts, their own hard-earned money; just because of what Leah meant to them.  

These last 12 months haven't been easy, by any stretch of the imagination.  

2009 was a challenge with Leah.  

2010 was a challenge without her.  

2009 was full of heartbreak while watching Leah in pain; changing bandages and clearing her trach.  

2010 was full of heartbreak because of the simple fact that she was gone. 

It was full of firsts without Leah.  First birthdays without her.  First Easter, Thanksgiving, and now Christmas; which was the day last year that Leah's condition took a turn for the worse.  

But I said it the day after she passed and the same still stands true today, almost 1 full year later - I'd rather live with heartbreak without Leah than have her here in pain that I couldn't ease no matter what I did. 

2011 can't come quick enough - it has to be a better year.  

Just checking in

Hi everyone!

I know I haven't posted for awhile - but that's because Jeff and I were in Germany from the 7th to the 13th.  Now we're back.  Back in the US - back to work - back to life.

It was nice to go on vacation.  It was nice to not have to go to work for 8 days.  It was nice to see and experience Germany - but it is GREAT to be home.

I'm a homebody; admittedly.  It's hard for me to just 'do nothing', ie 'go on vacation' - so I guess I really did have to travel across the Atlantic ocean so that I literally couldn't clean my house or do laundry or organize my office for a full week.

I put some photos from our trip up on Facebook, and I'll post some here on the blog as well at a later date.  But we're still trying to get back on our regular schedule.  Today was my first day back at work; waking up at 5 AM and such.

But overall here are a few things I learned about Germany and about travelling:

Munich at Christmastime is beautiful.  Cold, windy, snowy and beautiful.

Everyone in Germany smokes.  Everyone: man, woman, old, young.  Everyone, all the time.

Soft toilet paper is hard to find.  Our hotel was a first class, nice hotel.  The toilet paper was 2-ply, quilted, and about 1 step away from sand paper.

Gustav Klimt paintings in person are everything I thought they'd be.

What you think is apple juice there is not apple juice.  It's sparkling water with a small bit of apple flavoring added.

They don't have Diet Coke, they have Light Coke.

Apparently I am a security threat.  I was pulled aside and double searched in both Munich and Atlanta - and my luggage was inspected.

Coffee in Germany comes in small cups, and it's black and bitter.  I knew our trip back home was well overdue when I nearly had a full blown temper tantrum in the Munich airport by yelling that I wanted, "Coffee ... Regular American coffee.  Not espresso, not cappuccino.  Just - COFFEE!"

I require Dramamine to travel by airplane.

It has now been proven that it is possible for me to go 9+ hours without peeing - because airplane bathrooms are gross.

Also, I just wanted to let everyone know who is waiting on Seed Cards to please be patient and I will have some more made up and sent out just as soon as I can!

Seed cards and more seed cards

(After I made up more seed cards this morning I decided to get artsy).

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.  Anyone who knows me knows that I don't really 'do' Thanksgiving for several reasons:
1.) Thanksgiving food is not seasonal, therefore not that big of a deal - you can make a turkey for the 4th of July if you wanted to.
2.) I'm not a fan of football, at all.
3.) People should give thanks year round.

Perhaps one year I will make a big to-do out of the holiday and make a turkey and mash potatoes by hand and so on and so forth ... but I haven't had the inclination to do that - yet.


But I just wanted to post a quick fundraiser update.  We've had a few friends of the family request to purchase packets of 5.   While packaging them up it made me think that perhaps with the Christmas season upon us, maybe other's would like to purchase 5 and give some away as gifts.  You know, they'd fit quite well into a Christmas card!

I've estimated that 2 bucks should cover shipping and handling of these.
So: if you'd like to purchase a packet of 5 the cost would be:

By check: $27.00         (Email me for details about where to send your check).

Via PayPal: $28.50      (Email me if you like this option and I will send you an invoice via PayPal).  Please note: The extra cost is to cover the fee's PayPal charges 

My email is: MegGehring@gmail.com

Friday Fundraiser Reminder!!

Time for another fundraiser reminder!!

I definitely need to sit down and make some more cards, as this is what my 'card bin' currently looks like. 

Pretty empty ..... that's completed/ready-to-go cards on the left, blank cards in the middle and empty envelopes on the right.  Oh and all the mess of my desk in the background but pay no attention to that.  

I ordered some more cards, and there's still plenty of seed paper to use ...... so I can guarantee anyone who wants a card will get one!

If you'd like to help me raise money with these, please consider buying a bunch and then collecting donations from your friends, family, church members, and co-workers to 'reimburse yourself', so to speak.

Also, 'in person' the cards are just $5.00 -- the $6.00 charge is via PayPal who takes a cut of the action, and also to cover the cost of mailing these out.   So if you were to order say, 15 - you wouldn't have to send me $90 via PayPal, just email me (MegGehring@gmail.com), or comment here, and we'll figure out a way to get a bundle of cards to you.   Not to mention if you sell these in person you won't be fighting with 5's and 1's.  : )

And that goes for anyone who just wants a bundle for themselves too!!

And remember .... for those who don't like to use PayPal - you can also email me (or comment me) to discuss other options.

And lastly -- I need some good ideas for what to do with all these scraps I have.  

Sure I could just put them in the garden, or pots -- but I'm hoping someone with a really green finger and creative mind can give me some groovy ideas!!

Ich mache eine Ferienreise

............ that is German for: I am here on vacation.

Yes, in just 3 short weeks Jeff and I will be leaving for our trip to Germany!  I am very excited to be able to a.) take a real vacation, b.) travel on a plane and c.) go to Germany - since I've never done any of those things.  Yes, including taking a real vacation.

Christmastime in Germany is something I've wanted to experience for a long time.  Jeff got to experience it when he was working as a tour manager about 6 years ago.  And knowing that this Christmas is going to be very hard for us, and knowing that we really needed a vacation ... we started planning this trip as early as last spring.  We booked our flights and hotel super early, thus saving a ton of money.  (If we were to book the trip now, we would pay double). We have our luggage, seat cushiony things, I bought a new coat, just ordered (literally, like 20 minutes ago from Zappos) new winter boots for myself, and cat/puppy/house sitters lined up.  

So for those who are wondering exactly what Christmas in Germany looks like, it looks something like this:

And then of course there's Neuschwanstein Castle, that I've been wanting to visit since I was 6.  

See? I even buy jars of mustard just because a picture of the castle is on it:

So just imagine what I'll do in the gift shop.

But with 3 weeks remaining I have to pray that the weather stays on the 'not crazy blizzard' side (both here and in Munich), that there are no more Icelandic volcanoes, and that neither Jeff or I get sick/injured directly before or between December 6th to the 13th.  I've been having some kind of sinus/allergy thing going on all weekend and I almost want it to become a cold so I'll be recovered in time for the trip!

In other news, on the fundraiser front: my Mom and Dad came down to Maryland to visit us this weekend and my Mom and I had a major seed paper cutting session and she left here with 120 cards for her and my sister to sell at work.  So for all those who work with my Mommy or sister, please see them to pick some up! 

Friday Fundraiser Reminder!

Just to keep it 'fresh' on the blogosphere; I'll do little mini posts every Friday with reminders, info and updates on the ongoing fundraiser!

FLOWERS FOR LEAH FUNDRAISER

Also, if you sent in your donation for your card and seed paper (and you're not my Mom): THANK YOU! and ..... your card went out in the mail today!  So please be on the lookout for it. 

Also, if you:

a.) would rather not go through PayPal or

b.) have a church group or any group really, and you'd like to order several cards at once on behalf of your group; or
c.) you want to purchase several and don't want the hassle of going through the PayPal click-dance several times over, then;

please either email me at: MegGehring (at) Gmail (dot) com or leave me a comment here and I will gladly contact you regarding that.

And ........... I'm super excited to let everyone know that the company that supplies the seed paper has graciously offered to donate 50 ...  that's 5-0 ....... seed paper sheets .................. FOR FREE!! 

Since I get a good 10 or so butterflies out of every sheet - that's pretty incredible.  

So now in addition to the Pink, Cranberry, Violet and Lavender colors I've been working with, I will soon have: Forest and Sage green, Light and Royal Blue, Burgundy, and Yellow!

The company is Bloomin.  And they have some awesome products ..... this is one of my favorite ideas for an awesome holiday gift.  It's a 12 page seed paper calendar - so rather than having nothing at the end of the month other than a piece of paper to throw out - you have a seed card you can plant!

Book News

No .... not the book I'm writing on Leah.  That is still a work very much in progress!  I'd say I'm about 20% done .... with another 60% more writing to do, then 10% editing and 10% publishing.  But I am super duper blessed to have a very good friend I have known since high school who has done editing work before and she has offered to edit for me.  : )

But a few months ago I was approached by someone involved in getting a book together written by bereaved parents for bereaved parents.  You see, the hospital or funeral home will give you these cheesy brochures and booklets with stock photos of distraught people on the cover.  And these pieces of literature are supposed to get you through your grief.  These posed photographs and 'rules of grief' written by a psychologist somewhere are supposed to make you feel like you're going to be OK - but they don't ever attempt to say they understand what you're going through when you lose a young child.  

That's where the idea for this book comes in.  The creator of the book wanted to make a collection of stories from bereaved parents on how they dealt with their grief and what the whole process meant for them.  

So I wrote up a little 2,000 word piece and submitted it.  Then I waited, and waited, and waited ............ and eventually thought maybe my piece had been left on the cutting room floor.  

But then last week I got my final draft for approval and the word that our story will be included!

A website for the book is being created right now, as is a cover design, and the eBook may be available very soon, as in: 2 weeks or so.  I will be sure to post links to everything as soon as I have them.  

But I'm very happy to contribute to the project: to share our story and a little piece of Leah's life.  We are the only EB family represented - but for such a rare disease to be included in a book like this is a big step in raising awareness on EB.  

And on EB Awareness Week - I thought it'd be a fitting time to share the news.  

Fundraiser Announcement

Those who have been following the blog with regularity know that we didn't do much in the way of celebrating Leah's birthday last year.  

Sure, I made her a cake, and at the exact moment she had been born I kissed her teddy bear urn; but we didn't do anything that everyone could participate in to help celebrate Leah's short life, while continuing to support the EB cause.

So for Leah's next birthday (2-10-11), I'm planning big and planning early.  Tomorrow (the 25th) begins Epidermolysis Bullosa Awareness Week, and with the holidays just around the corner, full acknowledgment that December is going to be really hard for us - I'm announcing it now to give everyone ample time to participate and (hopefully) spread the word.  

From now until Leah's birthday I am selling these little puppies in exchange for a $6 donation (just click on the PayPal 'Donate' button on the sidebar):

What you're seeing is a piece of paper with flower seeds embedded into it that I have cut out into the shape of a butterfly.  They come on a cute little keepsake card with instructions for the paper.  

The idea is to have everyone plant these (per your regions seed planting schedule) and have little patches of flowers for Leah all over the country (dare I say: world?).

The color of the seed paper will vary, as I have a couple different shades of pink and purple that I'm working with. 

And with the sales - I will donate the money to dEBra to commemorate Leah's 2nd Birthday.

I hope to continue with these birthday fundraisers in the future; with more creative and innovative ideas, so I'm really hoping this first one goes well!

One Long Week

Well, I'm very glad last week is over.  I think I've cried more in the past 5 days than I have in the past 5 months............

I woke up on Tuesday to the news that Bella had flown home to heaven, and then I checked Facebook and saw that Tripp was in the hospital.   It was the first time I ever had to email my boss and say 'I might not make it through the day today so if I gotta go I'll let you know'. 

With Bella, everything just hit too close to home.  The events as told by Bella's Daddy Tim were so similar to what happened with us on the morning that Leah passed.  Just like us, Daddy and Baby were together when the Baby's heart first stopped.  Then Baby came back - as Mommy was on her way to the hospital.  Mommy came and everybody got to be together for one last time.  Mommy and Baby sat together as Baby took her last breaths.  And the picture of Ang holding Bella ..... we didn't take any photos of Leah after she passed as we both held her .... but that photo says it all.  Very few of us have been 'in' that moment; so they way you cry for her is different from the way I do when I see that picture.  

Tuesday was a long day, to say the least - but I made it through.  I was happy to think that Leah has a new playmate in heaven.  Two little gorgeous girls, with their beautiful big blue eyes, and sweet smiles; playing, laughing, running and jumping - hugging each other without worrying about trachs, blood, blisters and boo-boos.  And I'm sure that on the day that I get to see Leah again, she'll pull on my hand and say, "You have to meet Bella! She's the best".  

Then on Wednesday I got my flu shot and I think I had a bad reaction to it.  I got a flu shot last year (because of Leah), and the year before (because I was pregnant) and I never had so much as a sore arm.  This time, I had an itchy 3 inches in diameter red, hot, hard, painful bump on my arm.  On Friday I woke up and was so tired I felt like I had gotten no sleep at all, instead of the 7 hours or so that I did get.  As the day wore on it just got worse: I developed a headache, was feeling nauseous, and got more and more tired.  I literally couldn't hold my head up by 1 in the afternoon and just had to go home early.  

Then yesterday Jeff and I took another step in our goal of becoming debt-free.  We traded in our new '08 Ford Escape for a used '02 Mitsubishi Montero.  My Mommy prayed for us that everything would work out on Saturday when we went to the dealership and it did!

We basically went with the goal of trading our car for another one so we could get out of our $330 a month car payment (which we did, and can afford - it's just going to push us further along on our debt-free goal).   We didn't really have anything in mind - just as long as it was a fair trade and we didn't have to pay 1 red cent.  As luck (prayers) would have it - the dealership (Ford) reallllly wanted our car.  They had just gotten in a ton of repo'd cars and needed to make room on their lot.  They had this super nice Monty (what us Montero owners say) that someone had recently wanted to buy, but their finances just didn't work out in the end so as of Saturday, it was officially for sale again.  So they didn't have space for the Monty, they wanted our car; bad, and once we drove the Monty, we wanted to trade.  

After a bit of negotiating and Jeff repeatedly saying 'I'm not opening my wallet today' - they conceded to our deal.  Even the title/tag stuff they paid for .... AND the salesman threw $20 worth of gas into it before we left.

So that monthly savings, along with Jeff and I STILL being smoke free - we are saving quite a big chunk of money.  : )  

But also, that car held too many memories that I'd rather not have every time I climbed into it.  The Escape had been our Leah-mobile.   It drove her to and from more doctor's appointments, ER's and hospitals than I can count.  I drove it, while still pregnant, to the hospital the day they told me something wasn't quite right, and they had to deliver her.  We drove it home with Leah in her car seat for the first time, scared poop-less at what the doctors were telling us.  I drove it the morning of December the 31st, speeding in a sleet storm at 5 AM to get to her at the hospital - and I climbed back into it hours later knowing she was gone.  It took me weeks before I could even pull the car seat base out of it. 

I don't want to say I hate that car, but I can certainly do without seeing it in our driveway every day.  

People are Awesome

So, first of all; I have been getting comments from some new folks to the blog here - so I wanted to say 'Welcome!'.  I don't know what's causing the sudden surge in new readers, commenter's and blog traffic but I'll take it!  I mean, I'm clearly no Pioneer Woman by any stretch of the imagination but even so; I love to have new readers.

Then, on to the awesomeness of some people, in order of occurrence, not necessarily awesomeness:

Over the weekend a long-time family friend sent me this photo she took at a butterfly memorial garden:

She said it reminded her of Leah, and of our family so she wanted to pass it along.
I love that the little butterflies wings have hearts on them ..........

Then on Tuesday, one of my readers and Facebook buddies did a balloon release for Leah!  Diane was celebrating her own little girls birthday, and had Leah on her heart.
Here is Leah's beautiful balloon:

And here is adorable Jordan with the balloon:

And then there it goes!

Then ..... and this is the crazy one .......

So yesterday morning I'm walking to work with my iPod on.  I came across some Celtic music that I have on there and it reminded me of a little anecdote I wanted to include in the book I'm working on about Leah.  (Yes, I'm still working on it).  The anecdote involves the life of my Irish born great-great grandmother and her life.
(When the book comes out and you read it -- you will read it won't you??? -- it'll all make sense).
So I write a few little paragraphs in my head during my walk - and after getting to work and having some time to type it out; I do.  I saved my work, closed the window, went to check my email and found something Jonah's Mommy had forwarded to me.  It was a lovely email someone had sent to her, asking her to forward it along to me; it told of a super nice couple from Arkansas who took a trip to Ireland back at the beginning of the year.  One day they decided to stop and take some photos of some prayers they had for Jonah, Leah and some other very special little ones.  This is what the prayer said:

So just as I was feeling a need to write about Leah's Irish ancestor, someone who had a picture sitting unsent for months found it put in their hearts to forward it along just hours before.  And just as I was finished writing about that Irish ancestor, I find a photo of a prayer written for my daughter right at the edge of the Emerald Isle.

People. Are. Awesome.
And God is Awesome-er.

Decorating with Leah ......

...... is easy.  When your subject is so precious - it's hard to not make things for her.

My Mommy got me this handmade Amish doll cradle.  I filled it with some of Leah's favorite toys.  Her giraffe, Duckie, one of her many doll babies, and of course, Big Bird from the video.

Then I took a super cute photo of Leah with her giraffe:

And put it next to that toy:

And then I repeated it with Duckie on the other side:

I wish I hadn't had to wash Duckie so often - he (she?) is losing some of the yellow color and his (her?) fur isn't what it used to be.  I remember Leah used to pluck at the fur like a little monkey would to pick off bugs.

The cradle and pictures are in our room; on our TV hutch.


And this is still one of my favs; and I keep Jeff's cremation pendant on there for safe keeping:

And lastly .......... I recently ordered a new urn for a portion for my butterfly angel babies ashes:

So now we have 2 official urns for Leah.  Her teddy bear urn that sits on the mantle, and this one, that is by our bed.  Since the day we brought her ashes home I have kept some in the original container on my night stand.  I wanted to get something special to keep in our room so I could still have them close by while I sleep.  I've had this new urn for well over a week and yet .......

......... I still have the plain white box with her remaining ashes sitting on my night stand. 

All Cats Go to Heaven

Leah has a new buddy up in heaven.  A great big furry sweet-souled gentleman that can give her piggy back rides and let her use him as a pillow.  He'll probably even let her dress him up in pink tutus.

This big kitty is Thor.  Thor was one of my sister's cats.  I got to live with Thor for a couple years (back when I still lived at home) ..... I was there when she brought him home from the shelter.   He was half-shaved - something the shelter had to do to clean all the gunk off of him.  If I recall correctly he had both motor oil (from trying to find warmth on the streets of Camden, New Jersey in January inside the hood of a car) and gum stuck in his fur.  He had scars on his side that could have only been from a dog bite.  His nervousness at the mere sound of a dogs bark in the distance validated that.  

But he was a full-breed Norwegian Forest Cat. How he found his way to the mean streets of Camden is anyone's guess.  But he found himself a home with us.  He was lucky enough to go from the streets, to the shelter, to a forever home where he got to live the good life.

Thor passed away on Saturday - most likely from a heart attack.  He may have had a very gentle heart - but his little ticker always was a little malfunctioning.  A genetic defect perhaps.  But he was the definition of a gentle giant.  I can't recall him ever hissing at anyone or anything.  When the next rescued cat, Gwen came into the house, she jumped right up on a chair that Thor was sitting on and cuddled up to him.  He didn't raise one piece of fur in objection.  The other cats arched their backs and hissed at little newbie Gwen - Thor just let her cuddle.  While the other cats came around the embrace Gwen, she rarely left Thors' side - and she is currently heartbroken to have lost her friend - as is everyone who knew Thor.

But, just as they say all dogs go to heaven, I know all cats must go to.  Especially gentle giants with sweet souls like Thor.  Enjoy your rewards in heaven, Thor.  

'Hi Leah'

I don't feel silly admitting that every time I see a butterfly I say 'Hi Leah'.

And I don't feel silly admitting that the small cement slab that serves as our 'back porch' has been my crying spot.  Both when Leah was still here and after she passed.  It faces away from the house, towards the backyard and is the most isolated spot for crying that I could find.

Just now as I walked through the hallway toward the kitchen I saw something in 'my spot'.

Looking On The Bright Side

There are advantages of having a half-dead fruit tree and rotting fruit in your backyard.

This is our pear tree.  As you can see - it doesn't look so good.  And as the summer dwindles down all the fruit is tumbling down to lay and rot on the ground.  

Appetizing huh?

Here is a comparison to our neighbors tree in the background that still looks quite well:

Yeah, our tree just ain't the best.  And we've contemplated just axing it down.

This doesn't look, nor smell too good.  Even Sammie doesn't linger around the fruit too long - she sniffs - and moves on.

She'd rather mosey in the Morning Glories ....

Cute huh?

But enough of her - back to the rotting fruit, and the bright side of it.

The 'rotting fruit spot' has been the place to be if you're a bee, bug, moth .... or butterfly and you're in our area.

Close up!

Another close up!

So yes, our neighbors get to enjoy the site of their healthy plentiful pear tree - but we get to feed the butterflies.

Butterflies = Leah

Sorry I've been M.I.A. on here lately.  There hasn't been much to talk about.  I get up, go to work, come home, cuddle with Sammie, Hannah and Jeff, and then go to bed only to start the cycle all over again.  

Even the weekends have been uneventful lately as the work on renovating my bathroom continues ... and there have been more than a few hiccups along the way.  (No it still isn't done).  And I feel like this blog should just be Leah-centered.  So, while I say there's nothing really going on, it's more so that there's nothing worthy of Leah's space .... mayhaps a new Turnquist family blog is called for?

But in any event ...the weekend before last was pretty cool, with some Leah-connected things.  I traveled up to Philly to surprise my Daddy for his birthday, and Jeff traveled down to Virginia for his cousin Heathers wedding.  

I gave my Dad a couple of Leah-inspired gifts, and at Heathers wedding they did a butterfly release.  Of course it wasn't for Leah per say, but to me and everyone else in the family, butterflies and Leah will always be connected.  And she was also mentioned in the program:

And here are some shots of the butterfly release (which was a surprise for the bride and groom):

Butterfly in Leah's Garden

As I sat here in my office, ironically enough working on the book I'm writing about Leah - I noticed something flitting around in her garden .....