GRAND TOTAL.....................................................235!!!!!!

We blew the top right off of our goal.....235!!!!

We cannot thank everyone enough!  We have collected 235 stuffed animals and have received almost $1500.00 in donations towards bibles (that is 400 bibles!!!).  We plan on taking these items to Mercy on August 13th, Michael's 1st Birthday.  We cannot possibly express how thankful we are to everyone for helping us accomplish this goal.  All of these stuffed animals will go to the siblings of that babies that pass away way too soon.  We hope these animals will be a reminder of their precious baby brother or sister. 

A big thanks to Abigail!  Abigail is a special friend of the girls.  Abigail's baby brother, Coleman, is in heaven with Michael.  We know their baby brother's are looking down on them and wondering how their sisters could possibly be so silly!

 A big thanks to the Hudson's!



 And another picture with all of the animals, just because the girls think it is fun!

 Thanks to the Popp Family!

 A big thanks to Dave, Marti, Jonah and Miri for this "small" donation of 100 stuffed animals!  The look on the girls' faces was priceless when I opened the box and they saw all of these stuffed animals!

 .....AND one more of all of them!

Oh yeah, we're there!

A big HUGE thanks to everyone!  We have hit our goal and have currently collected 117 stuffed animals!  This is awesome and we are so happy that we will be able to donate more than expected. We will still be collecting stuffed animals until the beginning of August (Madigan says we should up the goal to 140).  Anyone wanting to donate please let me know.  We are so thankful that we can help many families thanks to everyone's generous giving.

The girls had a lemonade stand on the fourth of july.  We would like to thank everyone that bought lemonade.  All of the money went to the stuffed animals pictured below.

These are the stuffed animals purchased with money from the lemonade stand.

Another big thanks to grandpa and grandma bono for donating more stuffed animals!

A big thanks to Olivia and Vivian!

.....AND this is what 117 stuffed animals (with 3 little girls mixed in) looks like! 

Almost there...89

We are almost to our goal of 100 stuffed animals! But the girls would be happy to to make our chart bigger if we receive more than 100.  Right now we are at 89 stuffed animals.  The girls get SOOOOO excited everytime we get a package delivered and I myself get a little teary eyed just thinking of how many awesome friends and family we have and how generous so many people have been!

 Thanks to Dave and Vickie!



 Thanks to Steven and Nan

 Thank you??? for the turtle



Thank you ??? for the puppy dog and bunny

We had two separate packages, one with the turtle and one with a puppy dog and bunny.  They did not come with any information on who they were from. If they were from you (and you don't want to remain anonymous) please let us know so that we can thank you appropriately!

Over half way there!

We are so thankful for everyone's support and are happy to say we are over half way to our goal.  As of today we are up to 67 stuffed animals!

 Thanks to Cousin Hadley(and Ella and Hudson)

 Thanks to Traci R

Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Prosise

Also a big thanks to everyone that has been sending money for the bibles.  We appreciate everyone's generosity and know that MANY families will benefit from everyone's generous donations!

32 and counting

A huge thanks to all of my co-workers and supervisors at ESI.  I usually work from home, but had to go into work on Wednesday for our quarterly meeting.  They surprised me by collecting 23 stuffed animals and donating money for the bibles.  I work with an awesome group of people and my supervisors have been so understanding of our situation this past year.  I am truly thankful to work with such a great group of people!  The look on the girls faces was priceless when I came home yesterday with this big bag of stuffed animals.  They said "wow mom the people you work with are SOOOOOOOO nice."  And I said, Yes they are!

Stuffed animals from ESI



Also, a big thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Bono for getting our fundraiser started!

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Bono!

With all of these donations we are up to 32!

A Happy Birthday paid forward

August 13^th is quickly approaching.  I cannot believe it has almost been a year.  This has been the longest year that has seemed to go by ever so quickly.  In memory of Michael for his first birthday, we will be donating to Mercy NICU.  I cannot speak highly enough of all the people, and their generosity, that we encountered while there.  We only found out we were having a boy just a few days before we were admitted to the hospital.  Our lives were pretty crazy from the time we were admitted to the hospital to the time he passed away.  We had nothing for Michael, not one article of clothing, blanket, or stuffed animal.  We were very fortunate that so many wonderful people donate to the NICU.  Because of the generosity of others, Mercy was able to provide us with Michael’s very own BOY baby blanket and an outfit for him to be buried in after he passed away.  A very special lady also makes all of the infants that pass away white robes and white baby blankets.  All of these items are very precious to our family, as they are the few things we have that were Michael’s. 

So, to celebrate their baby brother Michael’s first birthday and in his memory, our girls have decided to collect 100 stuffed animals.  These stuffed animals will be donated to the brothers and sisters of babies in the NICU at Mercy (formally St. John’s) hospital.  We ask that all donations be new and about the size of a beanie baby.  The girls got the monkey in the picture after Michael passed away and they take it on family trips and put it in all the family pictures, even going so far as to name the monkey Michael.  Although they know the monkey is not Michael, it gives them something tangible to remind them of him. 

Also, Mike and I are donating baby bibles for Michael’s first birthday and in his memory to Mercy (formally St. John’s) hospital. These bibles will be given to the parents who have children in the NICU.  The cost of the bibles is approximately $4.50 apiece.    If you would like to contribute to the donation of the bibles or the stuffed animals please contact us before August 1^st as we will be making the donation later in the month around Michael’s birthday.

We would like to thank everyone for their continued love, support and prayers through this past year!  Mike, Jen and girls

UPDATE: I have had a couple of questions so I thought I would clarify things a little.  If you are interested in donating( and don't live close to us) please send me an e-mail at -jgprosise@hotmail.com or you can message either mike or myself on facebook.  We can give you our address where you can send the stuffed animals or donations.  The christian bookstore by our house is going to special order the bibles for us.  They are small baby bibles in pastel pink or blue (I will post a picture of one once they are in).  If you prefer to send monetary donations please let us know if you want the money to go to the stuffed animals or the bibles.  We appreciate everyone's help and will keep you updated with our progress to reach our goal!

3 months

3 months…..

It is hard to believe it has been 3 months since Michael was born. If he was alive he would be 3 months old, yet not even due for 2 more weeks.  Time has never seemed so inaccurate.  Even though it has only been 3 months, it honestly feels like years since we have seen him.  It is amazing that things we did before he was here seem just like yesterday, however those 11 days he was alive feel like forever ago.  We all miss Michael every second of every day. 

I decided to update this blog periodically after reading some of the blogs that were written by other people who have also lost a child.  It helps to see the progress we have made and also to remember this time.  Honestly if I had not recorded those days we had in the hospital, I know I would not remember hardly any of the details. 

So how are we doing?  I get this question a lot and I still don’t know how to answer it.  I always say “as well as can be expected”.  Everyone tells you it will get easier.  They forget to tell you that is only after it gets harder.  The first few weeks after Michael passed away I feel like we were somewhat in a haze.  It is so awkward to go about doing normal daily activities and family events when your family feels anything but normal.  Then the shock and numbness of it all wears off and you are staring your reality in the face.  This is where we are at now.  We are getting closer to the holidays and are faced with the reality that we should have a new blessing here, but don’t.  I have reached out to several friends who have also lost little ones for advice for simple things that others may not even think about.  Like how do we sign our Christmas cards?  It is so hard to sign a card “Mike, Jen, Madigan, Sophia and Ainsley” and have Michael’s name left out.  He is a part of our family even though he is not here.  But do you sign his name even though he physically is not here?  Then there is the family Christmas picture…..and family pictures in general.  We are trying to work though each situation as it comes and I know there will be many more. 

The girls talk a lot about Michael, which we really like.  On Halloween, Madigan said if Michael were here he would be a Monkey for Halloween ( I was thinking the same thing!).  For thanksgiving we are doing “thankful lists” and ask the girls to write one thing everyday that they are thankful for.  Everyone of course said Michael, however Sophia specifically said “That God let us have Michael” and “That God takes care of Michael”.  I thought those statements were pretty big for a 4 year old.  Madigan still seems to be the most affected since she is older and knows a little bit more.  Many times she will just come up to me and give me a hug and say that she misses Michael.  The girls also like to draw him as an angel when they draw pictures of the family.  After Michael died, our nurse Shannon suggested getting a stuffed animal for the girls to remind them of Michael. We eventually got around to getting our “Michael Monkey”.  It is nothing more than a little stuffed monkey (the girls called Michael a little monkey after he was born).  It is amazing how much they love having this monkey.  Madigan said one day that she was glad we bought the Monkey to remind us of Michael.  We have decided to include the monkey in pictures with the girls to remind us of him.  We have even taken him with us when we go out of town.  It may sound weird, however it is nice to have a reminder of him….and the girls really like it. 

I am thankful for the support of some friends who have also lost babies of their own.  It is so unfortunate this is what we have in common, however they have been a great source of strength and support through many situations.  They have been there for me when I need to reach out to someone who truly understands what we are going through, because unfortunately they have also been in our shoes. 

We continue to thank every one for their support.  It is little things that people do that have helped us through this.  Just a few days ago someone from our church nursery sent us a card that said “your children have displayed such a peace that their brother is with their heavenly father and that some day you will all be together and in the presence of Christ our Savior”.   Things like this help get us through, knowing that God is with us every step of the way….and thankfully our girls also understand.