Summer's ending...here comes fall

Well, here I am again, weeks since my last post. Hopefully you'll forgive me after watching the newest slide show. We've just come back from a week at my dad and stepmom's farm. This was essentially our vacation and the girls had a blast! There is so much to do out there...they fed the chickens every morning, looked for eggs, picked and ate veggies in the garden, went for hay rides, caught their first fish, the list goes on and on and on. The farm really is a beautiful place. I had an opportunity to spend about an hour by myself on the porch one afternoon. I just looked all around at all the wonderful beautiful living things around me and was overcome. I thanked God for gifting us with such natural beauty in our world. Grampaw and Birdie do a great job of maintaining, protecting, and enriching this natural beauty as well. They work hard on that farm!

Besides that, most of my energy has been focused on the Zoe Rose Memorial Foundation. We are just about two weeks away from our remembrance event and it's getting very exciting. I was worried about attendance...but I'm not anymore. I just pray that whoever needs to be there, whoever needs hope and healing will be led to this event on October 17th. I am so thankful for all the friends and even strangers who have offered to volunteer that day. It just wouldn't come together if it weren't for such giving people around us.

Speaking of giving people...I am excited to announce that we'll be delivering our first set of isolette covers to Northside Hospital next week. A wonderful woman (who also lost her daughter) owns a quilt shop nearby. We were introduced by a mutual acquaintance and she has organized volunteers to come to her shop once a month to sew these beautiful quilts for the babies' isolettes. She's started off with one pattern and has two others she'll do as well. The time is donated and half of the materials are donated! I just can't wait to see the look on Anne's face when she gets this first set. We're striving to provide 300 covers so we have a ways to go. But Mita has committed to us for one year with the hopes of giving 10-15 quilts each month! What makes these covers so special (in my eyes) is: first, the fact that these women give an entire afternoon to sew something so beautiful that they don't get to keep for themselves! And second, these covers will be what helps to envelope the babies in their external "womb" environment and can then become a treasured keepsake for the families. And sadly, in some cases, it may be one of the only things the parents have left to remember their babies who were born too soon.

My heart is so full right now. I am just overflowing with excitement in what is happening, anticipation of what is to come, and I'm just plain thankful for all God has provided for us and through us.

If, by the way, you are interested in sewing a quilt for us send an email to info@zoerose.org. After I deliver the first set of quilts to the hospital I will then add section on the website with more details on how to contribute.