Bag Deliveries!! (Long Overdue Post!)

This is LONG overdue! I have made two deliveries so far. The first was a single bag and the second was a group of 11 bags to the bereavement group at OSU medical center.




The first bag delivery was a very emotional one for me. I received a phone call from my sister telling me that a baby in their NICU would be taken off the ventilator later that morning, and was wondering if I happened to have a bag in my car. I said I didn't, but when I got off of work, I would head home and grab one and bring it back to the hospital. When I got off at 6am, I drove home, and the tears started streaming. I was overcome with the grief for this family, for myself, for my precious baby girl, and for this precious baby girl who would be passing in a matter of hours. It was a hard delivery. I pulled up to the front of the hospital still in tears. My sister met me because I was not ready to meet a family in this process. One day maybe, but not yet, my own grief is still too fresh and raw. Bug had tears in her eyes ass well. She was supposed to get off at 7am, but decided to stick around until the family showed up in order to present them with the bag, and be with them as they said goodbye to their daughter. I honestly don't know how she does it. She is one strong cookie! From what Bug told me, the mom was extremely thankful for the items in the bag, and will cherish them forever. that is all I want to hear! This is why I do this!



For Rosalynn's first birthday in Heaven, I wanted to make a delivery to the hospital I gave birth to her in. So on April 19th, exactly one year from the day that I walked into those doors only to find out my beautiful daughter's heart had stopped, I met with Joan.



Joan has been an integral part of my healing process. She is one of the chaplains at Ohio State University Medical center that deals with baby loss. She took Rosie and bathed her, dressed her, and presented her to me all wrapped in her pink knitted blanket to be baptized. She sat with me for hours and let me cry. She spent time with my family and most of all treated my beautiful angel with love and respect. She found a beautiful dress to put my baby girl in that we ended up burrying her in. She also rounded up a memory box that now holds the few things I have to cherish.



My sister and Aunt walked into the hospital and were greeted with hugs and smiles. Joan was ecstatic to see me after this whole year, and was even more thrilled to find out we were expecting Rosie's brother or sister. We sat in her office and talked for a good hour. She told us that she had just come from a family who lost their baby that day. This makes me so sad that a project like mine is even needed! I ached for that family, because exactly one year ago we had been in the same situation. I know the hell they will be going through for the next few months; the questions, the pain, the dark places. At that moment, the family felt like there would be no tomorrow, that their lives had ended. Yes, their lives had ended the way that they have known them, but all I wanted to do was go up there, hug the mom and dad, and tell them that things will get better, that the pain will never really go away, but the days will get easier to get through. I was living proof that one year later I was smiling, pregnant again, and filled with hope; feelings that on April 19/20th 2010 I never thought I would experience again.



Of course we took pictures!

See the embroidery? My aunt did that! And on the back of the bags is the Project Sweet Peas Logo...i LOVE the bags!! And I love all the little Bear heads peeking out from the top:-)

Bug, Me and Joan



TAX EXEMPT!!!!

I would like to announce that it is official. After waiting and much hard work from our Project Sweet Peas board members, Project Sweet Peas is officially a501(c)3 tax exempt non-profit organization! I have mentioned before that PSP is a non-profit, but we finally have our tax exempt status now! what does this mean? Anyone who sends a donation to Roses From Rosalynn (or any other local PSP project for that matter) will be mailed the paper work to apply it to their taxes at the end of the year. It gets better! If you donated since I got Roses From Rosalynn up and running (around OCT/NOV) and you have not filed your 2010 taxes, you can message me and I will send you the form for last year. I am thrilled to be a part of this amazing group of women who are so dedicated to helping other families in  time of need.

This tax exempt status will hopefully open doors wide for more donations from bigger companies, along with grants. Let's get Roses from Rosalynn all through Ohio, and Project Sweet Peas in all 50 states! If you are interested in starting your own local project, email me, or log onto Projectsweetpeas.com and send an email their way and express your interest.

Thank you everyone for your continued support and generosity!

Roses From Rosalynn

I am following a blog entitled "The Lady's Blogger Society". Today they had a post about unrealistic goals to be the perfect blogger. One of them happens to be to post at least 3 times a week. WOW! I have failed miserably in the last few weeks at that one!! Trust me, it is not because I am short on things to write about, or that I have not had interesting things going on in my life; it is mostly because I have become so bogged down with homework, work, and projects, that I have not had the time recently. Also, because I have been sick, and unfortunately, when I am sick, I don't feel as creative. In fact, all I want to do is sleep! I slept 12 hours Friday night. I got up around half-time of the OSU game, and napped on and off on the couch until Foster came home from drinking beer @ the VFW with his buddies. I was SUPPOSED to work, but my inability to breath, mixed with the nastiness that was leaking out of every orifice of my body, caused me to call off. Would you feel comfortable as an ER patient coming in and seeing one of the staff members sick as a dog, plus the multiple trips to the bathroom every hour have been exhausting!!!

I decided that not only do I need to be the soldier from now on, but I need to be sick more often! Foster is a complete sweetheart when I am not feeling well. Once again, he had most of the laundry done and the kitchen clean two mornings in a row! I am putting him in for the "Housewife of the Year" award!

My Birthday is quickly approaching, along with our wedding anniversary, and Christmas. I have been dropping hints for months that I want a REAL camera. The type of camera I can add lenses to, take a class through OSU and capture beautiful pictures. Well, God love my hubby, he has purchased me one. I BELIEVE it is a Cannon. I have not received it yet, although, I think he is going to give it to me before my birthday because he knows how badly I want to capture the beautiful colors of the trees as they change colors this fall. He said that our wedding photographer (the one who took the AMAZING photo at the top of my blog page) would give me free lessons if Foster purchased a Cannon for me, so that is what makes me think it is a Cannon. Don't you worry, as soon as I get it, you will know, and I guarantee I will be speing hours the first day playing with it taking photos.
As if I don't have enough going on, I have decided to get in touch with "Project Sweet Pea". It is an organization that makes bags for NICU babies and their families and Baby Loss Families. Each bag will contain a combination the following determined by the situation:
~Blanket
~disposable camera
~hand and foot print molds
~journal and pen
~hat and booties
~outfit (a little more dressy for the Stillborn in case they want to bury them in it)
~small bottle of shampoo and lotion for the baby's first (and sometimes only) bath
~a pair of tiny scissors and a little bag for mom and dad to get a lock of hair
~a teddy bear for mom to cuddle with, and a small one for baby
~baby brush and comb
~tissues
~baby books for mom and dad to read to baby in the NICU
~gas card for mom and dad to get back and forth
~picture frames
~votive candle and holder
~holiday themed items to decorate isolettes in the NICU

I looked on their web page, and they do not have a chapter of Project Sweet Pea in Ohio as of yet, so I will be starting it up. It will be entitled "Roses from Rosalynn".

Roses have a very special meaning to me. They give me hope. I was given a rose bush by Foster's side of the family on the day of her funeral. Every time it blooms it puts a smile on my face and is almost like a promise for the future. I want to pass that same hope onto other families. I want them to know that no matter how grim the situation is, there is still hope, and never to give it up.

If anyone knows where I can get any of these items in bulk, let me know. I may be pleasantly surprised by some back pay from the Army, and I would like to invest it into my little project. I want to get some bags embroidered or screen printed with "Roses from Rosalynn" and a pretty pink Rose on them. As I get the project going, I will create a web page with all the info, and ways that people can get involved if they want. I am really excited. I have been chomping at the bit to get something going, and I feel like I have control over this project and can get it going pretty quickly! I am going to START the project in Central Ohio NICUs, however, would like to eventually expand it through all of Ohio.

Don't worry, I am still going to be part of BIHAA, but things seem to be moving too slow for me right now, and I need something extra since my momentum is still through the roof, and I don't like the feeling of sitting around WAITING for things to happen, so I make them happen myself.