Faith, Hope and Love...

Regarding my post yesterday, thank you for the response I've gotten in people wanting to be apart of this...I don't even know what to call it yet...I've been thinking about it and thought I'd blog about my "ideas" so far...of course, nothing set in stone... For now--my goal is to sell enough Faith, Hope and Love bracelets to be able to give them to mothers who really just need encouragement while faced with fear, pain, sorrow...etc. As mothers, nothing is more precious to us than our children and that's a common bond between moms.

Here's where I'm coming from on all of this...when we thought we were going to lose Hayden, I wanted something tangible...something that marked that he was real and his life mattered. I had a friend who had brought me a little bear with the July birthstone (Ruby) which was the month Hayden was due to be born. It was something so small...but it was something that signified him because of it. I want to give that to mothers who are in the same position we were in...or to those who didn't get the outcome we got and actually had to say goodbye...something they can wear everyday that is tangible and yet reminds them that there is faith, hope and love in the midst of such incredible sorrow.

The second part of this "dream" stems from my my neice's story. When she was born a premie and in the hospital for 2 months I thought about how difficult it must be for Kristin and Al because they were away from home, and yet life doesn't stop even though you want it to...you want the bills, your job, etc to be put on hold...but it can't and many families that have children in the hospital are faced with having to leave their child in order to stay afloat. Then I thought of how many premie families were in the NICU, and children battling cancer, etc. How would James and I cope in that situation? Hayden was only in the NICU for 10 days when he was born, but that still created a financial burden we struggled with for years. What about the families that faced months in the hospital? I know we can't help everyone...but if we could help one...wouldn't it be worth it?
Let me say this really quick...there are wonderful organizations out there like March of Dimes, Ronald McDonald House, etc and they provide greatly for these families...I'm just hoping to add to what they are able to do. If it means a parent could take an extra day off from work because there's a little bit of extra funds in order to be near their child then I'd call it a success...if it means a mom could hire someone to come clean her house or cook dinner for a week--just to help return to some sense of normalcy, then we've succeeded...

Above all else...what I invision from all of this is simple...I just want these families to know there are others walking alongside of them on this dreaded road they are faced with. If we never make it as BIG as I am dreaming, but we send a bracelet to a mom that's just barely hanging on and it helps her get thru the day...to love them like Jesus...then we've succeeded.

Okay, enough rambling...check out my iMage Jewelry blog (link on the top right side) to see the bracelet....Faith, Hope and Love. Tell your friends...and buy some bracelets (they make great gifts!!!)